Ottawa Race Weekend 5k Recap: It's almost midnight and I can't think of a post title

In my family, there's not much I can feel like an expert about.  I'm the younger one, which means my sister usually did everything first.  So when I got the opportunity to run a 5k with her and her boys, I jumped at the chance.  It was fun for me to be the leader for once.

Ahem, sorry about that.  Little Sister Syndrome popping up momentarily.

I flew to Ottawa a week in advance.  I helped GymSis navigate the race expo and packet pickup and tried to help calm her nerves.  To be clear, she is in great shape; I mean, she works very hard at the gym (hence the name).  She's like Jillian Michaels, minus the shouting at people part.  Nonetheless, she may have been a touch anxious, despite what she said.

Pre-race jitters.  We've all been there.

Being the resident expert, I gave everyone very clear and important race day instructions, like "Pin your race bib to the front of your shirt" and  "Move to the side of the course if you need to stop" and the most important piece of advice:  "You can't wear your race shirt on race day!"

Not to mention, it's super bad luck.  I wore my race shirt to my first tri.

Ottawa Race Weekend, if you've never been, is a big huge deal.  In addition to the 5k, they have a family 2k, a 10k, a children's 1k to finish a cumulative year-long marathon, a half-marathon, and a full marathon.  I absolutely love the fact that my hometown has grown into such a great racing community.

But of course, big events like this come at a cost.  Namely:

SwimmerBro and I sat around looking at maps and getting advice from the wisdom of Facebook friends who had been there before.

Once race day came, all our plans were set:  SwimmerNephew and I would run together, GymSis and WaterPoloNephew (formerly ChatterNephew) would run together, and SwimmerBro would be the official race photog.

Because of our amazing planning skills, we got to the race venue with plenty of time to get the lay of the land, watch the family 2k, and take pictures.

It was cold.

And windy.

After chatting with some of the family's closest friends who were also doing the race, it was time to start!  So, we shuffled off with the thousands of other people around us.  And amidst all those people, I saw my friends Jen and Dwayne!

Jen started a team to raise money for diabetes research and was doing her first 5k.  Woohoo!

Since SwimmerNephew has been swimming since before he could walk, he has a lot of strength in his upper body.

Which he used to run.

It was impressive watching him use his shoulders to get his legs moving.

He was essentially swimming a 5k.

I had told him that if he wanted to go around slower people to let me know first, so we could stay together.  I wanted him to point out where he wanted to go.  As a lifelong competitor, he clearly did not want to leave any opening well...open.

He took almost every single opportunity, and it was awesome!

The course was beautiful and it was lined with spectators.  I decided to take some mid-run pictures.

Once the finish line was in sight, SwimmerNephew took off in a full sprint, like every true runner over the age of 20 wishes they could.

I was so proud of him; he ran the entire time and finished at a 9:40 minute per mile pace!

After a successful finish, we walked over to our meeting spot and waited for GymSis and WaterPoloNephew.  They were right on our heels, with big smiles!!

I was incredibly proud of everyone and I hope we can do this race together again!

It was unbelievably crowded, but we finally managed to find SwimmerBro and head home.

He was a fantastic athletic race supporter.

The next day I got a text from my sister, saying that I was right about "this dumb running thing".
Looks like soon I might have to change her name to RunnerSis.

I'm linking up with Yeah Write this week.  Click on the badge to check out some amazing writing!

UPCOMING POSTS:  DILETTANTE TRIATHLON AND SEE JANE RUN RACE RECAPS, MARATHON TRAINING (Did you guys know I'm training for a marathon?)

Swimming is Easy When You Don't Breathe

Last Sunday I went to the pool.  (Since I am training for a marathon, Sundays are my cross-training days.)  When I got there the lifeguards were swabbing the deck.  I don't know why and I didn't want to ask.  But so far, no illnesses or infections here so, yay.

The water was cooler than it has ever been; it was probably about 78* F.  The Aqua Zumba class was in full swing.

 I jumped into one of 2 empty swim lanes and started my workout.  Shortly thereafter a lady asked to split the lane with me.  I was more than happy to do so, except I quickly realized that "split the lane" just meant that she wanted to be in my lane and take up the whole thing.

Seriously?? Also, you may have noticed I tried out some of TriGuy's snazzier goggles.

Thankfully, she moved to the other empty lane and I returned to my goals for the day (which I will get to shortly.)  A gentleman then asked if he could share the lane.  I, of course, said yes. He was doing breast stroke.  Right on top of the line.

Perhaps he and flower-bonnet lady should have read about lane swimming before jumping in. But I digress.

I have really been trying to work on my technique, so a couple of weeks ago I focused on stretching out my torso.

I'm not sure whether or not the end result was beneficial.

Sunday I decided (on a whim) that I should work on my breathing.  Over the past 3 years, I have gone from barely being able to swim:

(an old drawing from one of my early posts)

to somewhat being able to swim:

to finally being able to swim:

This might be an ever-so-slight exaggeration of my skills.

So, with the basics sorted you know, basically, my goal on Sunday was simple: cut through the water smoothly and quickly.  I figured the easiest way to do this was by not breathing on every.  Single.  Stroke.  I did this the only way I knew how.

I held my breath.

I then blew out of my nose as slowly as I could.  But of course my mouth inevitably joined in.

What do you think?  Am I doing it the right way?

UPCOMING POSTS:  OTTAWA 5K AND DILETTANTE WOMEN'S TRI RECAPS, RPM CLASS, MARATHON TRAINING*

*Did I mention I'm training for a marathon?  Because I totally am.  

Hey! Who's up for a little moonshine this weekend? Come join me over at Yeah Write!