I had been in Orlando all week returning home Thursday night late. I slept well Thursday but had a horrible 2 nights sleep leading into the race. I pinched a nerve in my neck Saturday evening loading dirt into/out of the truck. Why I would do that the night before a race is beyond me...but I did, so I couldn't sleep as my neck hurt like heck Saturday night. It was a bit looser in the morning, but still had that tight awkward feeling. Fortunately it didn't bother me during the race, just the sleep before, so no excuses.
I had ran a semi-quick 1/2 marathon along the canal Friday at a 4:40 pace, then a 10k Saturday morning at a more controlled 4:55 in the neighborhood. I had gotten away from my schedule in Orlando, and since the Ott Marathon is not my goal race, the Vermont 100 is, I wasn't worried about doing too much before race day.
You know 5:30 wake up calls suck...I was up before the alarm lying in bed staring at the ceiling, but I still would have preferred to stay there then getup. Alas I did, had a cup of coffee, toast, and Honey Nut Cheerios...I normally don't buy them but I sold it mentally as carb loading with lots of sugar
I headed downtown at 6:10am drove a bit faster than I should have, and arrived at the coral at 6:45 for a 7am start. I met a FB friend near her 3:40 pace bunny. Since I really wasn't concerned with a goal time I was going to start with her and run a few k to warm up, but the big crowd separated us immediately so I took off ahead of her. I mentally thought between 3:20 and 3:30 was a good goal. I have never ran a marathon before, strangely 2 Ultras, but no marathons so I wasn't sure what to expect in the later kms. I have alot of long runs under my belt this year already so I was never worried about finishing, I just didn't want to finish wishing I hadn't ran it...I wanted to finish up right and happy with a good long run under my belt.
Besides the crowd shuffling along, and me trying to pass people I couldn't tell you what happened the first 10k or so. I honestly wasn't pay attention, just moving along. I had a feeling on the drive down I may experience GI issues at some point, so perhaps thats why I don't remember the first 10k+. I seen a friend in the crowd at 10k although I nearly missed him. That was cool as Mike had told me he'd be there, it's bloody early to be standing outside cheering at 7:45am, so I was thankful to see a familiar face, despite nearly missing him. That gave me a bit of a pep before the digestive tract reminded me who was in charge here.
Around the 12k mark the GI issues had become the only thought in my head, it was screaming its time for a bathroom break, and the screaming intensified. Seeing a porta potty at 14k made me think the inventor of porta potties deserves a Nobel Price in innovation, peace, and betterment of humanity...all 3 of them. That over with I came out feeling a tonne better and moving quickly to try and make up that lost time.
I hit 15k at 1:10 and was feeling great. At this point I started to pay a little attention to my surroundings. I love slapping five with the kids in the crowd so I did allot of hand slapping. I hope seeing people running and enjoying themselves helps those kids take up the activity and enjoy it for years and years.
I'm pretty sure we crossed into Quebec around the 20k mark, it's not the most attractive part of the run, but still neat to race in two provinces. I hit the 1/2 marathon mark about 1:39, 2 min slower than when I was at ATB, but ok. The day was on and off foggy depending on where you were in the course so it would be foggy for a few k then full sun for a few k so I really just kept going. That part of being in Orlando last week helped with the sun...it was warm out, but not Orlando swimming in soup warm, so I didn't really notice it that much.
I again remember very little besides running and people, I do remember hitting the 30k mark at 2:21 and thinking mmm I'm 2min behind ATB I wonder if that’s good. At the 30k mark the bit of training for an Ultra vs a Road Marathon caught up to me...I'm used to eating on my runs, not just gels and gatorade but food. The hunger pangs were just starting at 30k. I also started to notice a blister at just before 30k that was forming. I hit 35k and I was now starving, I would have eaten road kill if I'd found it. I was eyeing kids with ice creams thinking would they be upset if I just grabbed it and ran on eating. I stopped fully at the 35k aid station and drank 4-5 glasses of water just to fill the rumbling void. It helped a little bit. From 35k to the finish I probably remember the best, I was very very hungry still, but the crowds seemed to grow exponentially during this period. I began looking around thinking wow this is amazing, it felt like the entire city of Ottawa was out cheering. Simply spectacular!!! Ottawa may be the city that fun forgot, but on race day it all comes to the surface.
At 39k I felt a pop and ooozing in my right shoe, and said to myself, “self I think I just lost a toe nail”. It was like peeling a bandage it hurt like heck for a min, and then just faded away. Turns out it was just a big old blister on the tip of a toe that formed and busted, toe nail intact. Damn it…how can I be an Ultra runner and have never lost a toe nail. Thought I had it this time.
I slowed again at the 40k aid station and drank a few more glasses of water to stop the grumbling, and took off. I was getting tired at this point, and the sun was full on. Nothing extreme, but when your hot/hungry and now tired I was happy to make the turn onto the canal for the final stretch. Some home owner had a hose out spraying runners passing...what a fantastic thing to do. It felt wonderful and was a great pick-me-up for the last 1+km. My pace had slowed to a 5:05 the previous few km's not counting the stop to drink, but that water spray helped me pick back up to a 4:40 for the final km.
I crossed the finish line, grabbed a few glasses of water, nearly shoved my way through the metal line to get to the food and ate as much as I could grab. 10min later I felt great and could have ran more. I hadn't even thought to check the clock when I crossed the line I wanted a bananna and bagel
I finished in 3:25:31 which I'm happy with, but know I can do better. I carried no water, just relied on the aid stations, except for a 250ml bottle I carried to get past the first few aid station crowds. I had 3 gels I took at 10, 20, 30k, and an S-Cap! at the 2hr mark. I tried out new gear on the run, a pair of NIKE Frees I
picked up in Orlando on Thursday before the race, new socks, shorts and new Gels, geez even new sun glasses. It breaks the cardinal rule of nothing new on race day, but I don't care for that rule anyway so I choose to ignore it. I'm sure that helped with the blister, but too late now to care, and really it didn't even cause me to break stride, the blister took my thoughts away from my grumbling belly so maybe it was a good thing.
After eating I ran down Elgin to the car and drove home. A beer, swim and some real food made for a good day. Today I had a 20k on the schedule but coach called and said don't run, or if you do only do 10k, so 10k completed at lunch. Legs are a bit sore, mostly in the quads, but I can pretty much push through most things now.
I'm not sure I'll run Ottawa again anytime soon, more because it interrupts the Ultra training cycle. That said I'll be back some year as the race is just too well organized, and it’s pretty close to home. Funny years past I hated running the 1/2 marathon due to the crowds, the marathon just seemed better. I'd like to actually train for a marathon as a goal race then try again. I think I could break 3hrs with focused training.
Over all I enjoyed that, but do look forward to getting back into the trails in prep for Vermont. It makes me so nervous to think I'd have to do 3
more of those to finish the 100, but at least I'll have food.
