We are very proud of our Facility Manager and Personal Trainer, Janina, who ran her second half marathon at the ScotiaBank Vancouver Marathon on June 23rd! Read on to learn a bit more about her thoughts and advice on running her first two half marathons!
“I have always wanted to run a half marathon at some point. And while I put this on the side for a while when living in China (the air quality does not make you want to go for lots of runs), this year I finally decided to give it a try. I signed up for the BMO Half Marathon on May 5th 2019. Leading up to the run, I still had my main focus on my strength training routine. But committing to something by signing up is a great way to get yourself motivated! So I included some more runs, and while it was hard in the beginning, I slowly started to enjoy it. Running outside is a really great way to get fresh air and (hopefully) some sun as well. And then the day was finally there, and I discovered how much fun it was!”
“With the right music and a slow but consistent speed, running along with so many people and all the cheering from the sides made for an amazing atmosphere. And running on streets that are usually only for cars made for a completely different experience of this beautiful city than usual. It actually got me so motivated that I signed up for the Scotiabank Half Marathon on 23 June right away. With a route that starts at UBC and follows the seawall for the whole way until Stanley Park; how can this not turn out to be good? The whole experience showed me that I am capable of running a fairly long distance and how fun it can be to get out of your comfort zone sometimes! “
Marathon Running Take-Aways
Some of the take-aways from this experience:
- Wear a running belt for items like your phone for music and tissues is helpful
- Wear a long-sleeve shirt for the beginning of the race and leave it on the sides once you get warm, usually it will get collected for donations to charity
- Don’t start out too fast and don’t worry when people start outpacing you at the start, with a consistent speed you will pass them again later 😉
- Fuel yourself the day before the race and have a good breakfast with easily digestible carbs a few hours before the race – this helps to make you feel energized
- Wear well-fitting socks to avoid blisters
- Put clothes to change and your favourite drink/snack into the check-in race bag
- Expect to get lots of free snacks at the end of the race
- Have fun and enjoy the experience 🙂
#scotiahalf #bmomarathon
