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Sports » rec.running » Ottawa Half Marathon Race Report
| Ottawa Half Marathon Race Report [message #1038836] |
Mon, 29 May 2006 16:30 |
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Half Marathon
Ottawa Race Weekend
May 28, 2006
Ottawa, Canada
10:15 a.m.
warm, humid, sunny, probably around 30C with humidex
The race was a lot of fun. It was a good one for me, but very hard near
the end. The heat was incredible, even at 10am, just before the start.
Many of us were huddled under the shade of a tree, awaiting the
starting gun. But the organizers were prepared for the heat - they had
tons of water available, including sprinklers set up here and there
along the course. At every water station, I took two cups of water, one
to pour over my head and one to drink. I was basically drenched
throughout the race; it was the only way to stay cool and keep from
overheating. I drank way more water than I had expected to, but the
body really needed it. I ran it in 1:55:44 (chip time), within the
2-hour goal I set for myself. My pace was fairly consistent throughout,
ranging from 5:10 to 5:21, then for the last 5k, the pace ranged
between 5:46 and 6:19 (the end was tough).
There was musical entertainment all along the course, so there wasn't a
dull moment. Lots of inspiration to get us to the finish line. But I
tell you, those last 5km were probably the toughest I've run in a long
time. I wanted to stop or walk because the legs were just so tight and
on the verge of cramping up, but I wanted to meet my time goal. So I
zoned out - went to my "happy place", found a pace my legs would
tolerate and kept moving. The crowds near the finish line were huge and
noisy, urging us on. After finishing, it took me a good 15 minutes of
walking around before I could even consider stretching, but after the
muscles were loosened up, I felt pretty good again. Just a nice
achiness, proof that I had given it my all. There were nearly 30,000
participants in all of the races over the weekend, a record turnout.
Then came the food onslaught: Harvey's Chicken Combo, ice cream bar,
beer, chips, beer, hot dogs, chocolate bar, beer.....
My numbers:
Placed: 1,301 out of 6,646
Gun Time: 1:57:05.9
Pace/Km: 5:33
Chip Time: 1:55:44.8
Men's Place/Total: 936/2916
Category Place/Total: 168/515
Category: Men 40 - 44
Thanks for reading...... Cam
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| Re: Ottawa Half Marathon Race Report [message #1038837 ] |
Mon, 29 May 2006 16:39 |
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cam_wilson [at] sympatico.ca wrote:
> Half Marathon
> Ottawa Race Weekend
> May 28, 2006
> Ottawa, Canada
> 10:15 a.m.
> warm, humid, sunny, probably around 30C with humidex
Ouch! That's a killer.
> The race was a lot of fun. It was a good one for me, but very hard near
> the end. The heat was incredible, even at 10am, just before the start.
> Many of us were huddled under the shade of a tree, awaiting the
> starting gun. But the organizers were prepared for the heat - they had
> tons of water available, including sprinklers set up here and there
> along the course.
Very good. I've heard a lot of horror stories about running out of
fluids, especially for the mid to back-of-pack runners. I'm surprised
that a race in Canada would be prepared for such conditions. Good for
them.
> At every water station, I took two cups of water, one
> to pour over my head and one to drink. I was basically drenched
> throughout the race; it was the only way to stay cool and keep from
> overheating.
In Boston last year I found it refreshing to put ice under my cap and
just let it drip over my head. I'm not sure if it did any good, but it
did feel good.
> I drank way more water than I had expected to, but the
> body really needed it. I ran it in 1:55:44 (chip time), within the
> 2-hour goal I set for myself. My pace was fairly consistent throughout,
> ranging from 5:10 to 5:21, then for the last 5k, the pace ranged
> between 5:46 and 6:19 (the end was tough).
Congrats on beating your goal. What do you think you *could* have done,
given better conditions.
> Placed: 1,301 out of 6,646
> Gun Time: 1:57:05.9
> Pace/Km: 5:33
> Chip Time: 1:55:44.8
> Men's Place/Total: 936/2916
> Category Place/Total: 168/515
> Category: Men 40 - 44
>
> Thanks for reading...... Cam
Nice race Cam. Sounds like you prepared as best you could. Running the
Badwater 135 wouldn't be too much more difficult. ;-)
Thanks for the report.
--
Phil M.
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| Re: Ottawa Half Marathon Race Report [message #1038839 ] |
Mon, 29 May 2006 16:46 |
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Cam wrote:
> The race was a lot of fun. It was a good one for me, but very
> hard near the end.
Sure sounds it. The heat will do that.
Congrats on a solid race, and beating your goal by a comfortable
margin!
Good call with the "drink one, dump one" at the water stations. You've
just gotta do that in any kind of real heat. I sometimes notice in a
race that shortly after getting doused with cold water, my legs will
speed up almost on their own. Does that happen to you?
> So I zoned out - went to my "happy place", found a pace my legs
> would tolerate and kept moving.
Lucky you. I don't think I'd have been able to find a "happy place"
until my post-race beer!
What's next?
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| Re: Ottawa Half Marathon Race Report [message #1038850 ] |
Tue, 30 May 2006 01:22 |
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Phil M. wrote:
> Very good. I've heard a lot of horror stories about running out of
> fluids, especially for the mid to back-of-pack runners. I'm surprised
> that a race in Canada would be prepared for such conditions. Good for
> them.
