Baamoral to Lucan - 4.5 Miles: 36.59

I ran from home to the office today. The temperature was about 18 degrees C (I'm guessing). Here are my splits:

8:14
8:15
8:15
8:10
8:13 (1/2 mile)

It felt like a pretty good run. Obviously tough on the uphill segments (which was about half of the run).

Overall, the pace was 8:13. Not terrible, not great. But my goal is to get this well under 8 minutes per mile by the time I hit Ragnar Relay Vegas (Baby!).

7 x 1 mile repeats

I forgot to save my splits tonight. But we were working at the UWO 400 m. track doing our 1 mile repeats. To the best of my knowledge, here are my splits:

7:12
7:11
7:10
6:58
7:12
7:35
7:28

This is pretty close, anyhow. I started out working for 7:20/miles, so I'm reasonably happy with how I did. But I know I have to get better as the training progresses.

6 x 1 mile Repeats

Tonight, John Ferguson had us doing 1 mile repeats at Gibbon's park. With my hamstring issue, I wasn't sure how much I wanted to push things. I couldn't remember what I'd done in the past. John said to look at your target marathon pace and take off 30 seconds to 1 minute per mile. My target for a 3:30 or 3:25 marathon would be 8 minutes or 7:52 per mile. So I figured targeting a 7:20 pace would not be terrible. He had us doing a 2:30 break at a jog between repeats.

As it turns out, I wasn't able to run that slowly (at least at the beginning). Here are my splits:

7:08
7:11
7:15
7:11
7:12
7:11

Looking back a year and I was consistently banging off sub-7 minute miles during my repeats. I'm not sure that I could have done that tonight, but I was happy that I kept pretty consistent repeats for tonights workout. It gives me a benchmark for future workouts. Based on these numbers, though, I'm at 97% of where I was last year. Hopefully by November, I'm back to 100%!

Fartleks around Gibbons Park

We did fartleks ("speed play" in Swedish) around Gibbons Park tonight. The concept is to go fast for a certain distance, then slow to recover, and repeat. In this case, we ran fast for roughly 400 m., took a break for about 300 m., then fast for 600 m. and then another 300 m. break.

Here are my "fast" segments:
2:17
2:55

2:17
2:52

2:11
2:44

2:08
2:42

2:09
2:53

As you can see from the times above, I generally got faster with each lap -- until the very last one where I was just barely faster than my first 600 m(-ish) lap. Part of the reason that I got faster was that a young woman that was in the group, Christine, and I kept pushing each other to keep up an aggressive pace. But she stopped after 4 pairs of repeats so my last one wasn't quite as fast.

After this, The Legendary John Ferguson had us do hill repeats up the road down into the park. While I could feel my hamstring during the fartleks, I could _really_ feel it during the hill repeats. But you could tell that the faster runners definitely had the best strength and speed on the hill repeats.

Then 20 push-ups, 20 situps and 3 minutes of a plank.

So, since my hamstring didn't blow up on me, I'm pretty happy with how the workout ended!

Did a Ladder tonight. 400 m laps x 1, 2, 3, and 4 (so, 1600 m.) and then back down 3, 2 and 1 400 m. lap. Here are my splits:

400: 1:37 (3:57/k pace)
800: 3:31 (4:18/k)
1200: 5:18 (4:23/4:17/k)
1600: 7:06 (4:25/4:20/k)
1200: 5:32 (4:37/4:27)
800: 3:34 (4:23/k)
400: 1:39 (4:05/k)

So, not awful. The hamstring wasn't bugging me much -- and if it did, I just worked through it. I was particularly happy with my last two laps where I was tired and a bit sore, but kept working through it. Comparing to last year (see August 2011 blog posts), I was 3:27 for 800m. and 1:34 for 400 m. So just a few seconds per lap slower.

Parloff Relay

Jenny and I did a Parloff Relay today at Runner's Choice speed work, held at TD Waterhouse Stadium in London today. We did 400 m. loops of the track and passed off the baton to each other. Here were our times: 1:31 (Bruce) 1:42 (Jenny) 1:33 (Bruce) 1:39 (Jenny) 1:32 (Bruce) 1:36 (Jenny) 1:38 (Bruce) 1:36 (Jenny) 1:35 (Bruce) 1:34 (Jenny) 1:33 (Bruce) 1:33 (Jenny) 1:32 (Bruce) 1:29 (Jenny) 1:31 (Bruce) 1:30 (Jenny) 1:31 (Bruce) These times are pretty close to what I was doing a year ago -- except that Jenny was fast enough that I had to do a 9th lap this time. But for the first 8 laps, I was only off last year's total time by 21 seconds -- and 11 of those were in the 8th lap. While I could feel the hamstring, I still felt like I had acceptable speed and strength. I'm now not worrying about potentially pulling it since I don't have a goal race in mind. If I make it sore by working it really hard, it should repair itself to be even stronger.

Mizuno's Mezamashii Run Project

I don't generally talk about my running gear, although I definitely have my favourites. Like my Race Ready running shorts & shirts, my Sugoi "Canada" singlet from Runners Choice in London, and my UnderArmour socks. And my Mizuno running shoes.

I've been wearing Mizuno running shoes for several years, now. I literally run them into the ground. My pair of Mizuno Wave Nexus 4 got me through my Personal Best in the Road To Hope Marathon in 2010. My pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire 7 runners got me through the Big Heat of Boston in 2012. And my current pair of running shoes I purchased from the legendary John Ferguson at Runner's Choice -- the Mizuno Wave Elixir 7 shoes -- are unbelievably light. They should either allow me to set a Personal Best in the Road To Hope Half Marathon in November, or possibly (if I decide to do a full marathon then) I can re-qualify for Boston.

Mizuno is currently heavily campaigning on their Mezamashii Run Project. From MizunoCda.com, "Mezamashii is the Japanese word for eye-opening, or brilliant. The Mezamashii Run Project is our quest to deliver a more brilliant running experience to dedicated runners everywhere." And as a long time Mizuno wearer, I can vouch for the fact that these shoes are excellent.

Mizuno's goal is to simply get more people to consider the Mizuno shoes, and they are relying on social media and current Mizuno customers to help them get the word out. You can get more information on the Mezamashii Run Project here.

Hamstring Treatment -- Week 21 - 12 Mile Long Run...

Gotta love the taper! Today, any of us running Boston in a week only had to do 12 miles, while the rest of the marathon training group was doing 20 miles. I ram with Dave Ladoucer for pretty much the entire rum. We kept it loose the whole way, but averaged 8:10 per mile. Here are our splits:

8:40
8:28
8:13
7:59
8:09
8:24
8:11
7:53
8:01
7:58
8:01
8:05

My hamstring was barely noticable, except on the very steep hills. But even then I was able to bound up them better than in previous weeks.

I'm now narrowing in on a strategy for Boston - targeting a 3:30 finish time if every thing goes perfectly, but expecting a 3:40 to 3:50. And if I am sub:3:40, I will be very pleased! 7 more sleeps!

Hamstring Treatment - Week 21 - Tempo Run - 8 Miles

Jenny and I were in Hamilton for most of the day, to watch Karen's thesis presentation (which went very well -- she was voted top presenter in her division!). So by the time we got back, it was about 6 pm and I really didn't want to run. It was a nice enough day (sunny and 9 degrees C.), but I was tired already and there was a brisk wind (17 km/h) from the northwest, which I knew would make parts of the run challenging. But I sucked it up and went out -- and I'm glad I did. Here are my splits:

Out (target 8:31)
8:18
8:18
8:26
8:15
Back (target 7:35)
7:29
7:24
7:28
7:56 (directly into the heavy wind)

For that last mile, I didn't look at my watch. I just kept pushing away into the wind at an exertion level at least that of my previous 3 miles. Overall, my pace was 7:57, so I was pretty pleased with it overall. The legs are feeling strong -- although the leg with the injured hamstring is still a long way from being 100%.

