Waterloo Marathon 2010 race report

You know when you have an idea to do something that seems like a really good idea at the time but then while you are doing it you think What the Hell was I thinking followed later by hey that was a good idea .... kind of. Well welcome to my everyday life.

So the plan was simple, run the Waterloo Marathon as a training run in preparation for Sulphur Springs.

This would be my longest run on road surfaces so far this year and I figured it would be easier if I had others to run along with. Its all in fun isn't it? I planned to do 15k at race pace then drop back to an easy run pace and just enjoy the ride. No worry about finishing time or actual pace just get my mileage in and enjoy it.

I got a drive up to the race with other longboat club members. Some were running the race for time others as training. Things got tough right from the start. Hello icy cold pouring race nice for you to hideout all week and make an appearance just before race time. Hey thanks for bringing you best friend Mr. Wind with you. Okay so with these kind of conditions I should be able to stick to the plan.

Race started out in Waterloo and then quickly headed out onto country roads. As soon as we got to the large open fields wind became a big factor and the rain actually started to come down harder. I started out running just behind my training partner Gregoire who was actually racing this one but then dropped about 100 meters back. One of the runners next to me gave me and odd look and then asked me if I had run Seaton the weekend before. As it turns out he was also running Waterloo as a training run with a friend of his. They were running about the same pace as I was so I did my first 15k of race pace chatting with them. I hope I didn't drive them insane but they are both much faster then me so they could have run away at any time. By the way if you see me at a race and I am driving you insane feel free to tell me to shut up.

I began to have some problems around 15k. It was raining hard, very cold and we were going directly into the wind. I had not worn any gloves and my hands were swelling up, freezing and not working very well at all. Why didn't I wear my gloves? What a moron! I began to worry that if they didn't warm up I might end up not finishing this race. Imagine not finishing a marathon because of your hands, talk about stupid.

Then suddenly at about 20k it stopped raining and we turned putting the wind at our back. Within 5 minutes my hands were fine again. This section of the course took us off the paved country road we were on and onto a gravel / dirt road for the next 5k or so. It was okay to run on but a little muddy.

Soon enough were were back on a main road and then out onto the side of the highway where the wind became a huge factor. For the most part it was unsheltered running with 40k winds hitting you from the front and side. Yikes.

I was keeping my training plan and was staying at my proper pace but I was mentally drained. The marathon is small (150 people) and I was alone from 15k on. At 32k I went over to the darkside. Its funny how that can happen all of sudden. I ran 53k the weekend before and never came close to going over to the darkside but suddenly here I was in negative thought land. Why did I run this? Why don't I just pack it in at the next aid station. Running distance is really stupid. I hate this Shit. Does anyone really need to run this far?

I was however still running well which made this mental meltdown even more perplexing. I decided to down a gel and just think about the next KM. This seemed to work and soon I was gobbling up the final few KM and headed into the finish.

Finishing time 3:48:16

Not bad given the conditions and actually my second fastest marathon time ever even though I was not actually racing it full out. I think that tells you how far my training has taken me in over the last year.

This race was pretty good except for the weather. Decent organization, nice medals and shirt and really awesome volunteers. I don't think I have ever seen a race with so many water stations.

Next up Pick Your Poison 50k trail run this coming Saturday

Seaton Trail Race 2010 - 52K race report

Prerace
This is the second time that I have run the Seaton Trail race which is put on by the Mudpuppies and is part of the OUSER series. Last year I had one of the most painful racing experiences of my life and barely managed to finish even though I only ran 26k (ONLY HA). This year I decided to run the 52k version of the race. Of the OUSER races that I have done so far I think that this is the most technical and difficult course that I have been on.

Saturday morning we drove out to Pickering in our trusty ZipCar rental. We had debated maybe taking the train but opted for something more convenient. Kim had signed up for the 26k and was a bit nervous about the course. I was fretting about the weather. It was suppose to be cold, windy and rainy with a chance of snow... Yikes.

