| Location: Garson - Sudbury,ON,Canada Member Since: Apr 20, 2013 Gender: Male Goal Type: Other Running Accomplishments: I ran my first marathon in 1998: "The Friendly Marathon" in Massey, Ontario. I was 32. I had never raced in a shorter event, and I trained really poorly - ended up running it in 4:00:30. After that, I gave up running for the most part for 6 years. I got into karate a bit more seriously, until I got my knee kicked out and had ACL surgery. Then I became a 'fair weather runner' and started to run half marathons every so often. As a priest, entering weekend races always meant having to book a holiday, so it just didn't happen much. My holidays were primarily focussed on various canoe and kayak trips.
At some point, I started training more consistently, and started to think of myself as a runner. I guess doing that in your 40's is better than never doing it at all. I even started to wonder if I had it in me to qualify for Boston. Well, I did. First time didn't count, I suppose, since I didn't make the "cut". But the second time was a charm, and on my sixth Marathon, run in Chicago in 2015, I beat my BQ by almost 6 minutes. And now, running a BQ is routine for me, not that I have any desire to run Boston again.
Through it all, I've made tons of mistakes - and have had lots of injuries to show for it. Hopefully, now that I'm in my late 50's, I'm a bit wiser and can use that to my advantage to continue running for a very long time.
My PRs:
5k (12 run): Guelph, ON. October 10, 2016 (50 yrs.) 20:10
10k (10 run): Collingwood October 5, 2013 (47 yrs.) 43:37
Half Marathon (26 run): Cleveland May 18, 2014 (48 yrs) 1:33:08
Marathon (12 run): Ste-Jerome, QC October 3, 2021 (55 yrs.) 3:22:10
Ultras (8 run):
Run for the Toad 50k Trail September 30, 2017 (51 yrs.) 5:31:23
Niagara Falls 100k June 17, 2018 (52 yrs.) 12:26:30
That Dam Hill 24 hours September 15-16, 2018 Completed 100 Miles in 23:20:44
Sulphur Springs 50 mile Trail May 25, 2019 10:37:27
May 25, 2024 9:21:26
Limberlost 35 Mile Trail July 6, 2024 8:12:57
Haliburton Forest 100 mile Trail September 7-8, 2019 26:46:27
September 7-8, 2024 DNF after 65 miles/16 hours
Pacing my sister in her 1st Half Marathon. Short-Term Running Goals: I really want to take on the Haliburton 100 again, after it kicked my butt in 2024, but I'm going to wait until 2026 to take it on again, when I'm 60 years old.
For 2025, I want to try running a Backyard Ultra, just to see how far I can run.
So, a couple of fun runs: 30K Around the Bay in March, and Pick Your Poison 50K in April, followed by Coach D's Backyard in May. That one only runs for 24 hours, so I'm using it to see how I handle the format, in view of running my goal race for 2025: The Bush Bitches Backyard, here in my hometown of Sudbury, in October. Let the training begin! Long-Term Running Goals: Run until this old body of mine won't let me run any more. I was inspired in the Spring of 2016, watching the start of the Ottawa Marathon. Near the back of the pack was an 'old man', running with his walker. I loved it! I thought ... there's me in 20 years. Maybe.  Personal: I am a Roman Catholic priest of 31 years, ministering in the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie. I spent 8 years ministering in the small town of Wawa (where I helped establish the annual Blackfly Run) and 9 years in Sault Ste. Marie. I have been in the Sudbury region now for 14 years. Currently I Pastor 2 small Parishes: St. John the Evangelist in Garson, and St. Bernardine of Siena in Skead, covering the area just Northeast of the city, surrounding the Sudbury Airport. |
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| Brooks Glycerin 14 Miles: 82.00 | Saucony ISO Triumph Miles: 15.00 | Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Miles: 28.00 |
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| | 61 minutes on the treadmill. And day one of my 24 week Ultra Marathon training program.
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| Brooks Glycerin 14 Miles: 7.00 |
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| | 45 minutes on the treadmill.
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| Brooks Glycerin 14 Miles: 5.00 |
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| | Just a little respite from the arctic chill, so I took it outside while it was on the warmer side. Goodwill Route; 8:49 pace.
-10C/14F, so not too bad, even with the wind. A good snow fall, however, so it wasn't an easy run, trudging through a few inches of snow.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph Miles: 7.00 |
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| | Comments(3) |
| | I couldn't believe the cold when I took my garbage to the curb this morning. -42C/-44F with the windchill. Needless to say, I ran on the treadmill, despite this article:
https://runningmagazine.ca/14-experiences-canadian-runners-winter/?utm_source=Canadian+Running+Newsletter&utm_campaign=e6338d4f55-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_01_03&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c31dda00d9-e6338d4f55-79556037
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| Brooks Glycerin 14 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | At -45C/-48F with the windchill factor, I didn't even THINK about running outside today.
