A Long Tough Run

This was the year. I booked up my winter with ATB training to build the base. I spent extra time on the bike and in the pool working towards my first sprint triathlon bringing my fitness up. I watched what I ate and discovered a sensitivity to gluten. Changing my diet brought my weight down to below my high school weight.

I was training harder, running faster and looking for more. The goal was the same as last year, sub 4. A mere 18:01 less than the disappointment of last year.

Funny thing about goals. As you get closer to achieving them they don't seem as grand. 4 Hours seemed achievable and I was in better shape than that. In my last effort on the track before my taper I ran my yasso's in great from. The first 9 just below 3:45 and the last one in 3:05. Yep I was ready. But if I can run faster can I be happy with 3:59? I am in shape to run 3:45 and then sum.

The question was could my body take the beating of 42.2km? After last years painful finish and the struggle through the hills of Aldershot at ATB I just wasn't convinced. My long runs went better than last year. I did more higher km runs at a faster tempo and with less pain. I even focused on increased tempos for the final 2km of each, even the 36km peak run.I hit my all time highest milage month in Sept with 261km. Was I ready? I headed into taper certain that I had the time in, the miles in.

The taper started with a minor calf tweak and cut my kms lower than i wanted by about half. Then as I went into the last week a cold poked it's head out on Wednesday. Not now, can't happen. As I left work both Wednesday and Thursday I could feel fatigue in my legs and I hadn't run since Monday. Rest I told myself...you will be fine.

So rest I did.

Sunday morning arrived and I had a mediocre sleep at the hotel but was ready to go. Felt strong and was going to run 5:30's and aim for under 4hrs and not push the 3:45 time given the cold that was looming. i got to meet up with Bruce and Joanne Jones as well as Frank Vriezen pre race to help keep the jitters away. I made a point of finding Race Director Alan Brookes prior to the race to say thanks (I mean he did give me a free entry) and then wait for the line.

As is typical with these races the first km or so it is so hard to keep your planned pace. Got to KM one at 5:40 and decided to make up my time right away. My 5km split was just under 27 min so I was right between my 5:30 and 5:20 pace. I was feeling really good and made the decision to keep things in this range. 10km split still going strong with 54:44. I started to feel my left IT tighten at 15km but kept going hoping it would work it's self out. Got to the half at 1:54:35 which had me finishing under 4 hours even with a 2 hour back half. As I got to 25km I knew my day was not going to go as I hoped. I was starting to struggle. I slowed my pace to a 2 hour half 5:41/km and hoped it would hold. The closer I got to the meeting point I had planned with the family the more I knew it was all I was holding on for....make it to 30km and stop and give them a hug I told myself. As I passed by the meeting point searching for them, looking longingly through the crowds for Molly's flowered jacket, I realized they either didn't make it or we just couldn't see each other. Either way I was done. I hit 30km in 2:45:08 (a PB for the distance) and stopped shortly after to stretch my IT's. As I headed into the beaches I knew my day was done and I had 12.2 km to go. Suck it up and run walk.

The beaches were what killed me last year and this year I was done heading into it. I ran the flats and downs going out and walked the hills. After the turn and coming back up the hill it was a struggle to even keep going. I pushed on and into the wind now. So now I was walking, wet from sweat, into the wind. I was getting cold and still had 8km to go. I pulled into the Swiss Chalet and asked for a garbage bag. I had already stopped and sat on a few curbs to rest but was pushing on. Then it hits me...I can't finish. I see the medic tent and walk in. I tell them I am done so they try calling for transportation. They can't get through. they do their best to warm me up with no blankets or hot packs. They finally get through and find that transport is going to be an hour. I made the call to push on, tent to tent if I had to.

The next 7 km were a struggle of walk run with a few sitting breaks to get rest for the legs. Looking at my watch I realized I would need to run the entire last KM or so getting me to the finish just under 5hrs. So off I went tough as hell but I ran the entire last km.

After getting my medal and 3 bananas and a water i made my way back to the hotel to gather the family and head home, tail between my legs. I consider myself lucky to have so many people that are there to help remind me of the accomplishment that I have achieved, regardless of time.

So now to figure what these hips are going to let me do next year.

Around The Bay (and the hills of Aldershot)

So this past week end I ran my first Around The Bay Road Race. It really started on Saturday going to the expo. All in all it was a mediocre expo, but it payed off in the long run ;). I saw a tweet from Alan Brookes, Race Director for the Canadian Running Series, on my way down. We tweeted back and forth a bit and although I never actually got to meet him I did stop by the booth and was the winning recipient of a free entry to STWM. YAY!

