The Tartan hOttawa International Marathon

 

“Oh you’re doing Ottawa? I heard it can sometimes be hot.” – guy at work

A personal best was within the realm of possible on May 28. But it would not be easy.

 

The lead-up

Last year I ran the Fredericton Marathon in 3:50:22, on a low-carb diet [keto], following the John Stanton (Running Room) training plan. The goal this year is to beat that time. This year I took a different approach to training – I thought it was important to add new data points, test out new techniques and strategies and see what works best for me.

1.       Strength Program: Twice per week strength training. (I got good at Bulgarian split-squats)

2.       Diet: High-quality carbs, and high-carb diet.

3.       Plan: The Garmin Intermediate/Advanced Marathon plan.

The training up to the race weekend was positive– though I struggled a bit to complete some of the long-runs earlier in the training plan in March and April, the twice-per-week speedwork indicated that I was improving speed significantly over time.

Here’s my progression of top 3 all-time 5k and 10k times according to Strava. These paces started to feel comfortable and sustainable by the end of the training plan, and were not “Time Trials”.

Date	5 KM Time	10 KM Time
March 18	23:36
March 21	22:44	50:05
March 28	23:06
April 6		49:09
April 19		49:43
April 23		48:17
April 27	22:23
May 18	22:15

 

I was confident in my abilities to run a PB, so much so that I reached out to Stan Sarty of the True North Pacers and asked if I could be the pace bunny for the 4hr marathon in Fredericton on May 14^th, this would give me the required final long run in “race simulated conditions”, and still allow me to have a 2-week taper for Ottawa.

Something unexpected happened in Fredericton. Though I had eaten, hydrated, and tapered properly for that event, my heart rate immediately jumped to around 170 beats per minute (bpm) within the first two kilometers.

To put that into context, a week prior I had done a threshold workout and never exceeded 165 bpm.  Similarly, my last long run (32km) prior to Fredericton had an average heart rate of ~160bpm on a warm day. Something was off.  

During the Fredericton event, I was able to converse with the other pace bunny (Amanda) for the first half, and a few other runners; Derrick, Roy, Boyd, Dawn during the second half. My heart rate remained high throughout the 4 hours, but my perceived exhaustion was moderate. The two were not matching up, and I really cannot explain to you why this was the case.

Picture of Roy Banks and myself at Fredericton.
When Roy saw me at 35km in Fredericton, he said "oh fuck, it's you..".

I nonetheless was able to pace a successful marathon at 3:59:53 (my 2^nd fastest marathon to date) and my first black toenail of 2023 😊.  I unfortunately developed a slight hip injury during the event, which was completely new to me.

After Fredericton, I entered a 2-week taper, aiming for a PB in Ottawa.

 

Look ma! I'm famous!

Ottawa: Pre-Race

Ottawa’s weather throughout the month of May was quite favourable for a Marathon. Unfortunately for the 30,000 participants, the weather on May 27^th-28^th weekend would be the hot with moderate humidity and no overcast conditions. Despite the forecast, I still thought a 3:40-3:45 marathon was possible.

One week prior to race day, my daughter brings home a cold from somewhere, which I caught. I recovered pretty quickly, but had some lingering upper-respiratory issues for the rest of the week.

We packed up the tiny human for a family road trip to Ottawa and arrived midday on Friday to our gracious hosts Tim and Lindsay ‘s house – just in time for a fairy-themed birthday party!

Ottawa was insanely busy on Saturday. With the Ottawa Race Weekend, an Athlético Ottawa soccer game and the Great Glebe garage sale occurring at the same time - we had to park the car a 15-minute walk from the Expo. Headed to the Aberdeen pavilion to grab the bib and shirt, purchased some race-day fuel and checked out other cool things at the expo.