This was the last "tempo run" before Boston, so I'm quite happy to be facing full "taper mode" after the 12 mile "long" run on Sunday.

Hamstring Treatment - Week 20 - Easy Run - 4 miles total

Brian and I went out for our weekly "easy" run. Of course, as I get more and more fit, "easy" gets faster and faster. My view of "easy" is that I could chat in short sentences with Brian during the run. Here are our splits:

9:22
8:21
8:16
8:29

We celebrated our easy pace with a couple of beers afterwards!

Hamstring Treatment - Week 20 - Speed Work - 4 x 1 mile repeats (6 miles total)

We did 4 x 1 mile repeats (plus 1 mile warm-up and cool-down) this week for speed work -- but this time, they were outside in Gibbons Park in London. Here are my splits:

7:07
7:15
7:15
7:10

Could I have gone faster? Probably. But with less than 2 weeks before Boston, I'm now getting nervous about injuring myself. So I kept the pace to something that I knew would work me, but which I should be able to do without stressing my leg too much.

Hamstring Treatment - Week 20 - Long Run - 18 Miles

Today was the second-last long run before Boston. Most of the runners were going to do 16 miles, but Brian, Jed and I tacked on another 2 miles beforehand to bring the total mileage up to 18. Johnny's chart called for a pace of between 8:31 and 9:31 per mile. Here are the splits:

9:05
8:50
8:43
8:36
8:28
8:23
8:28
8:45
8:56
8:16
8:55
8:10
8:25
8:18
8:09
8:12
8:35
8:59
9:20 (.36 mile)

So, it was a total of 18.36 miles. The average pace was 8:35. The temperature was between 3 and 6 degrees celcius, so I didn't overheat. I had a very large breakfast before the run. I had GU Chomps on the run, which worked well to keep hunger at bay. I felt really good the whole run.

At various parts of the run, I ran with Christine, Gordon, Graham, and Jed, Jenn, John H. and we all had good runs. It makes a huge difference having great people to run with and to help make the time go by quickly.

No question that this was the best long run of the training session. Everything went right!

Hamstring Treatment - Week 20 - Tempo Run - 9 Miles

The Legendary John Ferguson's training plan called for a 9 mile tempo run tonight for the group training for Traverse City at the end of May. But my target marathon is Boston 6 weeks prior. And 3 weeks out from Traverse City, the group is scheduled to run 7 miles. So what should I run today? Well, not knowing any better, I chose the 9 mile run. Johnny's chart called for the tempo run "out" pace to be between 8:31 and 9:01, and the tempo run "back" pace to be 7:17 to 7:36 if you are targeting a 3:30 marathon. Here are my splits:

8:23
8:23
8:31
8:23
8:24 (1/2 mile)
Break - had a half a 12 oz. Coke
7:27
7:28
7:23 (long downhill)
7:23 (included valley on William St.)
7:28 (1/2 mile into the wind)

Looking back, this the best tempo run I've had since October 25, 2011 when I pulled of "tempo pace" of 4:31. Tonight was 4:36, and its possible I could have stepped it up earlier. That's 98% of October 25 2011 pace -- so I'm definitely encouraged! And if I were to keep it up for 6 miles instead of 4.5K, that would be a 46 minute 10k.

Hamstring Treatment - Week 19 - Easy Run (4 miles)

Brian and I went out for an easy run today. No particular pace, and with the idea that we could carry on a conversation while we ran. Here are our splits:

8:37/mile pace (1 km)
8:25/mile pace (1 km)
8:21/mile pace (1 km)
8:34/mile pace (1 km)
9:06/mile pace (1 km)
8:27/mile pace (1 km)
8:00/mile pace (0.44 km)

So, 6.44 km = 4 miles -- total time, 34:16 (8:33/mile pace).

It wasn't a particularly pleasant day -- a brisk wind from the north -- so we rewarded our heartiness with a couple of fine beers from Brian's fridge!

Hamstring Treatment - Week 19 - Speed Work (7 miles)

Because we ran Around the Bay 30K just a couple of days prior, John had us do a different (but no less effective) speed work session tonight. He wanted 20 minutes at an easy pace, 15 minutes at a medium pace (turning back home after 10 minutes), 10 minutes at a fast pace, and then 15 minutes at an easy pace to cool down. Because we'd just run Around the Bay, my GPS was still set to kilometeres, so here are my K splits:

Easy:
4:28
5:23
5:17
5:17
Medium:
4:53
4:56
4:59
Fast:
4:41
4:47
4:35 (135 m.)
Easy:
5:36
5:54
6:23 (653 m.)

I wasn't looking at my GPS for paces -- I was just going by how I felt, only using the GPS to track my progress later and to tell the time at which I should switch gears. So it was interesting that my "medium" pace was actually my marathon pace.

It was a really good workout. Jenny and Tori each took part as well and did the full hour-long workout. So we went back to the Honest Lawyer and quaffed a few ales (okay, I did) to celebrate the good workout!

Hamstring Treatment - Week 19 - Around The Bay Road Race - 30K

I did the Around the Bay Road Race in Hamilton today. I really had no idea what I could do, so I targeted my (former) marathon pace of 5 minutes per kilometer which would take me into the end of a marathon at 3:30 and the end of the 30K race at 2 hours 30 minutes. But I knew that my time was unlikely to hold up into the hills in Burlington, so I would be very pleased with a 2:35 finish and happy with anything under 2:40. Here are my kilometre splits:

5:07
4:56
4:54
4:58
4:55
4:53
4:52
4:50
4:58
4:50 10k (49:13 on GPS, 49:27 on the timing mat)
4:54
5:03
4:59
5:00
5:03 15k (1:14:12 on GPS, 1:14:32 on the timing mat)
5:09
4:51
5:05
5:34
5:17 20k (1:40:08 on GPS, 1:40:35 on the timing mat)
5:25
6:17
5:36
5:56
5:54
5:56
6:19
6:09
5:16
5:04
3:33 pace (227 m.) (2:38:40 on the timing mat)

As you can see, I was on a pretty good pace for the first 20 kilometres. But, as predicted, once I hit the hills in Burlington, I ran into significant problems. A lot of the issues stemmed from the heat -- yes, that's right, the HEAT in March. It was getting into 14 or 15 degrees by 11 am, and after 20K I was starting to get pretty warm. The other issue, of course, was my right hamstring, which had very little strength as compared to the left hamstring, and make hills painful and slow. One bright note was that I discovered that if I pushed off with my left (good) leg up the hills, I could make better time than if I looked for a consistent stride between both legs. So while it looked like I was hobbling, I was in fact making half-decent time in comparison.

Note that my pace picked up after the hills so it actually wasn't terrible for the last 2.2 kilometres.

Note for future reference: One issue I had during training was lack of food energy, so Jenny and I made it ia missue to literally stuff myself before this race. It worked out pretty well. I had a large half-decaf coffee, a plain bagel with salmon cream cheese, a butter tart, a small bowl of mini-wheats, a half container of yogurt and granola from Loblaws, and a banana a half hour before gun time. On the course, Jenny gave me a small bottle of Coke at 18K, which really helped, plus a baggie full of fruit (pineapple was the best!).

