I know the burning question you have probably been dying to have answered is, did I run 42.2 kilometres or just 40.2?

I can thankfully report that the first lesson I learned while training for a marathon stuck and although tempted to wave for a bus at 40K, I did indeed grind it out right until the bitter end of the 42.2km race. Actually, according to my GPS watch I ran 42.64km and by the time I saw the finish line I was really begrudging that extra half a kilometre.

It has been more than a month since my race and it has gone by in a blur but I am FINALLY ready to break the weekend down for you. I have so much to say about the race weekend that I’ll be telling this story in three parts – before the race, the race and after the race. Here we go:

Saturday, Oct. 10 – Race Prep

In the days before the race I feel like I went through so many different emotions ranging from excitement to nervousness to confidence. Some of those emotions were fleeting (confidence), some were constant (excitement) and some bubbled up when you least expected it (nervousness). Overall, they were the good kind of feelings you get in anticipation of an event you’ve been planning for a long time.

But it wasn’t until Saturday, when I arrived at the race expo and had a brief moment when I couldn’t figure out where to pick up my race package that all of a sudden, all I felt was STRESS. The bad kind of stress that makes your chest tight and causes you to snap at loved ones when they are trying to help by giving you directions. Yes, that might have actually happened. Sorry guys.

It was like the whole experience including the training, travelling to Victoria and being a day away from the race finally caught up to me and I wasn’t ready for or expecting that. After a slightly panicky walk through the expo spent trying to calm myself down by looking at the booths, I didn’t feel much better. It didn’t help that I found out the jacket I was planning to buy was only sold as a pre-order item, which wasn’t mentioned on the website. It was such a stupid, inconsequential thing but when I was already feeling anxious, the disappointment just added to the weight that had suddenly been dropped on my shoulders. It was the only race expo of the year that I can say I didn’t enjoy, and not because there weren’t enough free PowerBar samples.

When we left the expo, we decided to grab some lunch and stumbled upon a quiet corner near the Royal B.C. Museum where a couple of food trucks were parked. Away from the crowds and all the reminders of the race I was able to stop and take a few deep breaths.

While waiting for my plate of homemade perogies I reminded myself how hard I had trained, how much work I had put in and that I was ready for this.

I made a quick decision to take all the stress I was feeling and all the anxiety that had built up at the expo and let it go. Dwelling on it just wasn’t an option. A good meal covered in bacon, onions and sour cream later and I was feeling more like myself.

For the rest of the day I did my best to take it easy. I sent my friend Catherine and boyfriend Chad to go explore the city, not wanting to hold them back because I was limiting the use of my feet, while I caught the last speaker at the race expo, Terry Fox’s brother. Listening to him talk about Terry and his Marathon of Hope really helped me to put my worry-filled morning into perspective.

At 4 p.m. we had a team meeting where we received some last minute advice from our UofC Training Program coaches including; don’t stop your watch right when you cross the finish line, use the port-a-potties as many times as you can before you start and HAVE FUN. So basically, we touched on all of the important stuff.

After the meeting I retired to my AirBnB for some quiet prep time. With my friends still out, I was able to relax, take a bath, eat an early pasta dinner and finish deciding on what I was going to wear. I packed my Stingers and PowerBars up in plastic wrap and laid all my gear out so it was ready to go. Taking that alone time to get ready wiped away all the nerves and settled me into competition mode. I was feeling the calm before the storm.

After my friends came home I recruited them to help me carry out the last part of my race prep plans. As part of my race strategy, I had planned to start the run carrying a bottle of Gatorade, since there wasn’t supposed to be any at the aid stations (although during the race I found out there actually was).

Since I wasn’t keen on holding a water bottle for the whole marathon I wanted to bring something disposable that I could ditch after I finished it but I still wanted to bring a bottle with a strap to keep it on my hand like when I train. The simple solution to that problem was to make it myself! A little duct tape experimentation later and I had a Gatorade bottle with a handle and even a gel pocket. I was so impressed with my handywork that I have to admit I was actually kind of sad to toss it away just over halfway through the race.

With my craft done, there was nothing left but sleep.