National Capital Race Weekend

I have completed my Half Marathon race. It was nice and cool in the morning which is what you would want, but then it got hotter and hotter which is not what you are hoping for. I met with my group of runners and got a few "team pics" taken before the race since we may not see each other by the end. We made our way into the corrals to get set for the gun to go off. There were about 9000 participants in the Half Marathon. I started off well trying to get my nerves out, although I do have to admit I went faster than I should have for the beginning of a race. My plan was to go at about a 5:15 pace for about the first 20 minutes and then take a 1 minute walk then I would run a bit faster at a 4:57 pace for 10 minutes and walk for 1 minute all the way to the finish line. The race had quite a few hills in it which I went at a fast pace to get up it and then found I didn't have much in me when I got to the top to continue at that speed.

There were lots of water stations along the way, usually I avoid them to try and get past the other runners but I found I stopped long enough to take a cup of water to dump on my head and cool me off a bit. We did have sprinklers and sponges but not until the 15km mark of the race.
I didn't have much in me near the end of the race but I still managed to push it the last little bit and I finished with a time of 1:49:06. I am quite happy with this time as it is also a personal best for me. I was a little worried about making it because I find it tougher running in the heat rather than the winter, and I am glad I didn't pass out and was able to walk on my own at the end. There were a lot of people passed out along the race route. I was the 294th female to finish out of 4742 and the 59th out 760 in my age/sex category.

The Countdown Is On

I have been training for the past 4 months for the Half Marathon race. I do have a certain time I have been working towards and am hoping that everything will go as planned. I have run through snow, rain and sun. I have done my hills work starting at 3 and going up to 9 hills over the weeks. I have done my 3 nights of speed work. I have run the race route 2 times the past few weeks so now all I seem to have left is to actually run the race.

I have had a great group of people to run with and we plan to start off the race together, but then it is everyone to themselves. Some of these people are running this for the first time and others are trying to cut their time a bit. All I know is that crossing that finish line is going to be the best feeling. I will have lots of people out there cheering me on and helping me get to that line. My Grandmother will be coming in from Cornwall, my 2 sisters and my mom (I guess I will have to get lots of whacking sticks). So far the weather is looking pretty good and hopefully it will stay that way.

It is suggested that you have another goal lined up for after the race so you have motivation to keep going, so I am trying to decide between 2 races both are in Toronto but one is along the waterfront and the other is through the streets of Toronto. Oh, and it is a MARATHON!

Wish me luck.

I'm Back

I know I have been away from here for quite some time. I think I have just been having some blah moments where I felt like I didn't really have much to say. I have still been reading a lot of your blogs and keeping myself up to date on what is going on with you. So I figured it was time for me to update a bit now too:

• I have just run 21.1km as part of my training for the ING Ottawa Half Marathon Race later this month. I met with my pace group downtown to run the route we would be running for the race. Even though it rained for the first half of the route it felt good to finish and I still felt good at the end. Sunday is usually our Long Slow Distance (LSD) run so we didn't run it at a race pace but we did tend to go faster than we should have. We will be running it again next Sunday as well, hopefully it will be a bit more sunny then and we can really enjoy it. The route is quite nice it starts at City Hall and goes across the Parliament Buildings, over to Hull then comes back along the Rideau Canal. I am actually looking forward to the race, it might sound crazy but I am.


• I went down to the Tulip Festival this past weekend, it started this weekend and goes on until Victoria Monday (May 19). I wanted to go just to Dow's Lake area which is along the canal, however my sister thought it was better down at Major's Hill Park so we went there and unfortunately not many of the tulips have come out to show their bright colours yet. We will probably head towards Dow's Lake next weekend to see more. I did get a few pics though, here is one of painted Tulips all in a row.

• The new family I am with has just moved into the Glebe and I am loving everyday being there. We are about 2 blocks from the Rideau Canal, a block from Bank Street and it is just a short walk to the Nature Museum which we will be getting a membership to at some point. I now have the little one (11 months old) on a great schedule and I am really enjoying my time with her. We go out on a walk everyday and eventually will be making it to the Tot Lot down the street, a park only for Toddlers. The mom will be going back to work in a month and then things will change for the little one but hopefully she will adapt well to it.

• I will be starting another season of Ultimate Frisbee in the next few weeks. I played with this same team last fall and I enjoyed it quite a lot so I decided to play with them again, for the summer we will be playing on Friday nights.

That is pretty much all that is new with me for right now. What have you been up to? Plan to do in the coming weeks now that summer is at our doorsteps?