You see, it was my very first ever marathon, back in May of 2000.
My brother and I decided to run a big race, and (with a real lack of experience or knowledge of options) we chose the Ottawa Marathon. They offered a "half-marathon" also, but we had never heard of such a race. Anything with "half" in the title didn't seem as special. Hell. We were going for the whole marathon!
I remember searching for training plans on my computer (slowly...with dial-up internet) and printing one off so I could gain enough miles to "complete" the race.
Back then, they offered an "Early Bird" option for the marathon. Looking back, it seems really funny, but at the time, we thought it was best to take that option. That way, we would have plenty of time to finish the race. (Plenty being a whole extra hour).
My parents came to Ottawa to watch us race. It was the tulip festival, and Mother's Day weekend. They arrived by train the day before, and Scott and I drove on our own. We went to the "race kit pickup" together. One big room, shortish lines, no expo. Our kits came with long sleeved cotton t-shirts (which seemed fancy, but we DID fork out a whole $50.00 in registration, so a nice shirt and medal seemed appropriate!). Of course, I still have that long-sleeved shirt.
Race day, we woke up early (the early bird start was at 7:00am) and ate Vector Cereal. We tried at stretch as best as we could, then we walked over to the starting line.
The starting line had no corrals, and only 200 people, max. They welcomed all of the early birds and the gun went off! We were on our way! The route was two loops. We briskly ran along and soaked up the perfect sunshine and air of the day. We came up to a water station, but didn't take any (this was a common theme of the day...foreshadowing...)
The route was lovely. The canal, the landmarks, the nature. We clapped and bounced and cheered along with every spectator we saw. We were having f.u.n. I had never heard of a sponge station before, but it was definitely welcome (I'm going to guess it was around the 15k marker). The sun was getting warm.
We came through the half (which was back at the starting line) in about 1:45-1:50. Our parents were right there, cheering. We smiled huge smiles and yelled out our loudest, "Happy Mother's Day, Mom!!" We headed out into our second loop feeling fantastic. Legs still full of energy, caught up in all of the excitement.
Normally, when one runs a marathon, one starts back in a corral, waaaay behind the elite runners. One never gets to see them speeding along on the course. Between our "early bird" start, and the double-loop of the course, we had the fortune of seeing the lead runners pass us! On our second loop, a truck with cameras, and some cyclists passed us, with big signs that said, "lead runner". It was really cool to be "passed" by the leaders. Don't worry, we stayed alllll the way over on the side, out of their way ;)
The lead women also had a car and cyclists, and of course they passed us too. It was exciting.
We passed by all of the same landmarks, beside the canal, under the same overpass, through the same park, over the same overpass, past the same sponge station, etc. as the first time. By the time we hit the opposite side of the canal, this runner was starting to feel the fatigue. Big time.
Remember the part where I said I didn't take any water? So, I had this crazy idea that all of that water slogging around in my stomach would make me feel crappy, so I kept my sips to an absolute minimum. Gatorade? Noooooo. That would be even worse on my stomach, wouldn't it? Drinking stuff during a marathon is really just for wimps, I thought.
Listen... I really didn't know any better! I had done all of my training runs without water or Gatorade,(I had never even heard of gels) so surely I would be fine for all 26 miles? Yes, the World Wide Web was around, but it didn't occur to be to consult it for "fuelling during a marathon" information. I thought my own strength and determination were all I needed. It's funny, because I am the kind of person that reads up on everything. Not with this. I just didn't think about it too much (clearly!)
Fast forward through a couple of slightly slower miles, to about mile 22. Evil mile 22. As we approached a water station, I confessed to my brother, "I really think I might need a walk break." Of course he was happy to oblige, even though he didn't show any signs of fatigue. I also decided maybe I should take some water AND some Gatorade.
We walked through those gulps and plugged on.
