Whitby Santas Back in Town 5k Race Report

Thats right you read that title right. No I did not forget the zero after the 5. Thats right I actually hit the road for a short, painful and hopefully semi fast 5k race. Okay so not really semi fast as I have not been training for races that require speed in a very long time. Lets call it hope to run fast enough to not feel embarrassed at the finish line.

Last week I got an email from JD saying he was going to go run a 5k race on Sunday Dec. 11th in Whitby and did I want to come. That email scared me. I am not in racing shape and I haven't run a race shorter then 30km in 11 months. That was an 8k at Robbie Burns last January that was a complete disaster for me. I finished with a massive side stitch and my running form was reduced to a bad impression of quasi moto. Good Times!

I had just started to do some hill sprints and intervals the week before and so I figured I better get on the race course and see just where my speed and fitness are at. I always use race results to set up my paces for the next training cycle so I was going to have to run something short soon anyway, you really cant use Ultra races to figure out pacing. Who knew?

Thing is short races when done right are really freaking painful and even worse when you haven't been embracing that type of hurting by running track or really fast intervals.

Sunday morning JD picked up Kim and I and we headed to Whitby. Its a fairly small race of just over 100 people but that is fine with me. Race conditions were going to be a little challenging as it was sunny but there was a nasty 30km wind coming off of the lake. Did a very short warm up and then lined up near the front with JD and we were off.

Right away it was straight into the wind and would stay like that for the first half of the out and back course. I ran faster then pace for a minute or 2 in order to get clear of any slower runners and then tried to settle in to something resembling an even pace but that was easier said then done. The wind made it hard going very early on.

At around the one K mark I could see that there was 5 or 6 runners ahead of me. My lungs were already on fire and I was working way to hard into the wind for the pace I was moving at. Unfortunately I was gaped with the next runner a fair distance ahead of me. Crap, I had forgotten how important race strategy is in the shorter races which was made even clearer by the guy that was right behind me and using me to do all the work. Not smart on my part. I considered trying to let him get ahead of me and using him but that is so counter intuitive and has its own dangers. Soon we were approaching the 2k mark. My lungs where screaming at me to stop the abuse. The guy behind me passed me and soon had gotten away but in my attempt to keep up with him I managed to pass 2 more people.

We hit the turn around and bang just like that there was no more wind in the face. I saw that JD was about 15 seconds behind me and looked like he was running well. Now with no wind resistance I was able to get back to a steady pace. I saw Kim going towards the turn around and she said I was in third place although I was pretty sure I was in fourth. I could see the next runner about 80 meters ahead of me so I tried to run a little harder to close the gap.

I remember being at 4k, my legs feeling great but my lungs not so much. Who the heck stole all the oxygen, I now remember in a very acute sensory way just how hard 5k races are but I am also remembering why I like them. Weird or what? With less then a k left I can see that the runner ahead of me has maybe padded his lead by another 2o meters or so. I will not catch him so now the game becomes run as hard as you can to get a good time and dont let anyone catch you.

A few minutes later I am across the finish line in a time of 21:10 good for 4th place overall. JD comes in 20 seconds later and Kim finishes soon after with a PB. A good day for all of us.

A few other things:
The course was not certified and appears to have been 4.9k.
I was about 12 - 14 seconds per k faster in the second half of the race when not fighting the wind.
I made some strategic mistakes which I will chalk up to not having raced short in a long time. I let myself become a wind breaker for another runner (he finished second well ahead of me). I also didn't focus on running the tangents in the first half of the race, yikes.

All in all a good day of running now its back to some regular hard quality runs with Longboat to start getting ready for the spring.

Slainte 5K Race Report - Finally Placed in a 5K

Talk about a crazy weekend. Its bad enough that I attempted to race two different 5k's back to back but just to make it more interesting someone “Up There” decided to throw in some nasty weather conditions just to make it all the more interesting. Was it fun? Yes. Was it crazy? Yes. Will I do something as dumb as running 2 races in the same weekend again? More then likely? ( I really want to say no but that's just to close to lying for me). Here is Day 1, the Slainte Race Report. I will post the Achilles report in the very near future.

Slainte 5k

Prerace
The first sign of trouble came early when I began to watch the weather forecasts mid week. It didn't look good at all with wind, rain, and small furry animals falling from the sky being predicted for the next four days. I wasn't worried however as the weather channel seems to always get this kind of thing wrong.

The second sign was that my cold was bad on Thursday and didn't seem to be in a rush to get better. Hey its only 5k I should be able to run that far without breathing right?

