New training program starts tomorrow..switching to KMs ..spring taking shape

After taking a semi break to let my legs recover from the Hamilton Marathon it will be right back into training for the spring. Yes I know it’s a little too early to start my actual marathon program so we're going to call this my preprogram program. How’s that for really bad use of the English language.

This week put in 45 miles of mostly easy running. The plan will be to take it back up to 65 miles over the next month so that I have a deep base going into my actual marathon training program. Until Hamilton my Boston Qualifier was so far out of reach it wasn’t a realistic goal at all. Now I am only 18 minutes away, I can see the taillights ahead of me but they are still really far up the road. The reality is that I will most likely not be able to get a BQ in the spring but it will not be for lack of trying. If not next fall it will happen for sure barring the dreaded injury.

Currently the plan for the spring is to run Around the Bay followed a month later by a Marathon. It looks like it will be The Waterloo Marathon. My racing and training schedule doesn’t give me a very large window to fit a spring marathon into so my choices are somewhat limited. I plan to attempt to run my first 100 miler at Sulphur Springs at the end of May so I need to make sure that I have enough recovery time from the marathon.

With the start of my new training program comes another drastic change (at least for me). I will be doing all my runs in KMs instead of miles. Tried to change this once before but it went badly. My pacing got all screwed up as in I couldn’t hit my proper paces. Like any rational person I blamed the KMs and went back to miles. I know sounds silly but it made perfect sense at the time. Its time to switch though. First because my new program is in KMs. Secondly because it gives me a lot more split times to make race adjustments. Thirdly I do actually live in Canada.

Have no fear my American readers I will still post my numbers in miles but will probably add KMs in brackets. KMs still seem to me to be the kind of thing you put in brackets.

Longboat year end awards .... There are people crazier then me

Sunday night was the Longboat AGM dinner which is an annual event held in November at the end of the racing season. I am told that yes racing season does have an end just not at my house. It seems I live in some kind of alternate running universe where the seasons never end, where its just one big long season... kind of like LA.

This year the dinner was held at the Balmy Beach Club. I just what to say a big congratulations to Sabrina Young who will be club president for the coming year and Steve Metzger who will be Vice Pres. Both of these positions had a number of excellent candidates running for election in a kind of the club cant really lose situation. My lovely better half will also be the acting Secretary for club this year ... way to go Kim.

Also a big thank you to everyone that sat on the executive last year but a BIG special thanks to outgoing President Bert DeVries who has run the club for the last few years and done a really awesome job.

Kim and I had a great time at the AGM this year and we also managed to pick up a couple of awards. Kim won the award for Most Improved Female Runner after putting in a great year which included her first marathon and knocking 12 minutes off of her Spring HM PB in the fall.

I was given the Kevin Hayes Road Warrior Award. It seems that running many races including some crazy long distances which even most of my running buddies shake their heads at really does pay off. How will I top this next year, don’t worry I have a fiendish plan, or maybe crazy plan. Stay tuned for more details. Rob, Roger and George if your reading this please stop rolling your eyes... thanks.

Speaking of crazy as it turns out I am not the craziest runner currently in Longboat. Okay maybe I am but I am just talking about the running aspect here. That in my book has to go to Adrian Horvath.

Last month Adrian completed the Super Marathon in Europe. This is a Vienna to Budapest 5 day 320km road race. I believe that they have very strict entrance requirements. You must be able to prove that you have been under a psychiatrists care or in a mental institution within the past 18 months. Congrates Adrian but be forwarned I am devising a plan to find something even crazier to do. I may not be the fastest guy in the club but I will be the craziest. Yes I know you’re doing Comrades in May but I will think of something.



A special mention also should go out to non club member and fellow blogger JD who had planned to do Rock and Ice this winter. That ended up getting cancelled so he has replaced it with some crazy winter 100 miler in the Arctic where you have to drag a sled. Now who thought that was a good idea?

Hamilton Marathon Race Report

Sunday November 1st was race day for the Hamilton Marathon. I had been excitedly anticipating, no wait dreading, no wait anticipating this race for some time. I had done a ton of training but still was a bit worried about this one. Call it piling on a load of self inflicted pressure.

Truth is I had yet to figure out the Marathon. 5k, 10k no problem I got it worked out. Half Marathon, 30k no problem I got it down. 50k, 50 miler no worries I got that one figured out as well. Marathon... hmmmm... not so much. In both Marathons I had run so far I had hit the wall and failed to go under 4 hours.

My solution, training base mileage like a mad man and doing MANY, MANY 20 milers. Well that went as planned as I averaged 60 miles a week and put in thirteen 20+ mile Sundays. You would think that would make my approach to the race pretty straight forward but no the specter of my crash and burns still lurked just over my shoulder.

I then proceeded to hassle all my running friends for their advice... repeatedly. I may have personally been responsible for dispersing crowds when they would see me coming. I got lots of great advice, be aggressive, lay back, don’t be to aggressive, don’t lay back too much. Problem was that all of it conflicted and yet all of it made perfect sense. SIGH

In the end I did what I always do which is to run as close to the edge as I can and hope my blow up is a small burp and not a fart of room clearing proportions.

