| 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 Ghost 7 Miles: 18.00 | Zoom Vomero 10 Miles: 15.00 | Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Miles: 6.00 | Skechers GoRun4 Miles: 8.00 | Saucony ISO Triumph 2 Miles: 10.00 |
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| | Easy run with hill bursts/strides thrown in at miles 3, 4, 5 and 6. Average pace was 8:35.
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| Brooks Ghost 7 Miles: 7.00 |
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| | 15 mile long run. Rehearsed everything that I plan to do marathon morning, so started eating 4 hours before running - a total of 1200 calories - 200 grams of carbs. Started running at 10:20. That part is going to drive me nuts marathon morning. I just want to get going!
I overdressed. It was -10C/15F, but with a stiff north wind. Once I got out there though, I realized I had too many layers on. So I sweat a lot. Then that made me cold. Go figure.
It snowed a lot last night, and the roads were not nice. So, I changed my route a bit when I found a one mile stretch that was not so bad, and I ran back and forth on it 6 times. Boring, but it worked.
I planned on running miles 12, 13 and 14 fast, but that was the section of road that was rough and into the wind. I ended up running mile 12 in 7:38, but right at the end of it, my right achilles tendon really tightened up. I didn't know what that was about, but didn't want to take a chance running fast on it, so I slowed down for the final miles.
Total running time just over 2 hour and 4 minutes, at a pace of 8:17.
I'm sitting here with the achilles tendon on ice, hoping and praying it's not an injury. It's just numb right now. I'll stretch it out after I clean up and see what it feels like.
Evening Edit: I don't think it's the achilles tendon. I think it's the flexor digitorum longus muscle. That, I think, is good news. Cause: likely running on uneven (snow and ice covered) surfaces and on soft snow. Same effect as running on sand. I've been icing it all day, and using my ultra sound device. Hoping I can run on it in the morning, but will use the treadmill as a precaution, since the roads are still quite bad.
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| Zoom Vomero 10 Miles: 15.00 |
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| | 6 easy treadmill miles at a 9:10 pace.
Yesterday was not a good day. After the right leg pain, I found out my room in Boston was cancelled due to some emergency. I was left scrambling to find another place. Fortunately, it worked out. There was a new airbnb listing and I got it. Same price as the one that was cancelled, with better features and a bit closer to downtown. So, at least that worked out for me.
The leg is still a question mark. And I'm not quite sure if it's the flexor digitorum longus or the achilles tendon. Either way, it's up close to the calf muscle. I wouldn't describe it as a pain, so much as a tightness. My concern is that it might progress to pain/further injury if I keep running on it. So, I'm not quite sure what to do.
It didn't seem to get any worse during the 6 miles. But tomorrow I'm scheduled for speed work. Do I push it, or do I back off for a few days? I'll keep icing it today and make that decision in the morning.
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| Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | My final speed work session. 3 x 1 mile intervals at 6:40 with 600m recoveries. It actually felt easy, with the only concern being that right flexor muscle.
I switched my days around - took yesterday off instead of today. There is no swelling, but there is pain when pressed. Walking is fine, and even running is not bad. More pressure than pain, and it is not affecting my stride in any way. It didn't get any worse during the 8 miles, and running speed did not seem to make it any worse either.
So, I'll run my 10 miles easy tomorrow, and then switch my 8 mile race pace tempo run to Saturday. If I get both those in, I'll not have lost any training at all. I guess my only concern is making it worse. I'm hoping that, since there is good blood flow to this muscle, it will heal quickly. And I'll stick to the treadmill so I have a predictable running surface until I'm feeling 100% (or until the snow melts!).
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| Skechers GoRun4 Miles: 8.00 |
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| | 10 easy miles; 9:10 pace on the treadmill.
I'm going to say the leg is better this morning. After 10 miles, for sure I was feeling it. But again, not pain, but tightness.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph 2 Miles: 10.00 |
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| | Tempo run on the treadmill. 8 miles at 7:39 marathon pace. Same as last week: one minute level, 2 minutes uphill, one minute level and 2 minutes downhill, repeated 10 times.
No discernable change in the flexor muscle - no worse anyway. Again, I can't say it hurts, so much as it feels tight as I run. It's not affecting my stride in any way, so I'll keep running. I have a feeling it's going to be like my old groin injury - a friend that comes along for all the runs but doesn't really slow them down.
AND, that's ten weeks of training done. Eight weeks to go.
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| Brooks Ghost 7 Miles: 11.00 |
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| Brooks Ghost 7 Miles: 18.00 | Zoom Vomero 10 Miles: 15.00 | Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Miles: 6.00 | Skechers GoRun4 Miles: 8.00 | Saucony ISO Triumph 2 Miles: 10.00 |
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