Out Front

Yesterday, in what was probably the first time in over two years, I participated in a group track workout. What was more surprising was that I showed up early. In the past I might have wondered where everyone was, stretched or even started an early warm-up. Okay, it’s doubtful I would’ve warmed up early, but you get the picture. Yesterday was different. Without a second thought, I lay down beside the track, propped up my head with my flats and soaked up the warmth from the sun. The following 10’ were priceless.

Fast-forward 30’ and I found myself half way through the first interval with the sound of multiple footsteps behind me. It was in that moment, I realized that a) I’ve been running by myself for too long, and b) I like running out front, away from the crowds.

Jimmy had prescribed 8x1k at 10k pace. The only wrinkle was that I didn’t know what my 10k pace was... the disappointing 37’ run recently at Landsend, the missed by targeted 36’, or the longed for 35’. I was feeling nostalgic and enjoyed (I use the word loosely) the speed.

The first repetition felt too easy, loose. I picked it up slightly on over the next two eventually settling on uncomfortable yet relaxing 3:30’s: 3:37, 3:32, 3:32, 3:30, 3:30, 3:27, 3:30, and 3:22.

The evening was capped with the 3Ps, pizza, a pint and the Penny Farthing. Priceless!

Training:
Sep 27: easy 44:12
Sep 28: steady 51:41
Sep 29: 1:11:40 with 8x1k 10kP (1’)

Inspiration

With the 2008 Beijing Games fast approaching, Athletics Canada lowered the qualifying standards for the marathon to 2:11:31. Given that the national marathon record was set almost 35 years ago (2:10:09), this new target seemed rather... steep at best. Two days ago, under near perfect conditions a young Canadian athlete took a big step toward achieving a lifelong dream... participation in the 2010 London Olympic Games.

After suffering through nearly two years of injury, Reid Coolsaet crossed the line to finish the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon in a time of two hours, 11 minutes, 23 seconds — six seconds under the qualifying standard, and fastest time ever recorded on Canadian soil by a Canadian. In his own words, “When we hit 200m I looked at my watch and knew that I was going to break 2:11:29. With a few steps to go I saw the clock and started to celebrate, I had my time. It’s hard to explain all the emotions that were going through me because of my injuries back in 2008 so I’ll let this picture do the talking”.

As for me, I’m slowly working toward my next goal (the GoodLife Fitness Half Marathon) and the hope of regaining some of my former speed. With the race less than two weeks away, I’m quite curious at my level of excitement and anticipation. My preparation continues.

And so, on cold dark Tuesday morning I left the house in near darkness, turned left at the trailhead and slowly made my way north (away from town). There’s something about having to run a workout before the sun comes up that seems almost unfair. Still, beggars can’t be choosers and in this case the alternative was not running at all. Following a few months of track 3,000m preparation and with minimal time available, I’ve scheduled more than my fair share of tempo sessions in training for the half. This morning was no different. That’s why, after looping my way around Rithet’s Bog, and over to the Colquitz River it was game time. My time (thoroughly enjoyed). I can’t guarantee the 1’ intervals were any quicker than my tempo pace, but the effort was there. Two weeks and counting.

Training:
Sep 20: A.M. easy 23:22, P.M. easy, 42:27
Sep 21: 1:15:00 w/ 20’ tempo + 4x1’ (2’) + 2x6’ tempo (1’)
Sep 22: 56:16
Sep 23: A.M. easy 32:16, steady 1:10:51
Sep 24: 1:09:41 w/ 6x30” (1’) + 3x3’ (2’) + 3x80” (2’)
Sep 25: day off (scheduled)
Sep 26: 1:36:05 medium-long run

Almost There

Red Ten: "You'd better let her loose. They're right behind me."

Red Leader: "Almost there."

Red Ten: "I can't hold them!"
Red Leader: "It's away!"

Finding that quote brought me back to a time when life was uncomplicated. Daily decisions involved choosing between Han or Luke, and Cheerios or Shreddies. Life was good.

With the Landsend 10k a distant memory my main autumn goal/gaol is quickly approaching, the GoodLife Fitness Half Marathon. I’ve got a little over 2 ½ weeks of training left, most days I wish I had more.

My recovery from the 10k went well, so much so that five days later I dipped into my bag of “training secrets” and plucked out a killer session I once ran under Jon Brown. At the time I was preparing for the Boston Marathon and struggled through a painful 5x (1k MP, 2k 10kP). Last Friday I opted to complete the circuit 4x, I made it through 3 2/3 before reaching the trailhead and pulling the pin. A success of sorts.

