Roller Coaster

There's been a lot of up and down with both the weather and my running lately. We've had 10+ degree swings on a regular basis making it hard to figure out what to wear. Today for example it was +9C (48F) during my lunchtime run around town as I ran in shorts and a long sleeved shirt. Tomorrow's forecast high is -4C (25F) with a strong northwest wind which will bring the feel like temps down even further calling for at least a few extra layers.

My blogging has also been a little erratic with long pauses between my posts. I'm tempted to just do short little daily updates like Andrew has been doing but there really hasn't been much to write about. Total miles last week were a bit down with only 41 miles in 5 runs. Since the MDI marathon there has been a slow mileage build with weekly totals of 27, 35, 41, 50 and now down to 41. The down week was partially due to missing a run and because I was taking it a bit easy on the knee issue that came up. Hopefully that's past and the build to Boston can now continue.

Sunday's long run of 16 miles around town was long and boring without my usual company. The lack of running companions can make even a medium long run seem to take forever. It was also a slow run with an average pace of 8:34 and my stupid knee started 'talking' to me again over the last mile. I'm not sure what the whole story is here but it seems to come and go almost at random. I've been running in some older shoes that have close to 700 miles on them and will try retiring them to see if that helps. I'm also committed myself to taking an extra day's rest after any days where 'it' starts acting up.

Monday - rest day, no problem!

Tues - todays run was another ride on the roller coaster and this time it was way up. As I said before, the weather was perfect with shorts and long sleeved shirt attire. I was also wearing the relatively new Loco shoes which have only 60 miles on them to date. Started out very easy for the 1st 20 minutes and then was ready to pick up the pace. It was fun to do a series of 1 min, 2 min, 3 min at tempo pace followed by the same times at an easy jog. This was the first bit of faster running since the marathon and things felt great except for the breathing being a bit labored. The knee and hamstrings were perfect and maybe this is exactly what was needed to shake out the doldrums. Total of 6.1 miles in 48:20 (7:55 pace, avg HR 138). Great run and I'm 'allowed' to run again on the 'morrow.

145 days to go... Might be time to think up a plan. Have a good week!

A normal weekday run

Today's run looks something like (maybe even exactly like) this:

Point Loop from SABS at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail: GPS Travel Community

which also has some geo-linked pictures if you click or point to the right dots.

It was a nice easy paced run at my 'just run and don't pay attention to the gadgets pace'. The weather was a bit cool around 3-4C and I was a little bit under-dressed in shorts, long sleeve shirt and a windbreaker. Could've used my gloves and headband but I made a last minute decision to ditch them because the sun was peaking out. Total of 6.1 miles in 49 minutes and the knee was fine!

Another weekly roundup

I seem to be having some issues with blogger. It won't let me edit my last post so I'll start a new one. I hope it's going to be short as it's been a long day.

I had a great/enjoyable/relaxing/fun run with Andrew this morning as we meandered around the old lake once again. The 17 miles went by in a flash and were almost effortless. My average heartrate was only 129 which was a few beats lower than Andrews but not quite enough to account for our age difference. You see I'm a bit older and so should be slower, right? Actually, pace or competition is never an issue in our runs and we always go along at the ideal speed for the day and today it was me always 1/2 step ahead according to the shadows.

Andrew also has let the cat out of the bag or at least has piqued her curiosity about my latest pseudo-injury. I'm not calling it anything yet because it hasn't yet cut my runs short but it (my sore right knee) has been a bit of a pain all week. It came without warning out of left field and seems to come and go almost at random. For example today it was 'there' when I woke up, but didn't show up until mile 3-5 of our run as a bit of a dull ache, disappeared during the hilly 2nd part of the run and then was replaced by the usual old tight hamstrings of before. Post run it's been totally fine and I'm not worried (yet).

This past week's running was a total of 50 miles in 6 runs as I slowly ramp the base up for Beantown. The runs varied between 5 and 8 miles and even managed to run a very slow recovery run with average heartrate of 127 at a pace of 8:44. Andrew thinks I can go even slower and gave me some good tips today! Go figure! Most runners are trying to figure how to go faster and here we are scheming on how to try to go slower!!

I'll do my best but no promises. Have a great week out there.

Boyden Lake re-visited

It's only been 3 weeks since our last run here around Boyden Lake in Perry, Maine.
I've found a cool site that has let me upload my GPS data and create an interactive map.
Boyden Lake Nov. 18, 2007 at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail: GPS Travel Community

Nasty nor'easter and Sunday run

It's been about 90 minutes since coming in from the cold and I'm finally starting to feel really warm again with feeling in all my fingers and toes. Well maybe a slight exaggeration but when the run was over it was all I could do to unlock the door into Steph's building and it was even more difficult to untie my shoes. But I digress, perhaps we should start at the beginning when the alarm went off at 7:15am and Cody and I looked out the window to see the damage from the night's storm.
It doesn't look so bad, now does it? What's a little bit of snow? Besides the temperature is on the plus side and this would be the 1st wintry run of the season which is usually a very pleasant experience. Memories of quiet runs along empty paths with each footstep cushioned by the layer of freshly fallen snow came to mind but these would soon be purged by howling winds, cold driving rain/sleet and slushy wet roads.
Did I turn around and go back to bed? Did I cut the run short after a few miles of abuse? I'm afraid not. The idea of a 16 mile run was firmly implanted in the psyche and it would take more than a little bit of weather to deter me today. Why are runners such a stubborn lot anyway? Perhaps it's a defective gene, maybe it's an unresolved childhood issue or more likely it's just a lack of common sense.

