Going Long (again) in 2024

Almost 3 hours on the treadmill; 9:31 pace.

That big storm hit yesterday.  Besides very bad roads today, it is very cold and there is a very stiff North wind.  Easy decision to run indoors.

Took it long today.  

5 "laps" of a relatively flat road course, with a stop at my 'aid station' after each lap.

Held a pretty even 9:21 pace through most of it, but faded over the last 6 miles and ended up averaging a 9:28 pace.  I likely ran it too fast even at that.

It snowed throughout - a heavy, wet snow blowing from the South at about 10mph, which was not too bad, but it accumulated over the almost 5 hours so that the roads were pretty mushy by the end.  Warmish, however, at -1C/30F.

Easy run on the treadmill, just to get my legs moving.  10:00/mile pace.

Roads are in terrible shape after 2 days of storm, so took it to the treadmill again.  10:00/mile pace.

Hard to get motivated for this run, for some reason.  The sun is out, and I wanted to take it outside, but that North wind is icy.  Still, outside I went.  Almost changed my mind right away, but kept at it.  Temps are -12C/10F, but that North wind is blowing at 14-21mph, making it feel like -22C/-8F.

Ran the first 4.5 miles along the highway, which was mostly clear of snow and ice.  Up to the Falconbridge traffic circle and back, and then the balance down Goodwill Drive.  That was treacherous.  Glare ice, mostly, with just the odd bit of clear road and the occassional section of packed snow.  I really had to be careful.  Running the last 3 miles directly into the wind didn't help.

I got frost bite on the tip of my nose during one of my runs last week, and it is still not healed.  I kept it covered as best as I could.  Unfortunately, I fell just 150 meters shy of finishing.  Managed to tuck and roll ok, but still scraped and bruised my right knee, with a bit of blood, and the third finger on my right hand is now numb.  Must have jammed it when I hit the ground.

Anyway, it's done.  9:18 pace.  And a warming trend is coming next week, so it will be slush and water to contend with, instead of ice and cold.

Easy 9:11 pace.  Ran on snow packed roads, so not as slippery as Saturday's run.  Turns out I broke the bone in my third finger when I fell.  Swollen, is bent and still hurts.  But it's just a finger.  Put a splint on it, and then decided I didn't want to wear that for the next five weeks, so took it off.

Tapped the two maple trees in front of my house yesterday.  This week, there is a warming trend.  The sap should start running.

Easy run at 9:15 pace. More and more bare pavement, so less and less ice.

Speedwork on the treadmill.  

6 x 800 @ 7:30 pace with 800 recoveries.

Warming up; hovering just a bit below freezing.  Full moon was spectacular this morning.  A bit of fog, and a light hoar frost.  9:26 pace.

A balmy 6C/43F morning.  Nice to see the snow pack slowly shrinking.  A heavy rain/possible thunderstorm is on its way, so I was happy to finish this run before it arrived.  9:08 pace.

Snowed a fair bit overnight and back to cold.  I was chilled to the bone when finished.  Happy to have clear skies, however.  When the sun rose, it felt good on the face.  9:16 pace.

Easy run on a mild day with a light snow falling; 9:16 pace.

Speedwork on the treadmill.

6 x 800 @ 7:30 pace with 800 recoveries.

Easy run at 9:18/mile pace.  Had to leave early, so ran most of this in the dark.  Not much wind, which is good, because it was chilly at -10C/14F.

Managed to run 12 miles outside before the stiff North wind put me on the treadmill for the last 12 miles.  It was snowing, not terribly cold at -10C/14F, but the North wind is blowing at 21mph and gusting to 32mph.  It wears you down after a while.

9:19 pace outside; 9:31 pace on the treadmill.

I registered (barely) for the BB Backyard Ultra here in Sudbury in October.  They sold out in 24 hours.  I didn't know.  Last year, for its inaugural race, they didn't sell out.  So, I didn't think there was a rush.  I had some free time on Thursday afternoon, so I signed up then.  What I didn't know is that they had already sold out their 100 spots, and had added another 25.  I think I might have gotten the last of those 25, as they stopped taking registrations right after I submitted mine.  And there is already 30 on a waitlist.  Sounds like it will be quite the event.

