I came up to the starting line early enough to get a good position. I asked a guy next to me what time he was trying for. He said 3:20. When he said that, the first thing that came to mind was the thought that I may not be close enough to the start. My goal for this race was 2:56. This time was based on the 8k result from a race in June after the May marathon. The time was without any training for short races. I used that to determine my training paces and trained as best as I could to Interval, Threshold and Marathon paces, with getting my peak mileage up to 132k. He asked me what time I was trying for and I said sub 3 hour. 5 minutes before the race was to start I stripped down to my shorts, singlet, hat and gloves. I then wrapped myself in the silver blanket that I kept from last year and waited for the start. We moved up to the front, with the crowd and then in a short bit the horn went off.
I had preset my garmin to track a 2:58 marathon with the running buddy. Hit the done and I thought I was done. After running for about 300m I realised it was not done. I had to press the start button again. The first k was really fast, because the timer didn't start until later, right. The second k was sub 4:00. oops. next 4:02.... many sub 4:10's. Then the garmin started telling me to slow down, and was beeping at me. It never stopped doing that until the last 3k. Early on it seemed like a couple of runners were testing me, especially up the Hogs Hollow hill. I kept to what I thought was an easy pace. Around 10k I started to second guess my pace. However, I kept going. It is downhill after all. At 15k I took my first gel. I kept checking my k times, a 4:18 appeared around 17k. I picked the pace back up after that, but I knew I wasn't as light and free flowing. I had set out a pace and plan for my wife, kids and mother in-law to cheer me on at different points in the race and was looking forward to seeing them. I got a big surprise from Kelly, who I started running with at the running room store at York Mills running room. She screamed like crazy when she saw me. Jesse and Laurie were there too, just before the half way point cheering me on. It was great to see the people you know. At the half way point the half marathoners and the full marathoners split. One guy almost went the wrong way, and I yelled out this way! I was hoping he would pull me forward, but he seemed to slow down. I could feel the legs getting tired not much later, but said to myself "this is what champions are made of" gotta keep going, so I did. I took another gel around 24k. A little later Chris yelled out that I was doing well and cheered me on. Around the 30k, I knew one of the guys from work would be there waiting for me at the time I set out. Right on the 30k mat I caught up to and passed the first female in the race. I knew this because someone yelled out your the third female around the time I passed her a while back. I passed the turn on the gravel, then all of the sudden the legs just started to get really tight. I took a gel, but it didn't seem to help. I was disappointed and I gave up. I started to walk. I really thought I couldn't keep going. This is at 34k. I thought I was done. Then all of the sudden, like in London a volunteer on her bike was helping me out. Telling me what I already knew, but was still helpful, I was ahead of a lot of people. Top 20. But the legs were just hurting on every step! A spectator, someone by looking at him you would never think he would understand, but he said something, can't remember what the hell it was but it was good. With a pat on the back it caused me to think "mind over matter" and got running again! The legs were hurting big time! I stopped again, walked by a cheering station were I saw Chris again. He said common' dig deep! I said that I was spent, and walked for another minute or so. Then for some reason, I thought I could still get a sub 3 or PB. Started running, the pain was still there, but I was able to ignore it. I have no idea how. I dropped the jaw in a realaxed sort of sick state. I didn't care how I looked, or how I ran, just did it. I caught up and passed some people and just kept going, up the damn hill to Queens park and just kept going. More passed me closer to the end. One guy with 3 others pulling him along beat me, but that's ok. I finished in 3:02, with 3 PB's in 1/2 marathon, 30k and full marathon times!
What are the lessons that I think I can pick up from this? The threshold pace training and interval training were completed at pace or faster. I never went slower for those paces. However, my marathon pace runs were a different story. I could never start slow and finish fast. One of the runs was in high humidity and heat and I still tried to go at 4:10. I need to train like I want to finish; finish at pace or faster!
I will get that sub 3:00 hour, but that may need to wait for a while.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
South Huron Trail Run - 08
This race has been running every year since 2004. I have run in it every year. This year I tried running in this race with my orthotics. Here is a little history of why.
