Ottawa Half-Marathon
Sunday, October 13, 2002Race report from Carlene...
Date: Mon Oct 14, 2002
Subject: Race Report: Ottawa Half Marathon
Hi Folks I ran the Ottawa 1/2 Marathon yesterday. Forecast was for a wet day and I was dreading running in the rain. Luckily, the rain held off until after I finished which I really appreciated. (The drive home was terrible though as the rain was substantial.) Before the race while standing in the bathroom line I saw Maryanna and she smartly cut the chatting short and got into the line herself. After using the facilities I decided to go find the start line and position myself near the back of the pack. Maryanna found me before the start and we ran the first kilometer or so together. Then I told her I'd see her at the end and she pulled away.
The elevation profile for the race [courtesy of Somersault Promotions] shows a 65 m elevation change during the race. I have to say it seemed much worse while actually running it though. We were forever climbing uphill and seemed to do very little downhill running in return. Recently my knees have been giving me some problems. Hill climbing and running on slanted surfaces are definite triggers. During the race as I was plugging along my knees were definitely talking to me. I think around the 16K mark I resolved to seek medical advice :(As usual for me I carried my water bottle and pouch and got the bottle refilled at some of the aid stations. At the others I didn't stop but just kept plugging along and thanking the volunteers for coming out. Cytomax, the sports drink, was moderately vile tasting and surprised me by foaming up inside my bottle. Weird.
Around 17 K I saw my husband's parents who had come down to watch the race. I saw them before they saw me and kept waving to catch their attention. My mother-in-law complained that she had forgot the camera at our house. I told them I was starting to feel a little tired. They told me they'd see me at the end. I kept plodding along. The final part of the race is run as a loop around the museum grounds. It seems cruel that they make you wind around so much before finishing. When I got to the finish Maryanna was there cheering and I did a nice sprint and passed one person. Then we chatted for a minute and I saw my in-laws. Talking with them after the race was nice. I missed Maureen's finish but saw her in the finish area (and never did get to talk to her - she seemed to disappear). They were very supportive
and stood with me in the food line and offered to sit with me if I wanted to take a sitting break. (I told them I'd probably freeze up if I sat down.) After a while they decided to walk back to their car and I told them I'd be leaving shortly as well. I saw Maryanna (now warmly dressed) and stayed with her for a bit to listen to the awards. Then I snapped a couple pics of Maryanna on her camera, wished her a safe trip home and we parted ways. I got in the car and, after a short stop to buy a diet coke, drove home through brutal rain. After I got home I rewarded myself with a hot soak in the tub and a big lunch with a piece of pumpkin pie.Today my quads are sore. That hilly course took a lot out of me. I'd do this race again, but only after doing hill training as part of the build up.
My results were:
2:13:00
4/4 Women's Clydesdale
308/379 OverallRace report from Mau...
Date: Tue Oct 15, 2002
Subject: Race Report: Ottawa Half Marathon
Hi Penguins! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.
I also ran the Ottawa Half on Sunday morning. On Saturday night, Maryanna L. came over to my place for dinner -- we had tentatively planned to have her sleep over, but unfortunately, her immune system does not react well to those of the canine persuasion. So, she popped a Claritin and came over to eat. My parents were also visiting for the weekend, and we had a lovely dinner together, chatting about the race and other things.... (By the way, Maryanna, my Dad really enjoyed your company - when I told him about your results, he said, "Wow, that's one tough lady!")
On Sunday morning, we headed out to the race - Tony took Clare in the jog stroller for the 10K. The line-up for the porta potties was SO long, that I was still in it when the gun went off for the half start! "Oh, well, " I told myself, "It doesn't matter -- the race is being chip timed."
So when I did what I had to do (and was glad I did it!), I jogged over to the start and crossed the mat. There was a bunch of people waiting for the 10K start, which was 10 minutes after the half. I saw Tony and Clare, and they cheered me on. Of course, I was so far behind the start time that there was NO ONE around for the first couple of K. Never mind.
Slowly, I came upon the crowd and then started to pass people one by one -- what a great feeling that is! At the first K mark I looked at my watch - I had run the first kilometre in 5:05! Yikes! I forced myself to slow down, because I didn't want to run out of steam.
The course was pretty hilly, but not too bad, and it was lovely to run along country roads and see cows and horses in the fields. At one point, there was a bull moo-ing loudly as we ran by -- I guess he was encouraging us!
I never did see Maryanna or Carlene during the run, but that was no surprise (after all, they are pretty quick!). Coming up to the finish, we crossed a mat which had been set up for the halfway mark of the full marathon -- as Carlene said, it was cruel! We half marathoners still had to do a loop of the field before finishing! I looked at the clock and saw 2:14 -- according
to my watch, my time should have been closer to 2:12.That night I checked results and found no chip time! Disappointed (because of my delay at the start), I emailed the race director to ask why the chip times weren't posted. The response I got was that the chips were meant for the full marathon! I wrote back, rather snippily probably, and said, if the chips were for the full marathon, why give them to everyone else? There was no satisfactory answer, but they DID send me my chip time, which was
2:11:59. I was pretty happy about my result - it's a personal best for me.Tony and Clare came in just under an hour for the 10K and were waiting for me at the finish line. I saw Maryanna cheering, too, but then lost her in the crowd somehow.
All in all, a good race, but next year I'll probably do the beat Beethoven 8K instead.
Happy trails, everyone!
Mau
Race report from Maryanna...
Date: Wed Oct 16, 2002
Subject: RE: Podium Penguin
I headed off to Ottawa on the Thanksgiving weekend for the Fall Colours Half Marathon. Maureen Pecknold was kind enough to pick up my race kit Saturday and have me over for dinner that night.
I always knew Maureen had many talents, but her impersonation of Jean Chretien over a hearty lasagna dinner was priceless. I also got to meet Tony, Maureen's parents and see Clare.
She gave me a tour of her charming three-storey home, which reminded me of an Ottawa version of an elegant Leaside residence. Her place is just off the highway, yet the street is so quiet, you'd swear you were miles from an expressway. Alas, I couldn't take advantage of her offer to put me up for the night, as I'm allergic to dogs and her lovable canine Achilles is a sizeable sneeze hazard.
As for race day, the rain held off for the half marathon and the weather conditions were ideal. I'd describe the Cumberland village race course as scenic, but slightly sinister because of the hills. As most of my races have been in cities, it was odd to get wiffs of manure as you were running. (It certainly masks the smell of sweat well!)
Anyhow, like Maureen, I got caught in a long porty potty lineup and barely made it to the start line on time. (If the race hadn't been held back about two minutes, I probably would have missed the start as well).
I was hoping for a sub two-hour half marathon and clocked a chip time of 1:58.17.3, a personal best by a scant 18 seconds and good enough for a win in the Women's Clydesdale division.
Maryanna Lewyckyj
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