What a difference a week makes! Today it was cool -- starting at around 7 degrees C. and going up to maybe 13 or so, but with a slight breeze. I was sweating profusely from my head and torso, but my shorts actually stayed dry. I wore my RaceReady shorts and my black singlet. Lots of folks thought I was crazy -- but by the end of the run, not so much.
We didn't push the pace. The average over the 24 miles (38.4 km) was 5:22 per K. But it felt easy the whole way and I could have easily done another couple of miles. Here are my splits:
5:51
5:45
5:28
5:39
5:23
5:24
5:23
5:09
5:16
5:16
5:09
5:03
5:13
5:28
5:35
5:24
4:58
5:21
5:22
5:18
5:36
5:11
5:21
5:23
5:20
5:32
5:42
5:42
5:19
5:18
5:12
5:20
5:22
5:16
5:15
5:17
5:10
5:11
4:55 (for 400 m.)
I carried 3 bags of 10 dried apricots, 1 Mars bar, 3 ibuprofen and 5 eTabs. I had the Mars bar and most of the apricots. I had 1 ibuprofen after 3K because my hip/butt was talking to me still -- a bit of pain left over from the Half a week ago, but much better than Thursdays' run. It was fine after the single ibuprofen. I didn't have any cola at the water stops.
I bounded through the last few kilometres. Felt great to be cool the whole way. Very happy with this run!
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Run the Runway 5K - 21:05 (unofficial) Personal Best... INJURED!
Today I ran the first annual (hopefully) Run the Runway event out at Diamond Aircraft, which took us up the runway at the London International Airport. An out-and-back route, it was as flat as you could ever hope for. And while wind can be a real issue on such a wide open surface, tonight the wind sock was hanging straight down. With a temperature of around 16 degrees C., you really couldn't have asked for better topographical or weather conditions!
But there was one minor issue: My IT band that had been bothering my left buttock and causing discomfort all the way down to my knee. I'd been treating it with stretches, exercises and ibuprofen, but I was concerned that it would cause me issues during the race.
I had a half a medium dark roast Timmy's before we warmed up. Coach John, Brian Hagemeier, Ed Soldo and I all went out for a 2K warm up. I ate a Mars bar and did one quick stride-out before getting at the start line, right near the front of the crowd.
Here are my splits according to the GPS:
4:03.90
4:14.28
4:16.83
4:21.18
4:06.44
Total: 21:02.6
The clock said 21:05 as I crossed, so the GPS wasn't entirely accurate, which is normal. My average pace was 4:13 per kilometre.
I was super-happy with this run. As always in a race, I felt like I wanted to walk during the last kilometre. But I grit my teeth and vowed not to walk. I concentrated on keeping the best form that I could while pushing forward with every stride. And once I rounded the last corner towards the finish, I found the energy to put on one final kick. I tried to get under 21 minutes, but couldn't do it.
Everything about the race was perfect. Even my issues with my IT band weren't a problem and I don't think affected my running in any way. I'm going to continue doing my stretches and exercises to make sure I get through Ragnar and the Columbus marathon.
But there was one minor issue: My IT band that had been bothering my left buttock and causing discomfort all the way down to my knee. I'd been treating it with stretches, exercises and ibuprofen, but I was concerned that it would cause me issues during the race.
I had a half a medium dark roast Timmy's before we warmed up. Coach John, Brian Hagemeier, Ed Soldo and I all went out for a 2K warm up. I ate a Mars bar and did one quick stride-out before getting at the start line, right near the front of the crowd.
Here are my splits according to the GPS:
4:03.90
4:14.28
4:16.83
4:21.18
4:06.44
Total: 21:02.6
The clock said 21:05 as I crossed, so the GPS wasn't entirely accurate, which is normal. My average pace was 4:13 per kilometre.
I was super-happy with this run. As always in a race, I felt like I wanted to walk during the last kilometre. But I grit my teeth and vowed not to walk. I concentrated on keeping the best form that I could while pushing forward with every stride. And once I rounded the last corner towards the finish, I found the energy to put on one final kick. I tried to get under 21 minutes, but couldn't do it.
Everything about the race was perfect. Even my issues with my IT band weren't a problem and I don't think affected my running in any way. I'm going to continue doing my stretches and exercises to make sure I get through Ragnar and the Columbus marathon.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Tempo Run - 5 Miles easy. Definitely injured.
