| 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 13 Miles: 96.00 | Nike Zoom Vomero 13 Miles: 13.00 | Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 99.00 | Brooks Ghost 11 Miles: 20.00 |
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| | Our first major dump of snow. Just over 7.5 inches by midnight, and more came after that.
I debated running outside, but in the end opted for the safety of the treadmill. I think a good decision.
8:56/mile pace.
On the plus side, my splits will always be even, I won't slip or fall, I won't get hit by a car, and I can run in temperatures that mimic closely those I'll have in Fort Lauderdale in January. Silver linings.
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| Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 8.00 |
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| | More snow. Over 10 inches in the last day or so. And it's still falling. Ah well. I put my snow tires on my truck yesterday.
Back to the treadmill; 8:56 pace.
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| Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 10.00 |
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| | Goodwill Drive; 8:46 pace.
Decided to risk the run outside, since Sunday morning traffic is not too bad.-4C/26F with very little wind. The road was narrow because of the snow, and varied from snow covered to ice covered to ice patches to bare. All in all, it was doable as long as I was careful with the ice.
The extra hour means it is not pitch black when I start, and the sun was just rising as I finished.
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| Nike Zoom Vomero 13 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | I had really hoped to get to the end of my speedwork section of training with all the workouts on the track. That would have been the end of November. But the track is covered in snow, and the white stuff is still falling, so to the treadmill I turned. Big advantage, of course, is running even splits.
Today was a Step Speed Workout: 400 - 800 - 1200 - 1600 - 1200 - 800 - 400, all with 400 recoveries.
I ran all the sections at a 6:40/mile pace.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 9.00 |
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| | Seven mile Tempo (Marathon Pace) on the treadmill. 7:52/mile.
Since I'm inside anyway, I'm taking advantage of the opportunity to heat adapt to Florida running; I've turned up the heat in my exercise room. Not much I can do to mimic high humidity, but even this should help.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 10.00 |
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| | I took it outside and am glad I did. There was a hoar frost that turned everything white. As the sun rose, the trees turned golden. And once it was fully risen, everything sparkled like diamonds. Gorgeous.
The roads, however, were covered with ice; had to really be careful.
And it was cold - had to wear mitts instead of gloves. I should have worn a balaclava.
-11C/12F with a bit of a breeze.
8:44 pace.
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| Nike Zoom Vomero 13 Miles: 7.00 |
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| | Goodwill Road; 8:50 pace. Same conditions as yesterday, minus the hoarfrost. And I did wear the balaclava, which helped.
Oh, also running with my new (as of yesterday) Biolite 330 headlamp. A LOT better than what I had been using.
Saw my doctor yesterday and she is sending me for x-rays of my foot later today. Time to find out for sure if it really is arthritis and not a stress fracture.
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| Brooks Ghost 11 Miles: 8.00 |
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| | Long run on the treadmill; 8:27 pace.
Got a prescription for a strong anti-inflammatory cream to use on my left foot. Time to get off the ibuprofin before it rots my stomach.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 14.00 |
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| | Goodwill Drive; 9:09 pace.
Steady snowfall. The trees were heavy laden with snow. Very picturesque.
I tried to run in tire tracks, but there were sections where nobody had driven yet, so my feet were pretty icy by the time I got home.
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| Brooks Ghost 11 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Speedwork on the treadmill.
3 x 1 mile repeats at 6:40 pace with 500 recoveries.
Probably the strongest I've felt doing speedwork in a while.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 7.00 |
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| | Marathon Pace Tempo Run on the treadmill.
7 miles at 7:52 pace.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 10.00 |
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| | Treadmill. Easy run; 9:50 pace.
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| Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Treadmill recovery run; 8:56 pace.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 10.00 |
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| | Treadmill; 8:56 pace. 10 weeks to A1A.
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| Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 10.00 |
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| | Treadmill; 9:50 pace.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 8.00 |
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| | Speedwork on the treadmill.
6 x 800's @ 6:40 pace with 400 recoveries.
No change in the pain level in my left foot. That is to say, it hurts, but doesn't seem to be getting any worse. Or better. X-ray results should be in this week.
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| Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 8.00 |
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| | Tempo Pace Workout on the treadmill. 8 miles at Marathon Pace; 7:52/mile.
X-ray shows no stress fracture in my left foot, which is good news. Hurts most of the time, but I guess it's just something I'll have to live with.
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| Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 11.00 |
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| | Treadmill recovery run; 9:50 pace.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 7.00 |
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| | Treadmill; 9:45 pace.
Okay, I think I have the foot pain figured out. Since the x-ray eliminated the possibility of a fracture, I took a closer look online at the soft tissue anatomy of the foot.
Seeing as my pain is in the same area as the Peroneus Brevis and Longus Tendons, I did some research on that and came across Peroneal Tendonitis or Tendinopathy which description pretty much nails what I'm feeling.
This runner's site goes into it with some detail: https://runnersconnect.net/peroneal-tendinitis-tendonitis/
So, I've decided to skip the advice about rest (until after the Marathon), but am following the aggressive plan laid out re: the daily 200 repeats with the elastic, and am also using my handheld ultrasound unit on it. I already do the stretching anyway.
Since it doesn't seem to be getting any worse, I'm hoping I can train through it and, even better, see it improve over time.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 8.00 |
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| | Long run on the treadmill; 8:27 pace.
Some follow up thoughts on my left foot:
Peroneal Tendinopathy represents only 0.6% of all running injuries. Leave it to me to pick a rare one.
I first noticed it in Mid-August. I suspect it's related to the uneven surface of the trails I was running. I turned my ankle more than once, plus fell a number of times.
I stopped taking the Ibuprofin and putting on the topical anti-inflammatory cream. It didn't seem to be helping much, which makes sense now, given that there is no inflammation involved.
I'm sticking with Tylenol for now to help control the pain.
It doesn't seem to be getting any worse.
Running on the treadmill works better, as my foot is not turning over funny because of the ruts and potholes and frozen bumps on the roads. Whenever I landed on one of those and my foot turned over slightly, the pain was pretty bad.
I still plan on running a BQ in January!
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| Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 15.00 |
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| | I took it outside today. Goodwill Drive; 8:45 pace.
It has been mild lately and a lot of the snow has melted. The roads are mostly clear. And it was a sweltering -3C/26F, so it was just too tempting.
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| Brooks Ghost 11 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Final speedwork session of this training cycle.
3 x 1 mile repeats @ 6:40 pace with 600 recoveries.
On the treadmill.
From now on, Mondays will be for Strength Training ala Hanson's Method: Intervals at 10 seconds faster than Marathon Pace.
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| Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 7.00 |
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| | Tempo Pace on the treadmill.
8 miles at 7:52 pace.
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| Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 11.00 |
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| | Treadmill; 9:50 easy run.
Blasted with a storm yesterday. 11 1/2 inches of snow. Lightening. High winds. Power outages off and on all day. Quite a blast.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends!
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| Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Easy 10 on the treadmill; 8:56 pace.
Last night, the inside of my right knee was a little sore. I stretched it out, and then used some anti inflammatory on it. No issues during the run, so hopefully that's the end of that.
That left foot pain, however, is an ongoing story!
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| Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 10.00 |
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| | Treadmill; 9:24 pace.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 10.00 |
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| Brooks Glycerin 13 Miles: 96.00 | Nike Zoom Vomero 13 Miles: 13.00 | Saucony ISO Triumph 4 Miles: 99.00 | Brooks Ghost 11 Miles: 20.00 |
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