3:25:41 -- A New Personal Best!!!

Well, its over, and I did it. When I started this fall's adventure, I was looking for a 3:25 marathon time. My target pace was 7:50 per mile or 4:52 per kilometre, which would bring me across the finish line in 3:25:14 or 3:25:22 depending on which measure you used. But I would have been happy with anything faster than my previous best of 3:29:01 achieved in Virginia Beach over 2 years ago.

Everything went according to plan. I was relatively relaxed going into the run. Coach Brian and I had split a litre of wine with our spaghetti dinner on Saturday night, and had a couple of other beers during the day, so we each got a good night's sleep. Jenny, who was battling a bit of a cold, unfortunately didn't sleep so well, but was able to support us both in spite of not feeling 100%.

Brian was battling some knee pain in previous long runs, so we decided that he'd run with me for the first 3 miles, just to keep my speed in check, and then join me for the last 8 miles. While we were targeting 7:50/mile, we started off with the first three miles looking for 8:00 per mile which we achieved easily. We met Jenny at a corner in the route and he left me on my own. By the time I saw them again at the halfway mark, I was pretty much bang-on my target time -- just ahead of target by about 20 seconds or just 1 second per kilometre!

While the Road2Hope Marathon is a significant net downhill, the first 13 miles had lots of gradual ups and downs. So I was happy to see the top of the Red Hill Parkway where I knew it would be a significant downhill for 6 or 7 kilometres.

During the time on the Parkway, I let my speed increase a bit, from 4:52/k target to no faster than 4:30 per kilometre. So by the time I found Jenny and Brian at the 29K mark, I was about 2 minutes and 20 seconds ahead of schedule -- yet my quads weren't too beat up from the downhill running. But I knew that the worst was certainly yet to come.

Brian and I kept a very consistent pace for the next 6 kilometres. At the 35K mark, with just 7.2K to go, I was starting to fade -- and that is where Brian kicked into gear to keep me focused -- head up and concentrating on my stride, not my watch. I kept struggling and with about 4 kilometres to go told him just to not let me walk. And if the wind was causing me issues, I'd just shout "wind!" and he'd work to get in a position to block it for me.

The toughest part was the last kilometre. We had to pass by the finish line and go around the water slide in Centennial Park and then return to the finish. I was really struggling and really, really, really wanted to walk. But with Brian's encouragement, I kept going. With 200m to go he told me to give it a final kick and I started to pass a couple of other runners. But one runner wasn't going to give up without a fight, so we ended up racing across the finish in a full-out sprint.

Chip time: 3:25:41. Personal Best. Boston Qualifier by over 5 minutes. I'm now a '3:25 guy'!

Very happy!

"The hay is in the barn..."

...and I don't think it has gone mouldy.

Metaphorically speaking, "the hay was in the barn" after I did my longest training run 3 weeks ago. There is little, if any, muscle that is going to be built while tapering. The goal is to "keep the hay from going mouldy" by doing gradually shorter runs and let the muscle damage heal.

So today's tempo run wasn't about speed or endurance -- it was just about keeping me from going stale.

It went very well. Coach Brian said 5 to 6 miles, so I chose 5. And he said no more than 2 at 'tempo pace' (7:30/mile), and so that is what I did. Here are my splits:

8:15
8:14
8:14
7:29
7:29

At all target paces, I had to slow myself down. The first three miles I simply couldn't seem to go as slow as the 8:20/mile pace I was targeting.

Sooooo... I'm ready. We'll see how it all goes on race day!

Last 'Speed Work' - 2 x 2 Miles...

I didn't get a chance to talk with Coach Brian since I returned from Florida, so Jenny suggested I should be doing 'speed work' of 2 repeats x 2 miles each, at marathon pace (7:50/mile). So I went out today in the 6 degree C. temperature -- and had a great run. I took a 2 minute break between repeats, but I certainly didn't need it. My splits were:

7:36
7:47
7:47
7:48

for an average of 7:44. It took a while to find the rhythm, but once I found it, I was able to cruise along with little varation in pace. If anything, I had to get myself to slow down as a couple of times I found myself creeping up to the 7:30/mile range. The cool weather was definitely nice.

Gotta love the taper!

Very good last 'long run' -- on the treadmill...

Today was an 'at sea' day on the cruise, so after a light breakfast, Jenny and I went to the on-board gym, which included 8 treadmills.

The goal today was 10 to 12 miles at long run pace. I chose 10 miles since we were already going way over the 20 minute limit they had on the treadmills. Once we figured out how the things worked, we ramped up my speed to 8:20 per mile and off I 'ran'.

I had no problem keeping the pace although it definitely seemed easier after mile 3. Depite the gym being air conditioned, I was sweating profusely, getting sweat droplets all over the machine. And one side benefit was that I could put my hand on a bar near the console to get my pulse -- 172 or 173 -- which sounded about right.

For miles 9 and 10, I ramped the pace to slightly faster than marathon pace: 7:47 per mile. And I felt fine! And my heart rate actually fell a tiny bit -- to 171-ish BPM.

No breaks, and I was able to carry on a conversation with Jenny, who ran beside me, the whole way. Definitely a confidence booster!

2nd Last Tempo Run -- this time in Florida!

Jenny and I were in Key West, Florida today -- the first port of call in our 5 day cruise in the Caribbean. I was up relatively early and on the road to get in my scheduled 9 mile tempo run. The plan was to do the first 4.5 miles at long run pace and the last half at tempo pace.

The run out was uneventful. The route was flat and my pace was right on the money. It was starting to get warm though as the sun rose, and when I stopped at the turnaround point, my face became flushed with heat. The towel that I was using to wipe the sweat from my face was already drenched. So I took about a 5 minute break -- certainly enough time to give me the best chance of success at getting back to the ship at tempo pace.

But that pace was not to be. Despite my resolve to keep pushing through the pain, the muscles simply were not getting enough oxygen from the thick air, and I could feel myself overheating. I took two rest breaks during the 4.5 mile run back. Pathetic, really.

Also, I don't know my pace during those fast miles since my GPS ran out of battery power. The first 1.5 miles were on track, as was likely the last mile, since once I got into the town, the shade of the buildings cooled me down. But those middle 2 miles were likely at 'long run' pace or worse.

So, not a great 2nd last tempo run.

Toughest Speed Work Session Yet...

I was supposed to do 9 x 1 mile repeats tonight. I did 7. And the last two were at well below speedwork pace. So that frames how the night went.

My goal was 9 repeats at a 7 minute pace. But the weather was crappy -- heavy winds and a bit of rain coming from the south. And yesterday, I ran 16 miles, rode a horse for an hour and played hockey in the evening. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't put the run off until tomorrow because I've got a jam-packed day before we head off for a mini-vacation. Here are my splits:

6:57
7:00
6:50
7:00
6:57
7:19
7:19

After my first 7:19 mile, I was just about ready to walk home. My calves, hamstrings and quads were already quite sore. But I started running the 7th repeat away from home and the first 2/10's of a mile actually felt pretty good. But then the soreness returned quite rapidly, so I turned around and continued running towards home. The last half mile I actually had a fairly stiff wind behind me -- but, even still, the best I could do is get back up to a 7 minute pace. With that last mile at 7:19, that tells you how slow the first half mile was. But it was all my legs had in them.

If I had to find a reason, it would be 'everything'. Not resting enough after 3 different physical activities yesterday, crappy weather, heavy rain soaked shoes, relatively warm -- I'm sure I could come up with a couple of other things.

But if the goal was to work the muscles as hard as I could for a short period of time, you could definitely call the workout successful. I'll take what I can out of it. A couple of days rest and I'll hope to have a better tempo run in the heat of the Florida Keys!

Crappy long run with less than 2 weeks to go...

Coach Brian wanted me to do between 16 and 18 miles as my long run this weekend. But because of other stuff I wanted to get done, I pushed off the long run until this morning (Monday). I chose 16 miles because I'll be riding and playing hockey later today, so the muscles will definitely have an '18 mile' workout today, even if I just do the shorter distance. And my plan from the start -- really, really -- was to do 10 miles at long run pace (8:20/mile), 5 miles at marathon pace (7:50/mile), and a 'cool down' mile at long run pace again. Here are my splits:
8:34
8:15
8:13
8:15
8:13
8:09
8:13
8:13
8:15
8:14
7:50
7:48
7:44
7:48
7:47
8:18

So, on paper it looks okay, right? But I was dying out there. The weather was much warmer than it has been recently -- between 15 and 17 degrees C -- and quite muggy. The last 6 miles I did with no shirt, which I haven't done since the summer. And when I stopped, I felt like I was going to puke (at general sign of overheating for me).

And I felt tired the way through the 'marathon pace' miles.

So here come the doubts: I can't do this for 26.2 miles! But, having been there before, I know that it will all come together. A couple of weeks of reduced mileage and a bit cooler weather and I'll be ready to go. Just sucks when you have a run that causes these doubts so close to the marathon date!

Longest tempo run before the Marathon...

Just 2 weeks and 2 days until the marathon -- and Coach Brian had me doing the longest tempo run of the training program today - 10 miles. Actually, it was supposed to be yesterday but the weather was windy, rainy and haily so I wimped out. Today was still a bit windy, but nothing compared to last night.

I wanted to target 8:20/mile going out and 7:30/mile coming in. It worked out pretty well. Here are my splits:

8:19
8:16
8:14
8:14
8:09
7:28
7:28
7:29
7:26
7:24

There was a brisk crosswind for the first 3 'fast' miles and most of the last mile. The second last mile I had that wind at my back.

