I am surprised that this is still alive and works. I feel extremely rusty in my writing muscles since all I’ve written the last 2 years have been IMs on Slack & WhatsApp 🤦🏻♂️. This blog post is a memory dump of everything I did leading up to and during the race as a way to remember the event.
Quick recap before jumping in for the last year or so: I moved to Vancouver, Canada in Nov 2022; had a resolution to get fitter in 2023 -> Started running in Feb 2023, ran my first 10k race in April 2023, my first half marathon in June 2023 and my second half marathon yesterday (8th October 2023).
I finished the RVM Half Marathon with a chip time of 1:28:56 (a solid 13.5 minute PB from my 1:42:10 in the CRS Vancouver Half in June), this was much faster than my A goal going into the race of 1:35:00 and infinitely faster than what 2022 Yash would’ve deemed possible.
If you’re here just for the race report, click here to jump to the main section.
Shoutouts
There are a whole bunch of people I want to explicitly call out, this is a subset of that list, in no particular order:
- Coach Dimitri, Mark, David & Jen from FsRC: For creating a space that’s welcoming for people with such varying speeds and helping each one improve and stay consistent (either on the track, streets or the hills)
- Ali & Sonal for both feeding into and accepting my peer pressure of signing up for races, you guys keep me going.
- Shuling, for being the perfect partner in crime on the track.
- Saiyami, Maxwell (and Shalaka in spirit) for showing up at the finish line to cheer me on!
- Joseph, because of whom I initially started to run and also for answering random silly questions I have all the time
- Rucha & Twinkle, thank you for being vocal supporters and hype people for the smallest of achievements.
Training cycle
I had a very healthy training cycle leading into the race (apart from taking 2 weeks off because of an injury). I was consistent with my mileage and speed workouts and could feel myself getting comfortable around my A goal pace of 4:30/km leading up to the race.
I had three large weeks leading up to taper week of 80+ km each, and the longest run of my life (41k) 8 days before race day, which in hindsight wasn’t the smartest idea, but each of those events nudged me towards a better awareness of my body and my fitness. I had about a week of taper (and carb load) with one track workout (T-5 days) and one shakeout run (T-3 days) totalling 29k and I felt like I was in good shape to attempt my A goal.
Course Analysis & Pre race prep
I went over to Victoria 2 days before the race to explore the city and also get a feel for the course (RVM didn’t publish a grade analysis and race results from the past were inconsistent with route information on RunGo). It also helped that carb loading was super easy in Victoria 😂.
On the Friday before the race, I walked a decent chunk of suspect hills along the course and talked to a few people at the expo which led me to the conclusion that the hills on the course weren’t going to be a large problem. It wasn’t going to be as flat as the sea wall, but most elevation was either gradual or short enough that you could push through them. I’d consciously decided to not try and negative split, but instead try keeping up a constant 4:30 pace.
In the week leading up to the race, I took special care of hydrating well and ensuring I was conscious of the electrlyte intake. I found french fries to be my best friend (carbs + electrolytes 🤣).
Race day
Weather conditions were perfect (12C with cloud cover and no rain predictions) and the stage was set. I got up at 6 am and spent some time stretching because my body wasn’t used to being active in the morning. My AirBnB was less than a km away from the start line, so I took a long-ish route over to the start line slow jogging to get some blood flowing into my legs. As expected, my legs didn’t want to run. They, however, did not have a choice.
The good vibes at the start line were contagious. It felt like the whole city was out on the streets, either running, cheering or volunteering. I contemplated wearing a jacket but didn’t want to risk anything last minute (my monkey brain jumped to the conclusion that the extra 100g could slow me down, didn’t I mention paranioa was my second name?). A couple more laps with strides and I was ready (or as ready as I’d have been).
Flag off was set to be at 8 am – weirdly the half marathon and the full marathon started at the same time, which caused a lot of frenzy around the start line. I wasn’t up ahead with the elites, but was in the first wave (there was only a 20 second delay between my chip and gun time).
I’d decided to break the race down into sections of 3k each. Target was to do each section in 13.5 minutes (or lesser) for a square 1:34:30 finish. Choosing 3k as a segment helped break the race down into countable but flowing segments (1 down 6 to go instead of 1/4 done or 1/21 done) and also ensured that I had quick enough feedback incase I needed to speed up.
I’d chosen to do a lot of unconventional things at this race, for example: instead of eating a gel in one go, which generally got me parched soon, I’d decided to keep sipping at one so that it doesn’t get my mouth dry as much with the added benefit of keeping myself distracted while I run.