Oh, it gets pretty hot in certain parts of Canada. We're not all igloos
and hockey sticks up here :) We've sometimes gotten into the 40C range
with humidex, at least here in Ottawa. Not sure about other parts of
the country
> Congrats on beating your goal. What do you think you *could* have done,
> given better conditions.
Well, I was hoping for at least a 1:50:00, but was prepared to be happy
with anything under 2 hours. On a slightly cooler day, I think I could
have done that, or better. I have done half marathons before in 1:46 -
1:50. With the predicted heat, I figured I'd be a bit slower, plus I'm
four years older, and trained on fewer days a week for this one. But I
did the job and enjoyed it.... more than the other races, I think.
> Nice race Cam. Sounds like you prepared as best you could. Running the
> Badwater 135 wouldn't be too much more difficult. ;-)
Thanks, Phil. It was a blast.
Cam
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| Re: Ottawa Half Marathon Race Report [message #1038851 ] |
Tue, 30 May 2006 01:27 |
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Hey Charlie,
I did sort of find more energy after the ice cold water dumped over my
head. Sometimes I felt a bit of a chill from doing that, but it was in
a good way, and it only lasted a few seconds. Nothing medically
worrisome :)
Perhaps it was more of a mind over matter thing that I did at the end
there.... not necessarily "happy", but I just took my brain away from
the pain (hey, that rhymes!). Anyway, I knew the beer was at home in
the fridge, waiting for me.
Thanks!
Cam
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| Re: Ottawa Half Marathon Race Report [message #1038854 ] |
Tue, 30 May 2006 03:58 |
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onemarathon wrote:
> Half Marathon
> Ottawa Race Weekend
> May 28, 2006
> Ottawa, Canada
> 10:15 a.m.
> warm, humid, sunny, probably around 30C with humidex
>
> The race was a lot of fun. It was a good one for me, but very hard near
> the end. The heat was incredible, even at 10am, just before the start.
> Many of us were huddled under the shade of a tree, awaiting the
> starting gun. But the organizers were prepared for the heat - they had
> tons of water available, including sprinklers set up here and there
> along the course. At every water station, I took two cups of water, one
> to pour over my head and one to drink. I was basically drenched
> throughout the race; it was the only way to stay cool and keep from
> overheating. I drank way more water than I had expected to, but the
> body really needed it. I ran it in 1:55:44 (chip time), within the
> 2-hour goal I set for myself. My pace was fairly consistent throughout,
> ranging from 5:10 to 5:21, then for the last 5k, the pace ranged
> between 5:46 and 6:19 (the end was tough).
Congratulations on meeting your goal, Cam! Sounds like you had a good
time - with of course, the usual food finale!
Dot
--
"Success is different things to different people"
-Bernd Heinrich in Racing the Antelope
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| Re: Ottawa Half Marathon Race Report [message #1038890 ] |
Wed, 31 May 2006 00:18 |
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onemarathon wrote:
> Half Marathon
> Ottawa Race Weekend
> warm, humid, sunny, probably around 30C with humidex
>
> The race was a lot of fun. It was a good one for me, but very hard near
> the end. The heat was incredible, even at 10am, just before the start.
Yes indeed! That's hotter than I would expect for up there!
> body really needed it. I ran it in 1:55:44 (chip time), within the
> 2-hour goal I set for myself. My pace was fairly consistent throughout,
> ranging from 5:10 to 5:21, then for the last 5k, the pace ranged
> between 5:46 and 6:19 (the end was tough).
Congrats on making goal in such heat! I imagine you're not so used
to it as we are down here, so good job! And glad to be hearing from
you again Cam!
> Thanks for reading...... Cam
Teresa in AZ
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| Re: Ottawa Half Marathon Race Report [message #1038945 ] |
Thu, 01 June 2006 00:47 |
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Dot wrote:
> Congratulations on meeting your goal, Cam! Sounds like you had a good
> time - with of course, the usual food finale!
Hey thanks, Dot. Yes, it was all thoroughly enjoyable. I know that food
shouldn't be what it's all about.... that would indicate an eating
disorder of some kind, I hear..... but when you're struggling to finish
the final km's of a half, you do whatever it takes to take you to the
finish line :-)
Merci,
Cam
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| Re: Ottawa Half Marathon Race Report [message #1038946 ] |
Thu, 01 June 2006 00:52 |
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Teresa Bippert-Plymate wrote:
> Congrats on making goal in such heat! I imagine you're not so used
> to it as we are down here, so good job! And glad to be hearing from
> you again Cam!
Frankly, I surprised myself with my results, since training had nearly
entirely been in cool and/or rainy weather. I admit to being able to
handle heat quite well..... I have raced well in very hot, humid
conditions before, and I attribute that to my dislike for the cold
(well, what am I living in Canada for then, you ask?) and love of the
heat. So I get out there and train in the heat, which of course gets
the body used to it. Couldn't do that this time, but I still somehow
managed to beat the heat and do fine. Still happy....
Thanks, Teresa!
Cam
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