Spirit of the Marathon

I bought tickets to see a special showing of the documentary Spirit of the Marathon this Saturday. (Well, one ticket, but doesn't it sound weird to say "a ticket"? No? Just me, then.)



Goosebumps, I tell you!

For what it's worth, I like the working title, Land of the Gods: Legend of the Marathon, better, but the final one probably has more mass appeal.

There goes the neighbourhood...and there it goes again...and again

Yesterday was my first run since the Sun Run. I did a steady 5K in about 32 minutes, including some long, gradual inclines. It felt good to get back out there, and it was especially gratifying after my yoga class the previous day.

It was pretty windy out, so I wound my way up and down the streets around the neighbourhood, which are pretty well sheltered by the trees. It was actually fun to check out all the brightly painted heritage houses and get a good feel for the history of Mount Pleasant. I've only lived in the area for three months, but I've already formed a deep attachment to it.

I never thought when I moved into the city from the suburbs that I'd ever feel as safe running around the neighbourhood, particularly at night. I had vastly underestimated the number of hipster cyclists and dog-walking couples populating the streets at any given time.

I also wasn't sure I'd be able to find routes as running friendly as the dyke trails in Richmond. And though most of my running is now done on the pavement, I'm more keen to explore. Plus, the Seawall is so close and so scenic that it's become a reward to be able to run it each Sunday.

Speaking of rewards, I bought a few new running goodies this week:

A kelly green Fool-u-lemon yoga tank yesterday from J76, for my runners' yoga class. Sort of like this one, except fake.


A big thing of Body Glide so my so-called no-chafe sports bra doesn't create any more permanent indentations on my shoulders.

A Helium Fuel Belt, though I'm not yet sure about it. I find water/gel-carrying mechanisms to be such a finicky thing, in that you never really know whether the physics are going to work in your favour until you're out there with the full bottles on your sweaty back. I'll swing by MEC and get a bottle of apple-cinnamon Carb-BOOM! tomorrow, and we shall see how it goes this Sunday.

Personal best (of the non-Sapphic variety)

I posted a personal best 10K time of 57:35 at yesterday's Vancouver Sun Run. I did a 1:00:10 at the Turkey Trot last October and a 1:11:52 at the 2007 Sun Run, down from 1:17:20 in 2006, so I'm pretty thrilled, even though I've probably now done as much Dramatic!Improvement as I can. (I credit almost all of this, by the way, to joining the half-marathon clinic last year and doing all my running outside.)

This despite the fact that so many of the 59,000+ participants seemed to have underestimated their finishing times and had seeded themselves in sections far beyond their abilities. I was running in the group that expected to finish in 59 to 69 minutes, and I estimate that 75% of this group was walking after the second kilometre--which is fine, except you won't finish in that time frame when you're walking. Meaning you're blocking the way of everyone else who wants to run and meet that goal time, especially when you don't keep to the right, as almost none of the walkers did. Don't even get me on started on the ones walking at the extreme left--eight abreast like the cast of Melrose Place--talking on their cell phones, drinking coffee, and getting annoyed with anyone who tried to go in between them.

Next year I'll sign up for the 50 to 58 minute group. Although I'm not sure it will make a difference in terms of avoiding annoying walkers who LIE, at least I'll get to start sooner. Under ideal conditions (which I don't consider the Sun Run to be), I think I could do 10K in 55:00 or even better. The distance actually felt really easy, even the uphill portions; it was over sooner than I wanted, which affirms for me that I'm more of a long-distance runner. I'm really looking forward to doing my next half-marathon in June and setting a new personal best for that distance.

I'm also enjoying my runners' yoga class. It's not as intense as a regular hatha yoga class, but we do some challenging poses and I sweat (a lot). I don't think I'm any more flexible yet; however, I have become better at breathing (as opposed to holding my breath) and being present. Last week, my instructor said, "Focus--don't think about what you're going to have for dinner tonight," at the exact moment I was in downward-facing dog and thinking about whether I should have defrosted a chicken breast that morning. So he had my number.