The Big Finale
I’ve been writing this post for over a week. In my head, which didn’t help get it posted any faster. But I had an amazing four hours to wrap my head around, and I needed to come up with more than just “it was amazing”. That really doesn’t describe things very well, except to frame everything in a general aura of positive energy. Which is a perfect place to start.
I was very nervous, and excited, that Sunday morning. It was cool outside, but I opted not to take my jacket, because it would have only been good up until we started running. I figured I’d be able to stay warm enough until then, so at the last minute before leaving, it went back in the closet. But that was the only last minute adjustment I made, and it’s hard to decide that sort of thing any earlier.
Thanks to F-, the ride downtown went smooth and we arrived in plenty of time. We met others at the nearby Timmie’s to see friendly faces, but it was good to start the race surrounded by all the thousands of unknown fellow runners. I had never intended to stick with anyone while running this race; that’s just too tricky, and I needed to be in sync with myself alone, to do the race. It was easy enough to spot a few familiar faces once the race got underway.
The first half of the course was mostly a breeze. Funny how a year ago, that distance was an entire race to me. The timing of this race and the weather for it made it a very different, much improved, event compared to last year. I flew through Gatineau and Rockcliffe, doing the first ten kilometers in 55 minutes, and then got to cheer the elite runners finishing up Rockcliffe as I started it. It was really nice to have been familiarized with the course by training on it a few times. I knew exactly where I was, and didn’t have any surprises. I managed to catch sight of D- at the water station at the Museum of Civilisation, happily enough. And I kept catching up to two of my partners in training, as we leap-frogged each other’s walk breaks and whatnot. But eventually I abandoned catching up to the one ahead of me, J-, and just got down to the business of minding my own marathon. Oh, and waving “Salut” to our former prime minister as we passed him on the front stoop of his Rockcliffe home. That surprise wasn’t so bad.
I nearly beat my half-marathon PB (personal best), but got distracted just after a water station. I probably shouldn’t have grabbed a cup at the stop in New Edinburgh, but I did and got more of it on me than in me (even choked and coughed on that). But the real unfortunate thing was that one corner of my bib snapped off my race belt, probably due to the water. I will stick to my own water in future races, unless the conditions warrant otherwise (which they did not this time around).
So, I crossed back towards downtown with my race number flapping around to one side of me. I had totally not thought this sort of thing could happen, so I’d left all safety pins at home. I won’t be doing that again, either. I actually called up foolkiller009 on my cellphone, to get him to bring me some safety pins when he traded water bottles with me around the 30km marker. But I couldn’t run ten kilometers with that worry and distraction nagging at me, and dragging me down (plus it had started raining). At 25km there was a medical station, and I just ran straight up to the table to ask for a safety pin, which they kindly helped me pin my bib back on with. So, I didn’t actually need the pins that foolkiller009 gave me on my second facecloth later on, but my phone call did help him get out to the course in time to meet me, so my embarrassment at running through downtown on my cellphone was worth it.
One very memorable incident along the third leg of the race was when I reached a particularly long song on my playlist. It used to mark the end of my half-marathon playlist, it was my warning about my old two-hour deadline, and it was the song I used to start running again after I fell to a walk in last year’s race. The remix by DJ Tiesto of Delirium’s “Silence”, featuring Sarah McLachlan is a very, very long version. It actually carried me from well before the Bank Street overpass and Lansdowne Park, to beyond Bronson Avenue and the start of Dows Lake. I’ve lengthened my playlist since last year, but it was still gratifying to already be so far past the halfway mark when it came up. I just lost myself in the music, and totally ignored my Garmin in that stretch. It was a great way to let go of the stress from my recent bib difficulties.
It was just a little past the 30km marker to meet up with foolkiller009. He was good about standing apart from the small crowd of spectators, so that I could easily home in on him. I even had time to give him a kiss. I totally didn’t see C- hiding with the other spectators-my apologies, C-!
After that, I apparently just barely gave them time to meet up with the rest of my friends at Baseline and Prince of Wales, though I can’t say if I went faster through that next section than I had originally timed myself. I was only taking note of the quarter splits of the race course, so it’s altogether possible that I ran from one checkpoint to the other in less than 17 minutes. It was good to be feeling so strong for the Heron Bridge overpass. And there were my friends waiting for me at the other side (past the 33km marker)! I tried to give you all a bit of a show, raising my arms as I passed by, and I carried the memory of you the rest of the course. I’d been visualizing that moment for a while, and it was so good to finally have it realized.
After that, I only took a couple more walk breaks, because I found that slowing down was getting really tough. My legs were stuck on automatic, they’d been going for so long that they just knew what to do, and I could mind my own business. I was getting tired, of course, and counting down the distance left to go did get a bit overwhelming at one point. There were certainly less runners dropping this year around, but I did see one horrific spill, some point after Bronson when the half-marathoners had re-merged with the rest of us and the course got congested. Someone actually took a tumble over the edge towards the canal, and someone else actually reached out and grabbed his arm before he went all the way to the pathway below. I didn't stop, I couldn't stop, and it actually happened a few feet behind me, but I hope that everything got straightened out shortly thereafter.
Around 40km, I started to get emotional and had a bit of trouble breathing because it all was getting caught in my throat. But I forced it down, and kept going. I’d stopped paying much attention to my Garmin, just trusting my legs to maintain pace, and it was just amazing to turn that last corner, and see the clock had not yet reached four hours. I felt a little subconscious to raise my arms once again as I crossed the finish line, because I didn’t see anyone else doing that, but I did it anyways. And so it was done.
