We did it! We finished our first race since starting our marathon training in March and it feels amazing! I say “we” because although I have been talking a lot about my personal training experience on this blog, the reality is that my journey is just a small part of something much larger. The team of runners and coaches who are part of the University of Calgary Marathon Training Program are an amazing group of people, without whom I wouldn’t be where I am now. I certainly felt all of their support on Saturday, when many of us participated in the Calgary Marathon, running either the 10k race or the half marathon. I was just as excited to cheer them on and to see them finish as I was to cross the finish line myself.

Although we still have a long way to go to reach our final goals this year, whether it be a full or a half marathon, checking this first milestone off the list is definitely something to celebrate.

Here you can see the route for this year's Calgary Marathon 10k race. We got to run through the lovely communities of Inglewood and Bridgeland, not to mention got some great views of the beautiful Bow River.
Here you can see the route for this year’s Calgary Marathon 10k race. We got to run through the lovely communities of Inglewood and Bridgeland, not to mention got some great views of the beautiful Bow River.

This was my first year participating in the Calgary Marathon and I have to say I enjoyed every minute of it. Well… except for the part where I had to get up at 4:30 in the morning. Mornings and I do not get along! Also… the part when all the morning C-trains were delayed and many of us were very late getting to the Stampede grounds. Wondering if you are going to miss your start time isn’t the best way to begin a race day.

Nevertheless, once we finally arrived at the grounds and scrambled to check our belongings and meet up with our teammates, we made it to the start line just on time.

Here we are about to catch a great view of the Bow River from the course.
Here we are about to catch a great view of the Bow River from the course.

Considering how long 10 kilometres seemed just a few months ago, this 10k went by in a flash. With entertainment all along the route and spectators cheering and holding signs, there was too much to look at to have any time to focus on boring things like leg pain. As this was my first race of year I hadn’t set a goal going into it but instead focused on not going out too hard and picking a pace and holding it. At around 8km – after spending much of the race pondering how the two 10-year-olds beside me were not only running faster than me but jumping over all the pylons in the middle of the road while doing it – I realized that if I picked up the pace a little I might finish in under an hour. After a kilometre long sprint to the finish I came close, finishing with a chip time of 1:00.03. I will count that as a success.

After the race we watched as the first marathon and ultra-marathon competitors crossed the finish line, which was certainly inspiring. Congrats to all of the Calgary Marathon finishers!

From left to right: Anette, myself, Blair and Danika.

From left to right: Anette, myself, Blair and Danika.
From left to right: myself, Kristen, Abhi and Nand.
From left to right: myself, Kirsten, Abhi and Nand. We are all training for our first marathon with the UofC Marathon Training Program.

This weekend I am participating in the Banff/Jasper relay and my leg of the race is 19.6km. I have a feeling my reflections after that run will be a little different than this one. Stay tuned!

P.S. Thanks to Blair for sending me the great photo of the start line and to Kirsten for contributing the photo of runners crossing the bow river!