Race review: the Ottawa Marathon virtual 10k

It’s been almost two weeks since I finished my Ottawa Marathon virtual 10k, a race I was thinking about from March until I finally ran it on September 6th. It was literally the second last day to complete the run… Not sure if that was procrastination or trying to cram as much gentle training in before the deadline as possible… Probably both.

TBH, I was ready to just get it over with. The Ottawa Marathon team was doing their best to keep me and the other race ambassadors on Team Awesome motivated and connected on social media.

Still, the mental stress that COVID inflicted on many (most) of us left me feeling a little numb. As the race date got closer, I felt… kind of nothing? No nerves, no worries, no thrills…

At least until I opened up my race kit.

Ottawa Marathon Virtual Race Kit Realness

I saved opening that baby for the day before the run because that’s what I would have done for an in-person race. The two mailers I got in the mail sat to one side in my apartment for weeks, tempting me like Nike.

I’m glad I waited. Finally tearing into those envelopes the day before the race made everything real. Really real. The swag was nice too, and a note from the Ottawa Marathon team about the tough circumstances made me teary.

I left the medal in my envelope without looking at it. I wasn’t going to do that it until the race was over and I had earned it.

I think in some way holding onto these little race rituals made the experience feel more authentic and intense.

 

RACE👏DAY👏IS👏TOMORROW! I finally got to open up my virtual race kit! Medal is still in the envelope because I don't want to see it until I cross the finish line. #OttawaMarathon #OttawaMarathon10k #VirtualRace #TeamAwesome #runlove #raceambassador #nuun #nuunhydration #larabar #xactnutrition #TamarackHomes #raceweekend #plussizerunner #plussizeathlete #fatrunner #slowaf

 

Where was I?

RACE NERVES! The flutter-and-clutch feelings that come before a race, or possibly a test if you’ve never toed a starting line or headed into a corral and are looking for a comparison.

I don’t know what I thought this test was actually FOR—my knee was twingeing and, at my current speed, I had no hope of a PR.

(Virtual) 10K Race Day

Still, I was excited to finally see the race all the way through to the finish.

The next day, that’s exactly what I did. Here’s a brief bullet-point summary:

• Coffee and bagel to fuel up first thing in the a.m.

• Hoping for poop to come, but there was no poop. (The Ottawa Marathon team did not share my Instagram story about this. I don’t blame them.)

• Pre-race warm-up with my toddler niece. She gives me the frostiest but most-needed of fickle two-year-old high fives.  

• Nerves!

• The running part starts.

• I head out a little too fast (JUST LIKE A REAL RACE) with my boyfriend dashing after me like the paparazzi. 

• Ended up running 8 minutes, walking 1 minute in intervals.

• Legs were tanked by about 7 KM. My forever-pesky-problem-child left foot was pounding by this point too.

• Race vibes HIGH and REAL at this point. I was determined to keep going with people waiting for me at the end, but also suffering in a Big Way.

• Around the 9 KM mark, my sister, brother-in-law, wee niece and boyfriend jumped out of nowhere on the route with a sign to cheer me on.

• …Then they somehow raced back to their house to set up a finish line? (I’m very lucky!)

• Finished my slowest but MOST satisfying 10K ever with a homemade finish line made of pink paper party streamer.

• MEDAL ACHIEVED.

• Collapsed on grass to stretch while wee niece patted me and I made noises of pain. “Don’t cry auntie Wiley!” (I did not cry. I wanted to.) 

• Went home, showered, stretched, foam rolled (cue the actual crying part).

• Social distance post-race oudoor pizza party with my boyfriend and bff.

So it’s all over and I loved it.

 

RUN LOVE. #TeamAwesome #OttawaMarathon10k #OttawaMarathon #virtualrace #Sundayrunday #plussizerunner #plussizeathlete #fatrunner #fatandfit #slowaf #slowafrunclub #runOttawa2020

 

Running Any Which Way

I took some time off running after that, because problem-child-left-leg felt like a grenade had exploded in the calf. After about four days, I figured getting some movement in would help free up the muscle and went for a gentle run/walk.

I’ve been on a steady regimen of run/walk pretty much every other day since. 

Here’s the thing: I loved the race. I loved the race kit. I love the medal. It brought up all these exciting and challenging feelings I haven’t had since Run for the Toad last year. It was a great experience!

However, maybe for the first time since I started running almost a decade ago and racing became my M.O. for motivation, I don’t have the immediate urge to sign up for another one. 

I’m currently not training for anything and I’m LOVING it. 

Surprise! Body Liberation

In addition to that, I’ve snuggled myself up in a body liberation valley where (at least for the moment) I have settled with the fact that I am not running or exercising to change the shape of my body anymore.

It’s easy to say one thing but hope for another thing deep down. I think, at least for the moment, I’ve let some of that go.

