Toledo Marathon -- Pulled the Plug at 16 miles...

The run was going quite well up until about 16 miles... AGAIN (just like Columbus). At that point, I could see the wheels were falling off and that I wouldn't make my BQ time, so I decided to pull the plug and get a ride back to the start. Hamstring muscles were tight although they weren't cramping. But my times were waning and I figured it would be better to try my luck at Toronto Goodlife Fitness Marathon next weekend.

Here are my splits:

04:58.0
04:49.6
04:46.5
04:44.2
04:45.7
04:46.5
04:47.8
04:51.8
04:46.4
04:48.4
04:54.5
04:45.0
04:50.4
04:48.6
04:52.1
04:48.5
04:55.2
04:47.9
04:51.4
04:52.8
04:54.5
04:52.3
04:55.7
04:56.8
05:05.5
05:25.0
02:20.0 (330 m., 7:10 pace)

Over this 26.33 km. my pace was right on track at 4:54 per km... but you can see that the last 2.33 kilometres it was starting to fall apart. Better to pull the plug while I had a chance to still run next weekend.

So, put me down as a DNF on this one!

10 Mile "Long" run -- 1 week before Toledo Marathon

We did a 16+ kilometre route around north London and then through a bit of the trail system. I ran with Brian Groot and Dave Spencer for most of the run and we were carrying on a conversation for the majority of the run. I wasn't pushing the pace at all. Here are my splits:

5:31
5:17
5:05
4:46
4:51
5:03
5:05
5:01
5:00
5:01
5:08
5:07
4:54
4:59
4:59
4:47
4:38 (pace for 280 m.)

Average pace was 5:02.

I'm cautiously optimistic about Toledo.

8K (5 Mile) Pace Run a week before the marathon...

I changed my pace run to Saturday from Friday because I wanted to run with Jenny and Kelly yesterday, so that is when I did my easy run. Here are my splits today (aiming for 4:56 per kilometre):

4:48
4:47
4:48
4:50
4:54
4:50
4:54
4:51

Despite the apparent consistency of these times, it wasn't an easy run. There was a 22 km/h wind from the north (which also seemed to come from the east and west). So the first and the last kilometres were relatively easy, but I seemed to be fighting the wind for the other ones.

Overall, my average was 4:50 per kilometre -- which, if I kept it up for another 34.2 kilometres, would put me in at a 3:24 marathon time. That ain't gonna happen though!

Good 8 Mile Tempo Run from Goodlife to the Pump House and Back

With just 10 days until the Toledo marathon, I had a good 8 mile tempo run.

13.43 kilometres at an average pace of 4:46 per kilometre (including the slow part), so definitely a good pace. Here are my splits:

5:06
5:11
4:57
5:05
4:57
4:53
4:57 pace for 700 m.
4:29.15
4:30.66
4:35.57
4:35.84
4:37.95
4:34.20
4:03 pace for 730 m. (2:57.6)

Average pace was 4:30.95 -- 1 second slower per kilometre than last week's run. Still, I'm super happy with the result.

7 x 1 mile repeats in Gibbons Park...

The weather was very good -- a breeze from the north, but otherwise about 15 degrees C. I was aiming for 7:07 or better per mile, but really wanted to do well on my last couple of splits. Here are my times:

7:06.76
7:01.07
7:02.89
7:01.45
7:06.59
6:59.86
6:55.59

Average time: 7:02.03 I'm quite pleased with that performance. Less than 2 weeks until Toledo!

16 Mile Long Run Around Forest City Road Race Half Marathon Course (+ 3 more miles)...

Today we did the "practice marathon" or "practice Half", running the FCRR course plus a bit if we needed it. Coach John suggested anyone doing the Toledo Marathon do just 14 to 16 miles, so I was happy to limit it as such.

By any measure, I had a good run. 25.44 KM (= 15.8 miles) in 2:09:39 = 5:06 per kilometre. Here are my splits:

5:00
5:00
5:01
5:03
4:55
5:06
5:01
5:12
5:01
4:59
4:55
4:58
5:01
4:59
4:54
5:02
5:12
5:13
5:21
5:19
5:09
5:10
5:19
5:20
5:21
4:44 (for 440 m.)

I slowed down in the last 1/3 of the run on purpose. I joined up with Meredith McQuade and ran with her for about 4 km. Then Nick Groot and I went out for an additional 5-ish kilometres and we chatted most of the way out. The way back was mostly uphill and I wasn't in any real hurry -- but I pumped up the pace for the last 1/2 kilometre so that I would know that I still had gas in the tank.