The muscles were feeling the pressure near the end. My right quads and right hamstring felt it the most. But now that I'm done the run, my legs feel tired but not overly stressed. I'm finding that I'm concerned that I don't push it too hard in these last few weeks -- just barely beating my target paces, even though its possible I could push hard and beat the target by a lot. I think I'll save that part for the actual marathon!

Speed Work - 8 x 1 mile repeats

Did I say last post that the work gets easier? Well, I guess the long runs get easier, but we stepped up the speedwork to 8 x 1 mile repeats this week -- and next week its 9. So, the speedwork definitely isn't getting any easier.

But at least the pain and misery doesn't last as long with the speed work.

I went out targeting 7 minute miles -- but since my hamstrings were a bit sore (possibly from hockey 2 nights ago, or possibly from a lot of horseback riding in the past 2 days) I decided to make sure I didn't go a whole lot faster than that. It worked out pretty well. Here are my splits:

6:56
6:55
6:51
6:56
6:50
6:56
6:53
6:57

So, everything was within 10 seconds of the goal pace. At no time did I think I couldn't do it -- but at the same time, my legs were sore by the end of it all -- so I must be building muscle.

Now, off to hockey tonight!

Longest long run before the marathon...

From here on in, the work gets easier up until marathon day. I did my longest run of the training today. Coach Brian said to go out and do 3 hours and 30 minutes at long run pace -- which should be roughly 24 miles if I'm hitting 8:20/mile consistently and taking short breaks.

So that is what I did. I was up and on the roads at around 7:30 am and was finished at around 11 am. I banged off 24.37 miles (39.2 kilometres) and my average pace was 8:14 per mile. Here are my splits:

8:16
8:09
8:09
8:11
8:16
8:13
8:09
8:14
8:15
8:16
8:15
8:12
8:14
8:16
8:15
8:18
8:13
8:19
8:12
8:14
8:14
8:09
8:15
8:14
8:05 (0.37 miles)

So I was pretty consistent for the entire run. There were no situations where I thought I wouldn't be able to complete the run, and there were no situations where I had to walk beyond the standard 2.5 mile scheduled 1 minute rest breaks.

The legs are sore this afternoon -- but I'm walking semi-normally.

I'm chalking this up as a good run!

Good (but short) Tempo Run...

I'm doing my longest run of the training in less than two days, so when Coach Brian said '6 or 7 miles' for my tempo run, I chose the shorter of the two. I was targeting 8:20/mile for the first 3 miles and 7:30 per mile for the last 3. Here were my splits:

8:12
8:20
8:05
7:29
7:28
7:22

So, short but sweet. Less than 48 hours until I take on a 24 miler!

Possibly my best speed work session to date...

Well, I'd have to look back at my records (likely within this blog) but I'm pretty sure tonight marks the fastest 7 x 1 mile repeats I've done yet. My goal was 7 minute miles, but after the 2nd repeat I decided I was good to ramp it up to 6:45's. Here is how my splits looked:

6:49
6:54
6:44
6:41
6:36
6:39
6:39

That last mile was slightly uphill and into a bit of a stiff breeze, so I was fighting it all the way. I really, really wanted to stop. But I kept pushing and I'm glad I did!

Tough 20 Mile Long Run -- Had to walk before last mile...

Well, with just 4 weeks until the marathon, one wonders if the magic of training will come together to allow me to reach my goal.

Today's run was to be a 20 miler and I originally set out with a goal of doing the last 5 miles at race pace (7:50/mile, 4:52/k). But 13 miles into it, I was feeling good and approaching that sort of speed anyhow, so I decided to step it up and do the last 7 miles at race pace.

Everything appeared to be going well until the 6th race-pace mile. A combination of slight headwind, the heat from the sun, and the fact that my muscles were getting tired forced me to walk -- as much as I hated the thought. After a bit of dry-heaves attempts at puking and a couple hundred metres of walking, I was able to get back on track again and knocked off that last mile at pretty close to long-run (5:11/k) pace. Here are my kilometre splits:

5:23
5:02
5:05
5:04
5:06
5:07
5:03
5:02
5:04
5:12
5:15
5:15
5:18
5:17
5:15
5:08
5:01
5:02
5:02
5:05
4:58
4:51
4:52
4:50
4:45
4:49
4:49
4:50
4:46
4:48
4:51
5:17 (600 m.)
5:00

Jenny ran with me for 6 kilometres in the middle of the run, which was much appreciated.

I did try something different on this run: drinking pickle juice. Because of its high salt and potassium content, its supposed to be quite good at preventing and curing leg cramps. While I didn't have any leg cramps today, my calves were very sore after I took the walk-break with a mile to go -- but not before. So my sense is that while it can prevent leg cramps, it certainly doesn't take the place of training: You either have the leg muscle or you don't. I'm not sure if the dry heaves have anything to do with the pickle juice. I've done that before when I've been overheating. And because I wasn't puking up anything, my sense is that the pickle juice I'd consumed a half-hour earlier wasn't in my system any more.

The biggest concern, of course, is that it was just a 20 mile run. I have to do 24 miles next weekend and 26.2 on race day. If I'm being forced to walk at the 19 mile mark, I could be in for some trouble. But that is where once trusts in the magic of tapering and race day.

Sitting here 12 hours later while I type this post, my legs feel pretty good. So I'm hoping I built some muscle today!

Acceptable 10 Mile Tempo Run...

With the crappy long run I had on Monday and the fact that my muscles were still sort on Tuesday from the long run and weekend hockey prior to that, I just skipped the speed work this week. No apologies. No feeling guilty for not making it. Just skipped it. And I'd say that the logic of skipping it -- that I needed to let the muscles repair -- was sound.

Today I did my tempo run in a little community outside of Louisville Kentucky named Prospect KY. I'm in Prospect visiting with some close friends from University -- Ben and Sharon Butler -- and we've also been taking in some of the events at the World Equestrian Games taking place in Lexington, which is a little over an hour's drive away.

Anyhow, this morning was an 'open' morning with nothing scheduled, so I headed out on my run to get in 10 miles -- the first 5 at slightly slower than marathon pace (8:20/mile, 5:11/k) and the last 5 at slightly faster than marathon pace (7:30/mile, 4:40/k.). Here are my kilometre splits:

5:19
5:08
5:01
4:57
5:02
5:07
5:05
5:05
4:46
4:40
4:48
4:42
4:46
4:40
4:41
4:39

There were a few tough k's in there. There was next to no shoulder on which to run and the traffic was fairly heavy. So I found myself running in the grass for a good chunk of the run. And there was really nothing resembling a running trail in the grass, so it definitely wasn't easy running terrain. I was pleased with my last 3 k where I hit the target (the traffic was a little lighter in this segment) and felt strong at the end.

My average throughout the run was 4:54/k -- quite an acceptable pace, I feel.

So, I'll chaulk this up as an acceptable run. I'm back in the game!

Awful Long Run Today...

Well, it had to happen. Training has been going so well that I really was due for a bad day.

I went out this morning to do a little 16 mile (25.6k) 'long run' -- much shorter than I had done almost since I started training. The first couple of miles were typical -- my left ankle was bothering me, but that subsided. I was feeling pretty good.

But as time went on and I got prepared to ramp up the speed to marathon pace, I found that the legs didn't have the energy -- particularly the quads. Here are my splits (aiming for a 5:11/k long run pace and then 4:52 marathon pace):

5:39
5:10
5:07
5:08
5:10
5:11
5:13
5:06
5:04
5:08
5:05
5:07
5:08
5:09
5:15
5:14
5:14
5:12
5:07
5:14
5:15
5:20
5:32
5:37
5:39 (459 m.)

Near the end, I had to walk a couple of times. My quads were screaming at me and there was simply no energy with which I could push back with my legs while running.

I'm quite sure that the cause of my horrible run was that I did the tempo run on Friday, played hockey on Saturday morning after not enough sleep, stayed up until 3:00 am on Saturday night, and then played hockey on Sunday at noon. Hockey tends to work my quads more than anything else and clearly they hadn't recovered.

I'm going to have to take my hockey schedule into account, now, when figuring out future runs.

Good morning tempo run...

I did 9 miles this morning -- aiming for 4.5 miles at a long run pace (5:11/k, 8:20/mi.) and the 4.5 mile return at 4:40/k (7:30/mile). It was a good morning for a run -- 10 degrees C -- but there was a fairly stiff breeze coming from the north. So for the slow part of the run, I ran into the wind and then had it at my back for the first 4 kilometres of fast-paced running.

My left ankle was bothering me again at the start of this run. Fairly sharp pain on the outside of the ankle -- almost as if it was getting bruised by the upper edge of my running shoe. But after two miles, most of the pain had gone away. And by the end of the run, I could hardly notice anything.

Here are my kilometre splits:
5:18
5:07
5:01
5:00
5:06
5:10
5:05
5:01 (300 m.)
4:40
4:40
4:39
4:37
4:37
4:37
4:28
4:21 (200 m.)

I was particularly pleased with the last 1.2 kilometres since they were done facing into that brisk north wind. And yet I was able to pound out my best times of the run. (Mind you, I had been conserving, knowing that was going to be a tough leg.)

Average pace for the entire run was 4:52/k -- target marathon pace! So we'll chalk this up as another good run!

Excellent speed work - 7 x 1 miles repeats

I had an excellent speed work session today. My goal was to get 7 1-mile repeats in this morning. I bailed on running last night -- the normal Tuesday evening speed work time -- because it rained all day and well into the night.

The speed goal was 7 minute miles (4:22 per kilometre) and the first two miles were pretty much right on. On the third mile, I got through the first 1000 metres and my time was 4:15 (6:50/mile) -- so I kept going at that pace. And for the remaining 4 miles after that, as well. Here are the per mile splits:

7:00
6:52
6:50
6:48
6:46
6:45
6:41

So it definitely went well. The temperature helped -- 10 degrees C. -- but it was humid with the fog fairly thick through out the run. But the fog kept the sun at bay, too, so maybe that was a good thing.

