Going Long (again) in 2024

A1A Fort Lauderdale

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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  (25 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 (5 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

Haliburton Forest 100 mile Trail   September 7-8, 2019  26:46:27

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Pacing my sister in her 1st Half Marathon.

Short-Term Running Goals:

After a broken right foot in 2022 in the later stages of a marathon training cycle, then adjusting to a 1/2" heal lift in my right shoe to compensate for a leg length discrepancy, and then a left plank plate rupture in the late summer of 2023, I had to decide:  go fast or go long.  I opted for long, for this year at least.

May 2024:  Sulphur Springs 50 Mile Trail (revisiting it after 5 years)

July 2024:  Limberlost 54KM Trail

September 2024:  Haliburton 100 Mile Trail (also revisiting it after 5 years).

Everything this year is really focussed on the Haliburton 100 as my key event.  After that, and depending on how things go, I'll reevaluate.

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 30 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 13 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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Miles:This week: 28.00 Month: 189.50 Year: 588.50
Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Lifetime Miles: 412.40
Brooks Cascadia 11 Lifetime Miles: 302.00
Salomon Speedcross 4 Lifetime Miles: 160.25
Brooks Launch 8 Lifetime Miles: 153.00
Asics Metaspeed Sky Lifetime Miles: 32.20
Brooks Ghost 13 Lifetime Miles: 358.50
Saucony Triumph 18 Lifetime Miles: 372.50
Ghost 13 Blue Sole Lifetime Miles: 363.00
Hoka Bondi Lifetime Miles: 386.00
Triumph 18 Treadmill Lifetime Miles: 120.50
Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill Lifetime Miles: 102.50
Total Distance
226.20
Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 91.00Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 64.00Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Miles: 42.20Nike Zoom Vomero 13 Miles: 29.00
Weight: 154.61
Total Distance
13.00

Tempo Run on the treadmill this morning.

10 miles at 7:47 pace.

Physically I felt fine.  Mentally, I had to fight the brain that kept telling me to stop.

Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 13.00
Weight: 156.50
Comments(1)
Total Distance
7.00

Treadmill; 9:22 average pace.

Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 7.00
Weight: 156.00
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Total Distance
8.00

Easy treadmill run; 9:18 average pace.

Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 8.00
Weight: 156.00
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Total Distance
16.00

My final long run for this training cycle.  On the treadmill.  Pace was 8:27 steady, with the final 3 miles at Marathon Pace (7:52).

Other than a couple more strength and tempo workouts, I'm pretty all set to go for A1A.  Just gotta do something about those temperatures down there.  

Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Miles: 16.00
Weight: 155.00
Comments(1)
Total Distance
6.00

Treadmill at 9:05 average pace.

Three weeks from today I'll be running A1A.  Today's temperature in Fort Lauderdale:  currently sitting at 14C/57F.  It's almost never that low there.  I would LOVE to see those temperatures three weeks from today!

Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 6.00
Weight: 154.50
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Total Distance
11.00

Strength work on the treadmill this morning.

4 x 1.5 mile repeats @ 7:30 pace with 800 recoveries.

Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 11.00
Weight: 156.00
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Total Distance
13.00

10 mile Tempo on the treadmill; 7:41 pace.   

Two weeks from today I'll be in Key West.  Bring it on!

Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 13.00
Weight: 156.00
Comments(2)
Total Distance
6.00

Treadmill recovery run; 9:15/mile pace.

Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 6.00
Weight: 155.00
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Total Distance
10.00

Easy treadmill run; 9:12/mile pace.

Was notified yesterday that my flight to Fort Lauderdale was changed AGAIN.  4th time.  This time, not by a few minutes either way.  I now leave Sudbury Sunday night instead of Monday morning, and so need to stay over night in Toronto.  Ah well.  I'll get there one way or another.

Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 10.00
Weight: 155.00
Comments(1)
Total Distance
10.00

Treadmill; 9:10/mile pace.

Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 10.00
Weight: 154.00
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Total Distance
8.00

Treadmill; 9:20 pace.

Just finished running when my mission Church in Skead called to cancel the 9am Mass.  Nobody can get out of their driveways due to a massive snow storm.  Ah well.  A few bonus hours to myself.

Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 8.00
Weight: 154.00
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Total Distance
11.00

Final Strength Workout.  Treadmill.

6 x 1 mile repeats @ 7:30 pace with 400 recoveries.

