It’s over….now what?!

Race day debrief. In one word, “awesome.” In many words….read on!

I spent Saturday drinking as much water as possible, staying off my feet, and eating specific meals; I had my race gear laid out and my bib pinned on my shirt before lunch time. In bed by 10pm. Oh, and a short run in the a.m. just to loosen up and stretch.

I woke up on Sunday morning shortly after 6am, and turned on the stove to get my oatmeal cooking. I wasn’t nervous – the kind of nervous where my stomach sickeningly flip-flops and my legs feel weak; I was simply excited. The weather was overcast and cool – perfect running weather!

My running buddy picked me up and we drove to the race site; Mark was going to meet up with us on his bike. I was glad to have my buddy’s company, and could share our excitement. We checked our bags at the Bag Check, did some warm up stretches, and then made our way to the starting area. The start area was packed, but we found our respective corral area – I was in the 1:45 finish-time corral.

Ten minutes until start time. A few final stretches. Check my laces one last time. Tighten my water belt again. One minute until start time. We move up to the start line. The elite athletes are at the front. The gun goes off. About 9,000 runners cheer and clap. Off I go!

I got a nasty side-stitch right off the bat, which lasted for about 5 kilometers, but thankfully it eventually disappeared. I spotted Mark near the War Museum, and he got a couple of photos. I stayed by the edge of the road and he cycled beside me for a little ways; that was fun. The Quebec portion of the route was uphill and downhill, and passed in a blur.

Approaching the 10 kilometer marker. Hundreds of running shoes smacking the pavement around me; the sound is wonderful. Passing the Museum of Civilization; approaching the Alexandria Bridge. I spot Mark again and he captures a few photos. On the Alexandria Bridge, I vaguely note the Peace Tower clock reads 9:15am; I have been running for 45 minutes. I am tired already, and remind myself to keep drinking my gel.

Keep going, almost half way, drink! Keep going, almost half way, drink!

The more the fatigue sets in, the more fluids I drink. My water bottles are emptied sooner than I expected; I was so anxious about not hitting the wall that my anxiety spurred me on to keep drinking. In training, I always forgot to drink. Luckily I still have my large water bottle filled with water with me, rubbing against my back and, as I later learned, leaving a raw sore spot.

Around the half way mark, I began to slow down at the water stations for about 40 seconds for a short recovery. As the race wore on, I began to anticipate the water stations with a growing sense of urgency! That was a lesson worth nothing – following the concept of the RR’s 10 and 1s (run 10 min, walk 1 min), I did an active recovery jog for 40 seconds (I couldn’t stand to slow down for a full minute), which allowed me enough of a break to maintain my pace. Going slowly through the water station put me at risk of being hit with a tossed cup of water or Gatorade by a fellow runner, and which actually did happen at one point. Luckily the light rain kept me from getting too sticky from the Gatorade.

As more rain fell, the drops mixed with my salty sweat and stung my eyes. I missed the sponge station, so had no sponge to wash the salt away.

Nearing the 14 kilometer marker. A discomfort in my right ankle begins to niggle at me. The crowds thicken along the canal. Someone I know shouts my name and I look back and wave. Bands play music, lift my spirits and help to put a spring back in my tired stride. One more hill and then the homeward stretch. Exhaustion pulls at my muscles, but I still maintain my pace. The rain continues to fall and I feel a chill.

I finally reach the 20km marker – only 1 km to go! I try to pick up my pace, and manage to do so for about 400m before realizing that I might not have enough zip to carry me all the way. Suddenly I spot the sign telling me I’m 400m from the finish. I barely pick up my pace; I feel like I’m going to vomit for all the gel in my system. 300m….200m – I’m dying, c’mon where’s the finish!!...100m….As I cross the finish line, I pump my fist in the air and come to a gasping, stumbling stop.

As soon as I stop, my legs feel like they might collapse; there is nothing left! I am wrapped in a silver thermal ‘blanket’, and pick up my medal. I slip it over my neck and relish the moment as much as I can in my foggy, exhausted state of mind. I grab a bagel, banana, yogurt and water, and find a quiet spot to stretch. I ran into another RR buddy and we exchanged our finishing times and congratulations.

