| 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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| Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 59.00 | Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 55.00 | Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 24.20 |
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| | 2 VERY slow miles on the treadmill, with some walking thrown in before and after. I would have liked to have gone further, but the sciatic pain was increasing and I didn't want to take any further chances.
Followed it up with 30 minutes on the spin bike.
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| Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 2.00 |
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| | Started off with 30 minutes on the spin bike, and then a very slow 3 miles on the treadmill.
Doing a lot of various stretches, and tomorrow I have a massage booked.
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| Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 3.00 |
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| | Same as yesterday: 30 minutes spin bike and 3 miles treadmill. Picked up the speed to close to "easy pace" at 10:00/mile. There is some improvement. Hopefully, today's massage will help even further.
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| Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 3.00 |
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| | Reduced the spin bike time to 20 minutes and increased the run to 40 minutes: 4 miles at 10:00/mile pace.
Massage helped. She confirmed that it was sciatica, rather than piriformis. The pain is slowly subsiding, and I'm hoping to slowly increase my running distance.
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| Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 4.00 |
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| | I woke up with no sciatic pain at all, so decided to run 6 miles on the treadmill. Felt great.
I kept it at an easy 10:00/mile pace, except for one 4 minute stretch when Spotify played Rihanna's Pon De Replay. Couldn't help myself.
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| Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | 10:00/mile pace on the treadmill for a very easy three. Was going to run six again, but the pain was increasing and I didn't want to push it after this week's gains.
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| Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 3.00 |
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| | Six easy treadmill miles.
After 8 months of not doing any strength/core exercises, I started again on Sunday. 120 plyometric jump squats. Today, it was hard to distinguish between the sciatic pain and the pain from that workout. But at least I know the latter is a 'good' pain :)
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| Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | 30 minutes on the spin bike, followed by 3 miles easy on the treadmill.
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| Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 3.00 |
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| | 6 easy treadmill miles. Switched back and forth between a 9:30 and a 10:00/mile pace.
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| Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | 30 minutes on the spin bike, followed by 3 miles on the treadmill at an easy (but a bit faster) pace of 9:30/mile.
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| Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 3.00 |
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| | Steady 9:30 pace on the treadmill. Nice to run a bit further. Not quite 100% yet, but close.
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| Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 8.00 |
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| | No pain today. I like this trend. Back on the treadmill. 9:30 easy pace.
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| Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | I decided to do some speedwork on the treadmill today. 7 x 400 @ 7:30 pace. Just to start moving my feet a bit faster. I had aimed for 12 repeats, but the sciatic pain is still lingering and I didn't want to push it.
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| Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 7.00 |
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| | Easy 9:30 pace on the treadmill. I suppose I could start running outside again, but I think the uneven and slippery surfaces are not great for me right now. So, I'll stay indoors until I'm sure the sciatic pain does not flare up once more.
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| Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Steady 9:30 pace on the treadmill.
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| Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 7.00 |
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| | Easy 9:30 pace on the treadmill.
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| Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | 9:30 easy paced run on the treadmill.
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| Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | After 5 weeks, I finally took it back to the road. Radar Road at an 8:58 pace. I felt a bit rusty, and the sciatic is still not 100%, but it was great to be out there.
Gorgeous sunshine and minus 14C/57F, with a bit of a North wind that pestered my face.
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| Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 10.00 |
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| | Back on the treadmill; quite a bit of snow falling at the moment outside. 9:05 pace.
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| Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 8.00 |
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| | Lots more snow falling. Back on the treadmill; 9:05 pace.
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| Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | More snow. Lots of it. Back on the treadmill; 9:30 pace.
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| Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Treadmill; 9:30 pace.
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| Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Easy 9:30 pace on the treadmill.
Tomorrow, I'm going to try to run the Virtual Hypothermic Half outside, so taking it easy today.
Oh, also noticed I've not had any sciatic pain for the last 3 runs. Hurray!
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| Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 3.00 |
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| | So, every year the local running store sponsors this Hypothermic Half. I can never run it, because it's always Saturday night or Sunday morning ... when I have Mass. One advantage of a pandemic shift to virtual runs is the flexibility it allows in when to run them. So, this morning I ran my Hypothermic Half. The "bling" was a neat medal that doubles as a bottle opener, a pair of running gloves, and a fold up outdoor chair.
Since I had not trained at all for it, I was going to run it fairly easy ... thinking in the 2 hour range. I ended up running an average 8:08 pace for a time of 1:46:43. The extra mile at the end was just to get to where I had parked my truck.
Temperatures were not really in "hypothermic" range at -4C/25F, but I didn't mind. There was a bit of wind, but nothing of significance, and it snowed pretty steadily for the whole distance, but never that hard. The only real challenge was the icy road conditions. I did this on Radar Road.
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| Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 14.20 |
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| Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 59.00 | Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 55.00 | Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 24.20 |
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