Another busy week

Warning! My running is getting hi-jacked this week.
Did I ever mention that I used to do some diving?
Well, all the 'diving' I do no-a-days is in a 3ft deep garden pond
With a few goldfish that refuse to die off in the winter and numerous pond plants which were the real reason for the pond in the 1st place.

But actually it's been my job that's been keeping me crazy busy for the last little while. One more week of this, a final face-off with my industry clients and fellow scientists and then I'll be a free man once again. At least more back to normal with a little more time on my hands for running and scheming about running. I haven't even had time to come up with my plan of action or redemption to make up for Boston.

The clock is ticking for the Cabot Trail relay race on May 26th and there has been a slight development there for me. My team captain sent me an email last week, they had a dropout and now was wondering if I'd switch legs and take the North Mountain leg, pretty please?
My original leg #5 looked really easy with even a possible fast time with no big hills in the way. No problem, don't even have to train for this...
But leg 9 is a real challenge. That's a typo in the description. It's only a 385 meter (not km) climb in 6.2 miles before crashing down to 0 again on the 2nd half or 1250ft for the metric-ly challenged. I did this leg 3 years ago and could barely walk for a week because my quads were so thoroughly trashed. Of course you know what my reply was.
Sure, no problem, I'll start my hill training right now! Do I have sucker written all over me or what? Let's see, I've got 20 days and 2 or 3 good hill sessions should be enough to toughen up the legs, right? It's much like Boston in that it isn't the uphill but the downhills that will get me but at least the pain is over much quicker with only 17.8 km (11.1 miles) to do. It'll be fun.

Meanwhile back at the ranch I've got some decent running in over the last week. My cold is now totally gone and the paces of all the runs have been brisk with no extra effort. In fact, I've made a point of running easy and keeping the watch in my pocket so as not to be goaded into going too hard. Total of 40 miles in 5 runs with average overall pace of 7:50.

On tap for the morning is another Boyden Lake adventure with Andrew. We had a great 13 miler last weekend which he so nicely and accurately documented. Not sure what will happen this time around but I'll try to keep the tsk, tsks under control.

Sick and tired

It's been a little over a week and wouldn't you know it the sniffles and aches have set in with a vengeance. Take that silly runner, dare to run a marathon in the wind and cold will you?

The week started off well on Sunday past with a nice 10 mile amble around town. It was a beautiful sunny morning and the plan was to just jog around and enjoy the scenery. Took some time to map out the course profiles for our upcoming local Father's Day race. The Kids Race, now called the Future Series turns out to be 1.5 miles.
It's a nice loop and I'm looking forward to seeing those young faces pushing for the finish line on the long straightaway.


And here's the 5 mile loop for our race, that I did next. How do you like the 2nd 1/2 of this course? I then ran into a friend from work and finished off the run with a nice conversation as we happened to be heading my way.

Monday - sniffles starting...

Tues - still feeling sneezy but ran a few easy miles with the Tues fun run group. A total of 10 people showed and I took a group of run walkers on a 5k loop. They had a dog with them and I had some races with him as we looped back and forth on the trail we were on. It was nice to let the legs go a bit and there were no real aches or pains there at least.

Weds - feeling like crap, rest day anyway but stayed home and rested instead of doing volleyball

Thurs - more crappy cold, splitting headache and work going crazy still. I can't afford to get sick now with the workload that's on my plate right now

Fri - feeling slightly better but still sniffly and sore head and another crazy busy day at work. Only a few more days left to prepare for some major meetings and I'm really starting to feel sick and tired of it all. Getting close to the limit of what I can take without blowing up in more ways than one. After work there was time for a very quick 5 miler in the rain and wind (where did I see this before?) and the legs felt fresh and fast. Put the watch in my pocket and just ran like I needed in order to blow out the cobwebs and frustration of the long day. (5.3 miles in 40 min for 7:30 pace overall)

Might do a few easy miles in the morning but the plan is to get back on the road with Andrew on Sunday. I think it's time to stop moaning and complaining and to start scheming and planning for the next onslaught of the marathon monster. Onward!

Have a good weekend!

Moving on

Finally, a sunny warm day! Steph is home for the weekend and agreed to take her Dad for a little spin around town. This would be my very 1st recovery run since the marathon on Monday. We're both trying to show off our new shoes in case you wondered about the Charlie Chaplin pose. What a great day! Did I say it was sunny and warm? It got up to almost 20C by the end of the day but was 'only' about 10-12C when we did our little 3 mile run/walk. We had a nice chat and I felt great with no problems with my legs or feet. Wanted to do more but held back.

I still haven't figured out quite what 'went wrong' with my Boston race and probably never will but have made a list of the good and the bad. This will be my last mention of this because it's time to start getting ready with the next challenge which will be a leg of the Cabot Trail Relay race.

So here's the good or what I did right:

• good training regime with plenty of long runs (18x20+) and average mileage of 60+/wk
• diet and weight were good (same as last year)
• pre-race routine was very relaxed and the same as previous years
• felt mentally prepared and focused before race but was a little nervous

And what I didn't do or went wrong:

• weather wasn't the best but nothing worse than anything I've trained in all winter
• maybe not enough MP or tempo runs but I always say that
• my workplace load and stress has been high lately but not really working crazy hours
  
• 1/2 marathon 9 days before might have taken something out of my legs but ran it at less than planned MP
• lack of stretching, strengthening and core work but that's not anything new
  

And that's it. We'll train harder and rest smarter the next time around. How's that for a plan? Onward and upward, we're moving on.

Have a great weekend!

Boston Report - part 2 - the downfall

Well, maybe not a total downfall but things certainly were going downhill in a hurry after the 1/2 way point. It's two days later now and I'm still clueless as to what the %$@* happened to my legs. As I said before, there were signs early on that this was going to be tough day and it's a long way to the finish when that happens. I think back to Wineglass where everything was so easy, holding back for miles, hitting the 1/2 and still holding back, hitting 20 miles and still feeling great. Oh well, those are the runs you never forget and alway hope for.

Monday, however, was a day that I'd rather forget. Back to the race report; the conditions were actually fairly decent in the middle part of the course with some shelter with all the trees along the narrow road. There was at most light rain on occasion and gusty winds now and then but never a constant downpour or really strong headwind that we had feared. It certainly was nothing like Andrew and I had trained in a few weeks ago on one of our last Sunday runs or anything like the 'Cruel and unusual punishment' endured at KV Marathon in Oct. 2005. And of course the body and legs were not co-operating at all.

The next stretch that I can remember is the bit from 13-16 miles which is generally downhill though Wellesley and Lower Newton Falls. The crowds were again very good, appreciative, calling out names and handing out lots of goodies. I picked up a sponge to wipe my face with and then a treasure bag of jelly bean candies that provided a nice little sugar boost just before Hells Alley. This is the long open stretch up from mile 16-17 over route 128 which is all uphill and to me is the hardest part of the whole course and is barely mentioned in most course descriptions. There is also a Powergel station along here and I opted for a double latte flavor that nearly made me puke (shoulda stuck with chocolate). The turn at the fire station was crowded and noisy and the 1st official hill went by fairly easily despite my condition and feeling of doom. Actually, now that I think about it, the section hills from mile 17-21 actually were nice to me in a strange way. I was very tired, felt very slow, the legs were sore but not aching and running up was a nice change of pace. Everything was by heartrate and by setting my rpm max at 150 it was challenging to slow down and shorten the stride enough to hold it there. I didn't pass many people but also didn't get passed much either and felt good to see the miles finally counting down a bit. Heartbreak Hill itself was almost easy compared to the rest, but more likely it was the thought of "Only 5 miles to go and all downhill" (I wish that was really true, but it's not).

