Running my own race

This morning was the 37th annual BMO Vancouver Marathon, which I was not running in. But Vancouver is only so big, and so of course my long run intersected the route several times.

Watching the participants going in the opposite direction certainly helped the time go by faster, and I did 25K in just under three hours, which is pretty much right where my long slow distance pace should be. I'm relieved that my endurance hasn't diminished too much in the past few weeks, during which I hadn't run over two hours at a time.

My hamstrings were screaming louder than the race spectators toward the end, though, so than rather negotiate the 15-block gradual incline back to my apartment, I hopped on a bus. I never used to do this, but now I make a point of carrying my bus pass with me when I go for my long runs. I just feel better knowing I have an "out" if I bonk or get injured.

So maybe next year I'll do the BMO. My excuses for not doing it this year were that I didn't want to train in the snow (valid) and I don't want to run 200 feet up Prospect Point (very valid). But it would be neat to run a full marathon right here in Vancouver. I'll think on it.

Other running things of note:

I am not so impressed with the Fuel Belt. It was bouncing around a LOT at first--so much that after two blocks I was going to go back and get my usual water carrier. Then I guess I started sweating or whatever, and it more or less stayed in place. But the sloshing noises were distracting, and I KNEW I should have gotten the small size instead of medium, even though the small barely fit around my hips. The minute you fill the bottles up with water and gel, the whole thing is heavier and you need to make it tighter and I can tell it's going to stretch some more with time and GRR. That's $50 not so well spent. Do you think I can sweet talk the Running Room manager into letting me exchange it, even though it's used?

I watched Spirit of the Marathon yesterday. I'm pretty sure 90% of the audience was running BMO today--it was probably the fittest movie audience ever. I really enjoyed how they followed different types of runners: elites like Deena Kastor and Daniel Njenga, first-timers (or "26.2 virgins," as someone's shirt declares), and veteran marathoners trying to improve their time.

There are also some interesting anecdotes about the history of the marathon. My favourite came from Katherine Switzer, the first woman to enter the Boston Marathon. Women weren't allowed to enter at this time (1967!), so she registered as "K. Switzer," and when race official Jock Semple saw her, he tried to grab her and pull her out of the race. Switzer debated whether she should leave the course; she clearly wasn't welcome, but finally she decided that leaving would only prove those who didn't believe women could race right. Switzer's boyfriend, Tom Miller, knocked Semple away with his shoulder, and Switzer ran off. Awesome.

A line from the film that will stick with me is "People run marathons to prove to themselves that there is still triumph and possibility in their lives." I started sobbing when I heard that, because I've never heard it put quite that way, and it's so accurate for me. I think it's the "still" that gets me. I tell people I run because it's the only form of exercise I actually enjoy, which is true, and I started running mainly to lose weight, but as for why I keep doing it? I've known a lot of disappointment in my life, and there are times even now when I feel like I'll never know true fulfillment or happiness. But whether it's a 3K run around the block or a half-marathon, I get a sense of achievement, if only for a moment, and it makes me hopeful that there is more. Just more.