RACE DAY

We woke up bright and early on Race Day.  We both had a pretty good sleep which was a surprise as we thought we would be looking at the clock all night nervous about sleeping in and not hearing the alarm.   We got ready and had a good hearty breakfast and let it digest.  The morning went pretty smooth.  

We left the hotel at 8am to meet our race buddy at 830am by the court house.  On our way there the weather looked like it had rained a bit but was going to clear up.  It was a nice morning.  We got to the start line and the 5k race will still starting…we should have known at that point that our race would be late starting too as they started the 5k at 8 am and people were still crossing the start line at 820-830.  Once they finished we crossed the street and our run buddy was right here with her Uncle.  We talked and walked around for a few minutes.  Our race was scheduled to start at 930 but at 850 they called everyone into their corrals so we ran to use the bathroom, took a “before” picture (we weren't sure what kind of shape we'd be in after) and settled into our corral.  We chose the purple corral which was for people that thought they would finish the race in 2:30 – 3:00 hrs.  From our training we thought we’d be comfortable in that time frame.  

While lined up we saw a pace bunny for 2:45 WALK….and then a 2:45 run/walk…that 2:45 walk had to be fast walkers…as fast as we run.   The cannon shot off for the start of the race, 930 came and went and we were still standing there.  940 came and went, 950 came and went and I think around 10am our corral finally crossed the start line.  So we stood around for a whole hour in our corral before the race even started.  We will know next time not to line up when they tell us to.  We were newbies so we did what they said.  The pre-race excitement/anticipation dwindled the more we stood around waiting. 

Once we were off there were numerous people lined up all along the road for the first km and then it dwindled after that.  In all the races we’ve ever ran this one had the least amount of cheerers.  We started on a hill up to Parliament and the view we had of the Parliament building and of Ottawa was very pretty.  We wish we had a camera strapped onto our hats to take pictures of the sights we saw.  

Our legs were tired starting off because of the big walk around the city the day before AND it was humid.  We ran the race doing run 10/walk 1 and it was a relief to be done the first 10 min run.  Around 3k we started to split up and Twin 1 struggled with waiting for Twin 2 but when she turned around Twin 2 waved her to keep going so she did.  Twin 1 and the Run Buddy ran together until about 4k and then got separated as well.   Just before that Twin 1 said “It’s so humid I just wish it would rain for one minute to cool us off” …..Then it started raining, and rained and rained.  We crossed over to Quebec and there were some great rushing falls that was a picture of beauty, again wish we had the camera.  In Quebec it was raining pretty hard and there were not a lot of spectators out and about but we don’t blame them because if we hadn’t have signed up for the run we wouldn’t have been out in that rain either.  

Twin 2 found a pack of marching army men to run beside the whole race.  They were all dressed up in their army fatigues with their full backpack gear on.  Most of the run they marched and but did some sprints along the way.  At one point there were two military helicopters flying overhead.  Again, perfect picture opportunity.  Twin 2 was finally in the military :)

We hit 10k crossing back over to Ottawa from Quebec.  Twin 1 needed to pee since being lined up in the corral.  There were porta potties almost at every water station along the route.  The porta potties she saw on the Quebec side were lined up with runners so just after the 10k mark and over the bridge there was one lone porta potty that she saw a runner go into so thought that was her relief.  She waited and the lady came out and yelled "there is no toilet paper in there" so Twin 1 took off again in search of another porta potty. 

The rain let up for a few km and then started back up again heavier than ever.   This year is the first year the route went onto the property of the Governor General and Rideau Hall.   We were thinking the gardens were going to be spectacular and full of blooms but running around there it was just green fields and trees….not sure where the “gardens “ were but at the beginning of the race the announcer said that the Governor General would be out cheering and giving some high fives.  We did not know who the Governor General was or what he looked like but thought we could pick him out as the Run buddy said he would be the old guy with the white hair.

Running through the gardens Twin 1 saw a man standing with some suits around him and saw one person go over and high five him…well she thought this must be the Governor General himself so she put her head down and ran over to him to get a high five and a high five she got!!  Around the corner we saw a bunch of Asian suits.  Not sure if there was a convention or what but they were all standing outside in the rain clapping and cheering us on as well. 

 

After Rideau Hall Twin 1 was still looking for a porta potty and then thought well we should almost be done anyway ….then she saw the 15k mark.  WHAT?! 15k…that means we still have 6.1 k left!!! This is taking FOREVER.  Then she saw the sign that said “you thought this was a good idea 4 months ago”. Yes we did but we did not expect the rain.  We knew it COULD rain but not torrential down pour for 2 and a half full hours straight!

We made it another 17k and then we basically gave up.  We were so wet and we couldn’t even dodge puddles anymore because the whole road was flooded.  We didn’t quit the run but we walked.  At that point we could probably walk faster then run anyway.  You could see the look of defeat on everyone’s face around us.   WE thought only 4 more to go but mentally we just couldn’t do it.   We were a bit disappointed after all of the training we did and in ideal conditions we would have rocked it as our times weren’t that far off of what we thought they would be and it was pouring to boot.

Twin 1 managed to cross the finish line and turned and waited for Twin 2 to finish before going to receive her medal.  The first thing Twin 2 said when she crossed the finish line was “I walked the last 4k” and Twin 1 said to her surprise “I did to!”.  We are twins. 

We walked to get our medals and was glad it was over.

To be continued...