9:26 average pace for this long run.  Not great conditions.  It snowed all night and it was still falling, with a stiff East wind.  School busses cancelled.  I ran it in 4 segments, circling back for a nutrition/hydration break 3 times.  Also allowed me to warm up a bit before continuing on.  Had to run in the tire tracks of cars, as no snow removal crews to be seen.

Back to back long runs.  9:16 pace.  A steady North wind, but not as strong as on Saturday or yesterday.  The snow packed roads are icy, so had to watch my step in a few places.

On the treadmill; 9:31 pace.

Treadmill; 9:31 pace.

So, here's the scoop:  I'm supposed to run the 30K Around the Bay in Hamilton on Sunday.  It's the oldest race in North America, and one I've always wanted to run.  Sells out very quickly, so I registered early and am in.  Bib #3141.

Problem is, I've found every excuse not to go.  It's a 4 1/2 hour drive to get there for something that is essentially a training run.  I can't race it hard, especially after a 70 mile week and no day off tomorrow (just 6 miles to run to hit my 70), so will be running ultra slow - likely in the 9:30 pace range, which is what I've been traning at.

The only real incentive is the simple fact I've always wamted to run it.  Plus, getting away for a few days is always nice.  The sunk costs are just the entrance fee and the airbnb, which is negligible.  

Now, two major storms are brewing.  One, a snow storm, should hit later today and continue until tomorrow morning, which is when I plan on leaving.  Despite the large amount of snow predicted, it likely won't impact my driving South.  In Hamilton, it will be mainly rain.  But on Sunday, my return day, they are predicting a major ice storm.  That could see highway and road closures, major power outages, and just overall nastiness.  

I'll make my decision tomorrow morning, after my run.  The one element in my favour is that I can delay my return until Monday, if necessary.

On the treadmill; 9:31 pace.

I've decided to go.  It will be an interesting drive there, and I'm not sure I'll be able to get back on Sunday; I'll deal with that when the time comes.

As I described previously, this was planned to be a training run, and I certainly didn't race it.  Still, I ran it faster than I had planned.  Easy to get caught up in the race environment.

I always wanted to run this race; the oldest race in North America, beginning in 1894.  As they promote it:  "Older than Boston".  The biggest challenge was getting there, and then getting home.  I drove down in the midst of an ice storm.  Lots of trees down, and power outages.  The highway was mostly okay, except for one 60 mile stretch that was pretty bad.  Same thing coming home on Sunday.

It rained throughout, and was cold, sitting at around 2C/35F.  It's a big event, with 3,700 runners.  I ran middle of the pack, and just took my time at an easy pace.  Most miles in the first half were at my average training pace, or a bit faster.  I ran slow up the hills and fast down the hills.  Quite a few hills, some steep, especially on the second half.

I picked it up on the second half, and ended up running an average pace of 8:54.  That put me just a little ahead of the middle in all three results:  overall, male, and age group.

The course itself is nothing to write home about:  Hamilton is a steel city, and industry is located, of course, on the waterfront.  So, for the first half, you run through the area where there are factories and steel mills.  Ugly and smelly.  The second half was through more residential neighborhoods.  The parts along or close to Lake Ontario where you would be able to see Toronto on a clear day were shrouded in fog, so nothing scenic there.  It was just a cold, wet day where you only wanted to keep going and finish.

Extremely well organized event, as would be expected for one with such a long history.  The only bottleneck was checked bag pickup at the end, which was run by charity volunteers.  That took longer than you'd want, and then I still had a 25 minute walk to get back to my car and a 5 hour drive home in rain/freezing rain.  A bit white knuckle driving at times, and the one spot where I hoped to grab a coffee was shut down because of the power outage.

However, made it home and feel pretty good today.  Will take Monday off and this whole week will be a cutback week in advance of my 50 mile training run next Monday.