The next 4 miles involved more of this. At one point I said, "you go ahead, save yourself. I am just
going to go lay down over in the grass for a minute." Of course, he wouldn't have any of it. He told me, "we started together and we said we would run it together." He really is the perfect brother.
I know if he had finished the race without his little sister, my parents would have been very upset, (and he probably knew that too) but I also know he would never have left me in his dust after coming all that way.
Even with my slower pace, spectators were amazed as we passed, and were going crazy. We realized that they didn't know we had actually started an hour earlier! So we started yelling back, "no, no, we're early birds!" As if we didn't deserve their cheers somehow. Even if you aren't running a sub-3hr marathon, cheers are welcome. Duh.
Finally. Finally.
We came up to the curve to the finish. I couldn't believe it. I am sure that my legs were just shuffling at that point. My feet were probably barely lifting off the ground. I could see Mom and Dad! We were finishing this thing!!
The relief on my mother's face is something I will never ever forget. I am guessing that, rightfully, based on how fresh and speedy we were through the mid-point, they calculated us finishing a lot earlier!
We came through the (small) chute and received our medals. We hugged and shuffled (oh, my stiff,
stiff legs) and stared at each other in disbelief. We had finished it!
My dad had parked my brother's pick up truck about 50 meters from the finish (I told you this race was tiny back then!). My dad had to lift me into the truck to drive the 2 blocks to our hotel. When we entered the hotel room, Scott collapsed on one bed, and I collapsed on the other. Mom helped us untie our running shoes. We both fell fast asleep, but not before saying, "Happy Mother's Day, Mom!" again.
We had to drive back from Ottawa that day, which was about a six-hour drive for me, and eight hours
for Scott. When we stopped for dinner, my quads were happy to remind me just how far we had run that morning!
I worked at a shoe store, and the next day while I worked, I almost cried while re-stocking shoe boxes on the shelves in the back room. The lifting and squatting in absolute pain was a completely new feeling for me!
Our finishing time was 4:18:22 (chip time) or 4:20:47 gun time.
How, you're probably wondering, or why did I ever decide to go for marathon number two? Or, three, four, etc? I really feel like you can't just do one marathon. There are so, so many things I learned during that race. There are the obvious things, like fuel for endurance, but there were so many things I learned about myself. Like my ability to persevere beyond reason. My ability to forget about the pain once a medal is wrapped around my neck ;)
And, we can't forget that I confirmed the best brother in the world award always goes to Scott.
We ran Ottawa Marathon again in 2002. We each ran our own race, and he finished waaaaay faster than me. I did manage to finish faster than my previous time also, but that could've had something to do with a better fuel plan.
Look a those young, fresh faces! We had noooooo idea what we were in for!
Happy Running!
The starting line had no corrals, and only 200 people, max. They welcomed all of the early birds and the gun went off! We were on our way! The route was two loops. We briskly ran along and soaked up the perfect sunshine and air of the day. We came up to a water station, but didn't take any (this was a common theme of the day...foreshadowing...)
The route was lovely. The canal, the landmarks, the nature. We clapped and bounced and cheered along with every spectator we saw. We were having f.u.n. I had never heard of a sponge station before, but it was definitely welcome (I'm going to guess it was around the 15k marker). The sun was getting warm.
We came through the half (which was back at the starting line) in about 1:45-1:50. Our parents were right there, cheering. We smiled huge smiles and yelled out our loudest, "Happy Mother's Day, Mom!!" We headed out into our second loop feeling fantastic. Legs still full of energy, caught up in all of the excitement.
Normally, when one runs a marathon, one starts back in a corral, waaaay behind the elite runners. One never gets to see them speeding along on the course. Between our "early bird" start, and the double-loop of the course, we had the fortune of seeing the lead runners pass us! On our second loop, a truck with cameras, and some cyclists passed us, with big signs that said, "lead runner". It was really cool to be "passed" by the leaders. Don't worry, we stayed alllll the way over on the side, out of their way ;)
The lead women also had a car and cyclists, and of course they passed us too. It was exciting.