I still held out hope that things would be much better come Saturday morning. I mean I saw the movie and there are definitely 7 signs before the apocalypse, 2 is just some kind of minor inconvenience.

When Saturday morning arrived I checked the weather. Forecast for Hamilton looked good with pouring rain all day and 50KM winds gusting to 68KM, awesome! I really didn't want to play anymore but what are you going to do. Rob Campbell came over to pick Kim and I up, she was smarter then me (usually is) and was not running. She insisted that one race a weekend was going to be plenty for her. We scooped up Roger Moss and headed off to Hamilton. As we drove further into the monsoon Rob tried to convince me that we might get a window of decent weather during the race. I figured that we had about the same chance of a window as me winning this race .... that would be none, but I wanted to be optimistic.

We got to Pub that the race was hosted out of (hosted out of a pub, you got to like that), picked up our race kits and changed. Runners were then bused up to the start line as this is a point to point race. Even though it was wet and cold I opted for shorts which made waiting for the bus a slightly uncomfortable experience. It continued to pour rain which was pretty much falling sideways at this point. Where the heck is Robs window. Soon we were on the bus headed to the start. I was surprised how much downhill there was. I had been told there was a large downhill section but hearing about it and seeing it are two different things.

Once we got to the start there was a nice dry, warm school for us to hang out in while we waited for other buses to arrive. I was not looking forward to doing my warmup at all (today it would be more of a cold up). Still NO WINDOW. As I headed out to do the warmup I ran into George Hubbard who had done this race a couple of times. He told me that he knew a secret warm up area so I followed him back into the bowels of the school where we found a 70 meter long hall that nobody seemed to know about but us. We did a short warmup here to at least get part of it in without getting wet and then headed out to the start line. I did a few more minutes of running mainly to stay warm until they were ready to start the race, then lined up and we were off.

The Race
Right from the start this thing was tough as we headed right into the 50KM wind. What, no window? I had decided much earlier that a really good time taking advantage of the downhill to grab a fast PB was not going to happen. Instead I would just run this thing as fast as possible given the crappy conditions. I also knew that with my cold still hanging in there getting O2 was going to be challenging. On the other hand I have never had to run in really bad weather during a race ( in more then 40 races) so I have been pretty lucky. Time to suck it up.

First KM of the course was flat and windy, felt like I was running okay but was still slow at the 1KM marker. Was it actual raining harder? Somewhere between the first in second KM we turned a corner in front of a large condo and suddenly were getting slammed by the wind. I kid you not my legs were moving but I was standing still. It was like running on a tread mill. This only lasted for about 50 to 100 meters but it was really intense, definitely some swearing was going on in my head at this point. Just after I climbed out of the wind tunnel my cold kicked in as I started coughing and wheezing. Yikes, coughing and running just don't mix well but luckily it soon became just wheezing.

I raced as hard as I could from the 1 to 3KM point but man was that oxygen hard to come by. At 3KM we turned into the downhill section and none too soon. For the next KM or so it was all downhill so I was able make up some time in this section. As we approached the last stretch the road evened out again. I felt very tired at this point but tried to maintain pace. I knew it was almost over and I was very close to PBing. I turned into the last 200 meters and could hear both Roger and George yelling at me to finish strong. I could see the guy just in front of me who looked to be around the same age as me so I dug for a final push. Man did it hurt, I mean badly. I actually swore out loud (one choice four letter word) as I passed the guy. I hope he didn't think I was swearing at him. As far as I can remember this would be the first time I have sworn out load at a finish line but I have cursed many times in my head during races and out loud during training runs. Swearing aside I was pretty happy with my finish and managed to run 21:03 which was an 11 second PB.


Post Race
We all headed to the mini van and got changed then when into the pub for chilly, beer and the awards. As I went back past the finish line I saw some poor girl looking really bad. Her boyfriend was trying to encourage her to walk the last 15 meters to the finish. That was no easy task as she was completely out of it, totally spaced out and throwing up as she walked. Yikes.

Got into the nice warm bar and found the other Longboaters already into the beer. Once again we took a pile of awards. Roger Moss finished 3 overall and Rob Campbell placed first in his age group. All together we ended up with 8 runners placing in their age groups.

For the first time ever it turns out that I was one of them placing 2rd in my age group which came as a big surprise. I will take it tho given the course conditions. As it turns out the guy I passed at the end was in my age group so the pain was worth it.

