Not To Be Trusted With Knives

Half Marathon #4 – Complete!

June 27, 2010 by Beth

We did it!  My fourth, and Alicia’s second, half marathon is in the books!

All week long I was watching the weather forecast for today and though the forecast for every other day seemed to change hourly, the meteorologists were steadfast on the prediction for Sunday, June 27 – rain. And the only waterproof running jacket I had is quite heavy – it’s lined to keep you nicely dry and warm for fall runs, but way too hot for an 18 degrees and rainy June day.  So I decided to treat myself to a new running jacket – I figured it was a pretty good investment given that it looks like we will not be seeing any sunny days this summer.  Plus, I’ve been very good about not buying clothes so far in 2010 – I’m waaay under what I budgeted for clothes1, so I didn’t even feel guilty buying something that isn’t from a thrift store!  And, I must say, it’s a beautiful jacket – bright white with a bit of reflective stuff on it so I don’t get hit by any cars.  And two convenient pockets.  And super duper light.

And said rain jacket served me well for the ~5 minutes I wore it during the race.  Because, though it was spitting a bit before race, not a single drop fell during the entire 2 hours and 23 minutes in which I was actually racing.  And so pretty early on the race, the jacket got tied around my waist, where it remained until after the post-race brunch, when I felt a little chilled.  I’m reasonably sure that my buying a rain jacket warded off all the rain they were calling for.  You’re welcome, all-the-other-runners in the race.

Here we are, before the race:

Notice my beautiful, rain-preventing jacket! Alicia’s jacket is the same brand as mine – she bought it a few months ago and at that time neither of us had heard Sugoi, but now here we are, all Sugoi-ed up.

The race route was pretty nice – it started at Thunderbird Arena at UBC, we looped around UBC for ~7 km, then we ran around SW Marine, through Kits, over the Burrard Street bridge and into Stanley Park.  And my favourite part: it’s net downhill!  As with our last half, I couldn’t keep up with Alicia and so she ran ahead at about the 17 km mark.  I had her in my sights until the Burrard Street bridge, but then lost her in the crowd.  In the end, Alicia came in at 2:23:22 and I came in at 2:23:53. And, need I remind you, Alicia had a freaking baby five months ago!  Good job, running partner!!

1. and I haven’t bought a single pair of shoes!  Which anyone who knows me will tell you is pretty much a miracle. [↩]

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