| 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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| Brooks Glycerin 14 Miles: 54.00 | Saucony ISO Triumph 2 Miles: 95.00 | Saucony ISO Triumph 3 Miles: 44.50 | Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 25.50 |
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| | Radar Road. Took 3 days off: Because of the long trip to Montreal and back for my aunt's funeral, and because I was hoping to give my hip time to improve. It really hasn't. It hurt on this run. I think I'm going to have to back off the mileage in a big way for a while. Sigh.
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| Brooks Glycerin 14 Miles: 10.00 |
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| | Radar Road Route. Black bear crossed in front of me again - this time about 50 feet away. Didn't seem too interested in me - likely off to feed on blueberries.
One of the advantages of self diagnosis, is if I don't like my first diagnosis, I can make a new one. So I did. A second opinion from myself, if you like.
Arthritis of the hip and hip tendinitis have basically the same symptoms, but very different possible outcomes. So, since arthritis is chronic and gets worse by running, I've decided I have tendinitis, which is manageable and will heal over time.
With that in mind, I'm focussing on some specific stretches and strengthening exercises (which I've been neglecting to do for a while) that target the hip tendons. We'll see how far that gets me.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph 2 Miles: 10.00 |
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| | So, after my 2 services this morning, I had to go to the local cemetery for a burial. After that, I was grateful for a nap. Got up, had 2 coffees and an ice cream and watched the ball game.
Then I had to go out to make the final preparations for a concrete delivery first thing in the morning - for a shed I'm going to build. Did the final leveling and laid the wire mesh. Then a nice cold beer.
It was right about then that I remembered I had wanted to run tonight instead of tomorrow. So, I ran. Was surprised I wasn't hurting after the various 'nutritional' intakes. But kept a decent enough 8:27 pace in the heat - temps in the low 80s.
Most surprising of all: the hip did not bother me in the least.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph 2 Miles: 10.00 |
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| | Easy (8:42 pace) run on the Radar Road Route.
Quite a storm yesterday - washed out sections of my route, a few downed trees, and power out in parts of the city just south of me. I watched it from my garage. Powerful!
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| Saucony ISO Triumph 2 Miles: 12.00 |
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| | Goodwill Route. Smoke in the air from the forest fires burning north of here.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph 2 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Skead Road Route; 8:36 pace.
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| Brooks Glycerin 14 Miles: 8.00 |
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| | So I drilled 17, four foot deep, holes for my fence posts yesterday. Alone. In the rain. Started around Noon and worked until dark. Used one of those one man hydraulic drills. Still needed a lot of lifting. I hurt. But I finished the job!
I didn't sleep much because I pulled something in my lower back. Didn't think I'd run today, but decided to give it a go.
Surprisingly, running seems to have loosened up the back. At least it didn't seem to hurt too much by running. Just a bit, anyway. And the added bonus: I didn't notice the pain in my hip as much!
Radar Road Route; 8:49 pace. Getting back into the heat: 25C/77 degrees.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph 2 Miles: 14.00 |
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| | Radar Road Route; 8:53 pace.
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| Brooks Glycerin 14 Miles: 18.00 |
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| | Radar Road Route; 8:38 pace.
Can't believe how cool it got, after the heat wave we just had. Just 8C/46F during the run.
My lower back seems to be the last body part that refuses to stop hurting. At least it's not a running injury. I'm going to get it treated this week.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph 2 Miles: 11.00 |
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| | Easy run on Radar Road; 8:42 pace.
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| Brooks Glycerin 14 Miles: 10.00 |
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| | Radar Road Route; 8:58 pace.
All in all, a good week. Doubled up the mileage on Monday because I was away all day Tuesday, and managed a decent enough long run today. The week as a whole was also decent enough, considering my various aches and pains.
Tomorrow afternoon, I head North of Elliot Lake (a few hours from here) to a cottage rental with my parents and two of my siblings and their kids. It's my mother's gift to all of us. I'll be there until Friday; hope to be able to catch a wireless signal somewhere on one of the hill tops so I can blog while away. All my runs will be on highway 546, alongside the Little White River.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph 2 Miles: 20.00 |
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| | 9:09 pace on highway 546. We will call it the deer fly route this week, because the little insects pestered me the whole run. Dead legs for some reason, so really had to fight for every mile. |
| Saucony ISO Triumph 3 Miles: 10.00 |
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| | The legs felt a lot better today. Deerfly Route; 8:49 pace. High humidity and then steady rain. Pulling my shirt up over my head helped to keep the deer flies away. |
| Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 12.50 |
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| | Deer Fly Route. 9:00 pace. I discovered that wrapping a second t-shirt around my head keeps the pesky insects away. A bit cooler today, and clear skies. An impressive fog coming off the Little White River. |
| Saucony ISO Triumph 3 Miles: 12.00 |
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| | My last run on the Deer Fly Route. Heading home later today. 8:46 pace. |
| Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 13.00 |
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| | Radar Road - Cote - Dupuis Loop. 8:59 pace. Very nice running weather: overcast and just 16C/60F. And no deer flies!
My legs held up pretty well, considering the 70 mile week.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph 3 Miles: 22.50 |
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| | Radar Road Route; 8:38 pace. The first mile was a bit heavy, and I thought the run would be a struggle, but I got my legs at mile two and felt strong the rest of the way.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph 2 Miles: 12.00 |
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| | Skead Road Route; 8:45 pace.
I had my bike in for a service all morning, and so ended up running in the heat of the afternoon. It was 28C/82F - on the warm side for this Northern boy.
I planned on running 8, but almost turned around at mile 3. Turns out I was glad I pushed through, as I finished it okay.
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| Brooks Glycerin 14 Miles: 8.00 |
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| Brooks Glycerin 14 Miles: 54.00 | Saucony ISO Triumph 2 Miles: 95.00 | Saucony ISO Triumph 3 Miles: 44.50 | Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 25.50 |
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