Bragging Rights

At a wicked, wicked race (in both the good and bad senses of the term), I broke the 2-hour barrier! Not a feat I ever intended or expected to accomplish at this race, but there you have it! I'm truly elated and damn proud of it. Can you tell from the finish photo? I considered photoshopping out my belly flapping out of my shirt, but you know, it was part of the moment!

Rocco and I, with friends D&N, travelled to Ucluelet again, this time so N and I could race in the Edge-2-Edge half-marathon. True to N's alleged good luck with race weather, we actually didn't get rained on during the race though the whole weekend was pretty wet. Optimal run conditions (overcast, cool but not cold) and good company along the majority of the race, both with N running and D and Rocco supporting, certainly contributed to my achievement of a Personal Best time. N wasn't even planning to finish the race as she had been maxing out around 13km in her long runs all year due to some ongoing knee and hip pain, but she kind of got caught up in the race fever! At kilometer 15 the route leaves the paved path along the road and enters the Wild Pacific Trail for 4km. N figured she would quit at 15km but decided to come with me on the trail portion just a little to see what it was like. Well, once you're in, you're pretty much in, and that's where the real scenery began as well. She finished the trail section having pulled back a little, then decided to tough out the remaining 2km through the town of Ucluelet. She finished with a totally respectable time only about 10 minutes after me! And this for a runner who intended to quit and get a ride to the finish line. She impressed us all! Take a look at the course route and elevation profile in the link above - hill training around Vancouver can only partly prepare a runner for this course. So fun, but so tough and very, very beautiful.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing in the private outdoor hot tub at our rental unit in Point West Cottages. Aaaahhhh, quelle luxe! We also wandered a little around Ucluelet and Tofino, dining at SoBo in Tofino, which has recently moved indoors from the original cook's trailer and picnic tables though the trailer is still in use for lunches. If you're ever in the neighbourhood, it is highly recommended.

That's the gist of it. We're back, we're hoping to have our kitty back tonight at some point if we can lure her away from Miranda's adoring care, and we're going to bed early! Back to the books for me tomorrow. I could start back at it tonight but, well... I ran a sub-2 (runner lingo I have earned the right to), so I'm treating myself by taking it a little easy until tomorrow morning. Maybe I'm still on the endorphin rush! But the race was Sunday morning?! I'm definitely still riding the high!