North Vancouver

The day it all came together.

Okay, I finally get it! Sure, it has taken me 8 years to truly understand why folks continue to punish themselves in months of endless training in pursuit of THE race, the one when it all comes together. After all, isn’t the lure of marathon running in the essence of it all coming together? All being the training, the race plan, the weather, the fuelling, the pre-race meal, the perfect application of lubricant, the optimal timing of the last potty stop, and finally, the ability to fine tune the level of stress that will fire your endorphins without depleting them before the infamous 20 mile wall. Whew, it’s exhausting just writing about the preparation never mind having it all work its magic…but it finally did.

Sure Keith won’t be totally pleased that I had to drop a couple thousand dollars, fly across the world, team up with my 3 running babes, and have a diet of French cheese, bread and wine to make it happen but alas it did!

So there we were, hanging in the French Alps. Running at elevation in the early morning, basking in the spring sun by afternoon, and partying with the après ski crowd in the evening -what race stress? The four of us just didn’t talk about the upcoming race just days away.

Arriving in Annecy took our breath away. The turquoise Lac d’Annecy is surrounded by the towering Alps with the quaint historic city right at the water’s edge ready for your perusal of Old World charm. The city lies at the foot of the castle hill in which a warren of lanes, passages and arcaded houses invite you to wander aimlessly and admire the canal-side railings overflowing with geraniums and petunias (the benefit of an early spring). The Canal du Thiou flows from the lake through the town and the trickling water puts you at ease as you stroll… oh yes, the race…focus on the race!

Picking up our packages we noticed that we were the only Canadians, as a matter of fact, the only North Americans… the only folks not from the European continent! Good thing our plan was to run in our CANADA shirts as we are sure to raise some attention. After handing in our ‘medical certificates’ that stated we were physically fit and thus qualified to run the marathon, we were handed our official race number and it was now time to get serious-there were only a few minutes left before the shops closed and they were NOT open on Sundays!

During the shopping frenzy (so many shoe shops and so little time and who can’t come home without a pair of French shoes!!!) we found a suitable pre-race restaurant and settled in amongst the flurry of other racers, also forgoing the usual 10pm dinner hour, and all recognizable in their matching jackets stating “_____ Athletic Club”. We were sorry not to be wearing our NSA vests but saved those for the morning parade of athletes to the start line.

With a solid night’s sleep under our belt (how fantastic is a 8:30 gun and staying less that 10 min. from the start line) we sashay to the lake in our bright pink and black NSA vests looking mighty fine, and, of course, giggling all the way. Once dropping off our gear bags, it was straight to the porty potty line up which was incredibly short considering there were only 8 toilets for 3,000 racers, guess it is legal to pee on the gorgeous grounds of Lac d’Annecy!

Finding the way to our coveted back of the que race start was a simple 20 step jaunt from the loo- we are loving this! No sooner in our 4:30 spot and an announcement comes on and movement begins. It takes us a mere 2 ½ minutes to hit the start line and we are off. I hit my start key on my Heart Rate watch and begin my journey to my first ever HR monitored marathon. Wait, my HR reads 89! As we pass the 1km mark it still reads 89! I hit RESET, nothing!! I am sure punching all the buttons will make it work but, at 5 km with no change I switch to my stopwatch and settle into plan B. Not exactly sure what that is but I am sure something will come to me, at least I won’t have to focus on mile pacing as there are only KM markers and we all know math is not my forte.

I am running comfortably with Betty (Hilary and Patsy are slightly behind us) and we can’t stop talking about how gorgeous this route is, with the shimmering blue lake to our left, the Alps in our distant view and the charming countryside surrounding the bike path that meanders the 20 km out to the turn-around point, we are in awe! The sun is shining, there is room to move –and we are definitely moving forward through the runners easily putting both the 4:30 and the 4:15 bunny in our distance. Betty is downright giddy, waving and sharing “Bonjour” with each and every spectator who has lined the path to wish us good luck and in their gorgeous French accent they cheer “Allez E-liz-a-bet, Allez”. Just how cute is that!

The CANADA shirts are a huge hit as “Allez Canada” rejoices in our ears. We pass through a meadow and there appears a crowd and we hear “Can-a-da, Can-a-da, Can-a-da” –got to love the French support. As we continue to chat along the way and are often asked where in Canada we are from-Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton??? Strangely enough it is never Vancouver?? Oh, but the love of our beautiful city, still reeling in its full Olympic glory, shines through when we mention our city!

