Going Long (again) in 2024

Fast Tempo run ... 7:30 pace.  Train Route - got well ahead of the freight train today.

Pretty wet run.  Temperature was 18C/65F.  Dew point was the same.  Humidity sitting at 98%.

I was extra pleased with this run, since it was just 10 hours since I finished yesterday's 22 miler.  Basically like doing 2 intense runs on the same day.  

Easy recovery run on the train route.  No train today, although I think I heard the horn sound from 3 miles away near the end of my run.

8:22 pace.  Sure feels easy when it's cool:  a very nice 12C/53F ... quite the difference from the last few days.

Heading to my parent's camp rental on Manitoulin Island today.  4 hours of riding - it doesn't get much better than that!

65 minute "hilly" run was prescribed.

About a mile from my hotel there is the local cemetery.  I ducked in there and ended up doing 12 laps around it.  It was just over a half mile/lap.  All hills, so a perfect workout.  Actually wanted to see where it was anyway, as I'm performing a burial there this afternoon (right at the top of the steepest hill).

Kept a pretty good pace of 8:05/mile.  Not terribly hot at 19C/66F, but challenging enough with the 98% humidity.  A fox ran with me the last quarter mile back to my hotel.  Those things can really move.

Easy recovery run, along Lake Ramsey to Science North and back.  Averaged a pace of 8:28, for a running time just shy of 90 minutes.  Cool and rainy day; just 13C/55F.  Perfect for running.

My legs are feeling a little punky.  I'm glad for tomorrow off.  Driving to the Niagara Falls region to do some trail runs (Monday), wine tours (Tuesday), Blue Jays Ballgame (Wednesday) and a short 6k race on the Toronto Islands (Thursday).

Okay, just home an hour ago, and time to catch up with the blogs.

Left Sunday to head South to the Niagara Falls region.  

On Monday, drove to Ancaster, which is just outside of Hamilton.  It's where I MIGHT run my first 80k OR 100K next May.  I wanted to run the trail to see what it was like.  The race offers everything up to 200 miles!  

I was scheduled to run 16 miles that day, and one loop of the race is 20k (about 12 miles), so I figured it was a good way to get to know the course.

It has just about everything.  The trail itself is not very technical most of the time, and I think I would end up running it in my street runners, instead of trail shoes.  It starts off flat enough, but the hills sure do make an appearance in the second half of the loop.

Just to feed my ego, I passed 3 horses along the way!  Of course, the cyclists were passing me.  The hills on the last half section are pretty intense, and I was pretty tapped out at the end.  

I finished the 16 miles in a time of 2:40:51, for an average pace of 10:03.  It was hot enough at 67F, and the rain started with just a half mile to go at the end.  The major challenge of this race will be the hills on the back end (especially what they call the 3 sisters), and the killer hill at the end of each loop, which is almost a half mile up.  Total elevation gain for the distance was 1,388 feet.

I don't know if I'll run the 80k or 100k; will decide after my 50k next month.

8 miles at a moderate pace of 7:26.  Just down a local road in Grimsby where I'm staying at a Super 8.  Today, I go wine tasting!

Normally off today, but ran the 3.5 easy (8:43 pace) to make up for the shorter distance I'll be running tomorrow in the race.

This was just a fun race.  I had never been to the Toronto Islands before - just a 15 minute ferry ride from downtown Toronto.  The race was run on Ward Island (one of the 3 Toronto Islands) and organized by a tight group of locals.  

There were no shirts or medals for runners, but a nice BBQ at the end, which included a hamburger, homemade cookie and a can of beer.

It was pretty hot and humid, and the race started at 7pm sharp.  I figured running around a 6:40/mile pace, and maybe breaking 24 minutes.  

There was virtually no wind, and the course is pancake flat.  I started out WAY too fast (as usual) and ran the first mile in 6:24, but was racing as fast as 4:48 at one point.  I knew there would be pain ahead!

I slowed to 6:38 for the second mile and was not feeling great.  I did have my moments though, running as fast as 5:52.

Mile 3 saw me run a pace of 6:48.  I picked it up the last 3/4 miles and ran that at 6:35, with a 4:52 sprint at the finish line.

So, an average pace of 6:36 and a finish time of 24:44.  And, since this was the first time running this distance in a race, I can claim it for a PB!  :)

A gorgeous night for a ferry ride back to the main land, and home for a good night's sleep!

Easy run today; 10 miles at a pace of 9:57.  I ran a combination of trails and roads in the Toronto area I'm staying at.  Tight in the hammies after yesterday's race, but I just took it easy and enjoyed the run.

Hill repeats on the Skead Hill.  9 x 600.  Tough slog, but I pushed through it.

LONG training run.  Averaged out at an 11:06 pace, for a total running time of 4:26:15.  Temperature started at 15C/59F and rose to 24C/76F with low humidity.  Total elevation gain of just under 1,000 feet.  I ran from my hotel, around Lake Ramsey and Lake Laurentian, using the trail system.

Ran the first 6 miles on mostly roads; entered the trail section for the last 2 miles.  Average pace of 9:20.

The next 6 miles were highly technical.  I mean, literally pulling myself up with the trees and scampering on all 4's over steep bedrock, complex roots, TONS of mud, etc.  I did one face plant in the mud which was not pretty, although I'm sure it looked funny.  I had to go another 2 miles to find some water to wash off everything - my water and gatoraide spigots were covered with mud.  Average overall pace had dropped to 11:48 at this point.