I'm feeling stronger and more confident as we get into the higher mileage weeks, which is good!

Good long run to Port Stanley - 36.8 km (23 miles)

I had a really good long run today. The Legendary John Ferguson's marathon training group had a light day today because most of them are going in the Corning Marathon next weekend. So Janice and Nancy organized our own run to Port Stanley from London and there were about 30 runners who took part.

I started at what was supposed to be the Saturn Saab on Wharncliffe Road -- but it is now a Saab/Suzuki -- so it took us a while to figure out if we were at the right place. In any event, I started my run 9 minutes early at 7:44 am and the plan was to run the first 24 kilometres at 'long run pace' (5:11/k, 8:20/mile) and then do the last 8 miles or so at race pace (4:52/k, 7:50/mile).

The weather was excellent. No wind to speak of, and the temperature when we stated was around 8 degrees C. When we finished, I'm guessing it was around 14 degrees C and the sun was shining, which made it feel warmer than that. But all in all, pretty good running conditions.

Here are my kilometre splits:

5:07
5:07
5:06
5:04
5:08
5:08
5:09
5:10
5:10
5:02
5:06
5:04
5:07
5:05
5:08
5:06
5:07
5:10
5:11
5:10
4:55
5:05
5:06
5:15
4:52
4:51
4:50
4:51
4:51
4:47
4:55
4:51
4:45
4:33
4:45
4:51
4:32

My average time for the run was 5:00 per kilometre. There were 7 water stops along the route, and I stopped at them all for an average of 1:12 -- but it was a bit longer at the last two stops when I was working harder (and they had fruit!).

My plan was to run faster down the hills and slightly slower than target pace up the hills -- which is why you see the 5:15 and 4:55 paces in the list -- the previous kilometres more than made up for the slowness in those laps.

Anyhow, tacking on another 3.2 would not have been a problem today. My left ankle was talking to me just about the whole way (but is fine now as I'm typing this post) and both calf muscles were screaming at me near the end -- but nothing I couldn't handle.

All in all, a good run!

Really Good 8 Mile Tempo Run

With Coach Brian's sore hamstring, he wanted to take it easy for his run tonight. Fortunately, 'easy' for him is tempo pace for me, so we ran from his place for our 8 mile tempo run. The run was shorter this week for three reasons. I was just barely recovered from my long run last Monday, and I was due to run my longest long run of the training program thus far this coming Sunday -- 22.68 miles.

Despite the fact that the run was 2 miles shorter than last week, it was still a tough run. It was warm and humid out so the air was a bit thick. We were able to carry on a conversation for the first 4 'easy' miles, but when we turned around to head back to Brian's place, the conversation dropped off noticably. I was breathing hard.

There was a wind from the south, but to me it felt like it was a tiny bit into my face, so I had to work hard to keep pace. But, strangely, I managed to get stronger throughout the fast part of the run.

When we turned south towards Brian's house, the wind was right in our faces. But Brian took the lead and I followed about 1.5 strides behind him -- and the running actually felt easier than when when we were running with the wind coming across our bow. Here are our mile splits:

8:34
8:20
8:15
8:10
7:31
7:28
7:29
7:20

We were looking for between 8:20 and 8:40 per mile going out, and 7:30 per mile coming back. So we were right in the range the whole way.

The best thing about taking off from Brian's place, though, is the ready access to my favourite form of rehydration: Guinness beer! A couple of Guinness and some stimulating conversation with Brian and Bridget and I was fully recovered!

Courting Injury: I cut speed work short...

Today I joined the legendary John Ferguson's Runners Choice marathon training clinic at the TD Waterhouse Stadium track at the University of Western Ontario in London. The speed work tonight was to be 7, 8 or 9 mile repeats and Brian and I thought 7 would be good since I'm still quite a ways out from the marathon.

As I started my warm-up mile I could feel my left calf talking to me. It was still tight from yesterday's long run. But as we got into the first speed work mile, it didn't feel too bad.

I ran with Rishi Kumar who had paced with me at the London Springbank Park Half Marathon a couple of weeks earlier. Our speeds are pretty close to the same.

It was warm out tonight -- 25 degrees C. (77 F) when we started and a bit muggy. So by the time we were done our first lap, we knew it was going to be a tough night for running.

We targeted 7 minute miles and our first was a bit fast -- 6:47. But most of that extra speed was in the first lap, so we had settled into a nice pace for most of the run. The next three laps were just a second or two under the 7 minute mark, so we had a good steady pace going.

But by then, a problem started appearing. That sore calf was beginning to really talk to me in that 4th mile. I chatted with Brian at the break between the 4th and 5th mile and he had pulled out because of a sore hamstring muscle. We agreed that I'd try to do the 5th mile but if I wasn't able to loosen it up, I should quit. After one lap, it was still really tight so I pulled out.

So, not a very successful night for running. Or, perhaps, the attitude should be that it was successful, because I didn't get injured. We know from experience that there is a fine line between working your muscles hard enough that they are sore and repair themselves even stronger than before -- and working them too hard that they can't be repaired in time for you to race strongly. I'm pretty sure we didn't cross that line.

2 days rest and then we'll see how I fare on the tempo run!

Tough 20 Mile Long Run -- Cool, but late wind!

Well, today was a tough run. 32.2 kilometres (20 miles). And, actually, most of it was pretty 'easy'. Or at least not too painful. But my last 8k lap of our block, the wind picked up from the east and the last full kilometre, it felt like I was pushing a car. I was targeting 4:52/k (7:50 per mile), but was only able to hit 5:01 for that kilometre. To put it in perspective, as soon as I turned the corner to finish the last 0.2 k., my pace picked up to 4:42/k and I wasn't working nearly as hard.

Here are my splits (targeting 5:11 for the first 24k and 4:52 for the last 8.2 k):

5:14
5:05
5:06
5:11
5:12
5:10
5:11
5:13
5:09
5:10
5:10
5:12
5:07
5:10
5:13
5:08
5:02
5:08
5:09
5:05
5:12
5:08
5:07
5:09
4:49
4:50
4:49
4:51
4:49
4:49
4:51
5:01
4:42 (200 m.)

My average pace was 5:05 for the entire run, and for the last 8k it was 4:51 -- so I beat my goal pace for the last 8k by 1 second per kilometre, despite that tough last k.

I did take three 2-minute walk breaks at the 8K intervals. I ate one Carb Boom Energy Gel every mile for as long as I could -- but eventually I ran out of moisture in my mouth. I think they will work fine for the first half the marathon, but then I'm going to have to start doing sport drink or something. We'll see. I'll see if having water more than every 8k works to keep the moisture in my mouth when I run Port Stanley next weekend. I'm going to need some form of carbs to keep my energy levels up!

Anyhow, we'll chalk this up as a fairly successful run!

A Strong 10 mile tempo run...

Jenny and I joined the Runners Choice marathon training group tonight, coordinated by none other than John Ferguson, the legend, to do our tempo run. Coach Brian wanted me to do 10 miles, with the first five at long run pace and the last five at a better-than-marathon-pace. So I went out targeting 5:11 per kilometre (8:20/mile) and wanted to do 4:40/kilometre (7:30/mile) on the way back. Here are my kilometre splits:

5:27
5:03
5:02
5:04
5:02
5:01
4:59
5:06
4:44
4:36
4:36
4:38
4:39
4:39
4:32 (7:18/mile!)
4:34
4:09 (300 m.)

My average pace for the run was 4:51 per kilometre -- exactly what I need to do over 26.2 miles in order to get my target 3:25 PR.

The weather for this run was pretty good -- 18 degrees C. and overcast -- and I felt strong the whole way. Chalk it up as another good run!

Speed Work - 7 x 1 mile repeats

Coach Brian had me step it up to 7 one-mile repeats with a 2.5 minute rest in between each. As before, I targeted 7 minute miles (4:21/k) but then stepped it up for the last three repeats to 4:15/k (6:50/mile) or better. Here is how the repeats worked out:

7:00
6:59
6:55
7:01
6:47
6:47
6:38

The weather was excellent. About 7 degrees C. (45 F.) and with a slight wind from the east, which made running east more work than running west. All in all, it was a good workout. My muscles are appropriately sore, so it must have been good!

2010 Springbank Half Marathon - A good race!

Coach Brian had me scheduled to do 17 miles today, but the Runners Choice marathon training group was going to do the Springbank Half Marathon in preparation for the Corning Marathon in 3 weeks. John Ferguson, the legend, wanted everyone to "race" it -- not just use it as a marathon pace run. But Coach said that since I was still 8 weeks out from the marathon, running it as a pace run would be a good idea. To put an added twist, though, he wanted me to do 4 warmup miles before the race.

As usual, Coach was right. The run wasn't the easiest -- lots of little hills that ripped apart your quads -- but I managed to beat my target pace by a second or two pretty much every kilometre. And with 4 kilometres to go, I tried to step it up a bit. While keeping at a 4:52/k marathon pace would have had me cross the finish in 1:42:36, I managed to pull off a 1:41:23. And with the last kilometre basically uphill, that was no small feat. This was my 3rd fastest half marathon time, the other two being the Forest City Half (1:40:18 in 2009 -- 2 weeks after Boston) and the 2008 Canada Day run (1:39:43 -- although that route may have been 200 - 300 metres too short).

So, I would say my conditioning is definitely improving. Perhaps not quite as good as I was last year for Boston, but definitely getting close. Brian said I can put this one in the books as another successful run!

Great Tempo Run!

Wow, does the cooler weather (and a bit of a rest) ever make a difference!

