Around The Bay, March Totals, A Glitch In My Training

I can't really call this a race report for Around The Bay. I was not racing at all so in the spirit of the training run I will keep this short but figure I should say something.

Once again this year we travelled in the Longboat bus down to the race. The weather was really great this year, perfect for running. Kim was racing, I was running it as a slightly quicker long run. I spent 3.5 hours on the trails running the day before so no way I was racing it.

I started way back in the field and ended having a great time. The plan was to run 5 minute kms and just enjoy the run. The first few kms were super slow as I was waayyyyyy back in the pack but by the 4km mark I got a little running room and settled into pace for the rest of the race.

I spent the next 20km constantly passing large groups of people. One of the cool things about starting way back in the field is that I must have seen and talked to more then 20 runners that I knew out on the course not including Longboat runners. I saw runners from my RR clinics, ultra runners that I knew, runners that I had met at other races or around High Park even a couple of former students. I ran along with this person and that person chatting a bit before moving along.

After my last blog entry and some of the over the top reaction (more about this in my next post) I wondered if some angry runner might find me and freak out but all went smoothly. In fact I saw and talked to many people that really liked the post.

I was able to get a solid run in but the last 10km were tough as the fatigue from my long run the day before started to catch up with my legs. Still a great experience and I crossed the finish line in 2:34 and change. Not close to my PB but that was kind of the point.

Kim ran great setting a new PB by more then 7 minutes.

March Training Totals

Runs - 30

Quality runs - 8

Long runs -6

B2B long runs - 3 times
Distance - 299.53 miles or 481.7km
Weight workouts - 16

A glitch in my Leadville training

So in the last couple of weeks I have hit a glitch in my training. I want to call it a small hiccup but really its become more of a giant beer burp. After running the Chilli Half Marathon I came away from the race with a sore left hamstring.

No problem, I did what I always do and just kept right on training. I follow the if it doesn't get worse then its fine to run on rule of training. This was fine for the first two weeks as I upped my mileage into the 90 mile range. It was actually slowly but surely getting better. Then two weeks ago I did my first long 3 hour plus run on the trails at Sulphur. I followed this with a medium hard 30k effort the next day at Around the Bay. This awesome combo of running resulted in a very sore hamstring and by the following Thursday I was forced to rest it for 2 days.

Another set of back to back long runs on trail the next weekend and again by mid week more trouble. I could run but not hard. No quality running for me which meant scrapping my first track workout of the season. Instead I took the group that I coach to the track and kept it slow. It is very hard to keep it slow on the track especially when you really want to let lose.

I am trying to pretend that I learned something last year. With that in mind I shut my running down totally since then. Its 5 days and counting but I should be good to go in another day or two. I could have run again after 2 days rest I am going to do my best break the re-aggravating the injury cycle if I can.

Now is the time to deal with it. I am in decent shape already so a week of down time will not hurt too bad. I want to be ready to go as May sees me running a few 50k races as training before the 100 miler at Sulphur. I figure its better to keep this to a loud beer burp then let it become a huge fart with the potential to leave a big mess in my pants.

Chilli Half Marathon Report ... Leadville training week 2

Chilli Half Marathon Race Report

So last week I mentioned that I would be running the Chilli Half Marathon on Sunday and that I planned to most likely not race it. This claim was met with some amount of scepticism from most of my running friends. In fact JD left a comment that he didnt believe I would not race the HM. Turns out the guy was right. No he does not have the power of Kreskin he just knows me too well.



That means this is an actual race report but lets just try and stick to the facts and not ramble on. Quite JD I know what you are thinking.

Fellow Longboater Tony picked Kim and I up early Sunday morning and in no time we were at the race site in Burlington. Weather was sunny but cold, not stupid cold, just cold with 20km winds. Had a coffee, did the thing you need to do before racing (I like to call it my own fibre challenge) and then Tony and I did a decent warm up.

We managed to get into the coral without much trouble and were in the right pace area for the race. It was about this time that I realized that I actually haven't run a Half Marathon in 2 years. Seriously how did that happen? I also realized that the race course had been radically changed from the last time I ran this race. Facing the opposite direction at the start line was a dead giveaway. I should have really looked at the course map before hand but what can you do.

Then we were off with 3000 other people. The plan was simple enough I would run the first few Kms at what I figured was my HM pace and see how I felt. If I felt good I would keep racing but if not I would drop down to a hard but slightly slower pace and keep it as a good training run.

Things went well right from the start. Once I got out on the course I didnt have to do too much weaving around people to find a bit of an open space to run in so I fell right into pace. I wanted to keep my HR just a little below my threshold and my pace between 4:30 and 4:41.

The first 3 km are out west along the lake and then a 180 and you head back the same way that you came from. I stayed right on pace and by 5km we where headed east with the wind behind us and not much of a factor. I felt good so decided that I would try and hold this pace and see how it went. I could see another Longboater about 100 meters ahead of me but wasnt sure who it was. I just tried to stay disciplined at this point and keep the pace.

I managed to catch up to fellow club member Christine eventually, it only took about 4km to close the gap on her. I took this as a good omen for me as it meant I was running a consistent pace so far and because Christine is around the same speed as I am although she is probably a little quicker to be honest.

Soon I am at the halfway point. We are still headed East along the Lakeshore and my Garmin tells me I am just slightly ahead of my PB. The course is an out and back and soon I begin to see runners on the way back in. I see a lot of Longboaters in the front area of the pack (6 guys go sub 1:20 on the day).

So far so good but its been a long time since I have run this hard for this long and by the time I hit 13km I am beginning to feel it. Nothing major, still on pace, but I know its going to get tougher from here on in.