So now the question is, 'What to do in Boston?' Well, I think we're going to try a similar strategy. Boston starts with significant downhill and flat for the first half of the course. So if I can hold my target marathon pace up until the Newton Hills -- but then hobbling up each of them and stretching out after each -- I may be able to pull off a respectible time. At this point, I'm thinking 3:45 may be do-able.

There are still 3 weeks of training to go, though -- so anything can happen. And if it is a warm day, all bets are off. I'll be just running to finish!

PS: While all sorts of Runners Choice runners had incredible times today, my buddy, vet and personal coach Brian Watson ran Around the Bay in less than 2 hours (1:59:09 to be exact), thereby qualifying for the gold medal. He had a well-deserved perma-smile on his face all day and when I saw him on Wednesday, it hadn't faded!

Hamstring Treatment - Week 19 - Easy Run - 6 miles...

Tonight was the 18th Annual Johnny Gaskin run, leaving from Under the Volcano in London. Jenny and I did the 6 mile (roughly) route at a pleasant "conversational" pace. Here are our splits:

8:39
8:52
8:53
8:51
9:04
8:45

for an average pace of 8:51.

Hamstring Treatment - Week 18 - Easy Run - 5 miles...

Jenny and Brian and I went out for an easy run today. It was warm -- 22-ish degrees -- but just a bit of a headwind from the south. Here are our splits:

9:11
9:00
9:03
8:49
8:51

Because it was so warm, we made sure to re-carb generously after the run!

Hamstring Treatment - Week 18 - Speed work - First 1 mile repeats x 4

Well, I'm back in the saddle again, as it were. Taking 4 days off of running was exactly what I needed. Tonight, Johnny had us doing mile repeats at the indoor track at Thompson Arena, with a 2 loop (400 m.) rest break in between. His chart had us at between 7:07 and 7:17 per mile to be in the range for a 3:30 marathon. Here are my splits:

7:09
3:04 (rest)
7:10
3:17 (rest)
7:10
3:16 (rest)
7:09

I ran with Glen Keogan and it worked well. I'd set the pace for the first 5 laps of each repeat, and he'd take over for the last 3, allowing him to stretch it out a bit -- so his times were a couple of seconds ahead of mine.

Looking back at the speed work last summer, I was banging off better-than-7 minute miles x 7+ repetitions, so (again), there is no question I'm not recovered. But, I'm getting closer. On Sept 13, 2011, I averaged 6:55 per mile. Tonight I averaged 7:09 per mile. That 96.7% of my September speed. So we're getting there.

I know that I'm only as fast as my weakest hamstring.

Hamstring Treatment - Week 18 - Tempo Run - Pulled the Plug Halfway

I was to do a 12 mile tempo run today -- 6 miles out at long run pace, and 6 miles back at tempo (faster than marathon) pace. I only got the first part.

It was hot out -- for March or any time. It was about 22 degrees in the shade, but with the sun it was likely around 26 or 27 degrees. By the time I made it 6 miles, I was overheating in a serious way. I called Jenny from Clarke's to come pick me up. Here are my splits for the 6 miles I actually completed (I was looking for 8:30/mile):

8:26
8:19
8:22
8:21
8:26
8:36

Overall, I took 50:34 to run 6 miles -- an average pace of 5:15/kilometre (8:25/mile). I was supposed to step it up to 7:31/mile on the way back, but there was no way that was going to happen. I could really feel my right hamstring after that first mile into the wind, so pulling the plug at 6 miles wasn't a terrible decision.

I decided there that I would not run this weekend -- no easy Friday run, no long run on Sunday. It was time to give my body a break.

Hamstring Treatment - Week 17 - Easy Run

Today was just an easy 5 miler around the block at our house. Jenny joined Brian and me and kept us to a civil pace. There was a brisk wind from the southeast, but we battled through it. Here are our splits:

9:29
8:50
8:36
8:42
8:37
5:15/k pace for 374 m.

We all felt good after the run and celbrated our feeling good-ness with beer.

Hamstring Treatment - Week 17 - Speedwork ladder down (6 miles)

Tonight we did speed work at Thompson Arena in London, starting with 8 laps (1 mile) and then lowering each repetition by 1 lap (200 m.) until down to 4 laps (1/2 mile). 200 m. (roughly 2 minutes) rest in between repeats. Here are my splits:

8 laps: 7:01 (53 seconds per lap)
7 laps: 6:11 (53 seconds per lap)
6 laps: 5:28 (55 seconds per lap)
5 laps: 4:33 (55 seconds per lap)
4 laps: 3:37 (54 seconds per lap)

Surprisingly consistent. But I was just barely holding it together at the finish. A good workout!

Hamstring Treatment - Week 17 - 26.3 Mile Long Run...

Today was to be the longest long run of the training session, so I was anxious to get it over with. But as it turned out, it wasn't to go particularly smoothly.

It started out great. We did our "Boston Breakfast Club" 4 miler shortly after 7 AM and we all chatted easily about various runs, Boston, etc. Here were our splits:

9:15
9:11
8:45
8:47

We went back, and because the weather was forecast to warm up over the course of the day, I switched out of my long running tights and into some shorts. Definitely a good move. While the temp started at roughly 1 degree C, by the end of the run it was up to 8 degrees or so -- definitely shorts weather. I also had on a long sleeved running shirt with a pinney over top, and my orange "Boston" jacket.

My goal for this run was simply to get through it, ideally within the range that the legendary John Ferguson had laid out in his pace plan for a 3:30 marathon: 8:31 to 9:31. I'd be fine with anything in that range. Here were my splits for the next 18 miles:

8:59
9:12
9:01
8:58
8:53
8:57
9:14
8:57
9:10
9:00
9:10
9:22
9:23
9:06
8:56
9:27
9:17
8:48
8:48

But then the wheels fell off my run. With 3.5 miles to go, we stopped at a water stop, and I started puking. Except there was nothing to puke. It definitely wasn't pleasant. I told the others to go ahead -- I'd either catch a ride back with the water-stop folks, or I'd walk-run back to Goodlife Fitness. Christine Dirks asked what I would do with a horse if it was looking like I did -- would I make it run/walk back? No, I guess not. So I hung tight with the water-stop boys.

But then I realized that my heart was racing. I've had a condition since I was about 7 years old called Wolfe-Parkinson-White syndrome -- a catch-all syndrome category that describes a heart that starts to race for no apparent reason. Now, I had just run 22.5 miles, so that might be a good reason for a heart to go fast. But after 5 minutes or so, it should be down to a much lower rate -- and mine wasn't slowing at all.

After 20 minutes or so, I was back at Goodlife and they had one of those blood pressure monitor workstations, so I stuck my arm in there and pressed the button. The results (and this is at least 20 minutes after I'd stopped running): pulse 136, blood pressure 90 over 70. The "70" was no problem, but the other number is typically around 113 to 120. And by now, my pulse should have been in the 80s, max.

I got cleaned up at Goodlife -- and all the while my heart was still racing. I made my way to the Ale House -- a restaurant on Dundas Street where a bunch of us runners would typically meet for breakfast after our long run. I explained to the boys there what my heart was doing -- and I think they were genuinely a bit concerned that I was going to keel over. But here's the weird thing: Once I got some Guinness and food into me, my heart stopped racing -- within about 5 minutes of getting my meal. And it didn't start racing again for the rest of the day.

