Ottawa Marathon Recap

I managed a new personal best on Sunday, finishing in 3 hrs 31 mins 38 secs. 
It was five minutes faster than I ran in Toronto in October, but slower than I had hoped.

Saturday
My race weekend started on Saturday afternoon with an introduction to the children from the three Ottawa and Kingston school Running & Reading clubs.

I met most of the other members of the Start2Finish national running team participating in Ottawa Race Weekend, and we had a chance for a team photo as the children completed their reading challenge ahead of running the 5km race.

The energy in the room was contagious! I regretted not joining the kids for their run, but I was focussed on Sunday morning...

Sunday
The sun always seems to shine on the Ottawa Marathon. After training through ice and snow (then all the rain) it felt strange to be comfortable in shorts and t-shirt at 7am.

My race plan was to start with an easy 5 km to get everything warmed up, then into race pace (4.44 mins per km) to 25-35 km, before seeing if I could manage a negative split by running a few hard km in the second half. 

The start felt relaxed and comfortable and the first 20k was smooth. I was happy that my km splits were right on target race pace.   The hills and potholes in Gatineau required a bit more effort, and I was relieved to cross the Alexandria Bridge and get back onto smoother roads. 

I was still feeling ok as I climbed to the Rockcliffe Lookout but as I passed 30km I knew I would need a quick toilet stop before the finish.  Around 33km I paused for a minute and after that it seemed impossible to get my legs back.

The last part of the race was a real battle. Despite some friendly faces cheering - including my personal cheer squad - and plenty of encouragement from total strangers, I was hurting.  A painful stitch slowed me to a walk/run and I could feel my race starting to unravel, I just couldn't seem to shake the pain in my side.

Then with perfect timing my RR group leader appeared at my side!  After preparing for this race together for the last 18 wks it was just the voice I needed to hear to get me moving again. I have no doubt that if he hadn't been there I would have been aiming for my fall-back goal to just finish the race.

With his help (and in expectation of a second high-five from my cheerleaders waiting by the National Gallery), I rallied from 35-40km but by then my tank was almost empty.  I walked through the last water station then grit my teeth to get it over with - the finish was a big relief! 

TV Interview
After catching my breath and grabbing a drink I was able to do a quick interview with Rogers TV before going to get my medal.  I think it was broadcast live and it was a great opportunity to promote Start2Finish.

The video clip is available here (in the '42K finish line' section at 43min 39sec):
http://marathon.isilive.ca/42k-finish-index.html

Post-race
About half an hour after the race I started to feel pretty ill, dizzy and nauseous. I'm not sure if it was the heat or hydration, but it was enough to send me home for a rest without being able to stay for the festivities which was disappointing.

The following day I was thinking through ways I could have improved my time, and not felt so sick afterwards - but it's easy to over analyze and lose sight of the fact that I did manage a new PB, and more importantly I've managed to raise over $800 for a worthy cause.

Having a chosen charity has really helped motivate and push me this year.  Completing the Ottawa Marathon means I'm over half way towards my target km for the year... 

• 5 month sit-rep posted seperately.