The last five were more of the same slow slog as my pace continued to slow like my friend Bruce. It looks like I was actually able to pickup the pace in the last 7k but perhaps this was more a result of the gradual downhills and trying to not get passed by every single runner on the course. This chart below shows our 5k split paces and demonstrates the slowdown with the hills and an increase at the finish as the horses can smell the barn.
What do I really remember about the last stretch? Not that much. The crowds were again loud and vocal, there was a huge party around the Boston College area, some of the fans were very funny with how they seemed so into the cheering and yelling. Maybe just jumping around to keep warm? I kept looking for the giant Citgo sign that marks the last mile of the course but it kept well hidden until the 24th mile. Then you run another mile with everyone telling you just one more mile, while you know it's not one mile until you are beside the giant marker along the road.

Finally, the last mile and still feelings of doubt, pain but knowing that I was going to make it without having to walk it in. It had really been a godsend that we had driven the course a few days before and I could remember the last few turns and twists in the route. Along this point before the final turn and straightaway on Boylston street I peeled off my jacket to reveal all my Canuck colors for the victory lap. It's an amazing finish and every runner should experience this last 1/2 mile of cheers and glory at least once in their running career. Nearing the finish I had a special treat as my name, town and country were called out on the PA. It gave me the energy to raise my arms and pump my fists. My main feeling as I finally crossed the line was not of disappointment but one of relief that it was finally over! What a long day and it's sooo good to stop and just walk slowly.

In the finish the area it was cold with the gusty winds and we moved along slowly gathering up a space blanket and then lined up to get our chips removed and receive our medals. At this point I began to feel woozy and nauseous and realized that I'd better sit down before I crashed to the ground. The volunteer was nice to offer me his chair as he removed my chip. It was difficult to get up after a little rest with my head between my knees but I managed to wobble on and find some food which helped to perk me up. The buses were a mess with crowds all trying to get their gear at the same time and but found Bruce waiting for me as we had planned. Again felt woozy but once we had our stuff and was able to change into warm clothes things started to improve. Once seated on the subway things were looking up even more. More water, chips and a cup of coffee later I was all charged up and ready to go.

That night it was another fantastic meal with my wonderful hosts but I'll save that for another post when I've got the pictures to go with it. Suffice to say that we are treated like royalty in Boston by our amazing hosts in Waltham. It might take another post to really figure out what happened with my race. All that training, 20 milers almost every weekend, speed work, hills etc and I need answers as to why. Time to review the training logs a bit.

Have a great week! The ice cream, brownies and beer are great!!

Boston report - part 1

Home at last after yet another Boston adventure. Don't know quite where to start, so how about the end first. Here are my results:

Not what I'd trained and hoped for and how I got there is a bit of a long story, in fact I wrote most of it by hand in the car on the drive back today with my new friends Bruce and Jim. Bruce, whom you saw in the photo with me on Sunday was the 4th New Brunswick runner with a time of 3:07. He had a good 1st 1/2 but faded in the 2nd half and said he might have gone out too hard with the leaders in the 1st corral. Jim was also top 10 with a 3:20 and was quite happy with his result but said (like all runners will) that he could have done better.

My story began at 5:15 when Bruce and I woke up for a light breakfast of cereal, coffee, juice and bagel before scooting down to the subway station and then to the Boston Commons where the buses pick up the runners. There was a light rain and the temps were moderate in the 40's, which was warmer than expected. We were on the buses by 7:00 for the long ride to Hopkinton. Once there we were lucky to get into the high school gym where we were able to lie down and relax for about an hour in relative comfort of warmth and dryness. There was even an unexpected discovery of porta-potties with short lineup that will be remembered for future events here. Around 9:20 they started chasing the runners out for the corrals and we made our last minute preparations with extra layers that could be removed and the final super protective garbage bag layer on the outside (plus bags over the shoes to protect the virgin Mizunos).

Dumped the gear at my bus (buses are numbered by bib#s) and made the 1/2 mile walk down to the start in a steady but almost warm light rain. It was now about 9:40 as I consumed my last drink of gatorade and saved the wide mouth bottle for convenient discrete usage before the start. Arrived at my corral in no time and moved toward the front to do a few stretches and final clothing adjustments as the final announcements and anthem played. Then to my surprise, Peter, who is the brother of one of my co-workers taps me on the shoulder and introduces himself! We both knew that we'd be in the same corral but I've never met him but I guess my famous Canada shorts gave me away! We had a nice little chat and I tried to give him a few pointers about the start but from his good finishing time of 3:25, I think he was quite prepared. It was feeling quite warm in the crowd and the rain was lessening a bit so the garbage bag got dumped about now.

Finally the start, though I don't remember the gun. Peter and I stuck together for a bit as we shuffled ahead taking about 3-4 minutes to get to the actual start line where you could finally start to jog along at an easy pace. At this point he sort of floated away looking back once or twice but I just waved him on as it would take too much effort to try to stick together. The crowds were surprisingly good in the starting area despite the weather and it was a good feeling to finally be off on the nice downhill 1st miles.

It's hard to remember the details of each mile but from the very beginning of this race I simply did not have a good feeling. Instead of the easy jogging, light on your legs effortless feeling that you almost come to expect (or hope for) after a decent taper and good training, from the very get go this marathon felt like 'work'. There was no pop or spring in the legs, the hamstrings felt tight and heavy and I just had a worried feeling. My plan was to do a cutdown first six miles with 1st 2 at 7:45, then 2 in 7:35 and finally 2 in 7:25 before settling down to 7:15's. This seemed to work for the 1st 10k but on reaching about 6 miles the realization began to set in that this was not going to be my day. The final clue was my average heartrate which had now pushed into the 150's or close to 90% of max and a level that I knew would be impossible to hold for long. The goal now became one of trying to maintain an even effort, keeping the heartrate below 150 and one of survival to the finish line in one piece. And only 20 miles to go! This is not going well...

The next few miles were uneventful as we wound our way through Framingham and Natick with the usual supportive cheering crowds at each street corner. The weather continued to be milder than expected but the gusty winds made it feel chilly and I was glad that I'd kept my windbreaker that could be zipped up when needed. However, the Canada shorts were still on display and the cheers for that helped to keep me moving along. The next big event, of course, was the cheering girls at Wellesley, also know as the scream tunnel. What they lacking in numbers this year seemed to be made up for in volume as the noise could be heard from about 1/4 mile away. Many were holding up signs for free kisses and hugs but I enjoyed lots of high fives and cheers of 'Go Canada' instead. Shortly after it was the quiet of mile 13 and the reality of my 1/2 split of only 1:40. There were still a few downhill miles ahead but the hopes of increasing or even maintaining this pace were quickly fading by now.

More analysis and part 2 coming up in the next episode. Right now I need another good sleep as the recovery progresses well.

We're Ready!

Just time for a very quick update and forecast for tommorow with more details later.

We had a nice drive down, checked out the race course by driving from Hopkinton into downtown to the expo. Then found our way out to my friends in Waltham are being cared for like long lost sons and heroes.

We're now geared up and ready to go. The forecast is lousy but we're getting psyched.

Do we look keen or what?

I think my Canada colors are rubbing off on someone.

Bring it on!!

Last workout

4d 13hr and counting and feeling like time is running out.

Everything seems to be creaky, stiff, tired and there has been a hint of an impending cold or sore throat for a few days now. This lethargy is typical for me and it's the same story when I look back though my old logs. I never seem to feel on top of my game the week before and often not even until reaching the starting line on race day. So things are normal...