Final Results
Time : 21:03
Overall Place : 44/495
Age Group : 2/23

Race Weekend Achilles 5k and Slainte 5k ... training update

This weekend I am signed up to run 2 different 5k races, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. This was not in my master plan, heck it wasn't even in my minor plan. So how did this happen?

Well I signed up for the Toronto Achilles 5k sometime ago. This race has become somewhat of a tradition for me. I ran my first 5k race at the Achilles 2 years ago and PBed there last year. Its a great race, fast and flat. Even more important it has free beer and Lucky Charms cereal at the finish line. How can a guy pass that up?

Then a few weeks ago some of my running buddies convinced me that I should come with them and run the Slainte 5k in Hamilton which is on Saturday. Its a really fast course with a nice downhill section right around 3k, you know the place in the race where you are slowing down and wondering why you would ever actually run a 5k. I couldn't resist this so I signed up. Also there is beer at the finish line. How can a guy pass that up?

The plan is / was to run the Saturday race hard then see how I feel on Sunday. If I feel great I will run it hard as well. If not (more then likely) I will either start off fast and see what happens or pace Kim. She was smarter then me and is only running the Sunday race.

Funny thing is this great plan is now up in the air as I have been nursing a cold since Monday. No run Tuesday, No run Wednesday, back running Thursday but still not over this thing. GRRRRR. Looks like now I will run both but play each by ear. Which brings me the the last few weeks of training.

Last week training went really well. My legs felt totally fine and recovered quickly from the Hamilton Half Marathon. I came back with a very strong week putting in 117km (73 miles)for the week.

This week was much tougher. I felt my cold coming on Monday morning but still got my run in. However missed the next 2 days so mileage will take a dip this week.

Seems like the last 6 weeks have been two good weeks, one bad week, two good weeks. It's been very frustrating as I just seem to get going good and I hit a speed bump. I can't complain though as at least I am injury free.

Watch for my race report or reports coming early next week.

Oh ya if you see me at a race this weekend please come say Hi cause colds are for sharing after all.

Sunset Shuffle Race Report .... Last Months Training

Sunset Shuffle Race Report
Thursday August 27th was this year's version of the Sunset Shuffle. I have to confess that this was one of my favorite races last year and so running it again this year was a no brainer (yeah, yeah insert smart ass remark right here). This is also one of the 2 races that my running club puts on every year. Unlike the Longboat Island Race in September, club members are allowed (actually encouraged) to run it.

What’s to like about this race? Just about everything. The course is located on Toronto Island and its flat and fast. It's an odd length at 6k so if you haven’t run it before you are probably getting a PB. It’s also small with the race capped at 200 runners and has a very laid back feel to it even though once again this year the field was amazingly fast. After the race there's beer and hotdogs, just what a runner needs after a hard run.

Prerace
Got up Thursday morning and packed my running gear. Since I work right downtown and the race is a 7pm start, there was no point going home beforehand. At last minute realized that we had no bug spray. Last year the only thing that I didn’t enjoy about the race was the mosquitoes came out to feed once it got dark so had to have the bug spray this year. Kim said she would pick some up at lunch so no problem.



Got off work and walked over to Kim's office to meet her before heading down to the Island ferry. We managed to get there and on the 5:45 ferry just before it left. Got to the race and picked up our numbers with lots of time to spare. Did a good 20 minute warm up and then headed to the start line.

My race plan for this run was supposed to be a bit different. I didn’t do any kind of taper. Okay that’s not totally true I ran 10 miles instead of 12 the night before. I had planned to run fast but not all out, maybe around 10k pace. The reason for this was that I was going to be running back to back 5k and 8k races an hour apart the next week. Those were to be target races for me to try and PB in so I didn’t want to end up hurting myself or burning out my legs. I promised George who was going to pace me next week that I would take it easy. I believe he was skeptical from the start... LOL.

It also didn’t help the plan much to have fellow Longboater Rob C. trying to lure me into running it faster. "Don’t worry about it you got plenty of time to recover" and "you should be able to crush last year's time" although encouraging words, they are not helpful to sticking to the plan. It’s kind of like inviting your alcoholic, celibate friend to a keg party at a strip joint... something is bound to give.

The Race
Lined up at the starting line and as soon as Too Tall Tony blew the starting horn we were off. Race conditions were perfect, no wind and cool maybe around 18 degrees. I started out very strong, felt really good and was running way too fast. I began to make a conscience effort to keep it reined in at least a little. Hit the 1k mark in 4:03 (instead of the planned 4:30ish) but felt really good. Still that’s too fast for me even racing full out so I tried to pull it back a bit more. I noticed that fellow club member Rob K. was just a few feet ahead of me. Rob is much faster then me so I made an effort to get a bit more in control of my pace or I would pay for it later.