So after a nice cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal I geared up with my warm long sleeve top, shell jacket, loose pants, gloves, hat and a warm hunter orange toque. The 1st miles went by almost pleasantly with only the gusty wind of 20-40 mph to deal with. I avoided the worst of it by dropping my bottle at the trail head and running with the wind as my stiff joints and muscles slowly warmed up. The temperature was around 2-3C (35-38F) and the Confederation trail was covered in a 1-2 inch layer of wet snow/slush with puddles thrown in at random for good measure. Within minutes my shoes were thoroughly drenched and about 2 lbs heavier. Are we having fun yet?

After a couple of kilometers the trail ended in downtown Charlottetown and I made a u-turn returning the same way but now with the gale of wind in my teeth, though occasionally sheltered by the trees along the trail. A steady cold rain also started at this point and didn't let up for the remainder of the run. The journey was made slightly more pleasant by my handy Ipod and the Nov. 4th episode of Phedippidations, but was ominously titled "Things to do Before You Die". (Still not getting the hints are we?) The next several miles were on the tough side and the empty trail seemed to only get sloppier as I continued out of town. Incidentally I was retracing parts of the PEI marathon course which also runs along this trail. Some sections were bare and well sheltered while others were quite exposed with slush puddles and howling winds. Fun eh? I stubbornly continued until 8 miles had passed before making the 1/2 way turnaround.

The return leg was a little better with the wind now at my back but it also gave the rain a chance to more thoroughly soak my clothes from another angle. My pace increased marginally as I tried to keep warm but a gradual tightening in my hamstrings prevented any real speed from happening. Slowly the miles ticked off. At 13 miles I was faced with a decision to turn right and go 1/4 mile to a warm sheltered apartment or to stubbornly continue on for a 1.5 mile out and back to get my 16 miles. There was no contest, I continued on... After the final turnaround things started to shut down, starting with my watch malfunctioning, then my ipod and of course the rest of the carbon unit soon followed before my final crash landing at the door of the apartment. Total of 16.2 miles in approx. 2hr 20 min, avg HR 133.

Over the entire 2 1/4 hours I did not see one other soul, except late in the run, a man was walking his dog near the university and of course cars with unseen persons giving me curious wondering looks of pity, amazement or worse. It was quite the run and I'm glad it's over but I'm also glad that I did it too. How was your day? I wonder how Andrew and Marc made out this morning. Last I heard Andrew was about to wake Marc up and drag him out for 17 miles. I hope the conditions were a bit better in Down-East Maine.

Have a great week!

Still kicking around

It's been awhile since I've had the inclination or time to do a post, what with all the traveling and work lately. Still getting the runs in but there's not really much to say about them, just slowly ramping the mileage in my usual long reverse taper after a marathon. The past few weeks totals were only 35 and 40 and the plan is to work up to about 60/wk in the next month.

The trip to Ottawa was great and we had a nice visit with our 2 sons who are now living there, one working and the other in 1st year university. Besides attending the mandatory meetings that I went up there for we had time to attend a raucous afternoon session of Parliament with Question Period and more info about it here. After the yelling and catcalls ended things settled down and we had a chance to here our local MP Greg Thompson and Minister for Veterans Affairs give a very moving speech to launch Veterans Week. The mood in Parliament was very different for this speech and was quiet and respectful with a round of applause at the end.

My runs in Ottawa were good and was able to run along the canal or the river on each day of my visit. I even got up early one day before sunrise and had a fantastic run across the river with a stunning view of Parliament hill all lit up with the stars and moon as a backdrop. If only I'd had a camera then! On Sunday I did a 15 mile (2hr) run along the canal in the early morning with temps of just 1C. At least it was calm and sunny but I did get thirsty with only one bottle of water for the run.

This past week has just been short easy runs of between 5 and 8 miles.

This morning it was just 6 miles in 56 min. (8:28 pace) as I vainly tried to keep my HR below 130. Average was 132 for the run and anything slower and I'd be walking. Maybe I need some lessons from Andrew on how to go slow and easy (should I walk up the hills?).

Then we made the trip to PEI to visit Steph for the weekend. She gave us an in-depth tour of the vet school and also introduced us to her assigned beagle. She takes it for walks and is teaching him tricks as part of a behavior class.

Here's Stephanie with Betty who is one of the more sookie dogs that craves attention and is trying to get up in her lap.

On tap for the morning is another longer run of 15-16 miles, hopefully after the nor-eastern passes through. We're getting a bunch of wind, rain and even snow tonite and I'm hoping it clears by the morning. We'll see what happens but I'll get it in somehow, sometime and might even have time to blog about it.

Have a nice weekend!

Boyden Lake revisited

Sunday's run was a welcome return to our old haunts around Boyden Lake. Andrew and I met up early around 7am, just after the sun had come up. It was a perfect sunny day with mild temperatures and light winds. After a short discussion about the correct time of day (Andrew's office clock was out by 2 hours) and the right direction we were on our way.

You can see our route around the lake here as plotted up by the active trainer website and it comes out quite accurate to what our garmins calculated. We ended up with a nice 13.3 miles in 1:47 (8:01 pace) and never really pushed the pace at all. The whole way it seemed like we were just at a jog/trot and the conversation stream never ended. It was a great run as usual but no real big highlights to tell, very little traffic, calm sunny and almost warm, got a little tired and stiff at the end but otherwise felt fine. We're both looking forward to many more (and longer) runs like this over the coming fall and winter but it'll be a few more weeks until I can get back due to some travel trips I've got planned.

Monday - rest day, annual medical checkup with my family doctor and all systems are go. There are issues in my family history that I need to keep a close eye one and so it's a good idea to do this on a regular basis.

Tues - easy 5 mile run on my bango-tight legs. I'm going to get some physio or massage soon to deal with this soon before it gets any worse. Still the easy pace came in at 7:44 while trying to go slow.