Just a couple of easier runs this week. On Monday it was just 5 miles at lunch-time with a few strides thrown in for good measure. Avg pace around 8:00 despite feeling tired and slow.

Today was the so-called dress rehearsal 7 mile run with a couple of miles at marathon pace where I was supposed to gear up with all my race day gear down to shoes, socks, shorts etc. Didn't happen. At least the wearing of The Shorts didn't happen today as I didn't want to scare the locals too much. Instead it was just my normal running gear including long pants and shirt for a cool but sunny day. Despite again feeling tired and slow the run went well with the MP miles in 6:52 and 7:14 with heartrate around 140. One thing that I will have to watch is going out too fast in the early miles with all the excitement. This is the classic marathoner's mistake which burns up his precious stores of glycogen early on before the muscles get properly warmed up. A good thing about Boston is the crowded start that should hold me back for the 1st few miles. I'm also planning on doing a progression buildup over the 1st 4-6 miles. This worked out at Wineglass and should be even easier to do with the downhill miles at the beginning of Boston. I'm rambling again... time to sign off and watch the hockey playoffs.

Don't forget to follow the Chasing Kimbia site as they prepare for Boston.

Oh, and my race number is 6678 so you want to track me on the BAA website on raceday, with splits about every 5k. Be patient as it sometimes gets swamped with all the hits.

Carry on!

6d 23hr 48m 39s

Just a quicky post this morning as the clock is ticking...

Also just time for a quick but slow 6 mile run around town in about 49:00 on heavy legs (wonder why?). It was 0C (32 F) with a brisk northwest breeze and otherwise a nice day for Feb/March but not for early April. Rather nondescript type jog/run with a stop to check on a friends cats. The only event of note was the little snow squall that showed up in the last mile but this is getting to be old boring news by now for most of the east coast and central states.

I took a day off yesterday (Sunday) on the advice of Coach who always has my best interests in mind. Besides my long run was taken care of on Saturday and a little rest would be better than pushing on tired legs. It's a good thing too because I was feeling a little tired and grumpy (but would never admit it) and the beer and ice-cream and chocolate tasted that much better.

The long term forecasts for Boston here and here and here are looking like it's going to be a cool cloudy day between 40-50F (4-10C) with a chance of showers. It's been a cool spring so far and it looks like the trend is going to hold for at least another week. That would be a welcome change from past years with temps in the 70's and 80's.

On an unrelated/related programming note. I'd like to recommend fellow bloggers try turning off their word verification to make it easier to put up comments. Madman Bob from Florida makes some good points in this regard and if you start getting spammed then just turn it on. You can also turn on moderation and then get the chance to approve each comment 1st. Just a thought.

So much for a short post. Have a great week!

Like a thief in the night

Looking over his shoulder for oncoming danger. These masked bandits are kinda cute but so smart and destructive. We now have to bring in our bird feeders at dusk or the raccoon family will eat all the food and tear up the plastic feeders. We caught this guy in broad daylight about to climb the pole. Now should I be looking over my shoulder for trouble?

The plot thickens. Now surely a fun run with no markers, no water, no timing will be a good opportunity to get an easy run in with some company? I was immediately given a little 'talk' from Coach who reminded me of my inability to take it easy in race situations and that the real race is only a week away. "Pardon me. I didn't hear that. What did you say?"

Oh, and by the way, did I mention the hard 8 miler on Friday with 3x1 mile repeats? I'm a sucker for doing the workouts that are scheduled no matter what. If it's written, then it must be done right? After a 2 mile warmup the 1st mile went by in 6:35 going by effort alone with no watch in sight until the beep at the end. A short 2:00 jog and back the other way with the lactate making the legs heavy for a slow and disappointing 6:44 along a slight uphill. The final one was aided by an encounter with a friend running with his dog who agreed to go with me. Little did he know that it was going to be a race. Again, I just went hard by effort focusing on my breathing and rhythm and soon the sounds of my now opponent's breathing were fading. Final mile in 6:19! Finished with an easy 2 miles home.

That night amidst a flurry of email with Andrew and (No Show) Jon I get a 2nd lecture regarding my inability not to race. Is there a pattern here that I'm missing?

Saturday morning we arrived at the race run about 15 minutes before the start to see, surprise, surprise a little sign up booth, water, race run numbers! Surely, this must be a race right Andrew?? (who showed up a few minutes later). After a few announcements over a PA system (another sign of race in progress) the horn went off and so were we. The 1st mile went by at a slow jog and a loop back to collect Andrew who was somehow lost in the crowd enjoying the sunshine (I think). Soon enough we were cruising along enjoying each others company and the miles were clicking off nicely around 7:40 or so. A little fast but still not out of control, yet.

"I think he's slowing down, we'll get him on the 2nd half" says Andrew.

"It's not a race" I remind him.

A few miles later we catch up to Chris whom Andrew immediately befriends before beginning to lay the hammer down as the pace drops to 7:30's and below. We chat some more and the pace keeps increasing. Next mile in 7:25. Less chatting now. Andrew!! Next mile in 7:17. I guess it's a race now as our new 'friend' Chris is now hanging on for dear life. Andrew slows a bit over the next mile but when he sees I'm not interested in matching his pace, then he simply takes off and leaves us in the dust.

With about 2 miles left to go, it's just me and Chris and neither of us yet willing to call it a day. We did a little back and forth but on the last hill about 1/2 mile before the finish our new friend finally fades and I sneak away and follow Andrew in who had put 2 minutes on me over the last 2 miles. What fun!

The gory details look like this.
And don't forget to check out Andrew's point of view and all the trouble he gets me into.

And the countdown continues with 7 days to go. Have a great week!

Would you believe?

Taken today, April 5, 2006 2007 with 10 days to go.
Yes, it snowed, again. It is Canada and it's only April, I guess...
About 6-8 inches of heavy wet snow, perfect for making snow sculptures and such but I wasn't feeling too inclined after shoveling the driveway, again!

Very little to report on the running scene as it's week 2 of the taper plan with short little runs that seem more like an afterthought than anything serious. I had planned a couple of repeat miles today but this has been rescheduled until the roads clear up a bit.

Monday - rest day, feeling fine

Tues - 5 miles at 6:30am on the treadmill before heading up north to visit my Mom (all's well)

Weds- 7 miles after work on what was 'supposed' to be an easy run. However, it was a blow off some steam type run due to various work frustrations with the 1st 5 miles at close to marathon pace but feeling relaxed and easy with the heartrate low. Finished up with a few fun strides that made the legs feel fast.

Thurs - today with just another 5 miles easy on the treadmill as the roads and traffic were too dangerous to be out and about

Here's hoping this all melts quickly so I can get back on the roads again. Good running and Happy Easter!

It's April!

See? The goldfish survived the winter but are still under protective netting to keep the leaves and raccoons out of the pond!
We have finches nesting in our shrubbery; the robins have arrived and the crocuses are up.
In fact if you watch very closely you will even spot the occasional Gardenus compulsivis poking around trying to tidy up the mess left by the long winter's nap. Hope that I don't get into trouble for telling.

First a little wrap up for the month of March. Finished off the last week with an easy 5 miles yesterday to give me 58 for the week and 287 for the month. Aced the plan for the week as far as mileage went but the hip issue prevented some of the quality stuff that was in the schedule. Things are almost back to normal for the 'injury' and now give it an 8 or 9 out of 10.

