Race Report: Detailed Account of My Race!
Here it is... the moment you've all been waiting for! Ha ha - actually, most of you will probably only want to read the Summary/Highlights version of my Race Report. This posting is probably most suited to mothers, best friends, and anyone else who has a keen interest in the minute details of running and preparing for a race!
Please see my "I did it!" post from November 13th for the (really) short version of my race report.
**WARNING: This is the Long, Long Update - Skip this if you're short on time or just wanted the major highlights of my Running Adventure**
Race Prep:
4 weeks before the race: I stopped drinking all alcohol. This wasn't exactly purposely planned, but it tied in with me not socializing as much due to a busy schedule, and wanting to get to sleep early each night! Friday nights are generally quiet for me, and Saturday nights, when I would normally have energy to go to pubs, bars, or clubs with friends, I found myself wanting to get to bed early for my Sunday morning run at 8:30am.
2 weeks before the race: I bid a temporary adieu to McDonalds and other deep-fried fast food. Yup, I still like McDonalds, and it's generally the only fast food I eat, because it's my favourite, and why would I waste those extra calories on anything but the best??
1 week before the race: I started to drink 2-3 Litres a day to overhydrate myself in preparation for the race. I've been going to the washroom every half-hour for days! I also started going to bed around 10pm to ensure I got about 8 hours of sleep. Finally, I started to check the weather everytime I drank water. I was a little obsessed, since it's been winter here for about 3 weeks and I was really hoping for a mild, sunny day.
The day before the race: I started checking the weather constantly. My weather wish came true and as of Saturday, the weather forecast was: Sunny, High of +1... which is incredible racing weather! I also went shopping at MEC and the running room to pick up some power gels, water flasks, and good sporty winter accessories (headband, hat, socks etc.). I was scheduled to do a 3km easy & fun run, just to stay active and keep my muscles moving. Choosing to start and finish from the Eau Claire Olympic Arches (where the actual race was scheduled to start and finish the next day), I was able to live & visualize a successful start and finish - I pretended that I ran the whole 21.1 km! It was a fun way to keep positive and act out achieving my goal.
The night before the race: I met my good friends Doree (in town visiting from Ottawa!) and Laura for a huge plate of spaghetti, to finalize my carbohydrate loading activities. Finally, I went home and started preparing for the next morning: getting my race bib ready, picking out supplies, accessories, and extras, and deciding what to wear. Of course I checked the weather another dozen times and it still looked good! I was hoping to get to bed by 9 or 10pm on Saturday night, and get a solid 8 hours of sleep. Unfortunately that part of my plan didn't quite play out successfully. One thing lead to another, unexpected events came up and before I knew it it was past 3am. But!! I still knew I'd be fine... and that it was more about the training of the last 4 months than the night before. Apparently, it's quite normal to sleep very little the night before a big race. With that advice in mind, I actually made sure to get an excellent sleep on Friday night and got 11 hours - which covered me for the excitement, anxiety, adrenaline, and surprises that kept me up the next night.
Race Day:
Almost done! The morning of the race: I got up at 7am - - for once sprang right out of bed upon hearing the alarm! Well, the second alarm ;) For breakfast, I had a large bowl of oatmeal. They say you should never change anything about your routines on race day, so I had the same oatmeal that had been sustaining me successfully throughout my training runs. I got dressed right away and went about final preparations. Giving Lorne my friends' cell numbers so he could meet up with them, packing a bag of snacks and a change of clothes for after the race, and printing out a "Pace Band" off the Running Room website. The band tells me at what timepoint I should be as I pass each kilometre mark... it's very helpful for staying on pace and on target to meet a time goal.
Right before the race: I met my running friends at the Running Room. We went for a quick 500 metre warm up run, did some stretches, and went to the washroom. A few of us had brought stickers so we put good luck stickers on our bibs. Even some of the guys wanted one of my butterflies for good luck - a more manly-coloured one, of course. A quick trip to the washroom, and before I knew it it was 9:58am and everyone was already gathered at the start line! I had to furiously re-tie my shoelaces and switch my bib from being pinned to my midlayer shirt to my outer jacket... and then the gun went and we were off!