Weds - another easy run or 6 miles (7:56 pace) while trying my best to keep the heart rate down low below 135. It's not easy to run that slow/easy but I tried. Avg HR=137

Tomorrow we're off to Ottawa for a long weekend and we'll get to visit with the 'boys' and I'll also be able to run some of my favorite trails in the National Capital area. They treat runners and bikers very well there!

See you later and have a good run!

Recovery week 2 (and still creaky)

This is the latest addition to our living room, an original watercolor we picked up when down to Mount Desert Island. It's a local scene by a local artist that's just the right size to fit over our fireplace mantel but more importantly we both liked it!

My running this past week has deliberately been reduced and low key. I've been doing alternate days of rest and running in an effort to get fully recovered before I start building up some base mileage for Boston. One consistent factor that seems to remain is an overall tightness and some deep soreness in the legs. Until this is gone and the legs start to feel fresh after my short easy runs I won't consider the recovery phase over. Right now I'm planning on 4 weeks of just easy running.

This past week:
Sunday - 1 hour run, slow pace and got very tight and stiff by the end of it
Monday - rest
Tues - easy 5 miles, about 8min pace, again tiring and sore at end of run
Weds - rest
Thur - 1 hour+, 8mile run, again very tight legs and had to stop and stretch at 6 miles after I developed some cramping in the calves and hamstrings. I was able to continue but only at a very easy pace.
Fri - another rest day
Sat - easy 5 miles, a bit better today with the legs tight at first but better later in the run. I was then 'recruited' to jump in the pond to help put it away for the winter but used waders instead of bare legs in the cold water (about 10-15C).

I was reading Nate Jenkins blog last week and was blown away by some of his numbers, especially the amount of marathon pace or faster that he had done in the past 6 weeks (103 miles). It was a rainy day in St Andrews today and I had some time to go through my training log to see how I compared. Of course my average mileage was only 50/week over the past 20 weeks, compared to Nate's 100+ for 30 weeks. However, I kept up in the amount of faster running with about 70 miles at or faster than marathon pace for the 6 weeks before MDI. On average this worked out to 25% of total mileage which was more than I expected. Anyway I thought it was interesting and you can see it in the plot above.

Boyden Lake calls for the morning and Andrew and I are planning a shorter run. We'll probably do about 90+ minutes and 12 miles at a nice easy pace (are you reading this Andrew??).

If you get a chance please give a shout out to Kate who is all nerved up to run her 2nd marathon in Auckland, New Zealand. And don't forget Grellan who is running his 4th marathon in Dublin but is on tender hooks due to some injury issues. Good luck to them and others who are racing or preparing to race!

Have a great week all!

Gone Loco

Finally got off my lazy butt and out for the 1st little run since the MDI marathon. The pictures are now up on the website and you can find Andrew, Marc, Jamie, Katy and me. I also got to try out my new Loco shoes which I picked up at the expo for a good deal. So why Loco running shoes? Maybe it matches my needs being lightweight, functional, in a style that stays the same and of course the price was right. I tried them on for fit and did a little jog in the parking lot but held back from wearing them the next day. But I easily could have as they worked perfectly for today's run.

Since MDI, there has been no running, taking 3 days off, as much to rest up the mentally as physically. There has actually only been some minor soreness and I could easily have run on any of the days but it's finally time to take some time off. The next 4 weeks will just be very easy runs with alternate days of running and rest and adding in extra days or miles, only if the urge is irresistible. Yesterday's 'jog' was all of 4 miles in just under 32 minutes despite trying to keep the pace slow. It just seems that my falling off the bus or plane pace is stuck at 8min/mile lately... I also hopped into the cool pond after the jog/run and it was cold at first but felt really nice after a few minutes. Should I try this in the winter after my 20 milers? (I don't think so)

Not much else going on. Took the day off today and it's supposed to pour rain tomorrow but should clear by Sunday. In a couple of weeks we'll probably start the Boyden Lake winter long run routine again and I'm looking forward to that already.

Have a great weekend!

MDI remembered

The race itself is still playing itself out in my mind as one of the best marathon experiences of my career to date. It wasn't especially fast and there were no age group prizes or awards to be had but the memory of it seems to be seared into my brain for some reason that's hard to explain. The chance to run with good friends was the key factor and even though we didn't get to finish together as I had 1st dreamed, the journey to the finish line was varied and interesting for each of us. I would venture to say that each of the Three Blind Moose and the Mountain Goat were totally recharged by the experience and ready to move on to future goals with even more energy and enthusiasm.

Pre-race and the start:
I arrived at the village green near the start about 50 minutes before the start with plenty of time to find Jamie and then we both were directed to Andrew's nice warm room by his kind daughter. We relaxed there, a mere 50 ft from the start line, until Lauren said that it was 10 minutes to 8 and shouldn't we get going? Grudgingly we agreed and shuffled along to search for the still missing Marc. Moments before the gun we met up, shook hands and then were off like a herd of turtles. Given the little lecture the night before by 'Joannie', we had reconsidered the idea of running the entire race together and our plan for the day was somewhat 'open' at this point. My personal plan had ranged from either running with Jamie as long as I could to hanging with Marc and Andrew and conserve energy for the 2nd half. The 2nd option seemed much more palatable especially given my short recovery since Saint John.

Mile 1-12:
This 1st part of the marathon was much like our long runs together but for some reason we lost Andrew almost immediately off the back despite our pedestrian pace. You can read Andrew's report for his reasoning but we normally do lose him in the woods for awhile on any 'normal' long run (so par for the course). Marc and I cruised along nicely and before we knew it 5 miles had passed and the pace had dropped without any noticeable effort. It's always a good sign when you barely notice the mile marks and they still seem to be coming quickly. About this point we were joined by our lost friend and the next few miles were a confusion of jokes, laughs and continuous conversation as we passed runner after runner in full flight. At one point our man Andrew decided he needed to stretch his legs and started to pull away from us. Again, this little episode is nicely described by in A's blog as I sprinted ahead to reel him back in. He literally tells it like it happened as I told him to 'stop and wait for Marc!' Amazingly, he did and the next thing we were cruising along in formation for some of the best pictures ever taken of the 3 Blind Moose. A now worn out phrase, but simply 'priceless' is a close description.