Just when you think things couldn’t get more scenic we approach an aging Cathedral just in time to hear the tolling of the bells- just for us? Mais non. Betty politely informs me it would be the call to Sunday mass! Sure enough, 10 minutes to 10 and the town folk are filing in. I look down and check my watch, and with a little math I figure we have been holding 28 min 5kms and are feeling strong. We enter the tunnel still listening to the joyous sound of the bells and we are floating.

Shortly after we see the motorbike escorting the lead runner and the excitement sends us up a gear. Our next 5km is under 27 min, Betty is still bopping around “bonjouring’ spectators and my thought is that I can’t maintain this pace for another 22km! We hit the half way mark and see that we are at 2:05- I feel good about that time and just love knowing we are heading back, still so much to see from a completely different angle.

Away from the lake, the heat intensifies and we are reminded to take another thermolyte tablet. We check our fuel and focus on putting back a few more calories. Perhaps too much sightseeing has distracted us from the task at hand…we are running a marathon! Hard to believe actually as nothing has forced me to think about that. Haven’t had the plethora of questions on why I do this, why I don’t just stick to training as racing is less than pleasant, causes anxiety, and doesn’t usually turn out the way you hope. Funny thing, with none of those “stinkin’ thinkin’” thoughts in my head I haven’t really noticed that I am racing, just meandering along this amazingly picturesque route, soaking up the sights and the energy of my run companion-so much more enjoyable to run with a buddy, definitely need to file that into the must dos for a marathon!

Heading back I am LOVIN’ running, I am in the groove, the zone, looking forward to seeing what I can do for the second half, wanting to put all those tough mile repeats and Yassos into effect. I notice Betty is no longer beside me and discover she is feeling the effects of the heat and is wavering. She encourages me to go, I stay. She implores me to go, and I take heed.

Running solo back through the tunnel I recognize how cool it is in contrast to the beating sun and pop another Thermolyte and finish my third bottle of fuel. I need to remain conscious of the heat zapping my energy and will take water at each aid station but am reluctant to try the electrolyte drink or the sugar cubes up for grabs.

10km to go time to get serious. I put in my iPod and am ready to ramp to up! I burst out laughing as on comes Alvin & the Chipmunks “Under my Umbrella”! Oops, guess I brought Kallym’s iPod. Who knows, perhaps the likes of Hannah Montana can rock my world and help me stay in front of the 4:15 bunny. If not, I will cross the finish line thinking of my little girl back at home suffering from the Chicken Pox while her mom gallivants across France!

Even with ‘American Boy’ pumping me up, I can hear “Can-a-da, Can-a-da, Can-a-da” and wave to our endearing fans! I’ve only got 7km to go and I am still feeling strong but the sun is getting stronger, thankfully I wore my visor and the sun is behind me. I have finished all my fuel and am taking water at every stop, slightly concerned that I have yet to pee (this would be a first not to have stopped for a loo break).

With 5 km remaining we are back on the lake and it is brimming with sailboats in a rainbow of colours! When you google Annecy that is one of the visions you see and here I am finishing off my marathon with that sight! The crowds are getting thicker as we are close to the quaint city and the throngs are cheering ‘allez, allez’. Watch a clip of Tour de France and you know what I heard. It spurs me on as we weave along the lake front and onto the final kilometer, which seems to take forever, as I am no longer feeling the same speed as earlier but am hopefully fast enough to keep that 4:15 bunny at bay. I don’t dare to look back to see how close it is but just focus on the finish line.

Through the gates I wind and into the finish chute, hands raised high I pass over the timing mat, the final beeps, and I am done. Marathon # 7 is complete. Time 4:07, my best marathon since ’03 and I am stoked as it was the easiest, most enjoyable and esthetic.

I grab the camera out of my gear bag and await the arrival of my running babes. Standing there watching Betty, Hilary and Patsy come through the finish line, each proud of their accomplishment, each having had to ‘dig deep’ out there to get to that coveted line, it makes me so grateful that I choose to race and not just train, as what can be more rewarding than the satisfaction of finishing. The fact that I had a good race, had the day when it all came together is fantastic, but nothing compares to having the opportunity to share that with your buds!

Laura Jones

Clinic Members