One week from race day, it is confirmed, I will be running as a pacer for the second part of the marathon at Ottawa Race Weekend for the pacing of a 3:10 marathon.
First of all, I wanted to congratulate all of the people who ran the marathon under those hot conditions. You guys did great and you definitely deserve a nice big pat on the back. My overall experience was great in keeping you a bit ahead of the 3:10 pace for the second half of the marathon. You guys were great and kept focusing on the task ahead.
From my side of things, 22k was a great workout for me. I am also really thankful to have shared bunny duties with a friend. Even when you are just running a race, 22k can be pretty hard on the body. Running with a sign on top of things makes it even more interesting. Usually, when I race, I tend to start too fast and then I slow down drastically and finish with a lot of “mental” pain in the end for long-distance running (10k and more).
I found that this race felt like a steady state workout. As much as this was a constant effort, I knew that I could maintain the pace until the end, without any doubt in my mind. Interesting is it really? What is the difference between running a race and racing a race?
Maybe we should consider running more races instead of always racing them. Learn how our bodies work and keep growing from there. Treat some races like they are steady state running workouts and then, yet again, treat some steady state running workouts like they are races. Really, when you get out of your comfort zone and push yourself and add that to recovery, you do get stronger.
I did work hard this weekend as a pacer and I did get sore from running that long at that pace which I find challenging yet I am recovering very fast from that training race, which allows me to really increase my level of training for the more important races out there. I am looking forward to be pacing more races in the future; pacing is a great gig, really, if you enjoy running! You have no idea how much power the bunny ears give you. 😉
There are so many races that are affordable that you can participate in. For instance, run Ottawa does have their monthly free 5-kilometre races (great to build speed) and also, that one race I am looking forward to be trying on July 12th which is the 5/15 farm run. MEC also has great races that are really affordable as well, the Gatineau Park half marathon was really fun from my experience. Maybe should have thought about it sooner than two weeks prior to it but hey, fun was definitely on schedule. When spontaneous, just make sure that your body is fit enough to be able to make you go through the event without getting injured and above all, make sure that you listen to your body. Hopefully you guys have a great running or cycling season and on that, I wish you happy training!
Coach Véronique Roberts 