In 2005 I ran without orthotics. I did well that year, getting my 10k time below 40 minutes. However, mys shins would get really sore. The long story can be found in earlier posts. Eventually I got them. I would train in the orthotics and then race upto 1/2 marathon distance without them. My marathon training was related so much to the actual race conditions and I did not want to make any changes so I ran with them for the two marathons I have run so far. The last few months I wanted to train for the marathon without them. I thought that they may help by lightning up the shoe. My calf locked up a few weeks ago, so I went back to wearing them. In doing so I found that the general running flow seemed easier. After 2 days of rest I started wearing them and the calf has been fine since.
I started the race off close to the lead pack. Christian who has recently started to run again entered the race was also in front of me until about 600m into the race. This is were a really skinny tall girl (Lydia Willemse) started to pass me. I tried to keep with her for a bit, but decided when I hit the boardwalk to just stick to the plan. The shoes felt a little heavier but I don't think that they were slowing me down. I didn't get that great of a flow feeling though either. It started to rain before the race start but it was getting heavier as the race went on. One or 2 more guys passed me and I passed the young guy (Patrick Hartman) I think who beat me last year. Between the 4 and 5k mark I passed a young teenager(Jeremy Walsh), but couldn't keep with him for more than a k. He pulled ahead and I just couldn't get going. The legs felt good. I am sure that the speed was there but my lungs just wouldn't give me more oxygen. Probably has something to do with the interval training I did for the last month. I kept trying to catch up with the blue and red shirts, but just couldn't do it. I saw Ken ahead of me when I was over the bridge and he was back on the way down the trail. Ausome! I had bad thoughts of not getting my time, not sure exactly why. May have something to do with being a home town race. I also looked back and saw another girl. What the heck. hahaha... good for them.. I am glad to see them doing so well. I held on and just tried to concentrate on the running, trying to keep my pace below 3:55. On the way up the little hill, just before the end of the race, I went over on my ankle when my foot landed on a rock. I did the exact same thing last week, but at the start of my long run. It was much worse then though. It took about 50m to shake off a limp, while running. I ran as hard as I could as soon as I saw the finish line. I crossed it at 31:22.
The trail run is harder so my time is expected to be slower that on the road. I should be happy with the result, but for some reason I am just satisfied or re leaved. I am happy because it is a personal record, but I am not because I was truly hoping to get under the 31 minutes. Maybe next year. The ankle feels ok, but I gotta start doing some strength training on it.
In 2005 I ran without orthotics. I did well that year, getting my 10k time below 40 minutes. However, mys shins would get really sore. The long story can be found in earlier posts. Eventually I got them. I would train in the orthotics and then race upto 1/2 marathon distance without them. My marathon training was related so much to the actual race conditions and I did not want to make any changes so I ran with them for the two marathons I have run so far. The last few months I wanted to train for the marathon without them. I thought that they may help by lightning up the shoe. My calf locked up a few weeks ago, so I went back to wearing them. In doing so I found that the general running flow seemed easier. After 2 days of rest I started wearing them and the calf has been fine since.
I started the race off close to the lead pack. Christian who has recently started to run again entered the race was also in front of me until about 600m into the race. This is were a really skinny tall girl (Lydia Willemse) started to pass me. I tried to keep with her for a bit, but decided when I hit the boardwalk to just stick to the plan. The shoes felt a little heavier but I don't think that they were slowing me down. I didn't get that great of a flow feeling though either. It started to rain before the race start but it was getting heavier as the race went on. One or 2 more guys passed me and I passed the young guy (Patrick Hartman) I think who beat me last year. Between the 4 and 5k mark I passed a young teenager(Jeremy Walsh), but couldn't keep with him for more than a k. He pulled ahead and I just couldn't get going. The legs felt good. I am sure that the speed was there but my lungs just wouldn't give me more oxygen. Probably has something to do with the interval training I did for the last month. I kept trying to catch up with the blue and red shirts, but just couldn't do it. I saw Ken ahead of me when I was over the bridge and he was back on the way down the trail. Ausome! I had bad thoughts of not getting my time, not sure exactly why. May have something to do with being a home town race. I also looked back and saw another girl. What the heck. hahaha... good for them.. I am glad to see them doing so well. I held on and just tried to concentrate on the running, trying to keep my pace below 3:55. On the way up the little hill, just before the end of the race, I went over on my ankle when my foot landed on a rock. I did the exact same thing last week, but at the start of my long run. It was much worse then though. It took about 50m to shake off a limp, while running. I ran as hard as I could as soon as I saw the finish line. I crossed it at 31:22.