I capped the week off with what was arguably one of the wettest runs I’ve ever experienced. In two hours I experienced more weather systems than I had in the previous two months. I wasn’t five minutes from home, ambling quietly along the Lochside Trail when I could see the trees shaking up ahead. Within seconds I was standing in the midst of a torrential downpour, and less than ten paces later it was over... but the damage was done. I was sopping. Still, I’ll take an invigorating 16C run on quiet trails any day.

Training:
Sep 13: 47:36
Sep 14: 1:09:02 w/ 2x8x30” (30”) (3’)
Sep 15: A.M. 1:05:20, P.M. 27:03
Sep 16: 1:08:50
Sep 17: 1:03:40 4x (1k MP, 2k 10kP) continuous
Sep 18: day off (scheduled)
Sep 19: 1:46:36

Landsend 10k

When I began my four-week vacation the sun was always up before me, the daytime temperatures hovered around 27C and I enjoyed a voracious thirst for Speckled Hen. Last night after lighting the fire for the first time in months, I sipped on red wine while cooking coq au vin; this morning running to work amidst darkness and with naught for company but a light drizzle and my own wandering thoughts. Autumn has clearly arrived.

Yesterday morning Ally and I bundled up the kids and drove out to Sandown Park for the annual Landsend 10k. Although the rainfall didn’t stop until later that afternoon, there was no wind and it wasn’t that cold. Some consolation perhaps.

After the usual warm-up (10’ easy, 3’ tempo, 7’ easy) I ditched my rain gear and slowly made my way to the start. The announcer proceeded to inform us that a) the kilometre marks were not accurate, and b) the course had been amended. Stretched. I didn’t pay much attention to either of these details until after the race.

The gun cracked and I quickly fell into step behind the race leaders only to watch them rapidly fade away into the mist, my nearest competitor finishing nearly full two minutes before me. I checked with MC (McMillan Calculator) the night before and based on my recent 5k performance, settled on a 10k time of 35:54 (3:35 pace/k). I split the first marker faster than expected but quickly settled into a comfortable stride, perhaps a little too comfortable as I dropped some precious seconds over around 3km.

The course is relatively flat out-and-back along very rural roads with a sharp steep hill shortly after 4km. Previous routes were measured to be approximately 150m short and we were assured this year’s route was accurate. That said I was quite surprised to hit the turnaround in 18:22 after completing a 4:03 kilometre.

3:25, 3:35, 3:42, 3:35, 4:03 (18:22)
3:55, 3:39, 3:44, 3:46, 3:23 (18:29)

At about 7k I was struggling to maintain a relaxed rhythm and was surprised to find myself remembering my previous 10k PB, perhaps taking some console in the familiarity of discomfort. I snapped back to reality to hear quickly closing feet only to recognize it was the raindrops falling off the trees. I ran the last few miles like a frightened rabbit closing in a time over a minute slower than anticipated.

I’m not too concerned about this race or the result as I had planned to use it in preparation for the GoodLife Fitness Half Marathon next month. But it has left me pondering my fitness and questioning a goal time for the next race, 1:19:53 vs. 1:22:00.

Back to reality, ouch!

Training: 36:51, 3:41/km, 5/91 OA, 4/14 AG

VTS Race #8: 5,000m (Fugly)

I’ve participated in enough races to fully appreciate and understand a few of the finer points concerning: pacing, attitude, fitness and desire. My summary, “you can’t run fast unless you run fast”. This all too obvious statement usually requires a certain amount of attitude (belief in oneself), fitness and race smarts. Apparently I still have a lot to learn.

After returning from our first camping trip (with children) and only moments prior to toeing the line I had enough wherewithal to draft out a rough race plan. Based on my recent mile, the McMillan Calculator predicted a 5,000m time of 17:17. I was hoping to run something faster, ideally closer to 17:00 but settled on sub 17:10... for no reason other than an unfounded belief that I was entitled to run faster. My pace/km was 3:26.

I chatted with the eventual winner (and perpetual superstar) Lucy Smith just before the start and knew that she was aiming to hold 3:25s with the thought being able to slip under 17:00 if the conditions were right. Sure, why not I thought. I was completely surprised then when instead of a moderate 81”-82” opening 400m, we cruised through in 78”. At that moment I knew I had to either, a) run with it and accept the result that fate would deliver or b) slow down. I choose poorly.

We spilt the opening kilometre in 3:23 the whole time alternating 400s as there was a wickedly strong wind on the backstretch. We continued this pattern through 2,400m, after which all I could do was squeak out a weak apology between gasps and wait for the inevitable.