I made my way home and had a good 2 hour nap. Refreshed, Jenny and I went for a short run so that I could get my full 26 miles in -- 26.3, actually. But this time I wore the heartrate monitor for my Garmin 405CX: Here are our splits:

10:14 (included a walk to see if the heartrate monitor would go down -- it did).
9:11
9:05
8:57

Overall, my average pace was 9:07 -- so well within the range that Johnny had set out for us. And my pulse was in the low 140s for those last 4 miles. Quite acceptable.

What caused me to puke and for my heart to race for roughly an hour? I'm not sure. Could have been a number of things: I've been battling a cold for about 4 weeks -- although, other than a mildly sore throat, a bit of coughing at night, and continual drainage from my sinuses, I was feeling fine. I'm quite sure I didn't get enough food during the run. While I had a large bowl of Mini-Wheats for breakfast and a Mars bar and coffee on the way to London, there was nothing left in my stomache by 11 AM. I'd eaten some Pringles potato chips during the run in order to get some salt, but clearly not enough. Or its possible that the racing heart was occuring while I was running and that I just didn't notice -- but then that set off a chain reaction where I didn't get enough oxygen and started puking. Or maybe a combination of everything.

Anyhow, I'm going to have to re-evaluate everything -- from my race pace, to my carb intake, to whether I should have the racing heart "ablated" (which deadens the nerve that causes the heart to race).

Hamstring Treatment - Week 17 - 6 Mile Pace Run into Lucan

Today, the wind was howling from the west at roughly 35 km/h. So an out-and-back "pace" run (at marathon pace) wasn't going to work. Plus it was really cold -- -1 degrees C., but it felt much colder if you were getting any part of the wind in your face.

The chart said to do an 8 mile pace run with a mile of warmup and cooldown included -- so 6 miles at pace. I decided, because of the less-than-hospitible weather, to just do the 6 pace miles. And I'd leave from home and go East with the wind at my back. Here are my splits (targeting 8 min/mile, but with the wind at my back for the first 3.5 miles:

7:54
7:47
7:52
7:56
7:59
7:58

The average pace was 7:54 and the total time was 47:27.

So I was reasonably pleased with these times. A couple of the first miles were generally uphill (a 200 ft. overall increase in elevation) so despite having the wind behind me, it was no cakewalk.

But because I didn't do a long run (hockey tournament), I just had 26 miles in the books for this week.

Hamstring Treatment - Week 17 - 10 Mile Tempo Run

17 weeks since the hamstring rupture -- almost 1/3 of a year. I'm getting stronger -- but still have a ways to go. Today the goal was another 10 mile tempo run, but this time with an 8:31 pace out, and a 7:31 pace back. But there was a stiff wind from the northwest, so I knew the run back would be challenging (and I was right). Here are my splits:

8:31
8:26
8:29
8:30
8:50
7:32
7:50
7:32
7:46 (pace 1/2 mile)
9:11 (pace 1/2 mile)
9:18

There was no way I could keep the fast pace into the wind for that last mile and a half. My right hamstring was feeling the pressure just after the 2nd mile.

Overall, my pace was 8:20 per mile. My 'tempo' pace was 7:40/mile (assuming that last half mile was a full mile) -- so a bit better than 6 miles x 7:44 on March 1. And if the wind hadn't been such a factor, I'm sure I could have done even better than that -- and for the full 5 miles.

Hamstring Treatment - Week 16 - Easy Run - 5 Miles...

Tonight I just did a 5 mile easy run. The wind was howling from the south, so I ran north and had Jenny come and pick me up. Here are my splits:

8:27
8:09
8:12
8:19
7:58

My average pace was 8:13. It felt good. A very easy pace. And although the wind was at my back, the terrain was rolling hills.

Hamstring Treatment - Week 16 - Speed work: 5 x 1 km Repeats

Tonight, Johnny had us doing 1 km repeats around the indoor track at Western. So 5 x 200 m. laps, then a 200 m. break, repeat. He wanted us to do up to 6 repeats -- and as I started, that was definitely my goal. But between taking some medication for (yet another) chest cold and being worn-out from 5 hockey games over the previous 3 days, I don't think it was meant to be. Here are my splits:

4:17
4:18
4:16
4:23
4:28

I took a 2-lap break between the 4th and 5th repeat -- I was tempted to quit a 4, but Johnny encouraged me to get that extra lap in. My average was 4:20.4 per kilometre, and I had nothing left.

Looking back to Tuesday, August 16, 2011 repeats, I averaged 4:09 for 7 x 1 KM runs in Gibbons Park -- and a bunch of them were at a 4 minute to 4:06 pace (average 4:05 for the first 5 repeats). So, clearly, I'm still not back to 100% But as I started to fade during that run, my times were similar to my "fade" times tonight (4:21, 4:18).

Taking those first 5 kilometres of August 16 and comparing them to tonight, I'm at 94% of my 2011 speed. So, not bad, but still not there.

I'll just keep plugging away!

Hamstring Treatment - Week 16 - 8 Mile Pace Run...

For the second Friday in a row, I tried to get in a "pace" run. And for the second Friday in a row, the winds were howling. Today, they were from the southeast -- 30 km/h gusting to 41 km/h. So my last couple of miles into the wind were very tough (and very slow). Here are my splits:

8:38
7:56
7:34
7:50
7:58
8:53
9:30
8:51

You can tell how tough the wind was by the fact that my last "pace" mile into the wind was 9:30, but when I turned the corner and headed north with the wind (somewhat) at my back, my pace improved to 8:51 -- and that was my "cool-down" pace!

Total miles for this week: 48.5.

Hamstring Treatment - Week 16 - 12 Mile Tempo Run...

Today, the schedule called for a 12 mile tempo run. I really didn't want to do it. It has been a long week, I've done something physical -- running, hockey, riding -- at least once per day (usually both running and riding) -- and its starting to wear me down. But I knew I'd be grumpy with myself if I bailed on this run, so I sucked it up and headed out. My initial goal was to do 8:45's for the first 6 miles, have a break at Clarke's Variety in Lucan, and then do 7:55's or better for the 6 miles home. But once I got out on the road, I stepped up my goal to 8:30s and 7:50s. Here are my splits:

8:34
8:27
8:29
8:26
8:35
8:32
Break - had a half a 12 oz. Coke
7:47
7:48
7:45
7:43
7:47
7:36

I really pushed it for that last mile. It was getting dark, so I couldn't see my time very easily. But I wanted to make sure I got the most out of the run -- and my hamstring still felt good.

So, my "tempo" average was 7:44. The overall average was 8:07 -- so I guess that's my new "marathon" pace (at least for now).

Looking at John Ferguson, the Legend's marathon training pace chart, my tempo run pace should be 8:31 to 9:01 for the run out (so far, so good) and 7:17 to 7:36 for the run back. So, I'm just on the edge of where I need to be for the run back. But I think next week I can go for it and aim for a 7:30 pace.

In summary, though, again its been an excellent week!

Hamstring Treatment - Week 15 - 5 Mile Easy Run...

Coach Brian and I went out for a five mile easy run today -- and we actually took it easy. The wind was quite brisk from the east, so we did a north-south out-and-back route on Denfield Road. Here are our splits:

8:43
8:50
8:42
8:31
8:50

We make sure to re-carb after the run with a fine selection of beverages from Brian's fridge!

So, its nice to see that the "easy" times are getting a bit faster!