The trail run is harder so my time is expected to be slower that on the road. I should be happy with the result, but for some reason I am just satisfied or re leaved. I am happy because it is a personal record, but I am not because I was truly hoping to get under the 31 minutes. Maybe next year. The ankle feels ok, but I gotta start doing some strength training on it.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Peterborough Half Tri - Relay Run
Very exciting! Seeing all the swimmers take off in the water. It was also a strange feeling to be a spectator of a race and then be part of it. I was part of a relay team. There were about 5 Whitby Tiger teams. I was on the "Whitby Tiger Shark" team. Our team came in at 4:55. I think there were about 20 teams a together and over 400 tri-athletes.
I was waiting for Brenda at her bike transfer area. It is difficult to stay warmed up when you aren't sure of exactly the time that she will be in. But the weather really helped in that area. It was hot and sunny. She arrived, hung the bike put her foot out, I ripped the time chip off and wrapped it on my leg. I took a relaxing breath and bolted off.
Through the gate and to the left, I started passing people right away. Then all of the sudden a lady passed me, I think it was someone else doing a relay. I didn't want to go out to fast, stayed back for about 300 m and ended up passing her. I did the first k in 3:50... ooops. I slowed down a little for the next one, but I was passing a lot of people. I felt kind of sorry for them, but I was on a training mission; 4:10/km. I knew it may be too difficult, but I was going to try it out. The first few kilometers were on grass in an odd loop. Ang (Angela) must have been already out of that area because I saw Amanda, who was out of the transition area later. I was hoping that I might be able to catch them, but they were too far ahead.
I got out onto the road, man it was hot I could feel it coming through my racing flats! Just before the race, a couple of the guys said something about hills. I asked there's hills? Pat said, you just wait! Now I could see this really steep hill in front of me. Just before the bottom we turned and I thought oh that's good. Looked further up, oh no where is the turn around? All I see are rolling hills. But kept on motoring, not really paying too much attention to keeping the 4:10 pace. People were saying good run as I passed them by. I wonder what they said to themselves if they realized I was relay.
Even at 8k I was feeling the heat and a little winded. The legs were ok. I made it up a few hills and saw Ange and Amanda on the way back. I thought the turn around can't be that much further. It was just after the 10k, duh! It was neat at the top of the hill, looking down I could see a huge crowd of runners, lined up and then up ahead a little was some good distance between runners, about 1 to 2 km away from my position. It kind of gave me some motivation to pass them to get to the open space. I kept going by feel and tried to keep a good effort going, not worrying too much about the times.
I could also see the front of Chris' green singlet, way back.. :-). Down the hills, up the hills, it was hard work. I was dying asking for gel's as I passed by the stands, they stared at me in this glazed look. At the bottom of the hill it was getting more difficult to pass the other racer's. A number of them were doing very well! It was very impressive, knowing they swam and then biked already for 3 or so hours and were still running at such a good pace! It was just ausome. I finally got a gel and I had trouble opening it. I ripped it off with my teeth and got a very small hole open. It was not easy getting the stuff out.
I was going through the parking lot near tiger island. Jesse yelled out here comes Rob, that gave me a great boost! I waved at everyone as I passed by, but I was going too fast for them(:-), they were busy setting things up. I passed the finish line to do the final quick loop of about 4k. On the cool grass near some trees. I was still passing people on the grass, I was coming up to the last turn. This guy just in front of me took off like a bullet, I was shocked. How could he be doing this after all, I was a relay guy. I tried to give it, but I was out of gas.
I finished with a PR of 1:29:22. Sub 3 hour marathon, in better weather, here I come and the hard training begins!
Break down of the run:
5k splits: 20:22,21:00, 21:12, 22:08, 4:45 for the last 1.1k
I was waiting for Brenda at her bike transfer area. It is difficult to stay warmed up when you aren't sure of exactly the time that she will be in. But the weather really helped in that area. It was hot and sunny. She arrived, hung the bike put her foot out, I ripped the time chip off and wrapped it on my leg. I took a relaxing breath and bolted off.