So let's get to the run. I planned to run the 1st half with a friend that was running the 2 person relay and then switch up and run with the 2nd friend for the last half. After the gun it took us a full 5 minutes to get to the start and we were off. We zig zagged our way through the downtown streets of Hamilton and it didn't take long to feel over heated. The temperature at race start was -10C but it was hot in the narrow streets. The jacket came off by the 3km point and it seemed to help. I was keeping my pace in and around my marathon pace and felt that I should be OK with it. As we turned up towards the lake at the 8km point the cold air shot through the wet shirts fiercely! The jacket went back on and stayed on! I was drinking my own water and filling it up at water stations. This proved to work well at Scotia previously. Where my hydration fell down (in hind site) is I didn't drink any electrolytes through the run...I think this killed me late in the run. I was feeling pretty strong approaching the 15km transition zone and Bekky ran ahead to make her change. When I got to the rely point I couldn't see either her or Martine so I just kept running. Met up with a nice lady named Linda that was running a similar pace so we ran a while together. Over the lift bridge and around the corner to North Shore Blvd and I was starting to feel a little tired but not bad. As we made our way through the first group of hills and by the golf course I was still feeling OK. Then after the 21km point I was really starting to feel beat up. A few more hills and I was having troubles with my left IT/glut. By the time we made the bottom of the little hill to go up to Plain's Rd I was toast. The walking started. In looking back at the Garmin I peaked my heart rate in the last few KMs of hills and this combined with an IT issue had me done. I walked and ran off and on from here. I ran down into the valley trying to allow gravity to help and then walked up the killer hill knowing it wasn't even an option. As I reached the top of the hill the 3hr pace bunny passed me. I gave pursuit and kept ahead of him for a few hundred meters but just couldn't keep pace. I watched his little pink ears get smaller and smaller until I lost them in the crowd. From here it was just a struggle of walk/run for 3km in.

Funny how no matter how you feel once you are close to the finish you can effortlessly glide into the finish. I finished in a chip time of 3:04:56, slightly behind my goal but happy to have finished. Next year I will be ready for the hills, better in tune with the electrolytes and HR and improve dramatically on my time....by at least 4 min and 57 seconds!!

M

No Nay Sayers Today

I won't have it!

A few years back I did a post where I talked about "Nay Saying Horses". Today as I passed a farm on Greenfield Rd I noticed some horses. It took me back instantly to that run.

Today there were no nay sayers. Today I was not having it. Today they looked at me running strong and said nothing. I continued on to the next pasture full of bison. Big, tough and lean they looked up and realized that I was not taking shit from them either.

After a few rolling hills I came to a farm at the bottom of a big hill. There again on my left was a horse. Big and brown with doubt steaming from his nostrils in the cold air. I lifted my hand in a salute and politely told him to fuck off, I was taking that hill.

It seemed this was not the last of the animals in my journey today. About 1.5km from my water station there is a dog sniffing the side of the road. As I approach he makes it known I am not welcome. More aggressive than most dogs he runs right up beside me barking with ferocity, teeth bared. I raise my hand, ready to strike and he backs off as I pass his property.

The beagle freed the mind and the horses got me up the hill. Nothing like a country run!

M

Tough Steps Are The Ones That Count

When I was running my 1km intervals the other night with my friend John Carson I noticed something. At interval pace (4:25/km) everything is tougher, specially when you are doing hill intervals! What hit me was that at this speed the slightest incline was noticeable in the feet and the legs.

I hadn't thought about it again until on my long run today. You see I was set to run with the Run for Life group Saturday morning when my wife was rescheduled to work. So as we runners do, I zigged. 25km all by my lonesome. Out came the iPod and away I went. First up on the iPod was my Free The Beagle audio book. This book always brings me something new every time I read/listen to it. As I got into chapter 11 there it was:

"Yesterday the lawyer had felt the forest floor begin to rise and had allowed the slight incline to guide his footsteps in the darkness. If a step seemed easy, he knew it was leading him downward. It was only the more difficult steps that would take him higher"

You see this book has helped guide me in business, in life and now was making sense in my running. These words hung heavy in my ears. I have just recently taken some difficult steps in my business and have been taking many difficult steps in running. Difficult steps lead you to higher ground.

"Having resolved to take only the difficult steps, he sat now in bright sunlight, high upon a hilltop, scanning a panoramic forest."

I often wonder why I see runners not pushing, not improving, not going to the next level. It's that simple, when the difficult steps come they take the easy ones. They walk up the hill, ease through the down hill, run as fast on the on minute as they do in the off minute, settle for 6.8km and not push on to 7km, or decide to not run because it's snowing, raining, cold, hot, foggy, or icy.

Figure what you want. Do you want to get to hang out in the village of compromise or climb the purple mountains on your way to Destinae?

Sickness Sucks

I spent 2 weeks unable to run and then a week just getting my legs back.

I ran my first interval run in almost a month last night. Felt good to push it. Felt good to suck some wind as Theresa pushed me to my limit in the last interval. Felt good to get home and realize that I was back in.