Around 14km we make another 180 degree turn and head back west right into the wind. Oh goody the hardest part of the race is into the wind how thoughtful. It's not horrible but it is strong enough to play a little bit of a factor. My pace starts to drop slightly so I begin to push a little harder.

Its 16k into the race and I am now suffering the inevitable as I am wearing down. I have slowed some as the HR has begun to creep up with each new KM. I remember this now its what we like to call the painful part of the race where I attempt to hang onto pace. I do an okay job of pushing as hard as I can but am still slowing down slightly. At 18k I am just where I expected to be hanging on for dear life.

As I approach the 19km sign I see a bunch of the faster Longboaters. They are running their cool downs having already finished. Rob Campbell sees me and jumps in to help pace me (push me) to the finish. He keeps me working hard the whole way in when I am struggling the most. Thanks Rob! Although I didnt know it at the time Rob had won his age category and set a new club record all before he came by help scrap me up off the pavement when I was doing my best impression of road kill.

Finally after what feels like an eternity I make the final turn towards the finish. I can see the big arch of the finish so I start my finishing sprint quickly passing 4 people. I am almost there, oh crap. I realize that my oxygen deprived brain had me looking at the wrong archway and after sprinting like a madman I still have another couple hundred meters to go. Wow way to go dummy. I try to keep up the pace as best I can but the next 30 or 40 seconds are the most painful of the race. Only one of the people I passed catches me so that ends up being okay.

I am finished and I am done as well. I resist the growing urge to puke which if you have read any of my road race reports before you know that this is how I measure a successful hard effort. If I feel like I might puke at the end then I feel pretty sure that I have given it everything and left nothing on the course. I lean over the coral fencing just in case which attracts the attention of an EMS guy. He asks me if I am all right and I tell yeah I just dont want to puke on anyone which gets a good laugh. I think once he got close to me he saw that I was just a guy trying to figure out why there is no oxygen in downtown Burlington and not someone in actual trouble. Christine is right there as well having finished 14 seconds ahead of me.

After catching my breath I waited for Tony who finished his first HM in just over 1:45 and then grabbed my jacket to keep warm as I waited for Kim to come in. She ran really well and ended up PBing by more then 7 minutes. Way to go Kim!!! Then it was off to get some food and beer.

I am really happy with my race. It ends up being my second fastest HM and less then 30 seconds off my PB. It looks like my speed is almost back to where it was a few years ago. I was also happy with how I ran staying disciplined early and working really hard at the end. I dont think I could have run it much faster or better at this point in my training and with no taper.
Final finishing time 1:39:17.


Leadville Training Week 2
Training went well again for week 2. It was a recovery week so it was time to drop the mileage some. I got in my scheduled 80k (50 miles) and that included a day of hill sprint repeats and a tempo day. No long run but made up for it by running the Half Marathon hard.



This week its back to higher mileage with a 5k race on saturday thrown in just for fun. It ends at a pub ..... sweet. Sorry JD but it looks like I will be drinking even more beer without you.

Leadville training week 1, Feb totals, Chilli Half Marathon this weekend

Leadville training week 1 is in the bank
Oh, Ah, okay not really but its done. I managed to put down my first week of training for Leadville quicker then that little kid put a bullet in Old Yellers head. Just 25 more weeks to go. Seems like a long time from now but its going to go quickly. Thats what happens when a race you're registered in actually scares the crap out of you.

Last week managed to get a solid training week in getting my mileage up to 130km for the first time this year. That included a solid hill workout, a bit of a tempo run and a decent 37k, hilly long run. I also managed to get 5 strength training days in at the gym which I then tried to undo with a few to many beers.

The month of February went well as far as training goes and was a nice build on the offseason. I was worried that I was going to have a issue when I developed some heel pain but it appears to be fine for now. See the totals for February below.

Runs - 26
Distance - 302.5 miles or 486.8km
Weight workouts - 18
Cycle - 1 hr.

This week has been a recovery week for me so I have dropped the mileage down to give the legs a break before I start to work towards those 100 mile weeks. Less mileage doesnt mean less intesity however so its will still be a couple of quality days and a Half Marathon to end the week.

The Chilli Half Marathon this weekend
Okay I got to be honest about it. I am really not a big fan. I have run this one twice before and had some issues with the race. I figured I might as well run it this year (after skipping it for 2 years) as its easy to get to and makes for a good hard run. I have no intention on racing full out but then again once you get going who knows. All that hill training I have been doing should come in handy on this super flat course. NOT.

Up next week - a return to high mileage and a nasty blog about the assholiness of "Elitism"

PS - If they did a remake of Old Yeller do you think they would actually show us the dogs head exploding. You know they would!

Leadville and back to training basics

So if you are hoping to read my posting on my Rim to Rim to Rim ( R2R2R ) I am afraid that its not quite finished yet. That thing is getting written at a slower pace then I actually managed to do the run. It is coming before the end of the week. Honest.

Leadville
In the intermission for your entertainment pleasure or perhaps laughter or maybe horror I have already begun to line up my major runs for next year. After finishing the run at the Grand Canyon the group of us hung around at JDs condo and licked our wounds. Somehow while basking in our glory we all became somewhat delusional and in this state an idea was born. I am not saying it was a good idea or a bad idea but it was definitely a crazy idea. We all decided that we should run the Leadville 100 miler.

Its 2 weeks since the planting of that little gem of an idea was first brought up and now 4 of us flatlanders from Toronto have paid the money and are all signed up. The race isn't until next August so hopefully I will be back in shape by then. How the heck I am actually going to train for this one is still a work in progress. I live basically at sea level with not a mountain in sight. The race takes place between 9000 and 12,000 ft in Colorado at altitude. Should be a blast. Leadville here we come.