I stayed overnight at my long-time friends’ place, Jérémie and Marie live ~2.5km from the race start, which was a convenient location – we had some baked potatoes and pork chops and went to bed at a somewhat reasonable hour. In the morning I had a light breakfast of banana, egg, and chocolate milk, and walked/jogged to the race start which would give me a little warmup.

Here’s the mandatory picture of “flat Nick”:

For every long-run during training, including the Fredericton Marathon, I ran in the HOKA Clifton 8 shoe, but every speedwork day I ran in the HOKA Mach 4s. Therefore my Mach 4s were my “fast shoe” and I elected them over a more supportive shoe for this event.

During the walk/run warmup I noticed that my heart rate was doing that weird thing again - a light jog would spike it to ~150bpm, I thought it might just be pre-race jitters, but I still found it odd. The temperature at 6:00am was warm – I was wearing a singlet and shorts but was nonetheless comfortable outside. Temperatures were probably already in the high-teens with high humidity.

At 7:00am elite marathoners were set to start, the MC reminded us to adjust our goals based on the heat.

Fuck that, I'm PBing this MFer.

Goals should scare you a little and excite you a lot. – Joe Vitale

Here were my adjusted goals for the day:

A.      3:40 marathon – 5:13/km (probably doable on a good day, difficult on a hot day)

B.      3:50:21 – 5:27/km (this would be a new personal best for me)

C.      Finish

I had already secured a sub-4h marathon in 2023, and “finishing respectably” did not align with my mentality for this event, I was a bit scared and excited of my goals.

So PB or bust.

The energy in the crowd was a mixture of exuberant and excited early-bird marathoners, and a somewhat sedated humdrum of “what am I doing awake at 7:00AM” night owls. However, by the time the hype-man was done his thing with the national anthem, the woos from the crowd, and the corral comprised of +3000 organizing itself amongst the pace bunnies – the energy naturally reached its crescendo.

 

Race Start

At 7:00 on the dot, the elites were off!

Everybody moved forward a bit, and a minute later the next wave of athletes was off. I was in the third or fourth wave and we started at 7:04AM.

Thus started my second marathon in the month of May, henceforth named Mayrathon.

The immediate difference between Fredericton and Ottawa is the sheer number of people. I started on the far-right side of a jam-packed starting corral (a veteran move). We took a 90 degree right-hand turn on Elgin, towards the National War Memorial for 300m, forked right across the Rideau Bridge, and another right towards the other side of the Rideau Canal. This early in the marathon, everybody is running at the same speed, tightly packed. I was in a group running ~5:20/km pace for the first one. The 3:45 pacers were ahead of me by a little bit, and I tried to maintain pace with them, but the congestion made it difficult. Even this early in the event, people were slowing down to their natural pace.

This weaving and darting around people went on for about 3.5km, then it started to string out where I had my own “lane” to run. I averaged about a 5:13 for the first 3kms, and my heart rate went to ~175 immediately. I was once again confused about this – HR did not seem to line up with effort or pace zones. In Fredericton I was able to complete the full at this heart rate, so I thought maybe it just try to see if I can maintain it for another 3 more hours.

Early-on I was feeling OK.

Some days you feel fantastic, other days are meh. Today was a “just OK” day. My pace felt more difficult than it “should” feel over the first 5km, but still sustainable. One of the things I had considered was to deliberately run faster in the first half while temperatures were “cooler”, and then go into a “low grind” mode when the heat started to affect me. I ran the first 5kms in 26:13 for a pace of 5:14/km. I was close to the 3:45 pace bunny for the first 5kms, which I thought was odd, since he was basically running a 3:40 marathon pace.

There was quite a bit of congestion behind the pace bunny, but in front of him was nothing. He was like that guy who holds up traffic in a one-lane rural road. Once I passed him I was clear to go at whatever pace I wanted. There were a few scattered individuals running ahead. Nearing the 6-7km mark the side-roads opened up more for spectators I took a GU + Roctane here. To the left was Dows lake, the course made us do a few quick turns and we started into a residential area. This was where the real cheering began. Kids giving hi-fives, posters, bells ringing. Both sides of the road lined with people cheering runners along – the first misting station. So many external distractions, I got carried away. Some kid yelled out “I like your moustache!” The next 5km were at 5:05/km pace 25:30 – great pace for perfect weather, but this was not perfect weather, it was not even “good” weather.

