Race #195
Marathon #14
Country #3 (USA, Italy, Canada)
2022 Race #3
2022 Marathon #1
Ottawa Marathon #1
I wanted big things from this marathon. I knew I had a ways to go before I was in shape to chase a BQ. I envisioned this race as a step towards that as at least a sub four, hopefully somewhere around a 3:50. Spoiler alert. Neither of those happened.
I struggle to pinpoint exactly where or when my mindset started to shift. Somewhere along the way, a seed of doubt crept in and started to grow. I knew I could cover the distance but did not have faith that I could do it at the 8:50 pace that I needed to get close to a 3:50 time.
As we started the trip, I felt excitement to travel but not really for the race itself. It felt like something to cross off the list, get marathon #14 over and done with. I knew I would feel accomplished when I finished so I set my sights on that.
Thanks to being higher in latitude, the sun rose well before we started our walk to the start. I had chosen a hotel fairly close to the start without being right on the start line. I ended up getting a geography lesson in the closeness of Ottawa to Quebec since we stayed in a hotel in Gatineu, across the Ottawa river. Even though a fellow runner in the hotel lobby called us brave for walking to the start, I did not mind the distance since it served as a nice little warm up.
We arrived with plenty of time, made a portopotty stop and sat on the curb to wait. Mom set up at a place to spectate while I waited. Just after the singing of the Canadian National Anthem, I entered my corral. A few minutes later, the race started.
I waited about half a mile or so to start my audiobook, a marathon first. (I discovered back when I ran Mountains to Main Street that I really enjoyed listening to audiobooks as I run.) While I waited to start the audiobook, I kept glancing down at my watch to see my average pace. I had tentatively planned to run as many miles at 8:50 as I could. (I wish I had stuck with that plan.) Temporarily frustratingly, it took nearly five minutes before my average pace showed.
The first segment passed fairly uneventfully.
Mile 1 – 8:42
Mile 2 – 8:32
Mile 3 – 8:38
At the third mile, according to my watch since the course markers reflected kilometers, I walked as planned to eat my chews before starting up again. I also tried the Nuun they had available on the course and found myself disappointed with the taste, yet again. It didn’t leave an aftertaste; I just didn’t like it.
Around this time, I sensed negative thoughts starting to creep into my attention, bypassing my focus on the audiobook. I wondered why I bothered with a marathon, why I bothered with long runs and various thoughts like that. I missed running with Mom and walking at each mile. Granted, none of these thoughts sounded loud in my head; they just hung out in the fringes, setting the mood.
Mile 4 – 9:07
Mile 5 – 8:51
Mile 6 – 8:41
Mile 7 – 9:23
Mile 8 – 8:46
Mile 9 – 8:56
After mile 9, I told myself to make it to at least the half marathon mark, if not mile 15 before I started walking each mile. All I remember of the course at this time was that it looked gorgeous and I really loved all the parts. Ottawa truly is beautiful.
Mile 10 – 9:41
Mile 11 – 8:57
Mile 12 – 9:13
Mile 13 – 9:43
Mile 14 – 9:05
Mile 15 -9:14
Around this point, I recognized the Boston Pizza Mom and I had walked to from the hotel for supper Friday and realized where we were. Mom and I had discussed a couple places where she might see me and I mistakenly assumed that she would set up by the entrance to our hotel. I had only a little left of my hydration and knew I would feel better if I took it off so I grabbed the bottle and drank several gulps. I didn’t finish what was left because I had a momentary doubt as to her location. When I didn’t see her along that stretch – I had texted her to ask where side she was on – I put the bottle back and resigned myself to finishing with the pack.
We crossed the Victoria Bridge, beautiful, and then headed up one of the handful of small hills. Turns out that I should have looked for Mom here. In my focus to get up the hill, I completely missed her although right about then she got my text. When I realized how close she was, I made a plan to ditch. my pack by the side and have her grab it. Thankfully, the 26k marker showed up right about then and I somehow tossed the pack in such a way that it tucked in neatly beside the marker.
Getting that small weight off provided a needed psychological boost, and physically probably too. I decided at that point to walk at each 3 mile interval to fuel and at the 3k aka the water stops to double fist water, not Nuun. I did that one time, hence my only 10+ mile.
Mile 16 – 10:15
Mile 17 – 9:16
Mile 18 – 9:14
By this point the temps had warmed considerably and my mouth had dried out. I thus chose to forgo the fuel so I could get in as much water as possible, two cups minimum, four if possible. In hindsight, the lack of electrolytes and nutrition in this portion likely slowed me down a bit but I think I managed to race fairly well despite that and defeat the thought that encouraged me to walk every mile.
Instead of giving in to those thoughts, I told myself to run until I got to the next water stop, placed approximately every 3k and then reevaluate. By this point though, I had gotten within only a few miles of the finish and managed to convince myself to keep plugging away until the end.
Mile 19 – 9:41
Mile 20 – 9:07
Mile 21 – 9:42
Mile 22 – 9:10
Somewhere in miles 23 and 24, I finally started to feel the aches that come on toward the end of a marathon. For me, that usually means my hips, my outer glutes I think. Even though I could start to feel it, the aches did not affect my stride, pace, or effort level. This also indicated to me that I probably could have sustained that goal pace from earlier that I had gradually fallen off of.
Miles 23 – 9:36
Miles 24 – 9:42
As we came closer to the finish, I knew at some point we would pass the finish for a short out and back. (Mom and I had looked up some Strava data from runners who had run the marathon previously so we could figure out the best place for her to spectate.) Thankfully, the out and back did not include views of the finish line, aka torture at the end of a long distance race.
Proximity to the finish did mean a significant increase in spectators. Since the ambient noise got louder, I paused my audiobook, going without it for the final portion of the race. I do not remember exactly how long however due to my inability to do the necessary math while on the run to convert kilometers to miles.
Once we made the final turn and I could see the finish line, a strange urge to sprint to the finish came over me. Yes, I typically do that at the end of half marathons but in marathons I usually just feel relief at the sight of the finish line. As I sprinted to the finish, I knew for sure that I could have gone faster throughout the rest of the race since I had so much left in the tank.
Miles 25 – 9:25
Miles 26 – 9:45
“.2” – 8:38
Total – 4:05:37
When I finished, I knew I had sold myself short. I still took satisfaction in the fact that I had finished my 14th marathon. However, a large part of me knew what I could have done and longed for a sub four finish at least.
I finished 4 minutes faster than Chicago but wanted more. I know that I need to work on mental stamina. It’s been a long time since I have really raced any distance, much less a marathon, and that takes dedicated training.
I’ll look backward only long enough to learn how to do better so that I can look forward to Houston.