Back to Basics
So with the season finally over its back to basic training. Usually I take a few weeks to a month of low mileage in November but since my injury kind of forced me into 8 weeks of low to no mileage in August and September I have begun the rebuild already.

Last week I put together workout program for both Kim and I that will take us to the start of January. I would call it the base building before the marathon training begins program. It will be a mileage rebuild with lots of cross training thrown in until the miles get up there. I am currently carrying about 10 extra pounds (above racing weight) which the Gods of BEER decided to grace me with over my injury time. Stupid beer, who knew. The plan is to be rid of my extra passenger by Christmas. Its that or become a mall Santa.


Week 1 of training went okay. Lost a run due to a slight hamstring pull but still got close to 50 miles in. That said my longer Sunday run showed me in no uncertain terms that my legs are still not recovered from the Grand Canyon. It sucks when 22km feels like 50km but I expect things will get back to normal in another few weeks.

Hang in there R2R2R report is coming up.

Limberlost Race Report ... Injury and Training update .. BR 100 next weekend

Limberlost 56k race report

This is going to be a short race report because this ended up being a short one for me. I have begun to feel that if Charlie Brown was an ultra runner this is the kind of season he would be having. You know the kind where whatever could go wrong will go wrong. How did I become the hard luck peanuts character anyway when usually I share more in common with Snoopy.

We headed up to Limberlost on July 16th. I would run the 56km as a last long run / training run for the Burning River 100 miler. Kim was running 28km as she ramps up the distance for her upcoming Pikes Peak Accent. I ran this last year and really love the trails here. Challenging and somewhat technical but also really beautiful.

It was a nice sunny day, great weather although it would end up getting very hot. Before you knew it we were lined up and ready to go. My plan was simple I would run the first 14km loop moderately fast, loops two and three easy and the fourth loop hard to finish it off.

The first loop went well. The trails were as nice as I had remembered from the year before. I ended up running with Stephan M. for about 7 km then dropped off a little as he was moving just a bit to fast. My HR was higher then I wanted but not to bad and I ended up finish the loop in 1:35 minutes right on schedule. A quick refuelling and refilling of the bottles and I was back out again.

A couple of km into the loop I noticed my stomach was a little unsettled, not a big deal but it did give me a small eureka moment. I realized that my nutrition problems the last few races are more then likely caused by the ensure I was taking. I ran using ensure in long races last year but never in really hot conditions. I now believe that heat + ensure = stomach issues for me so if I am right this could really help at Burning River.

I was feeling good now, it was hot but manageable and I was cruising along totally oblivious just like the Titanic until wham, I steamed head long right into the iceberg. Running along one of the flattest non technical areas on the entire course I stepped on something (no idea what) and rolled my ankle over badly before hitting the ground face first. I got up quickly nothing seemed broken but my ankle was hurting. Not so bad I couldn't run at all on it but bad enough. For #&*% sakes!!

I ran along slowly for the next 6km trying to see if the ankle would numb up or the pain would recede but no luck. It was slowly getting worse. At 25km I knew that the writing was on the wall. I could run slowly and still finish the race. I had run fast early and even walking I could get in before the cut off. The only problem with that was my ankle would be far worse for wear. I decide to shut it down and ended up walking the 3k out to the start / finish line.

Man this sucked. I felt really good except for my ankle which was only kind of hurt. I decided to take some time, tape the ankle up and see how it felt. After I got it wrapped I headed back out for a third loop. It felt no better then before. I contemplated continuing but I had a lot of time to think about things as I walked out the last part of my second loop. This was suppose to be a training run. If I kept going there was a real good chance I would hurt myself more and it might end up costing me my goal race at Burning River. I decided to error on the side of caution ( wow I know how unlike me is that!) and shut it down for the day. I turned around and walked back to the start finish.

Kim had a really good race and seems to be over her heel injury. Way to finish it strong honey.

Training / Injury update

Its a week later and now I know I made the right choice. My ankle is still hurting some but is improving every day. I got about 35 miles of running in last week and it was only mildly sore. With almost no running this week during my taper I am hoping it is fully recovered by race day.

I am really looking forward to the Burning River 100 this coming weekend. After such a tough go of it at the Mohican a little redemption is hopefully on the menu. Its looking like its going to be a hot one but hell it is July so what can you do. We will head down Friday with 4 other Ontario runners so should be a blast. Misery loves company.

Mutation is a good thing

A Mutation occurs when a DNA gene is damaged or changed in such a way as to alter the genetic message carried by that gene

Mutation, I mean thats what we are all trying to do here, right? Sure we like shine it up and make it seem much prettier by calling it adaptation but lets get honest its just cellular mutation.

If your a newer runner or a more casual runner then you might not have even really thought about it. You are still in that I am going to get fit, get a little faster, live healthy stage of your running and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. You haven't joined the training circus under the freak tent yet and maybe you never will. I say runaway while you still can, runaway as fast and far as you possibly can and then keep running .... oh crap never mind.

For those of you that are already hopelessly trapped under the big top you understand, its all about the mutation. Once upon a time you ran just for fun but it wasn't enough for you was it. Going for a run became "training" which only lead to faster or longer running and better race times. We all know that then leads to more "training". Its the great circle of running.

As a casual runner have you ever really though about what you are actually doing. Maybe you look up to the better runners that you know and think I wish I could run like that. Well mutation is the key. The point of training is not to get stronger or faster or boost endurance these are not training goals. These are side effects of the mutation process. The actual point of training is to cause changes to your body at a cellular level. Thats right, its all about changing the actual make up of the mitochondrion and the cell itself.