The 'long' run today of only 17 miles was completed here at home alone without much difficulty. I played it like the race day as far as the timing went and waited until after our Palm Sunday church service. After a snack of a 1/2 banana, 1/2 bagel and gatorade I was on the road by noon, only 1 hour later than guntime on the 16th (with adjustment for time zone). We had a great day here with bright sunshine but coolish temps around 4C and light-medium northwest winds. The 1st 7 miles were just at an easy pace as I made a loop around the town before a quick stop at home for more drinks and then heading out of town. The next 5 miles were a bit tougher, directly into the wind as I attempted to push the effort a bit. The last 5 with the wind now at my back went nicely and was able to drop the pace to 7:30's to finish the run in 2:17. No problems with the hip although it could be felt as a slight background noise and might interfere with full extension on my stride when I get moving faster. Rated as a good run and I'm looking forward to another easy week as the mileage will fall to the mid-40's.

You might be interested in checking out all the Canadians going to Boston from our province of New Brunswick. The Run NB site has the full list of all 84 runners and some predictions for top ten performances. I'm little miffed about not even getting a mention as I'm often close to the bubble but the competition is stiff and maybe that will just give more incentive to prove the critics wrong, eh?

In blogger land, we're all anxiously awaiting the results from Thomas in his 1st ultra (39.3 miles) at the Connemara marathon in Ireland. Go Thomas, you rock!

Have a great week!

Ow! That hurts !?

I'm afraid that I must have spoken too soon and jinxed myself. At least I've been given a good scare to make me realize how tenuous our hold on good health and fitness can be.

It all started with Sunday's long run with Andrew on our regular Boyden Lake loop. We met at the usual 6:30 time but this week started at the Farmer's Market in Perry which is normally our 1/2 way point. It was a nice sunny morning with the sun just starting to come up and the temperature was reasonable at -1C and little wind. We had a really nice run at what seemed to be a moderate to easy pace and after the main 17 mile loop had a quick pitstop at the van for drinks before adding 4 miles on the Sipayik trail to completely finish us off. It was very quiet the last few miles and I arrived at the cars in a heap. All I could say from my HOK position at the end was "It doesn't get any easier Andrew!" (21 miles in 2:51, 8:04 pace). Andrew's reply as he wolfed down the offered homemade chocolate brownies was typical: "Yeah, but we're running them faster now too". I spent the rest of the day at home, totally spent, mostly in the horizontal position, watching NCAA basketball and trying to recover. But no obvious aches and pains beside the usual general exhaustion.

Monday - just the usual rest day. The log says 'tired but otherwise ok'. Yeah, right!

Tues - I've been fiddling with my taper plan which is right out of Pfitzinger and trying to whittle away a few miles here and there so my weekly total will come down to something in the 60's. Today's run started on the plan at 8 but then got chopped to 6 with a few strides to remind the legs of future action. However, it didn't even get to that. The run was just an easy warmup and then I met up with a local beginner running group for a jog around Indian Point. It was nice to run with a group but the pace was more than a little too slow with a feeling of more running in place than striding out at all. Towards the end of the group run I began to get little niggly complaint from my hip area. I then headed off back home to finish my 6+ miles but barely managed more than a fast jog to finish. That evening I was limping around for no apparent reason. What the?

Weds - woke up with a very sore left hip area which felt like I'd fallen and bruised the muscle on the outside of my hip/butt area. Popped a few ibuprofen (which I never do) and limped off to work. The day's run of 9 miles with 5 at 1/2 marathon pace was looking to be a bit of a problem with this very sudden change in my health. Just to make things more interesting the wind decided it might be good idea to blow any remaining debris out of the woods. I figured the only way to counteract the effects of the 50-60k winds was to head into them and then attempt to run the faster part of the run on the return leg (or at least on one leg). The run started slowly with the hope that the leg and hip would warm up and not be an issue. It was a false hope and my dull ache was with me for the entire run. Not bad enough to stop me from running but enough to bother me and slightly change my stride. After the turn around the attempt at tempo was on the miserable side with barely 7:15's as a result. Cut the run short at 8 miles with only 4 tempo and immediately went to a limping walk. Arrggg! That night the hip was very sore and could not even sleep on that side. I have no idea where this came from. All I can point to is a lack of any stretching or core work regimen but it's a little late for that.

Thurs- bit of a sleepless night because I prefer to sleep on that (sore) side. Popped some more ibuprofen and seemed to improve slightly during the day. The weather with gale force winds continued so I went with an easy treadmill run tonite. Just 5 easy miles at 8:30 or so pace wearing the Boston race day shoes. This time the running seemed to improve the leg/hip and felt better as the run went on.

Now a few hours later it's almost completely gone, just a slight background noise that I can barely notice. Very strange and a bit scary at this point so close to the goal. Perhaps a bit of regular stretching each night as we watch the news is on the menu instead of extra ice cream?

Good running and take care!

Still in one piece

The current Boston training cycle is nearly complete (not counting the taper) so perhaps it's time to tally up a bit. I'm 'still in one piece' with no real injuries or issues to speak of. My achilles soreness is long gone, there's an occasional sore side mainly due to a lack of stretching and ab work, and the knees and feet are fine. My weight is good, down from 166 to 161, which is where I'm usually at by early April. Stress wise, it's mostly due to a hectic work life lately that can be a bother but I'm doing my best to ignore it and not bring stuff home at night.

Here's what the weekly and long run mileage looks like since the Wineglass marathon in Oct. The weekly mileage is about 5-10 less than last year but the consistent series of long runs (due mostly to the Andrew influence) is something new this cycle. It amounts to 18x20+ mile runs since November and so at least that part of the training is covered off.

Training to finish off the week went 'ok'

Thurs - easy paced 8 mile recovery run after the good set of 800's on Weds. I felt tight and stiff at 1st but then smoothed out as the run went on. Pace was better (ie slower) around 8:20. I also got my number for Boston #6678, which in case you don't know puts me in the 6th corral as they order the runners by their qualifying times in corrals of 1000 runners. I was hoping to see the 5th corral for the 1st time with my hot new PB but it was not to be.

Friday - I think there is an affliction going around that prevents you from running at your prescribed marathon pace. Eric had it, and then Michael caught it, and even Run Faster-Marc had some difficulties and now it's here in Canada! For some reason it makes you crazy and unable to run at a moderately hard pace without getting totally out of control and the result is a real struggle towards the end of your marathon pace workout.

("Where is he going with this?" - Andrew is asking)

The modified plan workout was 2hr or about 15 miles with 3x3mi at marathon pace with 1mile recoveries. This is down from the original optimistic version of 15 with 12xMP that I'd written down in a fit of madness back in January. I came up with the revision after seeing Marc's run and thinking, "that's a more doable run", little did I know... Perfect sunny day, 10C (50F) with a medium nw wind 10-15mph, easy one mile warmup and off to the 'races'.

Mile one: 6:50! Idiot! you're going to pay for this!
Mile 2: 6:55, dummy, feeling the burn yet?
3 mile avg: 7:01 which is about 15 sec/mile too fast. I told you it was catching.

After an easy 1 mile recovery it was a return loop along the same course in reverse which was mostly flat but had a long stretch into the wind at the end. No splits for the 2nd 3 mile run but the average pace was again too fast at 7:08 and it was hard work and concentration for the entire way. If I ran and effort like this on race day I'd be lucky to get past the 1/2 way point.

Another easy 1 mile jog and the final loop was more of the same, too fast, too hard, no rhythm, and average pace 7:08. It's 'supposed' to feel moderately hard, almost easy, smooth, gliding, floating but not today. I'll be praying for the usual race day magic. Finished the 15 miles in 1:57 and rewarded myself with a nice Amber Red.

