Around the Bay, Beer and Running, Sad news

ATB
Around The Bay went fairly well as far as training runs go. I would not call this a race report because I did no racing, just easy running but some observations. There was a great turn out in general as well as a lot of Longboat Roadrunners at the Race.

I had not planned on actually running ATB at all but with Longboat renting a bus for the race and a runner friend giving me his bib because he could not run I decided why not. It was cold but road conditions were good and the sun was out. I find it really hard to put the full winter gear back on when just a week earlier I had been running everyday in shorts but given how nice it was this winter I am going to try and not complain too much.

I ended up running into my friend Ryan Wilson for the second race in a row. For a guy that says he is not running much he sure is signed up for a bunch of races. He was just running it to get kms in as well so we decided to just run along at around 6 minute kms and see how it went.

For the first 20 kms or so I was really glad that I had signed up. Its much easier to do the long run in the cold with thousands of other runners instead of by yourself. Once I got to the last 10km I really just wanted to get finished. I was cold, hungry and getting tired but we kept the same pace anyway.

I did end up seeing a lot of road runners and ultra people that I knew, many using ATB for the same reason I was. One big downer was that once again the bigass hill near the end was not on the course. That kind of sucks as that is my favorite part of the whole course. Ryan and I ran together until maybe somewhere where  around 28k where I briefly lost him. Thanks for putting up with me for 3 hours Ryan!! Ended up running 3:02ish so pretty close to dead on a 6 minute pace.

runTObeer
Lately I have been doing a few of the runTObeer events in Toronto. This combines my love of beer and my love of running perfectly. It also gives me a chance just to run slow with my better half Kim which I dont get to do very often.

These guys have done a fantastic job of putting this group together where you sign up and end up running to local breweries where you often start with a free beer. The only draw back is its becoming so popular that events are filling up in hours after being announced which means if you want to join in you better be paying attention.

At the last event Kim as lucky enough to win a box of Powerbars which I am slowly devouring on running days which don't have a beer at the end.

You can check runTObeer here.

Sad News
Yesterday I was given some very sad news. Richard Leib a runner who I had the pleasure of coaching a number of times for Marathons passed away in early April. Richard was such a nice guy and pretty much always had a smile on his face. He was also one of those runners that is very easy to coach, he just showed up, did the workouts like he was suppose and never complained. Condolences to his family and friends.

Richard Leib (far left)

This past year has been really tough. Kim and I have lost some very close family members, friends and acquaintances. I think more than any other time that I can remember in the past.  One thing that has become clear for me is that we never know how long we are going to be here and healthy enough to do what we want. It's a pretty stark reminder that you should do what you love and live full out while you have the chance.

Next Up : OUTrace Spring Warm Up