Did you run? Were you lucky enough to post a PB? Leave a comment on your impression of Ottawa Race Weekend.
I had a blast. It was my first half marathon, and I ran it as if it were my first too. I had a really great weekend. The race was really just the icing on the cake. I was fortunate enough to be at the Expo with iRun speed freak, Josh (not really a freak, but anyone who can run that fast has some freak in them). We had a ton of fun collecting iRun statements and video. The following morning we packed the family up for the 2km family run. My two older boys did fantastic finishing in roughly 15minutes. Then came the media pass and video of the top 10km runners. What a treat to be behind the finish banner for the first runners coming in. I hope to post the video of Josh here in the coming days. He ran a blistering fast race, and came in 16th to boot. I won’t spoil his fun in letting you know his time. Make sure you check his blog for the details in his words. At home after all the fun, I had a simple pasta dinner and relaxed as best I could, for the race to come.
The following morning I biked down to the course and started my warm up. Getting into the coral was a nightmare. And finding the 1:45 pace bunny was not so easy either. I probably should have just lined up and raced my own race. The pace bunnie’s pace out of the gun was a little more than I should have been doing. It was shoulder to shoulder for the first couple of km. I think we were running harder to break free of the log jam. At the first water station I realized I need to practice drinking from a cup. I was really just throwing at my mouth and hoping to get some in. The same could be said for the gels. I dropped 3 in my race. So much for fueling on the run. IN the end my salvation was the sponges. GOD love the sponges. they saved me for sure. Our running group seemed pretty well on pace. We even had some time in the bank. I felt strong, but we still needed to cross the bridge back into Ottawa. At the end of the bridge I realized I was starting to hurt.
By the 14km mark I was toast. I had nothing left to give and had to let go of the pace bunny. We had a minute or two in the bank, but they were still going hard. I was hardly going. After passing people for 1:20 I was relegated to watching everyone pass me. Totally infuriating. I had made the rookie mistake of going out too hard. Oh well, at least I was still in front of the 1:50 bunny. Not for long though, by 1:40 that bunny had come right up on my heels. I now had to dig deep into some place I didn’t know existed. I could pick up the pace for about 20 sec. then back down to shuffling speed. All I could do was hope my repeated bursts were enough to stay ahead.
With 1km to go the crowds were all the endorphins I required. I must make a heartfelt huge thank you to all the amazing spectators lining the streets. And to all of you who read my bib and encouraged me by name…..I owe you huge! That is an amazing feeling. At 750m I started to sprint. I couldn’t believe it. Where did this energy come from? I crossed the line just in front of the 1:50 pace bunny. Agony and extacy at the same time. Another race in the books, and one I will not forget anytime soon. Especially now that I have a PB to beat in the next half.
Again congrats to all finishers. Leave me a post on your feelings. It might just get you some iRun swag.
And to keep it somewhat about the food. Was there something you ate after your race that rewarded you for your effort? Even if you were taken out for dinner (especially in Ottawa) let me know where and how it went. I would love to hear from you.
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Bunny breakfast at the Fox and Feather – so worth it to meet Rick Ball. Later when the appetite was properly back – chicken and ribs at the Foolish Chicken was a cost effective way to fill a big hole.
Congrats on your run!
Congrats.
I didn’t set a PB, but I set a PB for lunch. I went to The Diner in Westboro and had a 3 Egg Frittata, home fries and toast and also a breakfast poutine (homefries and cheese covered in hollandaise sauce).
Grant
I also ran my first half at Ottawa and I agree with all of your comments about the spectators and the heaven-sent sponges . I ran a comfortable 12 minutes better than my goal time of 2:30 and finished in 2:18:45. I kept waiting for it to get hard, but the people lining the streets (especially in the last 1000m) kept the “hard part” at bay and I managed to sprint to the finish. What a weekend!
Lunch was the California Chicken Club at the Wood on Wellington. What a great post-race treat.
Thanks to all in Ottawa for making my first half marathon so memorable.
This was my 2nd full, and 1st ever attempt to BQ (requiring a 26 minute PR). There’s a long description that I wrote up for myself to remember it, but the short version is that it was brutal. The 3:30 pacer (my BQ time) went out too fast, just a bit, but enough that I let him go at the 11km mark & never saw him again. Hit the halfway point with 1.5 minutes banked, and 40km mark with the bank slightly overdrawn. Crowd in the homestretch was amazing, and I made my BQ time by 23 seconds. Found out later that the 3:30 bunny finished in 4:09 – Ouch.
Really liked the full route this year, hope they keep it!
This aught to make some people cringe. Within 2 hours post 10k race:
-750ml gatorade
-Mars Bar
-1/4 bag of bits and bites
-250mL Choc Milk
-2 Large Slices Pizza
-2 Beer
Don’t worry I paid for it, my entire night was spend in and around the loo…yay me
Eric, congrats on your time and finish. I really liked my PaceBunny, but she was just a little too fast for me. I had trained at 4:55km and felt comfy there. So 4:30 or so were just too much to sustain for me.
Marissa, great going on beating your PB. The sandwich sounds like it was just the thing.
Grant, man that’s quite the meal. Don’t know if my system could have handled that.
Treena, Great job on your pace bunny duties.Foolish chicken would have been great.
Josh, well what can I say. After the performance I saw, you pretty much had the right to eat anything you wanted. As for the loo, well that was probably inevitable.
Congratulations!!! This was my first marathon and I tell you it was one of the greatest days of my life so far!!! I still cry when I think about crossing that finish line in under 6 hours(my goal):) I enjoyed every second of my run, every pain, every water station, every little boy or girl that was out on that cousre to give me a high five!!! I did miss our 4 boys that were at home with my husband though…this was the first race that they were not at the finish line to yell “Go Mom Go”(why I run) but somewhere along the course there was “Go Mom Go” sign and I pretended that it was for me;) I looked at my new tattoo(which I got in Ottawa btw!!!) and ran as hard as I could for myself and for my family at home!! And of course for the 2 suppers that I got to eat after, one at Milestones and the other at The Heart and Crown!!Our group of Newfoundlanders will be back for next year’s race weekend that I can guarentee, Ottawa rocks!!!!!