This past weekend as I ran in my third ever half marathon. I ran the Edmonton Marathon Half Marathon in Edmonton, AB. This was the second consecutive year I ran the Edmonton Marathon Half, but the first time I’ve run it alone (Ashley and I ran it together this year), she cheered me on at the start and finish line yesterday. 🙂
I finished the race with a time of 2:25:45, which sadly wasn’t as low as I was hoping for, nor was it a PB, however it was only 39 seconds behind my PB set in July 2012 at the Stampede Road Race in Calgary. While my time wasn’t was I was hoping for I was happy in the end with the time and the effort I gave, considering at KM 16 I had to make a brief yet unexpected stop along the side of the course to remove my custom orthopedic knee brace on my right knee which has had SIX operations to repair torn cartilidge, and ligaments. the outside of the brace hinge was digging into the outside of my kneecap causing immense pain and discomfort, as well the straps of the rear of the brace had rubbed so much on the back of my knee it resulted in extreme chaffing.
The combination of the chaffing and the pain from the hinge pushing on the kneecap resulted in me doing a walk/run combo at a reduced intensity and speed for the final 5 KM of the race. However despite this not major but certainly not minor hiccup I did continue to press on and complete the run discomfort, bleeding and all.
On an upside I tried my brand new Lululemon: Run Surge Shorts which I must say…. I’m in love with these shorts. There in the inner lining shorts and they’re very lightweight and sweat wicking. These are definitely the best running shorts, and the most comfortable running shorts I’ve ever run in, and… they have a sweet little side zip pocket perfect sized for energy chews, gels, or for asthmatics like myself inhalers. I was able to fit both a gel, and an inhaler in the side zip pocket. I definitely recommend these shorts for runners.
All things considered I had an amazing time running the Edmonton Marathon half marathon yesterday, and am already planning to run it for a third consecutive year next August as one of my planned two half marathons next year. For right now though I am taking a few days to rest and recover from yesterdays run and then it’s back to training and preparing for my next run on Saturday September 7th at Calgary’s “Run for Water” supporting funding clean water for Ethiopia.
Thanks for taking the time to read about my third half marathon. :
Hugs!!
-Ben-
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