Except for the pain in my left foot, which is still there, everything else is firing on all cylinders.  Long range forecast for Fort Lauderdale (ha, as if that is accurate) shows decent temps on race day.  Sure hoping that happens.

 

Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 11.00
Weight: 154.00
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Total Distance
13.00

Final Tempo run.  Treadmill; 7:41 pace.

All easy paced taper runs from here on in.

Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 13.00
Weight: 154.00
Comments(2)
Total Distance
7.00

Treadmill recovery run; 9:15 pace.

Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 7.00
Weight: 152.50
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Total Distance
8.00

Treadmill; 9:14 pace.

A bit of a scare last night; e-mail from Air Canada telling me my flight was cancelled due to a lack of airplanes.  No way to get in touch with anybody - they won't talk to you unless you are within 24 hours of departure.

So, several hours of plotting options:  driving (25 hours!), flying out of Detroit or Buffalo, dropping the Key West portion of the holiday, etc.

After several hours, another e-mail.  New flight booked out of Toronto an hour or so earlier on Monday.  So, for now, I'm somewhat back to where I was.  For now.

Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 8.00
Weight: 152.00
Comments(1)
Total Distance
8.00

Treadmill easy run; 9:10 pace.

As far as I know, I'm flying Sudbury to Toronto tomorrow night.

Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 8.00
Weight: 152.00
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Total Distance
6.00

Easy treadmill run; 9:15 pace. 

My next run will be tomorrow afternoon in Homestead, Florida.

Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 6.00
Weight: 152.50
Comments(4)
Total Distance
5.00

Okay, I'm in Fort Lauderdale.

But yesterday was in Key West.

And the day before (Monday) was in Homestead.

So, a flight that was delayed many times over.  Left Sudbury late Sunday night.  A late arrival in Toronto.  A sleepless night.  And early departure.  And I'm in Homestead, at an Airbnb, after driving down from Fort Lauderdale.

So, Monday afternoon, off for my 5 mile easy run.  First time outside in over a month.  And it's hot.  24C/75F.  After 1 mile, I'm wondering why I'm doing this.  At 2pm.  In this heat.  But I did it, and I got faster and faster as I went.  Ended up running an 8:30/mile average.  And it felt okay.

I noticed:  the drivers in Florida are no different from the drivers in Sudbury.  Good and bad.

And, although weed is legal in Ontario (and not in Florida), it doesn't seem to make much difference.  Still passed 'zones' where tokers left their scent.

Tuesday off.  Driving to Key West.

Nike Zoom Vomero 13 Miles: 5.00
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
6.00

So, I arrived in Key West mid day Tuesday.  It was colder than it has EVER been in Key West.  WOW!  

The staff in the bars were dressed the way I dress when I run in -40 temperaturs.  Seriously.  Down coats (where do they GET down coats down here???), scarves, touques.  (Seriously, they wore touques!!!).  Even balaclavas.  Unbelievable.

All the boat tours were cancelled.  Snorkelling too.  I couldn't do my snorkelling in Key Largo - cancelled.  Just incredible.  It felt like home in Spring.  

I wore the same jacket and hoodie that I wore at the airport when I left Sudbury.  And it still felt cold!  Very strong wind from the north.

No run on Tuesday.  Wednesday morning, I ran 6 miles around the Key.  8:40 pace.  In the afternoon, I drove back to Fort Lauderdale.  I just arrived.  In an airbnb for the next 7 nights.  Ready for A1A!!!  Bring it on!!!  The one thing I could not control was the heat.  And now it looks as if that won't be an issue.  All is good!

Nike Zoom Vomero 13 Miles: 6.00
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
6.00

This is a very nice airbnb.  I've lucked out with those on this trip.

Morning run down to the water and back; 8:56 pace.  Still on the cool side, at 14C/57F.  

Marathon morning is predicted to be a touch cooler at the start:  12C/54F.  Pretty close to ideal, which is amazing for here.

Today I'm off to Miami to do the touristy thing.

Nike Zoom Vomero 13 Miles: 6.00
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
6.00

A full day in Miami yesterday.  Did 4 tours.  A Duck Boat tour out of Miami Beach, then a Jet Boat thrill ride out of Miami, followed by a Cruise on the Island Queen (Millionaire's Row), and then a night tour on a bus through both Miami and Miami Beach.

All were very good.  It was warm and sunny for the Duck Boat, cold and rainy for the Jet Boat, mixed rain and not rain for the Cruise, and a torrential downpour for the Bus Tour.  The Atlantic Ocean was shooting up through the street drains.