I left the clogged recovery area to find Mark, and we headed home. I could barely stand to walk or stand up because of the ache in my legs! Three hours after the race, I did a cold-hot session in the bath tub, and it felt great and helped to ease the stiffness I will feel on Monday. I celebrated my race with one of the best meals I’ve had at our favorite Indian restaurant. Maybe it was the taste of sweet success!

Now today, Monday, I’m on a bit of a high; my enthusiasm and excitement from yesterday’s race are spilling over into today. I hope I don’t crash later in the week – whether from exhaustion or from depression. The race seemingly passed in a blur and I can’t believe I did it. It’s over!

What’s next? I’m already looking forward to doing another half marathon sometime. Maybe in the fall.

Only 3 sleeps left!

Today is the first really humid, hot day in Ottawa. It coincided with a Sens rally at City Hall at noon hour today. I popped by but couldn't hack the heat and stiffling crowd, so quickly left again. Go Sens! It's pretty exciting that they're in the Stanley Cup playoff!!

I had my sport massage last night and it was blissful. My muscles felt a lot better today, and I even got out for a short, relaxing run after work just to stay loose and limber. I went around Mud Lake and saw a little turtle crossing the path in front of me.

Last Monday, I felt the anxiety of the race creep up on me. I previously wrote (below) that I had a restless sleep on Monday night because I was fretting so much. However, at this moment, I can report that I am much more calm thanks to my Running Room running buddy. On Tuesday night, we both ran with the RR group (10km at race pace, ugh). After the run, I got a ride home with my clinic buddy and we talked about how we felt on that run. We have both been feeling tired and worn out of late, and have both been ravenously, inexplicably craving chocolate. Anyway, I voiced my concern about how tired I felt going up a particular hill that night, and she said to me that she's not even going to worry about that because this is her first half marathon, like me, and so she's focusing on just finishing the race and whatever time she gets will serve as a benchmark for future races. I found what she said extremely reassuring.

She's quite right - whatever time I get on Sunday will be a Personal Best for me. I shouldn't put so much pressure on myself to finish faster than my original goal time. I really want to enjoy this race and have fun, and not feel like I am killing myself just to prove to myself that I can beat my goal time.

So, now I'm focusing on feeling more relaxed and calm and am working on not putting so much pressure and expectation on myself. A few aches and pains in my legs have been making themselves known during the last two weeks, so I had better prepare myself regardless in case something goes wrong during the race and I have to back off my pace entirely. Let the mental preparation and visualization begin!!

Okay, gotta go; 30 Rock is on tv!!

Tick Tock - the countdown is on

My race is in five short days and I am already losing sleep over it. Last night, I was anxious and nervous, not to mention completely revved up from a dragon boat practice, so was tossing for quite awhile before falling asleep. I need to relax; I need to sleep!

My diet for the week is already planned; my race outfit is identified; my gels are purchased; my sport massage is booked for Wednesday night…I’m nearly set. Just need to work on my mental prep and a few physical ones. Gotta shake that tired feeling, which has me worried.

Tonight, I’m doing a 10km run at race pace with a Running Room group. I need the group tonight because I am tired, I feel worn out, and the group will help pull me along. Well, at least that’s what I’m counting on. And I’m skipping boxing tonight so I can do this run – unprecedented!

On a completely different subject, Ottawa is finally coming alive. The blossoms and lilacs are out, filling the air with some of my favorite smells. With the sun shining, my spirits are lifted. On Saturday, M & I walked around Mud Lake and it was just alive with life - ducks, geese, beaver, turtles, chipmunks, woodpeckers, and tons of other chirpy, happy birds. It was marvelous. Mud Lake, to put it simply, rocks!

And on another note – we starting looking at houses a titch more seriously this weekend. We set out on our bikes on Monday afternoon to scope out some neighbourhoods and look for For Sale signs. With almost comedic timing, Mark’s bike got a flat about 15 minutes into our adventure and crushed our rosy-eyed plans. So we trudged back home, but not before eating our picnic lunch near the river. At least lunch was satisfying!

