Scotiabank Half Marathon Recap

Welcome to Spandex City!

 Running races are the best place to see people in spandex, whether you want to or not. Oh, and short shorts. Short spandex shorts, to be exact. Anyway, compared to the BMO Half Marathon, the Scotiabank half seemed a lot smaller. The corrals were less crowded, and there wasn't a lot of congestion at the beginning of the race. You also didn't have to fight through people elbows first (although I like to think I'm more of a dodge & weaving kinda gal, sometimes), which was nice!

 

To be honest, this felt pretty hard. Of course, looking back I realize things I could've done differently (like approaching the massive hills with an I'm-going-to-kick-your-ass-attitude rather then, Eff my life).

Pros:

- Not crowded
- The majority of the first 10km was flat, followed by a big downhill
- Great scenery! We started at UBC, down to Spanish Banks, Point Grey, over the Burrard St. bridge (ugh), and ended in Stanley Park.
- All the volunteers were super nice
- They provided lots of Gatorade on the course which I personally really liked. The first time I ran through an aid station, I took a sip of Gatorade and it was like I floated into sugary heaven... Or something. Anyway, it was a nice perk. Also the gel station was nice too!

Cons:
- I hate hills (or rather, I need to hill train so then I don't feel this way)
- Hills, I dislike you
- I'm not a huge fan of hills
- I'm a wimp when it comes to hills
- Hills really drag ya down when you don't train on them often

...Can you tell I love hills? I felt like if I had put more effort into training for this race I would've done a lot better. It wasn't a PR, two minutes off my first half marathon time, but I still finished under 2 hours. I told myself to be happy with 2 hours, but let's be realistic here. I've got some competition with myself and running times, so I couldn't settle for an even 2.

Bonus: Tons of bananas after the finish line. I'm bananas for bananas.

 This may or may not have been taken on the floor of Chapters. I seem to always end up here after a half marathon (you know, cause I've done so many. I sound like a snot, LOL).

I found two more half marathons I'd like to register, but I will probably need to get a job sometime soon to be able to afford all these races. Sometimes I wonder why I do what I do - like inflict pain on myself via not training for hills & then paying for it with sore as eff quads - but then I stop wondering because, really. Running kicks ass and it's great and fun and gives you endorphins and endorphins make you happy "and happy people just don't shoot their husbands." Wise words, Elle Woods (Legally Blonde reference.. Hope you caught that one). You're welcome, future husband.

Another one in the books! Now I'm off to whine (wine? Oooh, maybe) about how sore I am. Byeee!