Perfect Race!

All I can say is WOW!  The route was perfect.  The weather was perfect.  The volunteers and cheering squads were all perfect.  My experience of the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon 2013 was so positive from beginning to end.  Well done to the organizers of this event. I am so thankful for the opportunity to participate in it.  What made it all even sweeter is that I beat my personal best record!  Last year, I ran my first half marathon and finished at 2:23.  This race, I was not expecting too much because my training was not as focused and to be honest, just to finish it with both legs intact was my goal.  I finished at 2:14.  Bonus ;)

After the race, my running buddies and I met at Children's Wish Foundation booth.  We raised $1405 for Children's Wish!  Thank you to all who donated to a great cause.  Thank you to my running team for being a great source of support.  Thank you to Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon & Asics for allowing me to be a Joe Runner this year.  It was an experience of a lifetime.

Scotia Half route attempted

This morning my running buddies & I took the bus to UBC to start our long run, following the Scotia Half Marathon route. I was feeling a bit nervous with running 21 km today because I haven't run for two weeks due to child care issues. I started off strong, feeling I could do this! The weather turned from cloudy to full sun, and by 10 km I was feeling a little overheated. I tried to run in the shade as much as I could. By 15 km, my right big toe was in a lot of pain every time I put my weight on it that I decided to stop running and told my buddies to keep going without me. I took this photo at 15 km, convincing myself I can still run. Unfortunately, I walked the remaining distance. I am disappointed I couldn't get myself to finish the last 6 km! Then again, I didn't want to push myself to the point of injury that I can't do the half marathon altogether. It's in two weeks!!!! I am very excited & nervous at the same time.

The end is approaching....

Two and a half more weeks to go until race day!!! Can you believe it? The past couple of months have absolutely flown by and I can't quite believe that race day is fast approaching.

Training has been going great the last couple of weeks and I feel good and strong. I'm starting to wonder about the best foods to be eating in the next couple of weeks to really increase my energy...a lot of people say carbs are great but I tend to avoid more pasta/breads as I am gluten intolerant. Any one have any alternative ideas or perhaps suggestions of other foods to incorporate into my diet?

I have also been busy with working on raising funds for the Alzheimer Society of B.C. Can you believe that one in three Canadians currently know someone who is affecting by this disease or dementia? My Mama (grandmother) has been disagnosed with this terrible disease and it is heartbreaking to see and experience first-hand. If you are moved to donate towards this cause, you can do so at the following link: http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=1741479&langPref=en-CA

Better yet, if you are doing the Scotiabank half marathon and you haven't selected a charity challenge yet, come join us- registration is still open!! You can sign up at the following link: http://www.alzheimerbc.org/Get-Involved/Scotiabank-Half-Marathon.aspx

Thank you everyone for the support. The comments and encouragement have truly made this experience better than I could have imagined. You all rock!