Post Ottawa thoughts

Having a few days to savour the great memories that the ING Ottawa half marathon provided and mull over the not-so-great moments, I'm starting to piece together my final analysis. The bottom line is the heat and humidity spelled disaster for my run. However, I should have run a smarter start to the race. I was clogged up in that fast pack and I let them set the pace for me instead of finding a way for me to get control of my run earlier. I'm not convinced this could have been avoided under last weekend's circumstances but I will know better next time.

There was no way to train for such heat, but in hindsight I wish I slowed down my pace by at least five seconds a kilometre to start the race. The downside is that would have left me in the heat even longer if I faded at the same spot, but the alternative is I may not have wilted at 17K.

Now my training schedule. I'm the one who picked the program and I could have changed it at any time and I didn't. So I'm not going to fault it. I really enjoyed the interval sessions and tempo runs. I honestly believe I am a faster runner because of those sessions. The only thing I would change for the future is the number of long runs. I would incorporate them more often and for longer distances. Now to be fair, I was coming off an injury that kept me off my feet until January and even then I started back slowly. If I started training for a half marathon tomorrow my aerobic base would be eons farther ahead then it was back in March.

I believe I was mentally prepared for the race. I did not make any errors when it came to dressing for the heat or other preparations. I was smart to bring my own gel and not rely on ones provided by the race because I hate the citrus gels and they are always handed out. Perhaps I should have trained using Gatorade so I was a bit more used to it, but I don't believe that hurt me in any way. Considering the heat, I was also satisfied with my hydration strategy ... which was very simple: drink a cup at every aid station and grab a sponge if one was offered. I did have some fluid sloshing around at one point but it was short-lived.

Not by a long shot did I run my best race on Sunday. But I know a lot more about my body than I did four days ago and that will help me prepare for my next challenge.