I didn't do speed work on Tuesday because I bruised the sole of my right foot when I ran over a stone on my Monday long run. I figured that I shouldn't do something that would cause more problems, so I rested until it felt better.

For the tempo run today, the group was doing 8 miles, so I went out targeting 5:11/km (30 seconds/mile slower than race pace) and planned to come back at 4:40/km (7:30/mile -- 20 seconds faster than race pace).

But a funny thing happened! I couldn't keep my times slow enough going out, and had excess energy coming back, so I stepped it up! Here are my kilometre lap times:

5:00
4:58
5:02
5:03
5:06
5:08
5:08 (450 m.)
4:37
4:36
4:33
4:37
4:30
4:23
4:13 (500 m.)

So my last 2.5 km was at roughly a 4:24/k. average pace (7:05/mile)!

This definitely makes up for some of the tough runs earlier in the training!

Long Run - 20 miles (32 km.)

Today was relatively cool. The temperature when I started running at 7:00 am was around 14 degrees C. and it warmed up to about 18 degrees by the time I finished near 10 am. But the sun managed to stay behind the clouds. There was a light breeze coming from the south when I started, which turned into a fairly stiff breeze from the south by the time I finished.

My target pace was 30 seconds/mile slower than race pace or 8:20/mi. (5:12/km) for the first 24 km, and then race pace (7:50/mi, 4:52/km) for the last 8 km. Here is how the splits looked:

5:10
5:09
5:09
5:10
5:11
5:12
5:10
5:08
5:08
5:07
5:09
5:10
5:09
5:11
5:10
5:07
5:05
5:07
5:07
5:06
5:07
5:05
5:09
5:07
4:45
4:51
4:50
4:52
4:54
4:58
4:53
4:42
4:32 (200 m.)

I had a tough time on a couple of the latter 'fast' laps as I was heading directly into the stiff breeze, which had a significant effect on time and effort. Once I turned the corner, though, I was able to get back into my rhythm and ramp up the pace for the last 1.2 km.

I took a 2-3 minute break every 8 km, roughly, to get some water, dry off and, at the last stop, eat a peach.

Overall, quite a good run. Muscles are sore, which is good.

Tempo Run - 9 miles (14k) including 4 miles at tempo pace.

Jenny and I managed to get into London to join John Ferguson, the legend, and the Runners Choice London Ontario marathon training group for our tempo run. The weather was a tad warm -- about 26 degrees C. -- although it seemed to cool down a bit during the run. Not much, but enough to make the fast return section of the run more bearable. My goal was to do 30 seconds above race pace going out (5:11/k. or 8:20/mile), and 20 second faster than race pace on the way back (4:40/k or 7:30/mile). Here is how the splits looked:

5:21
5:13
5:09
5:14
5:10
5:10
5:07
5:16
4:35
4:37
4:29
4:37
4:31
4:39
4:52 (440 m.)

No question it was a tough run -- and those hills near the end approaching Blackfriars bridge really take it out of your legs -- but I finished well under target time for the trip back, so I was pleased.

Speed Work - 6 x 1 mile repeats

Today we stepped up the number of one mile repeats to 6, each separated by a 2.5 minute break. I started early -- 6:45 AM, but the sun was rising and therefore the temperature was starting to rise as well. Best guess is that it was 21 degrees C. when I started and 23 when I finished. But those temperatures are in the shade. In the sun it was easily 3 or 4 degrees warmer.

Like last week's speed work session, I targeted 7:00/mile or a pace of 4:21 per kilometre. But in the last two miles, I stepped it up to target 4:15/k or 6:50/mile. Here is what I did:

7:00
7:02
6:59
7:01
6:48
6:50

So I hit the targets pretty much right on. I was sweating profusely during the run -- my hand towel that I carry was soaked -- but taking off my shirt after first 2 miles definitely helped to keep me cooler.

Anyhow, another successful run!

Long Run in the Heat (again)...

It has definitely been a fairly warm summer, which has made those long runs somewhat challenging, considering my propensity to collapse during hot weather runs. Since I was so busy with horsey stuff this past weekend, I did my long run this morning (Monday).

Coach Brian wanted me to do 18 to 19 miles (28.8-30.4 kilometres), with the last 2 to 5 miles at marathon pace (4:52/k or 7:50/mile).

I got up a 6 AM and was out on the roads by 6:45. I kept pretty consistently to 5:11/k (8:20/mile) or better for the first 24 kilometres. I did those 24 kilometres in 8k loops of the block on which we live, so every pass around I'd stop for a quick break. "Quick", of course, is all relative. At the start it was just enough to gobble down a peach and take a schlurp of water. But during the 2nd break, I took about 5 minutes to cool down. The sun was up and beating down on me, and I could feel the heat. By the time I was done the 24 kilometres -- and gearing up for the last push at marathon pace -- I felt like I was about 1000 degrees (and at that point, it doesn't really matter if it is Farenheit or Celcius -- it's just friggin' hot!).

So my plan was simply to cool down -- and take as long as I needed to cool down -- before heading back out onto the road. Jenny got me ice in a towel to put over the back of my neck and on my back. I sat in the shade and just dripped. But after about 10-20 minutes (felt longer), I headed back out. No shirt. Just needed to get the remaining run in.

No question, it was still tough. It took a bit for my legs to get moving fast enough to make marathon pace, but once it happened, I was able to keep going without a huge amount of trouble. The last 2 kilometers were tough, but I still had the energy and actually did the last kilometre at a pace of about 4:39/k (7:29/mile). Here are the splits for the last 5k (targeting 4:52):

4:48
4:48
4:52
4:49
4:39

So, it was a tough run. It wasn't an ideal run, considering the rest breaks. But I definitely did the mileage and I definitely did it when I was tired. I just didn't do it when I had a core temperature that would fry an egg (and my brain).

I'm going to chalk this up as a tough but successful run.

Tempo Run - 8 miles (4 at tempo pace)... much better this week!

This week went _much_ better. Coach wanted me to do 3.5 miles out at long-run pace and then run back at between 20 and 30 seconds faster than target marathon pace on the way back (7:20/mile or 4:33 per km. to between 7:30/mile or 4:40 per km).

I was feeling pretty good at the 3.5 mile mark, so I kept going to a full 4 miles out. And when I turned around to come back at the tempo pace, I knew it was going to be a better night.

I ended up doing the 4 miles back at a pace of 7:13/mile (4:29/km) according to the GPS. The hills beat me up in the last couple of km. Here is how the kms looked for the return 6.4km:

4:27
4:28
4:27
4:30
4:31
4:37 (hills at end beat me up)
4:30 (600 m.)

So, it was a 100% change from 2 weeks ago. Definitely feel better!

5 x 1 mile repeat speed work

Coach Brian ran with me this morning. We did the same as last week: 5 repeats of 1 mile, with 2.5 minutes of rest between each repeat. It went very well. While the temperature wasn't as cool as last week, it wasn't terrible. We knocked off 4 x 1 mile repeats at roughly 7:00 per mile and the stepped it up to a 6:47/mile (4:13/km) pace for the last repeat.

Simcoe Shores - Day 2

Day 2 of Simcoe Shores started shortly after midnight. At 12:05 am, I took off on an 8.6km run through trails outside of Penetanguishine. It was a tough run: The trail on which I was running was quite uneven -- and since it was unlit (other than my not-bright-enough headlamp), I was continually having to watch my step or I'd be eating some stone dust. I muddled through the rest of the trail and with about 2 km to go, I hit the roadway and was able to pickup the pace a bit. Overall, I was pretty much right on track: 4:46 per kilometre.

My final run started at 8:14 am, right after Jenny battled her way halfway up Blue Mountain. And when I say halfway up, what I mean is that I had to go the other halfway up. This was a 12.1 km run and the first 3 km were basically uphill. The 4th km was hilly, but better. And after that, it was generally downhill, but my legs were shot. I walked every km and my support crew of Jody, Tori and Graham did a great job of keeping me hydrated and lucid! The average pace sucked -- 5:23 per km -- but that was as good as I could do. And considering the terrain, I'll take it!

Overall, we had a great time and finished 3rd out of 5 in our Mixed 35-45 division (average age, at least half the legs were run by females). And after roughly 24 hours of running we were 15 minutes off the 2nd place team.

Simcoe Shores - Day 1

I skipped the tempo run this week to 'taper' for the Simcoe Shores 244 km run from Barrie to Collingwood, via Coldwater, Midland, Penetanguishene and Wasaga. My first run was this morning at 9:00. I was the lead runner and my first leg of 24 in the race was 10.6 km. Jenny organized the times and had me down for 4:45 per kilometer, based on my last 10k run at the Hog Jog in June. Not a bad benchmark, actually, because that was a tough, hilly run.

Anyhow, I knocked off that first 10.6 km run with an average pace of 4:40 per km. But it was a very straightforward, relatively flat so there was little to upset the pace that I established fairly early on.

The second run was also about 10.6 km, and the terrain was a bit more hilly. But I was able to knock it off with an average pace of 4:39/km. I came across drained, but felt good to hit the pace.

That run finished at about 7:30 pm -- so when I was done, I tried whatever I could to get some shut-eye. I had lots of 'rest' but no actual sleep. And the next run was coming up soon...

Speed Work, 1 Mile Repeats: Cooler weather = better run

Coach is away this week camping, so I was on my own for speed work. The Legendary John Ferguson's Marathon Training plan called for 5 or 6 repeats of a mile, separated by a 2 and a half minute rest.

As I headed out the door, I instantly noticed that it was cooler than usual -- probably 16 or 17 degrees C. Felt good!

It's been a while since I've done mile repeats, so I figured I'd start with 5 reps for this time around. And for a pace, I wanted to keep it a bit slower than the 1 km repeats I was doing before, so I targeted 7:00 per mile (4:21 per kilometer).

