Victoria on 42K

That would be Victoria on 42 kilometers! Forty-two kilometers as in 26 miles-26 miles as in a marathon-26.2 to be exact-and this past Sunday I got to experience one of Canada's finest cities by running 26.2 miles through it! What a race! I completed the 42 kilometer course in 3 hours 50 minutes and 44 seconds. It was my 10th marathon, and except for the disaster that I ran in June (Seattle Rock n Roll) I have run them all under 4 hours! I am happy (and a tad bit tight right now) and Victoria proved that I (to quote Austin Powers here) "got my mojo back!" The weather was perfect-about 50F , sunny, and no breeze. The course? C'est magnifique! Victoria is such a beautiful city and much of the course was along the shore granting views to the Olympic Mountains. I was a bit worried that I was going to have a rough run because I have been training very little for this race-in fact-I have done no longer than 8 mile runs since June. However, the long distance hiking proved to be quite advantageous to my marathon training. I did more 20-plus mile day hikes this summer than ever before. And I have found that spending 8-10 hours on my feet with a 20-35 pound pack climbing 4,ooo to 6,ooo feet of elevation made running a fairly flat course with no weight on my pack-well a breeze! I felt good after my run-and spent the next day walking around the pretty grounds at Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Park. So, all you hardcore hikers out there-consider some of that hiking good training for marathoning. I know a lot of my fellow hikers are also runners and they will conclude with me that running and hiking are compatible. The hiking makes my running easier and the running keeps me in shape for hiking! And both of these pursuits allow me to eat with impunity (well, not entirely true). Well, at least on a marathon weekend I can get away with four trips to Tim Horton's! But, I better start training for my 11th marathon or the next doughnut I see may be very well be on my midsection!