Mile 12 to 17:
After our encounter with our friendly race photographer, 'all bets were off' and we slowly drifted apart as we began to focus on our own pace and individual running. No words were exchanged and soon we were all out of sight of each other. I found myself comfortably at 7:45-7:55 pace over the next 8 miles as I passed the 1/2 in 1:50:43 and continuously overtook runner after runner. At one point counting 'roadkill' was a distraction but I kept loosing count and gave it up for awhile. The scenery along the course was amazing with the fall colors, the dark blue-black ocean water, and skies. Before I knew it we were at the end of the closed to traffic section of the course along the fjord and it was another nice encounter with my personal coach and photographer.
Miles 17-21:
More 7:50's as I continued to feel good and pass runner after runner. Only rarely do I remember a marathon feeling this smooth for so long into the race. The course was getting hillier now and there was a steep little rise right at mile 20 that took some extra work but the reward was a good crowd, another photo and a nice downhill next mile in 7:47.
Miles 21-25:
This was where the course turns into a real brute with a long string of hills that just keep coming at you. The runner traffic had now thinned a bit but my passing ways continued and I had not been passed since leaving Marc back at mile 12 or so. Despite increased effort the pace now slipped to 8:05 to 8:20 as I tackled each mile, each hill and each runner one at a time.
One nice interlude was an accordion player near the top of a stretch of hills near mile 23 that helped to keep my spirits up. My legs were now starting to tighten and almost cramp but some quick 'on-the-fly' rubs seemed to help loosen things enough to provide relief. My goal to get to mile 24 and enjoy the downhill finish was dashed when reaching this point I saw only another stretch of seemingly unending hills! I had misread the course profile and had another mile to go up before relief was to be had. Head down again and I soldiered on looking for more roadkill.

Mile 25 to finish:
Was that footsteps I heard? I finally reached the landmark 'Top of the Hill Restaurant' where the course finally started to go DOWN nicely for a solid mile. Still knocking off runners but either that's an echo of my footsteps or I'm getting tracked down myself... I don't look back and start to increase my pace as much as the downhill grade will permit. A quick glance confirms that the pursuer is for real and a female looking strong and fresh. Damn, I don't want to be racing the last mile like this! Mile 25 in 7:13. The course now leveled out slightly with a slight rise (aka hill) with the finish still out of sight. We were also zig-zagging past more runners, traffic cones, traffic cops etc as I continued to do my best to keep her at bay. She remained one step behind as finally the finish stretch came into sight. We both now picked up the pace even more and the sprint to the finish began. It I was going to be passed now it was going to have to be earned and in the final few meters I managed to pull away slightly at the end. It felt more like the end of a 200m sprint than a marathon as my legs went wobbly for the final few steps.

After we both got over our gasping for air we shook hands and high fived each other on a good finish. My competitor placed 2nd in her age group for the 19-29 women. What a crazy way to finish a marathon (last 0.15 mile at 6:15 pace)!

It's now 2 days later and my recovery is going really well. I'm already thinking of when and how to get that 1st little run in and whether I'll be able to fit in another 10k or something before the end of the year. But first more recovery for a few weeks and then slowly get back into some easy running for a few months before gearing up for Boston.

Photos from the pre-race tour of the course, the guest speakers at the pasta dinner and the race itself are here for your viewing enjoyment. The race results are here.

Have a good week! It's been quite a ride so far.

MDI marathon

What an absolutely gorgeous marathon course and a perfect weather day to boot! We had temperatures between 42-52F (6-12C) with mostly overcast and light-medium winds from 10-15mph.
We were honored to have Maine native and 1984 Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit-Samuelson speak at the pasta supper. She gave a great talk and had some good advice that we all took to heart.

I just have time to post a few pics and comments for now with more analysis later. The 3 Blind Moose and the Mountain Goat all started with different criteria for success. Jamie was the 1st across the line in a strong 3:21.

And here are the 3 Blind Moose all together at the 11.5 mile mark.
Andrew looking good around 17 miles. Andrew finished next in a 3:2x (24-28 something not sure)
Here's Jamie around the 17 mile mark just steaming along.
Our new friend Katie, a friend of Jamie's had a great race and got her BQ too!

Here is the end of my sprint finish with the girl who pushed me really hard over the last mile just behind. I hadn't been passed since mile 11 or so and wasn't going to get 'chicked' at the very end of the race! I finished in 3:34:16 with a 7 minute -ve split. Oh the joys of starting slow and easy but it was still a long way to the final finish line.

More analysis later, but right now I have a filet mignon steak waiting for me somewhere in Bar Harbor, gotta go!

More easy running (aka taper)

This past weekend was a holiday, Thanksgiving here in Canada and Columbus Day in the USA. It's our 1st holiday 'Home Alone' with just the two of us and we had a nice quiet time at home and not traveling for a change. It would have been fun to have some of the 'kids' here but that was not to be and so we had a small turkey and dressed up a table for two instead!