We passed by all of the same landmarks, beside the canal, under the same overpass, through the same park, over the same overpass, past the same sponge station, etc. as the first time. By the time we hit the opposite side of the canal, this runner was starting to feel the fatigue. Big time.
Remember the part where I said I didn't take any water? So, I had this crazy idea that all of that water slogging around in my stomach would make me feel crappy, so I kept my sips to an absolute minimum. Gatorade? Noooooo. That would be even worse on my stomach, wouldn't it? Drinking stuff during a marathon is really just for wimps, I thought.
Listen... I really didn't know any better! I had done all of my training runs without water or Gatorade,(I had never even heard of gels) so surely I would be fine for all 26 miles? Yes, the World Wide Web was around, but it didn't occur to be to consult it for "fuelling during a marathon" information. I thought my own strength and determination were all I needed. It's funny, because I am the kind of person that reads up on everything. Not with this. I just didn't think about it too much (clearly!)
Fast forward through a couple of slightly slower miles, to about mile 22. Evil mile 22. As we approached a water station, I confessed to my brother, "I really think I might need a walk break." Of course he was happy to oblige, even though he didn't show any signs of fatigue. I also decided maybe I should take some water AND some Gatorade.
We walked through those gulps and plugged on.
The next 4 miles involved more of this. At one point I said, "you go ahead, save yourself. I am just
going to go lay down over in the grass for a minute." Of course, he wouldn't have any of it. He told me, "we started together and we said we would run it together." He really is the perfect brother.
I know if he had finished the race without his little sister, my parents would have been very upset, (and he probably knew that too) but I also know he would never have left me in his dust after coming all that way.
Even with my slower pace, spectators were amazed as we passed, and were going crazy. We realized that they didn't know we had actually started an hour earlier! So we started yelling back, "no, no, we're early birds!" As if we didn't deserve their cheers somehow. Even if you aren't running a sub-3hr marathon, cheers are welcome. Duh.
Finally. Finally.
We came up to the curve to the finish. I couldn't believe it. I am sure that my legs were just shuffling at that point. My feet were probably barely lifting off the ground. I could see Mom and Dad! We were finishing this thing!!
The relief on my mother's face is something I will never ever forget. I am guessing that, rightfully, based on how fresh and speedy we were through the mid-point, they calculated us finishing a lot earlier!
We came through the (small) chute and received our medals. We hugged and shuffled (oh, my stiff,
stiff legs) and stared at each other in disbelief. We had finished it!
My dad had parked my brother's pick up truck about 50 meters from the finish (I told you this race was tiny back then!). My dad had to lift me into the truck to drive the 2 blocks to our hotel. When we entered the hotel room, Scott collapsed on one bed, and I collapsed on the other. Mom helped us untie our running shoes. We both fell fast asleep, but not before saying, "Happy Mother's Day, Mom!" again.
We had to drive back from Ottawa that day, which was about a six-hour drive for me, and eight hours
for Scott. When we stopped for dinner, my quads were happy to remind me just how far we had run that morning!
I worked at a shoe store, and the next day while I worked, I almost cried while re-stocking shoe boxes on the shelves in the back room. The lifting and squatting in absolute pain was a completely new feeling for me!
Our finishing time was 4:18:22 (chip time) or 4:20:47 gun time.
How, you're probably wondering, or why did I ever decide to go for marathon number two? Or, three, four, etc? I really feel like you can't just do one marathon. There are so, so many things I learned during that race. There are the obvious things, like fuel for endurance, but there were so many things I learned about myself. Like my ability to persevere beyond reason. My ability to forget about the pain once a medal is wrapped around my neck ;)
And, we can't forget that I confirmed the best brother in the world award always goes to Scott.
We ran Ottawa Marathon again in 2002. We each ran our own race, and he finished waaaaay faster than me. I did manage to finish faster than my previous time also, but that could've had something to do with a better fuel plan.
Happy Running!