Today, Saturday was just an easy 7.5 miles to finish off the week at 68 miles. The plan went very well as I managed to get in 100% of the planned runs for the week. My Parrot predictor now tells me I'm at 3:12 which is the lowest yet and getting close to the target. Now it's time to rest up for the long run with Andrew in the morning. Now does anyone know where to get 'brown bread with Guinness' ice cream? Thomas??

Have a nice weekend.

Yasso 800's

It's been a tough week again with work putting on extra strain and the body is also tired and having a hard time keeping up. I've known for a few months that this was going to happen as I prepare for our annual assessment meetings and at the same time try to peak for Boston. Many of the training plans suggest reducing the life stressors somehow but that's not going to happen short of a vacation or taking stress leave.

Sunday it was home alone because of the torrential storm we had on the weekend. Andrew and I had canceled the Boyden run the day before because of forecast conditions and with his flooded basement, the run would have been aborted anyway. As it was, part of our road was also washed away in the downpour.

I used the run to test/practice a number of things for race day including the start time of the run, the shoes, the hills and the drink. By running alone it was easy to schedule the start to 11am (10est) which is new this year for Boston. The traditional noon start is now history and we may get some better running conditions before it heats up as seems to happen most years. The shoes are also easy since I've got identical pairs and will save one mainly for race day. The drink, Gatorade Endurance, is more of an issue since it's been hard to find locally. It was used at last year's Boston and gave me cramps and nausea and so was unable to drink much besides water. I tried it again on one of our long runs with the same result and so the plan today was to try a diluted (by 50%) mixture. This worked a lot better so I'll be grabbing water and gatorade during the race and doing an in-run mix and drink.

The run itself went reasonably well with an ipod for very poor company instead of Andrew and his jokes and stories. Nothing really special, just a long 18 miles in 2:26 with the last 8 attempted with more effort managing to increase the pace to only about 7:45 pace. Was it the wind, hills or just the cumulative load?

Monday - rest day

Tues - easy 1 hour run and 8 miles at about 8:08 pace. I was 'feeling' tired, stiff, sore and with the windy conditions this was way faster than necessary for a recovery run. It's very hard to dial down the slow easy pace and to save it for when needed.

Weds - the plan said 10x800. Now where did that come from? I've been building up my intervals over the past month and decided to fit in the so called Yasso 800's as a bit of a test. There is some debate about how predictive this workout is for your marathon but this runner was prepared to give it a go and perhaps gain some confidence for my goal time. So after another long day at work and still not feeling much like running hard I ventured out very tentatively. The 1st 2 miles went by rather easily and a few easy strides got me safely to the starting line. Click! The 1st one felt very easy with the 1/2 mile in 3:07 (1/2 mile is about 808m) and then started with just a 2:00 jog before turning and starting again. Next one in 3:13, back to reality! My average was now 3:10, which coincidentally is also my marathon goal, but a bunch more to go. It was a struggle holding the pace and the 2 minute rest seemed short but I finished and the overall average was .... yes, 3:10 and a range of 3:09-3:12 for each repeat after the 1st 2. The reward was the end of the workout and the slow, slow jog home. Total of 11.5 miles in 91 min. I was tired before, now I'm very tired. More ice cream?

Have a great week, spring is finally here!

Lucky 7's

It's been a busy week and time for a recap of how things went. The countdown clock says only 30 days left which means one more week of full training and then the 3 week taper. It's actually been a fairly normal week for a change with no travel, work trips, crazy meetings or anything really unusual here in our day to day life. The weather (until today) has been great and I was able to run in shorts and a long sleeve shirt for 3 of my runs with temps between 5 to 8C (40-45F) and only a bit of wind and rain (unlike the Sunday cold washing machine run).

Started off the week with my standard rest day on Monday and was feeling tired from the cumulative stress from the week before.

Tues was just an easy 8 miles for the 1st time this year in shorts. I tried to relax and just go easy but still came in at 8:00 pace despite feeling a bit stiff and sore.

Weds - and time to get serious again with some real effort. Before this run I was very apprehensive and nervous as to being rested enough to finish the workout. The run began with a nice long warmup run of about 3 miles and then clicked the watch to start a series of 7x1000m efforts at about 10k pace or 4:00/km with a 400m jog between each. This is actually slightly better than my 10k pr pace but it was an arbitrary goal for today's run. This run was done on the roads on the only flattish long piece of street we have around the main town core and I kept going back and forth passing the same people walking. They must wonder what that crazy older man is trying to do to himself!

The graph below shows the result from my garmin with the blue line as speed (mph) and the matching heartrate spiking and trying to keep up in red. Notice also how heartrate remained elevated afterwords on the final jog home. But back to the spurts and stops my times came in within a few seconds of the 4:00 goal for each kilometer and having the Garmin in lap mode (showing average pace) helped to keep me in the groove. They got progressively harder to do mentally and I only struggled to hold pace on the final run segment.

Hard, easy, right? The final mile or so at an easy pace was quite a nice relief.

Thursday found me pretty bagged but not overly stiff and sore, just a general tired and so it was a relief to just do an easy 8 mile recovery run. There was a light rain which made it a little on the cool side but that was ok. The pace was easy at 8:10 but probably still a little fast for recovery. It seems there's only one slow down speed in the legs.

Today Friday is the day for a medium long run and I had a choice of hills or marathon pace miles to make. With the cold temperatures and wind (back to -6C and windchill of -12C) I decided it would be difficult to hold a hard tempo pace on tired legs. Instead I opted for a staple of my Boston plan which is a series of hard downhill runs to teach the legs to run fast and to withstand the pounding of going down at speed.

The result below is what my killer hill workout looked like today with the green line for elevation in feet. The hill didn't grow during the workout but somehow the Garmin got tricked as one point. My hill of choice is the Bunny Hill (where all the bunnies live; gotta get a picture one day) which has about 200 ft of drop in a 1/2 mile. It finishes down by the beach which goes across to Minister's Island at low tide and usually has very little traffic.So... after a 5 mile warmup it was time to bite the bullet and run down the hill! Pace going down averaged 7:00 or less as I tried to hold back a bit and keep it near my marathon goal pace of 7:15. Unfortunately without a convenient elevator or car I then had to jog (slowly) back up the hill to begin again. The locals must think I've totally lost it by now. And repeat, hard down, easy up. And again, and again, etc. It was good to have the ipod along today to keep me occupied but eventually on the 6th repeat the legs started to complain about the abuse. Time to stop you say? No!! Now's the time to do another when the hurting is good and so seven it was! Followed by a struggle back up and another 2 miles to finish me off for the day at 15.

Result: sore tired legs that are shakey hours later going up and down stairs but will be that much more ready for the abuse that will come on April 16.

Plan for the Sat. is to just do an easy hour run which will bring me in around 70 miles for the week. After that, rest up for Sunday's run with Andrew again, weather depending as we're going to get slammed tonite and tomorrow with another nor'easter.

Have a great weekend! Time for ice cream here...

I can almost see the top of the mountain

Just a few more weeks and it will be all downhill to Boston but . . . well I could go on and on about how tough the winter has been and how hard it's been to get some of the training in but . . . that's all water under the bridge. What's done is done and just 2 more weeks of real training left! And then 3 weeks of winding things down and trying to stay sane.

Andrew and I 'survived' our 20 something mile run yesterday despite the cold rain that poured for the entire duration of near 3 hours. You know of course that it stopped almost immediately when the run was over. We did the usual Boyden Lake loop and were smart enough to park one vehicle at the 1/2 way point with a change of clothes and some drinks. We also were smart about the time change by completely ignoring it and not loosing any sleep from springing ahead and then having to start in the dark. The plan had included Jon who is all gung ho about starting his training up so he can smoke his new age group. However, he got sick the night before and couldn't make it, at least that's what his sleepy spouse told us (sorry guys).

