| 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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| Mizuno Wave Sayonara Miles: 56.00 | Brooks Ghost 6 Gold Miles: 39.00 | Saucony ISO Triumph Miles: 36.00 | Brooks Glycerin 12 Miles: 39.00 | Brooks Ghost 6 Green Miles: 12.00 |
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| | Speedwork on the treadmill. 600 x 8 repeats with 400 recoveries. Ran the repeats at 6:25 pace.
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| Mizuno Wave Sayonara Miles: 8.00 |
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| | Well, that didn't go so well.
Tempo run - supposed to run 3 miles at race pace (7:50). I could only keep it there for 2 miles. Maybe could have pushed for another half, but in the Hanson's program, it's not supposed to be quite that hard. In their words, if you struggle to maintain a tempo pace for the shorter training distances, then maybe the race finish time has been set too fast.
So, maybe cutting 200 seconds off my PR from 2 years ago is too ambitious. I think my speed work paces are okay, but maybe need to slow down my recovery days a bit, and readjust my goal time. I'll have to give it some thought and decide if my training paces will need some adjustments.
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| Mizuno Wave Sayonara Miles: 6.00 |
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| | 6 easy treadmill miles; running time of 53 minutes (8:50 pace).
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| Brooks Ghost 6 Gold Miles: 6.00 |
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| | 6 easy treadmill miles; running time of 53 minutes (8:50 pace).
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| Saucony ISO Triumph Miles: 6.00 |
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| | I took it outside today, just because. 8 miles at an average pace of 8:24; running time of 67:16.
It felt good to get off the treadmill. The streets suck, however. It was snowing pretty steady and there was an inch or so on the road. Under that was ice, and rough, patch ice at that. So, uneven surface, and a lot of slipping and sliding. Either that or closer to the snow banks, in which case it was like running through mashed potatoes.
Still, the fresh air was great. It was -7C/19F, with a windchill of -15C/5F, so actually not that bad. And the trees on the 1st half were heavy laden with snow and it was just awesome to run through that.
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| Brooks Glycerin 12 Miles: 8.00 |
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| | Back to the treadmill today. More snow, and it's not ploughed yet. Plus I'm a little sore from yesterday - amazing how running on uneven ice and through snow really impacts the muscles.
So, an easy 6 at 8:50 for a running time of 53 minutes.
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| Brooks Ghost 6 Gold Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Speedwork on the treadmill. 8 x 600 at 6:25 pace, give or take a few seconds, with 400 recoveries.
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| Mizuno Wave Sayonara Miles: 8.00 |
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| | Six miles on the treadmill - 3 at Tempo Pace. A much better effort than last week when I only hit 2 miles at Tempo. Focussed more on diet, 'can do' attitude, and grit. Gives me a shot of confidence re: my goals for this year (sub 7 minute/mile Half).
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| Mizuno Wave Sayonara Miles: 6.00 |
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| | 7 easy treadmill miles at just under a 9:00/mile pace.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph Miles: 7.00 |
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| | 7 easy treadmill miles; pace just below 9:00/mile.
Meanwhile, with the windchill, it's -27C/-17F outside.
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| Brooks Ghost 6 Gold Miles: 7.00 |
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| | Okay, it's just crazy cold today. -34C/-29F. With the windchill, it's -47C/-53F.
Needless to say, I was on the treadmill. Nine easy miles for a run time of 78 minutes.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph Miles: 9.00 |
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| | Race: |
Grimsby Half Marathon (13.1 Miles) 01:39:37, Place overall: 24, Place in age division: 3 | | I ran this event 2 years ago when it was incredibly cold. One day earlier, and it would have been a repeat. But on race day, it was all the way up to -8C/17F. And the roads had virtually no snow and were mostly dry.
I did not plan on running this hard - wanted to use it as a training run, and planned on a pace around 8:00/mile. Ended up running an official pace of 7:37/mile, and at no point did I feel like I was pushing it. I felt great the whole time.
My splits were all around the same, and early on I was even making a concerted effort to slow down. My body just fell into this groove and wanted to keep it there. So, even though I ran it a bit harder than planned, I'm happy with the result. It was a long drive down on Sunday (6 hours) for the Monday race and then back today (Tuesday) through a snow storm.