My left hip/buttock area has been talking to me (screaming at me) for 2 days now. I definitely have something screwed up. It is a pain in my left hip/butt area that gradually has a dull ache down to my knee. We're pretty sure it is iliotibial band syndrome or IT band syndrome for short, or ITBS for shortest. Anyhow, it is very common in runners -- better than half the runners I talked to had it.
The good news is that I likely won't make it worse by running. It will just hurt. And the better news is that as I run more, it hurts less during that run. It just hurts a lot more after the run.
Anyhow for today's tempo run -- since I'm racing tomorrow night -- I just took it easy. a 5 miler (8K) out and back. Here are my splits:
6:01
5:18
5:24
5:21
4:59
4:58
4:59
4:56
5:14 average for the run. Not bad considering I was taking it easy. I was looking for 5-minute K's on the way back, which I had no problem achieving.
We went to Runner's Choice and picked up a foam roller, which everyone recommends as a poor-man's massage therapist. It does seem to work well. Plus I found lots of articles online about stretches one can do to help strengthen the IT band area. So I'm going to work on doing those stretches 3 times a day and work with the foam roller 3 times a day as well.
The good news is that I likely won't make it worse by running. It will just hurt. And the better news is that as I run more, it hurts less during that run. It just hurts a lot more after the run.
Anyhow for today's tempo run -- since I'm racing tomorrow night -- I just took it easy. a 5 miler (8K) out and back. Here are my splits:
6:01
5:18
5:24
5:21
4:59
4:58
4:59
4:56
5:14 average for the run. Not bad considering I was taking it easy. I was looking for 5-minute K's on the way back, which I had no problem achieving.
We went to Runner's Choice and picked up a foam roller, which everyone recommends as a poor-man's massage therapist. It does seem to work well. Plus I found lots of articles online about stretches one can do to help strengthen the IT band area. So I'm going to work on doing those stretches 3 times a day and work with the foam roller 3 times a day as well.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Speedwork - 7 x 1 mile repeats. Could be injured...
Coach John had already warned us last Thursday that for those of us who did the Springbank Half Marathon, we'd likely want to take it easier at Speed Work this week. So my plan was to do 5 1-mile repeats at roughly a 7:15 pace, and then see if I felt good enough to step it up to a 7 minute pace for the last two miles.
But as soon as we went out for our warm-up run, I wondered if there was something a bit wonky with my left hip/buttock area. It was sore and it took a bit of running for me to be able to run without a bit of pain.
So I changed my plan. I didn't want to wimp-out, but Megan Jansen and Heather Barrett were looking to do their last speed work before their marathon and half-marathon this weekend, so Jenny offered my services as a pace bunny for their 2 x 2-mile repeats. I gladly obliged. We were aiming for 8 minute miles. Here are our splits:
7:58.28
7:56.95
7:43.64
7:51.11
So the third repeat was a bit quick, but the others were pretty even.
I was feeling sufficiently limbered up by the end of those 4 miles that I continued on with some faster repeats. I started going out for a 7:20 mile and was going to pull the plug after a total of 5 repeats, but I felt so good, I kept going. And then for my seventh, repeat, I stepped it up even further:
7:18.95
7:16.93
7:06.17
It is the last couple that usually tell the tale of how fit one is, so I was happy that, two days after running a tough Half, I was able to turn in this performance.
However, by the time it was all said and done, my hip/buttock was still hurting and continued to nag at me. So it is possible I have a bit of ITBS or hip bursitis. I'm going to take it easy and blast it with ibuprofen for the next couple of days. I may bail on my tempo run on Thursday, but I'm registered for a 5k race on Friday. We'll see if I'm feeling better by then.
But as soon as we went out for our warm-up run, I wondered if there was something a bit wonky with my left hip/buttock area. It was sore and it took a bit of running for me to be able to run without a bit of pain.
So I changed my plan. I didn't want to wimp-out, but Megan Jansen and Heather Barrett were looking to do their last speed work before their marathon and half-marathon this weekend, so Jenny offered my services as a pace bunny for their 2 x 2-mile repeats. I gladly obliged. We were aiming for 8 minute miles. Here are our splits:
7:58.28
7:56.95
7:43.64
7:51.11
So the third repeat was a bit quick, but the others were pretty even.
I was feeling sufficiently limbered up by the end of those 4 miles that I continued on with some faster repeats. I started going out for a 7:20 mile and was going to pull the plug after a total of 5 repeats, but I felt so good, I kept going. And then for my seventh, repeat, I stepped it up even further:
7:18.95
7:16.93
7:06.17
It is the last couple that usually tell the tale of how fit one is, so I was happy that, two days after running a tough Half, I was able to turn in this performance.
