1:30:21

I ran the Scotiabank Vancouver half marathon today and it was my second fastest time over the distance, and fastest in more than 18 months.

I was 2oth out of 227 in my age group and I was 109th out of about 3575 overall.


There were three gun runners in my age group - two who went 73 minutes and one who went 74 minutes!! The next fastest was seven minutes slower. So it was a relatively competitive group.

The weather was perfect. Low teens and overcast with sunny patches. The road was a bit wet in places but otherwise dry.

It was a solid result for me. I still struggle with being able to drop the hammer during the run; my former coach thinks it's all in my head. Yet I can hammer myself on the track when I need.

In the week leading to the race I ran my fastest 3k timetrial this year .. 11:07 and it hurt! [I ran 11:42 in February, 11:20 in March and 11:12 in April.]

My fitness is improving and my times are dropping which is definitely a huge positive.

Today was my third half marathon of the year, a good rebound from the BMO half marathon in early May.

I'll need to decide soon on whether to train for the Toronto marathon in late September - though I'm leaning in that direction.

Swimming away

As I climbed into the Pathfinder and headed down the street, I realized that I wasn't wearing my watch.

For a moment I considered turning back - then I thought, that's OK. I don't need to time every session in the pool.

I had a good swim: 45-50 minutes and it's far more comfortable than a month ago when I dragged myself out of the pool in Penticton at the tri camp.