With no more excuses of our own it was off into the pouring rain (about 5C or 40F) with only Andrew's witty conversation to keep me warm. Let me tell you, some of his jokes are pretty funny! This week the run was navigated in the easy (clockwise) direction and we both agreed that the hills are less mountainous this way. The 1st 1/2 went well with our main goal to run slow so that the 3 hours would come with less pain and suffering than by running faster and further. By the time we reached the van we were soaked to the bone and the change of clothes was very welcome. This is the 1st time I've ever switched jacket and running shirt in the middle of the run. Andrew astounded me by removing his long pants and going to shorts! What a madman! Within a mile the color of his legs were a perfect match with his red hair and orange hat! Brrrr!

The 2nd 1/2 of the run was more of the same, good conversation, lame jokes and a bit more traffic than normal. We didn't see our 1st car until 5 miles into the run but it was more frequent on the narrow hilly roads later on. I guess some people did 'spring ahead'. We were also amazed to see a truck driving on the lake but I suppose it's been cold enough lately that one day of rain won't be a problem. Nevertheless we struggled along and images of marathon pace miles quickly dissolved into a slowish shuffle to the vans (barely under 8:00 pace). I was able to convince A that 20+ was a better number than 19 and we did a slightly faster last 2 miles to finish in a cold shivering heap. Those chocolate brownies were sooo goood we barely tasted them!

Thus ends another sad story. I hope to run one of my long runs with somewhat fresh legs in the coming weeks but it might have to wait until taper time.

Have a good week all!

And if you like to smile check out the latest Chasing Kimbia video blogs. And also the regular Kimbia site.

Doing the work, sort of...

Trying my best to get the workouts in but the log tells me it was only 87% of the planned miles last week. The combination of a work trip and poor weather resulted in a total of 60 miles in 5 runs. Two of those were on the treadmill as I attempted to avoid the awful cold weather that had swooped down on us from the arctic. High winds and dangerous windchills were the result so indoors it was.
Today's run, seen here in graphic form included a jaunt across the ocean floor with the tide out and a series of hills which were a real struggle for the legs. This was meant to be an easy recovery run in preparation for yet another long run on Sunday morning with Andrew and Jon. The main challenge will be figuring out the time zones and time of day with Daylight Savings kicking in tonite. Our final decision was to pretend the clocks stayed the same and to meet at the same time, 630 EST (730 Atlantic Canadian), meaning I get to sleep in a bit! (Yes!!)

ORN's

• Tues - 8 miles easy on the treadmill
• Weds - work trip, brought running gear but no treadmill at hotel, -30C windchill
• Thurs - 8 mile on treadmill with 8x800m at 3:20 to 3:30
• Friday - 15 miles with 8 attempted at marathon pace (managed 740 only) on dead legs
• Sat - 9 miles easy on dead, tired legs
• Sun - plan for 21 or more (thinking I need a 3 hr run) with last x at MP
  

Have a good weekend! Wish me luck on the long run.

For inspiration and pure fun check out the Chasing Kimbia blog and videos. Kenya, Kenya, Kenya!

Yet another long run

Or how about "The Long and Winding Road" which was one of the more appropriate song titles that was on my ipod today? Whatever, another 20 miler is now in the books and it's nice to sit now by the fireplace with my glass of Keith's Amber Ale with pizza in the oven for supper. Actually my glass is empty, perhaps I need a refill. Hydration is key to recovery, right?

Marathon and Beyond has a great article in the most recent Jan/Feb issue (see table of contents for articles summary) by Guy Avery on goal setting and training which has got me thinking about the obvious that "you can't do on race day what you haven't trained for". Which comes back to today's long run which was meant to stress and simulate conditions that will occur on April 16th. Namely I will get tired and sore and will dearly want to stop but there will still be 5 or 6 more miles to go. I like to say that the main purpose of the long run is to get to the last few miles where you are (usually) tired. Granted, there are days when it's a slog from the 1st step but what you do in training while tired will pay dividends on race day both mentally and physically.

Today's run was done from home as my usual Boyden Lake route was canceled with Andrew who was away for most of the week and not up to another long one. Maybe next week, I miss the company. However, only about 1/2 mile into the run I ran into a friend from work who I was surprised to see on the roads. Les is just getting into running and is preparing for his very 1st race, a 1/2 marathon at the Bluenose International Marathon in Halifax on May 20th. We ran together for a couple of miles and then continued our separate ways, Les to his warm home and myself for 17 more miles. But it was a nice break; long runs go so much quicker with company.

Back to my music and listening to some podcasts as I did 2 loops of the town for 12 miles before refilling my gatorade and heading out of town on the highway for the real meat of the run. The next 4 miles were at a slightly faster pace (close to 8:00) and into the steady 10mph wind with temps around 34C (felt a bit cool). Finally it was time to turn for home and to see what was left in the tank for the last 4 miles which I hoped to do around marathon pace. There was still a bit of energy left as I managed 7:26, 7:28, 7:19 and 7:08 with heartrate slowly climbing (along with the hills). It was sooo nice to stop! Another one in the books....

Oh yeah, recap for last week was 6 runs for 70 miles and a Parrot Predictor now falling to 3:20. I think there is hope for my goal of 3:10 if I can just make it through the next 3 weeks in one piece and then begin the taper. Time now for some delicious Chocolate Fudge Crackle vanilla ice cream, mmmm! Not good for the diet but the furnace is hot tonite.

Happy running!

Snow Day

Yup, it's still winter here and we'll just have to make do and put up with it for a few more weeks. They did a pre-emptive strike at the local schools shutting them down for the day, even though it didn't even start to snow until noon and very little accumulation until about mid-afternoon. I guess they just want to be extra cautious, "But in my day, we never got a day off ...".

So what am I doing out in this you ask? Why didn't I play it smart and get my run in early before it all started? Well a couple of reasons, #1: hate to get up early (only for the long runs), #2: still feeling the effects from the interval workout on Tues with a bit of general tiredness and not looking forward to the ambitious plan in my log for today.

As I posted before, things were great on my 90 minute run on Weds, the day after my mile intervals as I sailed along at an easy pace of 8:10/mi. However, the next day the old DOMS (delayed onset muscle syndrome) kicked in and things were very slow and stiff. All I could manage was a 1hr run at about 8:25 pace but at least the heartrate stayed low. Bonus was the nice sunny day with temperature just around the freezing point (almost balmy!).

Back to the plan. Today it called for a 2 hour run with 6 miles at marathon pace. Sheesh! Maybe if I delay long enough the coach will give me a pass. Oh, I'm the coach! No free pass today. Besides it's not that cold and not accumulating much so let's try the roads 1st. Maybe, I could do part of the run outside in the fresh snow and then finish with the fast miles on the treadmill. Oh and I'd forgot to mention that I'd worked thru lunch and left work early so I could run before the real storm hit. After even more time-wasting, window gazing at the dark clouds and snow, gatorade mixing, and setting up the treadmill along with a change of clothes it was time to go. The 1st part of the run, which turned out to be about 8 miles, was actually rather nice. The temperature was only about -1C (30F) and the driving wind and snow was only an issue for a few open spots where it felt like running in molasses. Besides that I just cruised along at an easy pace mostly on the deserted side roads in town. There wasn't much accumulation yet (less than an inch) and so the footing was good for the most part but not anything to try faster running on. The picture was taken just as I got back from the 1st part of my run.

It was then a quick change and on the awaiting treadmill. After a 1/2 mile warmup it was straight into 6 miles at about marathon pace where I slowly ramped the pace up from 7:30 to 7:13. Ended up with average pace of 7:18 and heartrate of 143 although it was getting to be harder work for the last two miles. All in all it was a decent workout and managed to get my money's worth once again.

