A Sunday saunter

The weather for yesterday's National Capital marathon and half marathon was perfect. Overcast and slightly cool, a little humid, with a light drizzle starting partway through (near the end for marathoners). Sounds dreary, but it's perfect for a long run.

Me and Sweetie McPie ran the half marathon. We won! Seriously, I think just about anyone who finishes these races must feel like they've won.

Reality:

Our chip time was 1 hr 55 min 52 seconds. Technically, I was 1:55:51.9 and McPie was 1:55:52.6, but that's just because I'm the more experienced runner. (I.e: my elbows are sharper.) Kidding. We resisted linking arms, and satisfied ourselves with maintaining fine sprinting form as we crossed the line.

It wasn't a PB for me, but it was better than I expected given our level of training. (Our long run training was fine, but I didn't do much mid-week work - just jogging home from work a few times a week, with a few 10k in there - no speed work. And almost no frisbee.) However, it was the most enjoyable race I've done. Running with the Pie was most excellent. In the last four or five kilometres, we felt like Maverick and Goose, our communication limited to agreeing on a target to reel in, and encouraging each other as we slowly closed the gap. We zigged and zagged all over the road, too, trying to keep pace and stay with amid the bazillion other runners. It was so cool.

Ok, there were 7664 other half-marathoners (we placed 3002 and 3003!), and they weren't ALL in our direct vicinity, but it sure felt like it. This was my third time in this race, and it was by far the most packed. I'd heard that they'd capped registration, but I'm not sure what the point was, it was so crowded.

Another cool: The new course winds near our house around the 6 km mark. The kids' moms brought them over and they all cheered us as we passed. Constance had made a big sign, and Ben ran alongside (actually somewhat in our path) for a half a block. How fun is that?

One of the BEST things about any race day is the FOOD. This year, we treated ourselves to a giant brunch with the family and Pete&Emma, our running pals (Pete kicked our butts in the race: 1:53:39.9; Emma cheered us on: Suck Less!) The other Moms had done the 10K race the night before, so it was a well-deserved celebration all round. To top it off, the kids' Maman had given us a gift of delicious steaks so we could have a champions dinner.

(Is it wrong to feed your kids shake 'n bake chicken legs while you eat premium steaks? Constance led us to believe so, and thus scored herself many bites of our meal. The shake 'n bake - McPie's special recipe, of course - was also delicious, so I don't really think anyone suffered...)

Anyway, now we are pumped to train our butts off and try another race and blow our PB times out of the water. 1hr45 anyone? The Fall Colours race always happens on Thanksgiving and it's pretty nice to come home and have a turkey dinner after a long run. (Even if you have to make it yourself!)