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

Race Weekend

Well after 16 weeks of training the National Capital Race Weekend is finally here. It seemed to come faster than past years. Last night I picked up my race kit. It is always fun to get the kit and walk around with thousands of other runners from the family doing the 2k run together to the elite marathoners trying to qualify for Boston. The atmosphere is exciting and is a good way to get pumped for the race.

Overall I feel I have had an excellent training regime. Of course as luck would have it my runs never go without some adversity in terms of injuries. One week ago an old injury spontaneously resurrected causing me immense abdominal discomfort and pain. I am hoping that I will be able to overcome that throughout the race.

All I can do at this point is stretch the adhesions as much as possible and have a few ART treatments to see if that will reduce the pain and loosen up the tightness. Other than that I guess I will just have to wait and see what comes of it come race day.

However, I think I am mentally prepared to have to deal with what ever it is I have to deal with during the race. Be it the pain, the crazy humidity we’ve had the past week and any other barrier that comes my way. It might be more of a mental game than a physical one for me.

This month’s issue of iRun had a list of mantra’s used by athlete’s to get through their runs. I have used my own mantras over the past years and they certainly helped keep me going. Sometimes they are as simple as just saying to yourself “just keep running” and sometimes you have to dig a bit deeper and tell yourself just that “dig deeper, give it more” or “you have more in you, suck it up and run.” The one I liked from the iRun magazine was “suck it up princess” and “don’t think, just run”

I have many more mental games to keep me going and motivated such as thinking about those athletes that inspire me or those that have overcome immense adversity only to strive to come back the sport they love, with intensity and vigour. I find such inspiration from these types of people.

For my pre-race meal I typically have oatmeal. This year I have not been doing many morning runs and have not had oatmeal pre-run. Therefore it would be a bad idea to have oatmeal on race day. I think I am going to stick with a whole wheat bagel with either light cream cheese or light peanut butter and ½ a banana, a cup of coffee and water. Although the bagel will not last as long in my system as oatmeal will, I will likely have a power gel half way through the race if I feel my energy stores depleting.

Comfort? or Limiting?

Sad days. Hiking and traveling gear is being put away, normal daily routines have begun and ski season is still just out of reach. Fortunately we are left with the memories and (tons of) pictures from our tour of Europe. While perusing some of these many photos I was reminded of a -I wouldn’t say completely recurring- but what was a common theme; the idea of “comfort”, more specifically focusing on the theory of the Comfort Zone.

For many of us home is where we have the ability to be the most comfortable with our surroundings and environment. For the most part you know what to expect. You go to work, you pick up groceries, and you go to your local pub... These things are comfortable to us. But think back to the first day of a new job or the first time you walked into that local pub alone… All eyes are on you and everyone is wondering “who is this new person?” This is usually not within our comfort zone. It takes time to fit in or become accepted.

We understand that removing ourselves from our established comfort zone is a common thing on basic terms and even in small occasions. These events build character and experience. But what we sometimes avoid are those times where we could face intimidating and, somewhat, freighting experiences. These experiences can result in a very positive growth for the individual. I say “can result in positive growth” only due to the fact that if the challenge or new environment is too experimental or harsh the individual could result with obvious behavioural reactions.

But before I go further this is not a place where we can add excuses i.e. we can not say “I am not going to try that as it is out of my comfort zone and I could come out the other side completely mental.” No! Shake that off immediately. The idea behind this, in its entirety, is to push yourself beyond the point of comfort. Once this boundary is passed the anxiety and stress raises our level of awareness and ability to complete the task at hand. This is regularly referred to as our Optimal Performance Zone where the skills you were not sure you had come out at their very best.

We can not go past this OPF as our skills will be unable to handle the situation and we will fail. This line is hard to see for those who do not attempt to push themselves. Once you have attempted to reach this zone you will begin to understand where the line is and realize that it should not be crossed. For myself personally I am constantly pushing my limits in mountain biking but know when to pull back. Or at work volunteering to present orally is important as I know if I do not it will only get harder to present in front of a group.

Ok I am coming to the final point sorry for the babble. To ensure we truly find that optimal zone we have to understand that a “comfort zone” is merely a mental boundary that WE have created in our own mind. Don’t get me wrong, these can be good i.e. I know not to go down a well known violent and drug infested area with crack addicts that would do anything to get my money.

Once these are established our mind tells us we can not go past certain points for fear of negative outcome. This can hinder our experiences in positive situations i.e. don’t make a radical change in your life for fear of failure; don’t travel for fear of plane crash or violence…; don’t attempt to introduce yourself to new individuals for fear of rejection…

Finally the picture above is probably one of my most comfortable moments in my entire life. It actually wasn’t even posed Parker just happened to snap it. I was completely at peace in my little moment in time, at a 2443m (8000ft) high mountain hut surrounded by nothing but mountains, other similar minded mountaineers, clean air, a can of beer or two and the best hiking partner.

For me to get to that point where I was the happiest on my trip, I understood and accepted all the possible negative, or better yet, character building experiences along the way. We had many trials and tribulations while training and preparing for this trip as well as many small and larger incidences while on the trip. Parker and I know that we are most happy in the mountains and/or in mountain towns and villages. Although we loved Paris, Rome and Venice, those are “second” stops for us. We are truly at home in the mountains hence why we strive to travel to them as our focal point. Consequently there were many barriers and boundaries that were removed during the positive experience of foreign travel.

Essentially in the end if we don’t seek that zone or go outside our known boundaries or whatever, we are merely accepting things as they are, avoiding change and never taking a risk to truly learn who we are and what we are capable of. We all know that when that faithful time comes, we only regret what we DIDN’T do.

Res Ipsa Loquitur.