However, by the time it was all said and done, my hip/buttock was still hurting and continued to nag at me. So it is possible I have a bit of ITBS or hip bursitis. I'm going to take it easy and blast it with ibuprofen for the next couple of days. I may bail on my tempo run on Thursday, but I'm registered for a 5k race on Friday. We'll see if I'm feeling better by then.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Springbank Half Marathon - Half Decent Time (1:41:56) but walked A LOT.
By all accounts, this should have been a great half marathon. Still, I was just hoping for something close to my personal best in this race -- 1:41:23 (http://blog.brucelamb.com/2010/09/2010-springbank-half-marathon-good-race.html) back in 2010.
The route started at the cottage near Commissioners Road and took us around the loop 1.5 times before heading up the trail system into Harris Park before it turned around. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3368072
I was ultimately hoping for a 1:40 Half in my optimistic case. Something close to my PB in this race (1:41:23) for my mid-range goal, and something faster than I did in the spring in Toledo (1:44:56) for my "holding it together" goal. Anyhow, I started out looking for a 4:44 per kilometre pace which would put me across in 1:40. And I was hoping that if I could get to the turn-around point in Harris Park, I should be able to keep the pace going downhill all the way back.
So the first part of the plan went well. I got through the first 12 kilometres to the turn around without significant problem, despite the fact that it was gradually uphill pretty much the entire way. Here are my splits until the turn-around:
4:29 (downhill)
4:32 (downhill)
4:39 (uphill)
4:33 (downhill)
4:39 (uphill)
4:38 (gradual uphill)
4:44 (gradual uphill)
4:36 (flat on average)
4:38 (gradual uphill)
4:35 (gradual uphill - Terry Fox Parkway)
4:37 (hilly up and down)
4:43 (hilly up and down)
So my time until the turn around was excellent. Aiming for 4:44 on average and I only had two kilometres in the 4:44 range -- even though I was consciously trying to keep it slow. But at the turn-around, the strategy started to unravel. My next kilometre out of Harris Park was slow -- and I was already considering that I might have to take a walk break. But instead, I toughed it out and just decided I'd slow the pace and take it easier. Here are my next splits after the turn-around:
4:55 (hilly up and down)
4:47 (gradual downhill - Terry Fox Parkway)
4:46 (gradual downhill)
And at that point I lost the mental toughness that I know I'll need to get through the marathon. I was struggling -- possibly overheating -- but my legs were telling me they needed a break. So at the water stop before the 16K mark, I actually stopped and took in some water, and then carried on.
4:53 (pace for 570 m.)
0:46 STOPPED
4:50 (flat on average)
So the strategy seemed to work -- a bit. I felt stronger when I took off, but was still struggling up any minor hills, like the little one around Wonderland Gardens. And after that little hill, I had to take another break -- this time just walking:
5:20 (pace for 140 m. -- 0:46)
0:39 WALKED
But, again, I picked up the pace and it wasn't awful. From there on, it was walk run to get to the finish.
4:47 (gradual downhill)
5:06 (pace for 370 m.)
0:43 WALKED
4:40 (pace for 800 m. up the dam hill)
1:06 WALKED
4:36 (pace for 820 m.)
0:53 WALKED
4:43 (for 320 m.)
0:27 WALKED
4:30 (pace for 840 m.)
I was able to kick it up a notch once I saw the finish line and came across strongly in under 1:42 -- but that was about the only thing I was able to salvage from the run.
Jenny came in at just over 1:45 -- which is 3 minutes off her personal best - she found the hills tough as well. Bernie LeForte and Anne Hughes both set personal bests by a wide margin though (5 minutes!).
So it was both a disappointing run for me, and a run that gives me hope for the marathon. Certainly disappointing that I had to walk so much. But when I wasn't walking, my pace was pretty comfortable, despite the hilly course. And my time wasn't awful -- just not as good as I would have liked, especially considering how well training has been going.
Looking at all the times I stopped or walked, if I had been able to keep going, I could have taken 4:34 off my finish time -- 1:37:22. But that wasn't going to happen. What I could have done, though, is sucked it up in the last 2 kilometres. If I hadn't walked during that last 10 minutes, I would have taken 2:20 off my time giving me a personal best and hitting my goal time.
An interesting observation is that when I weighed myself in the morning when I got up, I was 186 lbs. (above my target weight of 181). When I got back from the run, I was at 186 as well -- but I'd consumed water along the course plus 6 or maybe 7 cans of soft drinks and lemonade. That is a lot of fluid that I lost. So maybe the heat was taking its toll and I didn't know it. It was only 19 degrees when we were done the race -- but I'm sure the bright sunshine made it feel more like 25 degrees or more.
