Hypothermic Half-Marathon

The Running Room Hypothermic Half-Marathon was on Saturday 04 March. The Ottawa event takes place a lot later than many other locations, which can potentially mean mild conditions, but not this year.

The sky was clear and the temperature was down to -20c, with wind chill making it feel more like -30c. 
 
It was freezing. Even with a short wait at the start line the cold sliced through layers of clothing.

On the first stretch the headwind cut like razors. My toes went numb and I was forced to keep my face covered, which caused my sunglasses to mist (and then freeze) so I ran without them.  After 2km the ice on my eyelashes and eyebrows was making it hard to see, but thankfully after the turn-around point the conditions were completely different.

The course is a closed road behind the Marshes golf course in Kanata.  It's a straight-ish 2.5km 'out & back' so each loop is 5km.  The second half of the loop felt great.  Facing the sun, runners were peeling off gloves and scarves and feeling much better, but you knew what was waiting for you when it was time to turn again.

Freeze. Thaw. Repeat. After four laps the course had a final 500m out & back, then a 100m run to the finish.  Some runners missed the last segment and ran straight for the line after 4 loops (many saying after that they only had 19 or 20km on their watch at the end).

My goal was 3:20 marathon pace (4 mins 44 secs per km), and I finished on target at 1 hour 40.

The pace felt good but with the conditions it's hard to tell how comfortable it would be for a longer run.

At the end of March I'll have a chance to test myself for 30km at the Around the Bay race in Hamilton.  Hopefully it will be much milder by then!

Click here to help me raise $2,017: https://www.gifttool.com/athon/MyFundraisingPage

Winterman

The 2017 Winterman took place on 19 February.

It was my first time participating at this event, and after the severe winter in 2016 I was expecting the weather to be a real challenge, but for 2017 it could have been called Springman!

The wind picked up as the start gun went off and the headwind along the course was cold at times, but overall the temperature climbed to an unseasonably warm +5c by 10:00 am.

On the previous Sunday I had slipped on a training run, bruising my foot and ankle but was feeling good on the start line, and was keen to take advantage of the good conditions. 

I started a bit faster than planned, but managed to maintain the pace over the rolling out-and-back course, and was thrilled to finish with a new personal best of 1 hour 32.
 

 

An added bonus was being able to visually represent Start2Finish after a member of the organisation was able to bring a shirt to Ottawa that weekend. 

The shirt came with a handwritten card from charity founder Brian Warren, and I was proud to run the course knowing that I've already raised over $100. 

You can help me reach $2,017 here:
https://www.gifttool.com/athon/MyFundraisingPage?ID=1466&AID=1695&PID=602510&Preview=Y


  






  

Running for a reason

I have set myself a target to run 2017 kilometers this year, and I have joined the Start2Finish team to help make a difference in the lives of the 1 million Canadian children who live in poverty.

This blog will be used to provide status updates regarding kilometres covered (based on Strava data), event registrations and results, and fundraising efforts.

My personal fundraising page is here: https://www.gifttool.com/athon/MyFundraisingPage?ID=1466&AID=1695&PID=602510&Preview=Y 

Every event I participate in this year will be an opportunity to raise awareness and funds that will empower the next generation.
Every training run will be dedicated to making a difference in the community.  



http://www.start2finishonline.org/about-us/