Sooo excited!!!!

My first MARATHON!

I'm soooo excited about this run!  My 1st marathon (at 50 years young!!!). Last year I did the ½ marathon and I set my new goal at completing a marathon.  And here were are just a few weeks away!!!  I've completed this weekend all of my long runs,  I'm so so proud of myself!  Can't wait for the big day!  Hope the weather is as good as last year.  Good luck to all!

Congrats to you!  This will be my first 1/2 marathon and I just turned 51 yesterday.

I am very excited about the race and going to Ottawa, have never been there before.

Good Luck to you!

Congratulations to both of you!

You've picked a great event as your first marathon. I've run over 133 marathons, including 23 Bostons, and Ottawa is still my favorite.

The race organizers and volunteers do an incredible job putting on the weekend events. Enjoy all race weekend has to offer...take time to shop the expo, tour the race course, run the Friendship Run on Saturday morning, then watch the 5K or 10K Saturday evening, and of course, load up on pasta at either the pasta party, or one of Ottawa's great restaurants.

Good luck to you. I'm sure you'll want to run another marathon after you finish.

WOW!!!!  133 marathons...impressive!  Tell me, my last 2.5 weeks have been disastrous.  I was only able to run a total of 8K due to a shin splint (big time ouch!).  I'm really concern for the marathon.  I truly believe I will finish it but if it's going to be painful throught out the race, it's definitely going to be a much longer run!!!  Anyways really looking forward to the weekend.  I wish you a great race!

Hi Sher,  congrats to you also!  Ottawa is a beautiful place to run, the weather forecast is great for the upcoming weekend (20C & sunny, don't forget the sunscreen!). Well enjoy your run & I'm pretty sure to see back next year!

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WOW!!!!  133 marathons...impressive!  Tell me, my last 2.5 weeks have been disastrous.  I was only able to run a total of 8K due to a shin splint (big time ouch!).  I'm really concern for the marathon.  I truly believe I will finish it but if it's going to be painful throught out the race, it's definitely going to be a much longer run!!!  Anyways really looking forward to the weekend.  I wish you a great race!

Hello Mesh,

I'm sorry you will be running with shin splint pain. Have you had a definitive medical diagnosis? If it is nothing more serious (like a stress fracture), you may find some relief by wearing a compression sleeve while running. Compression sleeves and compression wraps are available in some drug stores, pharmacies, and specialty running stores. The wraps are adjustable - usually with velcro - and can provide enough pressure against the shin to allow you to run without severe discomfort. It may be worth a try. I hope you have a great race too!

Thank you for the reply coachmark.  I do own a compression wrap but I am reluctant to use it during the run, it will be on my mind all the time.  I must say the pain is going away (my last 2 weeks I only ran 8Km...and my last run ,3K only,  was last Friday, did not run at all this week...).  I'm more worried about the lack of runs in the last 2 weeks, I just don't know how this is going to effect my run...

Weather forecast is similar to last year's about 19C.  Have a great weekend & thank you once again for your support & advice.  Greatly appreciated!

Coachmark thank you for your support & advice.  I finished the run with a huge smile on my face!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! I am so glad you were able to finish the race. Training for and completing a marathon is an enormous challenge in itself. But, doing so with an injury makes it an even greater accomplishment - especially when it is your first! You should be very proud of yourself.

Give yourself time to heal before jumping right back into your training. You need time to recover from the stress of the marathon effort itself. But, you should also address the injury you had going into the race. You need to correct whatever caused the shin splints in the first place, so you will not suffer a relapse when you get back to your running routine (And, training for your NEXT marathon.)

A good rule of thumb for recovery is one easy day or day off for every mile you ran in the marathon. So, you will need almost an entire month to ensure you are recovered from Sunday's race. During that time, you can treat your shin splints.

And, of course, take time to enjoy what you have accomplished. It was a great race day. I really enjoyed myself and had a great race too.

I would love to hear more about your race.

Congrats on your race also!  Don't have to worry about my recovery I will take all the time needed!!!  I am not a summer runner.  The heat & humidity here in Montreal makes it very hard for me to run.  I will take it up again in late August or September (all depends on our summer). 

My run, well my first 30 km or so I had a running angel with me, this gentlemen of 74 years young stayed with me for the 30k or so.  At about marker 28 or 29k a medic asked us if we were ok, so I look at my new friend and asked him how he was feeling he said ok, and I said the same for me.  I said to him:  "We must looking pretty bad if medics are asking us if we are ok!  We laughed so hard, they must of taught we were delirious!!! That was one of my highlites for sure!!!Afterwards I was on my own and that's where my walking started on & off for about 2 to 3 k, but my last kilometer I did run.  I did not hit the "wall" not even close, I was so pumped all the way!  When I crossed the finish line I heard my name (which I didn't hear last year) and I also heard Carole you are a MARATHONER!  The tears started flowing, my hubby gave me a big hug... I was soooo stinky (LOL) (I think he was the only one in the stands  LOL) but what a feeling.

This is day 2 after the event & I'm extremely grateful that I took 2 days off from work!  Ohhhhhhhh the pain (LOL), not so much the shin splint yet (although my ankle is badly swolen) but my quads are really really bad.  I'm pumping in my share of Advil, and icing whenever I can.  I will try to soak my legs in the pool today (I will not swim in it, it's about 60 degrees!) I did go for a massage yesterday, but I think that was a waste of time! I looking forward to this rest.  My summer activities consist of biking & swimming ,actually diving, swimming, gymnastic & field hockey were my sports.  I was a provincial level competition diver!  I really didn't like running at all!!!  Go figure!

Well again thx for all the advice & support I wish you well for your next marathon!  I'm considering the Hypothermic ½ marathon in February 2010 in Montreal.  This should be a good challenge considering February is one of our coldest month (it could down to -20C +)

Talk to you soon coach!

I just want to say I'm excited as well.  This is my first Marathon, was a Half marathon person, 6 last year alone) and am moving up to 2 Marathons this year.  Ottawa, and New York City.

Ottawa is where I'm from originally and my family has never been at a running event of mine so I'm very excited.