Well, the last month has been nothing if not eventful.
After getting home from our Oregon trip (and the boys' cross the US road trip adventure) it became apparent something wasn't quite right with Michael. He was getting more and more lethargic and drinking an unbelievable amount of water. A quick check with Grandma's glucometer showed blood glucose levels that were way too high. Off we went to Children's Hospital and since then we have been learning to live with a diagnosis of type 1 diagnosis. Can't say enough about the wonderful doctors, nurses, dieticians, nurse educators, residents, and others at Children's.
Needless to say training has changed a little, Dave is continuing with his goal of the Victoria Marathon, I have adjusted my October goal to a more realistic half and we are now splitting up our weekend running. I'm doing the North Shore trails on Saturday's (love those trails) and Dave is running with the clinic group on Sunday's. I'm sure it won't be long before we are back to both running on Sunday's but for now it is easier on all for one of us to be home.
The Delta Half on August 10th was my designated half for the month, in the week prior I checked the website for a reminder of where and when package pick-up was and saw a note about there being less than 200 registered runners. This struck fear in my heart, with so few runners, and not quite the training I had hoped for, this could be the race where I could come in........insert shudder here......last! So it was with trepidation that I headed out Sunday morning for a 7:30 am start. Now there are a few really good things about such a small race: there is no line up for the washrooms, and you get to use real washrooms not port-a-potties, you get to park at the start line (I literally drove over the start line to get into the rec centre parking lot), you get to wait in your warm car until just before the start (it is still chilly at 7:00'ish am).
The Delta half winds it's way from the Ladner recreation centre through the suburbs of scenic Ladner, past a little nine-hole executive golf course, along River Road and into the farmland of Ladner/South Delta, before returning to suburbia again and finishing up back at the rec centre. The good things about this course: no hills, it was well marked, the volunteers were numerous and supportive, the water stations were well spaced, well supplied and well staffed primarily with families. The not so great things about this course: no hills (I know who would ever have thought I'd say this was a negative, but all flat all the time can get a bit monotonous), it's not the most scenic of courses, and once into the farm land the roads are very crowned you had to run down the yellow line to find a relatively level part of the road and then dodge the occasional vehicle as the roads were not closed.
The end result: a time of 2:21:50 and not last! I am actually very happy with my time and how I felt during the race. The finish line featured a pancake breakfast put on by the local rotary club, and a good number of draw prizes including a grand prize of a bike donated by one of the sponsors, South Shore Cycles. (Sad to say no prizes came my way).
Would I do this race again, probably not, but if you are looking for a half marathon to run in August, there aren't many out there and the organization and volunteer support was certainly there for this one.
Next up - Bellingham at the end of September, this one will serve as a stress reliever as I will be in the middle of my comprehensive exams that weekend :)
Thanks for reading :)