I had an inkling that I was working too hard this early in the race. It was warm AND humid. Typically sweat will somewhat evaporate on warm days, but my arms were dripping as my sweat pooled into droplets – my body was not able to cool itself off properly. Early-on I made the decision to cool myself off as much as possible, whenever possible: run through the misting stations, pour water over my head and down my pants, make sure to drink a cup of water and a cup of Nuun at every water stop. My heart rate also did not “stabilize” as I had hoped it would – that may or may not be a function of effort and heat.

I knew that running at “marathon pace” should feel somewhat hard, so I pressed on. The next 5kms had us run downhill on Elm, and on what looked like a bridge on Booth St. – I incorrectly thought we had passed over to the Gatineau side. At 11km was the XACT Nutrition station. I grabbed one of their bars, opened it and ate it over the next few kms. We turned left on the Sir John A MacDonald Parkway. My Garmin and Strava are showing me that this was a pretty flat 3-4km, but I am convinced that this was a steady incline – it felt like I was running up a hill. I was running with the 6-10 people surrounding me, and not at my own pace. My right hip that I somewhat injured during Fredericton started acting up at around 13km – I had trouble lifting my right leg as high as my left one, and after 14km, my pace started slowing as a result. You would not guess it by the timing mat that I was already struggling. My 3^rd 5km split was at a 5:02/km pace for 25:14.

We turned onto the Champlain Bridge to cross into “La belle province”, then turned right, into a little road that was had some nice tree cover. A runner in front of me stopped and laid down on the grass next to the medical staff, which I had to dodge. I started to feel the heat of the day slowly creep up around the time I crossed the UQO campus (suspiciously empty). My Garmin indicates that it climbed to 28°C (though I question the accuracy of the Garmin’s thermometer). My pace was already affected by my hip problems, but the heat added on top was not something I was prepared for. 

I ran through the misting tent at around ~17km and started walking through the water station at 18km. I was really starting to feel the heat, and it was affecting me more than I thought it would. Moving between 18 km and the half marathon was a real grind, but I was nonetheless still capable of moving. I crossed the half-marathon point at 1:52:22, which technically makes it my fastest half-marathon. That is unfortunately the extent of the “good news” from the Ottawa Race Weekend.

 

DON’T DNF

The “race” after this went into survival mode, and rather quickly. I bargained with myself that I could still do a sub-4:00 marathon. I know I am quite capable of running a 2:07 half marathon, and so I allowed myself to run slow and take the time to re-fuel with another XACT Nutrition bar at 22km and water + nuun. The water had been sitting in hot plastic bottles and it tasted like it - nasty. The Nuun electrolyte mix masked the awful taste. 

Thus the new on-the-fly hydration strategy was to drink all the Nuun, dump water on head and down pants.

We ran into some of Gatineau’s main streets, Montcalm, Wellington, Eddy, and du Portage, Laurier, etc. – the concrete structures trapped the heat – it just felt warm everywhere. I was doing a run/walk combination and was not moving efficiently. Between the 21.5 to 25km I got passed by the 3:45 and 3:50 pace bunnies, and somewhere between 25km and 30km I got passed by the 4hr pace bunny. "Oh fuck, it's you..." I get it Roy! I tried to muster the will to stick with this one, but I was not capable of maintaining a sustained pace without feeling extremely fatigued. On the plus side, my hip did not hurt as much when walking. Unfortunately I had burned way too many matches, too early - and I was suffering from the effects.

