The Runners are Here and We're Excited

There are almost 38 000 runners in Ottawa today. We're all ready to go, all a bit worried about tomorrow. Will it be hot? Will my body hold up? My roommate has been sick in the past three weeks and has had little chance to train. I can definitely relate to that. I suppose that is what is so exceptionally fun in having all those runners in the same place at the same time. It's like having a city full of overexcited labs and greyhounds all barking the same language: IT bands, negative splits, bonking, did I train enough? Will the legs be good? Long prudent sleeves or reckless breezy tank top? How much do I reaaally want to suffer today?

I also have to say that the organization of this marathon is especially good. I got my bib, T-shirt and chip in less than ten minutes; then got a chance to survey the whole race course by bus and finally got a nice lift ten minutes to the hostel where I'm staying. And did I mention that the hostel is letting me shower after check-out time tomorrow? Life is good. Thank you God.

Now let's get back to the survey ride. You know you're in trouble when you get tired IN THE BUS. It takes 1h40 just to DRIVE the marathon course. Imagine running it! I have been secretly wishing to run the Rome marathon next March but I had never before realized how long 44 ks actually are. I was weeping for those poor marathoners as we came up Lisgard drive. Dear God. Stunning view, killer climb. Thankfully I won't have to climb that thing tomorrow. Right now I'm in a good mood. My hills are reasonable, I'm going to By Market for dinner after a nice shower. I figure tomorrow's run will be like those adventure runs I sometimes take to kill kilometers: I tell myself: "ok, why don't we see how many ks there are from Lafontaine Parc to my homeopath in NDG? (Turns out there are only 10, I had to run all the way to Loyola campus to make my 13k run). So tomorrow we embark on a little adventure. A long fun run. I know where I'll start, I know where I'll end up... and I have an appointment with my Massage therapist monday. Life is good.