The freaks under the "training" tent already know all this. We have read all the books by Nokes, Daniels and anyone else we could find. We are well aware of what we are doing. The fact is that for most of us we are upset that we were not born bigger genetic freaks. No matter how hard we "train" most of us will never run 2:15 marathons, 15 minute 5ks or 16 hour 100 milers. You have to have been really lucky in the genetic lottery for that kind of thing but that will not stop us from trying.

Over the course of the winter I had run easy, rebuilding my base and trying to get some zip back into my legs which I had destroyed during ultra season. With some bounce back I started more serious training upping the mileage and adding lots of hills and speed. There was some improvement but I was still not back to spring 2010 levels. I did not feel like I was in very good shape at all. Yeah I know how can you be running 120k a week and not be in shape. Well there is in shape and then there is in shape (racing shape?). Then I ran a decent ATB even though I didnt race full out. Something was happening.

Then Mutation

In the last few weeks I have seen a huge jump in my own mutation (adaptation) as my high volume of mileage has begin to cause visible changes in my fitness level and endurance. I began to think I might be plateaued forever with what seemed like little forward progress and then something wonderful happened. My easy runs became way too easy. I was running the same pace but my heart rate had dropped way to low. At first I though it must be a problem with my monitor or a weird anomaly but after 3 weeks I figured it must be real. A quick email consultation with coach Roger lead to a rejigging of my approach to the runs. I started running back at my proper / previous easy run HR and suddenly I was running much faster. Last years marathon pace has become my easy run speed. For someone like me that is running mainly ultras this will hopefully translate into some faster times this year.

Mutation, its a wonderful thing.

Watch out Pick Your Poison 50k trail race is coming up this weekend!!

March Training, Last Weeks Training, OUSER Warmup

This is what training for March looked like. It ended up being a very good month. The info is kind of boring but maybe there will be more excitement later in the blog, then again maybe not. Remember to cover your mouth when you yawn.

March Stats

Days run - 28

Days off - 3

X training - 8 weight workouts at the gym

Longest run - 40km

Highest mileage week - 100 miles (160km)

Total mileage - 596km or 370 miles

Races - 30km Around The Bay

If you are interested in what my training looks like you can click on the Attack Point bar graph on the right hand side of my blog. That will take you right to my running log at AttackPoint. Oh and that is also boring but in its own special way.

Last weeks training

After a good recovery week and 30km race it was back to normal training. Time to make the donuts. The week worked out well with me getting the mileage back up to 155km with a decent hill workout, tempo run and back to back long runs on the weekend. This is the first time I have ever done back to back long runs. I got to say it was kind of hard. Saturday it was trails at the OUSER warm up (more about that in a minute) for a 3 hour 15 minute run. Then Sunday it was time to take the Running Room Clinic out for a relaxing, hilly, 3 hour 24 minute run. Can you say time for a nap.

OUSER Spring warm up

The trails are coming, the trails are coming. Don't look now but here comes Ultra season. Kim and I headed up to Creemore with JD for the Ontario Ultra Series spring warm up. Pierre did a great job of setting up the course. It was hilly, it was snowy, it was tough. Talk about a fun time. Its the first time I did this event and will be back again next year. I managed to get a couple of loops of the course in before heading inside for pizza and beer. Even though a good part of the bruce trail was still under snow it was awesome running. It was also nice to see a lot of people that I have not seen since the end of last years ultra season.

Sorry no pics but you can go to westgreyrunners blog to see just how snowy it was.

I also got up to some racing shenanigans by floating the idea of running 100 miles at Burning River in July. Now there are 3 of us signed up with maybe more to join in. Let the games begin.

Training Update, First 100 mile week, Pikes Peak

Just a bit of a training update.

November, December and January were really good months as far as training went. My legs finally recovered from going overboard during Ultra season last year. Some would argue that ANY Ultra racing is going overboard while others will claim you cant go overboard at all. All I know is my legs were slow and tired by mid october. Well they seem to be back and I got a solid 1400 kms in during those 3 months of mainly base training (read easy running). That was capped off with 2 marathons in late January.

February was a much lighter volume month which can be best described as happening sort of accidentally on purpose. There was a week off during a planned vacation and then another week and a half of shorter runs due to a never ending head cold. Instead of getting my running shorts all in a knot over it I did something oddly unChris like. I just went with it. No fretting about missed runs, my growing belly or loss of cardio. Nope I just did what I could do. Still not sure how that happened tho but I have now convinced myself that the rest will actually be a good thing as my training for the Mohican 100 ramps up.

The start of March marked 16 weeks until the Mohican so it was time to start some real training which means getting that mileage up and making sure to get 3 quality runs in a week. I have a solid base but have lost a little speed with my VO2 max not being where it was at this time last year. That means lots of Tempo and Hills over the next few months and who doesnt like that.

Crap I am rambling again.

Mileage buildup

Okay so 3 weeks into my training things are looking good. My speed is coming back a little due to Coach Rogers somewhat brutally helpful Tempo workouts sometimes in really crappy weather and some awesome hill sprint repeats. I have also built my mileage up to the level that I hope to keep it at for this training cycle. Last week I ran my first 100 mile week (160km for all you fellow Canucks). I felt good but tired, no injuries but holy crap is that a lot of running. So many 2 a days. This week is recovery week which I am really going to enjoy.

Pikes Peak

I registered and my qualifications were confirmed for the Pikes Peak Marathon. I cant remember the last time I was so excited about a race. I know for some of you out west mountain running is not such a big deal but here in Toronto where the only mountains I see are on postcards its huge. With no mountain running experience I was a little leery of signing up for a 100 like Leadville so I figure a nice short marathon would be a great place to feel things out.... HA.

