Going Long

32 must be my lucky number. I had another great run long today, with 32k being the distance.

Got an early start at 5:45 am, so I could end up at Sporting Life to pick up my race kit by 10 am. It was cool, but comfortable to start out, and I was wearing long tights and an extra vest over my long sleeve and short sleeve shirts.

Time drifted along quite quickly, as I chewed up the kilometers. I started seeing some runners going the other way along Queens Quay. They were out in shorts and t-shirts, and it started to make me feel a bit overdressed. Somehow, my body started heating up and I decided to ditch my outer layer.

What to do with clothes you don't want to carry for the remaining 20k of your run?? Place them inside a traffic safety barrel of course! I left the clothes inside a barrel on Lakeshore Blvd @ Cherry St. We were going to be heading down that way on Sunday for the "Steps for Life" 5k walk, so I thought it'd be easy to retreive them. As it turns out, it my idea worked like a charm. Christine had a good laugh when I retreived the clothes and got back to the car on Sunday afternoon!

So, back to Saturday's run. It was all good going north through the Lower Don Valley. Started seeing some cyclists going the other way after 7 am. I was running at a relaxed pace, and feeling quite good. They've been doing some re-alignment of the paved paths in the valley, re-planting trees/shrubs along the banks of the river. It was a sunny and warm day once the sun was up.

Made it past my previous office around 8 am. I felt pretty strong as I headed up behind the Science Centre and underneath Eglinton Ave W. I am a bit unfamiliar with the path system in the far upper reaches of the Don Valley, having only cycled there once with McGhie. I found out I was on the right track to make it up to Sunnybrook Park, and to end up on the hospital campus and out across Bayview Ave.

As could be expected on a 3-4 hour run, I needed a bit of a bathroom break at that point. I had never been inside any of the buildings at Sunnybrook, and didn't want to start looking around dressed as a sweaty, smelly runner - trying to hold it in!! I'm talking about the sitting kind of bathroom trip, not the standing kind. hehehe Eventually I saw someone entering a building and asked them if a public washroom was close. She pointed one out right inside the doorway. Bonus!

I emerged about 10 minutes later, feeling refreshed and ready to finish the last 6k of my run. That bathroom break really hit my legs hard. I could barely move when I tried to get running again. It was like Around the Bay all over again - except without the pain in my calf. I vowed to stop if my recurring injury reared its ugly head, but luckily it did not.

Got moving slowly, and resumed a slower pace than I had been making before my rest stop. The trip west on Blythwood and over to Yonge St was a bit of an undulating journey. Even small hills were a bit of a challenge up into the 30k range. I got to Sporting Life with just over thirty clicks done. I wanted to finish the full distance, so I ran up Yonge St and over to Lawrence @ Mount Pleasant and back to finish it! Yeah!

Picked up my race kit afterwards in the store. Although I didn't run the race on Sunday morning, I was all about collecting my t-shirt. Took the subway home and got there in time to take Alex to her little friend's birthday party. Getting out on my bike so soon after running was an interesting experience, and got me thinking about triathalons . . . hehehehe

Distance 32k (20 mi)

Time 3:47:52

Pace 7:07/km (11:23/mi)

HR max 236 (triggered by electronics at an intersection, I think)

HR avg 149

No "in-zone" number, as I was just trying to keep the HR low during the whole run. Noticed that I was below 136 for a good portion of the first 10k, creeping up about 10 bpm each 10k following that.

Split times (total time)

5k 32:58

10k 33:41 1:06:39

15k 32:09 1:38:48

20k 34:12 2:13:00

25k 31:48 2:44:48

30k 50:04 3:34:52 (10 min bathroom break!)

32k 13:00 3:47:52

Very quick (for me!) 6k tonight. Last clinic night with the whole group - some will be running Mississauga on Sunday, others will continue for two more weeks preparing for Ottawa.

It was a bit breezy and cool tonight, so I began the run by wanting to keep my heart rate up to stay warm. The pace seemed to agree with me, so I kept at it.

It was good to get some confidence pushing myself a bit. It's been a long time since I've seen a sub-6/km pace on my watch. Hello old friend!

The whole heart rate training regime was good for me this cycle. It kept me from burning out, and it was also easier to come back from my nagging injury through March and April.

It will be great to be in Mississauga on Sunday, for the half. I've never been to that race, so I'm looking forward to it. I may even spend some time at the expo - which is something I usually avoid like the plague. I'm a "get the kit - get out quick" expo guy! heheheh

We'll see how much time I have on Saturday.

