{"id":2304,"date":"2022-10-11T22:45:44","date_gmt":"2022-10-11T22:45:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/followfichte.com\/?p=2304"},"modified":"2024-04-13T03:51:53","modified_gmt":"2024-04-13T03:51:53","slug":"fallcolours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/followfichte.com\/de\/fallcolours\/","title":{"rendered":"Fall Colours Marathon 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overall rating: 6\/10<\/strong>\u00a0Detailbewertungen am Ende des Berichts<\/a><\/em> <\/em>| Vergleich aller Wettk\u00e4mpfe<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing to love about living in Eastern Ontario: The fall colours. When those leaves turn from green to all shades of yellow, red, and purple, illuminated by sunlight, contrasting the blue October skies, we know: the best running season of the year just started. This year I finally managed to sign up for Somersault\u2019s Fall Colours Marathon \u2014 42.2km of running through the far eastern parts of Ottawa.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[This report is also available on Medium<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No specific preparation<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

This year has been somewhat special for me in terms of running; after such a long time without any sports competitions I took my running to a new level in 2022, being excited about all those events coming back to life. I\u2019d already run almost 2500km by the beginning of October, and this race would be my fifth marathon since I started with Winterman<\/a> in February. It took me 7 years to run my first five marathons, and only 8 months to run five more.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Group run training in fall is just the best \u2014 this is Ottawa\u2019s Vanier Running Group<\/a> on their weekly Saturday neighbourhood run.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

This one was yet another experiment in my running journey. In July, I ran Nova Scotia Marathon after four weeks of almost no training due to sickness, and enjoyed the race. This time around, I hadn\u2019t done any long training runs (above 25km) since Ironman Canada<\/a> in August, six weeks ago. I knew that my overall fitness was good, and that I had another marathon in me, but I really wasn\u2019t sure how it would turn out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I planned to keep it easy and wanted stick to a conservative 5:20min\/km pace for the whole run. This would allow me hopefully to comfortably finish in well below four hours. After an exhausting running season, I didn\u2019t want to push it too hard, and the rolling hills on the map didn\u2019t really look promising to make this course a candidate for a personal best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cold morning<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

A couple hundred athletes had registered for this grassroot event, almost one hundred of which were in for the marathon distance. It was cold and rainy that morning, and I think I wasn\u2019t the only one questioning my choice of clothing: shorts, a long-sleeved shirt over one base layer. I was freezing! Just walking those 200m from the car to the starting line seemed to be a challenge and I did not look forward to running for multiple hours.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Runners waiting for their start. It was cold and rainy that morning, but there was enough shelter for everyone to stay dry before the race.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The venue was great though \u2014 in the back of Cumberland Heritage Village Museum there was enough space for all runners to gather and watch the inaugural Wedding Dress Dash that Adam and Elizabeth (owners of Somersault and two great human beings) had organized prior to the main event start. About a dozen folks ran a 1km fun race in their wedding dresses!<\/p>\n\n\n

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Adam (still in his wife\u2019s wedding dress) getting the half-marathoners and marathoners to the starting line.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

A hilly course<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

It was still pretty cold and cloudy, when all marathoners and half-marathoners started their race at 9am sharp; but luckily the rain had stopped. Here we go again, on the way to finish my 10th marathon overall!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The course was a 10.5km out-and-back design, to be done twice in order to reach 42km. I knew it was going to be a bit hilly, but the scenery was just beautiful: colourful trees along calm backroads, mostly well maintained asphalt, small neighbourhoods. We didn\u2019t have the roads all for ourselves, but the car traffic wasn\u2019t much, and there was always a running lane marked by little yellow cones, that made it not only easy for the runners to find their way, but also for the drivers to be attentive.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Later during the day the sun came out.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The first 10km to the turn-around point felt great. Although I through my 5:20 plan out of the window right after the first kilometer, my pace of 4:50min\/km felt very natural and sustainable. I went slower up the hills, and faster down, but even without checking my watch that speed seemed to make sense to me so I decided to not slow down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That first hour went by quickly. Hundreds of people on the course, and soon enough there would be the fast half-marathoners already coming towards the slower ones. While many people prefer to run loops, I don\u2019t really mind out-and-back courses: not only do you get an idea how many runners are in front of you, but it is also just more fun to see and greet and smile to those other competitors that come towards you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It took me 1h45m to finish the first half. I still felt great. The sun broke through the clouds and made the fall colors shine even brighter. So enjoyable!<\/p>\n\n\n

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Just about to finish the first half of the marathon; still strong, still happy. Race pictures are included in Somersault events and photography is sponsored by John Gomes<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I\u2019ve completed enough marathons, though, to know that it doesn\u2019t mean anything when you feel great at 10k. Or even at 20. Or 25. The marathon itself only starts at KM30 or later, and only then you know if how you paced yourself throughout the first two thirds of the run smartly; or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second half: much hillier<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

That second half was going to be much lonelier. All the half-marathoners turned around to the finish line, and from now on the running crowd on the street was about to get smaller and smaller. I\u2019m used to running on my own though, and solitude on a run is nothing I\u2019m scared of. What I fear are hills, though, when they seem to become steeper and steeper the longer you run. I did not remember that first climb to be so exhaustingly hard on the first loop! It felt like I\u2019d massively slow down. My watch told me differently, and overall, I was keeping the pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At around KM25 the mental game started. Still averaging below 4:50min\/km, my mind started playing tricks on me. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you just slow down, or walk for a bit? You\u2019d still be able to finish, maybe even under 4 hours.\u201d I didn\u2019t have any major discomfort, nothing that I hadn\u2019t felt before. Sure, my hips started to get stiff, and my back started to hurt, and my legs were tired. But no real pain, no blisters, and no physical exhaustion were present. It was my brain that expected my body to shut down anytime now, that tried to slow me down. Realizing that, I kept pushing. It wasn\u2019t the right time to slow down.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Arriving at the turnaround point the second time was a great motivator; all that was left now were 11 more kilometers, with a net downhill! The weather was still great, despite the cold wind, and I kept passing runners that seemed to feel worse than I. When would my body force me to walk? Or stop? So far, I hadn\u2019t even stopped at any water station, just zooming through without slowing down, while taking my doses of Gatorade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was at KM35 when I started to really feel my thighs almost closing up; only 7km to go, but this feeling was really concerning. I knew that any moment cramps could start; but I also knew that slowing down wouldn\u2019t necessarily change anything. I think it was the downhills that made it hard for my legs. My energy levels were still ok, and I kept telling myself to just do the next kilometer. And the next. This was also the time when I started calculating a possible finish time: a trajectory of sub 3h30m really motivated me to keep pushing. Having ran the course three times by now already, I knew what was coming; a long downhill at around KM37, and then a final climb at the end. So close!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finishing strong but tired<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

When there were only 3km to go, I started to verbally push myself. Up that last hill. I could hear the announcer at the finish line. I entered the venue, and only had 500 meters to go on gravel. My Garmin watch already showed 42.2km, and my whole body hurt, but those last 500 meters were so much fun\u2026 just realizing that I did it once again, in a respectable time, and in a beautiful area. Marathon #10 done!<\/p>\n\n\n

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Finished my 10th marathon overall!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Immediately after finishing my body shut down. I hardly could move and had to sit down right away. That feeling of accomplishment after a big race beats everything, though, even though this time around the endorphins weren\u2019t able to numb the pain\u2026 but they had hot chocolate! Much needed to start some recovery \u2014 there\u2019s at least one more marathon on my plate for this year\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n

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Somersault\u2019s medals always look very special. Just make sure you order one when you register for a race!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Nachbetrachtung<\/h1>\n\n\n\n