What really sucks is I am now 3 weeks back on my ATB training. That is always the challenge....not to race, to be prepared to race.

Winter always poses a significant challenge for us here in SW Ontario. Hence the popularity of fall races. Will I get my 2:30 at ATB....maybe. Will I finish, no doubt in my mind!!

M

First Race Jitters

Do you remember your first race? The anticipation of the start, camaraderie of those around you, the training, the planning all of it?

Here is the big question. Did you have a time goal? Most people when doing something new are just happy to do it. I venture out a little further. I like to challenge myself. Not just do something, do it well. Not that I achieve all that I set out to do. It is said that anything worth doing is worth doing badly!

My first race was the 2008 Classic Mile in Cambridge. It was a 5km race and I was under prepared as I had only been running for 6 weeks. Regardless, out I went gung-ho with no idea what to expect. With a time of 31:50 I was happy to have crossed the line as the hills of West Galt proved to be too much for me causing plenty of walking over the last 2km. To hard at the wrong time, a rookie mistake.

That being said I learned from my mistakes and trained plenty. A year later I broke 25 minutes, and another year I broke 23 minutes. Next plan is to break 20!

We can't expect to know everything going in to that first race but that doesn't mean we can treat it like just another training run. Do a little research, know your limits and then push just past them.

Running to Fit

I read a great blog post tonight from @Runnrgrl.

It truly was a great read. It got me thinking. I love motivating people with my running. It is one of the unexpected joys I have recieved from talking about my running. One of the reasons I started to run is to be healthier. To be here longer with my family. To enjoy my kids and their kids (not for a while as mine are 7 & 2).

Although reading the post "Skinny Bitch" had me reflect on my own vanity. The constant watching for abs in the mirror. You see at 5'7" I am told that unless I am under 165lbs I am over weight. I have always been someone that carries my weight well but at 200lbs and high blood pressure I needed to get moving. To date I have dropped 15lbs and feel better than I ever have. Seeing the difference in the mirror is a challenge as there is a voice in my head that tells me to go further. There is a voice in my head that tells me not to eat too much. I am sensible and realize that I have always been a "big eater" so half chickens and fries really aren't the right thing. I also know that lettuce with no dressing is wrong. I do see the slippery slope and am mindful of it.

M

Perspective

Perspective can be perplexing.

Shadows being cast can be long off the smallest of pebbles if your perspective is wrong.

Running in the early morning never feels right. The sun is poking itself over the trees and making long shadows off the short gravel crunching under foot. The dark road seems to beg for the emergence of light. As I reach the turnaround distance I am enlightened by perspective. It seems with the warmth of the early day sun on my back, the road now blinds me with light. The long shadows of despair are dethroned by light.

Making my way back I look forward to the day ahead. Good times with good people and now the mind has the right perspective.

How Long is a Country Mile?

I can tell you that a country block is 8.45km.

The stones crush together under my pounding feet heading out to the road. A few of the beers from the night before are quietly asking if this is a good idea. I ignore them as I am determined to do the “block”. As I turn left towards the lengthening hill I can hear them again.

I make my way up the hill knowing that what goes up gets to come down. I make my way across Cambray Rd towards the half way point. It is quiet, peaceful, and pretty as a fall day can get. I start my way down Elm Tree when the nay saying horses all start to question why I am on the road.

Elm Tree is a long, straight road overlooking itself while going down. As I make my way past 5km my lungs and legs are starting to back the beers. The body is thinking about a coup d’etat over this running stuff.

As I run I often have time to think. Clearly. As I venture down this busy country road I cannot help but think of inspiration. How must it have felt to run the unknown roads? 42km every day most of the time with little or no support other than your best friends, a donated van, and a mechanical leg. 42km every day. Through the pain. Through the heat. Nothing but your determination to carry you on.

I came damn close to stopping as I rounded the corner with less than 2km to go. My thoughts drift back to Terry hopping through the countryside. 42km every day, 1 step, 1 hop at a time. Why can’t I make it around the block? As I push on, the beers are silenced with the sound of my heart pounding, the coup d’etat is drowned by sweat. The final 500m is pushed to the limit. The block is finished.

I do not have an answer on how long a country mile is. I can tell you that mine was not run alone, I had Terry with me every step of the way.

Running

Pictured on the right is me finishing my first 5km race in June 2008.

The first kilometer is always the toughest. I always ask why. It is just not fun. Around 2.5km the shoe fits. The long hill does not feel long and distance ahead drips out of me. The 5th km is sweltering and consumes the fluids.

The finish can be seen on the inside of my eyelids. This journey has an end but the road is not mapped, the distance not calculated.

Stretching and dripping it feels surreal. The heat comes after the run as if the sun lassoed the earth and roped us in. Can I take this to the next level. Will I respond physically, mentally?


I run to inspire. I run to motivate. I run...