Distance 6k (3.75 mi)

Time 34:07

Pace 5:40/km (9:04/mi)

HR Zone 136-156 bpm

HR Max 175, Avg 154

In Zone 39.4% of the run

Fantastic Thursday morning run.  Weather is EXTREMELY beautiful.  Run was comfortable.  Had some pace.  Got some much needed confidence going into final preparations for Ottawa.

Even managed a negative split this morning.  What a novel thing that is!  I always had trouble figuring pace management to end my runs with the nirvana of negative split.  Now I see that the key was on my Garmin all along.  In big, bold numbers, the unit gives me my lap pace!  Duh! Go out at 6:29/km, come back at 6:28/km.  Negative split.  Easy peasy.

Got home and puttered around with the girls and Christine for awhile before heading out to work by bicycle.  I'm thinking that over the summer I'm going to have more of that "duathalon" experience happening.   I hope my legs and my brain and my sleep patterns are up to it.

Distance 10.1k  (6.3 mi)

Time  1:03:47

Pace 6:18/km

HR  range  126-146 bpm

HR max  xxx,  avg xxx

In range  xx%

Woke up at 4 am this morning, and didn't even try to get back to sleep.  Got a lot going on today - race prep for the Mississauga half.  Gotta get to Value Village for some throw away clothing.  Over to the race expo to pick up my kit.  Also get the girls squared away for our sleep over at Tito and Tita's house tonight.

Did a pleasant 6k this morning.  The birds are chirpping and the temperature is 9C.  It felt good to get out on Annette St.  They are 95% done the road work that has been going on for months, and now the asphalt is smooth as silk for an early morning runner.

Figured I'd post this now, because I don't think I'll get a chance for the rest of the weekend.  And the music's getting faster at work . . . no time next week either!  :-(

I begin my taper after running the half tomorrow.  Not that I'll be tapering that much.  My schedule has been reduced due to injuries the past eight weeks.  But, I'll take the reduction in milage and intensity leading up to Ottawa.

My plans for the marathon may change up a little bit in the next while.  Not the race itself, but getting to- and from- the event.  I had planned to take Friday and Monday off that weekend - to facilitate an unhurried arrival and enough recovery in my legs to withstand the 5-hour car trip home.  I was informed that all vacation plans are tentative, subject to the outcome of labour negotiations at work.  I believe that the unions are in a legal position to inform the employer of their intent to strike at any time. 

Bottom line - I may be driving up to Ottawa on Saturday morning and coming back on Sunday night.  Oh, the horror!

Distance  6.09k (3.8mi)

Time 38:29

Pace 6:19/km

HR range 126-146 bpm

HR max 209, 144 avg

In zone xx%

Finally, a great race experience in 2009!  It all came together in my first race in Mississauga.  Weather was a bit cool in the AM, but I warmed up well and the throw-away clothese were gone before 8k.

I arrived at the finish line just before 6am, to lock up my bike for my post-race ride back to Square One where I left my car.  I had slept at mom and dad's so the girls would have care on Sunday morning.  Christine and Sue had gone away overnight to celebrate Chris' birthday.  I showed up at the start by myself, perfectly content to run on my own.  I was so happy to see the RR peeps just before the start. 

I ended up crossing the start line with Allyson and Jaimie.  We had a nice stroll down Burnhamthorpe Rd together, and I left them at about 5k to test my marathon strategy in the half race. 

My strategy was to start the race with 5k at 6:30/km pace.  Then, depending on how I was feeling, I was going to try and increase my pace by 10 seconds in each 5k block.  That would have brought me in at 2:11.

As it turned out, my first five was at 6:32 pace.  So far, so good.  Turned down Mississauga Rd and onto the UTM campus feeling ok.  I saw a number of folks jumping into the woods for "bio-breaks" and thought that would be a good idea.  I didn't relish the idea of waiting for a port-a-pottie along the route, so paused at about 7k. 

Continuing down Mississauga Rd, the surface was silky smooth and I began to pick-up speed.  I finished the second five kilometers in just over 30 minutes, at a pace of 6:08 and the 10k distance complete in 1:03.

