A Year of Running: The Road to Victoria

September 2026 — a work in progress, I will finish it after the race.

With my half marathon in Victoria about a month away, it’s fun to look back at where I started.

Last summer, I was staying fit, working out and running about 20–30 km a month. In September, I decided to give running more attention.

I remember one of my first 10 km loops around Burnaby Lake while Danny practised. My legs were pretty beat up by the end.

Now, 10 km feels… mostly comfortable :)

That change happened over more than a year of fitting runs around family life, work and other activities. Looking back through my notes, I see good sessions, missed targets, sore knees and plenty of reminders to slow down.

Getting Consistent

In September, I ran 90 km. October was 87 km and November was about 100 km, with the longest runs generally around 10–12 km.

I was still working out and playing hockey during the fall. Around the middle of November, running and strength work became more of a focus.

My notes from October capture something I kept noticing: my heart and lungs felt capable, but my legs were the limiting factor. I could manage a faster pace for a short stretch. Building the tolerance to keep going took longer.

A knee setback towards the end of November slowed things down. December became a month of shorter, easier runs, some running drills and strength work. I reached about 110 km, but the focus was on getting consistent again before returning to faster running.

Building Through the Winter and Spring

January brought 123 km, February 105 km and March 140 km. The long runs gradually stretched out too.

In early January, I noted a 12 km run at around 5:10/km where my legs felt pretty good. By February, my longest run was 16 km.

There were different goals along the way: a half marathon on my own, the Sun Run, running with the kids and eventually Victoria.

The early plan for a March half marathon was around 1:50. My goals shifted as the training developed.

By late February and early March, I was adding strides and tempo running. The intervals started coming together: kilometre repeats around 4:15/km, then closer to 4:08/km, and eventually some at four-minute pace.

In May, I also managed two-kilometre repeats at around 4:00/km. A 20-minute 5 km was another milestone.

One March note says, “Runs are feeling much better.”

Another says, “Speed is coming.”

Those little comments are satisfying to read now.

Working Around the Setbacks

The year wasn’t a straight line.

Knee symptoms came and went, and April brought foot trouble, followed by a sore ankle in early May. Some sessions went well; others needed adjusting.

In March, I stopped an interval session before the final repeat because my knee was tiring.

My notes are full of questions:

How does it feel today?

Can I go a little longer?

Should I keep the pace easier?

Sometimes a run felt better than expected; other times I needed to back off.

Strength work stayed in the plan, including calf raises, leg presses, single-leg extensions, deadlift variations and upper-body work. I also used running drills and some jumping exercises, adjusting them when they irritated my knee.

That’s a description of my own experience, rather than a rule about running through pain. The decisions depended on what I was feeling and how things were changing.

A June Benchmark

On June 27, I ran 21.11 km around Vancouver in 1:34:09 of workout time, or 1:34:37 elapsed, with 167 metres of climbing.

It was a hard effort — I recorded it as 9/10 — but it gave me a clear benchmark over the full distance.

The plan in my notes had been a June half marathon around 1:40.

Running faster than that gave me something new to work towards:

Could I get under 1:30 in Victoria?

I ran the Scotiabank Half Marathon 16 years ago in under 1:30, so hitting that target again would feel good. Especially given the focus I’ve placed on running while sacrificing other sports I enjoy.

Either way, I think I’ll be satisfied with the effort.

Where I Am Now

By late August, I could run 18.35 km in about 89 minutes, with 182 metres of climbing, and still feel good in the final kilometres.

More recently, I’ve put together five kilometres at a steady 4:15–4:16/km, and another five-kilometre stretch averaging about 4:07/km.

A 90-minute half marathon means averaging roughly 4:16/km.

I’ve run that pace for shorter stretches and covered the full distance.

Race day will tell me whether I can put those pieces together.

Whatever happens in Victoria, I’m glad I kept these notes. It’s easy to focus on the next time or distance and forget where you started.

That first tiring loop around Burnaby Lake is a useful reminder.

A distance that once left my legs feeling beaten up has become a familiar run, and the goals have grown along with it.

After Victoria

Coming soon

The Next Goal

There’s another goal on the calendar after Victoria: HYROX with my brother on December 17.

Something new to work towards together.