Through the gate and to the left, I started passing people right away. Then all of the sudden a lady passed me, I think it was someone else doing a relay. I didn't want to go out to fast, stayed back for about 300 m and ended up passing her. I did the first k in 3:50... ooops. I slowed down a little for the next one, but I was passing a lot of people. I felt kind of sorry for them, but I was on a training mission; 4:10/km. I knew it may be too difficult, but I was going to try it out. The first few kilometers were on grass in an odd loop. Ang (Angela) must have been already out of that area because I saw Amanda, who was out of the transition area later. I was hoping that I might be able to catch them, but they were too far ahead.
I got out onto the road, man it was hot I could feel it coming through my racing flats! Just before the race, a couple of the guys said something about hills. I asked there's hills? Pat said, you just wait! Now I could see this really steep hill in front of me. Just before the bottom we turned and I thought oh that's good. Looked further up, oh no where is the turn around? All I see are rolling hills. But kept on motoring, not really paying too much attention to keeping the 4:10 pace. People were saying good run as I passed them by. I wonder what they said to themselves if they realized I was relay.
Even at 8k I was feeling the heat and a little winded. The legs were ok. I made it up a few hills and saw Ange and Amanda on the way back. I thought the turn around can't be that much further. It was just after the 10k, duh! It was neat at the top of the hill, looking down I could see a huge crowd of runners, lined up and then up ahead a little was some good distance between runners, about 1 to 2 km away from my position. It kind of gave me some motivation to pass them to get to the open space. I kept going by feel and tried to keep a good effort going, not worrying too much about the times.
I could also see the front of Chris' green singlet, way back.. :-). Down the hills, up the hills, it was hard work. I was dying asking for gel's as I passed by the stands, they stared at me in this glazed look. At the bottom of the hill it was getting more difficult to pass the other racer's. A number of them were doing very well! It was very impressive, knowing they swam and then biked already for 3 or so hours and were still running at such a good pace! It was just ausome. I finally got a gel and I had trouble opening it. I ripped it off with my teeth and got a very small hole open. It was not easy getting the stuff out.
I was going through the parking lot near tiger island. Jesse yelled out here comes Rob, that gave me a great boost! I waved at everyone as I passed by, but I was going too fast for them(:-), they were busy setting things up. I passed the finish line to do the final quick loop of about 4k. On the cool grass near some trees. I was still passing people on the grass, I was coming up to the last turn. This guy just in front of me took off like a bullet, I was shocked. How could he be doing this after all, I was a relay guy. I tried to give it, but I was out of gas.
I finished with a PR of 1:29:22. Sub 3 hour marathon, in better weather, here I come and the hard training begins!
Break down of the run:
5k splits: 20:22,21:00, 21:12, 22:08, 4:45 for the last 1.1k
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Alfie Shrubb
The result of this race was a very pleasant surprise. In the morning I was thinking about just running it. My legs were feeling tight and the back of the calves a little weird. However, as the morning progressed I started to feel better. I had a real hard time staying positive. I think I was a little worried about how the results would turn out. It is only 3 weeks after my last marathon. I met the Whitby Tigers at the school, we chatted for a bit and then I went with my wife and kids to the start line. I don't know what the heck I was thinking leaving for a 4km warmup with just over 25 minutes to go before the race... I got back and barely had time to stretch. I would have preferred to have done some strides, but oops.
Jessie came up to me to wish me good luck just before the race was to get started. That was so cool! Thanks. I get into a mode where I just concentrate on the race sometimes and today was it. For the first km I felt OK. There were about 15 people out in front of me. Johny the jogger passed me and I thought OK, just settle in here don't get too worked up. 3:25 at the first k marker, ooops way too fast? I kept going at what seemed a reasonable pace by feel. Then a few people started to drop off, I thought OK with these short races I find I finish in a relative position to where I am at early in the race. I was happy with where I was. Then the hill at 2.5km, it slowed me down a little. Over the hill and down the other side, at this point we caught up to a number of walkers. It was difficult to pass Johnny, I tried a couple times. I felt strong but didn't want to push too hard, so I backed off so I didn't knock anyone over. Just before the half way point I passed him. I was starting to feel the legs now, but I thought I can still keep going. Now came the really fun part. All the Whitby tigers that were in the race could see me coming back, everyone of them cheered me on. I wanted to say thanks, but I kept my concentration focused. THANK YOU all for your support. I had to keep going now, I had to do the best I could in this race. That hill though really got to me coming back. I was breathing fairly hard at the top. On the way down, I concentrated on my stride making sure that I was landing with my feet beneath me not in front. My breath seemed to come back a little and I just tried to hang in there. I actually thought "my it's going to be tough to break 32 minutes". About 300 meters or so from the finish Rob and Amanda were cheering me on. Rob said the closest guy is about 25yards back. I actually slowed down thinking I was ahead enough, just ride it in. I was starting to hurt pretty bad. I heard some footsteps and just pushed as hard as I could, about 10m out from the finish line I gaged, I was trying to hold back the puke! Then just at the finish line I actually puked, but kept it in and swallowed it! I had no idea what my time was!