Hamstring Treatment - Week 15 - Speed Work at Harris Park (5 loops) - 8.5 miles total

Tonight, Johnny had us doing roughly 1.5 mile loops beside the Thames River between the Queens Street bridge and Blackfriars Bridge. The first 'speed' section was roughly 750 m. (0.46 of a mile according to the GPS) and was relatively flat, although slightly uphill as we were going up the river. The next speed section was at the south end of Harris Park and took us up a relatively steep road to Ridout Street. We did easy jogs between speed segments.

I really didn't have any particular speed in mind when I started, but I settled on doing roughly 7 minute miles for the first speed segment, and then just as fast as I could go without stopping for the hill climb.

I screwed up the time on the first hill climb, but here are the rest of the splits:

750 m.: 3:14 (7.04 pace)
Hill Climb: (Screwed it up)
750 m.: 3:15 (7.00 pace)
Hill Climb: 1:35 (7:55 pace)
750 m.: 3:14 (6.59 pace)
Hill Climb: 1:35 (7:57 pace)
750 m.: 3:15 (6.57 pace)
Hill Climb: 1:36 (8:03 pace)
750 m.: 3:15 (7.03 pace)
Hill Climb: 1:37 (8:03 pace)

Scary, really, how consistent my times were. And I was definitely working hard, because it felt like my lungs were going to explode at each of the speed segments!

My hamstring in my right leg is still not where the left leg is -- but it didn't explode on me during the hill climbs, and it felt stronger at the end of the run than it did at the beginning. And overall, for me to be doing 7 minute miles for any distance is far better than I was able to do even just a month ago. So, again, progress!

Hamstring Treatment - Week 15 - 15 Mile Long Run to Lucan and Back, and then around the block

Today, Coach Brian was running the Really Chilly 10k in London. I chose to skip that race, so he suggested a 15 mile long run (which is much shorter than most long runs lately), with the last 5 at "marathon pace".

So I went out with a goal of 5 miles at 8:40/mile, 5 miles at 8:20 per mile and 5 miles at 8:00 per mile. It _almost_ went according to plan -- but between a bit of a headwind from the south and west to just being plain tuckered out, it was a tough run for those last 5 miles. Here are my splits:

9:05
8:34
8:39
8:37
8:39
{5 minute-ish rest at Clarke's Variety}
8:22
8:18
8:17
8:20
8:25
{10 minute-ish rest back at home}
8:01
7:53
8:03
{2 minute-ish rest at William & Maguire}
8:09
{2 minute-ish rest on William St.}
7:56

There is no question that the wind had an impact during those last 5 miles. After mile 3, my legs were super tired. And I clearly hadn't recovered after mile 4, even though by that time the wind was at my back. But I was reasonably pleased with my last mile.

It was a tough run. Its quite possible that I'm still not in 8 minute mile marathon pace territory. But, with just 7 weeks until the 2012 Boston Marathon, it wasn't a bad pace to target.

Hamstring Treatment - Week 15 - 4 Mile Pace Run...

I've been skipping the pace runs most weeks. Too busy, too much on the go. But Coach Brian had the day off so we started out from our house on a crappy, crappy day. The wind was "brisk" from the west, with a mixture of sleet and snow. But we toughed it out -- at least for the first part.

We ran south on Neil Road and then headed west for a little bit to get our warm-up mile in. And then we turned around and headed into the wind for our "pace" miles. Well, it wasn't going to happen. At one point, I'm quite sure that the wind was so strong that while I was working as hard as I could, I really wasn't going anywhere. So we got a grand total of 2 pace miles -- 4 miles total including the warm up and cool down. Here are my splits:

7:56 (warm-up)
8:34 (pace -- into the wind)
7:52 (pace -- wind at my back)
9:26 (cool-down).

So, not a great "pace" day. But the beer still tasted good!

That run put me over 40 miles for the week for the first time in my training -- 41 miles total for the week.

Hamstring Treatment - Week 15 - 10 Mile Tempo Run to Lucan and Back...

So, exactly 14 weeks ago at this time I was sitting by the pool at the Beaches Resort in Curacao, Dutch Antilles (near Venezuela) with a double Scotch with one ice cube, ice under the back of my right leg, and a pair of crutches at my side. Having just severely ruptured my right hamstring muscles, there was no way I could walk, let alone run.

14 weeks later, I just had another excellent run from home into Lucan and back.

It was a tempo run, so the goal was to go a bit slower than marathon pace for the first half, and then a bit faster than marathon pace for the second half. But since I have no idea what my current "marathon pace" is (it changes as my hamstring gets stronger), I just went into town a bit slower than I thought I could go back.

I was targeting 8:20 per mile for the first 5 miles, a five minute break for a Coke at Clarke's Variety, and then 8:00 per mile (or better) for the 5 miles home. Here are my splits:

8:27
8:18
8:15
8:19
8:14
(5 minute break)
7:58
7:53
7:51
7:51
7:54

My overall time was 1:20:56 and the average pace was 8:06 per mile. Compare that to my tempo run last week (same route, although the Westerly wind was a factor) with a time of 1:26:34 (8:39 average pace) and it is actually mind boggling the difference in performance in just a week.

There are less than 8 weeks left until Boston. And I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch, as it were. But if things keep improving this well, there is a _chance_ that I can have a respectible finish time. All I can do is keep training and we'll see what the prognosis is on race day!

Hamstring Treatment - Week 14 - 5 Mile Easy Run...

Brian and I went out from his house for a 5 mile "easy" run. And while I wouldn't say that I pushed it to an 8K race pace, I was definitely able to push it harder than I've run since the injury and was still able to keep up a short-sentence conversation with him. I screwed up the first half mile of pace, but it would have been around 8:15/mile, I'm guessing. Here are the rest of our splits:

8:13 (into the wind)
8:01 (into the wind)
7:51 (wind at our back)
7:44 (wind at our back)
9:13 (0.58 of a mile, cool-down pace)

The wind wasn't gale-force or anything, but it was definitely noticeable. For the 4 miles where I was actually running fast, our average pace was 7:58 on average.

More progress!

Hamstring Treatment - Week 14 - 4 Miles, Speed Work: Parloff Relay..

Tonight we did a Parloff Relay: 25 minutes with Jenny and me each doing 2 x 200 m. laps (400 m. total) before handing the baton to the other. Here are our splits:

1:37 (me)
1:49 (Jenny)
1:30 (me)
1:48 (Jenny)
1:31 (me)
1:47 (Jenny)
1:33 (me)
1:43 (Jenny)
1:33 (me)
1:41 (Jenny)
1:33 (me)
1:39 (Jenny)
1:32 (me)
1:39 (Jenny)
1:32 (me)
1:37 (Jenny)

Looking back to last summer, my times are comparable, although I was able to ramp up to a 1:20 final dash, whereas 1:32 was all I had in the tank this time. But my average pace was 1:30.62 back in July, whereas my average pace tonight was 1:32.62 -- so just 2 seconds per 400 m. difference overall.

I felt strong. I felt like I could actually _push_ with my right leg, for the first time in a long time. Still I'm not 100% -- but I'm feeling close. And if comparing the numbers to last July are any indication, I'm at (90.62/92.62) 97.8%!

Hamstring Treatment - Week 14 - 18 Mile Long Run...

I joined up with the Runner's Choice Marathon Training Group again today for a "short" 18 mile run. Brian and I didn't do the "Boston Breakfast Club" 4 mile pre-run, and Jed was still nursing a tweaked hamstring, so he went to Goodlife Fitness to do a 90 minute spin class instead.

