October, 2017 | www.fitspeek.com

Well, you’d know if you heard Zack’s race results on Fitspeek 19. But, if you forgot, or didn’t hear all of these folks did the Okanagan Marathon back on Thanksgiving Day. All finished! In this race report, we hear how Rio Glowasky did on her very first marathon.

Are We Having Fun Yet?

I’ve been asked by fellow athletes and friends over the past few months: why run, why race, and why invest time and money doing it. After contemplating these questions over several miles in the sunny days of summer and fall, I now have an answer. I run because it gives me joy and I have fun doing it, I race because it keeps me accountable, and I invest because there aren’t many other things I’d rather be doing.

I accomplished my 2017 running goals this thankful October 8^th. I can and can’t believe I did it. I bettered my 1/2 marathon time, I broke a sub 60min/10km, and I ran a marathon with consistent training, no injuries, and discipline.

In May I competed in the Scotiabank Half Marathon in Calgary and bettered my time by 4 mins from 7 months prior in 2016. Although that was already an improvement and technically a check off the goal list, most of my training is done after the snow has melted after May. So on Labour Day weekend, I decided to participate in the Kelowna Wine Country Half Marathon to gauge improvement from spring to fall. It also sounded fun with a wine tasting after the finish line and was advertised as a relatively fast and scenic course with a total elevation change of 536 feet and net loss of 422 feet. In reality it was the toughest one I have done yet with hilly winery roads and a relatively warm morning.

What I took away from this race however was how good I felt. First, when I looked at my watch to see that I had ran 3.1mi in 27mins, and just a few years before I couldn’t run that distance under 31mins. Second, when I had maintained my pace, and at 6.2mi I was under 60mins which was a goal in itself this year, let alone racing that speed in a 13.1mi race. And third, when I finished with a 2:07.46, 7 mins faster than the one ran in May. After 4 Half Marathon races in 15 months, I incrementally improved my divisional place 2 weeks later.

I participated in my third consecutive Melissa’s Road Race in Calgary. Another hilly 10km race up and down Tunnel Mountain. I have often questioned why I do it and I decided half way in the summer to register again, as running up hills continue to be one of my biggest challenges and I wanted to keep myself accountable to hill train. Although I had accomplished my goal of running a sub 60min 10km in the spring, this would be the only race I would do year after year yielding a fairly accurate measurement of improvement. I also learned a few things. I learned the course from the two prior years, and knew now when to take my gels and how I needed to pace myself. This year I learned that I should take back up race clothes as I dressed for weather a few degrees cooler and regretted not having an option to dress down. I did have the most fun this time however feeling good enough to do a little dance when starting the decent after the last incline, and improved my divisional place from 42% the year prior to 88%. Wow… 88% percent of Females 30-39 finished after me… no kidding I felt like dancing!

I talked to several people about ending the race year with a Marathon and again spent many miles thinking about it. I heard other people’s stories of doing one, or intending to do one, or why some would never do another one. My respect for marathoners has grown over the years as I have cheered them on. I looked forward to completing my own for most of the year. I now know the feeling behind those faces of smiles and grimaces… only 26.2mi can create them.

I was also given a lot of advice in order to be successful at the BMO Okanagan Marathon. I was told not to do anything new a few weeks prior that could create injury. I was anxious to get back to yoga after a few months away from the studio and said to myself… I’ll just take it easy. I over stretched a knee and felt it ache for a good third of the marathon. I learned to listen to the experienced.

I was told that I should be able to rely on what the aid stations have. I packed a backpack full of gels and 2 liters of fluid and didn’t use 2/3 of it. I learned that aid stations are hard to rely on when they are generally unreliable, but that it can still offer most of what you probably need.

I was told, finish it without hurting yourself. So I tapered early, did some shorter runs, and even a swim to limit impact before the race. After mile 15 I said to myself, how can you not hurt doing a marathon? 48 hours after the race however, my stiff peg legs were gone and I recovered quicker and better than a lot of races I had done this year. I learned to be responsible.

I was told that pacing was key, this wasn’t a half! In August I decided that finishing the marathon in 5 hours would be a realistic challenge. I ran mile over mile consistently, not deviating more than 40 seconds per mile with an average pace of 11:21min/miles. I finished with a chip time of 5:00:12, smiling and proud. I learned to pick a pace, stick with it, and if you still have anything left, you’ll need and appreciate it in the last 6 miles.

I’ve started to contemplate my running goals for 2018. What’s next? While I have some ideas, I think it will take a few frosty outside runs to solidify. For now, I am thankful for my continued discipline to run when I have wanted to socialize and patio. I am thankful for the connections I have made through talking and participating in the sport. I am thankful for the improvement and achievements I obtained. AND I think to myself…. What a Wonderful World.