I also convinced (well maybe more like forced but in a nice way) Kim to sign up for the Ascent. She is nervous about it but I told her that its only 13 miles of climbing up the side of a mountain and 8000 feet of elevation change .... I mean seriously how hard could it be. Damn that actually does sound hard. Oppps

The word for the day is NO!

Hello Kids. This blog posting is brought to you by the word No and its close affiliate can’t. Side effects of this post may include crying, whining, bitching, loss of motivation and hair loss. Do not try to read this posting while operating heavy machinery.

NO – I did not get into Massanutten via the lottery; neither did JD so I will not be pacing either. On the brighter side I will put my name on the waiting list and have compiled a short list of late May / early June non lottery based Ultras that I am interested in. Will pick one sometime over the winter.

NO – There is no race report for the Egg Nog Jog. Running this race seemed doomed from the start. First friend (and ride) Gregoire could not go as he had to go to Paris France for a job interview. That’s a good thing although I am jealous that he keeps getting to go to Paris. Then we found out that Kim’s dad was able to come for a visit from out west that weekend. This is also a good thing as we don’t get to see him very often. So we shelved the race but had a much better time with family anyway. I would tell you all about it but is very hush hush.

NO – I didn’t get my full training miles in last week. I ended up too hung over after the Longboat Christmas party to run doubles on Thursday. Thanks to John and Toni for hosting again this year and to Roger for buying me extra beers, which was just what I needed. I find training in December very difficult but still managed to get 100k in last week. I will be happy with that.

NO – I didn’t win the lottery (the kind that they give you cash as a prize), I didn’t find a bag of money walking home and didn’t fart diamonds (I did fart however…. Lots). Opps to much information.

BAH HUMBUG

lottery whining... next .... lets try that again ... revising race history

Okay so I am not going to whine about the lottery for Western States. I didn't get in and since JD didn't get in either I will not be pacing it. It was a long shot and I knew going in that it was not likely the first time around. No problem I will keep putting my name in every year until they get sick of seeing it and I get lucky enough to get my ticket pulled. Turns out that I am only luck in love not in lotteries.

As a fall back both JD and I have put our name into the Massanutten Mountain Trail 100 lottery. The drawn is this coming weekend. I hear that its kind of hilly and rocky so just about perfect. I have much better odds of getting in and its a really damn good alternative to WS. I am also making a short list of non lottery alternatives for the spring. Suggestions? The one downfalls of this one is it will mess with my Toronto Marathon plans so if I do get in it will be an earlier marathon for me in the spring.

Last weeks training went really well as I built my long run up to 33km and got 113k in for the week. This week is a much needed and deserved mileage reduction week which works out perfectly with the Egg Nog Jog this weekend.

Speaking of which memory is such a fickle and funny thing. In my last blog I lamented on how I had a bad race at the Jog last year and had not planned to run it again. Strange because when I went back and read my race review from last year I said that "I would run this race again anytime". Weird... this is your brain .... this is your brain on running. Its a good thing I am writing this stuff down because it appears that I might be going senile already.

4000K in the bank ... Last Months Training, Egg Nog Jog coming up.

I officially surpassed 4000k, 2500 miles for you non metric people last Sunday. That pushes me past my running totals for last year with still a month to go. Not as many miles as I had hoped but I lost some time due to injuries so I am very happy with it.

November ended up being a decent training month for me. That in spite of my super cement legs and crunchy ankle….. mmmm… crunchy. I slowly have been building my mileage back up from scratch and ended up getting in 400k for the month. More importantly I am finally starting to feel somewhat normal again with most of my easy runs starting to fall back into my regular pace. Not quite there yet but instead of one good run a week its becoming 3 or 4. I am looking forward to putting some harder workouts back into the mix in the coming weeks.

November was tough for me. Behaving myself is not one of my strong suits. I managed to not race in November. That’s right you heard me, NO racing in November. You have to go back to February 2009 to find the last month I went raceless. Don’t worry though that’s not going to last. Next weekend it will be off to Terra Cotta for the Egg Nog Jog. It will be hilly, it will be cold and we will race the ever popular 10.8 distance because as you all know 10k is just too damn short.

Last year after I finished this race I swore I would never run it again. We ran in horrible weather conditions and the course was, well lets just say it was challenging. Okay actually it was kind of the winter version of hell. You know the saying when hell freezes over? Well it did last year in Terra Cotta. Besides that it was a great race. I bitched and moaned about never doing it again but then in the end all it took was my friend Gregoire telling me he had registered and asking me if I was running it to “convince me” to sign up. Thanks Gregoire? I decided to spread the misery around by getting Kim to sign up as well. Should be a blast, I noticed its sold out again this year.

Ankle is still not right but slowly getting better. Its rarely an issue during runs but I do feel it when I get up over 25k if I am running a hilly route. So of course I have been sure to do all my long runs on the Boston Special route in order to get in as many hills as possible.

There is less then a month left of coaching the Running Room Marathon clinic at Rosedale. I will be hauling my ass over to the High Park Running Room to start doing a marathon clinic there at the end of January. With this location being right in my normal running hood I am going to be able to bring all kinds of torturous workouts and routes to these unsuspecting runners. Crap maybe I shouldn’t put that on my blog some of them might notice. Yeah that’s the ticket, don’t be afraid kiddies sign up now.

Tonight I will be headed out to High Park to run with Longboat as we start up the new training cycle. It’s the return of the every popular Frisky Fridays. I have a feeling this one is going hurt. I expect its going to involve some hard running and me with no fast twitch muscle fibers left after a season of ultra running.

I will be glued to my computer tomorrow morning watching to see if my name gets pulled from the lottery for Western States. I think the email they sent me said I have like a 1 in a gazillion chance. I have made a side deal with JD that I will pace him if he gets in and he will do the same for me. Keep those fingers crossed.