The guy narrating the tour on the bus was incredible.  A long day, but I managed to cover a lot of territory as a tourist.

Today, a humid run.  100% humidity.  Fortunately, just 19C/66F.  8:42 pace.  

The forecast for race morning hasn't changed:  13C/56F with 75% humidity and dropping humidity as the morning goes on.

This morning, I'm doing a snorkelling tour out of Fort Lauderdale.  Will make up for the one I missed in Key Largo.  Then will head down to the Convention Center this afternoon for the Race Expo.

 

Nike Zoom Vomero 13 Miles: 6.00
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
3.00

Easy shake out run through the local Cemetery.  It's a quarter mile from where I'm staying, and one loop is exactly one mile.

8:42 pace.  19C/66F, but with the 93% humidity, it felt hotter than that.  Sure will be glad for tomorrow's lower temperature and humidity.

Then a trip back down to Miami Beach to do the lazy 'do nothing' thing that is perfect for the day before a marathon.  Sat in the sun and watched all the gorgeous beach bodies go by.

Am meeting Tom and a few of his family/friends at Church for 5pm, and then we'll go out for dinner afterwards.

Oh, yesterday's snorkel adventure was exactly that.  Definitely NOT the same as doing that in Maui!  The little reef was off shore and the swells were pretty intense.  And there were a LOT of jelly fish.  I was the first one in, and quickly realized I had forgotten to put my flippers on.  So, while trying desperately to dodge jelly fish and not being able to move too fast in the swells, I panicked and swallowed some sea water.  Yuck.  

I made it back to the boat to get the flippers, but now the taste of sea water and the huge swells led to me getting sea sick.  After sitting for a while waiting for it to pass, it just got worse.  And that, boys and girls, was the extent of my snorkelling.  Ah well.  The boat ride was fun.  And honestly, I didn't want to ruin 16 weeks of excellent training with one stupid jelly fish sting on my leg.  So, in hind sight, I was okay with not going back in the water.  Besides, when I up chucked over board, there must have been several dozen fish drawn to it.  I saw all I wanted to see in the fish family that day.

Nike Zoom Vomero 13 Miles: 3.00
Weight: 0.00
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Race: A1A Fort Lauderdale (26.2 Miles) 03:30:21, Place overall: 81, Place in age division: 39
Total Distance
26.20

Last night, attended Church and then to dinner with Tom and his friend Scott, along with their lovely wives Donna and Diane.  My deep appreciation to my newly met friends who split my bill between them.  

This morning, up at 3am to launch what was intended to be the ultimate focus of this holiday.  I had a good training cycle.  I did not miss any training for any reason.  No injuries; even my left foot has been fairly quiet.  I felt strong and healthy.

I met Tom in the starting coral around 5:30am.  My goal was a 3:30 marathon, which should get me to Boston again.  My BQ time is 3:25, so beating it by 5 minutes was my intention.  This was Tom's first Half.  Hard to believe, with so many races under his belt.  So, he set a very loose goal of under 1:45, but we both were pretty sure he'd do much better.  In any event, our initial paces were projected to be the same.

It was pretty tight at the start, as per normal for races.  Based on the results, there were just shy of 600 marathoners and 3,000 half marathoners starting at 6am.  We stuck with the 3:30/1:45 pacers to begin, but they really started out too fast.  The first 2 miles were 7:36 and 7:44.  Not what I wanted, and it did seem fast.

At mile 2, Tom was off.  He looked over his shoulder at me to see if I was following, but I had to stick to my plan.  He ended up with an excellent PR event:  1:37:57 for a 7:30/mile pace.  Awesome job Tom!  I look forward to reading your report.

So now, I just tried to settle in to an 8:00/mile pace.  I was slightly ahead of the pacer, and planned on sticking to him like glue (if he finally settled into the right pace).  I ran the next 5 miles at 7:55, 7:49, 8:08, 8:07 and 7:55, so pretty much on track and feeling good.  

Unfortunately, that where my GI problems started.  I sure wish I could get a handle on this problem.  I still can't figure out where things go wrong.  But I ended up having to make 5 emergency stops along the way.  Not as bad as Boston 3 years ago, but at least I had lots of good reasons to be sick when I ran in Boston.

