Half Marathon: Race Day

Pre-race photos

Race day morning I awoke around 5:00am, although the plan was to sleep until 6:00am, I could not sleep any longer. I had a large cup of coffee and a bagel with cream cheese and tomatoes. Typically peanut butter and banana would offer more energy, but I wasn’t sure it was going to digest well with me that morning so I opted for something lighter.

The weather was perfect for running, 17C and overcast and no humidity. I lined up with 10,000 other ½ marathon participants. Noting my goal time was between 1:45 and 1:50 I lined up slightly ahead between the 1:40 and 1:45 pace bunny. When the gun went off we slowly made our way over the start line and then the pace quickly picked up as we ran down Wellington and over the Portage Bridge into Gatineau.

The course of the Quebec side consists of a lot of downs and a few ups with many switchbacks. When on top of the hills you can look ahead and see the sea of runners down below, it is an unbelievable sight. You finally cross over the MacDonald Cartier Bridge and head down Sussex into Ottawa.

This is the stretch of the course that really motivates me. The sides of the course and the overhead bridges are lined with thousands of spectators cheering and encouraging the runners on, an amazing feeling. The course then continues down Colonel By Drive, wraps around Bronson and then down Queen Elizabeth Drive towards the downtown finish line.

It is at the 3km mark that the crowds begin to thicken and the cheering becomes deafening. I still had so much energy left in me which was awesome; however I could feel the cramping starting in my knees and was trying to push out more speed. Finally by the 300m mark I began to sprint to the finish line and was more than elated to reach my new personal best (PB) of 1:44:56. My husband sprinted by me at the last stretch and hit is new PB of 1:44:53.

I think one of the best parts of the race was not only achieving a new PB, having so much spectator support, but it was seeing my husband ahead of me at the finish line and finishing the race almost together. We’d both run the ½ before, but never together, to see him during the race and at the end was a great feeling. It certainly showed that our dedication, hard training and support for each other during the training phase paid off immensely. As they say a couple that runs together stays together.

During the race I used a number of mantras that I had mentioned in a previous post. However, iRun magazine also had a list of why iRun, which really motivated me and kept my mind focused during the race. Here are some of the iRun magazine reasons why iRun:

iRun for the ones I love who can’t
iRun to stay in shape
iRun because my kids need a healthy mom
iRun for fun
iRun for endorphins
iRun because I want to learn what I am capable of
iRun because this addiction is better than my last
iRun so I can eat chocolate
iRun to start a better day
iRun for my family
iRun to quiet my mind
iRun because it gives me a feeling of accomplishment
iRun because it’s an addiction

If we recover well from this one we are hoping to race again in the fall.

Happy with my new PB 1:44:56

New PB of 1:44:53