The first two repeats were pretty close to the 7:00/mile target. But on the third, I found myself running considerably faster than target pace -- so I decided to step up the target pace to 6:50/mile (4:15/km). There was a light wind coming from the east, so on those eastward repeats I was working considerably harder than when I was heading west with the wind at my back. But I was able to knock off times between 6:45 and 6:50/mile for the last 3 repeats.

Here are my times for each of the speed work miles:

6:54
6:59 (heading east)
6:41
6:50 (heading east)
6:37 (1 km west, 610m east)

My breathing felt good and I felt like I recovered relatively quickly. The cooler weather definitely made a difference. It was really nice to have a successful run under my belt again!

Tough Long Run

Definitely not a week for the record books.

I was in the Newmarket-Aurora Ontario area this weekend for Polo for the Cure, in which my daughter Tori was participating. Since her team's Friday win got them a ticket to the Sunday final game, I figured I'd run on Saturday. But the forecast all weekend was 'hot and humid', so I figured I'd be best to head out as early as possible.

Coach Brian wanted me to do 18 miles, with the last 5 miles at race pace.

I went out at 6:30 am. Our hotel is on Yonge Street, and as I left I knew I want to be doing as much as possible of the race-pace section of my run on flat or downhill grade. Flat was out of the question. In the Newmarket-Aurora area, there is no such thing. Everything is rolling hills, and lots of 'em. So I headed south from the top of Newmarket, through Aurora to the top of Richmond Hill before turning around.

I kept my pace slow for the 'long run pace' section of the run -- targeting 5:30/km (8:51/mile) and had no problem knocking of the kilometers. I had to work hard on the uphill sections, but could take a breather on the downhill sections. Again, there was nothing that resembled 'flat'.

Here are my pace times per kilometre, according to the GPS:
5:40
5:28
5:23
5:29
5:31
5:36
5:28
5:31
5:32
5:30
5:31
5:33
5:34
5:28
5:32
5:24
5:19
5:19
5:30
5:28
5:31

With 8 kilometres to go, I felt pretty good and I stepped up the pace. Again, targeting race pace of 4:52/kilometre (7:50 per mile):

4:57
5:09
5:04
5:00
4:55
5:10
5:20
5:29

As you can see, the wheels fell off of my plan. The problem was a combination of the heat and the hills -- probably in equal proportions.

You can see the elevation chart here:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/44746297

The last 8km was a net 50 m uphill, but with lots of ups and downs in between. Pretty good Boston-type training terrain, if you ask me!

Oh, and I forgot to mention. I took a break with 4 km to go in a shady spot for about 2 minutes. And then with 2 km to go, I took about a 5 minute break -- maybe longer (I had to try to puke, which took a bit of time). I just got to the bottom of the last long hill and couldn't face it at that pace.

So, two crappy runs in a row this week! One saving grace is that when I was training during the summer back in 2007, I was running into the same heat related issues. I can't wait until the nicer (read:cooler) weather arrives!

Tough Tempo Run

I did my tempo run this evening again with the Runner's Choice Marathon Training Group in London. Coach Brian suggested a 9 mile (14.4 km) tempo run -- just like last week -- with the second half of the run at better-than-race pace. We targeted an 8:15/mile (5:07/km) pace going out, and then we were looking for a 7:30/mile (4:40/km) pace coming back. Coach Brian would pace me and fellow runner Berne Leforte was going to join us for as long as he could. Well, that's how it started.

It was a warm night and it is well documented in text and video that I don't react well in the heat. The run out to the turnaround point was fine. But when we stated back, the internal temperature started to rise and with about 1.5 miles to go (i.e. only 3 miles into the fast part of the run), I had to walk. Bernie had lots of energy though, and kept on truckin'. Brian and I eventually picked up a jog, and then for the last mile back, we picked it back up to something resembling tempo pace.

About the only saving grace was that lots of other runners were having similar issues. And, as Brian said, if you hit all of your goal times, you probably didn't set the goal high enough. Well, clearly the 3:25 marathon goal time is high enough!

Here were my times going out (target 5:07/km) according to my GPS:

5:06
5:00
5:02
5:07
5:04
5:07
5:12
5:12 (400 m.)

And here are the times coming back (target 4:40/km):

4:43
4:42
4:43
4:40
4:39
5:59 (walked)
5:02 (jogging)
4:29 (400 m., back running again)

The average time was 5:00 per km. -- the same pace as I did in Boston last year. This was just 1/3 the distance, but between the heat and the hills on the way back, I simply couldn't do it.

Steeper ladder...

Tonight I joined the Runners Choice's Marathon Training program at TD Waterhouse Stadium at the UWO. The legendary John Ferguson was running a 'ladder' -- speed work repeats at distances of 400, 800, 1200, 1600, 1200, 800 and 400 metres with a 2 minute jog/rest break in between repeats. The goal is to pick a pace that you can achieve at all of these distances. Coach Brian and I chatted about it and figured a 7:20/mile pace (1:50/400m) would be a good starting point.

But I quickly figured out that our target pace was a bit too slow. So I ramped it up just a bit to a 7:00/mile pace or 1:45/400m. My repeats were as follows:

400m: 1:37
800m: 3:27
1200m: 5:12
1600m: 7:00
1200m: 5:16
800m: 3:30
400m: 1:26

So as you can see, my 400m laps were rather fast, but my target pace of 1:45/400m was pretty much bang-on for the other repeats. And it felt good to leave it all out there on that last lap!

For the next ladder, though, I think I'll target around 1:40/400m which will stress me a bit more.

Exeter Trail Run - 8k Race...

We did the annual 8k trail run in Exeter today, as part of the legendary John Ferguson's marathon training program.

I've done this race several times before, logging finish times of 38:31 (2006), 35:59 (2007) and 36:24 (2009). So my goal going into this one was to beat 36 minutes again (4:30/k). I confess, though, that as I started into the run I had my doubts. I could still feel the effect on my legs from my 9 mile tempo run 2 days prior -- or perhaps it was the horse trials in which I participated yesterday.

Anyhow, I 'went for it' and my split times were respectible:

4:24
4:32
4:44
4:46
4:43
4:38
4:27
4:34

My finish time was 36:54 -- so not bad, but not great.

Not sure what to make of it. Coach Brian said we were both about a minute off our ideal times to predict a marathon finish where we'd like it to be -- and one could definitely attribute that difference to the fact that the trail was quite hilly.

So, we'll leave it as 'It is what it is'. Next year I hope to be working harder on my short distance times, so maybe that will be the year I set a new PR on this course!

Tempo Run - 9 miles (14k) including 4.5 miles at tempo pace

Coach Brian suggested an 8 to 9 mile tempo run this week so I picked something close to 9 miles -- 14 kilometres (about 400 m. short of 9 miles). As usual, I did the first half at 'long run' pace (5:20/k or 8:35/mile) and then stepped it up to something better than race pace for the second half. I was targeting 4:40/k or 7:30/mile.

Race pace for me is 7:30/mile or 4:52 per kilometre, which would have me travel 26.2 miles in 3:25:14.

It was first thing in the morning when I took off from the house -- roughly 6:25 am -- and the sun was just coming up. The temperature was comfortable -- about 20 degrees C. -- and there was just a light breeze.

My first 7 kilometres went like this:

5:22
5:08
5:10
5:15
5:15
5:19
5:16
(Average 5:15/k , 8:27/mile)

Then the tempo pace klicks went like this:
4:43
4:45
4:41
4:39
4:40
4:40
4:31
(Average 4:40/k, 7:30/mile)

As you can see, I had trouble getting the pace at the start, despite the fact that I was running on a slight downhill grade. And I wanted to walk a gazillion times. But as I got closer to the finish, I focused on my form and 'getting through it'. The last kilometer was on a slight uphill grade on a gravel road, so hitting a 4:31 pace (7:17/mile) wasn't bad.

Total time was 1:09:25

I weighed myself this morning after the run and I was just under 180 lbs. for the first time in the training. So if I can keep this weight or better, I should be in fine form for November!

Speed Work - 5 x 1000 m

Deja vu all over again? Yes I did five 1 kilometre repeats 2 weeks ago as our first speed work session. The original plan was to do six repeats, but the weather is really muggy today so Coach Brian emailed me to tell me to tone it down to just 5 repeats at 4:15-ish per k, with a 2 minute rest between laps.

After the first repeat, I thought 'Hey, this is going to be a breeze.' but by the time I was done the third repeat, I was starting to wish I was dead. The air was positively thick.

One thing I learned though is that if I concentrate on keeping head high to keep my airway as open as possible, I seemed to get a bit more oxygen into the system and I didn't seem to fatigue as quickly. Maybe its all in my head, but it seemed to make a difference.

Because I was only doing 5 repeats, I decided to step it up for the last one. Here were my times this morning:

Kilometre 1: 4:15
Kilometre 2: 4:15
Kilometre 3: 4:11
Kilometre 4: 4:12
Kilometre 5: 4:01

for an average of 4:11 per kilometre. And while I was definitely tired after each lap, I felt strong -- certainly much stronger than 2 weeks ago. And my average pace was 2 seconds faster than 2 weeks ago, so it is possible that I'm already gaining endurance and muscle.

My weight was right around 182 lbs after the run. Its been stable within a range of about 181 at the low end to 187 at the high end.

Long Run - 14 miles...

Okay, 14 miles isn't _that_ long in the grand scheme of things. But we did 19 miles last week, so this was a step back a bit in terms of mileage -- but not in effort. Brian wanted me to put in 6 miles at marathon pace (4:52/k, 7:50/mile) -- but I thought it was supposed to be 4:50/k so I was a tad fast in my goal pace.