I went to my wife got my training shoes on, then went back to meet the gang near the finish. They congratulated me and asked about my time. Chris thought I may have been under 30 minutes, but the chip time was 30:11. I am very happy with that. I met Ed Whitlock, the famous runner that ran a 2:54 marathon at age 73! What a treat. Thanks to Chris for letting me know that he was there.
Now what does this mean for future training... I think more of the same, increasing distance, marathon pace (according to Jack Daniels' VDOT ) and then some thresholds. I didn't loose speed, I've gained it back and then some.
Jessie came up to me to wish me good luck just before the race was to get started. That was so cool! Thanks. I get into a mode where I just concentrate on the race sometimes and today was it. For the first km I felt OK. There were about 15 people out in front of me. Johny the jogger passed me and I thought OK, just settle in here don't get too worked up. 3:25 at the first k marker, ooops way too fast? I kept going at what seemed a reasonable pace by feel. Then a few people started to drop off, I thought OK with these short races I find I finish in a relative position to where I am at early in the race. I was happy with where I was. Then the hill at 2.5km, it slowed me down a little. Over the hill and down the other side, at this point we caught up to a number of walkers. It was difficult to pass Johnny, I tried a couple times. I felt strong but didn't want to push too hard, so I backed off so I didn't knock anyone over. Just before the half way point I passed him. I was starting to feel the legs now, but I thought I can still keep going. Now came the really fun part. All the Whitby tigers that were in the race could see me coming back, everyone of them cheered me on. I wanted to say thanks, but I kept my concentration focused. THANK YOU all for your support. I had to keep going now, I had to do the best I could in this race. That hill though really got to me coming back. I was breathing fairly hard at the top. On the way down, I concentrated on my stride making sure that I was landing with my feet beneath me not in front. My breath seemed to come back a little and I just tried to hang in there. I actually thought "my it's going to be tough to break 32 minutes". About 300 meters or so from the finish Rob and Amanda were cheering me on. Rob said the closest guy is about 25yards back. I actually slowed down thinking I was ahead enough, just ride it in. I was starting to hurt pretty bad. I heard some footsteps and just pushed as hard as I could, about 10m out from the finish line I gaged, I was trying to hold back the puke! Then just at the finish line I actually puked, but kept it in and swallowed it! I had no idea what my time was!
I went to my wife got my training shoes on, then went back to meet the gang near the finish. They congratulated me and asked about my time. Chris thought I may have been under 30 minutes, but the chip time was 30:11. I am very happy with that. I met Ed Whitlock, the famous runner that ran a 2:54 marathon at age 73! What a treat. Thanks to Chris for letting me know that he was there.
Now what does this mean for future training... I think more of the same, increasing distance, marathon pace (according to Jack Daniels' VDOT ) and then some thresholds. I didn't loose speed, I've gained it back and then some.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Forest City Marathon
This race, I was told was flat. Yesterday, before the race started I met an old friend from High School that runs a number of marathons. He has run this race before and told me there are some rolling hills. They weren't very big, but at the beginning they seemed to help me gain positions. I started back about 10 to 15 lines from the start. I did not want to get pulled in with the 1/2 marathon group that was starting at the same time. The plan was to go about 4:45 or so for the first kilometer. My garmin was set with the little running partner, so it could show me how far ahead or behind I was. I was only behind for about 2 minutes. I saw a km marker up ahead so I hit the lap button as I passed. 3:20 came up, ya right I thought there is no way, and really there wasn't! Then I saw another 1k. It took me until the second red km marker to realize, hey those are the ones I should be tracking from, not the blue.
