This was my third Army Half Marathon and my seventh Half
Marathon in total. Since my Marathon debut at
the end of May I had trouble getting back to the volume and intensity that I
was running in the first 5 months of the year. My children were at home with me
all summer and then I started a new job in August, so time was at a premium and
I wasn’t able to run with any great regularity.
I knew the race was going to be tough, but I decided to test
just how much endurance I had by running it a pace that felt quick but not
excessive. The weather was perfect, cool with a cloudless sky, and after a
quick warm up and porta-potty visit I was in my start corral and ready to go.
After a slow start due to crowding I got into my stride and
speeded up on the downhill portion of Wellington
Street. Soon enough I was tackling the first hill
of the course along the Ottawa
River Parkway and was feeling strong and relaxed.
We turned at the lights near the Remic Rapids and could now see all the racers
behind us, it was quite the sight to see the mass of humanity that had turned
out to race. The Army run is a special one, it is a celebration of all the
brave men and women who have served our great country so well and allowed us
the freedoms that we enjoy and take for granted every day. The race itself is
to raise funds for the families of soldiers who have been killed or injured in
the act of serving Canada.
Splits – first 5kms
1 – 5:03
2 – 4:41
3 – 5:01
4 – 4:49
5 – 4:54
Total – 24:28
Heading back towards the War
Museum it was time to tackle hill
number two and as we turned to head into downtown Gatineau I took my first gel. The downtown
portion of Gatineau felt tough with quick turns
and a few steep up and downs but it wasn’t long before I was running up and
onto the Alexandra Bridge to return to Ottawa. The hill coming up off the bridge was
tough, but the crowds were immense and really helped drive me on.
Splits – second 5kms
6 – 5:04
7 – 4:58
8 – 5:03
9 – 5:10
10 – 5:03
Total – 49:46 (25:18)
After a pretty quick 10kms I felt my pace drop considerably
but kept pushing and responded well. As we climbed up towards Rideau Hall and
ran behind it I really started to struggle, it wasn’t a surprise that my
endurance wasn’t there, but with 7kms still to run I took my second gel and just
kept looking ahead, pushing myself on without being too worried about the final
outcome of the race. All I told myself was to keep running and not to let my
complaining mind trick me into giving up.
Splits – third 5kms
11 – 5:18
12 – 5:09
13 – 5:16
14 – 5:30
15 – 5:20
Total – 1:16:19 (26:35)
The mind over matter battle continued until the end of the
race, quite a few runners were now passing me, I wasn’t concerned about that at
all, I just kept picking out distant targets and told myself to run to them, I
had no idea of what sort of time I was on pace for, but when the 1:50 walk/run
bunny passed me at 18 km I figured I would try for sub 1:50. Unfortunately, the
continuous 1:50 bunny passed me about 1.5kms later and although I tried to hang
with him and his pace group, my legs and lungs wouldn’t let me. Soon enough
though, I was approaching the “1km to go” marker.
Splits – forth 5kms
16 – 5:13
17 – 5:26
18 – 5:29
19 – 5:33
20 – 5:39
Total – 1:43-39 (27:20)
The end was close (but not in sight as it only comes into
view with about 200 meters left). I ran as hard as I could and stopped my
Garmin on 1:50:22, a very pleasing result in the circumstances, I had hung on
and gutted it out. Sure I could have run a far more conservative race, but I
wanted to really test my endurance and practice the art of running on very
tired legs. It’s a bit masochistic but I felt I would get more out of the race
by running it this way, rather than taking it easy and then speeding up at the
end.
Splits – last bit
21 – 5:32
256m – 1:11 (4:46/km)
Now I am excited to get back to regular training and take in
a few fall races now that the weather is cooler and perfect for running.
