Notes
Race definitely did not go as planned. Goal was to go out at around 1:28:30 and hold on for a sub 3 with ideally finishing sub 2:58. I felt like my fueling on Friday and Saturday was pretty good, ate lots of carbs but maybe not enough good complex carbs. Felt like I got an adequate amount of electrolytes and water too. The only thing I did different this week was stop taking creatine which probably wasn't the smartest decision.
Got a good enough sleep before waking up at 5 on race morning. Had a bagel, banana and some peanut butter which should have been ok. Took a Maurten 20 minutes before the start but maybe could have drank a bit more water. The weather was far from ideal as it was about 16-17 at the start with 100% humidity. Didn't feel hot but at the same time I was comfortable enough standing around in a tank top. The humidity would drop throughout the race but it was replaced by the sun at around 15k. There was also some wind, strong in parts heading east and over bridges. I did welcome the cooler wind during parts but at the same time it did slow me down.
The first 5K was incredibly relaxed. I was running with a couple of guys with my time goal as were trailing the 3 hour pace group that went out way too fast. The roads were pretty wet for the first 5K so there was some slippage but no puddles. I did notice I was sweating after a few K but I can't say I felt hot. I tried to stop for some Nuun or water at every station but was maybe only able to get a couple of sips at a time. The KM markers seemed pretty accurate and the the 5th km I was in a bit of a groove. There were a couple of slower kms in the first 10K but they didn't worry me too much - could have been due to wind, an uphill or the marker being a slight bit off. By 10K I was still feeling good as we caught the 3 hour pace group and I started forging ahead on my own. I had taken a GU at 9K without a problem.
By 10K I was starting to work harder as I could sense myself having to push a bit in parts when I felt like my pace was lagging. At around 14K we turned on to the road by the river and it was at this point that I first started to feel like I might be struggling. There was some wind and the road was quite cambred. We were also starting to get exposed to the sun. It reminded me of Lakeshore as it was a wide out and back. I tried to focus on just making it to the turnaround and heading back with the wind behind me. I was still running with a couple of guys ahead of the pace group and mr splits were still ok despite having settled in around the 4:12 mark. This section was also a bit rolling. I could feel y right adductor/groin area tightening. Breathing was still good but discomfort was setting in.
The 16th and 18th km were much slower than I would have liked. It seems my legs just weren't responding to tougher parts of the course and my splits really started lagging. I was able to respond following these slow kms but the run was getting tougher and my splits were trending lower. Again part of the discrepancy could just be km markers misplaced. I took a Maurten at 18K after having some difficulty getting it out of my pocket. By this point I had probably missed a couple of water stations but still thought I was doing a good job of taking liquid in.
Kms 20-22 were pretty brutal and my pace suffered substantially. During this part I had fallen behind the guys I was running with and started losing my lead on the 3 hour pace group. This part included running over the bridge to Gatineau which was incredibly windy and then turning east into Gatineau directly into the wind. There was also a tough hill right around the halfway mark. I really wished at this point I was tucked into the pace group as I was completely exposed. My legs were not responding at all as I tried to drive into the wind and up hill. It really started feeling like I was closer to 30K. Breathing however was still under control. The halfway mark was probably a little short so my time was likely closer to 1:29 at the halfway. Not bad but it did mean I hadn't really banked any more time since the 15K mark.
After cresting the hill and turning north I was hoping that I would be able to hit some easier kms and at least maintain sub 3 pace. I think I had given up on hitting anything near 4:10 as I realized my pace was just slowing way more than it should have at this point in the race. I didn't really process what was going wrong; I just knew I was in trouble. I continued taking Nuun/water and running through misting stations, sponging myself. I think I knew I was having problems cooling down despite not necessarily feeling hot. By now the 2:58 guys were long gone; I was picking off some stragglers and a couple guys from behind were passing me. The 3 hour pace group was just behind me; at points I could hear them get closer. I was still able to surge in parts to stay ahead but it was taking a lot of effort, and during the tougher parts my legs just weren't responding. Around 25K the 3 hour pace group did catch me but I was able to pull away on a good downhill stretch. This gave me a bit of confidence but then I hit the Alexandria bridge at around 26K. It was a steep run up and my legs just felt dead. I think at this point I decided to just try to get to 30K and continue holding off the 3 hour group.
