Ottawa Marathon Recap
May 30th, 2011I woke at five on Sunday, hopped out of bed the second the alarm went off – not a regular occurrance for this gal, but it was Race Day! The best kind of day!
Fast forward to six-thirty five, and I’m ready to go with jittery legs at the start line. The crowds were amassing, the energy rising. Four thousand marathoners – it was a sight to behold.
We all herded into our corrals like the primal beasts we are. I was quite a bit back from the starting line, so it wasn’t until I crossed (three minutes after the gun) that I realized how many people were cheering. A quick wave to my husband and we were off.
The heavy crowds created extra heat to the muggy day (err, muggy for my cool-spring-Nova Scotia self) and I heated up a little too quickly.
5k, I was still warming up.
10k I crossed the pad at 56 minutes (hello first personal best of the day!)
21.1k I crossed at 2:04 (second PB)
At 25k my knee started to twinge which was weird. It flared up off and on for the rest of the day. It slowed me down though and the 4:15 pace bunny passed me which was a little disheartening. That’s alright, I’ll take it easy for the next 5k and catch him after 30k I thought to myself.
By 30k I was hurting and seriously doubting myself. I was rehashing my training – I tapered too much, I didn’t taper enough, I should have stretched my IT band more, I should have run faster in my training runs… you name it. At about 32k the 4:30 pace bunny passed me and I became really disheartened. I realized there was no way I’d make finish in 4:15 so I revamped my goal to 4:30. I figured I’d stick with the bunny for the last 10k and that would be that. Except I couldn’t keep up.
Enter “The Dark Place.” A place I remembered in theory alone. A horrible, mentally challenging place that I would wish on no person – or rather, only those crazy enough to put them through things like this. I fought a really hard mental battle with myself as I lost sight of the 4:30 bunny. I choked up. Not only was I not going to make my goal, I was going to miss it by a long shot. My hips and legs and knees and shins hurt.
There were a few points in the last 10k that were really amazing, like the Team Diabetes water station that cheered so loudly for me. Or the band that started playing “Eye of the Tiger” and got me through the next kilometre. Or that sign that someone placed along the road that simply said “Believe”. The fans… you guys… you were amazing. If you were out there cheering on Sunday, thank you. If you manned a water station or handed out gels or helped in any way… Thank you.
The last 10k was really, really hard and I seriously doubted my ability to make it to the finish. At one point, I stopped at put my hands on my knees for a few seconds. I knew that there wasn’t a choice, so I stood up and started running. And there was this couple who had been watching me. When I started running again they hollered and jumped and waved their hands in the air cheering for me. Strangers. Who does that? It was amazing. In the last 2k people started cheering for me by name (courtesy of my bib) and it made such a big difference.
I saw the sign that said 750m to finish (FINALLY) and I found some more energy. I saw the sign that said 500m to finish and I found a little more. 400m then 300m then 200m and I heard my husband cheering for me and looked over and saw my family. And then I saw the clock: 4:29:51 and I my heart leapt and I ran as fast as I possibly could and crossed the line at 4:30:01 with a chip time of 4:27.
Then, I sat on the curb and cried because Holy Crap. The Red Cross woman was at my side immediately and even when I waved her away she stayed close. I pulled myself together and she asked if there was anything she could get me and I told her I would like a drive home.
I wandered to where they were giving out (awesome!) medals and I wandered into the Recovery Area and I wandered out and finally found my husband and kids and parents and brother.
It took a while for the disappointment of not getting 4:15 to ease up, but after a stretch, a nap, some Advil and some time in the hot tub I was feeling well enough to go out to dinner and have my long-awaited for G&T. I called my older brother, who hadn’t been able to make it, and let my best friend (the one I chose Team D for) know how I did and then I fell asleep very soundly.
We made it home to Halifax early this morning and by the time the girls and I unpacked I was downright pleased with myself.
I got my butt handed to me on Sunday, but at least I’ve got a medal to prove it.













May 30th, 2011 at 8:40 pm
you rock!!!!!!!
May 31st, 2011 at 7:58 am
Congratulations, Kaitlyn!! I know that dark place very VERY well – and what’s important is what you do when you get there – and you did everything right.
I am soooo proud of you
May 31st, 2011 at 8:39 am
I know I’ve said it a lot already, but I’m incredibly proud of you.
May 31st, 2011 at 1:53 pm
[...] Go read my marathon recap at See Mommy Run! [...]
June 2nd, 2011 at 12:25 pm
Contrats you did awesome! Those last 10k’s are the hardest, we’ve all been there that’s for sure! WTG!