For this race, being local and being a boston qualifier hopeful, a lot of family members came out. My brother, mother and step father, mother in-law and boyfriend, sister in-law and husband, and my wifes aunt. That was great. I made a plan for them, thanks to forest city for putting the map on pedometer.gmaps.com I was able to figure out exactly were they could be in the race. I planned it out so they didn't have to drive for the first half. It was just a 15 minute walk to see me at 8k and a 15 minute walk to see me at the half way mark. That was ausome. As I passed my kids I put my hand out to give them "five". I was going faster than my planned pace, but I was constantly telling myself to back off, save it for the end, wait and see how you feel at 30k. For the first half I was constantly passing people. A great feeling, this is another reason why I like sitting at the back at the start. It really gives me something to focus on, the trick is to focus on catching them at pace.
I passed through the half way point and passed this guy right afterwards. He yelled out, someone lost their chip. I looked down and had to really look to see if it was still there. I wonder if he just said that or what the deal was. Then I caught up to another guy who asked me something, but I was focused and didn't hear him. Then he asked me what my goal was. I said "3:10, but I am ahead of that" and pulled away from him without pushing hard. There were a number of spectator's watching and cheering from the streets for the first half, but on the way to springbank park it was a lonely run. I passed about three more runners. Then there was this little tiny loop, that was really confusing. I got a glimpse of the next group to catch. I thought, hell there is no way I'll catch them, but I kept on going. This was around the 26km mark. From about 26k to about 29k, I saw no one in front of me. That is about where I saw the Kenyans on their way back too. I was getting tired and it was getting more and more difficult to stay focused on the task. I kept trying. Around 32km I saw someone with a Saugeen running club shirt on. I thought oh my god, I am catching them. Then I saw him walking, oh ya..then I passed him. What a boost. I had the next one targeted and slowly caught her.
Now though, again there was no one else in visual range in front of me. It was getting really hard now. The wind was in my face, it seemed like I was going up hill all the way back. I knew that there was a long distance between me and the next guy when a volunteer was leading me in with his bike. This was a first for me. He was really helpful with his words of encouragement, things like this is the toughest part of the race, your lookin' strong and so on. I new I had slowed down as well, my km splits were now at 4:39 to 5:05. I kept pushin' though, thinking I am not running next week, keep it going, you just need to hang on now. Then about 2k to go I saw the next guy. I thought, there is no way I can catch him, just hang on though. Then I saw him walking. Oh that is ausome, you just keep walking, but he started up again and I never caught him. I got to about the spot were I saw him walking and my damn garmin beeps at me and says "you're workouts done"! I ignored it and kept going. It had me a little worried that I was not as far ahead as I thought. I turn the corner, family is now cheering me in and the clock shows 3:08 something. Holy crap, I gave it hell with the legs feeling like a ton of bricks. I did it! 3:08:54 clock time, 3:08:34 chip time!
For this race, being local and being a boston qualifier hopeful, a lot of family members came out. My brother, mother and step father, mother in-law and boyfriend, sister in-law and husband, and my wifes aunt. That was great. I made a plan for them, thanks to forest city for putting the map on pedometer.gmaps.com I was able to figure out exactly were they could be in the race. I planned it out so they didn't have to drive for the first half. It was just a 15 minute walk to see me at 8k and a 15 minute walk to see me at the half way mark. That was ausome. As I passed my kids I put my hand out to give them "five". I was going faster than my planned pace, but I was constantly telling myself to back off, save it for the end, wait and see how you feel at 30k. For the first half I was constantly passing people. A great feeling, this is another reason why I like sitting at the back at the start. It really gives me something to focus on, the trick is to focus on catching them at pace.