Nothing seemed easy heading into Ottawa and the KM markers just seemed to be getting further and further apart. I was so determined at this point to stop at 30K that I didn't bother eating my Maurten at 27K. I just had no energy to even digest my gel so planned to hit 30K, take the gel and then just go from there. Pace had really slowed and it got to the point leading up to the 30K mark that I was looking at my watch and counting down the seconds. I knew I had slowed so much that I wasn't even looking at my splits anymore. The 3 hour pace group passed me just before the 30K mark, flying by me with me no chance to respond. My cadence had dropped significantly, just no energy at all. Probably wasn't smart to skip the gel despite trying to take in Nuun whenever I could. My right hip had held up OK at this point but mr right adductor/groin was pretty tight. Other than that my legs seemed ok. I wasn't happy with the Turbos though as I felt my feet were moving around too much and it did lead to a couple of small blisters on my right foot.
I passed 30K just over 2:08 and immediately grabbed some Nuun and water. I walked very slowly not sure if I was going to continue. It definitely felt like I bonked but I still had hope of getting going and running at a good pace to the end. I definitely wasn't thinking right at this point as I should have drank more and walked faster. I took my GU and some more water before taking off my shirt and trying to continue. It was obvious when I started running again that I was still feeling very low as I just couldn't create any turnover. It was a struggle just to run at sub 5:00 pace and make it to the next aid station at 33K. When I reached 33K I took some more water but probably should have had way more plus found a way to get some sugar. I just don't know what was going on but I walked for another 7 minutes really slowly not sure if I was going to even start running again. Started getting cold so put my shirt back on. Eventually I guess I did start feeling a bit better as I did start running and would run to the end taking only 3 more 2 minute walk breaks. I had another Maurten at 36K. a bit of lemonade, some freezie and more nuun and water during my walk breaks. I think I was finally starting to get refuelled and the last few kms were definitely more comfortable.
I think I could have ran more and ran harder towards the end but with my goal time gone I just wanted to get to the end without killing myself. I definitely gave up and with a little more effort could have at least maybe challenged 3:10-3:12. I could have had nutrition on the run and tried to refuel while maintaining an easy pace instead of stopping every couple of kms to refuel, or at least stopped for 15 seconds to get all my water before carrying on. I think at that point I just wanted to be safe and didn't want to feel too much pain. But I did notice whenever I started up the energy I had quickly dissipated and I was back to struggling to turnover my legs. I definitely was severely lacking glycogen. The crowd support for the last 5K was really good so it was a shame I couldn't take advantage of this.
What went wrong? I think I just bonked from lack of fuel, and maybe cramped up a little too much from not getting enough water. Maybe extra gels in these conditions would have helped. And I definitely should have made an effort to get more water. Once I realized I went out too fast for the conditions I should have settled back into the 3 hour pace group maybe around 15K, at the latest the halfway way, and then just conserved my energy. Maybe that would have allowed me to push harder in the back half of the race when I needed to. As it was hitting 30K with my cadence dropping and pace falling off a cliff I had no chance. I think at 27K I should have relaxed a bit, maybe had both my gels, took lots of water and then just try to fast to a 3:03, 3:04 rather than completely give up.
One other thing to note - I didn't pee much before the race and didn't pee until about 3 hours after the race. May be a sign of dehydration. I was also feeling a little uneasy after, took a while for my body to regulate.
2 days later I'm not feeling too bad. Right after the race my right adductor/groin was very tight.- this probably could be related to the right hip problems I was having. These muscles shouldn't have been worked so much. Hopefully I can work on this this week and get my right side stronger. Recovery should be better than last years's marathon.
2:08:22 30.29
2:12:10 30.563 - 3:48 273 (13:55/km)
11:35 2441 (4:45/km)
2:23:45 33.004 7:13 627 (11:31/km)
2:30:58 33.631
12:42 2643 (4:48/km)
2:43:40 36.274 2:08 173 (12:20/km)
2:45:48 36.447
9:35 1967 (4:52/km)
2:55:23 38.414 2:13 193 (11:29/km)
2:57:36 38.607
10:55 2276 (4:48/km)
3:08:31 40.883 1:29 145 (10:14/km)
3:10:00 41.028
6:54 1492 (4:37/km)
3:16:54 42.52
Total Walking: 16:51 1411 (11:57/km)