I joined up with Christine Dirks, Mike Blencowe and Gordon Ball, and the group of us ran almost the entire way together. Here are our splits:

9:03
9:07
8:47
8:47
8:55
8:51
8:56
8:40
8:38
9:07
8:42
8:20
8:28
8:49
8:55
8:50
9:04
9:04

Overall, the running time was 2:38:04 for an average pace per mile of 8:47. The terrain was fairly flat (for London) and clear of snow, there was little wind, and the temperature was between -5 and -2 C.

We carried on a conversation pretty much the whole way, so the pace was comfortable.

Considering how crappy the run was last week for me, I was very pleased with how this one went. The hamstring didn't hurt any more than the rest of me. I was a bit sore in the front of my legs -- but I was wearing my old running shoes (expecting a crappy running day) so the soreness could be simply from worn-out shoes!

Hamstring Treatment - Week 14 - 12 mile tempo run...

It was 6 degrees C. today, so if there was a way I could run outside, I was going to do it. Today, the plan was for a 12 mile "Tempo" run (i.e. running at faster than marathon pace for the second half of the run), but since I have no clue what my marathon pace will be, I just did what I could on the second half of the run.

To change the scenery a bit, I ran into Tim Hortons in Lucan with a bit of a detour once I got into town to extend it out to an even 5 mile run there. I'd run back making it 10 miles total, and then if I still had daylight, I'd extend it out another 2 miles. Otherwise, I'd hit the treadmill for the last 2 miles (which is what happened). Here are my splits:

9:16
8:43
8:49
8:44
8:49

for a total to Tim Hortons of 44:21. The wind was behind me for most of the run, but it was generally uphill, so I was happy with that "easy" pace. For the 5 miles back, here are the splits:

8:30
8:25
8:17
8:35
8:26

for a total back home of 42:13. Again, this time it was generally downhill, but there was a half decent wind in my face the whole way, so it was no cake walk.

I did 19 minutes on the treadmill and was drenched in sweat after that little bit, so I worked hard. But the net result is that I got in my longest tempo run yet, and I'm still walking!

Hamstring Treatment - Week 13 - 5 Mile Easy Run

With Brian or me being away or me being in meetings, I haven't been able to get my regular Wednesday easy runs with "Coach", and today was no exception. What was different, though, was that instead of heading for the treadmill, I found an hour to head outside and go around the block (5 miles) for my run. While it was supposed to be "easy", of course I couldn't do that. Here are my splits:

8:44
8:16
8:00
8:18
8:06

There was a fairly stiff breeze from the southwest, which made the work harder on the first to miles. But overall I was quite pleased with these paces and my overall time: 41:24

Still more work to be done -- I've done this loop as fast as 4:32 per kilometre (7:18 / mile) back in October 2011, so I have quite a ways to go before I even approach that sort of speed. And comparing 41.4 minutes to 36.5 minutes puts me at 88% of my prior-to-injury speed. But Rome wasn't rebuilt in a day!

Hamstring Treatment - Week 13 - Speed work 600m + 400m x 5 (6 miles total)

So I need to start by saying that I played hockey last night and tweaked my hamstring. Not a rupture like I did in November, but just a bit of a reminder that I'm not totally healed yet. So I was cognizant of this issue as I contemplated the speed work for tonight.

Tonight John Ferguson, the Legend, had us doing a 600m. speed run followed by a 100 m. jog and then a 400 m. speed run, followed by a 400 m. jog. Repeat 3, 4 or 5 times (Jenny and I did 5). Because of my hamstring issue, I figured I should take it easy -- at least at the start -- so I chose 55 second laps of the 200 m. track as my target pace. It worked out okay. Here are my splits:

2:41 (54 second laps)
1:48 (54)
2:41 (54)
1:47 (54)
2:42 (54)
1:45 (53)
2:40 (53)
1:45 (53)
2:50 (57)
1:43 (52)

I took it easy on the last 600 m. speed run, but pushed it on the last 400 m. speed run. Overall, I was pretty happy with how it all worked out. The hamstring was tight the whole time, and I could definitely feel that my right leg is weaker than my left -- but each week it feels just a bit stronger.

Total run tonight including warm up and cool down was 6 miles.

Hamstring Treatment - Week 13 - 20 mile (but really 11 mile) long run...

I had full intentions of doing some sort of a short Pace Run on Friday -- and then I put it off to Saturday. But between being busy in the office and a bit under the weather with a cold that had been developing during the week, these runs never happened. No probs -- it would allow me a mini-"taper" to let the muscles repair in advance of this week's 20 miler.

It was a crappy day to run -- snow covered everything, flurries still coming down, and a wind from the west. Not gale-force, mind you, but enough that you definitely looked forward to having it at your back when running east. Unfortunately, I never got to experience that part.

I was careful to carb-up properly and consistently for this run, and as I was fighting a head cold, I took a decongestant tablet and some cough syrup before the run. The first 4 "pre-run" miles were no problem. I was able to keep up with the rest of the pack and the pace wasn't out of my league. For the main run, I joined Shelly Boyer and Jennifer again, and the pace was relaxed but steady. The goal was to head west through the park to Byron, head up Boler to Southdale, go west to Wickerson, and then Wickerson south to eventually make our way back to the park and back downtown again. 16 more miles, for a total of 20. But by the time we started heading up Boler, I was starting to fade. It was a long uphill segment, but it was becoming a real struggle for me and I eventually told Shelly to go on ahead. Then I saw Jed coming down Boler (obviously cutting his run short as well) so I went to join him. He was having hamstring issues and was going to run-walk back. At first I was just going to find a place to call a cab, but he convinced me to join him for an easy run back. We stopped at a convenience store for a Coke, but when we started up again, I was nauseous. I was going to puke for sure. Jed went on ahead and I called a taxi. 11 miles total. Here are my mile splits:

9:34
9:18
9:45
9:15
10:00
9:29
9:13
9:12
9:21
10:01
10:30 (guess)

Not only was I feeling sick to my stomache, but I had a headache and there was significant pressure in my sinuses. So it is possible that I was sick (duh!).

After the Coke and a quart of chocolate milk, a hot shower and then a Guinness, coffee and Big Breakfast at the Ale House, I felt significantly better. But I took it easy for the rest of the day and went to bed early.

I hate bailing on runs. But having done it, now, several times, I've proven to myself that you simply aren't going to have a good run every day. So pick your battles. The important run is on Marathon Day -- everything else is "optional" as long as you only bail occassionally. And, true enough, I'd have much better runs later in the week.

Hamstring Treatment - Week 13 - 9 Mile Tempo run on Dreadmill

While the training plan of John Ferguson, The Legend called for a 10 mile tempo run tonight, I didn't feel I could do it justice, so I shortened it to 9 miles on the dreadmill (8 miles displayed). I did the first 4 miles (displayed) at a 6.0 MPH pace (8:50/mile real world pace), and three of the four remaining displayed miles at a 6.6 MPH (displayed) pace, which should equate to 8 minute miles in the real world. I couldn't hold 6.6 MPH for more than miles 5 and 6, so I took a 2 minute rest and then hopped on the treadmill again at a 6 MPH pace. For the last mile, I ramped it up to 6.6 again.

The first 4 miles (displayed) took just a hair over 40 minutes, and the next 4 miles were just a bit over 39 minutes -- 79:18 total. The first 7 miles of the run were quite close to 70 minutes -- so 3 minutes faster than just last week. And then I ramped up the pace.

Again, while its not what I would have liked to be doing at this point in the race training plan, it is definite progress over last week's 8 mile run.

Hamstring Treatment - Week 12 - Speed Work Ladder (3.5 miles)

We did a "ladder" today -- starting at 400m, then 600m, then 800m, then 1 km, and then back down to 400m again. The goal was to keep consistent pace the whole way. I pushed the hamstring more than ever before this time, and it worked out okay.