During the race: The first 8 km of the race were excellent!
(To be continued)
Please see my "I did it!" post from November 13th for the (really) short version of my race report.
**WARNING: This is the Long, Long Update - Skip this if you're short on time or just wanted the major highlights of my Running Adventure**
Race Prep:
4 weeks before the race: I stopped drinking all alcohol. This wasn't exactly purposely planned, but it tied in with me not socializing as much due to a busy schedule, and wanting to get to sleep early each night! Friday nights are generally quiet for me, and Saturday nights, when I would normally have energy to go to pubs, bars, or clubs with friends, I found myself wanting to get to bed early for my Sunday morning run at 8:30am.
2 weeks before the race: I bid a temporary adieu to McDonalds and other deep-fried fast food. Yup, I still like McDonalds, and it's generally the only fast food I eat, because it's my favourite, and why would I waste those extra calories on anything but the best??
1 week before the race: I started to drink 2-3 Litres a day to overhydrate myself in preparation for the race. I've been going to the washroom every half-hour for days! I also started going to bed around 10pm to ensure I got about 8 hours of sleep. Finally, I started to check the weather everytime I drank water. I was a little obsessed, since it's been winter here for about 3 weeks and I was really hoping for a mild, sunny day.
The day before the race: I started checking the weather constantly. My weather wish came true and as of Saturday, the weather forecast was: Sunny, High of +1... which is incredible racing weather! I also went shopping at MEC and the running room to pick up some power gels, water flasks, and good sporty winter accessories (headband, hat, socks etc.). I was scheduled to do a 3km easy & fun run, just to stay active and keep my muscles moving. Choosing to start and finish from the Eau Claire Olympic Arches (where the actual race was scheduled to start and finish the next day), I was able to live & visualize a successful start and finish - I pretended that I ran the whole 21.1 km! It was a fun way to keep positive and act out achieving my goal.
The night before the race: I met my good friends Doree (in town visiting from Ottawa!) and Laura for a huge plate of spaghetti, to finalize my carbohydrate loading activities. Finally, I went home and started preparing for the next morning: getting my race bib ready, picking out supplies, accessories, and extras, and deciding what to wear. Of course I checked the weather another dozen times and it still looked good! I was hoping to get to bed by 9 or 10pm on Saturday night, and get a solid 8 hours of sleep. Unfortunately that part of my plan didn't quite play out successfully. One thing lead to another, unexpected events came up and before I knew it it was past 3am. But!! I still knew I'd be fine... and that it was more about the training of the last 4 months than the night before. Apparently, it's quite normal to sleep very little the night before a big race. With that advice in mind, I actually made sure to get an excellent sleep on Friday night and got 11 hours - which covered me for the excitement, anxiety, adrenaline, and surprises that kept me up the next night.
Race Day:
Almost done! The morning of the race: I got up at 7am - - for once sprang right out of bed upon hearing the alarm! Well, the second alarm ;) For breakfast, I had a large bowl of oatmeal. They say you should never change anything about your routines on race day, so I had the same oatmeal that had been sustaining me successfully throughout my training runs. I got dressed right away and went about final preparations. Giving Lorne my friends' cell numbers so he could meet up with them, packing a bag of snacks and a change of clothes for after the race, and printing out a "Pace Band" off the Running Room website. The band tells me at what timepoint I should be as I pass each kilometre mark... it's very helpful for staying on pace and on target to meet a time goal.
Right before the race: I met my running friends at the Running Room. We went for a quick 500 metre warm up run, did some stretches, and went to the washroom. A few of us had brought stickers so we put good luck stickers on our bibs. Even some of the guys wanted one of my butterflies for good luck - a more manly-coloured one, of course. A quick trip to the washroom, and before I knew it it was 9:58am and everyone was already gathered at the start line! I had to furiously re-tie my shoelaces and switch my bib from being pinned to my midlayer shirt to my outer jacket... and then the gun went and we were off!
During the race: The first 8 km of the race were excellent!
(To be continued)
posted by Lara @ 11/16/2006 11:17:00 PM
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