Elusive sub 2:00

First off, let's just get this straight: It was Tim who COPIED my "Elusive Sub 2:00" title on his blog, and NOT the other way around. They say copying is the sincerest form of flattery, so I'm just glad that despite his lack of imagination, my husband finds me such a great inspiration in his life.

A few months ago I signed myself up to run the Victoria Marathon in October. In a risky move, I also paid an extra 60 bucks to sign Diesel up for the half. He was notified that he was running once I forwarded him his registration confirmation. He took it pretty well and was even excited about it. During training, I hurt my knee and decided it would be cool to run Diesel's first half with him. It was disappointing, but on the upside, marathons are very painful.

On October 11, after his 1-week work trip to London, we headed over to the Victoria Clipper pier with our contingent of fans (which was actually only my sister) at 7am to catch the ferry to Victoria, Canada. With the race, Canadian Thanksgiving and a US ship arriving in Canada, we were glad that we decided to take the ferry to Canadia instead of having to wait hours at the border.

The trip was pleasant, and we got to chat with another couple who was running. We arrived safely at our hotel and immediately decided to take a nap. It was then time for a first session of carbo loading, and we took the advice of the foodie community board on chowhound and went Paggliacci's. We were told that it was a laid back, family style and reasonably-priced Italian restaurant, all of which were true. We were also told that the food was awesome, which it unfortunately wasn't. But oh wells. After sauntering for a while, it was suddenly time for dinner, and we ended up at Cafe Brio, which my friend Megan from work had recommended. We got the small plates and the food was awesome!

The next morning my sister sent us off and the race started. The weather was perfect for running (unlike Chicago!) and the course was the prettiest I've ever seen, through parks and on the water. The interesting thing about this race is the many loops you do, where you get to see the elite runners who are way ahead of you. I also decided that the loops make it very easy for people to cheat (you can just skip the loop and go the other direction), so a good tip for all those shady runners who want to qualify for Boston (HA!).

Tim took off and I ran an easy half. It was very pleasant and when the sun finally came out, it was just so nice to be running out there. It is definitely one of the most beautiful (if not THE most) race I've ever done.

Tim crossed the finished line first, and I was about a minute behind him (to read his account of the race with MY title, click here). I suppose I should hate him because this was his first half, but I guess he's my husband, so I won't hate him.

Sadly, both of us missed our 2:00:00 finish goal. After running a 2:00:08 in Vancouver and a 2:00:16 in Bellevue, I have to say the 2:02:31 time was a bit disappointing. Well, maybe next season...

Anyhow, the trip back was tiring and uneventful. The Clipper was filled with your typical race casualties: many limping, several who couldn't stand up, more even that chose to sit on the main deck, daunted by going up the stairs, and your usual line up of stretchers along the walls.