Victoria Marathon Race Review

Sunday, October 12, 2008 - the 29th running of the Victoria Marathon.  My 3rd running of the Victoria Marathon.  Along with the marathon, there was also a 8K and half marathon events taking place.  The marathon started promptly at 8:30.  And prompt it was, I know because I was still sitting on the porta potty.  That was a first for me.  The lineup for the porta potty just didn’t go quick enough even through the encouragement of the fellow marathoner standing in front of me as he called out to those in the porta potty to “pick up the pace”.  It didn’t matter too much, as by the time I got out, scuttled across the racers (as they were moving forward) to meet my husband on the other side and run through the starting gates, only 1 minute and 40 seconds had lapsed.  Because we were using timing chips, it was all irrelavent.

Other than the shaky start - the race day itself was beautiful.  I had heard that there were 10,000 racers out that morning.  We were treated with sunny, clear weather and phenominal views!  The race course itself winds, twists and undulates and was much more challenging than I had remembered it being in 1997.  Runners run through downtown Victoria and Beacon Hill Park before hitting the coastline and smelling the salt water and feasting their eyes on stunning water views.

Personally, my race was great.  I was pumped and in a very positive frame of mind.  After the half-way mark, I was still feeling great, so I just kept my pace up.  I passed runners who were starting to fade and I have to admit that it felt great and fuelled my fire even more.  My goal for this race was to beat my Vancouver Marathon time earlier in the year (4:24), I didn’t care how much I took off, but I knew that I had trained more for Victoria and had the distance under me.  You can only imagine how proud I felt when I came through the finish line at 4:04 - a whole 20 minutes off my Vancouver time.  Next year my Boston Marathon qualifying time is 4:05 - I now think that I can do it!

4 Day Taper to Victoria Marathon

…and counting.  What am I doing about nutrition?  One of the most important factors for me right now is not to eat too much.  I’m not running the distances I was, therefore not burning the same amount of calories.  This would be a very easy time for me to put on weight.  I certainly don’t need to carry extra pounds over 26.2 miles this weekend.

I’m going to make sure that I drink loads of water each day.  While I increase water, I will be decreasing wine (my vice).  Alcohol will affect my glycogen storage which I would like to be as full as it can be by the time next Sunday rolls around.  By the way, glycogen is what will provide you with the energy needed to go the distance.

Glycogen storage is a subject all on it’s own and can be complicated.  When we were participating in distance triathlons, we used to try suggested methods for increasing our glycogen stores, but these days, as an every day runner, we take the practical approach by increasing our carbohydrates about 3 or 4 days ahead of the race.  Again, I’m trying not to gain weight before the marathon.

Good sources of carbohydrates are potatoes, rice, grains, bread, pasta, oatmeal.  I believe the most important meal is lunch the day before the marathon.  Your body has enough time to process the carbohydrates into the much needed glycogen storage.  Dinner the night before the marathon won’t be big, spicy, high fat, high fibre or any other foods that my body may react to.  Since we will be out of town, we will probably go to a nice Italian Restaurant and indulge in pasta with a veggie/tomatoe sauce.

The morning of the marathon - my personal tried and true favorite race (or long run) breakfast - about 2 hours before the marathon, I will enjoy a bagel (hopefully toasted) and peanut butter.  A good “stick to your ribs” breakfast.

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