A good benchmark for a full marathon is to take your Half time, double it, and add 10 minutes -- although I've never seen that math work for me. But if that match works, I'd be at 3:34 marathon, which is 6 minutes slower than I really should have if I want to qualify for Boston. So I'm going to have to figure this out. There are 6 more weeks until the marathon so I have 3 more weeks of hard training before I start to taper. I think I have to want the good finish time more. I didn't want it enough today. I have to fight the urge to walk. But it would be just so much better if I didn't get that urge to begin with.
My strategy for Columbus may be to get 2 minutes "in the bank" under a 3:30 finish time and then coast at 5 minute K's until the finish. Something worth considering.
The route started at the cottage near Commissioners Road and took us around the loop 1.5 times before heading up the trail system into Harris Park before it turned around. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3368072
I was ultimately hoping for a 1:40 Half in my optimistic case. Something close to my PB in this race (1:41:23) for my mid-range goal, and something faster than I did in the spring in Toledo (1:44:56) for my "holding it together" goal. Anyhow, I started out looking for a 4:44 per kilometre pace which would put me across in 1:40. And I was hoping that if I could get to the turn-around point in Harris Park, I should be able to keep the pace going downhill all the way back.
So the first part of the plan went well. I got through the first 12 kilometres to the turn around without significant problem, despite the fact that it was gradually uphill pretty much the entire way. Here are my splits until the turn-around:
4:29 (downhill)
4:32 (downhill)
4:39 (uphill)
4:33 (downhill)
4:39 (uphill)
4:38 (gradual uphill)
4:44 (gradual uphill)
4:36 (flat on average)
4:38 (gradual uphill)
4:35 (gradual uphill - Terry Fox Parkway)
4:37 (hilly up and down)
4:43 (hilly up and down)
So my time until the turn around was excellent. Aiming for 4:44 on average and I only had two kilometres in the 4:44 range -- even though I was consciously trying to keep it slow. But at the turn-around, the strategy started to unravel. My next kilometre out of Harris Park was slow -- and I was already considering that I might have to take a walk break. But instead, I toughed it out and just decided I'd slow the pace and take it easier. Here are my next splits after the turn-around:
4:55 (hilly up and down)
4:47 (gradual downhill - Terry Fox Parkway)
4:46 (gradual downhill)
And at that point I lost the mental toughness that I know I'll need to get through the marathon. I was struggling -- possibly overheating -- but my legs were telling me they needed a break. So at the water stop before the 16K mark, I actually stopped and took in some water, and then carried on.
4:53 (pace for 570 m.)
0:46 STOPPED
4:50 (flat on average)
So the strategy seemed to work -- a bit. I felt stronger when I took off, but was still struggling up any minor hills, like the little one around Wonderland Gardens. And after that little hill, I had to take another break -- this time just walking:
5:20 (pace for 140 m. -- 0:46)
0:39 WALKED
But, again, I picked up the pace and it wasn't awful. From there on, it was walk run to get to the finish.
4:47 (gradual downhill)
5:06 (pace for 370 m.)
0:43 WALKED
4:40 (pace for 800 m. up the dam hill)
1:06 WALKED
4:36 (pace for 820 m.)
0:53 WALKED
4:43 (for 320 m.)
0:27 WALKED
4:30 (pace for 840 m.)
I was able to kick it up a notch once I saw the finish line and came across strongly in under 1:42 -- but that was about the only thing I was able to salvage from the run.
Jenny came in at just over 1:45 -- which is 3 minutes off her personal best - she found the hills tough as well. Bernie LeForte and Anne Hughes both set personal bests by a wide margin though (5 minutes!).
So it was both a disappointing run for me, and a run that gives me hope for the marathon. Certainly disappointing that I had to walk so much. But when I wasn't walking, my pace was pretty comfortable, despite the hilly course. And my time wasn't awful -- just not as good as I would have liked, especially considering how well training has been going.
Looking at all the times I stopped or walked, if I had been able to keep going, I could have taken 4:34 off my finish time -- 1:37:22. But that wasn't going to happen. What I could have done, though, is sucked it up in the last 2 kilometres. If I hadn't walked during that last 10 minutes, I would have taken 2:20 off my time giving me a personal best and hitting my goal time.
