National Capital Marathon (Ottawa, Ont.)
Sunday, May 14, 2000

Race report for Heather's first marathon...
Date: Tue May 16, 2000
Subject: Well, I finished! - Race Report for NCM
 

It was my first marathon. I trained and trained. I read all the materials, I ate right, I didn't drink, I was ready!! My journey started way back in January when my friend Susan and I decided we would run the National Capital Marathon. It seemed only logical - we had run the Scotiabank 1/2 marathon together in September and now we needed a new challenge! I went to bed early on Saturdays to get up for the Sunday runs. I ran through sleet, snow and rain to get ready. It was finally here - I couldn't believe it. I decided to go for the early bird start (an hour ahead of the regular runners) just in case something happened and I couldn't make my 5 hour goal. As you will find out, it's probably good that I did.

I started out with two of my running mates whom I had been training with for the past 17 weeks. I had the race plan written out that we were going to follow with times marked for when we would take gels, etc. All was going according to plan. Around 15K I hit a bit of a bad spot and told Sherri and Franca to go ahead, I would try and catch up to them later. I walked for a bit, drank a bunch and hit a porta potty. (too much for dinner?) By 20K I was feeling fine. I even toyed with the idea of abandoning my walk breaks I was feeling so good. (I only toyed - I knew it was too early to change race plans)

The crowd support was great for the majority of the run. There were some areas that were fairly deserted but there was always nice scenery. I lived in Ottawa for 9 years so it was nice to be back and remember various events from my life as I passed certain landmarks. The volunteers were awesome for this race - water every 3K, sponges, food, cheering, a bagpipe - it was great! Around 27K I started to have problems. My right IT band started to ratchet down, tighter and tighter. I hadn't been suffering any problems with it during training until the last month. I would stop, stretch it out and it would go away or diminish enough that I could continue. So I followed the same strategy. I'd stop, stretch and run, stop, stretch and run.... By 30K I knew it was not going to happen. It just would not let go and the pain was excruciating when I tried to run. That was it - my plan was out the window. There were a few tears of frustration, there was alot of cursing ( thank goodness it was a fairly deserted part of the course). I stopped my 10/1 timer and decided that my medal was waiting for me and I was going to get it! I walked (and walked and walked and walked....) Surprisingly enough, even walking I was passing people. I timed one of my Km's and I was walking at just over 8 m/km - I'm sure it varied over the 12 odd km I had to walk but I was determined to finish. As I approached the finish line the crowd started to get bigger, people were yelling "you're almost there!!! keep going!!" I also took someone's advice and wore my name on my shirt - hearing someone yell "GO HEATHER!!" was really uplifting! Then I saw Chris (my partner and biggest supporter) - he was 400m before the finish line taking pictures. He was cheering me in (my friend Susan had already finished so he knew what shape I was in) He was yelling "you know you can do it" I was feeling a little overwhelmed - I was actually going to finish! The last 200m I ran. It wasn't pretty, the pain was unbearable, I'm sure I looked a little like Terry Fox (for those of you who don't know who this is - Glenn wrote a great email last year) I crossed the finish line!! Someone handed me a medal, I limped out of the chute and Chris found me. I started to bawl. I admit it - I cried and cried and cried. I was hurt, I was frustrated, I had a medal. My final time was 5:44:50 - alot longer than I planned but I'm trying to look on the positive - I finished! Today I'm walking fairly normally. I have no muscle stiffness, only joint pain. After all this I've learned a few things.... changing plans in the middle is ok if you have no other options, I can do things I put my mind to, and if you coat cut up pieces of Powerbar with flour they won't stick together! All in all, I'm not the person I was when I started - and of course, now I'm going to have to do one next year to prove to myself that I could have run the whole thing if my knee had held out! (hmmm maybe RNR??) yours in penguiness Heather :) aka RaceWanda Toronto, Canada

 

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