I was really nervous to see the pictures and videos my boyfriend took on race day, petrified of the disordered and diet culture-y thoughts that seeing my larger body IN ACTION might kick up But… for once, no such thing happened. I was just a runner. A plus-size runner, out doing my thing.

Photo: Josh Tenn-Yuk

The pictures didn’t raise thoughts about dieting. There was no cringing.

I thought about all the cars I ran by during my 10 KM, and wondered who saw me on the move. I’d like to think at least one person had their perceptions challenged or saw new possibilities for themselves.

With beautiful fall weather here, no races, and no ulterior motives I am literally just running because I like to run.

Which is… Cool. Freeing. Radical. Scary. Peaceful. Honest.

Maybe by next week or next month I’ll change my mind and be raring to go, but for now? I’m settled.

Well, like not settled. Still moving, like running and everything—just willing to sit back and see where I feel like going next.

Run For The Toad 2019 Race Review: First Toad, Last Toad #2

Here’s part II of my Run For The Toad race review, which has been split into two parts like the last movie in any Dystopian YA franchise. (Just call me Katniss Everrun.)

You can get caught up on part I here. Let’s get bizzay.

Going Solo

• Second loop was much more empty. Less people on the course. It made it harder not to focus on the tension in my calves from the hills, or focus on the pain in the balls of me feet whenever I jogged down a hill… And there were lots of hills.

• On the other hand, running in the woods alone was much more relaxing.

• I stopped at an aid station and snagged some gummy bears. I was too overwhelmed by choices to know what to eat. Couldn’t even tell you what else was there besides potato chips and pretzels.

• Somewhere during this time I started cursing my love of running. Sometimes out loud into the air. I was going to have to take a break from running. I was insane. Why did I LIKE this?

• I stoped to re-tie my shoes tightly—like tenser bandages to alleviate some of the discomfort in my feet.

Strength In Numbers

• They might be fast as h*ck but ultra runners are SO nice. Every single one who passed me had words of encouragement. “It’s tough, you’re doing a great job!” “Nice work!”

• Closing in on the last 6.25km, an ultra runner scared me when he said “great job!” coming up from behind me. I hadn’t heard him, he was SO quiet. I startled and yelled—he apologized…while running. and high-fived me, still while running. Then he took off into the trees, like a speedy forest spirit in compression socks.

 

 

• Somewhere in the last 5k I converged on the trail with Michelle, a woman in her late 50s or early 60s. We started to run and walk together, talking about the race, our running history, anything and everything to keep us moving forward.

• Turns out people are the secret ingredient. Maybe everyone else knew this but I’ve avoided running with other people for years until now and it was… awesome. Encouraging. Distracting. I wasn’t feeling any pain or how tired my legs were.

• Even the agony of Skeleton Hill was less painful with someone else there.

• We hit the 12K sign. Only 500m to go.

• Finally. FINALLY, we rounded the bend to see the finish line waiting. Spotted my boyfriend waiting.

• Then the finish line worked its magic. I stopped hurting. I stopped thinking.

• I think I yelled “OH SHIT” and powered across the finish line as much as I could manage with the rest of the energy I had.

POST-RACE & 25KM PIE

• I thanked Michelle for helping me through the end of the race and we high-fived.

• We collected medals and bottles of water, I couldn’t even pay attention to the Halloween candy or other offerings at the finish. My heart was pounding, my head was spinning. I was soaring. I had been nervous about the run, I hadn’t trained as intensely as I usually do… and I had still finished.

 

 

• Boyfriend came over. I either threw myself or collapsed into his arms and started to cry, a half dozen emotions bursting at that moment.

• Proud. Exhausted. Overwhelmed. Drained. Invigorated. I was thriving with the intense life that only seems to overcome me on the heels of a race finish.

• While we were snapping finish line pics, someone yelled my name. The Mayors, Rachel and Nick, were on the far side of the finish line. They both gave me HUGE hugs. Pain once again disappeared.

• We talked about the race and I headed back to my car to change.

• Not before I laid on the grass and marvelled at all the things I was feeling in my body and also my feels.

• Went to get food (Shoutouts to Stone Crock in St. Jacob’s) and sat down in the sun at the picnic tables outside. I have never had a better bite of apple pie. Maybe it was the 25K or maybe it was just really good pie.

• I’m going to at least give some of it to the 25K.

Run For The Toad 2019 Race Review: First Toad, Last Toad #1

Run For The Toad 2019 is over for all the runners who ran it, for the volunteers who made it work and the spectators who watched it—it’s also over for good. This was the Toad’s last year, and I was lucky enough to take on the 25K distance as my first major trail race.

I only had a soft half-knowledge I was stepping onto the trails the likes of world record-breaking elite ultra runners and also Death himself but… We’ll get there. I just wanted a challenging Fall race, which is exactly what I got.