Running wise things have been rather quiet. I found a few pictures that were taken of me at the Saint John marathon on Sept. 23 and I don't look 1/4 as bad as I felt at the time. This is close to about mile 25 and I remember just praying for the finish line to come quickly so the hurting could stop. Makes you wonder why we continue to do this to ourselves doesn't it? Maybe we're all striving for that 'perfect' race where the effortless feeling in the 1st few miles can last forever or maybe we're just deluding ourselves.
I did see the camera and tried my best to hold my form as best I could...
Counting 1, 2, 3, 4, . . .
This past week at work we were part of the World Record Walk where everyone got out of the office for a few minutes and did a 1 kilometer walk. I helped a bit with the organizing part by setting up a safe route, validating numbers (we had 41 from a staff of about 60) and sending in the paperwork to the main event site.

ORN's since the marathon on Sept. 23
Week 1: 3 rest days, 3 mile jog, rest day, 5k race (20:31 chip)
Week 2: 11 mi, rest, 5mi, rest, 5mi, rest, 5mi for a total of 26.7 mile for the week!
Week 3: 13.1 mi, rest, 5mi so far. Plan for rest of week is 4mi ,rest ,3mi ,rest and MDI marathon on Sunday.

Be sure to visit and send cheers to Thomas in Ireland, who set a huge 16 minute PR, Mike in Arizona who 'should' have set a new personal best and Dallen in Chicago who was in great form but got absolutely hammered by the weather and thankfully survived in one piece. We expect big things from our friends in blogland and the efforts they put in are sometimes amazing to behold. I'm relieved that they all made it through safe and sound and will go on to fight the good race another day.

Have a great week all!

Fall Classic (Recovery) 5k

It's only been 6 days since the marathon and the week has gone very well with only minimal soreness in the legs. I took 4 zeroes this week and my only other run on Thursday went by like a dream and so surely a little 5k run should be OK, right? The Fredericton Fall Classic which is only about 90 minutes away was the perfect opportunity to test my little theory.

Jo and I were up early and arrived in lots of time before the race. My warmup was a bit more legitimate today taking about 15 minutes, including some easy jogging, stretching and a few strides. Everything felt good except for some tightness in the right hamstring which got some extra attention by more stretches and rubbing. This is a fairly small race and so I was able to line up pretty well where I wanted about 5-6 rows back from the front and before we knew it, we were off to the races.

My only strategy today was to run strong but not to strain (especially with the soreness in the leg but it never bothered me during the race) and to see what happens. I haven't run a 5k in years and had no idea of what kind of time I should be running. Looking up my recent marathon time I get a predicted 5k time of 20:38 which is not too far off my (soft) PB of 20:01.

The 1st kilometer was a little fast in 3:58 with just a swarm of people and legs and feet as I tried to find my pace and not go into oxygen debt too quickly. The course starts on the streets and then goes on the city trail until the last 200m of the return to the finish. The next km in 4:09 was a bit more work and was entirely on the trail as I tried to hold a steady pace hanging on to the runner in front. Before I knew it 2.5 k and the 1/2 point had flown by and the effort seemed to continue to be sustainable but the next kilometer slowed a bit to 4:11 as we did a funny out and back and the turn around for home. I'm not sure what happened next as km 4 came in at a slowing 4:25 but around this point I started getting pushed from behind and could hear some heavy breathing.

Only 1k to go and all my effort focussed on my breathing and form and just getting to the next landmark, end of the bridge, only 2 more intersections, now the last stretch where I did the warmup, final turn, at last the finish in sight, still that heavy (female) breathing, don't panic, hold the form, 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 (repeat) (again). At last the finish, I can't believe that just happened!!

The 5k results are here and all the 5k pics Jo and I took are here. More than pleased with the result and felt great after the run, though it was HOK position for a few seconds as I recovered. These short races are over almost before you know it though. Love it!

Apparently their may be a method to my madness because the winner last weeks Marathon by the Sea, Alex Coffin was also at the race. Alex is obviously a top local runner but he's also a running shop owner (check out his website) and a great guy who is very involved with sponsoring and supporting NB running. We talked a bit about his recovery and his plan for the race which were "going well and we'll see". Alex won today's Fall Classic 10k pulling away from the 2nd place guy in the last 200m. Since I finished early, I was able to get the finishing shot and lots more shots of the 10k finish are here.
I guess it's not only me who's crazy about running! I'm thinking of a 1.5-2 hour long run in the morning. Can't let this fitness slip away can I? Have a good week all!

Recovery

...is going very well. Since the marathon on Sunday I didn't run a step or do a thing for 3 straight days although there was the temptation now and again. I'm really none the worse for wear besides a little soreness for the 1st day or so and some blistering around my big toe that was solved with a bandage until the swelling went down. There was none of this 'barely able to walk' syndrome or 'hard to walk down the stairs' and no need for ice or even ibuprofen. Strange but true!

Today, after work was my 1st effort at running and it went extremely well. I just did an easy loop of about 3 miles with no problem at all and it was a hard to not keep going a bit further. All signals were go, heartrate was low, effort was easy, cruising along at a nice pace, no obvious aches or pains; just some soreness in the deep leg muscles and around the hips. After just 27 minutes and barely even sweating the run was over before it barely started.

Curiously though, even a 1/2 hour jaunt gave me time to think a bit about things and some questions that have been put to me about my running and current plans for MDI. The general theme seems to be "Why run 2 marathons so close together?"Quinto Sol was curious when I 1st posted my plan back in June, Grellan wondered if I'm simply mad and Thomas has been more diplomatic and thought that I'd shown training marathons were doable before. So why did I do it and what is the plan for MDI?

Why?

1. Why not?
   
2. I had planned to run a fast marathon at MDI and use Saint John as a training run with 18 miles at marathon pace and then coast in but my training and fitness didn't warrant this. What I did end up doing was fairly close to my limit for the day but I didn't kill myself either as I was saving something for another day.
3. There were lots of nice perks at SJ including free gear for doing the BQ thing and a chance to get in on the nice promotions for a Boston trip in the spring, plus I'd paid my two bucks!
   