An interesting observation is that when I weighed myself in the morning when I got up, I was 186 lbs. (above my target weight of 181). When I got back from the run, I was at 186 as well -- but I'd consumed water along the course plus 6 or maybe 7 cans of soft drinks and lemonade. That is a lot of fluid that I lost. So maybe the heat was taking its toll and I didn't know it. It was only 19 degrees when we were done the race -- but I'm sure the bright sunshine made it feel more like 25 degrees or more.
A good benchmark for a full marathon is to take your Half time, double it, and add 10 minutes -- although I've never seen that math work for me. But if that match works, I'd be at 3:34 marathon, which is 6 minutes slower than I really should have if I want to qualify for Boston. So I'm going to have to figure this out. There are 6 more weeks until the marathon so I have 3 more weeks of hard training before I start to taper. I think I have to want the good finish time more. I didn't want it enough today. I have to fight the urge to walk. But it would be just so much better if I didn't get that urge to begin with.
My strategy for Columbus may be to get 2 minutes "in the bank" under a 3:30 finish time and then coast at 5 minute K's until the finish. Something worth considering.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Easy Tempo Run - 10.65K with last 2 miles at Half Marathon Pace
Because of the Springbank Half Marathon on Sunday, Coach John wanted us to just take it easy on our tempo run tonight. The goal was to go our easy on a 6 mile (total) run, and then turn it up to Half pace for the last 1.75 miles (at the tunnel). Here are my splits:
5:21
5:02
5:16
5:16
5:09
5:14
5:03
4:52 (pace for 340 m.)
4:39
4:38
4:39
4:23 (pace for 310 m.)
The average pace was exactly 5:00 per K -- and I felt comfortable the entire way. We were carrying on a conversation the way down to the turn around, and I felt good on the way back. A successful run!
5:21
5:02
5:16
5:16
5:09
5:14
5:03
4:52 (pace for 340 m.)
4:39
4:38
4:39
4:23 (pace for 310 m.)
The average pace was exactly 5:00 per K -- and I felt comfortable the entire way. We were carrying on a conversation the way down to the turn around, and I felt good on the way back. A successful run!
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Mile Repeats - 6 x 1 mile at TD Stadium on a nice night...
When we did our warm-up run, my legs actually felt wobbly at the end, and I was drenched in sweat. So I really wasn't sure how the night was going to go. But when we finally got into the run, I relaxed into it and actually felt pretty good. I had the pleasure of running with Anne Frost and Gord Ball -- both excellent runners -- so we had a pretty quick gaggle of us on the track.
The temperature was about 23 degrees when we started and as the sun went down it was about 18 degrees when we ended. And the humidity that was around at the start of the day had pretty much dissipated. I was aiming for 52 second 200 m. splits -- 1:44 per 400 m. lap. or 6:56 per mile(ish). Here are my splits:
6:53.13
6:54.13
6:54.47
6:52.61
6:50.34
6:42.67
My average pace was 6:51.23 -- well below my target. And, as far as I can tell, the fastest 6 x 1 mile repeats I've ever recorded. The closest I could find was on Sept 1, 2010 -- and even then, my times (out on William Street) were 6:56.67 on average.
There was a 7 x 1 mile repeat I did a few weeks later -- October 12, 2010 -- and I smoked that one: http://blog.brucelamb.com/2010/10/possibly-my-best-speed-work-session-to.html Average pace of 6:43.14 -- so a longer run and faster pace. But I'm still happy with tonight's run!
I'm most proud, though, that I was really able to step it up on the last mile. I clearly had gas in the tank.
The temperature was about 23 degrees when we started and as the sun went down it was about 18 degrees when we ended. And the humidity that was around at the start of the day had pretty much dissipated. I was aiming for 52 second 200 m. splits -- 1:44 per 400 m. lap. or 6:56 per mile(ish). Here are my splits:
6:53.13
6:54.13
6:54.47
6:52.61
6:50.34
6:42.67
My average pace was 6:51.23 -- well below my target. And, as far as I can tell, the fastest 6 x 1 mile repeats I've ever recorded. The closest I could find was on Sept 1, 2010 -- and even then, my times (out on William Street) were 6:56.67 on average.
There was a 7 x 1 mile repeat I did a few weeks later -- October 12, 2010 -- and I smoked that one: http://blog.brucelamb.com/2010/10/possibly-my-best-speed-work-session-to.html Average pace of 6:43.14 -- so a longer run and faster pace. But I'm still happy with tonight's run!
I'm most proud, though, that I was really able to step it up on the last mile. I clearly had gas in the tank.
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