A couple of kilometres into the 'long run pace' part of the run, Rishi Kumar caught up with me and we ran together to the 7 mile turn around point, and then he joined me for the first 2.5 miles back towards downtown London. Rishi is training for the Chicago Marathon and is hoping to do a 3:44. Based on his pace today, he'll have no problem!

After I left Rishi, I was on my own for a couple of miles, but Brian caught me with just shy of 2 miles to go. That was very helpful, since I was starting to lose focus. Overall, my 6 miles (9.6 k) of 'tempo pace' times were:

4:49
4:55
4:49
4:44
4:48
4:48
4:48
4:50
4:34
4:48

with an average of 4:47.3 per kilometre (7:42/mile) -- enough to get me across the finish in 3:22 if I were to keep it up for 26.2 miles.

So, it was a good run. Brian, Arnie and I went to Ritchies Family Restaurant at Fanshawe Park Road and Richmond Street for breakfast to celebrate. Wonderful having Eggs Benedict with a Coors Light after a successful run!

Tempo Run - 8 miles (4 at tempo pace)...

I had a chance to join the Runners Choice marathon training clinic group led by the legendary John Ferguson tonight, so Jenny and I hopped in the car and met the group at Gibbon's Park in London.

Coach Brian was there and he wanted me to do the 8 mile (12.8 km) route -- 4 miles at long-run pace (roughly 5:20/k) and 4 miles at faster-than-marathon pace -- roughly 7:30/mile or 4:40/k.

Here is what I knocked off in each kilometre:

Slow out:
km 1: 5:16
km 2: 5:12
km 3: 5:08
km 4: 5:11
km 5: 5:10
km 6: 5:11
km 6.4: 5:47 (pace)

Tempo back:
km 1: 4:37
km 2: 4:40
km 3: 4:32
km 4: 4:43
km 5: 4:37
km 6: 4:48
km 6.4: 4:31

So I was able to keep the pace respectible -- despite the hilly terrain -- on the way back. Now I get a couple of days rest before my long run of (likely) 16 miles this weekend.

Speed Work - Ladder (in the rain)...

I wasn't able to make the Runners Choice marathon training group with the legendary John Ferguson last night so I had to do my speed work today. Coach Brian wanted me to do a 'ladder' -- short distance repeats of 400, 600, 800, 1000, 800, 600, 400 metres separated by a 200 metre jog. Since I had just done a 19 mile long run and since today was quite warm and muggy, Brian suggested a pace of between 4:15 and 4:20 per kilometre -- 6:50 and 6:59 per mile.

Of course, I only heard the lower number so as went out, I was looking to do no slower than 4:15 per k. And after the first 800 m run, I decided I'd be okay to step it up to 4:10/k pace for the 1000 meter lap and subsequent laps. My paces were as follows:

400m: 4:15/k
600m: 4:15/k
800m: 4:14/k
1000m: 4:07/k
800m: 4:07/k
600m: 4:07/k
400m: 3:40/k

I stepped it up for that last 400 m. lap doing a 3:40/k pace (5:55/mile). And the last two laps were in the pouring rain. I think I mentioned it was muggy!

All in all, it was a good workout. Lots of protein afterwards!

Sunday Long Run - 19.6 Miles, Lambeth to Port Stanley

Our polo tournament was cancelled today because of all the rain we received yesterday, so I did the Runners Choice marathon training group run from Copps Buildall in Lambeth, down to Port Stanley. Coach Brian and co-trainee Jed ran with me, as did fellow runner Brian Murphy. Our gaggle of runners knocked off surprisingly consistent long-run times of between 8:27/mile to 8:47/mile, with an overall average of 8:32 per mile.

We had been targeting 8:30's to 8:40's. Jed and I ramped it up over the last 1.5 miles to 8:00 and 7:27, so we came over the finish line strong -- although I thought I might woof my cookies. Jed ran a really strong run, particularly at the end.

At the finish, a wander into lake quickly cooled me off, and the food and drink at GT's was exactly what I needed -- although my appetite wasn't huge. I was more dehydrated than anything.

Anyhow, it was a good run, especially considering the plan called for a 16 miler today.

Tough 7 mile tempo run.

It was hot and very muggy -- about 28 degrees, I suspect, when I started the run, although I waited late enough into the day that the sun was behind the clouds. Humidex would have had it well into the mid-30's, I'm sure.

My plan was to do 3 miles at long run pace, then 3.5 miles at a tempo run pace of between 4:37 and 4:40 per kilometer, and the .5 miles of cool down. The first 3 miles were fine, naturally, and so were the first couple of miles at the tempo pace. But then I started to feel the heat and it got tougher and tougher for me to keep the pace. I finally gave in at about 2.7 miles into the tempo run and had a walk break. After a couple of minutes, I was able to get right back on pace and finish the 3.5 miles at tempo pace -- but it was tough. And the last kilometre of cool down was sloooooowwww.

My warm-up laps were at the following pace: 5:21, 5:06, 5:16, 5:17 and 5:18 per kilometre (targeting 5:20). My tempo laps were at the following pace: 4:40, 4:41, 4:37, 4:41 and 4:39 per kilometre (targeting 4:37 to 4:40), and my cool-down lap was in excess of 6 minutes/kilometer.
A tough run, but I made it through relatively unscathed!

Speed work - 5 x 1k at 4:10-4:15

Brian beat me up today on the speed work course. It was warm (roughly 26 degrees C.) and there was a headwind in one direction -- so I'll use those as my excuses.

We did a mile of warm-up, and then 5 repeats of 1000 metres with 2 minutes rest in between. My first 2 repeats were at 4:07 -- and we were targeting 4:10 to 4:15/k. But I told Brian there was no way I was going to get 3 more repeats at that pace. So we targeted a bit slower -- 4:20/k -- and the next 3 repeats were at 4:21, 4:16 and 4:15. So my average for all of them was 4:13.2/k -- right between the original target.

I had some water and a protein drink afterward. My weight is now down to 180-182 lbs. which is right where I was for my last couple of fast marathons. If I lose a bit more weight, it wouldn't hurt my marathon speed. Not that I'm actively trying to lose weight -- but if it happens as part of the training, that wouldn't be a bad thing.

Starting to train for Road2Hope Marathon, November 7 2010, Hamilton Ontario Canada

Did 14k yesterday, typically at around 5:20/k (8:32/mile) -- but I ramped it up to 4:42/k (7:31/mile) for a mile near the finish. It was relatively hot (26 degrees C.) and definitely humid -- plus there was a half-decent breeze on the way home, coming from the southwest. A tough run -- I was drenched in sweat and feeling overheated at the end of it -- but nowhere near what I'll have to get to over the course of the next 16 weeks.

Back to Speed Work at Thompson Arena

Jenny and I, back from our Cruise-To-Run in the Caribbean, went to speed work with the Runner's Choice gang tonight. I did 12 x 600m at 2:30 per repeat with about 1:10 between each sprint. That's a 4:10/k pace or 6:42/mile. Jenny was just slightly off that pace at between 2:33 and 2:36 per 600 m. repeat (6:51 to 6:59/mile). I think next time I'll try to pace with her and step it up at the end.

Tempo run back in the Great White North

Jenny and I did 10 miles including 7 miles at tempo pace through the streets of Lucan tonight. The laps were 10:04, 8:53, 8:20, 8:21, 8:16, 8:14, 8:12, 8:20, 8:12 and 9:35. The weather was good -- about -3 C. with minimal wind. About half the roads were bare and dry, the other half was snow-covered and slippy.

Cruise to Run - Barbados

Today we had a 5k race on the island of Barbados, which was also open to school kids and other runners from the island. The weather was pretty good -- a high forecast of 81 degrees (although it was definitely warmer than that when the sun was beating down on you) and with a light wind. Fortunately there was a bit of cloud cover so the race wasn't done totally in the sun. Jerry had arranged to have a two-lane section of the road blocked off for the race and police managing traffic.

I was targeting a time of less than 22:30 but felt good enough at the start to see if I could pull out a time faster than that. I ended up finishing in 21:54.6 -- 5th out of 11, six seconds slower than the 3rd place finisher in my age group, 8 seconds slower than Dick Beardsley, so I was pretty happy with that time. Looking back at the GPS, my last 200 metres were at a 3:36/k pace (5:48 per mile), so I was pushing it at the end. I would have had to start my kick 30 or 40 seconds earlier to make up the 6 seconds -- and I don't know that I had it in me.

Jenny was 5th out of 18 in her age group with a time of 25:10 -- but because 2 of the 3 women's overall race winners were in her age group, she moved up to the bronze medal position in her age group. Jed had a very good run with a time of 23:34, and Cathy set a personal best 5k time of just under 30 minutes -- 29:57! Nobody was really targeting a personal best as this was our 7th run in 6 days so our muscles weren't exactly rested. So Cathy's PB was a definite bonus!

After a quick bite to eat, we boarded the buses for a beach located not far from the docks. In fact, it was so close that Mike (one of the organizers of the races we`d met on day 1) jogged there faster than the buses could navigate through the traffic. It was a bit of a weird setup as they weren`t exactly public beaches, but they weren`t exactly private, either. Cruise To Run had arranged our entry fees to the Boat Docks beach, including two free rum-punch drinks each and there was a bar at which one could buy a beer -- although it was relatively expensive. Today`s beer-of-the-day was Bank`s -- $4 at the bar. A bunch of runners went for a long swim about a km down the beach, and the Cruise-To-Run folks had arranged kayaks to escort them. The water was crystal clear -- amazing.