If I recall correctly, it was near Alexandra Bridge 25km -27km that I had given up trying to run for time and just focused on finishing, (luckily for me) just in front of the first race photographer of the day. It was near here that two separate individuals patted my back and told me to “get moving”. They both looked “hardcore” types. One of them had a biker bandana and was ripped, the other one was taller and thin, but had neck tattoos. After a few minutes of feeling sorry for myself I started running and witnessed both of these guys walking, and returned the favour of encouraging them to run. I suspected that we all made the same mistake of starting too fast. For the next ~10kms we would trade spots as we all ran/walked.

 As we turned left on Sussex, the crowds lining up both sides of the street grew denser. I could see some of the sub-elites returning from their loop of Rockcliffe Park, and into the final ~4kms of their race. It truly baffled me how they could be running so hard in this heat. By this time the temperatures were still climbing, up to the high 20s, and Sussex Drive is extremely exposed. Though the run was now a mix of run/walk, the loop around Rockcliffe Park was a really nice relief from the “city” marathon. I think we ran in front of a few embassies (I remember Germany and Japan embassies had some great cheering) and other random cheering sections setup by people who I assume just like to party. This area was shielded by trees, and we had a nice breeze on the far side coming off of the Ottawa River. Near the 32km mark my buddy Jérémie found me and was a one-man cheering section, “Top 3 athlete!!!!”, “You’re a legend Nick!!”.  He took a few videos and pictures of me (clearly struggling) - and I ran over to him and said “my race totally blew up, heat got to me”, though I’d like to think I still had a smile on my face.

The details kind of get fuzzy after around this point.

For the next 10km, Jer would bike along the course and cheer me on at various points – and even met up with me at the end he was worth 1000s of cheering fans.

Jer doesn't know it yet, but he will be a marathoner one day. 

Back to the racecourse... Shortly after seeing Jer was a wet towel station. It was rejuvenating to squeeze a cold and wet facecloth on top of my head, and wipe off all the accumulated salt from my arms and face. Every time I jumped into a misting station or dumped water on myself, it gave me a short jolt of energy. Though I was run/walking most of this last section, it didn’t prevent me from accepting small freezies from random strangers - a lesson I will teach Nora not to do. 

Do as I say, Nora, not as I do. 

We then ran through another residential area with people cheering loudly on both sides of the streets. Several people with their garden hoses pointed at the street to help runners cool down. They probably pitied us fools - hope the water bill isn't too expensive.

By the time the 4:10, and then the 4:15, and eventually the 4:20 pace bunny caught up to me, I started talking to a guy next to me who was also walking – we were both looking backwards, fearing the 4:25 pacer. We both were not having the race we wanted. I think talking with people at events like this just gives me back a bit of energy, and so I went for a bit of an easy run, the “run” portion of my “ralk/run” got a tiny bit longer – and I was no longer in “despair” mode. We came back up on Sussex Drive for the final 5km of the race, and across the road going towards the Rockcliffe Park section were two Amherst Striders, Rae and Shawna, who spotted me from a distance screamed and waived. I waived back (cause I'm a nice guy!).

At the 38km mark, I was just trying to soak in everything, enjoy the loud cheers, the scenery and the architecture – as we came back in the downtown core. A horde of half-marathoners had joined us, and I got swept away in the large crowd.

Small and consistent steps.

For the last 4km I basically just tried not to run into anybody, keep moving forward, and not get into anybody’s way. It was a dense crowd of people running. Both sides of the road were packed with people cheering. I tried to continue to run with the half marathoners, but I was not able to sustain it for long. My heart rate would climb to concerning levels with the smallest of efforts and I was already focused on minimalizing damage so that I can recover quickly. My feet were hurting, everything was uncomfortable. I ran/walked the downtown Ottawa core, along the Rideau Canal. We turned right onto the Pretoria Bridge in the final 1.5km, I thought to myself I can run the last little bit without needing to walk. I did just that, with a ~6:00/km pace for the final mile of the event.

I finally see the finish line. 