I can’t wait to do it again, so I will…and you’ll hear all about it then.
I was very nervous, and excited, that Sunday morning. It was cool outside, but I opted not to take my jacket, because it would have only been good up until we started running. I figured I’d be able to stay warm enough until then, so at the last minute before leaving, it went back in the closet. But that was the only last minute adjustment I made, and it’s hard to decide that sort of thing any earlier.
Thanks to F-, the ride downtown went smooth and we arrived in plenty of time. We met others at the nearby Timmie’s to see friendly faces, but it was good to start the race surrounded by all the thousands of unknown fellow runners. I had never intended to stick with anyone while running this race; that’s just too tricky, and I needed to be in sync with myself alone, to do the race. It was easy enough to spot a few familiar faces once the race got underway.
The first half of the course was mostly a breeze. Funny how a year ago, that distance was an entire race to me. The timing of this race and the weather for it made it a very different, much improved, event compared to last year. I flew through Gatineau and Rockcliffe, doing the first ten kilometers in 55 minutes, and then got to cheer the elite runners finishing up Rockcliffe as I started it. It was really nice to have been familiarized with the course by training on it a few times. I knew exactly where I was, and didn’t have any surprises. I managed to catch sight of D- at the water station at the Museum of Civilisation, happily enough. And I kept catching up to two of my partners in training, as we leap-frogged each other’s walk breaks and whatnot. But eventually I abandoned catching up to the one ahead of me, J-, and just got down to the business of minding my own marathon. Oh, and waving “Salut” to our former prime minister as we passed him on the front stoop of his Rockcliffe home. That surprise wasn’t so bad.
I nearly beat my half-marathon PB (personal best), but got distracted just after a water station. I probably shouldn’t have grabbed a cup at the stop in New Edinburgh, but I did and got more of it on me than in me (even choked and coughed on that). But the real unfortunate thing was that one corner of my bib snapped off my race belt, probably due to the water. I will stick to my own water in future races, unless the conditions warrant otherwise (which they did not this time around).
So, I crossed back towards downtown with my race number flapping around to one side of me. I had totally not thought this sort of thing could happen, so I’d left all safety pins at home. I won’t be doing that again, either. I actually called up foolkiller009 on my cellphone, to get him to bring me some safety pins when he traded water bottles with me around the 30km marker. But I couldn’t run ten kilometers with that worry and distraction nagging at me, and dragging me down (plus it had started raining). At 25km there was a medical station, and I just ran straight up to the table to ask for a safety pin, which they kindly helped me pin my bib back on with. So, I didn’t actually need the pins that foolkiller009 gave me on my second facecloth later on, but my phone call did help him get out to the course in time to meet me, so my embarrassment at running through downtown on my cellphone was worth it.
One very memorable incident along the third leg of the race was when I reached a particularly long song on my playlist. It used to mark the end of my half-marathon playlist, it was my warning about my old two-hour deadline, and it was the song I used to start running again after I fell to a walk in last year’s race. The remix by DJ Tiesto of Delirium’s “Silence”, featuring Sarah McLachlan is a very, very long version. It actually carried me from well before the Bank Street overpass and Lansdowne Park, to beyond Bronson Avenue and the start of Dows Lake. I’ve lengthened my playlist since last year, but it was still gratifying to already be so far past the halfway mark when it came up. I just lost myself in the music, and totally ignored my Garmin in that stretch. It was a great way to let go of the stress from my recent bib difficulties.
It was just a little past the 30km marker to meet up with foolkiller009. He was good about standing apart from the small crowd of spectators, so that I could easily home in on him. I even had time to give him a kiss. I totally didn’t see C- hiding with the other spectators-my apologies, C-!
After that, I apparently just barely gave them time to meet up with the rest of my friends at Baseline and Prince of Wales, though I can’t say if I went faster through that next section than I had originally timed myself. I was only taking note of the quarter splits of the race course, so it’s altogether possible that I ran from one checkpoint to the other in less than 17 minutes. It was good to be feeling so strong for the Heron Bridge overpass. And there were my friends waiting for me at the other side (past the 33km marker)! I tried to give you all a bit of a show, raising my arms as I passed by, and I carried the memory of you the rest of the course. I’d been visualizing that moment for a while, and it was so good to finally have it realized.
After that, I only took a couple more walk breaks, because I found that slowing down was getting really tough. My legs were stuck on automatic, they’d been going for so long that they just knew what to do, and I could mind my own business. I was getting tired, of course, and counting down the distance left to go did get a bit overwhelming at one point. There were certainly less runners dropping this year around, but I did see one horrific spill, some point after Bronson when the half-marathoners had re-merged with the rest of us and the course got congested. Someone actually took a tumble over the edge towards the canal, and someone else actually reached out and grabbed his arm before he went all the way to the pathway below. I didn't stop, I couldn't stop, and it actually happened a few feet behind me, but I hope that everything got straightened out shortly thereafter.
Around 40km, I started to get emotional and had a bit of trouble breathing because it all was getting caught in my throat. But I forced it down, and kept going. I’d stopped paying much attention to my Garmin, just trusting my legs to maintain pace, and it was just amazing to turn that last corner, and see the clock had not yet reached four hours. I felt a little subconscious to raise my arms once again as I crossed the finish line, because I didn’t see anyone else doing that, but I did it anyways. And so it was done.
I can’t wait to do it again, so I will…and you’ll hear all about it then.