I hit the one mile mark in 6:45 but was now running a very hard but doable pace so just began to focus on staying steady. The run around 10k pace plan was completely out the window.

Was running really well and caught up to Longboater Andy M. right around the 3k mark. I expected to pass him but he sped up when I moved along side of him so I matched his pace for the next minute or two. I finally decided to push past him so I surged a little pushing the pace which Andy then matched. The next thing I knew he was pushing the pace with a little surge of his own. After that it was on big time, so much for taking it easy. I pushed, he pushed back and we had our own little race going for the next couple of K's.

This went until the last few hundred meters of the race. Even though I was redlining big time I saw one person a few seconds ahead that I thought I might be able to catch. I somehow found a final kick and picked it up at the end picking off the person in front of me and fending off Andy.

Finished the 6k in 25:44 (6:56 per mile pace). Actually hit the 5k mark 30 seconds faster then my 5k PB so was very happy with the time. Kim also ran very well finishing in 37:06.

We had hotdogs and beer post race and were very popular. As it turned out the bugs were out again and our giant can of bug spray appeared to be the only one on the Island.




Last Months Training Stats.

Here are my August Training Stats
Days run: 23
Days off: 8
20 mile runs: 4
Trail runs: 8
Races: 2 - 50k and 6k

Total Miles 252

Airport Run Pics and Training Update

Below are some pitures from the Toronto Airport Runway 5k and even further below is a recap of last weeks training.











Last Weeks Training or "How I made myself really tired"

Sunday - 20 mile long run
Long run number 2 for the season on the same route as last week which was about 4 miles on trail and the rest on the road. This was the first really warm day of the summer and I slept in so didn’t get out there until around 11. Heat kicked the stuffing out of me, no doubt about it. Much harder then the previous week I tried not to complain by remembering winter runs.

Monday – Restamondo!!

Tuesday – 9 miles (road)
Hit my normal 8 mile road route with an extra mile tacked onto the front. Thought about how running changes you knowledge base. Some people know sports and pop culture trivia I know that its exactly 1.15 miles around my block in case I need to add distance. It’s also exactly 1 mile to the YMCA and 3.5 miles to Bay and King not that anyone cares.

Wednesday -11 miles
On the Lakeshore with Longboat. Early miles at a moderate pace. Then was convinced by George to do 4 x 5 minute intervals at a 7:05 per mile pace with a few other runners. Was sucking wind badly by the end. Thanks for pacing this George, was really nice not to have to watch the pace myself. Drafting with a group definitely has its advantages. It was pouring rain for most of run and was very windy making the run back against the wind super tough.

Thursday – 8.5 miles (trails)
Hit High Park for some trail running. Got extra bonus point for jumping out of the way of a car that almost ran me down at an intersection. Hurdle training anyone? Note to drivers you need to look both ways not just to your right. How unaware was the lady (in her sixties)? I actually had my hand pressed against the passenger side window of her car and she still didn’t know I was there until I yelled at her. What I said probably shouldn’t be repeated here.

Friday – 6.5 miles (track)
Speed work on the track. Roger was kind enough to take over coaching for the night with George away. Did 400, 1200 x 3, 400 with a 2 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down. Set pretty aggressive paces for this workout, came out to fast early in the workout and faded some on the later 1200. Was perplexed figured maybe set the bar a bit two high but seemed to be inline with previous workouts. hmmmmm.

Saturday – 6.5 miles (trails)
Woke up with a sore throat and start of a head cold. Trouble on the track suddenly made more sense. Still went to run trails in High Park with Longboat. Raining again still ran a moderate to hard pace.

Total mileage 61.5
Planned on 60 did a bit more. Next week may end up being a cut back week on mileage depending on how this cold shapes up. Man summer colds suck!!

Airport 5k race report and last weeks training

Last weeks training unfolded like this

Sunday - 20 mile long run
This was my first 20 miler since Paris. The run was about 4 miles on trail and the rest on the road. Same 20 mile route that I was running last summer which includes running up to ravine by the brickyard then back through Mount Pleasant Cemetery along the beltline and ravine then back home again. Got the mileage math right this time so didn’t have to add on at the end.

Monday – sweet sweet rest.

Tuesday – 9 miles (trails)
Ran the trails in High Park at easy pace. No run ins with snakes or worms.. Yawn.