Elation. I can finally take a break. 

My body exhausted, arms outstretched at the finish line in 4:24:42 –  happy to have persevered for as long as I did when quitting could have been such easy option when my race went south.

POST RACE 

Once done I could relax, started doing the post-marathon penguin walk to receive my medals and care package. I had to sit down two or three times to be able to muster up the strength to continue moving. I laid down on the grass for a few minutes, and would not bend my knees (I could feel a cramp coming up if I did). Met up with Katie, Jer and Nora after the race, apologized for taking so long. My feet were killing me, because my "fast" shoes have very little toe room.

THANK YOU

To Stan and the True North Pacing, for letting me be a part of the pacing community.

To Tyson who developed a strength program and advice on nutrition.

To our gracious hosts for the weekend Tim and Lindsay. It’s been way too long since we’ve seen each other.

To Jer and Marie, who entertained me on Saturday night and let me spend the night – you guys are awesome. And to my fabulous impressionable photographer and personal cheer section, Jérémie for the support. 

To the grandparents who looked after Nora when I needed to do my long runs.

And to my wonderful wife Katie and to Nora for being my inspiration. For being supportive and encouraging me even when things sucked.
You are the best.

Thank you all for your kindness, generosity, and support.

 

Below are the official split times for the marathon.

SPLIT NAME	SPLIT DISTANCE	SPLIT TIME	PACE	DISTANCE	RACE TIME	OVERALL (/3156)	GENDER (/2141)	CATEGORY (/323)	TIME OF DAY
@5	5 km	00:26:13	5:14/km	5 km	00:26:13	964	798	129	07:30:34
@10	5 km	00:25:30	5:05/km	10 km	00:51:42	899	744	125	07:56:04
@15	5 km	00:25:14	5:02/km	15 km	01:16:56	915	756	128	08:21:17
@21.1	6.09 km	00:35:26	5:48/km	21.09 km	01:52:22	1106	896	143	08:56:43
@25	3.9 km	00:25:18	6:28/km	25 km	02:17:39	1236	991	157	09:22:01
@30	5 km	00:35:15	7:02/km	30 km	02:52:53	1443	1120	182	09:57:15
@35	5 km	00:39:47	7:57/km	35 km	03:32:40	1551	1173	192	10:37:02
@40	5 km	00:36:53	7:22/km	40 km	04:09:32	1569	1168	191	11:13:54
@42.2	2.19 km	00:15:11	6:54/km	42.2 km	04:24:42	1565	1165	189	11:29:04
TIME		04:24:41.1	6:16/km	42.2 km	04:24:41.1	1565	1165	189	11:29:04

 

LESSONS MOVING FORWARD

A few more lessons for this time around:

Idiot Decisions

1. Running a marathon two weeks before a marathon is foolish and may lead to injury (case in point).
2. Adjust expectations according to heat and heat training.
3. Nothing new on race day: XACT Nutrition

Preparation

1. Follow a plan that lines up with abilities. The plan and pace zones I set for myself were too aggressive, and it was evidenced by my long runs suffering. 
2. Build a stronger aerobic base. Keep the majority of runs in the sub-145 heart rate zone, bike at low gear or walk if you must. 
3. Nutrition: The low-carb diet last year helped build a strong metabolic base reliant on fats rather than carbs, and in-event energy levels this year was more reliant on ingested carbs. 
4. If you do the Ottawa Marathon, come in expecting heat and pray for reasonable.
5. Strength training helped.

Unexpected

1. Nobody seems to talk in big city marathons, come in expecting to not talk to anybody.
2. There are so many things: from architecture, to people, to water station, misting stations, toweling stations, cheering people, etc. that it’s easy to get distracted and lose sight and run beyond your capabilities.
3. The race “felt” longer as a result of 2). 
4. Need to figure out the heart rate thing - I think it's based on overtraining and pre-race stress, which includes the cold Nora gave me, but I am not 100% on that.