Celebrating the unexpected in Eugene

It's been 2 days since the Eugene Marathon and I am still overwhelmed by the whole experience. What a weekend it was. Whenever I attend a running event I am blown away by the running community and this event was no different. In fact Eugene reinforced what an awesome group runners are.

I headed down to Eugene on my own for this marathon, as the kids schedules made it difficult to bring the whole family, yet through the weekend I never felt alone. I was fortunate to meet an amazing group of runners from Phoenix, the Sonoron Distance Project. This group of women had come down to Eugene to get the US trials B standard. They had their coach, partners and a pacer with them. They embraced me into their group immediately and I had an absolute blast getting to know them and celebrating with pizza and Voodoo donuts the evening after the race. Thanks to all of them for being so generous and kind. The race didn't go the way they had hoped but they will get it next time!

Going in to the Eugene Marathon my A goal was to be as close to 2:35 as possible. My training leading into the event had me confident that this was a realistic goal for me. My long tempo runs on hilly loops had been strong and I had completed two 22 milers in a week with marathon pace efforts built in, that had gone really well. Three weeks prior to Eugene I had run the Vancouver Sun Run 10k and off marathon training had run a PB of 33:52 to place 6th overall, 3rd Canadian and 1st master.

A few days after the Sun Run I had a bit of a strain come up in my Obdurator (google it if you're not sure what this means). This was causing some discomfort when I was running. Luckily my amazing support team of Chris Napier (physio), Dr. Jim Bovard (sports med), Marilou Lamy (Physio) and Bobby Crudo (RMT) fixed me up very quickly and I didn't really miss much training. As that started to heal I came down with a virus the week before the event. Not the best lead in, but I kept focusing on the positive and by the time I was down in Eugene I was feeling a lot better.

Race day was a beautiful running morning. It was around 12 degrees at the start and a bit overcast. My plan was to go out at 5:55/mile. The half and full marathon start together in Eugene, and I found myself running beside Eva Vail who was running the half. This was great as she was running the same splits as me and we worked really well together. The half marathon splits from the full at 9 miles and from that point on I was pretty much alone. At this point in the race the course moves on to the river path for a while before heading in to the Springfield neighbourhood, then returns for the last 10 miles to the river path. The River Path is beautiful although a bit more windy and with more small elevation changes than I had anticipated. It was also hard to see too far ahead and know where others were on the course. I was told by a spectator that I was in second place.

As I exited the river path in to Springfield I could just make out Erin who was running in first place with her pacer. As I ran I realized I was gaining ground on her and that she was struggling. It is never fun to see someone struggling in the marathon, especially that early on, so when I caught her I gave her some words of encouragement and kept moving on. Remarkably, although she was struggling early on, she was able to still pull herself to a 3rd place finish, that is toughness!

Erin's pacer moved up with me for a couple of miles then dropped, but it was nice to have someone to run with. At this point I entered back to the River Trail past Pre's trail and kept focused on the race. It was  a little intimidating being in first place and not knowing where anyone else was. I just wanted to keep moving forward. I passed the half point in 1:18:45 and realized it was going to be tough to get under standard unless I kept pushing the pace. I tired to just focus on moving and hoping the time would come. When I got to 20 miles and saw my split 2:01:43 I think I realized it was going to be tough to get my A goal and standard as I was definitely starting to struggle. This is where the run became really a test of mental strength and perseverance. Knowing the goal I had worked so hard for was falling out of reach was disappointing but I was in first place in the marathon and this kept me going.  I kept visualizing breaking the tape and thinking how great that would feel.

The end of the marathon finishes on the track at the historic Hayward Field. As I turned the corner and hit the track my legs picked up and I tried to sprint to the finish. The feeling entering the stadium is unreal. It still feels surreal to me now. Hearing the crowd cheering, running down the straightaway and breaking the tape are moments that I will never forget. I am beyond grateful for this experience. Although I didn't hit my A goal time wise, I achieved something so memorable instead. The love and support I have experienced from everyone has been incredible.

This is only the beginning. I intend to continue to learn from these experiences and improve some more. I am not finished with the marathon yet:)

I must thank some of the amazing people who have helped me get here

My family, whose support and understanding of my love for running enables me to pursue this incredible journey.

My Coach, Richard Lee, whose belief and confidence in me has taken me to places I only dreamed about, and who somehow always knows the right thing to say in those moments post race!

My wolf pack - I love you girls! Natasha and Dayna who are my running inspirations and who support me unconditionally in this running adventure and who are killing it in their running!

