Doug Grimes on his Victoria Marathon, Oct 9th 2011
Race Report – Victoria Marathon
October 9, Thanksgiving 2011
By Doug Grimes
The reasons why I signed up for the NSA spring clinic and my first marathon are still unclear to me. It had something to do with winning a NSA gift certificate at a school fundraiser auction while drunk, feeling stuck in a rut with my DIY exercise program and perhaps a dash of mid-life crisis. What I am clear on is once we got split up into pace groups and I walked over to the 3:45 bunch, met Bitsy and my compadres I was hooked!
You see I’d been running 3 times a week steady for the past 2 years and thought I was training hard. Little did I know! I signed up for the Victoria marathon after surviving (or thriving on) my first 12 mile run ever and the rest, as they say, is history. With few exceptions I loved the drills, long runs, fartlek, Yassos (especially the Yassos!), made some great connections with my pace group and generally “drank the Kool-aide”.
As the hot summer days started to fade and race day approached I reveled in the advice from the marathon vets. Avoid the fast start, don’t vary your race day routine, be sure to carb load, and get lots of rest in the 2 weeks prior. And I was amazed at how many people I knew that confessed to being marathoners when I shared my goal. Everyone had a story, good advice and positive vibes.
So race weekend finally arrives and me and the family get to Victoria Friday night. We spent a couple hours on the Saturday picking up the race package (SWEET shirt!), checking out the expo and walking in to the talk by Lucy Smith halfway through. The lady at the door stops us as we enter (I’m thinking does she want money?) and says “you can’t go in without draw prize tickets”. Lucy gives a great talk, the gist of which is “don’t focus on your result, focus on leaving it all on the course”. Sounds good, but I’ve done the work and have got a time to hit.
Lucy winds her talk up in inspiring and charming fashion and the prizes are drawn. One of the smaller prizes is a purple gym bag and it’s won by my purple-loving 7 year old Georgia! Perfect. The big, last prize is a two night stay at the Inn at Laurel Point and my number gets called. More Perfect! Note to draw prize lady – mix up the tickets next time!
The day of the marathon I awake 15 minutes before my alarm and feel refreshed and ready to go. It’s a beautiful cool, clear, windless morning and I get downtown just as the halfers start, and the race area is buzzing and full of positive energy. The 6 or so of us NSA’ers meet for some warm-up drills, positive talk and have our pictures taken by a Times Colonist photographer. Yep, it was feeling special!
Next a quick trip to the loo, out about 5 minutes before the start and into the chute with the 1,567 others. We sing O Canada, listen to a quick countdown and then it’s Showtime! I jog through the first 1 km and wouldn’t you know I’m only 10 seconds under my 5:20 split target so I’ve avoided the dread “fast start”. Nearing the 3 km mark we pass by the funeral home on Johnson Street where we laid my dear Brother Bruce to rest 14 months ago. I feel as though he’ll be there on my shoulder egging me on if I need him. Then we’re up and into Beaconhill Park for a somewhat confusing roundabout and views of the lead pack from the half marathon – intense! We’re spit out onto the Dallas Rd waterfront at 9 km and I’m 1 min ahead of my split target – time to relax and hit that perfect pace.
Feeling so good, I start chatting and meet up with Andy, a vet of 24 marathons who just so happens to be shooting for 3:45 too! It’s my own personal Bitsy sent to pace me! Perfect! Andy (who hails from Texas and is a she) and I spend the next 15 km talking about running clubs, races, grad school etc. We share positive vibes, buoy each other through rough patches (hey, why so quiet?) and generally keep each other occupied.
She even tells me about her favorite game to play during the last 10 km. It’s called “Road Kill”, and you focus on picking off and passing flagging runners one by one. The key is that when you pass them, you have to say something positive. I love that, and I can’t wait.
We maintain that 1 min split advantage throughout the 6 – 21 km range which means I’ve hit and am holding my 5:20 target pace. We rock through the halfway point at a perfect (there’s that word again) split time of 1:52, and generally bond. We’re working hard, but still talking. Could the day get any more perfect?
The answer, gentle reader is a decisive – No! A slight side stitch which first appeared at 3 km, returns with a vengeance just after halfway. And now I’m really feeling it. My mind starts going negative: is this what a ruptured appendix feels like?; when is that turnaround coming?; why did they put it out past the halfway point?; and where did this hill come from? – arrgh! I succumb to the pain and slow down after 2km of trying to gut it out, wave goodbye to Andy and try to recover. It’s not getting any better after 2 km of slow running, so I start walking and practice deep breathing. Maybe a sub 4:00 is still in play? It eases up slightly and I try to run again and wait for it …. there’s more - my quads are cramping and I can’t run! Why are these invisible midgets working my legs over with 2 by 4s?! My God, why have You forsaken me?
Then come the tears, then some jogging, then some more tears and finally I can’t quit ‘cause my kids are watching. Run-walk becomes walk-run, which then becomes a Sunday afternoon stroll with plenty of company and a cheering section. Ever wonder what it’s like to get passed by a girl talking on her phone “My God, are you stalking him?”. Ever wonder what it’s like to get passed by 800 other runners? I’m accumulating life experiences!
Highlights of my 3 hour second half were Irene passing me and looking great on her way to besting her Boston standard, catching up to a faster runner who is barely moving due to a bad Achilles who says “gotta finish what we started”, the Hash House beer shot table (bless their boozy hearts!), seeing my wife and kids 4 more times, the older guy who passed me with 5 km left saying “c’mon buddy, we got this”, people cheering me on by name and taking the opportunity to thank every volunteer I could during the last mile.
Coming down the chute 5 more women bomb by me to roars from the crowd and I break from my walk and jog it in at 4:40. So no, didn’t make the 3:45 goal. Didn’t get close. Haven’t quite figured out where to go with that. But the sun is shining, the day is beautiful and as they slip the finisher’s medal around my neck I realize – I am a Marathoner!