Muddy times ..... Training update .... Running Room clinics and coaching

So this week Kim got some awesome pictures or maybe that's awful pictures depending on your point of view that another runner took of her at Haliburton. I remember that it was pretty muddy but had managed to blot it all until now. Anyway here is the photographic evidence and for fun now just pretend its pitch black running by headlamp in the middle of the night with only another 30 miles or so to get to the end of the 100 miler. Talk about fun times.



Last week I ended up pushing my weekly mileage to just over 100k. This week all is still going well and I should be close to 110. I managed to get in 30k last Sunday and my legs felt decent afterwords. Then on Tuesday I went out for 14k easy and could have thrown myself a party once I got done. For the first time in months my easy run felt really easy at my normal pace instead of tired at a slower then normal pace. Could my legs actually be starting to feel normal again? Could it be? I am not going to say yes just yet but all the signs are encouraging.

I have been coaching a marathon clinic at the running room and we are just heading into week 10. It has been interesting to say the least. I have mostly enjoyed it but the clinic is very small and so sometimes there are not very many people to actually coach. Hey did you hear that tumbleweed roll by? No sorry I couldn't hear it over the chirping of the crickets. Of the people that are out regularly there are some good runners and they all are a lot of fun. Some of them even listen to me and think I have a clue about what I am talking about. That is cool, scary and hilarious all at the same time. The clinic ends in January (that's why its small with it being off season, honest its not because of me I swear). Currently I dont have another clinic in the spring as they have a regular marathon coach as opposed to me the irregular coach. Hopefully something will come up tho but if not I will just focus more on Longboat.

This weekend I also start my first classes to begin working towards my National Coaching Certification. Once I get certified they will have to listen to me Mummhahaa!!

Oh ya I did end up throwing my name into the lottery for Western States. With only a 1 in 5 chance of getting in I figure it could take a few years.

Training is a pain the the _________ !

Back to normal training and as we all know training can be a real pain in the ______ ! No not in the ass, as much as some of you want me to say that. In fact I love a nice consistent training schedule. Training has almost never lead to a pain the ass or felt like a pain in the ass unless you count the one time I slipped on ice and landed on my rear. Now that was some pain.

Unfortunately training can lead to pain in just about every other part of the body. Oh my aching back, quad, neck, finger, ear, nose hair are just some of the normal background noise you might hear in our household and thats with Kim not saying anything at all.

On the bright side my feet are getting back to normal and I have begun to rebuild my base while at the same time desperately attempting to not sign up for any races. Its been hard but I managed to take a pass on horror hill and the Hamilton Marathon. I also didn't sign up for the 100 miler at Creemore next week although I desperately wanted to and decided not to run the cross country provincials this coming weekend. I did register for Robbie Burns at the end of January and Around the Bay at the end of March.

Training is going well and I am quickly getting back to 100k weeks. That said its been almost all easy running, tempo and speed work will come soon enough. I am still suffering with a sore ankle that seems to be taking forever to heal. Doesn't seem to get better or worse whether I run or not. Think I will give it a few more weeks and then if its still gimpy I will be forced to see the dreaded doctor.

Should I jump into the lottery for Western States or not. That is really the big question thats on my mind lately.

I designate this week the official week of Crappy

This has been a trying week when it comes to running. For those of you waiting for my race report for 24hrs on the track in Ottawa its coming soon. I am almost finished it but as part of Official Week Of Crappy my computer that it is on will not start and has been sent off to be fixed.... GRRR

I have not been able to train since Ottawa due to blister issues (that have healed) and a reoccurrence of my Haliburton ankle injury, which is getting better but still tender. This is particularly annoying as I am teaching a marathon clinic at the Running Room and cant run with the kiddies. Going to give it another try tonight and see how it goes. Because I haven’t been training it means that my racing season is just about over. I plan to run 50k at Vulture Bait in a week and a half and may still run the Hamilton marathon but these will really be treated as training runs as I start to rebuild my mileage. At this point I just don’t have a fast marathon in my legs so its time to regroup and get to some serious training. Stupid injury ... GRRRRRRR

I was forced due to the ankle issues to DNS (did not start) at the Run for the Toad last Saturday. I really wanted to run this race this year. I could not get in last year because it sold out so early so I registered in April .......GRRRRRRRR

Both Kim and I got our rejection letters from the London Marathon Lottery on Monday. No spring holiday in England for us........ GRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Kim is off on Friday for a road trip with other Longboaters to the Chicago Marathon. I am unable to go for a number of reasons even though I am registered. She will have an awesome time running Chicago. I will grow some scruff, drink Jack Daniels straight from the bottle and mumble incisively under my breath..... GRRRRRRRR

Happy Official Week of Crappy everyone and don’t worry the Official week of Awesomeo is just around the corner.

Sulphur Springs Post-Mortem Autopsy .. Training Update

So it has taken me a few weeks to finally decompress from Sulphur Springs. It was an incredible adventure and a major ultra learning experience for me. My hope is to take what I learned both good and bad and apply this knowledge to put up a better time at my next 100 miler. Yes there will be a next 100 miler as I plan to run 24 hours at Dirty Girls and then do the 100 at Haliburton.

Before I dissect the Sulphur race experience I would be horrible remiss if I didn't mention a couple of things about the race itself. If you want to do a 100 miler you cant go wrong with this one. The race extremely well run and organized. The race director should be commended on this because putting on a race of any kind is no small feat. The trail was well marked, I didn't get lost once and I am a directional idiot. I can get lost in my own apartment for god sake. The aid stations and volunteers were also fantastic, heck they never once mentioned how terrible I looked. I would and will run this race again (hopefully next year).