The Plan - I decided on a fairly aggressive (for me) 5 minute a K or 8 minute miles. I would run this pace for as long as possible and keep a close eye on my HR if it got too high too early I would adjust my pace otherwise I would hold on to this pace as long as possible. A goal = 3:30 (dream goal), B goal = 3:45 (reasonable), C goal = under 4hr (I blowed up real good)

PRERACE
Got picked up at 5:30 on Sunday morning by fellow Longboater and running buddy Gregoire Bonhomme who was running the HM. Kim was kind enough to give up her Sunday morning and come along with us. I was very happy as she is amazing support and I also had a feeling that I might need someone to help me stagger home afterwards if things got ugly.

Got to Hamilton picked up our race kits and grabbed the bus that would take us up to the start line. One of the race directors who was running the HM was on our bus and she entertained us with the history of the race while giving out free hats. She was so excited about the race. It was really cool to see one of the organizers so stoked about the race and thankful for all the people who were running it (are you listening VRpro!!).

Arrived at the start line where they had a high school for us to keep warm in before the race. Weather conditions were excellent about 2 degrees and almost no wind. Met up with other Longboaters here including Roger Moss, and Eric Mohr who were doing the Marathon and Lynn Bourque who like Gregoire was running the HM (also saw George Hubbard warming out outside).

After a brief wait I headed outside to the starting corral. I ended up walking right past fellow blogger Caroline, check out her blog here. We chatted a bit (congratulations on a great race Caroline) and then before you knew it off we went.

THE RACE

We headed out of the school parking lot and along the first stretch of road. I quickly fell right into pace and worked hard not to run faster then my 8 minute mile plan. It was a challenge but it always is. The road headed out among farmers fields and countryside and was really nice. It was calm, quiet and flat, flat, flat. I hit 5k at 25 minutes right on pace. Somewhere around this time I notice a guy just ahead of me who I had been running in front of me for some time. He was pounding out 5 minute Ks at a very steady pace so I decided to tuck in just behind him and let him do the work.

The next 10k went by in a flash all run on flat roads in the country. I geled at 45 minutes as planned. Splits were staying very consistent thanks to my new pacing friend who was still ahead of me. Around this time the two of us became separated from the packs in front and behind. I decided that I would pick it up and run beside the guy as I knew he had no idea I was pacing off him and he was kind of out there alone now.

As soon as I got up beside him he started to chat with me. Mark was from Hamilton and this was also his third Marathon. We ran the next 3 miles at a nice steady pace. I geled again just before the 21k mark but as we hit the half way point I got my last mile split. Oh Crap 7:45 and more alarming my HR had jumped up 5 beats. It was here that I had to make my only really big decision of the day. I either stay with Mark who was running a bit faster now or stick to the plan. You feel great said that little evil voice in my head. Keep going fast. What could happen? I immediately said good luck to Mark but I was slowing it down. I hit the half way mark at 1:46 right on time.

Just after the 22k mark we headed down the Red Hill. The next 6k were all downhill but in a good way. Most of this downhill was more of a slight decline with only a few steeper places so it was not too hard on the quads. Before I knew it I was headed off the highway and onto the streets of Hamilton running towards the lakefront.

I passed the 30k mark at 2:30 still right on schedule but I was starting to hurt at this point. Why oh why is the marathon so freakishly long? I geled again at this point and tried to get mentally focused as clearly my legs were letting me know that this thing was about to start getting ugly. The route keeps heading out along the lake on part of the Around The Bay course. I got a bit slower here dropping from 5 minute Ks to 5:10. As I made my way past the 33k sign I caught back up to Mark and said hello as I passed him and headed on towards the turn onto the lake. My decision to pull it back know seemed like a good one.

I made the turn onto the lake at about 35k with legs that were struggling now. Other then all the pain I felt pretty good. My pace had dropped again to around 9 minute miles. Now it was just focusing on the next 10 feet ahead of me and keep on running for 3 more miles.

It’s amazing how long 3 miles can seem but I sucked it up and keep on going as the last few Ks slowly ticked past. I saw George H. and Christine right before the 41k sign and they both cheered me on as I went past. It gave me a very much needed lift. George yelled to me that Kim was waiting for me at the finish line.

I managed to speed up slightly for the last 1.2K knowing that I was almost done. I really wanted to kick in the final stretch but decided to just stay steady. I was completely toast at this point and worried that I might not make it the last 200 meters if I tried to go any faster.



I crossed the finish line and Kim found me right away. I told her get me out of the finish chute area as quickly as possible. I knew that I probably looked pretty bad at that point and didn’t want one of the Vultures a.k.a medical volunteers (no disrespect intended) to swoop down on me and try to take me off to the vast wasteland known as the medical tent. If they were to ask me my name at that point I would have probably answered with something like "dududdda". I had been dancing along the wall, just teetering on the edge for more then 3 miles and had arrived at the finish just in time to meet it full force.

Kim who is very familiar with the exhaustion that comes at the end of long races having been there herself quickly got me out of there. We found place to sit down, I ate some soup and got into some warm clothes, twenty minutes later I felt a great deal better.

This was a MASSIVE PB for me. I finished in 3:38:08 which was just a few seconds under a 30 minute improvement. As important as the PB was even more important for me was that I seemed to finally figure out how I should be approaching and running this distance. Final stats below.

Gun time 3:38:28
Chip Time 3:38:09
Overall placing 262/925
Age group 46/84
Pace 5:11 K (8:20 mile)