Mission Accomplished!!

I did it! I did my 20km run tonight! Mark came with me and rode beside me on the bike, which was very motivating for me. I ran from our apartment and headed east for 10km, which brought me to the front steps of Parliament Hill. I then turned around and headed for home with a strong head wind in my face. My path was alongside the Ottawa River for most of the way and was very pleasant and relaxing. In fact, I can hardly believe how quickly the time and the distance passed. I did it in 1:48, which is only 3 minutes off my goal time for the race - and I wasn't even running at race pace! Hah, I think I'm in good shape! Cross my fingers my quad stays healthy.

On tonight's run, my legs were heavy, and my quadricep was in enough of a state to slow me down and make me groan going up the hills. As soon as we got home and after a good stretch, I hopped in the tub for a cold-hot session. I sat in freezing cold water for three minutes, and then sat in hot water for 3 minutes. That felt soooo good and sooo therapeutic. I wanted to do at least one more round, but Mark called me for dinner (left over butter chicken, rice, samosas and pakoras, yum yum).

My toes and balls of my feet hurt like crazy, my muscles are tired and my back still aches from the weekend; however, I feel GREAT and HAPPY and PUMPED UP!!! Ahhh, there's nothing like a good run with good company to refresh the spirit!

Peace out -

Wicked Welts and Aching Muscles Equal a Good Time

This morning, I woke up exhausted and aching despite having crawled to bed early on Sunday night. My body feels shriveled like a grape or a dried date; actually, it’s more like my muscles feel that way - tight, very, very tight.

I spent the weekend with my team in Lachine at a dragon boat training camp, which was a ton of fun. My confidence in my skill has increased ten-fold based on the feedback from our instructor. Every muscle in my body aches and my butt is raw from the hard seats; my scalp and my lips are burnt from the sun. But I had so much fun!! It was great getting to know some of our teammates, too, despite those same teammates sabotaging my good intentions to return to Ottawa on Saturday night!

For my marathon training, this weekend was to have been our last long run before the race, which is only two weeks away now. I intended to do the 20km run with my group on Sunday morning, having returned from Montreal on Saturday night. However, on Saturday evening I was sabotaged with one too many beers and so could not drive home safely. Instead, I remained in Montreal and participated in the second day of training camp, and missed my run with a promise from Mark that he will ride alongside me on Monday night so that I wouldn’t have to do my run alone.

Despite my immense guilt and self-berating for missing the run, I really enjoyed doing the second day of the camp and was also able to pick up my brand new paddle, which I’d purchased the day before. I’m so excited to have my own paddle now!

Last night when we got back, I roused myself from my cloud of pain and did a gentle, extremely relaxing 6 km run. It must not have been gentle enough, though, because I think I’ve strained my right quadricep. I know I should take today off; however, I’m a stubborn cow and I’m doing my 20km run tonight!! Nothing is stopping me except maybe a thunderstorm!

Long live a man who loves to cook!

We, or rather Mark, discovered this morning that we get cooking shows on demand with Rogers On Demand. I am quite thrilled to be reaping this benefit tonight.

Mark likes to cook, and he is an excellent cook. Upon discovering this On Demand feature, he watched a cooking show this morning, while I showered after my 18km training run. When we were grocery shopping later this afternoon, he informed me that tonight we were having feta stuffed lamb meatballs with a homemade sun dried tomato pasta sauce over spaghetti squash with cauliflower garlic bread. At first I thought maybe he was joking because it sounded so decadent and complicated, but to my delight he was quite serious.

He has been cooking for the past hour or so, while I've been cleaning out my closing and putting away my winter sweaters. The smells emanating from the kitchen are divine and I can't wait to try these feta stuffed creations.

With the warm evening sun poring through our windows, I've uncorked a bottle of wine and am delightfully sipping away as I type this, and am anticipating a delicious meal.

Long live a man who can cook, and one who genuinely loves to cook!

And long live the women who love the men who love to cook, haha!