So here is some of the stuff I learned out on 100 mile trail.

The Good
My fitness level is way up there thanks to the relentless training. I worried that maybe I was not well enough trained but the program I was on prepared me well especially for the hills. I will not curse and swear at the Boston Special training route (and Roger) as much. I will still curse just not as much.

I am a decent warm weather runner ( I kind of already knew that). Even so the heat sucked the life out of me.

I can put up with a hell of a lot of pain.

I have awesome friends to crew and pace me.

Things that went wrong and need to get sorted out.
I started out to fast. Turns out that just like ever other race distance I have ever run going out to fast costs you and it appears that the longer the race the more it costs. We are not talking a little to fast either. For those that run shorter distances imagine if you started out in a 10k 30 seconds faster then your race pace, you get the picture I am sure. Usually this takes me about 3 races to figure out at any given race distance but I am vowing to get this one right next time by purposely going out too slow.

Calorie intake. This was a big problem and the one I am most concerned with. I usually have a lead stomach and until this race never had a problem eating and drinking. That said I never ran 100 miles either. Somehow I have to get better at this for next time. Not sure what I am going to add food wise as my standbys like potatoes and m&ms didn't even want to go down for me. Solid food is a must but I just could not seem to swallow sandwiches effectively. Suggestions are always welcome kids.

Both of these two problems lead to lost time in aid stations and therefore lost time overall.

Other stuff
There is no such thing as an easy 100 miler. Its a long long way.
After 50 miles the second half of the race really is a mental game.... except for all the physical parts.
You can run and almost sleep at the same time but its really dangerous.
When your crew suggests something just agree to it as long as it doesn't involve quitting. They are thinking much clearer then you are.

Training
So at this point I am also back to my normal training again. It seems like it took forever. The ankle problem I had kept me from running for 10 days after Sulphur and made me a DNS for the Kingston 6hr run and maybe thats a good thing. The 10 days off was the longest space between runs in over a year. Its been a slow build since then but I will most likely get in 100+ km this week.

Last week I did run in the Niagara 50k but it was slow and painful. I spent the previous day before the race in bed with a bad case of the flu. Shouldn't have run it but with the car rented and the race paid for I figured I would at least try. I was really slow, it was really brutal and ridiculously hot. I have no idea how I actually managed to finish the race. Great course though and would have been fun if not for the being sick thing.

Next up Creemore 50k.

Pacing the Mississauga Marathon .. Training done tapering for Sulphur Springs 100 miler

Mississauga Marathon
This time it was a much different marathon for me as I was not race and not training (okay a little) but for me the main focus was pacing my better half to a new marathon PB, hopefully.

I have to say I was somewhat nervous about this but I was also looking forward to it. I don't get to run with Kim very often so that was going to be fun. I have paced Kim in shorter races but this would be for a very long time and also at a slower pace.

Kim ended up running great and PBed by 39 minutes finishing in 5:21. It was not easy as she hit the wall in the early 30ks but toughed it out. I also learned that trying to run slower then your body wants to go is much more difficult then you might think.

Training done into the taper
With Mississauga done I managed to come through the hardest part of my training for Sulphur Springs which included 2 marathons and 2 50k trail races over the last 6 weeks. No major injures as far as I can tell.

I began a slight taper last week dropping my mileage down to 100k. This week I scaled back to around 75k and next week will do two very short runs just to keep the legs moving.

Everything seems to be lining up well for the 100 miler. I am really not sure what to expect from my body on race day as I have never attempted anything this long before but I guess I will find out soon enough.

Pick Your Poison 50k Race Results ... Sporting Life 10K Report ... April Training Recap

Here are the results from the Pick Your Poison 50k trail race held on Saturday May 1st. I had a really great time at this race and will post a more in-depth race report later in the week. I ran well and it was an awesome adventure.

Distance: 50k

Place: 14 / 58

Time: 5:26:37

Special thanks to JD for giving Kim and I a ride out to the race.

I followed that the next day running the Sporting Life 10k in Toronto. I didn't race this (I like to think I learned something from the back to back 5k fiasco in March). I ran it easy and paced Kim to a 10k PB. She ran great considering she did 25k at PYP the day before finishing in 58:31 which was a 5:30 PB.

On a negative note we passed a guy who was down in the middle of the road right in front of the Eaton Center. A number of emergency people were working frantically on him. As we passed by I could see that they were giving him CPR. That is a very bad sign as it tends to mean that there in no pulse. Didn't hear anything about it after the race so hopefully the guy is okay.

During the run I also saw fellow blogger Mel (okay she saw me to be honest) at around the 5k mark. She looked like she was running pretty well. Sorry that I was not able to chat more but I had to keep cracking the whip on Kim . I also ran into blogger Boris in the food area after the race. We have crossed each others paths a number of times recently. Its always kind of cool to see people you only know via the blogosphere. Its also weird to realize that people actually read this crap. When my psychiatrist first told me to start writing this blog I didn't think anyone would read it. Okay I just made that up I don't have a psychiatrist although I am not sure if that's because I am not crazy or so crazy that I don't know that I am crazy.

Along those lines I also want to give a mini apology here to a girl I saw on the trail during PYP. I was passing her on my last loop and she asked me if I was Chris and said she read my blog. Sorry I didn't get your name I was a little loopy and in full pain management mode at that point. Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog.

April Training Recap.

After a tough month of March where I really struggled with my mental focus and tired legs things went excellent in April. I ran the most miles I have ever run in a week and a month. I got my mileage built up to a good level and now feel like I am about as ready as I could be for my first 100 miler coming at the end of May. Although I enjoy road running I am very happy to be back on the trails 3 times a week. Here are the numbers.

