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...

Race Eve

Saturday morning we arose bright and early.  Twin 1 went for Starbucks while Twin 2 was getting ready as our coffee pot only had a single cup pot and we both required coffee.  Twin 1 only ever orders black so they filled both coffees to the brim and when Twin 1 tried to put milk in Twin 2’s it didn’t go so well as it was already so full.  Twin 2 had black coffee as well.  We started the day off with coffee and oatmeal with bananas and almonds. 

 After breakfast we headed over to race kit pick up. We assumed we’d be waiting in line for hours so we got there shortly after it opened.  Our Google map printout said it would be a 15-20 min walk so we set out and when we arrived to our surprise there was no line up at all. Everyone must have gotten them on Friday because on Facebook it showed the huge line up out the door.  This was set up a little differently than any of the other kit pick ups we’ve been to.  First we had to get our bib then got it verified and then we had to pick up our shirts at the back of the race expo.  I guess that’s a good way to get you to walk through the expo.  So we picked up our shirts and walked around and checked things out.   It didn’t take long to walk around as it wasn’t too big.  We did find some purple shirts that said “Run Strong – Ottawa” and they were only $19 so we each bought one.  

 We went to the Running Room booth and saw that our sneakers were on sale because apparently they were last year’s model and they were trying to get rid of them.   We said we would think about it and might be back for them.  In hindsight we probably should have bought them because our sneakers from the race are still trying to dry.  More on that in another post. 

Here are a few pictures of the Army Vehicles and Race Expo.

On our way out people were taking photos under the sign so we joined in.

We finished there early and we didn’t really want to walk ALL THE WAY back to the hotel so we went to the mall and walked around looking for stores to shop at on Monday as we waited for our other Race Buddy to arrive.  A lot of the mall was under construction and most of the stores we shop at are not in the mall anymore and we are way too cheap to shop at all the brand name stores. 

At lunch time we stopped at the food court to eat.  Again, being cheap we brought our own lunch.  PB sandwiches and an apple.  We hung out there for a bit and then met our Race Buddy on the corner and went back to the Race Expo with her and then over to the park across the street to catch up.

Endorsing Asics

Late afternoon we parted ways, walked her back to her car and on our way back to the hotel we hit the grocery store to get some entrees to eat before supper.  Entrees included cheese and grapes again and some macaroons. 

We cooked up some supper and relaxed the rest of the evening.

Salad, Sweet Potato & Chicken

 We laid out all our race gear and tried to get some sleep.  

 In hindsight we shouldn’t have walked around Ottawa for as long and as much as we did. 

Travel Day (continued)

As mentioned in a previous post our intentions of updating our blog daily did not come to light.  Our hotel room didn't have the greatest wifi connection to upload all we needed/wanted to say/share in photos.  Our plan now is to try and do a post a day of the days we were away (some more exciting than others) instead of one looooong post.

Friday (Travel Day)

We got to the airport in Hali around 12:00 noon and the excitement was starting to set in.

Twin 1 seemed a tad more excited lol

First stop after check in was security.  We have never seen the security line so long in Hali.  Someone must have been on lunch.

Speaking of lunch, we are cheap and were trying to save money where we could so Twin 2 packed some peanut butter sandwiches for lunch while waiting at the airport. 

We thought Porter might give us a free lunch as well but unfortunately it was just snacks and drinks.  For snacks we had the option of chips/cookies/almonds.  We chose chips (the decision needed to be made quick).  We were given these...low sodium gluten free excotic vegetable chips. Yum. Yum.

Twin 1 thought this looked like Onyx's pig ear.

Cookies it is next time.

We arrived in Ottawa around 3:30 p.m., caught a cab and checked into our hotel.  It was pretty nice.  It was pretty much a one bedroom apartment with a bedroom/bathroom/full kitchen/dining area/living room/balcony.  Highly recommend. We liked this idea as well so we could cook our meals and again, not spend a lot of money.

Once checked in we headed to the nearest grocery store and bought some food for the weekend, most importantly being our supper on Saturday night and breakfast Sunday morning before the race.  Friday night we decided to pick up a frozen pizza and have that and in the meantime we snacked on cheese and grapes.  Loved this little package.  Also had crackers in there as well.  We picked another one up again on Saturday for an afternoon snack.

After supper we checked out the rest of the hotel and planned out our Saturday.

View from rooftop sun deck

Tip Tuesday

If an event such as a marathon or charity run is in an unfamiliar city, make yourself familiar with the course beforehand. Run it, drive it, or at the very least, look at a map to know what to expect. Make note of major landmarks and hilly sections.

Do not walk around for 9 hours the day before a race as your legs will be tired for race day.

1/2 Complete

Well we did it. In the torrential rain. Just when you think it couldn't rain any harder, it did.

We are sorry about not updating the blog this weekend but our hotel doesn't have the best wifi connection. We will update and recap when we get home.

In the meantime, here is our bib and dog tag medals. This is why we ran lol