Back to the ship, we had just enough time to get cleaned up for supper and get to the theatre for Bart Yasso's presentation. Bart had been with Runner's World for over 23 years and is currently its Chief Running Officer (CRO). His presentation spanned a lot of the interesting places he'd run over his lifetime, including the arctic, the antarctic, the first Badwater Ultra marathon through Death Valley in the U.S., the Himalayas, India and his favourite, Africa where some of the worlds best runners now hail. In his earlier days, he was an ultra marathoner, having done a 50 miler at 7 minute miles. He wasn't that fast now, but he still loved to run and the stories and photos were fascinating.

We had a phenomenal meal that night -- including a couple of lobster tails and prawns that were cooked just perfectly for me, and Beef Wellington for Jenny. Jon and Emily Roe, with whom we had run that first day in San Juan, joined us. Jon is one of an elite group of pilots in the Stealth bomber program and is stationed outside of Kansas City. Emily is a physical therapist, although she is currently just working part time since they've just moved to Kansas from Louisiana recently. They were very pleasant dinner companions!

After dinner, I took part in Princess Idol karaoke contest. I did what I thought was a not bad rendition of Sweet Home Alabama, but didn't make it to the top 2 (out of 7) to compete in the final competition on Saturday night. We then went to a show in the theatre -- Piano Men. The singers and musicians were quite good, but I could have done without the dancers. After managing to lose $120 in about 15 minutes at blackjack, I headed back to the room.

Cruise to Run - St. Lucia

This morning`s run was from the beautiful island of St. Lucia. We had a couple of local runners with us, including Victor who had won the Barbados marathon 6 times and runs a 30 minute 10k. Ali runs 32 minute 10k. We had a police escort out of the downtown area and a lane had been blocked off to allow us to run out of town and around the airport landing strip, and then up to the light house atop a rather long hill (yet again). Jenny and I both battled up the hill all the way without walking, which was not an insignificant challenge. Again, Jerry and Jody had arranged for water bottles along the route and there was Monster Energy Drink and water at the top of the hill. The view of the harbour and the rest of the island from the lighthouse was great. We took it easy both there and back (with the exception of the hill, which wasn`t easy no matter how you slice it) so that we could save some energy for tomorrow`s race.

The beer of the day was Piton, which is brewed in St. Lucia I think. Jed and I each had one while we were wandering around the market with Cathy after the run. Jenny decided she`d just relax by the pool. By the time you`ve been to 3 or 4 straw markets, you`ve seen everything. Although one thing that was a bit different on St. Lucia was that there were lots of spices and sauces available. Cathy and I each bought a large bottle of extra hot sauce.

We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging by the pool listening to quite a wide array of pop music, reading and (in my case) updating my blog posts.

Lisa Bentley, Iron Man racer extraordinaire, gave an excellent talk on the power of positive attitude and how it can help you get through a lot of what life throws at you. She should know as she has cystic fibrosis (CF) and yet is able to be incredibly fit and active in her life. Very motivational.

We had supper with Glenda, Lisa, Brenda, Heidi and Ann, and afterwards a bunch of us went to a Country Hoe-down (line dancing lessons -- I didn't know in advance!) and then Karaoke (I sang Sweet Caroline) -- but packed it in around 10 pm. I was thinking about tomorrow's race so I was definitely taking it easy!

Cruise to Run - Antigua

This morning we did a 8 mile run from the docks in Antigua out to Fort Barrington and back. Before the run began, we all brought books to donate to the local library as part of the Runners Give Back program that Jerry and Jody had organized for the cruise.

The run was not bad -- a few hills -- but the heat was definitely wearing me down. I passed Dick Beardsley midway through the run and Ironman triathlete champion Lisa Bentley near the end of the run -- but I'm sure both could have kicked my butt if either were sufficiently motivated. It wasn't a race -- just a run -- but I ran it relatively hard in any event.

Jerry and Jody had coordinated with the Antigua tourist ministry, who were great. I carried an Antiguan flag to and from the fort. We had truck playing Caribbean music on loudspeakers and a photographer along the route. We had subway sandwiches and water bottles all at no charge at the fort and water bottles along the route. And the tourist ministry people were incredibly hospitable and appreciative of our attendance. We all did the climb to the top of the fort -- including some relatively tricky climbing areas into the fort itself -- but after Tortola, this was _nothing_!

There was an optional Hash run with the Anitgua Hash House Harriers (AHHH) running club. A `hash` run is called such because there is typically a snack, beers or both at the end of the run, and `hash` is a British term for a meal back in the 1930`s. The hash run is where a designated 'hasher' sets a running route that is kept secret to the other runners. But he can also setup false trails. The hasher drops small piles of flour to mark the route. But if you come across an `X` in the route, you have to turn back to the previous intersection and look for a new trail of flour `blobs`. Or if you hit a number, say 4, with a line underneath it, you have to turn around and go back that number (4, in this case) blobs. There are arrows to mark a mandatory turn, and a blob with a circle around it at an interesection means that the trail could go in any direction from that point -- pick one and see if it is the right one!

It was a long run -- they estimated we`d be out for about 70 minutes -- and they took us up two trails -- one of which was quite long, taking us to the top of a celluar tower hill (which after Tortola`s hill climb and this morning`s run was definitely _not_ appreciated!) -- but we perservered and made it back with lots of time to enjoy a chicken or burger lunch from the grill, cold beer and a beautiful beach -- with proceeds from the food and beer to go to AHHH. The beer of the day was Wadidli, brewed on Antigua, and when that ran out Jed and I switched to Red Stripe.

After some swimming and relaxation, they had the Hash penalties segment of the run where a Hash Umpire issued penalties for things like taking a short cut, showing up late, organizing the event for the cruisers -- basically anything for which he could make up an excuse -- good or not. The penalty was that the `guilty` party had to drink a beer when given a signal during a Hasher`s anthem and if not done by the end of the anthem (about 10 seconds total), they had to pour the remainder of the beer on their head. It was quite a fun exercise, actually.

We got back to the ship in plenty of time to board before we departed at 5:30. The Cruise to Runners had a formal dinner in one of the dining rooms. We had supper with Bob and Karen from Mississauga Ontario, and Don and Sharon from Indiana. I was quickly wiped out of $200 at the Casino again. Couldn`t do anything right, yet again.

Cruise to Run - Tortola

This morning we landed in the island of Tortola. The `run` today was from the ships docks to the top of one of the mountains not far away. The elevation was 947 feet and we climbed to that elevation from the docks in about 2 kilometres. It was the slowest 2 kilometres I`ve ever run -- because it was more of a `walk`. My quads were screaming at me on the way up and it was quite the accomplishment to make it to the top. Jenny and I did it in about 22 minutes -- 11 minutes per kilometre! But it was worth it. The view of the harbour and town was incredible! And no matter how long it took to get to the top, everyone was proud that they`d seen it through to the end.

In the afternoon we walked a couple of kilometres down to the sugar cane / cotton mill factory museum. There was no mandatory entrance fee, but we contributed $20 to the organization. They had all sorts of artifacts from the island -- nothing pristinely preserved, mind you. But it was interesting to see how the island had evolved from one using quite primitive tools to what it is today.

On the way back from the museum, we stopped by a collection of nicely-painted store-shacks at the traffic lights outside the docks area and found two vendors side-by-side in one hut, each offering a collection of both Caribbean and international beers. Jed, Cathy and I sampled a range of beers including Tigrebrau stout and Presidente, both brewed in the Dominican Republic. Tigrebrau was like lunch in a bottle, a thick stout and a bit sweeter than, say, Guinness.

We had supper with Brenda, Lisa, Heidi and Ann that night, and then proceeded to the lounge to watch Gary DeLena, a comedian/musician who was quite funny. After that, I went to the casino and managed to lose $175 (7 x $25 bet) in about 10 minutes. I couldn't seem to do anything right.

Cruise to Run - St. Thomas

Today we were in St. Thomas. Our first official run was a `prediction run` where the goal was to predict your finish time for the 5k run. It was here that I got a good grasp of the scale of the Cruise to Run. They had a school steel drum band to provide music at the start. We had chip timing. A local girl`s school did a water stop along the route. We had police there to allow us to start up the blocked-for-race roads safely. Representatives of the St. Thomas tourist authority were there to welcome us, and we bought shirts (or made donations) to support the local running club. A lot of things for Jerry and Jody to organize and hope everything shows up as scheduled well in advance of the run.

The run was hot, as you`d expect, and it certainly wasn`t flat, which made hitting the prediction time a bit more challenging. I had predicted that I`d go out and back at a bit slower than `marathon pace` -- so I targeted a 26:10 finish. As I was coming up to about a kilometre left to go, I asked the gentleman next to me what his target time was. When he said something in the 23 minute range, I knew I was too fast and slowed right down. My finish time was 25:13 -- just 57 seconds faster than I`d predicted. But the highlight for that run was that I came in just in front of Dick Beardsley! Now, to be fair, this was a `prediction` run, so we weren`t trying to go our fastest -- just our most consistent and predictable pace. And Dick was coming off knee surgery plus a slough of injuries over the past 25 years that we`d hear about later. But it still felt good to see his name next to mine in the results!

Jenny had predicted 28:35 but was slower by about a minute and a half. Jed and Cathy ran together about a minute and 20 seconds faster than they had predicted. But Ann, whom we had met the day before in San Juan, was just 1 second off her predicted time and won the race!

That afternoon we walked into the town of Charlotte Amalie -- about a 40 minute (fast) walk from the cruise ships. We wandered around the straw market in the city centre, and then toured back on one of the side streets past all of the diamond and duty-free shops. I picked up a 13 oz. bottle of Johnny Walker scotch for my room (keeping it in my pants pocket as I went through security on the ship) for just $6.50. Scotch and other liquors were quite a bargain there -- even compared to the duty free shops at the Canada-US border. Unfortunately, we`d already purchased our limit on the way into the U.S. Next time, we`ll purchase while on the trip itself.