Got to the race with lots of time to spare. Saw JD (see his blog here) in the changing rooms and chatted with him for a bit then head out to the start line. Decided to go with shorts and a light but long sleeve shirt even though temperature was right around zero. Also they gave us gloves with our race kits so I keep these on to start. Man it was cold.

My race plan was simple. The 52k is and out and back then out and back again (13k each way). I wanted to run some of the race hard but still back off so that I would not screw up my training for Sulphur. I figured run hard early then take a more laid back approach later on.

The Race
From the start line I headed out at a decent pace and soon was running alone kind of sandwiched between the very fast pack up ahead and the smart pacing people behind me. I was at the first river crossing at the 3k mark in no time at all. Holy Crap that water was super cold and not refreshing at all. Then when I came out of the river I got to listen to the sweet squeak, squeak, squeak of my soaking wet shoes for the next couple of Kms.

Did I mention that that this trail is really tough. So we headed up one rock strewn hill and back down another, rinse and repeat, again and again.. Although I had run this race last year there were some major course changes starting at about the 5k mark due to erosion issues on the trails. I wouldn't say that this made the course any less challenging just different.

I came out of the woods onto the road and past the first aid station at around the 6k mark. I didn't bother to stop at all as I was feeling like I was in a pretty good groove and was running with my own water bottle and gels. So it was back into the woods for more root dodging hill climbing fun. I felt good so I keep my pace up. Things were mostly uneventful at first but at some point along this section I caught a root and face planted hard and fast. I am sure that there is an indented imprint of my face on the trail even now. Kind of like a shrine to my lack of grace and big clown feet. Someone behind me asked if I was okay. Damn it wouldn't you know it as soon I look bad there is someone there to see it. Isn't that always the way. I told him that I was and he raced past me down the trail.

A few minutes later things got kind of misty (NO I was not crying... not yet) and ice pellets began to rain down. They were small so they didn't hurt at all and in the solitude of the forest it was an awesome moment. Then the snowing stopped and I was headed into the second aid station. I began to see runners heading back the other way and though Crap I am really slow until I realized that they were the 50 milers that had started earlier.

Soon I was at the turn around and heading back. I slowed my pace down some and tried to remember I was running this for training. My bum knee was a little sore from all the ups and downs and I had forgotten my brace which was making me nervous . I still had a long way left to run. I saw JD a few minutes after the turn around and he seemed to be running well. The run back to the start was slower and uneventful but enjoyable. I passed Kim at some point... she is such a trooper. Then back through the river again, still very cold, and into the start line. I downed some gels, got another water bottle and headed out as quick as I could. I began to realize that I had not been consistent enough with my nutrition which I can semi get away with in a 50k but not in a longer race. Staying on this was suppose to be one of my focuses for this race. First half of the race was done in 2:54ish.

Ran at a comfortable pace for the next 13k. I was not sure how my body would respond in the later parts of the race as this was the first time that I was running more then 38k this year. My legs were getting fatigued and sore but nothing that was not manageable. My feet seemed to be doing fine as well which was a worry with the river crossings. My knee was not having any issues at all.

Lack of nutrition was beginning to have consequences. Talk about running stupid. I almost fell in the river and had to put both hands and arms down into the water to catch myself leaving me with very cold hands. I was getting loopy and took another minor spill. I downed another couple gels and some salt tabs. Once I hit the next aid station I also grabbed some nice salty boiled potatoes (yummy) and coke but only stopped very briefly. I added potato stops to my aid station passes from that point on.

During this loop of the race I keep being passed and passing the same guy over and over. It was really getting annoying. I mean seriously how many times can you pass the same person.

I hit the turn around again and figured by the runners that had passed me that I was in about 12th place give or take a couple places. On the turn around I soon realized that there were 5 other runners less then 2 minutes behind me. Crap.

I didn't want anyone to catch me so I picked it up from here running a slightly faster pace for the next 6K and still one guy passed me. Double Crap.

After I passed the last aid station I really picked it up. My legs felt good and strong. My hill training over the winter really paid off. Okay that's mostly BS I really was running scared as I didn't want to drop any farther down the finishing field. I managed to pass 6 other runners in the last 6k although I think that 3 of them were running the 50 miler.