So, during mile 8 I had to stop.  That meant a 9:19/mile pace.  I figured the pacer was ahead of me after that, but I never saw him again.  Still, I wasn't that far off pace, and I was hoping this was a once only stop.  I decided to just keep my pace and slowly close the distance.  So, the next 2 miles were 7:49 and 7:54, but then had to stop again.  That gave me a time of 9:18 for mile 11.  By now, I had taken 4 immodium and 6 pepto bismol caplets, and I had really emptied myself, so I was hopeful that unpleasantness was done.

The next 3 miles I ran at 7:52, 7:55 and 7:49.  I hit the Half Marathon mat in a recorded time of 1:46:06.  So, I did the math in my head, a quick assessment of how I was feeling, and decided I could still bring this home.  Other than my GI issues, I was firing on all cylinders at this point.  But then, an urgent stop during mile 15 which gave me my slowest mile on the day at 9:37.  Ouch.  Then after running the next mile at 7:50, I had to stop again.  So mile 17 was 8:26.

At that point, I figured there couldn't be much left in my GI system, and I was stoked to do what I came here to do.  I had 9 miles to go, and after doing the math in my head, I figured I could still pull this off.

So, the next 4 miles I ran at 7:39, 7:45, 7:42 and 7:45.  I knew I could do it at this point, and I REALLY tried to avoid stopping again.  But nature doesn't give you that option, sadly.  So, another stop during mile 22 gave me an 8:59/mile.  After that, I was SO close.  I didn't want to open it up just yet, but I did run faster over the final 4 miles:  7:38, 7:36, 7:28 and 7:07.  Plus, of course, the final .2.  Tom was there cheering me on at the end.  I was a little unsteady on my feet, and more unsteady in my GI system, but I came in just 21 seconds over my intended goal for the day.  I'm still 4 minutes 39 seconds under my BQ time, so I'm pretty confident I'll make the cut for the 2021 running of the 125th Boston Marathon.  

I added up the time it took for my 5 stops, using an 8:00/mile as my baseline, and calculated that I lost almost 6 minutes (5:45 to be precise) because of them.  Too bad - that would have put me in striking distance of beating my marathon PR I set in Chicago.  Of course, it's hard to say for sure that my 5 minutes of stopping and sitting along the way didn't also preserve my energy for running harder.  So, who's to say?

The weather, fortunately, could not have been better for a marathon.  In Fort Lauderdale!  Who knew?  It was around 12C/54F at the start and it only climbed to about 19C/66F when I finished.  But I only felt a bit hot during that final half hour push.  Clear skies.  Little wind.  Beautiful sunrise over the ocean.  Incredible views.

Tom, I don't know how you can pack down so much food and beer after running like that.  Amazing!  But thank you for sticking around for me, taking a few pictures, and coming down with me to stand in the ocean.  It was all worth it, and I hope we can do something like this again.  Put your name in for New York!

 

Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Miles: 26.20
Weight: 0.00
Comments(3)
Total Distance
3.00

So, post marathon part of my holiday:

Monday, I drove the 2 hours to Marco Island and walked on Tiger Tail and South Beach for a whopping 7 hours.  Shelling.  And soaking it all in.  A very nice dinner, and then the drive back to Fort Lauderdale.

Tuesday, I drove the 1 hour North to West Palm Beach for an incredible 2 hour Lomi Lomi Massage.  Wow!  Just what I needed.  Then I drove another half hour North to Jupiter Island and walked the beach there for a few hours.  Also visited the Blowing Rocks Conservatory that is there.  Another nice dinner and the drive home.

Today, I leave later this morning for the airport.  I had time, and I wanted to see how I was feeling, so I headed back to the cemetery up the street for a slow run.  

9:28 pace.  Beautiful morning at 16C/61F.  Maybe a bit too early after the Marathon to run, but I know what I'll be looking at through the window tomorrow, and wanted one last chance to enjoy being (and running) outside in shorts.

Nike Zoom Vomero 13 Miles: 3.00
Weight: 0.00
Comments(1)
Total Distance
4.00

Back to the treadmill; 9:23 pace as I slowly build back my mileage.

Next goal is my 100 Mile Ultra on July 4th, with my 50 Mile Ultra on May 23rd being essentially a dress rehearsal for it.

Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 4.00
Weight: 157.50
Comments(2)
Total Distance
6.00

Easy treadmill run; 9:30 pace.

I'm putting the finishing touches on my training schedule for Sinister 7.  22 weeks away.  Training starts Monday.

Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 6.00
Weight: 155.00
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Total Distance
226.20
Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 91.00Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 64.00Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Miles: 42.20Nike Zoom Vomero 13 Miles: 29.00
Weight: 154.61
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