We were on the 200 m. track. Here are my times (and my 200 pace):

400m: 1:50 (55 sec.)
600m: 2:40 (53 sec.)
800m: 3:31 (53 sec.)
1000m: 4:24 (53 sec.)
800m: 3:30 (53 sec.)
600m: 2:37 (52 sec.)
400m: 1:40 (50 sec.)

So, I was pretty happy. I finished stronger than I started, my times were consistent, and I pushed myself as hard as I could -- particularly for the 1000 and 800 runs. I had been targeting between 52 and 53 seconds and I ended up at just a hair under 53 second laps on average. Total distance (including 200 rest laps) was 5.8 km (3.5 miles).

Comparing these times to my ladder of July 28, 2010, I typically did 50 second laps (4:10/k.). So I'm not quite there -- but I'm not far off!

Hamstring Treatment - Week 12 - 22.44 mile long run

Jed, Brian and I put in 4.1 miles before the official Runners Choice run today, so all told I got in 20.44 miles. I ran with Shelly Boyer the entire way, and most of the way with Jennifer (although I didn't catch her last name).

It was a good run. The route took us up to the corner of Clarke Road and Sunningdale, and then back down Adelaide. So there were some good long hills. Here are my mile splits:

9:17
8:58
8:46
8:52
8:48
8:43
8:43
8:35
8:42
8:51
8:44
8:48
8:45
8:59
8:52
8:58
8:42
8:47
8:54
9:00
8:35 (.44 miles)

So the average pace over the whole run was 8:50 -- not terrible. My hamstring was tight, but, really, it didn't hurt more than any other part of my body by the end!

By the end of the run, it was feeling nauseous, so I have to figure out the food thing. I was starving (predictibly) by 13 miles, and I chewed a lot of gummy bear things I picked up from Sport Chekk, and Sports Beans from Runners Choice. But I needed something else. Maybe I'll try chopped up Clif bars and Pringles, like Sarah Reinertson does on her Iron Man runs next time! I had a good breakfast -- a large bowl of mini-wheats, so that got me through the first half of the run.

After getting cleaned up, we went to The Ale House for their half-priced Big Breakfast with a bunch of the other runners. And I rode in indoor polo later the afternoon, which helped stretch out the muscles.

I was pretty happy getting this run in. It confirmed that one way or another, I'll finish Boston in 10 weeks.

Hamstring Treatment - Week 15 - 4 Mile "Pace" Run

Today, Coach Brian and I ventured out into the wild weather -- sleet going sideways type wild weather -- to try to get in our 6 mile pace run (4 miles at pace with a 1 mile warm-up and cool-down). Our warm-up run was pretty good heading mostly south and then a bit east. But the wind was 39 KM/h gusting to 65 KM/h from the west -- so heading west wasn't so good.

We ended up bailing on the 4 miles of pace and shortened it to 2 miles at pace -- but our muscles were plenty sore enough. At one point, I actually felt like I wasn't moving forward despite working hard and leaning into the wind.

Here are my splits:

7:56 (warm-up)
8:34 (into the wind)
7:52 (wind behind me, but my legs were done)
9:26 (cool-down)

It was a tough run -- but just being out there today made us better men than most. And the beer (Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout) still tasted great afterwards!

Hamstring Treatment - Week 12 - 8 Mile Tempo Run on the Treadmill

It was 12 weeks ago today that I ruptured in my right hamstring and was hobbling around the Breezes resort in Curacao. And in 10.5 weeks, I'll be in Boston running the marathon.

I'm still not even close to the speed I was before the injury -- but I'm getting there.

Today I was to do an 8 mile tempo run, where the first half of the run is at marathon pace and the second half of the run is at 30 to 45 seconds per mile _faster_ than marathon pace. Well, my 'marathon pace' to hit my target of 3:20 in Boston is 7:38/mile -- and I can't even hit that pace for one mile, let alone 4. So tonight, I just hit the treadmill with the goal of doing the first half at a moderate pace, and the second half at a pace that was stressing me a bit.

Because the treadmill needs to be calibrated and I know it is off by 13.1%, I ran so it read 7 miles as the distance travelled, which should equate to 7.92 miles -- close enough.

I was going to start running at 5 MPH, but it was actually too slow, so I ramped it up to 5.5 MPH on the display, which should equate to 9:39/mile pace in the real world. I did this pace for the first 3 miles, and then ramped up the pace to 6.5 MPH on the display, which should equate to a pace of 8:10 in the real world. I was working hard, but I could handle it for the half mile until I took a quick scheduled break at the 3.5 mile mark. From there, I ramped up the pace to 6.0 MPH displayed (8:50/mile in the real world) and I carried on for 2.5 miles and then I ramped it up to 6.5 MPH (8:10/mile real world) for the last mile. I was working hard, but I was breathing well and my head was still being held high and I had a bounce in my step, so I guess the pace was okay.

So, I'm making progress. Looking back to my 7 mile (displayed) run on the treadmill on January 12, 2012, I'm certainly faster for a sustained period of time. I knocked off the run in roughly 73 minutes -- a minute faster than on January 12 -- so while the progress isn't mind boggling, it is progress nonetheless!

Hamstring Treatment - Week 11 - 4 Mile Easy Run

Coach Brian was off in Whistler skiiing, so when our buddy Jody Durand called up and asked if we wanted to go for a run in Ilderton where he was bringing his daughter once a week in preparation for a Mexican mission in March, we took him up on it. By 'we', I mean 'me' -- Jenny had a drink at the King Eddie in Ilderton while Jody and I put in a 4 mile run at a 9:18/mile 'easy run' pace. It was great to see Jody again and in the course of our 37 minute run, we not only got caught up on everything in each others' worlds, but we solved all of the worlds problems to boot!

Hamstring Treatment - Speed work

Went out to speed work tonight. After a week on the Cruise to Run, including a bunch of very encouraging runs, I was hoping for big things here. While there has been progress, it isn't quite where I'd like it to be. We did 800 m. (4 lap) runs, with a 1 lap (200 m.) break in between. Here are my splits:

3:32
3:40
3:40
3:45
3:46

Two weeks ago, I was doing 400 m. runs at between 1:48 and 1:51 per segment -- which if you just double would put me at 3:36 and 3:42 -- so no real improvement other than the fact that I went twice as far. And I couldn't see myself doing a 6th loop.

If I'd been able to keep the pace for a kilometre, I'd be doing roughly 4:35 per kilometre -- which compares to between 4:00 and 4:21 (x 7 repeats) at the track back on August 16, 2011. I could feel that my right leg simply wasn't as strong and couldn't push me as far or fast as my left leg. So, while I've made headway, I have a long way to go.

Hamstring Treatment Day 62: 6 Miles on the Treadmill

The marathon training plan put out by John Ferguson, the legend, called for 6 easy miles today. The weather wasn't particularly hospitable and running coach Brian was away today, so I just pumped these miles out on the treadmill. Because I've calculated the actual distance factor compared to what the treadmill reports (1.131 miles actually travelled for every mile reported), I had to do 5.3 miles "reported" to get 6 miles actual. I knocked it off in 55 minutes, which isn't terrible for an "easy" run.

Hamstring Treatment Day 61: First Speed Work Session at Thompson Arena - 5 miles

Eventually, once I figure I'm back up to 100% of my pre-hamstring injury speed, I'll stop prefixing these posts with "Hamstring Treatment".