The train wreck was excruciating. Despite trying to hold my form (the usual smooth stride and relaxed shoulders) it felt as if I was running uphill, into the wind with wet sneakers. In the end I crossed the line in the predicted 17:17 but couldn’t help but think of the possibility that existed had I run a smart race. Still, the result was far better than my first 5,000m in May (17:40) and a further improvement over the 17:24 run in June.

The carnage: 3:23, 3:24, 3:28, 3:35 & 3:27

Enough of this, back to vacation for a couple more weeks...

Training: VTS #8: 5,000m, 17:17.0, 3:27/km, 5:34/mi, 2nd OA

The Dog Days of Summer

Following the birth of our second child, together with a busy work schedule and preparing for (and hosting) my mom’s 65th birthday celebration it seems that my running has been negligently pushed to the back-burner. That said, given a 3,000m race on Saturday followed by the final race of the Victoria track Series the following week (5,000m)... perhaps a little downtime isn’t a bad idea.

I’ve still been able to maintain some consistency (if nothing but the 20’+ run to work) but the first three days of this week have been rather underwhelming with respect to the volume. Preparation for an autumn half-marathon should change that in short order.

Yesterday I was scheduled to run a series of 800s and 200s but was once again forced to improvise as stepping on a track seems more difficult than in prior years. After warming up for 20’ I opted for an additional 20’ of easy running, as the sleepless nights appear to be taking their toll. Corbin has been, and continues to be a calm and quiet child (in stark contrast to his sister), but the cumulative fatigue that accompanies all new parents continues to build.

However, once in the midst of the workout I was surprised at just how comfortable I felt. Sadly, running a 30” effort along the tranquil trail behind my house is a tad less subjective than the track.

Training:
Aug 09: easy 23:02
Aug 10: day off (unscheduled)
Aug 11: 1:10:57 w/ 3x(2.5’ (30”), 1’ (30”) 1’)(2.5’)
Aug 12: easy 24:21

VTS Race #6: the Mile (again)

There are certain events in life where familiarity or experience can help bread a sense of calm. Competing in the mile isn’t one of them. And so it was that on a warm Saturday evening in late July, I found myself again pacing nervously, almost painfully as I waited to be called to the line.

CRACK!

Unlike last time there was no hesitation upon hearing the sound of the gun, rather the sharp noise brought almost instantaneous relief. Bolting clear from the line I immediately found myself out front and for the duration of the event was unaware of the other competitors. As I rounded the first corner and despite strangely heavy legs, I repeatedly told myself to slow down knowing that the initial rush that accompanies the burning off of the excitement and fear would soon be over.

Much like last time, the first 200m went by dizzily fast. I glanced at my watch, 37.5... and again much like last time, I had difficulty finding meaning in the split. The additional 9m at the beginning made the opening leg meaningless.

I heard the crowd as I passed the start, alone, the announcer educating the spectators that if I were to continue this pace I ‘may’ sneak under 5:00. I also heard for the first and last time a single high-pitched voice, “go daddy, go”.

“… 1:15 …”

I rounded the corner again and began my journey down the backstretch for the second time. It was about after 500m that it started... the all too familiar acid strain, my systems beginning to panic, organs shutting down for the duration. My legs started to get the first wave of lactic numbness. I don’t recall much else but a numbed sense of hurting.

“… 2:30 …”

Starting the third lap, I was really feeling it now, a sense of fear and dread knowing that I still had a long way to go. Just before the 1,000m mark I started my kick. Probably nothing noticeable but I didn’t want to slip off the pace. My shoulders now ached.

As I sped down the homestraight, the lactic acid was boiling. I remember the announcer, Paul telling the crowd that I was still on pace for a sub-5:00 mile, an important and hard fought barrier for the mile. Then the bell rang out.

“… 3:45 ...”

I rounded the corner and ran onto the backstretch for the last time. With about 200m remaining I was finally tying up. I was fighting fiercely to maintain form, trying valiantly to lift my ears off my shoulders. I recalled something Ron had yelled during the final lap of my last race and with great effort and determination pumped my arms fiercely. I pumped harder still, trying to concentrate as my headed rocked.

I could see the clock in the distance. Paul had the crowd cheering, as I tried to make sense of the number. I knew it would be close. I was completely numb, a world of pain. I would find out later that I crossed the line with a time of 5:00.5, half a second off my goal. It looks like I’m going to have to wait for until next season to have a crack at this again. Bugger. That said, I didn’t walk away empty handed as I won an adidas watch. Oh, and next time, I’m running in the elite race... although I would’ve come last I can only hope I that by chasing someone’s coattail I might have found the time I needed.

Training: VTS #6: mile, 5:00.5, 3:06/km, 5:00/mi, 1st OA