After getting up the small hill at 10k, it all began working for me.  I hooked up with an older couple (older than me! hehehe) who had a great pace and were picking their way through the thinning crowd.  I followed them for a short while, thinking I would lose them during a walk break.  As luck would have it, they took a walk break just in front of me.  So I hung onto them until about 16k and they pulled me along quite well.  I did the third 5k block in 28 minutes and change, at 5:37 pace.  Yowza!

Getting onto the Waterfront Trail, I found that the field was bunching up and I still wanted to fly!  I couldn't believe that I was still getting faster at that late stage in the race.  I checked the lap time on my Garmin, and I was hovering around 5:17-5:20 during the final couple of k's.  I kept a couple of folks in my sights, because I saw they were strong and I wanted to try to keep up.  To my suprise I was able to catch and pass them before the final dash to the finish line.

If you see my pics from the race photographer, I can tell you that 5:12 pace at 21k doesn't look very pretty!  hehehe  I'll take it though.  This two hours built up an enormous amount of confidence that I'll take into the marathon in Ottawa in two weeks.  I know I can run fast, now I'll have to make sure that I run smart.  4:30 looks reachable.  I'll see how I feel mid-run before hoping for anything more than that.

Time  2:05:06

Distance 21.47k (13.4mi)

Pace 5:50/km (9:29/mi)

HR Avg 149, Max 194

Second-last clinic night for the spring marathoners.  A bunch of the runners had run Mississauga on Sunday, and we spent the meeting hearing about their experiences.  It was as varied as the people running.  Most seemed to have a great run.  A couple had issues going into Sunday, or had a problem come up that kept them from peak performance.  One woman qualified for Boston, and we were understandably in awe of her!  hehehe

Got out for a 6k tempo run, but did it a bit slower than my normal Tuesday pace.  I wanted to take it easy so soon after a pretty agressive half marathon race.  So Nisha and I cruised around the loop twice after doing our normal additional jaunt on Gothic, Glenlake and High Park Ave.

Time  39:23

Distance 6k (3.75mi)

Pace  6:33/km (10:30/mi)

HR Zone  136-156 bpm

HR Avg 132, Max 148

In Zone 30.5%

Ran home this evening, with sunny blue skies but a hell of a lot of wind.  The trail along the lake was unbelievably difficult.  Like wanting to quit running difficult.  It seemed like the wind was up into the 50-60 km/h range.  They had turned off the windmill at Exhibition Place, as they do when the wind is too strong (if you can believe that!).

I traded the blowing of the lake for the calmness of the park, once I got across Lakeshore and up onto Spring Rd.  It was 1000% better for me, and I enjoyed the final 2k gliding up the hill and over Bloor St to my finish at Humberside Ave.

I've got 16k on Saturday morning, and then the training slows down and shortens considerably over the next ten days.  I'll enjoy the time off, and start thinking about how to make Ottawa the memorable race that I'm sure it will be. 

Time  1:06:47

Distance 10k (6.25mi)

Pace  6:40/km (10:41/mi)

HR Zone 136-156 bpm

HR Avg 153, Max 165

In Zone 66.1% of run

Last long run of this training cycle.  The rain held off, as it looks like it had poured over night.  The power went off in our place just before 5 am, and was restored about four hours later.

It was a bit warmish down in the Humber Valley.  The tree canopy kept the breeze off me, and I found that my technical undershirt and long sleeve ATB shirt were a little too much to be wearing.  I thought about ditching the undershirt, but didn't want to start removing and replacing clothes along the path.  So, I was a bit more "perspiry" that I like, but it was fine.  I'll definitely be going short sleeve for the race, but I've already bought my throw-aways for the early morning and beginning of the race.

Six km's tomorrow morning at race pace.  Then a couple of short runs next week.  Then . . . here we come OTTAWA!!!!

Time  1:52:03

Distance  18.01 k (11.25 mi)

Pace  6:13/km (9:57/mi)

HR Avg 157, Max 189

Plus, I did the switchback up from the Old Mill!  Nice old friends we are  . . .

Final Sunday run before race day!

It was a recovery run for the rest of the clinic peeps, only about a half-dozen showed up.  We ran up Bloor St to the park, and then the group was going to dive into the woods for a 6k trail run. 

I was very reluctant to be going up and down on the trails, mostly worried about turned ankles and the like.  So I stuck to my plan of doing a "tempo" 6k, down Parkside, along the Queensway and up Ellis.