Hope you're running is also going well.

coming around

After a couple of tough weeks both mentally and physically it looks like things are finally starting to come around. The grind of weather, work and trying to get my running fitted in have been a bit wearing to say the least but in the last few days we caught a little bit of a break with warmer temperatures. In fact we've had daytime highs above freezing now for two entire days in a row and you'd think that it was summer or at least closer to spring. However, the forecast for the weekend is a blizzard with 20+ cm (that's about a foot) of nice white fluffy stuff. Local forecasters call it 'Sheila's Brush', ha! I think winter has a few tricks left yet up her sleeve...

Legend of Sheila's Brush
Sheila's Brush is the last of winter usually around St. Patricks day. The snow is a result of Sheila's sweeping. Legend has it that Sheila was St. Patrick's wife, sister or mother. Sometimes a storm before"Paddy's" Day is called Patrick and Sheila.

But speaking of coming around I had a workout yesterday that made me think I might be finally getting into decent condition. I had taken Monday off, as per usual, and didn't really feeling any ill effects from the Sunday long run besides the usual residual tiredness.

However, my penciled in workout for Tues of 4x1 miles had me a little nervous all day. Am I rested enough? Do I really want to do that many? How hard/fast should I go? My 800m repeats last week were barely at 6:40 pace on the treadmill, what can I possible aim for today? Even the sunshine and calm winds had little effect on my dark mood. "Are you running outside today?" my wife asked as we got home after work. "I'm not sure, I'll figure it out when I get dressed" was my reply and the next thing I knew I was breathing fresh air and slowly jogging down the road towards what felt like impending doom.

Finally, after a 1.5 mile easy jog, I'm lined up by the high school at the start line of our annual Father's Day race. Ready, set, go! Click the watch, roll down the slight incline, these new shoes feel good, this isn't so bad, 1/2 mile gone and pace is looking good, watch the form, save it for the next three, click, 6:38, whoa that was unexpected! Easy 1/4 mile jog, meet a walker going the other way, turn and start the next repeat, blast by the walker, hold back now, cruise around the Point ignoring the fantastic view on a calm sunny day, now uphill slightly and working harder to hold pace, holding on to form, click, 6:35! Next one in 6:32, meeting a jogger during the recovery and then worked hard to catch him on the final one in 6:36. I'll take my roadkill where ever it comes. Finished with a couple of easy miles with a very content feeling. I've got no idea where this came from but it gives me a standard that will be fun to try to maintain and improve on over the next several weeks.

Today I was no worse for wear as I had expected to at least have some stiffness or tightness in the legs but nothing. We had another lovely mild day (anything above freezing is a bonus) but not yet shorts weather. Managed a nice relaxing 11 mile easy run in about 90 minutes and heartrate low at 128 average. The run felt smooth and easy as I enjoyed some old Beatles music on the ipod.

Thus February ends with 248 miles in the bank and now at 500 thus far for the year. It just seems to get better and better. Good running all!

It doesn't get any easier

I don't know where to start, 20 milers in 15 of the last 16 weeks but "It just doesn't get any easier!" Just ask Andrew who bonked and collapsed in a heap in his car after surviving today's run; I wasn't too far behind.

Today's run started cold and windy (-5C and NW 30-40km/hr) so we decided to head north, doing our regular Boyden Lake loop in reverse, in order to avoid some of the windy open spaces along the route. It proved to be a good idea as our pace in the 1st 10 miles was a bit quicker (around 7:40) with the wind mostly at our back and the hills down. However, this later became our undoing as the 2nd 1/2 of the run seemed to be mostly into the (stupid) wind and uphill. Whether it was the quicker 1st 1/2 pace, a lack of pre-run carbs or just us being wimpy, we'll never know. Things did get very quiet 2nd 1/2, which is very unusual with A and the pace slowed too, which was a welcome relief for my weary legs. Maybe next time we'll borrow a snowmobile. Tough run but we got it done (mostly).

Thus ended another week of training with only 7 weeks to go now.

A few other highlights during the past week. Total of 62 miles in 6 runs, 3 on the treadmill due to winter blues and the nasty weather. Time for spring is coming soon, happier running ahead!

Drag days of winter

I never thought you'd hear this come from me but this stupid winter is for the birds!! In the last week we've had 2 snowstorms, there have been 3 snow days for Andrew and the temperature has barely improved one iota. Yuck! And the slippery, slushy roads are driving me crazy too.

Positive note: received my confirmation acceptance card from the BAA today. (55 days to go)

Back to the rant, Sunday's long run was a slog fest from the get go. It was snowing when I started and snowing when finished but it did let up during the run. On the positive side it wasn't -20C with a crazy windchill and my ipod was charged up with a few podcasts to keep me occupied during the run. Negative side again; roads were very greasy and required the Yaktraxs for the 1st 15 miles of the run. I only took them off during the final push home along the highway as my feet started to complain about being cramped in so much. Anyway 20 miles mostly a steady easy paced run but got very tired over the last few miles. Then literally collapsed on the couch for the rest of the day. Enough said.

On Monday we had another storm here with schools closed and very high winds with blizzard conditions. Work still went on as normal though... so I walked the mile in across the field instead of venturing out with the car. Today with the roads still snow covered and 1/2 plowed I decided to take it easy and use the treadmill option again. It's not necessarily always an easy option but at least you don't have to work about getting hit by snowplows or falling and risking injury. But I did just take it easy with an hour of running at recovery pace.

Hang in there winter runners, only a few more weeks till spring.

Sunday's are good days

First, here's a nice link to the Ottawa Ice Sculpture competition. Click on a carver in the list and you can see the design and some great pictures of the best ones. The competition is ongoing with the masters competition and the amazing snow sculptures can be seen here.

Second, I've been a real slacker with keeping up to date on my blog lately. It's been ridiculous again at work and the first thing that seems to go is writing up the latest happenings. Even my blogline reading and commenting is way behind. However, I'm keeping up the running end of things no matter what and with only 8 weeks to go the end is in sight.

Rewind to last Sunday which seems like ages ago now. The three amigos got in a super fun run on our standard Boyden Lake loop with a Sipayik Trail loop thrown in for good measure. The conditions were decent with good footing, light winds but a little on the cold side at -15C (5F).

Oh yeah, just to put my 2 cents worth about my comment at our little break at the Farmers Market. I must have been getting a little impatient about all the stretching and lolligagging or something as I started up the road with "Let's get this show on the road!". Didn't realize what an impression that this made on 'the boys' but they quickly fell into line and then proceeded to crank things up and put the 'old man' in his place.

Lots of good conversation made it seem like a short easy run but it got a little tough in the last mile or so. I was just hanging on for dear life as Marc picked it up when he started to smell the apple pie and brownies waiting for us at the car. I spent the rest of the day flaked out on the couch rehydrating with whatever could be found in the fridge.

Monday - rest day
Tues - hill workout (profile above) on a local incline called 'The Bunny Hill', not because it's easy but because a local resident raises rabbits and there are often bunnies along the roadside. I only noted one today but maybe they were indoors with the cold and windchill of -25C (-15F). Today's 11 mile slogfest was brutal with the wind but I was well dressed for it (love my new balaclava) and the roads were mostly bare. The hill section of the run was a set of 4x 1/2 mile downhill efforts at a cruising marathon pace which ended up close to 6:30/mile with the steep incline. Slow jog up and repeat then finish with an easy run back to the start.

