Weekend Recap

We had a fantastic weekend at the cottage.

We arrived late Friday and pretty much went straight to bed once we had unpacked. Hubs and I got up early Saturday for a long(ish) run of just over 10 miles. We ran a simple out and back on the main road, where fortunately traffic was pretty light. We enjoyed the cottage country roadkill scenery and even ran past a deer who was standing in tall grass at the side of the road and barely blinked as we ran by. Juliana joined us for the tail end of the run - she was running a half marathon the following day.

It was overcast morning, but still very muggy so a dip in the lake seemed like an excellent idea post-run. We went straight in wearing our running gear and it was perfect.

By the time we got out and dried off it was mid-morning and we were all feeling pretty lazy. We took a long nap and woke up to see that the sun had finally come out. It turned out to be a hot and sunny day, and we spend the remainder of the afternoon on the deck and by the lake.



Hubs decided to tackle his first official open water swim. I paddled along beside him in the kayak as he swam all the way across the lake and back, about 500 metres each way!

We enjoyed some fruity drinks, a delicious pasta dinner and plenty of relaxation before eventually crawling into bed.

Sunday was an early morning with a departure time of 5:45AM for the 1.5 hour drive into Ottawa. We had some time to kill before J started her half marathon so we wandered around and snapped some touristy pics.







After seeing J off at 9AM, hubs and I made our way to the finish line to watch for the winners of the marathon (which had started 2 hours earlier). Japan’s Arata Fujiwara won in 2:09:33, a course record by more than 2 minutes!



After watching the top finishers, we started running backwards along the course. The route followed the picturesque Rideau Canal and we were able to run on the popular bike path and stay out of the way. Hubs eventually turned back to wait for us in the finishing area as I made my way to the 35K marker to pick up my friends.



They came along right on schedule looking strong and I was so excited to see them. I snapped a pic and jumped in with them. We chatted away and I kept telling them that they were looking much better that I felt at this point in the race two weeks earlier. I ran ahead a couple times to snap pics and we had a great time as those final miles ticked by. Before we knew it, the crowds were thickening and we were on the home stretch. At the 41K marker, I took their fuel belts (I know how nice it is to ditch that extra weight at the end of a race) and gave them as much encouragement as I could for that final kilometre. I must have been quite a sight running along wearing/carrying two fuel belts plus my Nathan Hydration Pack. They absolutely killed it and went on to reach their goal of 4 hours.

Congrats Kevin & Kelly!!!

I quickly eased my way through the spectators and make my way back to find one more from our group who I knew would be coming in shortly. Sure enough, I spotted Greta less than a kilometre from the finish and jumped in with her til the end. Greta achieved a new PR in Ottawa after running the Mississauga Marathon just two weeks before!

(Turns out we were wearing the same top!)

Congrats Greta!!!

Group shot after the race... check out my Multi-Hydration System.



Most of us met for lunch at the Byward Market before hitting the road for the 5+ hour drive home.

Many thanks to Juliana and her hubby for hosting us the cottage... and driving so I could snooze most of the way home. ;)

All in all, an excellent weekend! I had so much fun being immersed in that marathon atmosphere again. I've been dragging on all of my runs lately, but felt that runners' high and finally got some pep back in my step. Hopefully I can feed off that all week!

I hope all of my friends to the south are having a great Memorial Day!