Ottawa Marathon

Ottawa is a beautiful city.  I enjoyed  a few days of long walks and even a little river cruise as I explored the city. But one worry was hanging over the heads of all the runners as well as the race directors.  The forecast was for 90 degrees plus it has been in the high 80's to 90's for the last few days.  There was even talk of canceling the race.  They did finally move the half Marathon and the 10K races to an earlier start but left us marathoners with the original 7 am start.

But it was rather cool this morning plus overcast with a pretty good breeze.  Bystanders had hoses and sprinklers and sprayed us all as we passed by.  I was honestly never really too hot.  The water cooled me off.  I really did push myself though.  I finished at 6:10, which is quite the improvement over all those long ones I just completed.  I was worried that they would close the race before I finished.  The last 10K was a little warm but again it wasn't that bad with all the water that people were spraying on me.  I found out after I finished that those who didn't cross the bridge leaving Quebec by 11 am ended up being directed past the last 10K loop and finishing only a 20 mile course instead of 26.2.  Fortunately I was fast enough that it didn't happen to me. I was so happy to finish in time and I still had energy.  I've said before that it's really easier to run faster and get finished than to take your time and take 8 hours.  It's all about the amount of time on your feet.

I'm pretty happy that I was able to run 14 full marathons this month, plus one last month and also walk about 200 miles through Italy.  I am ready for a day at home and a more restful month up in Deadhorse at work.  But I think I will miss the daily marathons.  It becomes habit when you run that far day after day.  It was hard but I really did enjoy it.

The Medal is Gorgeous!

Crossing the finish line in Ottawa