The Army run is always a special one for me as my first ever Half Marathon was at the Army run back in 2008 and I have run it every year since that great day.
I vowed to run as hard as I could and was hopeful that I could hold on and go sub 1:50. After my hugely disappointing National Capital Half Marathon that I ran with a stomach bug, I was determined not to have a bad race.
The gun went off, and I mean gun, they use a huge military cannon. I scrambled amongst the 9000 other runners trying not to go too fast, but also trying not to lose too much time behind slower runners. 5:03 for the 1st kilometer was fine and I upped the pace a touch and held it there for the next few kilometers along Wellington and the River Parkway.
1st 5km Splits
1km - 5:03
2km - 4:45
3km - 5:03
4km - 4:54
5km - 5:00 (total 24:46)
I was feeling pretty comfortable and was not having any problems with my breathing at this point, but I knew I was not going to be able to run at the race pace I set myself earlier in the training cycle (4:40/km). I decided not to dwell on that disappointment and just try and hold my pace around 5:00/km and see where it led me. The next few kilometers back along the Parkway were pretty uneventful but the ups and downs in downtown Hull required my effort level to rise.
2nd 5km Splits
6km - 5:01
7km - 4:53
8km - 4:59
9km - 5:04
10km - 5:00 (total 25:00)
My pace dropped off a bit as we climbed up off the Alexandra bridge and back in to Ottawa, I was able to rebound on the downhill past the Royal Mint but I was starting to feel how hard it was to maintain my effort level. The support was as amazing as ever and I used as much of it as possible to drive me on as I knew there was still a lot of ground to cover. As I rounded Rockliffe Park I encountered some of the injured soldiers that were competing, some in wheelchairs, others with blades, and some with crutch-like devices to help them keep balance. I got a bit of a boost as I applauded and thanked these brave soldiers for sacrificing their health and risking their lives for the protection of Canada and vowed to myself to gut this race out to the finish.
3rd 5km Splits
11km - 5:11
12km - 5:01
13km - 5:07
14km - 5:09
15km - 5:12 (total 25:43)
Coming back up the hill towards the Art Museum was the hardest part, my pace was dropping but I was gutting it out and giving as much as I had. My stamina had taken a bit of a hit when I got sick but I was pushing really hard at this point, mentally ticking off each landmark as I passed it. The crowds were noisy all along the route from beside the American Embassy all the way along the Canal to the Pretoria Bridge. I was really hurting at this point but I know the route well and knew that I was getting close to the finishing straight on the other side of the Canal.
4th 5km Splits
16km - 5:16
17km - 5:25
18km - 5:22
19km - 5:19
20km - 5:25 (total 26:48)
With just over a kilometer to go I found another gear and on jelly legs I pushed as hard as I could. The finish line was not as far along Queen Elizabeth as in previous years and kind of took me by surprise but as soon as I saw it I surged and sprinted as hard as I could hitting the line at full tilt.
Last Splits
21km - 5:07
260m - 1:06 (4:15/km)
At the end of the day it was a really good race. I finished in 1:48:32, just over 3 and a half minutes slower than my personal best. Hopefully my next Half Marathon will see me fully trained up with no illness beforehand.