Tonight was the first speed work session at the indoor 200 m. track at Thompson Arena in London. We did 7 repeats of 400 m. (with a 200 m. jog break) followed by 2 repeats of 200 m. each. Add 2 miles total for warm up and cool down, and we ran a total of about 5 miles.

Again, I learned that I simply don't have the speed I had in early November. My typical 400 paces were at 1:50. Here were my splits for the 400 m. "speed" laps:
2:00
1:50
1:48
1:50
1:49
1:51
1:50
0:52 (200 m.)
0:53 (200 m.)

Looking at what I was able to do on June 14, 2011 at our _first_ speed work session in the summer, Johnny had us doing 600 m. repeats and my average time was 2:21. So, if they had just been 400 m. repeats, I should have been in the 1:35 time frame. And looking at my Parloff Relay times of July 15, 2011, I was around 1:30 for 400 m. So I have a long way to go to get the muscle back up the that sort of time (and that was at the _start_ of speed work last summer)!

On the plus side, though, I didn't feel at any time that I was going to re-injure the hamstring.

Hamstring Treatment Day 59: 13.4 miles in London

Its a new week, so a new round of punishment! We did a route in London that took us through city streets and then up Adelaide Street to Sunningdale, and back down Richmond to the the University and back downtown again. That was 11.9 miles, and then I added another 1.5 miles after that -- 13.4 miles total. There were _lots_ of hills up to and on Sunningdale road, so it was a good precursor to Boston.

Here are my kilometre splits:
5:50
5:32
5:43
5:40
5:32
5:32
5:39
5:36
5:48
5:23
5:49
5:26
5:41
5:40
5:49
6:00
5:49
6:14
5:59
6:19
6:16


The good news is, though, that my hamstring felt much stronger than a week ago. It actually felt like it was contributing on the uphill segments of the run.

My average pace was 5:47 per kilometre -- 9:18 per mile -- which was about the same as last week. But this was a longer and definitely hillier run, so definite progress.

Hamstring Treatment Day 58: 30 miles this week, 1 mile on the treadmill today...

I tried to get a mile or two at "marathon pace" -- which to get a 3:20 marathon would be 7:38 per mile. I couldn't even come close. There is no doubt that the muscle is going to require a lot of work to build up my speed again. I managed to get a mile in at about a 10 minutes/mile pace -- pretty pathetic, really.

Hamstring Recovery: 8 weeks as of today! 7 miles on the treadmill.

... and I'm really starting to feel that its not going to be an issue much longer. I did 7 miles on the treadmill tonight -- 4 at a 5.5 MPH speed, and then ramped it up to 6 MPH for the last 3 miles. And for the last quarter mile or so I had it up to 6.5. Total time on the dreadmill was just a few seconds over 74 minutes.

So I'm feeling stronger every day. And today I also ran through the valley from our home to the office (just a few hundred metres, mind you), but by the top of the hill on the other side, I was still feeling pretty good.

So that makes 29 miles this week.

Hamstring Recovery - Day 55 - 5 Miles from Clandeboye...

Here are my kilometre splits:

6:14
5:44
5:34
5:39
6:03
6:20
6:19
6:07

The average pace was right on 6 minutes per kilometre. The challenge was the wind -- definitely heading right into our face when we turned around after doing 4 km. But we finished it and, despite the slow plodding pace, the beer still tasted good at the end!

Hamstring Treatment Day 54: 5 miles in London...

Tonight was the first night of "speed work" for the marathon training clinic. While we didn't do speed work, per se, we did all go out for anywhere from a 4 to 5 mile run. Here are my kilometre splits:
5:19
4:59
5:21
5:07
5:23
5:22
5:19
5:35
5:21 (220 m.)

The average pace for the 8.2 kilometres was 5:18, or 8:32 per mile. I could feel my hamstring -- and I was still having more trouble on the uphill sections than the flat and downhill sections, but I felt stronger than any run previously since the injury, so it was a good day.

After the run, I went out and played hockey and the hamstring was fine.

Hamstring Treatment Day 52: 12 miles on the trails in London...

There must have been 40+ runners who showed up for the Sunday morning run. We were to do anywhere from 12 to 16 miles. Jed and Brian each did about 16, but I thought it best to take it easy, considering the longest run I'd done since my hamstring injury was just 6 miles on the treadmill. Here are my kilometre splits:
6:09
5:43
5:44
5:42
5:29
5:28
5:28
5:31
5:44
5:24
5:32
5:39
5:43
6:05
5:58
6:04
5:57
6:07
6:14
6:07 pace (321 m.)

The average pace for 19.32 km (12 miles) was 5:47 per kilometre, or 9:18 per mile. Not great, but it was all I could do. I found that even the slightest incline caused me issues -- it was like my right leg (with the hamstring injury) had zero strength in going up hills.

Hamstring Treatment Day 51: 4 miles on treadmill...

4 miles on treadmill today. The first 2 were at 6 MHP, then I took a rest at 5.5 MPH, but then ramped it back up to 6 MPH for the last mile.

Hamstring Treatment Day 50: 6 miles on treadmill...

I pumped out 6 miles on the treadmill today. The weather was nice, but the roads were slushy and muddy, so I chose the indoor route. The treadmill works well. I get to watch videos of horse trials ("Eventing") while I run, and the time goes buy surprisingly quickly. I did the first 2 miles at a 6.0 "mph" pace, but slowed it down to 5.5. After about a half mile, though, I bumped it back up to 5.7 which was comfortable. I did the 6 miles in just under 63 minutes.

That makes 16.2 miles so far this week -- so just 4 miles tomorrow and I'm at 20 for the week and the point at which coach Brian says I can start working on increasing my speed.

Hamstring Treatment Day 48: 4 miles outside with Brian...

I did a short run with Coach Brian today. Just from his place down Denfield Road past William Street and then back again. Total distance is 4 miles (6.44 km) -- so 10 miles on the week. Our average pace was 5:39 per kilometre, with the following splits:
6:23
5:37
5:23
5:36
5:25
5:32
5:34 pace (440 m.)

It was a bit tough running when we couldn't run on pavement due to traffic since we were ultimately running in the slush. So I'm reasonably happy with a 5:39 pace overall. And if you take out the first and last splits, the pace was just a hair over 5:30/km (8:51 per mile). Still a long way from the 4:44/k (7:38/mile) that I need to target for my Boston goal, though.

The hamstring was a bit tight through the run, and both hips were mildly sore. But the ligaments behind my right knee were the most sore during the run. I'm getting Physiotherapist Craig out Saturday morning to have a look.

Hamstring Treatment - Day 46: 5 miles on the treadmill at a half-decent pace...

I did 5 miles on the treadmill today since it was a blizzard outside. I worked on lengthening my stride, and in doing so I was able to comfortably move up to 6 MPH (10 minutes per mile). Still a long way to go to get to the 7 minutes 45 seconds per mile that I'll need to do for 26.2 miles in Boston, but it is a good start. While I could still _feel_ my hamstring, it didn't feel in distress at all during the run. I knocked it off in 51 minutes flat, which is not bad.

Hamstring Treatment - Day 45 - 1.2 miles!

I went to do a five mile run today, but the weather outside was quite miserable. So, back to the treadmill. I got a mile into it and the power went off -- so in an instant I was in pitch blackness, and the treadmill stopped within about 1.5 strides. The power came back on in about 10 seconds, so I started running again -- but then 2 minutes later, the power went off again. I'm starting to get good at those sudden pitch-black stops! We'll try again tomorrow.