Going Long (again) in 2024

Decided to ride to Sault Ste. Marie yesterday to visit some friends, chill out, and watch the fireworks on Monday.

Ran in the morning down a local road at a 9:03 pace.

Same as yesterday (same road); 9:13 pace.

Skead Road; 8:50 pace.  Finally getting some hot days.  Hit 28C/83F yesterday; going up to 30C/86F today.  Nice.

Skead Road; 8:57 pace.

To the Capreol ski trails today.  Each lap of the outside loop was just over 5 miles.  So, 4 laps.  1567 feet of elevation gain.

11:00/mile pace on average, inclusive of the 3 stops to replendish my supplies after the first three laps.  3 hours and 45 minutes of running.

Not as steaming hot as the last few days, but the mosquitoes were something else.  They kept me honest, cause walking the uphills allowed them to zero in.  Had to keep running or get bit.

I fell on the third lap.  I think I tripped on a root on a particularly gnarly section.  Not hurt, except for my pride.  My back is full of bug bites though.

Radar Road; 8:52 pace.

Goodwill Road; 8:58 pace.

Yesterday, a trip on my bike to the Toronto area.  Ended up buying a pair of trail shoes that don't hurt my feet - these are the ones I SHOULD have had at the Sulpher Springs race in May.  Ah well - they will serve me well in Haliburton.  Better late than never.

Morning run:  10 miles on Radar Road.  8:57 pace.

Evening run:  4.5 miles trail running in Laurentian University area.  11:16 pace.

This is the 35th Anniversary of The Running Room - a Canadian running shoe business.  Every year, they have this "20 minute fitness challenge".  Run or walk for 20 minutes and get a free hat.  So, I decided to sign up.  A free hat, after all.

Well, at the store, I bumped into an old highschool classmate.  He runs with the Running Room Wednesday group.  Talked me into it.  So, instead of an easy 20 minute road run, I ended up in this trail run.  Sure wish I had my trail shoes on, as it was a bit gnarly.  Still, an easy pace and it was fun.  Just a bit more mileage than planned for today.  

Two runs today, because I'm trying to get 32 miles in between today and tomorrow, and I need to work around my schedule.

So, I only had time for 10 miles this morning.  8:58 pace on Skead Road.

This afternoon, I picked up another 6.5 on Goodwill Drive; 8:57 pace.  Heat of the day:  24C/75F.

Tomorrow, I should be able to get the other 15 or 16 in.  I just have to decide whether or not to hit the trails.

Trail run on the Ski trails in Capreol.  3 loops.  I got to try my new Salomons - sure wish I had these for the Sulpher Springs Race (mud fest) in May.  Ah well.  They are comfortable, rugged and have great traction.

Unfortunately, I still fell (quite hard) just past mile 4 on my first lap.  Turns out it was a small tree stump I tripped over.  Not the fault of the shoes.  For a second, I thought I hurt myself.  However, I was able to get up and continue on - really covered in dirt.  Worst of it was a nice scrape/gash in the side of my right knee which bled quite profusely.  Nothing too serious once I got home and disinfected it.

10:53 pace, inclusive of my 2 "re-loading" stops at my truck.  Saw one grouse on the trail, and one black bear running across Skead Road on my way to the trails.

Back to the Capreol Ski Trails; 3 laps non stop (wore my ultra vest) with an average pace of 10:31.

Goodwill Road; 9:10 pace.

Radar Road; 8:53 pace.

Skead Road; 8:53 pace.  20C/69F with 100% humidity, but the real challenge comes later today and tomorrow when it goes to 30C/86F.  By Sunday, it should cool down a bit.

I'm not running much tomorrow, however; instead, going to run a marathon just down the highway from here in Massey, just over an hour's drive away.  A friend is running his first one Sunday, and I managed to get the day off so I can pace it for him.

He says he's aiming for a 4 hour marathon, which is pretty much my training pace.  Since I was due for a 26-30 mile training run this weekend anyway, I decided to run it with him.

It's the "Massey Friendly Marathon" and was my first race ever, in July 1998.  A double loop, which I detest.  I ran it in 30 seconds over the 4 hour mark, so this will be like doing it for old times sake, except I should find it a lot easier this time.

It's the same route (one loop) that I ran with my sister when she did her first Half Marathon four years ago.

Easy shakeout run in preparation for tomorrow's Marathon.  Goodwill Road; 8:53 pace.

It's like I've come full circle.  This was the first Marathon I ever ran.  In fact, it's the first race I ever ran at any distance - exactly 21 years ago in 1998.  Four years ago, this was the race where I paced my sister on her first Half.  Today, it was the first Marathon for a friend - Curtis Arcand.  I had to run about this distance today anyway as part of my training, and his goal was to beat 4 hours in the Marathon - basically my training pace - so the stars lined up for this one.

I ran it in 1998 in 4:00:30.  I was incredibly inexperienced, trained very poorly, and ended up with a terrible case of runner's trots that swore me off running ever again.  Today felt a lot better.

The temperatures were identical to those 21 years ago:  15C/60F at the 6am start, and 21C/70F at the finish.  Clear and sunny the whole way, with a gentle breeze and tolerable humidity.

There's not much to report.  Curtis ran a good race.  We averaged a pace of 8:59/mile to give him a finish time 3 1/2 minutes under 4 hours.  It's a fairly flat course - total elevation gain was just 890 feet.  It's a double loop course, and we ran the second half about 30 seconds faster than the first half.  Pretty even splits.  He felt strong right up to about mile 22, but toughed out the rough ones at the end and only faded slightly in mile 26.  He did great.  Actually won his age division.

My results, on the other hand, inexplicably show a DNF on the timing website.  This is the second race in a row where this has happened.  The Ultra I could understand - all the equipment was caked in mud.  But today?  The only thing I can think of is I thought I heard a "beep" when I passed by the finishing mat on my second loop.  I mean, I was on the official course, but maybe it picked me up.  I e-mailed them to complain.  I know it's not important, but it's still a matter of pride that I have not DNF'd in a race - yet.

Radar Road; 9:09 pace.  No lingering soreness from yesterday's Marathon.  Just the same nagging soreness in that right groin muscle that I pulled in May's Muddy Ultra.  Going for a massage this afternoon.

Oh, and they fixed my official Marathon results.

Radar Road; 8:59 pace.  Nice, cooler morning for running at 10C/50F.

Skead Road; 8:58 pace.

3 laps on the Capreol Ski Trails.  10:56 average pace, inclusive of the 2 stops at the end of laps one and two to refill my bottles.

It started to rain as I drove out there, and came down steady for the first 7 miles.  Enough that there were significant puddles to run through.  I was soaked to the skin by the end of the first mile.

The mosquitoes were, surprisingly, absent.  Not the dear flies.  They were nasty.  Then, when the rain stopped, the mosquitoes decided to join in.  What a party!

This was my second run in the Salomons.  They are working well.

Radar  Road; 8:50 pace.  Just 20C/69F, but with 95% humidity, it felt hot and wet.

Goodwill Road; 8:41 pace.  Just 17C/62F, but 100% humidity.

Goodwill Route; 8:51 pace.  Cooled down quite a bit - nice for running at just 10C/50F.