Going Long (again) in 2024

August 2024

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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

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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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Miles:This week: 22.00 Month: 145.00 Year: 1953.80
Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Lifetime Miles: 412.40
Brooks Cascadia 11 Lifetime Miles: 394.00
Salomon Speedcross 4 Lifetime Miles: 356.75
Brooks Launch 8 Lifetime Miles: 153.00
Asics Metaspeed Sky Lifetime Miles: 32.20
Brooks Ghost 13 Lifetime Miles: 474.50
Triumph 18 Treadmill/outside Lifetime Miles: 232.00
Black Hoka Bondi Lifetime Miles: 53.00
Total Distance
235.50
Ghost 13 Blue Sole Miles: 8.50Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 47.00Brooks Cascadia 11 Miles: 55.00Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill/outside Miles: 95.00Saucony Triumph 18 Miles: 10.00Salomon Speedcross 4 Miles: 20.00
Weight: 160.45
Total Distance
8.50

Yesterday's off day was a real help.  So was the massage in the afternoon.  Felt much better today.  9:08 pace.

Ghost 13 Blue Sole Miles: 8.50
Weight: 0.00
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Total Distance
10.00

6 of the miles on hills.  Average pace of 9:48/mile.  Today is the last day of the big heat wave that has made running an extra challenge this week.

Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 10.00
Weight: 161.00
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Total Distance
20.00

20 miles on the Capreol ski trails. 10:45 pace.

Brooks Cascadia 11 Miles: 20.00
Weight: 161.00
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Total Distance
8.00

Easy recovery run; 9:12 pace.

Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill/outside Miles: 8.00
Weight: 159.00
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Total Distance
7.00

Mixed in some fartleks with this run; haven't done much speedwork in this training cycle.  Nice to let the legs go a little bit.  8:46 pace.

Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 7.00
Weight: 159.00
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Total Distance
15.00

Back to the Capreol Ski Trails, giving me 35 miles on them this week.  10:50 pace.

Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 15.00
Weight: 160.00
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Total Distance
10.00

Easy paced 9:30 run.  Saw a female deer on the road just in front of me.  Yesterday, on the trails, it was a large buck.  Lots of partridge around too.

Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 10.00
Weight: 160.50
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Total Distance
15.00

Capreol ski trails. It rained overnight, so some standing water and more mud than usual. I should have eaten something before; I was pretty depleted at the end.

Brooks Cascadia 11 Miles: 15.00
Weight: 162.00
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Total Distance
5.00

Easy 9:22 run.

Saucony Triumph 18 Miles: 5.00
Weight: 169.50
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Total Distance
5.00

A few sprints up the hills, but overall an easy run; 9:10 pace.

Saucony Triumph 18 Miles: 5.00
Weight: 160.50
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Total Distance
5.00

Easy run; 9:45 pace.

Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 5.00
Weight: 160.50
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Total Distance
20.00

9:39 pace for this back to back.  Tomorrow, I'll take the next 20 miles to the trails.

Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill/outside Miles: 20.00
Weight: 160.00
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Total Distance
20.00

Back to the Capreol Ski Trails to complete the back to back.  A very slow 12:07 pace on very heavy legs.  A black bear ran out in front of me at mile 4 - I yelled at it and it ran off.  Came across it again on my second loop - this time off in the woods a bit. 

It rained a bit overnight, so everything was wet.  It started raining again for 45 minutes around mile 12.  It actually felt good.  Although it was not hot at 20C/68F, it was near 99% humidity.

There was some kind of big dirtbike event going on - quite a crowd there at the end of my second lap.  I heard them riding, but it looks like they were on the snowshoe trails, and I never saw a bike on the ski trail.

End of peak mileage.  Haliburton 100 is three weeks from today.  Now I taper.

Salomon Speedcross 4 Miles: 20.00
Weight: 160.00
Comments(1)
Total Distance
10.00

Quite a bit cooler today, at just 10C/50F and a brisk Northern wind. Ran a very hilly road, and 2 miles on an old rail bed. That's where I tripped over a rock and fell at mile four. Nasty. Scrapped my right hand, knee and shoulder. Finished with a 9:22 pace.

Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill/outside Miles: 10.00
Weight: 161.00
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Total Distance
6.00

Easy run; 9:20 pace.

Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill/outside Miles: 6.00
Weight: 161.00
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Total Distance
10.00

Easy 9:25 paced run, just before sunrise.  It was cool, at just 7C/45F.  I wore gloves and I was fine.

Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill/outside Miles: 10.00
Weight: 159.00
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Total Distance
20.00

Capreol Ski Trails.  Averaged an 11:25 pace.  Would have been closer to an 11:15 pace, but I lost time when I encountered a skunk at mile 4.  It was huge - a beautiful specimen - and was trotting down the trail towards me.  We both stopped and eyed each other warily.  Then it started to trot towards me.  I think it was thinking there was enough room for us to pass each other, but I didn't want to take the chance.  So, I yelled at it and it stopped, and then reluctantly turned back the way it had come - up the trail I was on.

I trotted behind it, hoping it would go off the trail.  It didn't.  A full quarter mile before it finally stepped off and I was able to safely pass.

Then, there was a huge backhoe dredging the sewage pond at mile 4.5.  I couldn't pass, as it was sitting on the trail, so had to detour on another trail.  Then, just past mile 5, I encountered a fox.  After that, just a whole lot of partridge on the trails.

Brooks Cascadia 11 Miles: 20.00
Weight: 159.00
Comments(2)
Total Distance
5.00

Easy recovery run; 9:34 pace.  Two weeks to race day.

Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill/outside Miles: 5.00
Weight: 158.00
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Total Distance
8.00

Easy tapering week run; 9:28 pace.

Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill/outside Miles: 8.00
Weight: 160.50
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Total Distance
5.00

Easy 5; 9:30 pace.

Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill/outside Miles: 5.00
Weight: 161.00
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Total Distance
8.00

Easy run on a very cool morning; 9:12 pace.

Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill/outside Miles: 8.00
Weight: 159.00
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Total Distance
10.00

Easy tapering run; 9:25 pace.

Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill/outside Miles: 10.00
Weight: 158.00
Add Comment
Total Distance
5.00

Easy tapering run; 9:22 pace.  A man in a truck stopped me to say a big bear with two cubs walked out of the woods just behind me.  I said 'lots of bears around - I don't bother them and they don't bother me".

Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill/outside Miles: 5.00
Weight: 160.50
Add Comment
Total Distance
235.50
Ghost 13 Blue Sole Miles: 8.50Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 47.00Brooks Cascadia 11 Miles: 55.00Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill/outside Miles: 95.00Saucony Triumph 18 Miles: 10.00Salomon Speedcross 4 Miles: 20.00
Weight: 160.45
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