KM 1-3 (13:01)
These KMs felt super good (as they’re supposed to). No new views, since I’d walked most of downtown the days prior. I’d tried weeding through most of the crowd in the first km to get some free space, but decided to reign it in right after. Finished this segment with a net 29” lead (13:01 vs 13:30)
KM 4-6 (12:51)
Nothing specific comes to mind in this segment, pushed on the unexpected downhill in KM 5, to get some lead time and carried forward the same pace as the previous segment. I felt good about finishing this with segment with a net 68” lead over my A goal (25:52 vs 27:00) because KM 7 had the largest elevation gain in the race and this buffer allowed me some head room to slow down if required.
KM 7-9 (13:07)
Leading up to the hill, I sped up a little hoping to enter the hill with some extra momentum, bad idea. Could not carry this momentum till the top and even though I didn’t slow down considerably, my legs felt a little burn which got me alarmed since I was barely a third done. KM 7 ended up being the slowest KM of the race, which was also my A goal pace 🤣, looking back, it wasn’t so bad after all :P.
KM 8,9 were breezy and the downhill helped my legs recover. I remember seeing my heart rate at KM8.5 hovering around 174bpm which was according to plan, so that was reassuring.
Was pleasantly surprised to have added to the buffer despite the hill at km 9 – 91” (38:59 vs 40:30)
KM 10-12 (12:49)
Eventful split.
Had my first salt pill at km 10, didn’t feel heavy legged or anything, but I generally sweat heavy, so wanted to be safe. I passed km 10 feeling pretty good about the race with barely any fatigue, but that was also the case in my previous half for which I felt gassed by km 15, and had to walk for ~15 seconds at km 19. Having that experience in mind, decided to stick to the rhythm and keep building up the buffer but not do anything crazy.
Also, this segment had the BEST views of any run I’d ever done, and most of my time was spent looking at the water and the expensive houses around there. I’d do this run again just for this view – the added benefit, since the route was out and back, I’d see it again!!
I was also passed by the leader around km 10 (who also set the course record!), and that guy was FAST!
Finished with a whole 2:12 before target pace (51:48 vs 54:00). By the end of the segment, I’d mentally switched gears into stronly finishing below my A goal.
KM 13-15 (12:36)
I didn’t realise it when it was happening, but a group of runners I was mildly trailing sped up, and I followed subconsciously for km 13. Watched the split at the end and decided to reign it in.
At the end of km 15, I felt good enough to push harder for the last 6k. I was firmly under my A goal segment by a whopping 3:06, 64:24 vs 67:30. I did the mental math, and if I slowed down to my A goal pace now, I’d be approaching a 1:31:30 half, didn’t have the mental bandwidth to do the math for a sub 1:30:00 chip time, but decided to give it my all and see where it landed me.
KM 16-18 (12:28)
This is where the race began for me. I was already ahead of the mass so the runners were spread out, but the game plan was now to push. I stopped looking at my watch for pace / HR and decided to go by feel. Thanks to all the time on the track, I knew I was approaching an effort of 4:00/km and felt good enough to be able to hold it till the end, so I trudged along.
Also an unexpected hill at km 17, but felt strong enough to push the way up (thank the little mountain at QE park for this!)
Buffer up to 4 minutes, getting closer to that 1:30:00 finish.
KM 19-21.1 (12:06)
Fastest split, and the part I am most proud of. Ran my fastest 5k (and my first sub 20’!) which was supplemented by a wonderful downhill right at the start of the segment. Got aggresive with my pace and attempted to overtake as many as I could.
Felt quite gassed right before I saw the sign at km 20 (HR at 187bpm) and almost considered reigning it in, but the adrenaline was real. I was 3 laps at the track away from the end.
The last km was another highlight of the course. It’s got 7 turns each section being ~150m long. I’d overheard a few complaints at the expo the previous day and I hadn’t thought too much of it then. Personally, I loved it. It gave me a mental countdown for the end and a chance to try and go a little faster after each turn, and so I did.
Saw my watch at 1:28:25 right as I turned into the last 150m and pushed for a sub 1:29:00! Final chip time 1:28:56
Conclusions
Strava tells me that I hit a PB for my 5k, 10k, 15k, 10 mile, 20k and half marathon. Yay I guess?!
However, what Strava doesn’t know is that 6:04 is also my fastest mile! Double Yay!
On the whole, I’m glad I could end my year crushing my A Goal and gives me a lot more to work towards in 2024! I don’t have any time milestones yet, but I plan on keeping the training consistent and seeing where it takes us.
This is all for you, for now!