 Ian Dobson - elite coordinator at the Eugene Marathon who made sure things ran so smoothly and seamlessly that as athletes we had nothing to worry about except for running.

My friends who have sent me so many amazing messages of congratulations and support. It means so much!

The amazing team at Oiselle who believe in me and my abilities! You guys rock!

Dave at Distance Runwear who has supported me in this journey

Zensah Compression and Sports Uber who have kept me fueled and compressed!

Bobby Crudo, Chris Napier, Marilou Lamy, Dr. Jim Bovard - thx for keeping me moving forward :)

What a weekend and one I will not forget. I am enjoying every minute of this incredible journey.

The river path and Pre's Trail maps. We ran pretty much all of the river path during the marathon

Kerry Camberg from the Sonoron Distance Project and I pre-race

The finish line at Hayward Field before the race

Top 3 women in the marathon (myself, Emily Harrison and Erin Nehus Vergera)

My sprint to the finish on Hayward field 

photo cred: Kerry Camberg

With my finishers medal after the win

photo cred: Laurel Mathieson 

Media from the event

Article from the Register Guard, Eugene's paper

Q&A with Canadian Running after the marathon

Post Marathon now what?

So the marathon is over and it's time to regroup so now what? Upon returning from Houston I was feeling pretty mixed about things. It's always hard when you have set goals and they haven't quite gone to plan. That said I was looking at the positives of the race and recognizing my accomplishment.

I sat down with coach Rich to discuss the Spring and we decided that I'm not finished with the marathon yet. Building in some recovery from Houston then building back to a Spring marathon became the plan. So yes, I am embarking on another marathon journey and excited to see where this one takes me. Hopefully a Pan Am standard, sub 2:40, which I know I am capable of. Even if I make the standard I know it is unlikely I will make the team given the depth of fast women in the marathon in Canada at the moment, however, for me it's important to know I can achieve the standard and be considered for the team.

I also needed to check in with the family to make sure they were OK with me embarking on this journey again. It's not just the time required for training, but the time to recover which includes rolling and massage, strength training, nutrition and just being tired! The family was awesome and jumped on board. Unfortunately the flu hit a couple of members of our household just as my mileage and training ramped up so I ended up pretty tired, even though so far I've been spared the flu.

So after 3 weeks of easy lower mileage I began to build back up and add some fartleks into my runs. Six  weeks later I am back to full mileage in the marathon build. It's fun being out there doing long workouts again, plus it's been much easier with the absolutely amazing weather we have been having. Going for long tempos, long interval and track sessions when the sun is shining is so much easier than the rain.

My typical week at the moment hovers around 140km and includes a long run, which typically has a workout built in to it, as well as two more sessions including a track/trail interval session or a long tempo or long interval session workout. I find any more than 3 big workouts a week too much for me and I seem to adjust pretty well to this schedule. Most of my track work is long sessions as well, so not any quick speed workout which is what I am used to doing at this time of year. I am definitely tired moving back to full training but excited to see where it takes me.

Next weekend will be my first race of the season, The St Patricks Day 5k in Stanley Park. I love this race, as the organizers Steve and Karen put on a great event for all, and the prizes and post race party are always fun! I have no idea how it will go, as I haven't been doing any short speed work, so basically I am just hoping to make my legs go fast. I will have a workout right after as well.

http://www.stpatricks5k.com

The following weekend I will be racing the Modo 8k. This is a Canada Running Series event and again the organization is superb. Hopefully the 5k will get my legs into gear for this race. I love supporting the Canada Running Series as they go above and beyond in supporting us as athletes. Leading into this race my sponsor Oiselle will be teaming up with the Canada Running Series for a fun giveaway.

http://www.canadarunningseries.com/spring8k/

Basically both races will be an opportunity to get the legs moving but will be more of training runs. I am excited to get back out there with everyone.  I feel so fortunate to have such an amazing running community.


I also wanted to mention that Asics Canada has been extremely generous in working with Distance Runwear, and has provided me with a fantastic pair of shoes for training.

Also for a great article on my coach Richard Lee and the BC Endurance Project that I train with, check out the current issue of Canadian Running.

I look forward to the events ahead and I am constantly remembering to enjoy the journey on the way!

My new shoes from Asics Canada and Distance Runwear 

Just before a 10 mile tempo in the park with Natasha Wodak, Dylan Wykes and Rob Watson

 

Cooling down post km repeats with Natasha Wodak and Dayna Pidhoresky

Vancouver