Wednesday -11 miles
On the Lakeshore with Longboat. Ran the first 7 miles at a moderate pace with a 10 minute interval run hard (7:20 pace) then finished the run at an easier pace.

Thursday – 9 miles
I decided to run on the road instead of trail with the airport 5k coming up on Saturday. Decent run at usual recovery pace.

Friday – 3 miles
That’s right 3 miles. Thought I would play it safe with a race on Saturday so just did a very slow and low mileage workout. Got to save those legs for tomorrow. That’s my story and I am sticking to it.

Saturday – 4 miles
Small warm up and 5k race. Actually way to small a warm up. For more details see race report.

Total mileage 56
I originally had planned to do 60 miles but cut back on Fridays run. Expect to go to 60 this coming week.

Runway Run 5k Race Report
Saturday was the second running of the Toronto Airport 5k runway run. Oddly this was also the second time I had run this race. I ran it last year and really liked it so I signed up to do it again.

This race is run on one of the main runways at Pearson Airport. No you don’t have to really dodge planes. They actually shut done on of the main runways for the morning while flights are still taking off and landing on the other runways. As you can imagine this course is flat and can be fast but it’s also unsheltered so wind, heat and the sun can be a factor.

Last year I liked this race because it was small capped at 400 it think and it had a very different feel and unique vibe to it. This year it was much larger more then 1000 runners and the many many walkers.

Pre race
Kim and I meet up with Steve and drove out to the Airport. Nearly got run off the road by a charter bus on the 407. Bus was in the fastest lane and then decided it wanted to move over. We were in the middle lane going 100 km. Bus tried to pass us instead of slowing down and merging. When it couldn’t it beeped its horn at us and then cut into our lane forcing us into the other lane. We were about half way down the bus when this idiot tried this. Good thing Steve is a decent driver and there was no traffic. Then bus then proceeded to cut across 3 lanes in front of us. Now you would think this was the move of someone trying to get across for an exit lane but you would be wrong. We used the exit lane the bus just keep on going straight. Guy must be a cab driver in his spare time.

Got to the race in plenty of time and picked up our race kits. No bag check again this year. This race is now close to 2000 people so it should really have a bag check. Had planned to do a good 20 minute warm up which is what I really need to get the body working right. I had planned to do this before we were escorted out onto the runway but heard that they were going to take people out 30 minutes before the start. Since I believed this I did a 5 minute warm up and then lined up to go out on the airfield. We waited and waited. Then we waited some more. After 25 minutes of waiting they lead us out. That meant no warm up. Grrrrrrrr.

We got out and lined up at the starting mat and then waited some more. The race ended up being delayed by 10 minutes. I was cursing my lack of warm up. Just before the starting gun an F16 fighter did a low level fly over which is a pretty big deal in Canada because I think we only have one so kind of cool. Then we were off.

The race
The course starts about 3/4s of the way down the runway. You run from the start a short distance to the end of the runway then turn run all the way down the full runway turn back again and run back up the tarmac to the start / now finish point.

Started off well and was on the pace I was looking for during the first part and into the first turn around. There was however a bit of a headwind. After the first turn headed back down the length of the runway. Was in good shape at 2k and felt okay but that didn’t last. Somewhere around 2.5k I felt myself beginning to struggle a bit. Pace dropped slightly. Worse then that my hamstring was a bit tight, wonder why… GRRRR.

Held on to this pace for a while but began to struggle a lot more. By the time I made the second turn and headed back towards the finish line my pace had dropped of even more. Even worse then that mentally I was not sharp at all. Instead of focusing on form, trying to reel people in and push I was thinking “I’m dying here”. GRRRR

The last section of the course I could really feel the headwind which made it tough. Also was running ragged. Finished the last 400 meters really strong but was not happy at all.

Post race.
Finished in 22:41 which is 45 seconds slower then my PB but is also still my second fastest 5k. Finished in 77th place out of 1100. Not as disappointed in my time as I was with my run. Bad warm up, bad ragged form and no focus at all left me wondering what the heck happened out there.

Kim ran pretty well missing her PB by 12 seconds even though she had been out the night before indulging. Steve came in at just over 23 minutes.

Also congratulations to Longboater Rob Campbell who finished 4th overall, second masters.

Still this is a decent race and if you haven’t done it before you might want to give it a try. I thought it lost a bit of its charm in its second year with a bigger field and maybe its just because I had done it before. Not sure if I would run this a third time but glad I ran it the first 2 times.

Will post some pics once I get them.

Think I may do the wine run next year instead. Drinking and running at the same time in the heat on a very hilly course what could go wrong.