| 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
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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| Saucony Triumph 17 Miles: 73.00 | Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 49.00 | Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 25.00 | Brooks Launch 8 Miles: 32.00 | Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Miles: 9.00 |
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| | Goodwill Drive; 9:08 pace. Still comfortable temperatures, but also still 100% humidity.
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| Saucony Triumph 17 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Goodwill Drive; 8:43 pace.
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| Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Goodwill Drive; 8:58 pace.
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| Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Skead Road; 8:55 pace.
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| Saucony Triumph 17 Miles: 8.00 |
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| | Goodwill Drive; 9:04 pace.
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| Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Mondays are for speedwork. 12 x 400 @ 6:40/mile pace, with 400 recoveries.
Lap pace is 1:40. All 12 came in between 1:36 and 1:38, so a touch on the fast side, but consistently so.
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| Brooks Launch 8 Miles: 9.00 |
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| | Goodwill Drive; 8:59 easy pace.
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| Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Goodwill Drive; 8:53 pace. A black bear pooped in the middle of the road. Really? You couldn't just walk a few more feet to the bush?
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| Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Comments(1) |
| | Goodwill Drive; 8:37 pace.
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| Saucony Triumph 17 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Skead Road; 8:53 pace. Heavy legs today, for some reason.
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| Saucony Triumph 17 Miles: 8.00 |
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| | Early morning run on Goodwill Drive; 8:59 pace.
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| Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Speedwork at the track.
8 x 600 with 400 recoveries. Pace is 6:40/mile, or 2:30/600
Actual paces were between 2:25 and 2:31, so pretty much bang on.
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| Brooks Launch 8 Miles: 8.00 |
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| | Comments(1) |
| | Tempo Run on Radar Road. Scheduled for 6 miles at a 7:35 pace.
First, it was delayed because of a pretty intense thunderstorm that rolled in as I was getting ready to go. I waited 90 minutes until the worst of it had passed. By then, the thunder was just rolling in the distance, although the rain was steady throughout, and the wind just got stronger.
The first three miles were bang on at 7:33, 7:34 and 7:30. Because of the wind at my back, I had to constantly slow myself down. The ride home, not so great. I fought through mile 4, and was actually running on pace for the first 3/4 mile. Then, a huge gust of wind hit me, and it just didn't let up. I finished at 7:44 for that mile. By then, the wind was directly in my face and blowing a steady 24mph, with gusts of 32mph. It just sapped me, and I blew off miles 5 and 6 at 8:56 and 8:40. Every time a rig drove by, a HUGE wall of water hit me. I was pretty much toast at the end.
So, not a great first Tempo Run of this training cycle. Good thing there are 14 left to go. The good news is, the first 3 miles felt effortless. Hopefully, there will be no wind next week and I can get a better idea of how this Tempo pace will work for me in my October Marathon.
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| Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Miles: 9.00 |
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| | Skead Road; 8:58 pace.
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| Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 7.00 |
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| | Goodwill Drive; 8:42 pace.
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| Saucony Triumph 17 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Long Run on Radar Road. Pace for these is supposed to be 8:15. I ran this one at an 8:06, so too fast.
The 1st 5 miles was into a strong headwind, and of course I had the strong tailwind for the final half. It made it hard to gauge speed.
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| Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 10.00 |
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| | Goodwill Drive; 9:02 pace. Chilly morning, with frost on the rooftops. 3C/38F. Cold hands!
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| Saucony Triumph 17 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Speedwork Monday at the track.
6 x 800 @ 6:40/mile pace with 400 recoveries.
Goal was 3:20/800 lap. Ran 3:14, 3:15, 3:17, 3:20, 3:18 and 3:19.
So, a bit fast at the beginning, but I settled into the pace as I went on.
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| Brooks Launch 8 Miles: 8.00 |
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| | Tempo Run on Radar Road. I felt a bit pressured to nail this one, after last week's windy failure. Despite the humidity, I pulled it off.
6 miles at a 7:33 pace. A touch faster than my goal of 7:35.
Temperature was 21C/70F, but the humidity was 100% and the dew point was 21C/70F. So, I felt it - the breathing was heavy.
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| Saucony Triumph 17 Miles: 9.00 |
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| | Comments(1) |
| | Goodwill Drive; 9:01 pace.
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| Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Skead Road; 8:53 pace.
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| Saucony Triumph 17 Miles: 8.00 |
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| | Skead Road; 9:00/mile pace.
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| Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 8.00 |
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| | Radar Road; 8:52 pace.
After hitting 31C/88F yesterday, it was a welcome relief to run in a much more comfortable 21C/70F today.
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| Saucony Triumph 17 Miles: 7.00 |
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| | Monday speedwork at the track.
5 x 1000 with 400 recoveries.
My plan calls for a speedwork pace somewhere between my 5k and 10k race pace. So, I aim for a 6:40/mile. Today that would be a 4:10/km
Splits were: 4:08 4:08 4:12 4:10 and 4:17. Not sure why I was struggling today. I hit all my splits except for the last one, but none of them were easy and my breathing was labored. It caught up with me on the final split. Looking forward to a day off tomorrow.
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| Brooks Launch 8 Miles: 7.00 |
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| | 6 mile Tempo Run on Radar Road. Goal pace is 7:35/mile. Pace ran was 7:30/mile.
On the plus side, compared to the two previous tempo runs, this one felt much better. I didn't feel like coughing up a lung, or worse; my pulse rate was 139 rather than 159; I didn't cramp up or feel nauseous. Not having incredibly strong winds or extreme humidity made a huge difference. On the negative side, I'm supposed to run 7:35 for a reason, and I ran it too fast. I need to rein that in.
Next week I bump it up to 7 miles.
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| Saucony Triumph 17 Miles: 9.00 |
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| | Comments(1) |
| | Skead Road; 9:06 pace.
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| Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 7.00 |
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| Saucony Triumph 17 Miles: 73.00 | Triumph ISO 5 Miles: 49.00 | Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 25.00 | Brooks Launch 8 Miles: 32.00 | Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Miles: 9.00 |
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