Came up the last stretch and was done. The guy who had been passing me over and over ( who I had nicknamed “the bane of my existence” in my head) didn't catch me. Take that Banny!

Post Race
I am mostly happy with this race. I ended up finishing in 6:04 (unofficially) and 14 overall (unofficially). The actual race results are not posted yet. Kim also ran well and finished her race in 4:38. I had hoped to run under 6 hours but also wanted to not burn out my legs so it was trade off for me.

The only negative for me was my stupidity in not staying with my food/gel intake plan which is going to be crucial for me at Sulphur. I will make sure I correct this at Pick Your Poison in 2 weeks.

On a lighter note a few minutes after finishing the race I was standing around at the line catching my breath when behind me I heard "I saw this one guy go down really hard". I turned around to see the guy that had seen my spill talking to 3 other runners about my fall. I said "That was me" and almost the same time as he saw me and said "Hey that was you". Damn it I had become a post run story topic already... DOH!

Next up the Waterloo Marathon next weekend.

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.

Around The Bay race results ... New Sponsor ... Training Update / The Year so Far

Around The Bay
Briefly, here are my Around the Bay 30km race results. I ran slower then hoped but still fairly happy with the results as it was a 31 minute PB. I hope to get a full race report posted in the next few days.

Chiptime: 2:27:02
Place: 915/5703
Age Group: 127/464
Average Pace: 4:54

New Sponsor
I am very happy to have a new sponsor on board. These guys love mediocrity and I am more then will to oblige.


Protecting your backside for more then 3 months
We have got your ass

Training Update
Training this year to date has me logging in at just over 712 miles for the first 3 months of 2010. That is up from last year so I am happy with that at this point given that I was sick twice over that 3 month period. Currently I am injury free which is a blessing but also not running very well right now. I am sure being back on the trails should help straighten that out tho.

This years mileage
712.1 miles (1145.9 km)
Last years mileage at this point
618.5 miles (995.3 km)

around the bay ..... 30k ATB road race in Hamilton on sunday... I feel tired already

So the Around The Bay road race is now just 4 days away. For those that don't live around the Toronto area ATB is a 30k race held at the end of March every year in Hamilton Ontario. This is a pretty tough race but for some crazy reason local runners love this kind of particular torture. Although I have only run Around The Bay once before, 2 years ago, I am really looking forward to it again this year. That is saying something as I would rank my ATB racing experience 2 years ago as the second most painful race I have ever run.

Hey but that's part of the fun. Maybe the fact that I had never run 30k before that race even in training might have had something to do with it (do you think) or possibly that I had done zero hill training may have been a factor as well. I kind of chalked it up to the screaming pain in my knee but hell that's just me. I was definitely not amused by the grim reaper at all and that race was probably the closest that I have ever come to seriously considering dropping out.

So what makes ATB such a tough race? Well there is the unpredictable weather, March in Hamilton can be kind of sloppy / cold/ rainy / snowy but even more then that its got to be the hills. Its not just the hills but their sinister placement on the course. You get a nice 21k of flat fast course to lull you to sleep before you move in to the next 5k of “rolling hills” (I use that term lightly) with one big ass hill right at the 26k mark. Once you get to the top of that hill its all flat or slightly downhill until the end but of course your legs are too demoed to take advantage of this.

Last year I missed out as I was doing the Paris Marathon so redemption had to wait until this year. I should be able to PB barring injury but by how much is the real question. My original plan was to run a 2:20 but I think that may be a bit too quick based on my current fitness level so I will shoot for a 2:22 to 2:25. I am going to be much smarter here and stay cautious early so that I don't blow up real good like I did in the Peterborough HM (disclaimer: racing plan subject to change at any given time due to new developments such as losing my mind at the start line or just being foolish). Unlike my first time at Around The Bay I have trained hills like crazy and have lots of long runs under my belt so I am hoping for a good race.

Kim will be running this race for the first time but has trained hard and is sufficiently worried / scared of the hill section so I think she will have a decent race as well.

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.