We had two beers that day. Jed and I each had a Caribe (sort of Corona-ish), brewed in the Dominican Republic, while we walked around the straw market. And then we had a Red Stripe (brewed in Barbados) at Jumbie`s Bar, located at the cruise line docks. Again, only $2 for a beer -- but the best part of that bar was their Marguerita ($4) into which they poured an ample amount of Tequila. Jenny, Cathy and I each had one.

We had supper in one of the table-service restaurants that night. I had to change out of my shorts and had neglected to bring any long pants, so I borrowed a pair (for the week) from Jed. The food throughout the trip was excellent, as was the service.

That night, the ship had left St. Thomas at around 6 pm so once we were in international waters, the casino opened up. I went there around 8:30 pm and was back in our state room by around 9 pm -- another $185 dollars richer from black jack. I couldn`t do anything wrong!

Cruise to Run - Departing San Juan

I got up early (and let Jenny sleep) in order to make the 8 am run out to the fort in San Juan -- about a 5k run there. It was _great_ to be amongst a bunch of people who just loved to go out for a run. One of the runners was a super-skinny guy with a bandage on his upper leg. That was Dick Beardsley -- one of America's best marathon runners back in the early 80's -- who came second in 1982 by 2.6 seconds in the Boston Marathon to Alberto Salazar in the race known as the 'Duel in the Sun' -- both of them breaking the previous Boston record with a 2:09 and change finish time. Running with Dick was sort of the equivalent of playing shinny hockey with Bobby Orr or throwing the ball around with Roger Clemens.

We met Brenda, Lisa, Heidi (all sisters) and their friend Ann -- all from near Hershey Pennsylvania. We met Mike who was the organizer of the race routes -- whose personal best marathon time was 3:09 a number of years ago. And we met Glenda from Napanee Ontario who was on a cruise a year and a half after losing her husband and who just started running (longest race was a half marathon). A young couple, Emily and Jon Roe, were there as well -- he flies with the U.S. Air Force and she does triathlons. It was a good run -- a bit fast at the end (running with Emily and John) -- clipping along at 5 minute k`s (8 min./mi.).

Checkout from the hotel was at noon so after going for a quick walk after getting cleaned-up, we headed back to Roscoe`s -- luggage in tow -- with Glenda, in order to have lunch. Glenda, Cathy and I had Mofongo (a chicken or beef stew incorporating a root vegetable -- highly recommended) and proceeded to stimulate the local economy by having a bunch of beers in order to re-hydrate from the morning's run. Raoul was our waiter and was excellent -- punctual and with a good sense of humour. If you are ever in San Juan, I'd highly recommend Rosco's.

We took a short taxi ride to the ship. Jenny had prepared me for lots of lineups based on her previous cruising experience. But I have to say that Princess Cruises was very punctual. We got into the lineup to drop off our luggage, which they informed us would be at the outside of our rooms in an hour. We then made our way into the lines to get checked into the ship, and then finally security. It was only about a half-hour until we were at our room, and our luggage was indeed there in about an hour. We met our room caretaker (Dennis -- pronounced Deh-ni, the French way) and then made our way to the top deck to watch the N.Y. Jets battle (and eventually lose to) the Baltimore Colts on the jumbo-tron above the pool. Jed is a _big_ Jets fan. After the game, we all got some supper at the buffet and then Jenny and I toured around the ship to get acquainted with everything.

Jenny packed it in around 10 pm, but I forced myself to stay up until 11:45 pm for the Casino to open. I was testing a new concept in playing blackjack and by midnight I was up $105 (7 times typical bet of $15) so I cashed-out and headed back to the room.

Cruise to Run - San Juan

We arrived in San Juan today from Detroit, in preparation for boarding the Caribbean Princess for Cruise to Run 2010 tomorrow. My legs were already a bit twichy as we hadn't been running since we did our hill training speed work on Tuesday - five days ago! The first run wasn't scheduled until the first port out of San Juan -- St. Thomas on the U.S. Virgin Islands -- but we chatted with Jerry Friesen whom we met in the Holiday Inn Express hotel lobby and he mentioned that a bunch of people were going to do a 10 k run out to the fort and back at 8 am tomorrow, before we board the ship on Sunday afternoon. We spent the rest of the day walking along the beautiful beach, and then 'pre-hydrating' for the next day's run. We met Bart Yasso and his wife -- Bart is the C.R.O. (Chief Running Officer) of Runner`s World magazine -- and Jed asked for some advice on speed-work for a half marathon (Yasso 400`s -- 400 m at your finish time (e.g. 1 min. 35 sec. if you want to do a 1:35:00 half marathon) plus 200 m. rest x 20 repeats).

The beer of the day was Medalla (pronounced meh-di-ya) Light -- a beer brewed in San Juan. It was quite good -- sort of Coors Light-ish. The bar/restaurant of the day was Orozco's -- they had inexpensive Medalla ($2) and $4 for a 'Sunset' -- very friendly and punctual wait staff where we met a couple of girls celebrating a 53rd birthday (neither remotely looked in their 50's). We had supper down the road on Ashford Street at a nice little Italian restaurant, next to Tijuana's (into which we tried to get, but the lineup was too long).

Hill work / speed work

Today Jenny and I did an 8k speed work / hill work session. 1k of warm up plus 7 x 500 m. of hills at, basically, as fast as we could go without puking. 500 m. cool down run between each uphill leg took us to 8k in total. Jenny's calf in one of her legs was still a bit sore from the long run we did on Sunday -- but she still managed to bang out consistent 2:32 to 2:35 500m. uphill legs and finally managed to slow down to 2:40 for the last leg. My hill runs ranged from 2:17 at the start to 2:06 at the finish, so I was reasonably happy with those times.

There was a light snow falling while we were running and the road was wet but not too slippery. Certainly our last hill work session (on dry roads) was a bit faster. But I was satisfied that I worked hard enough to build some muscle and, hopefully, some speed with tonight's run.

Overall -- with the speed segments and the slow cool-down segments -- we were at 6 minutes per kilometer. Not bad, really.

Long Run - 28k

Jenny and I did our long run today, starting from our house with a scenic (in the fog) route to Lucan, a 10 k route around Lucan, and then a 7.5k run back. The temperature was -3 degrees C. when we started and about 1 degree C when we finished. Foggy when we started, but pretty clear when we finished 3 hours later.

At the start, Jenny wanted to do no faster than 5:40/k (9:04 per mile) and in fact we did an average of 5:41/k (9:05/mile). We started in the 5:40-5:50/k range and by the finish we were consistently around 5:30/k with our last mile at a 5:10/k (8:16/mile) pace.

It was a good run. Took us 2:38:26 to do the 27.9k distance. We were both tired by the end, but feeling good. Not out of breath -- but glad to be done.

We get a two weekend break from long runs as we do the Cruise to Run beginning next weekend. Starting in San Juan, Puerto Rico and then going to St. Thomas, Tortola, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados and then back to San Juan. There is a run in each port (other than San Juan). Should be fun!

9.5 Mile Tempo Run

The weather was cooperating tonight -- probably about 1 degree above zero Celcius -- so compared to when we started training in December, it was downright balmy! We ran just over 15 kilometres -- roughly 9.5 miles -- at a pace of between 8:07 and 8:24 per mile. The average pace (including the warm up and cool down) was 8:30 per mile.

We didn't get the normal "runner's high" after this run, though. In fact, I feel like crap now. Think I may have caught a bug or something. Taking it easy tonight.

Hills - 6 x 500 m.

We did 6 repeats of 500 m. hills -- from the base of Fallon Road to the top of the hills on Coursey Line about 500 m. on either side of Fallon. Brian Watson joined us tonight as he is officially starting his training to try to set a 2:55 PR in the Mississauga Marathon (I believe) in May or June this year.

My repeats of the 500 m. hill climbs (roughly the same as Heartbreak Hill along the Boston Marathon route) were: 2:10, 2:09, 2:07, 2:10, 2:12 and 2:03. Jenny was anywhere from 16 to 20 seconds slower than me -- so quite good no matter how you look at it!

The weather was not bad -- about -5 degrees C. with no wind to speak of. Traffic along the road was light -- the occassional car, truck or snowmobile. Footing was okay -- not perfect, but better than other days when we were running on loosely-packed snow (like running on sand).

We both felt good after the run! (Now I go to play hockey in about an hour!)

Training for the 2010 Boston Marathon

It's been a long while since my last post -- 2 days after the 2009 Boston Marathon to be exact -- and a lot has happened from a marathoning perspective. Specifically, my wife Jenny ran her first marathon in Grand Rapids, Michigan and qualified for Boston in her very first try. And she beat her BQ time by over 15 minutes, running it in 3:45:49!

So now we're training for this year's Boston Marathon, which is being held on Monday, April 19, 2010.

Jenny has put together the training plan and we're getting out for a speed work, tempo run and long run each week -- no matter what the weather. Plus I'm playing hockey 1 or 2 times a week, and I'm also exercising my horse 3 or 4 times a week. So I have between 7 and 9 athletic events each week, which is keeping the muscles feeling like they're being worked.

I'm going to try to make posts more often. They won't be exciting -- more of 'Speed work tonight. 6 x 500 m. ' -- but it will at least let me keep a web log of our progress.

I'm not sure yet what I'm going to run in Boston. The two options I'm considering are to pace Jenny and simply enjoy the run, or train hard and try to get a Boston PB upright and smiling. Probably won't make the decision until a few weeks prior to the race. In the meantime, Jenny's training times are close enough to what I need to do that I'll run with her for tempo and long runs, and do my own pace for speed work.