Ottawa Race Weekend

Race weekend in Ottawa … and it was hot. Like really hot. The 10K race scheduled for Saturday night (including the 10K Canadian Championships) was no exception. Rumours of possible race weekend cancellations swirled on the internet, and organizers ended up pushing the scheduled 6:30PM 10K race back to 7PM in an attempt to deal with the stifling heat. I love the Ottawa 10K - it's flat and beautiful. A great place to run a fast race. But with all the heat advisories going into this race I had one goal - run my SLOWEST 10K race ever.

However, anyone who runs knows even the best race plans (and in my case – easiest!) can go awry when the gun goes off. Luckily the sheer number of people (13,000) in the 10K race forces you to stay slow through the first couple of kilometres (Photo below by John Stanton of 10K race start).

To add to the extreme weather we were experiencing, while waiting to start, a heavy downpour came out of nowhere and continued for the first couple KM. The brief relief from the heat as a result of the rain brought the humidity back with a vengeance as the rain petered off.

In the brief coolness that followed the rain, the negotiations began in my head ..."welllllllllll, maybe I'll drop down to my tempo pace at the 6K mark. I can at least do 4K at tempo" ... Followed by “No! Who cares! You said slow!” The internal battle continued for a couple of kilometres as the humidity descended. Finally I decided at 7K I would pick up my speed as the crowd seemed to be thinning out ever so slightly. Upon that decision, I looked to my right and saw a young man probably in his 20s in the arms of 2 medics slumped and completely unresponsive (unfortunately over the course of the race I saw several more people in similar condition being attended to by the medics). The sight not only shocked me but reminded me exactly why I had made the decision to make this my SLOWEST 10K race ever. And guess what folks – at the end of the day, the time on the clock doesn't always matter. In comparison to your health, it doesn't matter one little bit. I made a decision at that moment to stick to my original plan and to NOT allow myself to feel badly about running my slowest 10K race time ever. Running a race, ANY race of ANY distance in my mind is a massive accomplishment. I’ve never really been someone who has been too wrapped up in my time (maybe because I'm not very fast anyway). Sure, I do care. I like the thrill and sense of accomplishment hitting that personal best (PB) race time. As runners we always feel the need to run faster, and do better than the last time - especially in a race. The battle going on within me is always the biggest one out there on the course. But at the end of the day, since it really is only ME vs. ME - I need to remember if I decide today isn't the day and I make peace with that, then the time on the clock truly does not matter. I do not need to feel badly, or get down on myself because of the time on the clock.

I spent the Ottawa 10K running through massive puddles. I ran through every sprinkler, hose and water gun that all the amazing spectators in Ottawa came out with to cool down the runners. I took my time at water stations thanking the volunteers who were slammed by 13,000 overheating, soaking wet, sweaty runners. AND the hidden gem of running a slow race ... when you are not sprinting for the finish, fighting for your breath and watching the clock – you get to look directly at the photographer and pose your ass off for the finish line photo.