A tall runner passed me at about the 2 mile mark, and then seemed to slow down, as I followed him most of the rest of the way - about 40 paces behind him. I didn't make an effort to keep up - he was just running my pace. At the 8 mile mark, he passed 2 guys who were quite a bit ahead of us initially. I passed one of them and could tell he was gassed. His friend kept ahead of me and behind the tall guy, and the 3 of us kept close for the next 2 miles. I really didn't want to race them or anyone, but it was just a natural pace for me.
At the 10 mile mark, the tall guy pulled up to a tree to take a leak, and at the 11 mile mark, I reluctantly passed the other guy and took the lead. I didn't bother looking back, as I didn't care if he passed me again. Turns out he faded. The tall guy tried to pass me I found out later, but ended up coming in 23 seconds after me. At the finish line he told me he tried to catch me, but couldn't make up the distance.
Anyway, what this race did do for me was to boost my confidence. I wasn't happy with the way my Tempo runs were going on the treadmill. Now I believe it's just a treadmill issue, as I had no problems on the road. I still have 15 weeks of training to go, so if all goes well (no injuries), and if I can get to the roads in the next month or so, I'm thinking my Ottawa Half might even go as planned, and I might get under 1:30 after all.
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| Brooks Glycerin 12 Miles: 13.00 |
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| | Comments(1) |
| | Speedwork on the treadmill, which I moved to today because of Monday's race.
6 x 800 @ 6:23 interval pace with 400 recoveries.
It was iffy whether I would run these today, after Monday's Half. But I pushed through and think that it was okay. I had a foot cramp after the 5th interval and was going to stop then, but I walked it out and then finished. It cramped again during my cooldown, but again I was able to walk it out.
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| Mizuno Wave Sayonara Miles: 8.00 |
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| | 6 easy treadmill miles.
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| Brooks Ghost 6 Gold Miles: 6.00 |
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| | 3 mile Tempo (race pace) run on the treadmill, plus 3 easy warm/cool. I thought I might feel something after the Monday race and Wednesday speedwork, but I feel great.
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| Mizuno Wave Sayonara Miles: 6.00 |
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| | 11 easy miles - and I took it outside today. It's 1C/33F with a mix of snow and rain and some gusty wind at times. The streets were sloppy - mix of snow and slush. I opted for an out and back route in order to avoid a section that I knew would be very bad.
Still, I'm glad to be off the treadmill for these longer runs. Ran an average pace of 8:23 for a running time of 1:32:12.
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| Brooks Glycerin 12 Miles: 11.00 |
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| | 6 easy treadmill miles; running time of 54 minutes - 9:00/mile pace.
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| Brooks Ghost 6 Gold Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Speedwork on the treadmill.
1,000 x 5 with 400 recoveries at a pace of 6:23 or 3:58/interval.
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| Mizuno Wave Sayonara Miles: 7.00 |
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| | 4 miles at Tempo (race) pace of 6:55. On the treadmill. Total run time of 55 minutes.
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| Mizuno Wave Sayonara Miles: 7.00 |
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| | Add Comment |
| | 7 easy treadmill miles; running time of 52 minutes.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph Miles: 7.00 |
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| | Add Comment |
| | 8 easy treadmill miles; running time of 70 minutes.
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| Brooks Ghost 6 Gold Miles: 8.00 |
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| | 12 miles outside today. Average pace of 8:14/mile, for a running time of 1:39.
It wasn't too bad - we are sitting between 2 storms ... one that hit us hard on Thursday, and another coming in tomorrow. The streets are a bit icy, and I altered my normal route a bit to avoid the worst sections. All in all, it was decent enough for running. And I actually passed 4 other runners today - unusual to see that many on my route.
Temperature was -11C/12F with the windchill. I dressed just about perfectly for it - even my hands were warm enough.
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| Brooks Ghost 6 Green Miles: 12.00 |
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| | I took the 7 miles outside again this morning. Bitterly cold wind, and the start of the blizzard that is hitting us today. The 3 miles into the wind was pretty awful, but the return 3 was great.
Anyway, 8:28/mile average for a running time of 59:20.
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| Brooks Glycerin 12 Miles: 7.00 |
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| | Add Comment |
| | Speedwork on the treadmill today. 4 x 1200 @ 6:23 pace with 400 recoveries. No problems.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph Miles: 7.00 |
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| Mizuno Wave Sayonara Miles: 56.00 | Brooks Ghost 6 Gold Miles: 39.00 | Saucony ISO Triumph Miles: 36.00 | Brooks Glycerin 12 Miles: 39.00 | Brooks Ghost 6 Green Miles: 12.00 |
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