The next 6 miles were a combination of trails and roads.  Still pretty steep, and my legs were now like rubber.  Managed to bring my average pace down to 11:25.

The final 6 miles were all lake side boardwalk or roads.  Just focused on putting one foot in front of the other and finished.

Two weeks from today, I have my final LONG run ... 26 miles.  It's nuts, I think, to run a full marathon distance as a training run!

1 hour fast tempo run on the Train Route.  7:30/mile pace.  No train today.

Easy recovery run on the train route.  8:35 pace.  Freight train beat me today, so I had to wait about a half minute for it to go by.  On the way back though, I beat the passenger train by about 200 yards.

Just shy of 70 minutes of hills ... ran 12 laps inside the Civic Cemetery.  Averaged 8:34/mile.  Not hot, at just 16C/61F, but that was also the dew point, so with 99% humidity and a dense fog, it made for one wet run.

My left hip (IT insertion point?) was feeling it after yesterday's run, and still pretty sore this morning, to the point where I considered taking an off day.  However, I didn't feel it at all during the run, and it doesn't seem too bad right now.  So, will just continue with stretching it and foam rolling.

It hit me though:  this is my second time this year hitting peak training mileage (Boston training being the first), and I really haven't had injuries that have sidelined me.  Hoping to keep that trend going.

Was supposed to be a 90 minute easy run (about 10 miles), but ended up being an 11 mile Tempo Run.  Just felt too good to go slower.  7:51 pace.

Rode my bike to Garson and ran back to my hotel, with an extension down the train route to make up for the extra 4 miles.  A freight train beat me by a good mile, and then another one passed behind me after about 15 minutes.

So, tomorrow I leave around Noon for Chicago.  About 12 - 13 hours of riding.  I'll sleep there a few hours and then see if I can make it to Bloomsdale, MO to see the eclipse on Monday.  Anywhere south of St. Louis would be good, but I'm guessing the interstates will be jammed and not moving too quickly.  I'll do my best to get to where I can see the full eclipse - that would be cool.

I'll have to rearrange my running plans - and won't be blogging until I get home on Friday.

Easy run on the Lakefront Trail in Chicago.  I love this trail!  My 3rd time in Chicago.  First time I was there after the Cleveland Half, I ran the trail.  Second time, I ran the Marathon.  So, it was good to run the trail again - nice to be out there with SO MANY other runners.

On Sunday, I left home at Noon and rode my motorcycle to Chicago.  Got in at Midnight.  A long ride!  After 4 hours of sleep, I got up and rode another 5 hours to Bloomsdale, MO to see the eclipse.  Awesome!  Then the great American traffic jam, and it took 8 hours to ride back to Chicago.  So, got in after Midnight again.

Tuesday morning, up and running.  I started at mile 5.5 at North Beach and ran to the other 5.5 mile marker - that was 14 miles return.  But I also ran down to the end of the Navy Pier and back (one mile) and then got confused at some construction and ended up running into the downtown area by mistake (another mile).  So, 16 all together.

Average pace was 8:30/mile.  While running the Navy Pier, this song was blaring over the speakers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEiSxBJJiLs

Perfect!  

The day was hot enough (I ran late morning/early afternoon), but not too terrible.  I had fun.

So, rode to Sault Ste. Marie from Chicago on Wednesday.  Staying with friends the next 2 nights just outside the city.  I told Luke I wanted a 10 mile route, and he said that was the exact distance from his place, up to Echo Lake, around a loop, and back.

Turns out it was closer to 12 miles, but that's okay too.  It was mostly gravel road with little traffic.  He gave me a whistle to scare off the bears, but I only had to use it to scare off a couple of dogs.  The one fox I saw didn't bother me at all.

8:31/mile pace.

Same route as yesterday.  8:33 pace.  Heading back home today.

I didn't mention it yesterday,  but after that run, my left knee was achy.  I felt it on my ride home, and I was limping just slightly whenever I got off my bike and into the evening.  I should have iced it then.  Ah well.  Soaked in the hot tub instead!

I was hoping it would work itself out on today's 10 mile easy run, but no.  Almost as soon as I started, I decided to cut it short to 8 miles to eliminate the hills at miles 5 & 6.  But after a half mile, I figured even that was too 'heroic'.  I can't help but think that I have that 26 mile training run on Monday.

So, I walked home and am now hoping that 2 days of rest will be enough to take care of it.

Mega long run - my final one before "The Toad Ultra".  26 miles.  Weird running that distance as a training run.

I left early and it was cool, so I didn't have the hydration issues as before.  Ran the Lake Laurentian Loop trail, and then had to run another 4.5 miles out and back on it again to get the distance.

Running time of 4:17:37, for an average pace of 9:54/mile.

Okay, after yesterday's mega run, I drove to Laurentian Lodge - about a 2.5 hour drive Northwest of Sudbury.  The priests of my Diocese are on retreat there this week.  My right knee was aching (not my left, as before) so I drove with an ice pack on it.

In the morning, I drove to a flat place (since the Lodge is located in a valley between some pretty high mountains) and tried to run.  BOTH knees were killing me, so I packed it in after a half mile.  Obviously, I need to take a day of rest.

Felt much better running today.  Managed the 7 miles at a pace of 8:36.  And since today is normally a rest day, I'm right on schedule - took my rest yesterday.

Felt even better again.  Ran harder, at a pace of 8:16.

Driving home later that night, a black bear ran across the road so close to me, I had to brake hard.  It didn't even bother looking both ways!