Scotiabank Half Marathon Race 2013

The night before a race I always lay out all my running stuff on top of my drawer. I want to make sure I have everything ready for the following day. I do not want to be running around the house looking for a sock or my favourite bra 10 minutes before I have to leave. I take out my clothes as well as my accessories: Garmin, IPhone, ear-buds, water bottle, fueling blocks, sunglasses, hat, bib number, safety pins to hold the bib number on the shirt and socks. This ritual helps me feeling more at ease and puts my mind in a ready for racing state.

Today I woke up at 4:20 am, had my smoothie for breakfast and got ready to go and pick up my people: Melanie, Ron and Laura. My husband was nice enough to drive us all to the start line and stick with us until we started. This helped a lot because I am usually freezing at that time in the morning. I know is going to get crazy warm latter on but at 6:30 in the morning is kind of chilly. So, having someone there that can get your sweater just right before you will start running is kind of nice.
As you already know, making sure you have expelled every possible drop of pee out of your system is imperative. To be able to do this you have to get to the start line an hour before the race starts, so you can go to the washroom twice: as soon as you get there, and just before the race starts. There is usually a big line for the second time around so you better line up pretty fast after you have finished with your first round.

Today the weather was great, warm and sunny. I have to confess I felt guilty that I did not wear my Peta Pack t-shirt but I get so hot when I am running, especially when I know the weather is going to be super warm, that I had to go for a tank top instead. I hate when I over dress and I know that doing it affects my performance. To be able to take my official picture with it, I told my husband to take it with him to the finish line.

Today’s race was great. No, I am lying, it was amazing!!!! I did my personal best today: 2 hours and 4 minutes. Yeahh baby! I rock, I know it. Here are some pre and post-race picks.

A little gossip before the race

The race is about to start. Making last minute adjustments

After 2 hours and 4 minutes

Some highlights from the race:
•I can’t believe there are people that run a freaking race wearing a Barnie costume or a wedding dress. Are you f*$@# kidding me!
•I saw a blind athlete being guided by someone else. They were attached to each other by a short rope and were wearing t-shirts that said that one of them was blind and the other one was his guide. Way to go.
•An older lady ran the race (and got there before me) pushing someone else on a wheel chair! That is what I call inspirational!
•The ginger bread man seems to be running all the half marathon races that I go to.
•Best cheering signs: “suck it up princess” and “run bitches run” Loved them!
•Today I ran my fastest 10k: 57minutes!
•I love running in Vancouver, I love my running buddies, I love my husband and I definitely love running.

My Animal Lover Note: As I said before, today, after the race, I wanted to go for brunch to GRAZE, the newest vegan restaurant in Vancouver. Ron, Melanie, my husband and I went together. We had an amazing vegan brunch: healthy and tasty. Just what I needed and deserved after my race. Did you know that I burn around 2000 calories after running a half marathon race? This is a lot of food that I can indulge on, and when this food is vegan, it basically triples the amount of it.