It was cool -- just the way I like it -- between 3 degrees at the start and about 9 degrees at the end, and sunny the whole time. I wore my Under Armour blue shirt, which Jenny says I need to replace. I'll likely wear my UA muscle shirt for the race, then, since I like the way the UA gear wicks the sweat.

All in all, I'm pretty pleased with that run. 10 seconds faster per kilometre and 10 more miles and I've got my BQ! :-)

6 Mile Pace Run on a Windy Day...

It was really windy today, but I ventured out from the office on my 6 mile pace run anyhow. Here are my splits:

5:03
4:51
4:55
4:53
4:55
4:53
4:49
4:50
4:52
4:46 (for 610 m. into the wind)

Overall average: 4:53 per kilometre. Target pace for the marathon is 4:56. It was a tough run, but I got through it okay.

Excellent 8 mile tempo run from Goodlife to the Pump House and Back...

With two and a half weeks until the Toledo Marathon, Coach John had us doing an 8 mile tempo run tonight. The weather was warm -- 13 degrees C. -- but very humid, with a little big of very light rain on our way out of downtown. The total run was 13.22 KM -- just over 8 miles. Here are my splits:

5:22
4:49
4:56
5:01
5:02
4:49
5:17 (pace for 510 m.)
4:28
4:34
4:27
4:31
4:39 (up hill after tunnel)
4:33
4:13 (pace for 710 m.) 2:59.37

The average pace for the 13.22 km was 4:45 -- much faster than marathon pace (4:56). My pace for the "tempo" portion of the run was 4:29.95 per km or 7:15 per mile. I was struggling up the hill after the tunnel, and was very happy for every red light we hit in that last 710 metres. But overall, this was an excellent tempo run.

6 x 1 mile repeats: Very good speed work session 2 days after 38 km long run...

Tonight it was a cool and windy night - about 6 degree C. and winds gusting to over 30 km/h. But it wasn't quite as bad in Gibbons park -- but still breezy enough that it can affect things.

I was originally expecting to do 8 mile repeats -- which is a lot considering I hadn't been to the last two speed work sessions. John suggested a maximum of 6, which I wasn't about to argue with.

My original thought was to go out looking for 7:20 per mile. But I figured I'd step it up a bit to no slower than 7:15 per mile if I was only doing 6 of them. And we'd see how much I could put out there for the last one. Here are my splits:

7:08.02
7:08.18
7:01.27
7:01.72
7:03 (from memory)
7:04 (from memory)

7:04.35 average. I'm pretty happy with that considering I did a 38 kilometre run just two days prior!

So not fantastic, but certainly not bad. The wind was a factor, and it seemed to come at us from both directions. But it was cool enough that overheating certainly wasn't a problem. I felt fairly strong the whole run, but really had nothing left on that last lap.

38 kilometre long run (23.6 mile) at 5:17 average pace...

Today was my longest run of the spring training session. It went really well. I started with a 11 kilometre run from Goodlife Fitness up around the university and back. Then I did the RC Marathon Training Group's 16 mile run up over the swaybacks, and back on Wickerson to Baseline, Boler and the park system. Total distance 38 kilometres in 3:20:58 for an average pace of 5:17. I ran with Coach John, Pipes, and Gord Ball for the last little bit, but stepped it up for the last kilometre. Here are my splits:

5:14
5:12
5:19
5:11
5:13
5:07
5:06
5:11
5:06
5:03
5:13
5:30
5:20
5:00
5:04
5:13
5:12
5:10
5:15
5:21
5:28
5:42
5:31
5:19
5:38
5:23
4:58
5:04
5:11
5:14
5:21
5:26
5:49
5:19
5:39
5:21
5:38
4:54

I was able to pick up the pace for the last kilometre without any trouble. Overall, I'm very happy this run. Now it's TAPER TIME! :-)

Downtown 5K - Personal Best: 20:59

Pretty happy with today's race: 20:59 = 4:12 per kilometre, a personal best by 6 seconds (as compared to last summer). Course was flat and fast, and the temperature was about 7 degrees C. and overcast. Jenny was second in her age group and Josh was in the 24 minute range. Full results here: http://chiptimeresults.com/resultsreader.php?y=2015&r=rcgoodfridayL.htm