4. I guess I just Love 2 Run ;-)

MDI plans

1. Have fun.
   
2. Run with Marc, Andrew and Jamie. I was thinking that the best finish I could imagine at MDI would be the 3 Blind Moose crossing the finish line together with arms raised in joy!
3. Support Marc (Like Lance). Remember at New York and all that Lance had to do was run? I was thinking Andrew and I could do that for Marc. "Water? Here you go Sir!", "More gatorade?", "Should I tell that lady to slow down and keep us company?", another joke? You know that Andrew is full of them. What do you think, Marc? It will be a blast!
   
4. I can't wait ;-)

I signed up for another race tonite. There's a 5K in Fredericton on Saturday and I couldn't resist. I'm even going to take another day off tomorrow to rest up for it. I guess I just love to run...

Have a great week all.

It just doesn't get any easier

Whew!

It's over! The results are here.

3:25:45 which is an acceptable result considering my training (more later on the lack thereof)

5/14 in 50-59 age group and out of the medals but I won a box of chocolates and got a free hat for BQ'ing (again)

And it doesn't get any easier after 18 marathons and you'd think it might (more thoughts on this later too ;-)

Now for a few gory details before I keel over from a lack of beer and ice-cream.
Basic observations:

1. Crazy zig-zagging figure 8'ish or maybe crazy 8 layout with lots of loops and turns where you'd run with the 5 or 10kers and then against traffic as the 1/2 marathoners came the other way. There was also a lot of overtaking of the 10k and 1/2 runners who had earlier cutoff's than we did. We got a good tour of the city if you happened to be looking around but my eyes were mostly on the pavement and runners in front of me.
2. Heartrate, the reddish line shown as a % of max, was up there in the 80-90% range as I'd expect for this kind of effort but I paid little or no attention to it during the run. I ran by effort but more of a "what kind of effort can I sustain and make it to the finish line without crashing and burning (ie walking)
3. Hills (green line)! Did I mention that any idiot that runs a marathon with hills is an .... idiot! Yes, me! Miles 20.5 to 24.5 were not fun to say the least. Why is it there always seems to be more uphill than downhill on a loop course?
   

We interrupt this blogcast for a delicious ice-cream break. Mmmm!!

The race or at least what bits stick out for me now:

• Good starting weather conditions with fog and mist for 1st hour and then bright direct sun for the remainder bringing the temps from about 15C up to about 22C. Despite carrying a bottle and exchanging it along the route as well as drinking at most water stops (every 2 miles) I still got dehydrated

• No warmup besides some stretching while standing in the bathroom line minutes before the start. The plan/idea was to do a cutdown warmup 1st 6 miles starting at 8:00 pace and working down to about 7:30 but this was quickly out the window with the 1st 2 miles in 7:30 each. Duhh!
  
• With the 'warmup' behind me I settled in with a local Saint John runner, Vince who was going for about the same pace and times as me. We then proceeded to rattle off a bunch of 7:30's up until mile 10 when I backed off and told him to go ahead. He said, "Sure, see you later around mile 21 where you usually pass me" which turned out to be very prophetic.
• For the next several miles I managed somewhere between 7:44 and 8:10 pace but it was really starting to seem like alot more work. I hooked up with a runner from PEI for a few miles but no luck today in finding any women to run with although I was passed by the #2 and was unable to respond. She couldn't have heard me anyway with the headphones plugged in.
• Around mile 19-20 it really started to get difficult and I was reduced to simply putting one foot in front of the other and refusing to allow the body to overrule the mind and begin walking. My focus was on keeping the arms moving and counting exhales as the mile markers seemed to come slower and slower. And they did with the hilly section from mile 21-24 with splits of 813, 823 and 839 despite slowly increasing average heartrate.
  
• Around mile 23 I rejoined with Vince as he expected and we struggled along together for another 1/2 mile before I completed the predicted pass as he faded a bit.
  
• Mile 25 was a downhill 8:01 followed by a rolling struggle of 8:20 for mile 26. The final 0.2 was all downhill and the Garmin tells me it was sub-7 pace but that seems hard to believe.
• The finish is always so sweet. Can I really stop now? And I don't think I could run another step.

After the finish, I didn't feel that great and started plying water and gatorade despite feeling a bit queasy. On the advice of one of the volunteers, "You look a little pale, Mike", I then made my way to the medical tent so I could at least sit down for a minute. It was so nice to sit down! After a bottle of H2O and sports drink I was checked over by the doctor and told that I could move on when I felt ready. Feeling a bit better I then attacked the food table with vigor, starting first with a very strong cup of Tim Horton's coffee and followed by basically everything on the menu.

Well that's all for now. I'm pleased with the result considering my checkered training over the summer. My mileage was good but there was a lack of much structured speed or marathon paced work. It might be time to take a bit of a break from all the training but that will have to wait until after MDI. It's only in 3 weeks but I can't wait to get on this beautiful course with my best running buddies and I'm sure my legs and feet (blisters) will heal by then ;-)

Have a great week all!