So without further ado, here’s my Run For The Toad race recap for the first—and last—time ever. P.S. It’s in two parts because Hollywood is doing it, so I am too. Part II is here!

The Scottish Play

• The volunteer waiting at the drive into Pinehurst Conservation Area smiled at me.
“Good morning! You ready to run?” Lol probably not. “Well I guess I better be by now eh?”

• By that token, everyone was SO nice. Every volunteer. Every racer. The trail running community is a tougher, wilder, gentler more welcoming place. When people say trail running is fun, you can actually believe them.

• The sky was blue and I hate to say it, but the air was downright crisp. Also, there were bagpipes.

• Someone sang the American AND Canadian national anthem. There was something moving about hearing the entire crowd softly joining in with O Canada under their breath, misting in the cold.

 

 

• George and Peggy said some words. I don’t remember what they were exactly—brief and sweet and grateful.

• Then George helped to fire a cannon to kick off the kid’s 1k Toad Pal race. Yep. A cannon.

• Pre-race nerves (or 1.5 Tim Hortons coffees) started to kick in, so I started looking for people I know. And I found them—the mayors of Trail Running (@_the_vikings_) and my friend Sarah. They gave me hugs and pep talks and also introduced me to a bunch of people whose names I instantly forgot because my mind was bees.

• I also spotted the Grim Reaper from Around The Bay. I guess he felt responsible to show up since the End of the Toad was near.

The Race Begins

• The view from the start line:

 

 

• We set off trotting in a pack. As the trail wove through the woods, the hills rolled and the path wove its way through the landscape.

• The forest was gorgeous with broad streaks of sun slipping through tree branches, pooling on a ground blanketed with soft pine needles. The course had its share of running through open fields and even parking lots, but I loved the bits in the forest best.

• We kept passing the Reaper on the course, listening to his words of encouragement—“Come on, I don’t have all day!” Occasionally he would dart past us in a flurry of black robes only to torment us further on down the trail.

• …I actually really love the Grim Reaper.

The Achilles Dilemma

• By 6.25km, the first half of the first loop, my left foot was starting to ache. (Context: felt this discomfort during marathon training last year. It’s not an actual injury…. yet.)

• I had to complete the loop before I could make any choice to stop or keep going. Was it stubborn to go on? Was it stupid to continue? The constant runner’s dilemma.

• The only way to stay calm was positive self talk. Focus on the first loop, don’t think too hard, just move. Keep moving at any cost.

Is That The Hill You’re Gonna Die On?

• We finally hit the infamous Skeleton Hill, which is close to the end of the loop on the course.

• I say infamous because oh yes I had NO IDEA THAT IT WAS A THING.

• I was so shocked I lost composure to not talk shit about absolutely anything. “What the hell is THAT?”

• The Grim Reaper was beside me. “Want to carry me up that?” he asked. I glanced at Death to my left. “You might have to take me this time.”

I glanced at Death to my left. “You might have to take me this time.”

 

 

• We power-hiked up the hill, my calves cursing in all caps while a volunteer watched us, offering idle encouragement.

• There was a plastic Halloween skeleton at the top, crawling like I’m sure some of us wanted to. It’s the little touches, you know? #runnershumour

Double Or Nothing

• Close to the end of the first loop was when the first ultra runners started lapping us.

• They looked like they were barely sweating, gunning without hydration packs, powerful like the running equivalent of Monstars from Space Jam.

• Finally finished first loop and headed for the bathroom, trying to assess my left foot as I went.

• My foot felt okay so I headed out again to take on my second loop. I was going to cover my 25K even if it meant limping back into finish line at tent city.

• Tried to fuel with half an Endurance Tap packet and some beef jerky. I chewed and moved at the same time. There wasn’t time to stop now—I headed back out into the woods, carrying my hopes of finish (or just surviving) with me.

Check out Part II here!

Race review: Hamilton’s 2019 Around The Bay 30K

Around The Bay 2019 is OVER… like—way over. I’m already in the middle of an existential reel as I attempt to figure out my next move.

BUT, I wrote my way through many. Weeks. Of. Training! I owed it to myself to churn out some thoughts on the experience, and to document it—especially for any middle or back of the pack runners like me who are curious but cautious about entering this legendary Canadian race.

Around The Bay RACE RECAP:

all the physical challenge of a marathon without being so far from the finish line you question whether you’ll ever see your family again

1 – 10 KM: The Most Hamilton Race Ever

• This is the race’s 125th year, which is… pretty wicked. Swag in my race kit included a baseball cap, long-sleeved tech shirt, a special ATB magazine and a copy of iRunNation, Aveeno and Roc samples… who care let’s get to the running part.