I passed through the half way point and passed this guy right afterwards. He yelled out, someone lost their chip. I looked down and had to really look to see if it was still there. I wonder if he just said that or what the deal was. Then I caught up to another guy who asked me something, but I was focused and didn't hear him. Then he asked me what my goal was. I said "3:10, but I am ahead of that" and pulled away from him without pushing hard. There were a number of spectator's watching and cheering from the streets for the first half, but on the way to springbank park it was a lonely run. I passed about three more runners. Then there was this little tiny loop, that was really confusing. I got a glimpse of the next group to catch. I thought, hell there is no way I'll catch them, but I kept on going. This was around the 26km mark. From about 26k to about 29k, I saw no one in front of me. That is about where I saw the Kenyans on their way back too. I was getting tired and it was getting more and more difficult to stay focused on the task. I kept trying. Around 32km I saw someone with a Saugeen running club shirt on. I thought oh my god, I am catching them. Then I saw him walking, oh ya..then I passed him. What a boost. I had the next one targeted and slowly caught her.
Now though, again there was no one else in visual range in front of me. It was getting really hard now. The wind was in my face, it seemed like I was going up hill all the way back. I knew that there was a long distance between me and the next guy when a volunteer was leading me in with his bike. This was a first for me. He was really helpful with his words of encouragement, things like this is the toughest part of the race, your lookin' strong and so on. I new I had slowed down as well, my km splits were now at 4:39 to 5:05. I kept pushin' though, thinking I am not running next week, keep it going, you just need to hang on now. Then about 2k to go I saw the next guy. I thought, there is no way I can catch him, just hang on though. Then I saw him walking. Oh that is ausome, you just keep walking, but he started up again and I never caught him. I got to about the spot were I saw him walking and my damn garmin beeps at me and says "you're workouts done"! I ignored it and kept going. It had me a little worried that I was not as far ahead as I thought. I turn the corner, family is now cheering me in and the clock shows 3:08 something. Holy crap, I gave it hell with the legs feeling like a ton of bricks. I did it! 3:08:54 clock time, 3:08:34 chip time!
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Around The Bay Race '08
I have recently been training at about 100km to 110km /week. On my long runs of 30km I have been running the last half at marathon pace or doing some threshold pace (5 x 1 mile). I have been getting some help from a coach over e-mails. I am going to be meeting this coach in Pickering on the 15th. I originally was going to keep my mileage for training at the same level and start doing some more speed work. I was told that I should do the above because my shorter races are fast and I should be able to do the marathon at my goal of 3:10. (i.e. Vdot table of 10k at 40 minutes indicates an expected race time of the marathon at around 3:10.)
I think that this training is working! I ran the around the bay race at 2:12:02. The start was terrible, just like the 5k race 2 years ago. So many people. However, this time it was mostly my fault for not going out early to get a good spot. I didn't cross the start until about a minute and half. My chip time was about 2:10:34. I started out just jogging with the slower group at the back, but quickly realized that I had better get going a little bit more. The crowd was just not thinning out fast enough for me. So I ended up running on the side walk for about 2k passing people. I thought I was running too slow. I didn't see the kilometer markings until about 3k into the race. I pressed the lap button on my old heart rate monitor watch. I decided to try that one again instead of my garmin. I remember a number of times seeing 4:12, 4:17, 4:20...yada yada. Never 4:25, which was my original goal pace. The crowd was starting to thin out, but I was still passing people. There was one point where I thought this one lady would be running at about the same pace. This was just past half way through the race. I checked my watch at the next k and it was around 4:32. I motored on, then got a stomach cramp at about the 21st kilometer through the rolling hills. I skipped the next water station and the cramp went away. I was feeling good, and starting to feel the pace a bit, but it really wasn't that bad. I got another cramp just before the big hill. It was really starting to peeve me off. It went away finally. I just ran at a respectable pace the rest of the way in. I am not really sure what it was but less than a kilometer away from the finish, I see this lady I mentioned above pass me. That's OK I thought this is just a training run for May 11 in London, just save it baby!
The legs felt really good afterwards, nothing like what they were at the Toronto Marathon. I also ran about 90k this week and feel like have recovered.