MDI preview weekend

Beautiful seems inadequate to describe the Mount Desert Island marathon course. How about drop-dead gorgeous or breathtaking? It's the featured race of the month in this Oct's Runners World where they refer to the race as "The Big Sur of the East" which is high praise. But did they mention the hills? Oh yeah, there are hills and plenty of them but the scenery is definitely distracting too.
The plan called for a meeting of minds this weekend where the 3 Blind Moose and 1 Mountain Goat were going to take on the course in detail in preparation for the upcoming marathon in only 4 weeks. Jamie aka 'The Mountain Goat" has been very quick off the mark and has already put down his thoughts on our fun get together. While Marc and I were very comfortable in our dry hotel, with warm showers and tv with Red Sox coverage, this was the scene for Jamie and Andrew at the Blackwoods campground. Note the nice shiny tent in the background and the mini-tent for A up front. Now for a few gory details. After meeting up as scheduled on Saturday afternoon, we headed for the starting line which was conveniently located directly in front of our hotel. After a ready, set, go! we were off to the races, or at least the 1st 5.5 miles of the marathon course, and surprise, surprise there were some decent hills almost from the get go. It's a little scary way to start off a marathon and I'll have to remember to watch the effort over that 1st big climb on race day. It didn't seem to slow our group down too much today though as we cruised along at sub 8 minute pace. We had a good time, getting to know Jamie and mostly trying to keep up with the guy who comes by his goat status well deserved. That evening we had a great meal at the local pub with lots of pasta and beer as well as laughs and good times. We then hung out in the hotel room for a bit to plan the car shuttles and timing for the morning long run which was only hours away.

Morning and 530am wake up came before we knew it. After a car shuttle, coffee stop and water drops we were good to go by almost 7am and the story of this monster course continued exactly from where we left it only 14 hours before. It was still there though in all it's glory on this perfect morning. The weather was clear, cloudless and a bit cool (around 50F/10C) with us all in long sleeves to start. After some dancing around to get the group shots in sync we were off to the races once again. I have 2 more words for this course: relentless and distracting. The hills are just that, up/down, repeat but none of them are really that big. It's just that they keep coming and coming and there is little respite except for the distraction of the beauty of the ocean, forests and nature in general.
This is the course route and profile for the last 20.8 miles. Case closed ;-) Up/down repeat. The last few miles will be especially tough at the end of the marathon but your reward is a beautiful downhill finish (though a small incline near the end). We cruised the last mile at sub 7 today and from that you'd know we had a great run. Perfect weather, good friends, tough course but enough distractions to make it worthwhile!

I just had to stick in another pic from along the course route this morning from around mile 14 or so. Not bad, eh?It was a very good idea to do this test run and not go into the race cold. You can read and hear all about the course but there is nothing like experiencing it first hand. Right now, I can't wait for the race day to come so we can do this all over again. Great weekend and great run guys!

Have a fantastic week! I'm so stoked now!!

Home at last

We're finally back home after 10 days away in Ottawa and the surrounding area. After getting my son settled we took a few days to tour around the area a bit. We first checked out the Rideau Canal by following it south from the capital toward Kingston. It was a perfect day along a beautiful waterway and I took a bunch of pictures as usual. The canal is now designated as a World Heritage Site due to it's historic values and original structures. From the website press release:

"Built between 1826 and 1832, the Rideau Canal was originally designated as a Canadian national historic site in 1924. It has a high degree of authenticity and integrity, as it is the only canal dating from the great North American canal-building era of the early 19th century that remains operational along its original line and with most of its original structures intact. It is also one of the first canals designed specifically for steam-powered vessels. It is an outstanding technological achievement in terms of its ingenious design and its high-quality construction."

We then wandered around the Thousand Islands area and took one of the many boat tours that get you close to the action. The 1 hour boat ride included close up views of some impressive mansions and also some very small cottages which barely fit on their little piece of real estate. We then spent a bit of time in Kingston and visited Fort Henry before heading back to Ottawa for my conference.
Where we checked into our snazzy hotel at the conference location. This is the front desk to give you some idea of the decor which was simply incredible. I'm glad that I was a sponsored delegate here at the Hilton Lac-Leamy and not paying the shot myself. Simply crazy!
It was also conveniently located next to the network of trails that runs through the Gatineau. I only had to wake up, take the elevator down and step out the back door to be in the pathways and wooded trails. On the second day I even ran into a deer along the path, and this is in an area surrounded by highways and the city. Despite the travel and work I'm still getting the miles in still but not much else to write about. Total of 56 last week in 7 runs and including a longish 16 mile run on Sept 2.

So far this week I've got 18 miles in on Sunday before heading back on the long drive home. On the way thru Calais there was time to look up injured Andrew to firm up plans for our weekend scouting trip to Mount Desert Island. We're still going to run parts of the marathon course in preparation with Jamie and Marc also planning to come. It should be a fun weekend and hopefully the weather will co-operate and not rain too much.

Have a great week!

Ottawa trails and tales

Another busy week and we find ourselves in downtown Ottawa for the weekend and most of the week. I'm on holiday until Thursday when I'll be attending a science conference for a few days across the river in Hull. Meanwhile, we're staying with my oldest son who is renting a house very close to the downtown core, in fact it's only about a 15 minute walk (or an 8minute jog) to the Parliament Hill.
Ottawa is Canada's capital city and has a ton of greenspace, bike paths and trails for biking, running and walking enthusiasts. I'm always trying to explore new areas every time I come here and should have brought my bike to use on the off days or just to be able to search out new places. When we're across the river, I'm planning to do some trails in the Gatineau Park area.
Here we are in a park just a few minutes away from Chris's on a walk right past the Russian Embassy. I was wondering about all the iron gates around the place when I'd run by it earlier in the day. We're playing a Swedish game called Kubb where you're basically throwing sticks and trying to knock down other sticks. It's more complicated than that but at our level, that's the basic strategy.

The other main reason for this trip, besides being a holiday was to deliver my youngest son to Carleton university. It will be a great new adventure and learning/growing experience for him that we're sure he's going to enjoy. The move into his room was very painless, with lots of help from orientation people all dressed up in pirate costumes which is the theme for Frosh week.
He has a nice room on the 4th floor and didn't take too long to get all setup.
The good bye's were hard but with his big brother close by, he'll be fine.
Since we're staying around for the week, we hope to get a 1st week report on Frosh week on Friday night, which will should be interesting.

