Pics from the HM

I'm still trying to figure out where to go from here in terms of my running plan and goals. So, I figured while I do that, here's some pics from the race on Sunday! There weren't many good ones, but I managed to find a couple.

At about 13-14K in. It'd been raining for about 20 minutes at this point. This has to be one of my best running pics ever. I'm tempted to order it!The finish line! This was the first time I was truly excited, elated and proud to finish a race. I've never done the hands over the head celebration before either. Man, I was pumped up. I still smile just thinking about it.

And here I am after finishing, posing proudly with my medal. That space blanket was a saviour after running in the rain for over an hour.

It's coming!

The city's really starting to buzz with excitement for the upcoming event. There's lots of media coverage and action on Twitter these days. Check out the my #myORW and #runottawa hashtags on Twitter to see all the comments from excited runners.

And the preparations are underway at Ottawa City Hall for Race Weekend. The banners were up when I ran by on Sunday...
And the start line positions are marked on the roadway asphalt. Seeing this made me giddy...
Less than two weeks to go until I'm one runner in the 2nd wave of thousands of runners in the Half Marathon. This will be our view down Laurier Avenue...

I'm hoping the weather will improve, as we've had so much rain already this spring. I just want it to be nice... and I think all Ottawa runners are at the point where they'd like a nice, dry, somewhat warm run. But not too hot, either!

I'm getting nervous and worried, as I've had a good bout of sciatic pain these past couple of days. I really overdid it on my long run on Sunday (oops) and was really upset when I woke up on Monday to my running nemesis: sciatic pain on the outside of the foot. I feel like I'm a walking injury. I need to learn how to train well and NOT overdo it. I've started a two week taper, so I've been busy stretching, applying heat and visiting my physiotherapist. I'm going to try a short run tonight to see how it goes.

Friday RunPorn

Enjoy today's edition of RunPorn. Oh and if you're a Twitter user, do a search for #youknowyourearunnerwhen - it was a great chat that started on Wednesday with some good laughs to be had, such as: #youknowyourearunnerwhen you apply bodyglide instead of deodorant. Lots of jokes that only we runners would understand!

As for the calf muscles - they're feeling better. While I had to cut my Tuesday run short due to tightness, physio really helped on Wednesday. I also canned my Thursday mid-long run so that I can hopefully get my full 20K long run in tomorrow. It's just a Grade 1 Calf Strain, but I'm doing lots of stretching to get it back into shape, pronto.

Have great weekend runs, everyone!

Friday RunPorn

Racers cross the Sahara desert in Morocco during the second stage of the 26th edition of the Marathon des Sables. Photo courtesy of Getty Images/AFP.

Aww

Look at this cute little guy! He was just hanging out in the middle of the path on Saturday morning. I tried to herd him back onto the grass but he didn't want to go.

I hope he didn't get smooshed by the bikes. He was TINY!

All together now

Aww...

I saw this cute family of Canada geese while out running late Saturday afternoon. There were 20 chicks and it looked like two families, given that some were a bit bigger than others. Normally I'm not a fan of Canada geese as I've been chased by them a couple of times. But these little guys are just so darn cute and fuzzy!

RunPorn Friday

Here's your Friday dose of running-inspired photos. As you can see, I'm in a beachy kind of place today. It's been a long, rough week at work and I'm craving the weekend. Only 5 hours to go!

Running on my wedding day

I got married a month ago. During the photos, all I wanted to do was go for a run. It was a beautiful afternoon, one that was perfect for a run! I'd skipped my run the day before due to lack of sleep, because I didn't want to get hurt. There were runners on the path nearby and seeing them gave me the itch to go for a run.

So I decided to get creative and I worked running into our wedding photos! It's such a huge part of who I am now, so I really wanted to capture it on one of the most important days of my life. My husband was such a good sport about it!

Race Report: National Captial 5K

I raced the National Capital 5K on Saturday, which was part of Somersault's annual run series. There were a number of different events on Saturday including a 10K and Olympic-distance duathlons and triathlons.

The course was a hilly out-and-back on a bike path that follows the Rideau River near Hog's Back Falls. Saturday morning was sunny, foggy and humid. At race time it was 20C with 83% humidity. The weather in Ottawa's been horrible over the last month and most athletes (including me!) haven't had the opportunity to really train in hot or humid weather.

The grassy parts of the course at the start and finish were sopping wet, thanks to all the rain we've had. Course marshals warned us ahead of time to watch our footing so we wouldn't end up getting covered in mud. I started off a little fast, but the run out was mostly downhill. It was quite pretty: we ran through a forest next to the river and you could hear the gushing water over the sounds of the runners. The course wasn't overly wide, so we ended up running almost single file and it was really hard to pass other runners in certain spots.

I did end up walking at the 2.5km mark to take some water and then again at another point for my puffer, thanks to the humidity. The uphills on the way back were quite challenging, but I enjoyed it as there aren't many hills for me to train on near me. As I approached the finish line, I had to make a couple flying leaps over muddy water on an uphill to avoid getting soaked!

I had enough left in the tank to overtake the person ahead of me (you can see her behind me in the photo), to finish in 31:23. It wasn't as slow as my first 5K, but definitely not a personal best. But, I wasn't running this race as a personal best. I ran it for fun, for some experience with hills and to find my motivation to run again. So far it seems to be working!

My next 5K is on Sept. 20th at the Canadian Army Run where I'm going to try to break my personal best in the 5K of 30:08. I've set an August exercise goal of running three times a week, excluding ultimate frisbee games. I've also committed to a 5K training program for intermediates on http://nikeplus.com/... I think all this should be enough to get me back into the running groove.