Treadmill. Just set it at 9:10/mile and kept it steady for 110 minutes.
Gotta remember to turn off the little heater I have running in the laundry room. I tripped the breaker while running, which turned off the treadmill, which almost threw me over the front bars and into the fish tank.
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| Brooks Glycerin 14 Miles: 12.00 |
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| | One hour on the treadmill; steady 8:35 pace.
Decided to try the 'sweat test'. Never did it before, but I guess if I want to run longer ultras this year in the heat, I should work on hydration issues.
Anyway, turns out I lost 2.5 pounds or 40 ounces of sweat in one hour. That's heavy.
Looking at Tailwind as a possible friend for running this year. Will do more research on it and will likely give it a go in training.
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| Brooks Glycerin 14 Miles: 7.00 |
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| | Easy treadmill run.
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| Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Miles: 5.00 |
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| | 4 x 800 Yasso's. 6:52 pace. On the treadmill.
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| Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Miles: 7.00 |
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| | Treadmill; 54 minutes.
We had ONE day of a mid-winter thaw yesterday. All the way up to 6C/43F. Back down to -18C/O degrees today. Ah well.
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| Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | All treadmill miles today. The sun is out, but the streets are a mess from the storm - school busses did not run for 2 days in a row - and it's back to polar cold at -32C/-25F. I kinda regretted not going out, but maybe made the right choice staying in.
126 minutes on the treadmill, though, is about my max. So, I really need nicer weekends ahead, since 14 miles on Saturday is now considered a 'rest' week on my training plan.
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| Brooks Glycerin 14 Miles: 14.00 |
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| | Despite the cold and ice, I took it outside today. 8:29 pace.
Just -12C/10F, so not terribly cold. Icy roads though, so I had to be careful.
Nice to get off the treadmill every so often.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph Miles: 8.00 |
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| | 45 easy treadmill miles.
Achy right hamstring. Felt that during yesterday's run. Not sure if it is from running on the icy road, or from finally getting back into my plyometric jump squats for strength. Either way, it didn't seem to worsen during the run, and I'll moniter it day by day.
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| Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Miles: 5.00 |
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| | Well, supposed to do 8 miles with speedwork, but my right hamstring is still pretty achy, and was getting worse. After the 3 mile warm up, I ran 2 minutes fast, and that was it. Going to take a bit of time to let it heal.
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| Brooks Glycerin 14 Miles: 3.00 |
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| | 72 minutes on the treadmill.
I wasn't going to run at all. Scheduled for a 16 miler, and figured I needed the time to let my hammie get better. However, it didn't feel too bad this morning, so I decided to go for it. I got dressed, stretched, filled my fuel belt ... and then chickened out. I just didn't want to be 7 miles out and hurt.
So, I changed and hit the treadmill instead. I think it was a good choice, despite the fact that it was about as good as it gets for running outside in January ... 33 degrees and sunny.
I ran a few miles, did a leg check, stretched, and then a few more. Ended up running 8 instead of 16, but that's 8 more than I had planned last night, so I'll take it.
As far the hammie goes - my own fault. Leading up to Boston last year, I worked hard on my 3x/week strength routine and daily planks/core work. I got lazy after that, and did virtually no strength/core work leading up to or following my Fall Ultra. Dumb, dumb, dumb. I'm lucky I got as far as I did without injury.
So, I'm back into it now. I'll pick up the training again on Monday. Hopefully, by then, my hammie will be happy and so will I.
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| Brooks Glycerin 14 Miles: 8.00 |
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| | Easy miles on the treadmill. Slowed it right down, and my hamstring seemed to handle it well at this speed. 65 minutes for the 7 miles. First 5 @ 9:00 and then slowed it down to 10:00.
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| Brooks Glycerin 14 Miles: 7.00 |
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| | Easy treadmill miles. Major snow storm yesterday - school busses pulled off the roads today.
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| Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Miles: 5.00 |
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| | 70 minutes on the treadmill; slow and steady.
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| Brooks Glycerin 14 Miles: 7.00 |
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| | 50 minutes on the treadmill. Right hammie really acting up for some reason. Will try my long run outside tomorrow; hopefully things will work out okay.
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| Brooks Glycerin 14 Miles: 5.00 |
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| | Was scheduled for 14 miles last Saturday, and it was a nice enough day to take it outside. I started off real slow and made it to the post office down the street - a quarter mile. Then I had to walk home. The hamstring.
So, I took the next three days off and tried again just now on the treadmill. Got just past one mile and had to stop. I hate to do it, but I think I'll be on the stationary bike for a bit, just to keep my fitness. Yuck.
I hurt my back carrying drywall, lumber and bricks on the weekend. I figured that pain would distract me from the hammie. I was wrong!
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| Brooks Glycerin 14 Miles: 1.00 |
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| Brooks Glycerin 14 Miles: 82.00 | Saucony ISO Triumph Miles: 15.00 | Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Miles: 28.00 |
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