Total Monthly Mileage: 295 miles

Most Miles in a week: 78 miles

Number of races: 3 (8k, 53k and a Marathon)

Days run in April: 29

Longest run: 53k

Seaton 52K trail race this weekend ... Training Update ... Good Idea or Kamikaze Mission

Seaton Trail race

Only three days left to the first ultra trail race of the spring. On Saturday morning I will be heading out to Pickering to run the Seaton trail race. Last year I ran the short version of the race (26k) and being a total trail running newbie I crashed and burned big time. Have you ever tried to run limping in not one leg but both legs. I have and let me tell ya that particular maneuver is not as easy as it sounds.

This time out I will be running the 52k version. That would be an out and back out and back. Besides the tough technical trail there is bound to be lots of mud, pain and plodding through that damn river 4 different times. I can hardly wait! On top of that the weather is looking like it will be a challenge in itself as Saturday is suppose to be cold and rainy. Kim is also running although she figures that 26k will be enough for her. I considered switching to the 50 miler but decided to take it easy this weekend … HA.

Training Update
After a couple of tough weeks where my legs were very dead last week they bounced back pretty good and I am finally starting to run well again. I think that its probably due to finally getting all the racing out of my legs as well as adjusting to the bigger mileage.
I have moved into the next stage of my training cycle so that means less hills and more speed work. Tempo runs are going well and I hit the track for the first time last week. It was nice to resume my love/hate relationship with oval of pain. Ran a bit slow but also controlled for the first time out. I expect to get back to much harder workouts next week.

Brilliant plan or Kamikaze mission you decide
So along with my speed work I am upping the distance of my long runs in preparation for my target spring race, which is the 100 miler at Sulphur Springs at the end of May. My longest run of the spring so far has been 38K but will hit 52 this weekend at Seaton.
The plan is to run 4 longer distance races in the next 5weeks to get ready. They are
Seaton Trail Race (52K)
Waterloo Marathon (42.2K)
Pick Your Poison Trail Race (50K)
Mississauga Marathon (42.2k).
Note I said run NOT race. I will be treating them as long training runs. I am currently repeating the “I will not race” mantra in my head over and over again. Honestly I will not get sucked into racing. Oh that laughing that you hear is my regular training partners reading this and rolling their eyes.
This is either going to turn out really well or end really badly.
Finally I am behind on a couple of race reports but hope to catch up in the next week or so.

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.

worst week ever / best week ever .. training update

The last two weeks have been a tale of two training extremes where I had one of my worst training weeks that I can remember followed by one of my best.

February 1-7
After a good start to the week (which followed a very good previous week)it soon all came to a crashing end. On Sunday night I awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of my spouse pouring glasses of water into the toilet. Half asleep I thought how strange until I realized that wasn't glasses of water.. oh ooh.

Monday
10km recovery run. All is well. Kim home with the flu.

Tuesday
13.5km easy run on hills. Kim feeling better. I began to think I might escape the flu

Wednesday
No run as I was way to busy puking. Kim is feeling much better. Miss my club run as my running "friends" use this private time to plot an elaborate prank against me after all what are friends for (I will cover the prank in my next blog). On a more upbeat note Kim feeling much better.

Thursday
Able to move from the bathroom floor to the couch. Hurray? No run

Friday
Think I am feeling a bit better. Go into work. Bad decision. No run.

Saturday
Feel almost normal. Run 13km easy.

Sunday
Feel okay so head out on my long run. First 10km go fine. At 11km my heart rate begins to climb. I am running easy pace but my heart rate is at threshold. Tough it out until 22km then decide to be smart and cut my long run short. This is only the 3rd time in 2 years where I have cut a run short. The other 2 involved heatwave conditions. I am so not impressed but know its the best call.

Week total
36.4 miles (58.5 km) total for the week which is pretty much a write off at this point in my training. You might say it was in the toliet. Oh well better luck next week.

I officially designate the first week of February "The Week of Barf"

Feb 8 to 14th
Monday
10km recovery run. I feel normal. HR is fine.

Tuesday
14.5km easy run on hills. Feel good. Hulk smash kind of good.

Wednesday
19km partial tempo run with the club. 6km easy, 6km tempo, 7km easy. Its freaking cold and windy. I run the tempo portion maybe a bit too hard but its hard to tell with the wind. The puking feeling I have at the tempo part of the run has nothing to do with the flu.

Thursday
12.6km easy run. Feel really good. No lingering effects from Wednesday but I still run slow per coach Rogers orders.

Friday
14.3km Hill workout. 5km warm up, hill circuit, 5km cool down. Hill circuit consists of doing 200 - 300 meters of bounding up the steep portion of Central hill in high park then continue running to the top. Then a small recovery loop at the top of the hill and then back down the hill at top speed. This is followed at the bottom of the hill with a set of 5 strides at 5k pace. Then repeat. When Roger went over the workout I though it looks way too easy, maybe I should add in a third set. Man was I wrong. This work out was deceptively hard. My legs were jello during my cool down run home with my legs hurting in all new strange and wondrous places.

Saturday
12.6km easy run with hills. Legs were still toast from Fridays run so went slow.

Sunday
34km long run. Ran with other club members. It went very well. I was nervous because of my meltdown the week before. Maybe I forgot how to run long. No problems and my HR stayed where it should. Was planning on inserting some race pace miles in but instead did the entire run a little bit faster then normal. Thanks to Lynn, Kelly and Coby for pushing the pace.

Week total
117km or 72.8 miles
This is the most mileage I have ever put in for a training week. Legs tired but feel good and healthy. Next race is the Peterbrough HM in 2 weeks.