The wind was strong and going up Ellis was a challenge.  Hadn't done that long, steady climb in a long while.  Ended up putting a lot of effort into the run, and was wondering (hoping?) that I wouldn't be that bagged at the end of my warm-up during the race!

Sigh.  Always something to worry about.

Saw Allyson and Jaimie going into the park for an easy Sunday run as I was on my way home on the bicycle.  I did half the loop with them, finding out about their recovery from the marathon last week.  They looked really well, legs working fine, spirits pretty high.  As we parted at Colborne Lodge, JB's last words were . . . "Pace yourself next weekend!".  Good advice for me.  :-)

Time  36:53

Distance 5.68k  (3.55mi)

Pace 6:30/km (10:23/mi)

HR Avg 139, Max 234 (probably an error!)

Final clinic run.  6k around the park, slightly slower than a normal tempo run for me.

Final instructions from Jaqui.  Planning the post-marathon social night.

The big day is almost upon us!

Out early this morning, for a final 10k trip around the neighbourhood.  This training cycle had its ups and downs with weather, injuries, races, etc . . .

Good to be up and out before 530 am today.  It puts me in a good frame of mind for running early mornings all summer.

Short warm-up the day before the marathon.  Left my sister-in-law's apartment in Ottawa for a quick 5k along the Ottawa River Parkway.  Got chased by a couple of goose families, parents squawking and being fierce to protect their goslings. 

I thought about running the last 5k of the race route this morning, but my stroll through Tunney's Pasture seemed less onerous.  Didn't want to have to get in the car and drive anywhere.

Bring on the race!

First (official!) marathon under my belt.  It felt great to be out there and working for four hours on what I've been training on for four months!  There is nothing better than race day.

Time 4:24:36 chip, 6:21/km pace  (all paces in this report are minutes per kilometer)

Splits for the day

10k  1:00:46 (6:04/km)

21.1k 2:07:38 (6:03/km)

30k  3:01:44 (6:03/km)

42.2k  4:24:36 (6:21/km)

Weather was overcast and cool for the 7 am start.  Getting to the start line, meeting my peeps and getting in my corral was no trouble at all.  Actually, it was quite civilized compared to my memories of 10,000 half marathoners last year.  There was only about 4,000 runners doing the full this time around.

I had worked up a pace band to start me off at 6:30 pace for the first 5k warm-up, and then to bring me down in 10 second increments every 10k run.  Overall, my plan was to do a controlled negative split to end up crossing the finish line in 4:22.

I was holding myself back in the first 5k, and didn't have satellites on my Garmin until about 3k into the course.  When I passed the 5k mark at 6:10 pace, I felt loose and wanted to increase my pace in 10-second increments from there.  I went for 6 minute pace from 5-15k and 5:50 pace from 15-25k.

The cool morning temperature and tree canopy through Rockcliffe had me thinking that I was strong, and that I could continue to increase pace as I had originally intended.   When I popped back out onto Sussex and headed back into downtown, the adrenaline started flowing.  Crowd support and the addition of my iPod after the halfway point, had me rocking! Again, the reality of my true running capacity was crowded out of my mind with the euphoria of doing my thing on the race course.

The long slog down Colonel By Dr began with iPod issues.  I wasn't happy with the unit clipped to my Camelback, so I stopped and asked a spectator to put it inside the back zipper in my pack.  After a couple of false starts, and the reset of the unit to repeat the previous 5 songs(!) I was off with music and spirits intact.  It seemed like the stop had lasted a long time, but I'm sure it was only a minute or so.  Still, it sapped a bit of my rhythm.  I chalked it up to "resetting myself" for the last half of the race.

I got up past Carleton U, with my race pace intact, around 6:03/km up to 30k.  I was thinking about the Around the Bay race in March, where I had to abandon at 24k and went from a 3:10 projected finish to a 3:42 walk-in time.  I took a lot of heart from the fact that I passed this 30k mark in 3:01.  That was about 6 minutes faster than my pace band!  At 30k!  I had the 4:15 bunny in sight and still felt strong enough to catch him.

Christine and the girls were waiting for me right where I had anticipated, just past 31k.  I saw them a long way off, and began to wave my arms wildly. Chris saw me, and pointed me out to the girls.  They began shaking their pom-poms and yelling "Go Rockstar Rob"!  heheheh  When I was close to them, I grabbed Jamie and Alex by their hands, and pulled them onto the street for a bit of run with daddy.  It was a lot of fun for all, and Christine got some good pictures of us out there together.

