The 2023 edition of the Oak Bay half marathon and 10k took place on Sunday, May 28. I ended up doing the 10k and I’m glad that I didn’t do the half marathon based on where I’m at with my training and recovery. This was a fairly busy weekend for me because there was a lot of work to be done around the house.
The day before the event, I decided to do some work in the yard. I had to dig almost all day and was pretty sore and tired by the end of the day. I’m honestly not used to doing yard work for that long so that’s why I got sore. Digging and raking can take a lot out of you, especially if you do it on a warmer day and don’t do it very often.
I was also drinking some alcoholic beverages throughout the day. Then, after I finished digging in the yard, I had four slices of Mad Greeks Pizza, which is always delicious.
Undoubtedly, I didn’t drink enough water.
On race morning, I woke up with stiff muscles and a slightly sore stomach. That’s when I decided that I would run the 10k with no expectations. However, I still thought that I could get under 50 minutes.
I wore my IMPACT Magazine singlet over top of a sports bra, Saucony Ride running shoes, as well as Dream Nation Apparel shorts and socks.
I carpooled with my friend. When we got to the event, we had to park a bit far from the start line because the early starters were already on the course when we got there.
It took us a while to get to the start line.
At the start line, I got to chat with a few of my running friends before it was time to get going.
I started at a fairly decent pace, around 4:30 per km. Unfortunately, I had to slow down quite a bit when I got to the bigger hill just before the turnaround. The hill was definitely a challenge. The rest of the time, I was able to run fairly relaxed for the most part.
Somewhere along the route of the Oak Bay 10k and half marathon. Photo by Joseph Camilleri aka Crazy Legs.
Then, after the turnaround, I was able to pick up the pace a little bit. After that, I slowed down a bit again on km 9.
However, when I took the last turn, I could see and hear the finish line. I was able to pick it up for the last 400m.
I ended up crossing the finish line in 49:11 (chip time). It was good enough for 4/52 in my age group, 25/342 women, and 70th/540 overall (top 15% finisher).
What the Oak Bay 10k, and half marathon medal looks like this year.
Overall, the Oak Bay 10k and half marathon were well organized. The weather was great and the post-race snacks were fabulous.
If you ran this year’s Oak Bay 10k or half marathon, Joseph Camilleri took some wonderful photos and posted them here. You can also check out the full results for this year’s race on Startline Timing.
Next up is the Banff Half Marathon for me on June 18. 🙂
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