Victoria Marathon 2019 Race Recap

I ran my first marathon in 2016. I thought I could run a sub-3, because no one told me I couldn’t. I hung on for 13 miles, and then it was a gradual fade into cramps, tears, and a 3:23 finish. I had dug into a well deeper than I ever have before. I finished so empty I was nearly delirious. I have not gone that deep into the well since. I knew I could run faster, but my next 4 marathon times got...slower.

Last weekend, I ran the Victoria marathon. Marathon #6. I knew this race would be different. 6 months ago I started working with a running coach for the first time, Larry Merrifield of Portland, through Team RunRun. Before I barely had the chance to introduce myself, he said “You should be able to run a sub-3, the question is just why you haven’t done it yet’. It was that instant that the spark got re-ignited...I was going to find that well.

My family and I took the Black Ball ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria Friday afternoon. We had beautiful weather and even saw some whales.

Race morning I woke up at 5am and ate my bowl of oatmeal with a banana, and a bowl of my race-day Lucky Charms. We picked up my friend Albert and his wife on our way to the race start. Albert was also aiming for sub-3, and we planned to work together during the race. I was grateful to have my family there to help with logistics. They dropped Albert and I off really close so we didn’t have to walk very far.

We got to the starting line at 6:50. The weather was perfect: dry, cool, calm. The start line of the Victoria marathon is next to the legislative building, which was all lit up like Christmas. It was a magical feeling.

We stood around chatting for a while, with plenty of time before the race started at 8 am. I didn’t feel nervous. It was fun to watch the elite runners come in and out of their tents and do their warm-ups. At 7:35 I started my own warm-up. I jogged around the block and did a few strides. I then found a quiet place by the water to lay down and get my head ready.

A few weeks ago, my coach told me my 800’s indicated I could run a 2:55. The race plan was to start out at 6:52 min/mile pace for the first 5 miles, then gradually drop the pace down to 6:40. I had been practicing the mantra ‘Think big, be strong, run fast’ all week during my runs. My other mantra was ‘I am...calm’. I knew that to get a 28 minute PR, I was going to have to believe in myself, stay relaxed and run the mile I was in.

The gun went off right on time. The first mile was a little crowded but I stayed within a few steps of Albert and just couldn’t wipe the smile off my face, my legs felt great. The first 5 miles just flew by and I felt so relaxed, and the pace came so easy. They were mostly flat with a little downhill. 6:56, 6:46, 6:40, 6:59, 6:51.

Victoria brags it’s marathon has the most scenic course, and it is difficult to disagree. After a loop through downtown Victoria, the course winds through Beacon Hill park. At 9K you reach the shoreline and are hit with stunning views of the Strait and the Olympic Mountains. The smell of the ocean and gentle sea breeze were so refreshing and made me feel at home. Undulating hills, but never more than 75ft elevation change at a time.

6:44, 6:48, 6:54, 6:55, 6:53, 6:58.

It was nice getting to drive parts of the course the night before the race. It also helped my family scout out places to watch the race from.

My lead-up to Victoria was far from perfect. Before I started working with Coach Merrifield, I was already signed up for several trail races, and planning a trip with my family for Boston 2020. Some unfortunate timing meant that I had to run my Boston Qualifier 4 weeks prior to Victoria, and 1 week after a trail race. That made for an awkward ‘peak week’. There were also a few botched tempo runs, where I totally blew up trying to hold my goal marathon pace. Its funny how in light of 20 workouts that you totally nail, those 2 ‘failures’ are what you remember most.

At mile 13, I think one of those sneaky memories must have woken up. It was a sudden and noticeable increase in effort level, and I began to drop back from Albert and our planned pace. I told myself that it was okay, ‘I am ..calm’, and just focused on staying smooth and control. I told myself that I would take one mile easy and then pick it back up. 28 minutes is a big PR anyway, I would be pretty stoked to run anywhere in the low 3’s.

7:11, 6:57.

But I couldn’t hang on and the paces were slipping. 7:05, 7:00, 7:06, 6:59, 7:22. By mile 17 things were just plain hard. I had to pee, I felt like my breathing was unsustainable. But, my legs weren’t cramping, my stomach felt good. I focused on the positives and stopped looking at my watch. The next few miles were pretty blurry, my eyes were half closed and I was in a weird head space. I remember visualizing that I was crawled up inside of myself, as if I was hiding from the reality and the discomfort. It gave me a weird, fuzzy calm feeling. But that didn’t last very long, and fears of totally blowing up and having to walk the last few miles were creeping into my mind.

I saw my family somewhere around mile 21? And their cheering gave me a little boost, I tried to smile for them. Mile 24 I stopped at a porta-potty, and at mile 24.5 I leap-frogged a couple times with ‘F7’, one of the elite runners. She was an angel, she looked me in the eyes and said “come on, let’s do this together.” I hung on to her shoulder for about half a mile at a better pace but then faded back again. I was passed at mile 25.5 by another female.

The last 0.6 miles I ran at 6:46 min/mile. That was frustrating in retrospect, because now I know that I had more. My fear of blowing up kept me going deeper. 3:08:55 on the clock still brought a huge smile to my face. A 14 minute PR. Albert had come in at 3:06. Someone was in the med tent getting CPR. I had nothing to be upset about.

But Boston 2020 had better look out, because now I KNOW that I can run 2:55.

Here is what my paces ended up looking like all together:

We ate at Bard and Banker after the race. It was delicious but my typical post-race hiccups didn't allow me to eat very much. Does anyone else experience this?

Jill claims she cheered the loudest. I'm not sure about that, but she did give me a foot and calf rub after the race that were out of this world, so she is a winner.

Some other logistics:

→ Gear. I ran in Nike Pegasus, the same road shoes I have been wearing for the past 4 years. This pair had about 20 miles on them. I never get any blisters or hot spots. My jersey was from my first marathon. I forgot to bring a belt to carry my gels in so I picked up a spibelt at the expo, it worked great.

→ Nutrition: I have struggled with nutrition in marathons in the past, often my stomach goes sour and then gels start sounding terrible. So for this race I mimicked what has worked best for me so far in ultra trail races: carrying a bottle of my own pre-mixed Perpetuem. The chocolate flavor is delicious and hasn’t yet made my stomach turn. I mixed 6 scoops into a 12oz bottle and drank it over the first 1.5hr of the race, for a total of 50g of carbs/hr. My plan was to have my family pass me another bottle at this point, but I learned shortly before the race that is against the rules. I didn't love the flavor of the electrolyte they were going to provide at the aid stations (citrus-mango endurance nuun) so I decided to carry some of the least-offensive gels that I have used in the past: Mountain Huckleberry flavor from Hammer. I got one down plus a couple sips of Nuun, and that was all I could stomach the second half of the race.

And finally, some photos from touring around Victoria before and after the race:

As we toured the Legislative building, It was pretty embarrasing to realize how little I learned of Canada's government in school.

Fort Rodd was an immaculately maintained historical site, an entirely different experience than exploring Fort Warden for example

My family raved about the Historical Tour they took of Downtown. I opted out, to stay off my feet before the race.

My sister is enjoying the highly rated fish and chips from Red Fish Blue Fish, which we enjoyed by the water as we watched sea planes land and water taxis buzz about.

It was chilly but so sunny the whole weekend!

Can't express how grateful I am to have my family (minus Joseph!) and Zach supporting me for this race! They are pretty amazing!