I think that this training is working! I ran the around the bay race at 2:12:02. The start was terrible, just like the 5k race 2 years ago. So many people. However, this time it was mostly my fault for not going out early to get a good spot. I didn't cross the start until about a minute and half. My chip time was about 2:10:34. I started out just jogging with the slower group at the back, but quickly realized that I had better get going a little bit more. The crowd was just not thinning out fast enough for me. So I ended up running on the side walk for about 2k passing people. I thought I was running too slow. I didn't see the kilometer markings until about 3k into the race. I pressed the lap button on my old heart rate monitor watch. I decided to try that one again instead of my garmin. I remember a number of times seeing 4:12, 4:17, 4:20...yada yada. Never 4:25, which was my original goal pace. The crowd was starting to thin out, but I was still passing people. There was one point where I thought this one lady would be running at about the same pace. This was just past half way through the race. I checked my watch at the next k and it was around 4:32. I motored on, then got a stomach cramp at about the 21st kilometer through the rolling hills. I skipped the next water station and the cramp went away. I was feeling good, and starting to feel the pace a bit, but it really wasn't that bad. I got another cramp just before the big hill. It was really starting to peeve me off. It went away finally. I just ran at a respectable pace the rest of the way in. I am not really sure what it was but less than a kilometer away from the finish, I see this lady I mentioned above pass me. That's OK I thought this is just a training run for May 11 in London, just save it baby!
The legs felt really good afterwards, nothing like what they were at the Toronto Marathon. I also ran about 90k this week and feel like have recovered.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Boxing Day 10Miles
There is a 10 mile boxing day race in Hamilton. It is held at the YMCA. A nice and warm place to get your kit and on the day of the race (very nice). You can take a shower afterwards, also very nice.
The race itself started off without a bang, literally. I was about 20 feet or so from the start. The front lines just started moving. It was a shock to the Jesse, Chris and Pat of the Whitby Tigers as well. I should have lined up closer to the start, because there were a number of people I had to dive around before settling at a pace with others at the same around me. There were a few turns and a slight downhill to a paved trail along the bay. Then my damn shoelace came undone. I quickly told myself don't fret, just get it tied up and get going. I think I lost about 15 to 20 seconds. As I got going again Jesse yelled out, "did you get your shoes tied up", b@st@$d guy! It was about 2ºC outside with overcast. I took my gloves off at about this point, somewhere around 3 miles. My pace was a good, not much ahead of target, but just right for this race. The hills came next around 4 miles, then a small bit of flat, then another hill at 7 miles. One that seemed steep and long, but I passed instead of being passed. At the top of the hill was a trail covered in hard packed snow. It had a number of grooves and dips, I thought for sure my foot would have twisted, but it didn't. Then a good downhill. I went too fast down the hill. I had to catch my breath at the bottom. Then a couple little bumps around 9miles. Near the end I could hear some people catching up, I kept the same pace until they passed me. I went too hard to catch them, I got a feeling like I was going to puke so I backed off, then gave it when I saw the finish line. If I would have had another 10 to 20 ft I think I could have caught them. It worked that my chip time was faster anyways..hehehe. My chip time 1:07:13.
I would definitely enter this race again, especially for the soup after the race. yum!
The race itself started off without a bang, literally. I was about 20 feet or so from the start. The front lines just started moving. It was a shock to the Jesse, Chris and Pat of the Whitby Tigers as well. I should have lined up closer to the start, because there were a number of people I had to dive around before settling at a pace with others at the same around me. There were a few turns and a slight downhill to a paved trail along the bay. Then my damn shoelace came undone. I quickly told myself don't fret, just get it tied up and get going. I think I lost about 15 to 20 seconds. As I got going again Jesse yelled out, "did you get your shoes tied up", b@st@$d guy! It was about 2ºC outside with overcast. I took my gloves off at about this point, somewhere around 3 miles. My pace was a good, not much ahead of target, but just right for this race. The hills came next around 4 miles, then a small bit of flat, then another hill at 7 miles. One that seemed steep and long, but I passed instead of being passed. At the top of the hill was a trail covered in hard packed snow. It had a number of grooves and dips, I thought for sure my foot would have twisted, but it didn't. Then a good downhill. I went too fast down the hill. I had to catch my breath at the bottom. Then a couple little bumps around 9miles. Near the end I could hear some people catching up, I kept the same pace until they passed me. I went too hard to catch them, I got a feeling like I was going to puke so I backed off, then gave it when I saw the finish line. If I would have had another 10 to 20 ft I think I could have caught them. It worked that my chip time was faster anyways..hehehe. My chip time 1:07:13.
I would definitely enter this race again, especially for the soup after the race. yum!
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