• Mid-run thought: Around The Bay is the most Hamilton race that ever raced because you start in the hip downtown, and then run away from the safety of 15 brunch places through the industrial district. Some people poo-poo this part, but honestly, running past the factories and the junkyards in a huge pack of people on a cold, grey March morning made me feel like a character in a dystopian novel. #KatnissEverrun

• The media will tell you this section of the race is flat, but I’m here to give you the truth—ATB keeps it spicy with a few overpasses that you have to haul up and over on your journey through to 10K. A nice little appetizer for your calves and thighs.

• Shout outs to the kid in the lawn chair playing the tuba.

• Overheard in the pack, “I figured if I run 100 miles in a week, why not run 100 miles in a day?” Uhhhhhhhhhhhmovingon.

11 – 17 KM: In Which I Also Feel “Older Than Boston”

• This is the TRUE flat section of the Around The Bay course. The wind coming off the waterfront made it chilly, but some people lined up with signs, or beating pots and pans with wooden spoons to cheer on runners and it kept the cold at bay.

• Was that a castle?

• The course offered lots of water stations. I’m not sure how long they were kept up for slower runners or walkers—people further in the back of the pack.

• Another note, this course doesn’t offer gels. Which is… kind of odd. I figure it’s some sort of “Hamilton is hardy” and “we’re older than Boston” tradition. I should Google this. (I won’t Google this.) BRING YOUR OWN GELS.

• At this point I was beginning to resent the relay runners who were zipping by with Fresh Legs(tm).

• Running over the lift bridge at the half way point was dizzying and exhilarating. Not only are you half way to your goal, you’re running on a steel grate over water. So uh… Don’t look down if you have a fear of heights.

18 – 26 KM: The Hills Are Alive (And They’re Coming To Get You)

• Around The Bay is infamous for its final leg being hills for DAYS.

• Did I mention the hills?

• There are some hills. Even the greyhound-human hybrid whiplash people who I follow on Instagram were complaining about ‘em.

• I pictured vast rolling monsters, but the reality is that many require a long, slow, dedicated ascent that had my calves screaming like Alexisonfire. They do provide some shelter from the wind, and you warm up quickly here after the Beach Boulevard stretch.

• It’s also a bit of a trip to look across the water and see the industrial district you just ran through on the other side of the bay as you run… Around The Bay.

• There are a few more aid stations and spectators along this stretch of the course. Some people had fruit or pretzels, along with the usual water and gatorade—race day angels!

• Heading off North Shore Boulevard, you run past lots of graveyards… just in case you decide finishing just isn’t an option.

• By this point though, you’re close to 25 KM, which is far enough that you can feel the rumble of the finish line in your bones and it starts to drown out any discomfort you might be in.

27 KM – Forever: THE HILL

• A woman at my work has done ATB ten times (literally) and told me once you make it past the Valley Inn Road hill, you’re good to go. She was right. After that point, the course is basically flat and or downhill.

• But here’s the thing.

• You have to get up this hill first… and it’s a HILL, right when you don’t want there to be one.

• Breaking it down: It’s a two parter, an upward grind with a flat section in the middle and then a slightly steeper incline that will have you panting to get to York Boulevard.

• I’ll say this: if you’re thinking about running this race, but you’re hesitant—don’t let the hype scare you. It’s just a hill. It’s got a bottom and a top and it does end. EVENTUALLY. I promise. Take it from another slow runner who doesn’t take any step for granted… you can do this!

• There were plenty of people on the hill to cheer the runners on the way up! (Shoutouts to Rachael and Nick! HEY!)

• Once you make it to the top, there’s a heady sort of delirium that takes over. You pour onto York Boulevard and it’s time to change gears for the last 3k.

27 – 30KM: The Home Stretch

• Heading back into the city you see the Grim Reaper, the gruesome mascot of the race. He had kindly put out signs like “The End Is Near.” He’s also on the race swag which is… pretty cool.

• Should have stopped for a photo. Didn’t stop for a photo. Too busy chugging along to the finish. Guess I’ll have to run it again sometime.

• To cross the finish line you run down a ramp into the FirstOntario Centre stadium, which was COOL. For those of us who never ran in competitions, or who will never make it to the Olympics (sad but true), you get a once-in-a-lifetime feeling of running into an arena full of people cheering for you. IT WAS WICKED.

Around The bay: The Aftermath

• Calves and thighs definitely feeling the work, more than after the Scotiabank Marathon in Toronto.

• John Stanton pulled me aside to interview me in front of the whole stadium, so that’s fun. I follow him on Twitter.

• I had to wander a long way down the finisher’s chute to get it the medal, but it was finally worth it.

• Shoutouts to Merit Brewing for making and giving me a delicious beverage. #Startedfromthebottomnowwebeer

• I would definitely run this race again. Just… maybe not next year, and with even MORE hill training in my program. It’s a challenging, fun run at a middle distance between a half and a full marathon!

Quartet Photos: @joshteewhy