We parted, and they promised to be on Queen Elizabeth Dr near the beginning of the finishing chute.  I made the left turn onto Hog's Back, and about 500m up the road saw Ildiko waiting for me.  I'd heard from Victoria that she was interested in running me in, so I had expected to see her at some point.  We got around the corner at Riverside and onto Heron Rd, through the bow-tie and up on the westbound side of the roadway.

I was ready for a "tree-stop" and dashed off the course for a short pause. Ildiko continued on, and she circled back when I was back on the road.  At this point, I had lost the sequencing of my 15x1 run/walk breaks, so I tried to get Ildiko to do the math to get me back on track.  Unfortunately, neither she nor I could figure out my next walk break on the go like that.  :-)

On the long incline up and over the Heron Rd bridge and toward Prince of Wales Dr, I started to sag somewhat.  I was beginning to head into the "dead zone", beyond my training distance and closer to the wall. The water stations seemed to be so much farther apart (they were the same 3k apart as on the rest of the course!) and the heat began to get to me.  A steady blast of wind as we turned north was enough to give me a chill and to have me thinking about heat/cold management.  Every hair on my body was soaked with sweat and standing on end.  The goosebumps and shivering I was feeling distracted me from maintaining my pace.

Ildiko was quite good about asking me what I needed as we passed water and sponge stations.  She collected extra handouts for me along the way, and passed them over when I asked.  It was fantastic to have my own concierge along to help.  I was starting to get a bit slower, a bit more frustrated, a lot more uncomfortable.  I told her to keep an eye out behind me for the 4:30 bunny.  There was no way I wanted to be passed by that chump.  Although the 4:15 bunny was long gone, I felt good settling the issue somewhere between the two.

Came down the slope into Dow's Lake and felt rejuvinated!  I've spent so much time there over the years, I wanted to begin my kick to the finish line.  This is beginning at 38km.  Waaaaaaaay too early!  Although the crowd was enough to get me up with my race face again, I wasn't able to sustain the effort.  I was crashing even harder coming under Bronson Ave and up to the 39k marker.  I began taking walk breaks in the shade of the bridges, in a desparate attempt at some relief from the heat and the pain I was feeling.

Coming up to Bank St, the heat and discomfort built up to a crescendo.  I took off my hat, my headband and the bandana I had soaked with water and attached under my hat, rolled them up into a ball and chucked them all into the bushes.  Later on Ildiko said she was suprised that I ditched the head gear.  Christine and the girls were also suprised to see me at the 41k mark without my "lucky hat".  Chris was thinking I dropped it on the road, never to be seen again.  I think she was cursing me, because the hat was purchased at the 2005 Marine Corps Marathon race expo.  I didn't realize the significance she placed in the lid, so I'll be sure to treat it a bit more gently in the future.

As the crowds got thicker along the course, the crowd got thicker on the course too.  The half-marathoners were merging with us on Queen Elizabeth Driveway, and real estate was scarce on the road.  I was slowing down, and realized it when almost everyone I passed was calling out my name to encourage me!  hehehe  Earlier in the day I was moving too fast for anyone to see the small name printed on my bib.  Now, it seemed even small kids who couldn't spell would be able to sound out "R-ah-b-er-t" as I struggled by! :-)

Ildiko couldn't run down the chute without an official entry, so we said our goodbyes and I took the long slow journey through the last 1 kilometer.  Seeing the progression of finishing signs, 750m, 500m, 250m didn't seem to make the time go by any faster.  In fact, I felt like time was slowing down along with my legs and spirit.

The finish line was a welcome relief from the tension that had built up over the last five kilometers.  It felt as if I could relax again.  I did some stretching under the Laurier Ave bridge to ensure that I didn't completely stiffen up.  When I got up off the ground, I didn't have complete control of my legs, and staggered a bit starting out.  A race official thought I was fainting, and asked if she could help.  I was fine, and told her I was heading to chip removal.  She offered to cut my chip, but balked when she saw that my laces went through it.  I told her it was ok to cut the laces, as the shoes were being retired following the race.

A bit of rest, looking for friends, getting my blanket and some food put some mental distance between me and The Pain of the run.  It also gave me some time to reflect.  It was OVER! I had run 4:24!  When is the NEXT marathon!! 

I'll be looking to lower my time, and run a smarter race the next time around.  Don't I always say that at the end of these race reports??  heheheheh