Weds - another dumb work trip which messed up our Valentines Day plans at home. I now have a big IOU to make up. We had to leave early in order to beat the snow storm that was barrelling up the coast from Downeast no less (not from the Great White North). When we got to Dartmouth there was time to get in an 8 mile run along with a few strides and another run was in the books.

Thurs - up early to get a run in before the meetings but the streets and sidewalks were treacherous with ice and snow. Even with the good old Yaktrax it was tough sledding but managed 6.5 miles without falling down. Pace was near 9 minute though.

Friday - home at last again but the roads are barely plowed and my medium long run was a true slug/slog fest. Again it would have been un-runnable without the Yaks and still nearly fell a few times on the slick roads as I barely managed to get in 11 slow miles with a nasty north wind blowing. I totally agree with Andrew's sentiment, "Enough already with this winter cold".

Sat- blew off any attempt to run in the cold and jumped on the treadmill for a change of pace. After a few miles warmup and a few pickups I was able to put in 5 miles at marathon pace (7:18 avg) and with heartrate below 150. It felt good to move a little faster for a change in just shorts.

Total for the week of 66 miles with 97% of my plan completed. The week was a repeat of what I'd intended last week as the next 5 weeks will be aimed at race preparation. I'm considering running the Hypothermic 1/2 marathon next Sunday in Saint John but may hold off and see how bad (or good) the weather is going to be.

Have a great week everyone!

What a crazy week!

The week started out on Sunday in Ottawa amongst the ice sculptures which were pretty cool! But instead of a long run it was 8 miles of skating on the canal and my streak of 12 long runs of 20+ was ended.

Another neat sculpture which stands about 5 feet high.

But back to reality a few days later with a work trip to Dartmouth, NS. Winter really has quite a grip on us now as we've been in the deep deep freeze for about 2 weeks now with no end in site. I was able to get a 7 miles in early on Tuesday before our meetings but it was a might nippy at -28C with the wind. Any thoughts of going fast or too long were quickly squashed as I was on a tight schedule.

On Weds there was a bit more time before starting our trip back home so was able to fit in a decent hill workout in downtown Dartmouth. After a 3 mile easy warmup I found myself at the foot of the Maple Street hill which is well know by local runners and an unwelcome part of the annual Bluenose marathon. My workout plan called for 6 hills and that's what I was able to pull off but the urge to walk became quite strong after about 3 of these at about 3 minutes up and 2 minutes jogs back down. The hills and valleys in elevation and heartrate tell the story. Finished the run with another 3 miles back to the hotel.

Thurs - back home at last and just an easy 8 miles on heavy legs. Also submitted my Boston application and received a little bonus cheque for my age group placing at Wineglass. A little late but that's fine.

Friday - another cool day with winds and windchill near -20C and waited till later in the day to get my medium long run of 15 miles in. Ran it as an out and back figuring to run into the wind on the way out and do my marathon pace miles on the return leg. But somehow it seemed that the wind was shifting continually and was in my face during most of the way. Still managed to get in 5 miles at just under MP at 7:30 pace and heartrate of only 147 avg. It was work but quite manageable despite the weather and all the layers. Maybe the new shoes helped!

Here are the new shoes, Mizuno Wave Riders and this is pair #23 for this brand. They work very well for me and I can easily get 500-800 miles on them before it's time for fresh ones. Bought 2 pair so that I can save one for the marathon.

Today was just a short 1 hour run to give the legs an easy day before the long run planned with Marc and Andrew on Sunday. It was cold again but I've got the layering thing down pretty good now.

Total for the past week was only 53 miles for 73% of my planned week. Oh well, at least my Parrot predictor is coming down to near the 3:30 mark. Actually looking at my plan, next week is scheduled to be a rest week but since I've slacked off so much this week, maybe I'll call this a rest week and just repeat what I'd planned last week. Does that make any sense? I'll bounce it off 'the boys' in the morning and see what they think.

Happy running!

Ottawa report

I'll try to keep this short but it might be hard as there is so much to fit in and not enough time. As you can see I made it to Ottawa and found the canal nicely frozen for winter fun.

The trip up was eventful and with a lucky last minute flight change I got an upgrade and 1st class service on the flight up. My treatment by Air Canada was exceptional and very different from the poor service that Phil got a few weeks ago. The short story was that I arrived early, well fed and raring to go for a run around the city before the meetings began.

So quickly out the door of the downtown hotel I was soon on one of the many running trails in Ottawa. This one goes down the Rideau River past the parliament buildings and then down by the canal. I ran on the sidewalks for the most part doing the entire route while watching the skaters on the ice. I attempted to run along the ice for a short bit but found it was too slippery for even the Yaktraxs and quickly got back on the road. Ended up with a nice 12.5 miles on a perfect calm and almost mild day with temps around -5C.

That night, fantastic beer and meal at Pub Italia with my son. This restaurant has over 200 beers on it's menu, you get a beer list booklet and we sampled only a couple; Satans Killer Red from Kingdom of Fire (malty amber red beer) and an Erdinger Dunkel from Germany (very smooth dark wheat beer). And the food was good too!

Saturday - up early for another jaunt on the trails but this time I headed up the river searching out new unexplored territory. Due to some construction and blocked access I proceeded to get a little bit lost or should I say misdirected before finding my way as far as the Champlain bridge before turning back for the hotel. The hour plus run was very slow due to the snow packed and lightly traveled route that I took. Total for the week was 67 miles and more or less on track, just missed the tempo run.

Saturday night, Saturday night, Saturday night at the hockey game with the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs !!!! We were so lucky to get tickets and the game was unbelievable. Sold out 20,000+, almost as many Toronto fans as Ottawa and an exciting 2-2 game which went to overtime and a shootout! To bad the home team lost but we got our moneys worth, WoW!

Sunday morning - blown long run but instead we were up early and on the canal by 7am for some great pictures and uncrowded skating. Total of 8 miles return trip on the ice which was in great condition. The temp was cool around -15C but there was little wind and we were very well dressed. It didn't even hurt when I crashed one time when distracted by the view. Also spent some time at the ice sculptures which were very impressive.

I flew home later that day but this time had to endure the coach class with little or no elbow room. Thankfully I wasn't between large bodies and the trip was only about an hour. But the streak of 20 milers has finally come to an end with no obvious way to fit one in before the weekend.

I'm now in Dartmouth, NS for an emergency work meeting and my running will be catch as catch can for the next few days. I was only told about it when arriving at work this morning and basically just repacked my bag and headed out once again. Took only enough time to put in a quick 5 miles on the treadmill before hitting the road once again.

Have a good week out there! I hope to get caught up soon!!

Ottawa bound

Believe it or not I did survive the weekend and am still able to kick the can down the road. Now on the road again with a trip to Ottawa for work aka union business so I'll get a chance to visit my oldest son. Another bonus is that it is the Winterlude festival and the Rideau canal is open for skating. It lays claim to being the world's longest skateway and my skates are sharpened and ready to go.

Very short post this week with things sort of working on the running front. My legs are still sore today (Thurs) from Sunday's brutal downhills.

Monday - day off and very tired and sore just walking around

Tues - easy 8 mile loop in the cold and wind. The legs were extremely stiff, especially on the downhills

Weds - 11 mile run with 4miles at marathon pace (avg pace about 7:20) Again the legs were sore but was able to get the pace up for the MP portion of the run. I also underdressed and paid the price by being chilled after the run. At least I was able to curl up around the fire.

Thurs - easy 8 miles again but it was a very tired and slow run.

Now visiting with my sister and will be flying off early in the morning. Hope to get a quick run in when I land in Ottawa before the meetings later in the afternoon. Wish me luck at staying upright on the canal!