|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
About Brian - Race Results 2008National Capital Marathon Race Report I woke up at around 3:50 in the morning, ten minutes earlier than I had intended, but I felt as though I got a good sleep and was rested enough to tackle the marathon. Race start was at 7AM. I had my 1 cup of oatmeal and 30g of protein and my vitamins and some coffee right away. Took care of all “business” before leaving home (Stittsville) at 5:30AM to head downtown and get ready. We parked at the sports complex and went in there to get some stuff ready which turned out to be a good idea. It was quiet and not much was going on there so I could just focus on what I had to do without the distractions of all the excitement of the race venue. We then walked over to city hall and got there in good time to go pee one more time, take my Tylenol/BCAAs/catapult/elo ad about 15 minutes before the start then make my way over to the start area. We found mom, dad and Annie and they were almost as excited as me! The start went off and I just tried to get into that smart pacing of around 4:35 or so per k. People were flying by me at the start which didn’t worry me as I knew they were either faster than me or would be paying that back later. I tried to hold back as long as possible, but then started running with this pack of about 5 people that I seemed to stay with. Before I knew it I was averaging around 4:28/k pretty early on, not really part of the plan, but it felt SO easy then. I felt great through the first 10k and all the way through Beechwood and back through the half way point I was RIGHT on track. Now the majority of running that was left was Colonel By and Queen Elizabeth, two roads that I know VERY well. This excited me as I figured my experience on these roads would help me get through any pain or discomfort. I felt great all the way up to about Carleton U, then things started feeling real tough. There is a slight but long uphill from before Carleton, pretty much all the way up to Hog’s Back. As soon as I turned off of Colonel By I was contemplating when I was going to be walking, knowing that it was just a matter of time. I was fighting with myself and trying to figure out a way I could walk and STILL BQ. I made all the way to Vincent Massey Park, then saw the hill I was about to climb to get over the bridge, then saw another man walking and my body gave into my brain. I walked for a minute or so, then got back to running, slowly. Halfway up the hill again and I was walking, then running, then walking, then running etc etc. As soon as I started walking, I felt some serious chafing on my inner thighs which was a new discomfort for me, something to definitely take into account next time. My feet also started to feel as though they were blistering up pretty good, adding to some more discomfort. I gave in to the fact that my skyrocketing average pace was not going be dropping back to the 4:30 I need by the end of the race. It was a new strategy of “ok, let’s figure out a way to finish this damn thing”. I used this one guys who seemed to be in the same shape as me to get me running, he’d run past me as I was walking, then I’d start running 10 seconds later, he’d stop, I’d pass him and run for as long as I could then stop and wait for him to pass me back. After a while I passed him and held on long enough that he never caught up with me again. Then it was “run to the next aid station, or run to the next km marker etc”. Finally crowds started to pick up, giving a little more energy to my sore, tired, cramping legs and calves. Then I saw the owner of Cyclelogik, clearly running the half, and obviously in great time. He flew by me around 750m to go and I just booked it right behind him to try and keep up. I ran that last stretch in a 4:00/k pace and finished up pretty “strong”. |