Running? Yeah, still pounding away but only got 52 miles in last week in 5 days of running with
two zeroes due to a regular rest day and the 11 hour driving day to Ottawa. At least there was a good long run of 20 miles last week and a 1/2 decent cutdown run midweek where I dropped the pace over the run to near marathon pace. It's now looking like I'm going to have to re-assess my goals for the SJ and MDI marathons which are coming up fast. Just not enough quality miles in the log to justify any attempt for a fast marathon, which was my initial goal.

Time to go. Have a great week all!

Scooped!

It was a great weekend for a trip to PEI and I had plans and thoughts for a great post about all the fun things we did but before I could say "Cody!", I was scooped by Stephanie! Well, not really but she did steal all the best pictures, though I am partial to the family group shot we took. The silly look on my face was due to the cat snake that you can barely see in my hand after it was flung out to make the cat look at the camera!Another silly cat photo, drinking out of the flower vase.

The weekend was busy and fun with a wonderful dinner and ceremony as Steph was inducted as a new vet school student. They also impressed upon us how there will be difficulties and hard work with very stressed out students, but it will all flash by in no time at all. It's hard to imagine 2011 when she graduates as Dr. Power as being just around the corner.

Did I mention that Charlottetown is home of the PEI Marathon, and now tentatively scheduled as the 3 Blind Moose Strikes Back event for 2008? This also turned out to be a great opportunity to explore the territory and some of the race route. On Sunday it was 20 miles as an out and back run from near the university which is about 1 mile from the finish line. The run started early for me (around 7am) on another humid but at least overcast to keep the direct sun away. The 1st 5 miles were on the Confederation Trail before crossing Hwy 15 and picking out the marathon route on the way out of town. I went for about 5 miles, reaching Sufolk before turning and heading for home. This part of the course is great terrain on a nice flat wide trail with fine crushed rock base. There are lots of farmland and scenic views all along and I enjoyed the quiet solitude this morning with very few runners, walkers or bikers to be seen. Coming out to the Route 15 again, this time I followed the 'thon route which goes the rest of the way to the finish along the open highway. I'm glad to have tried this because there are a number of hills and open areas where a prevailing westerly wind would be of concern as the miles pile up. Nothing too serious but after 15+ miles my legs and body weren't happy with the ups at this point. If you were feeling good, I'm sure you could cruise along, but ... when not up to par, the last miles will drag. Anyhow, finished the 20 in 2:43 and I was beat up pretty good and very thirsty despite carrying a bunch of gatorade.

Other running last week included 6 runs with a total of 62 miles for the week ending on Sat. Mostly just 1 hr runs each day and was unable to put any real hard workout's together except for a few faster repeat miles during a longer 12 miler on Friday. That's about all I've got to say about the so-called training for now. Getting the miles in, sort of and sort of training but not really and it's now 7 weeks and counting... There's still time to put it back together, I hope.

Have a nice week!

Nothing much to say

It's been harder and harder lately to find things to say and then to make the time to post. At least my running hasn't suffered the same fate, as I was able to manage 64 miles in 6 runs last week. It started off well with a decent (but tiring) 3 hour run last Sunday where I learned that the new Nikes are not friendly to my feet on long runs. The easy run and the cutdown runs were also good as the temperatures have moderated nicely here lately. It's been mostly in the 20's during the day (60-70F) and has been dipping down in the single digits at night already (40's). Perfect!

Thurs - easy 1 hour run after work. Ran into a buddy from work and it was a real slow relaxing recovery run as we chatted away.

Friday - got off work early with time for a longer run including some hills at the end. I did 3 repeats of the Bunny hill at what felt like a strong controlled pace but my watch begged to differ. I'm getting of the opinion that there's something wrong with my watch (take last weeks race for instance) but unfortunately it rarely lies. The end result was 9 slow miles with 3 miles of even slower hills.

Sat. - legs still a bit sore from the 'so-called' hill workout as I cruised along for another 8 miles to get the weekly total up to a nice square 64 which was way better than last week's pitiful 46.

Sunday - up early to send off our Ontario visitors and then on the road shortly after for my long run. It was another perfect running weather day with cool temps ranging from 10-15C and low humidity. Things started kind of slow and it took a few miles to get the stiffness that's been hanging in the legs lately. Maybe it's finally time to start a nightly regimen of stretching and strengthening like I always say I'm going to do. Maybe... But after awhile the running felt much easier as I cruised through 2 loops of our downtown before heading out of town for the planned 'fast' finish. Ha! After 12 miles of running there was no fast finish happening today! It felt like I was working and pushing the pace but at every mile split the watch told me a different story. The fastest mile was a 7:50 and it was downhill from there and a relief to find the end of my driveway after 20 miles in 2:45. At least I got the run in.

Monday - rest day with no aches or pains worth writing about in my log

Tues - (today) a mid-day lunchtime run from work as I delayed departure until all the traffic was gone. The temps were a bit warmer today at 24C but still lovely for running. This started out as a slow easy run but because I did it as an out and back the 2nd half became a bit of a race to beat my time going out 4 miles (32:12). Despite vainly trying to hold back a little to save something for my speed runs planned later in the week, the return leg came in at 30:30. It's amazing sometimes you feel so stiff and slow at the start of a run but before you know it, you're cruising and feeling good. It didn't last for long but it was nice while it lasted (on the downhills at least ;-).

Not much else to write home about I'm afraid and it's now only 8 weeks to go. I'm not overly pleased with how my training has been going but then again I'm not unhappy with it either. I seem to be flailing away but nothing is really happening. There are couple of trips planned over the next few weekends that will keep things interesting with some new places to run.

Meanwhile, have a great week and while you're at it go visit Wild Man Bob where you can always Dream Big!