Going Long (again) in 2024

Sudbury Miner's Mayhem

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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: 28.00 Month: 189.50 Year: 588.50
Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Lifetime Miles: 412.40
Brooks Cascadia 11 Lifetime Miles: 302.00
Salomon Speedcross 4 Lifetime Miles: 160.25
Brooks Launch 8 Lifetime Miles: 153.00
Asics Metaspeed Sky Lifetime Miles: 32.20
Brooks Ghost 13 Lifetime Miles: 358.50
Saucony Triumph 18 Lifetime Miles: 372.50
Ghost 13 Blue Sole Lifetime Miles: 363.00
Hoka Bondi Lifetime Miles: 386.00
Triumph 18 Treadmill Lifetime Miles: 120.50
Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill Lifetime Miles: 102.50
Total Distance
36.50
Brooks Glycerin Miles: 8.50Enigma Miles: 24.00Ghost 5 Miles: 4.00
Weight: 161.00
Total Distance
8.50

Ran my downhill repeats (x6), giving me about 3 miles total downhill - roughly the same as the Hamilton marathon.  No issues to report.  Raining hard for the 1st half, but then cleared.

Brooks Glycerin Miles: 8.50
Weight: 160.00
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Total Distance
8.00

Three runs in the beautiful Lake Huron town of Kincardine where I spent 5 days this week at a rental cottage with a friend. This is just a catch up report on my training there. I'm leaving in a few minutes to run the Sudbury Miner's Mahem - a local mud run/obstacle course at our ski hill, and thought I'd get these reports done 1st.

I ran Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday there, 8 miles each day along the waterfront road (Boiler Beach Rd.). At the 2 mile mark, there is an option to climb a steep hill and continue at the top through rolling hills in farmland, or to continue along the water.

On Wednesday, I just ran 4 miles out and back along the water. On Tuesday and Thursday I made the climb. Steep hill, 450 meters long. Slow going up and fast coming back down.

Anyway, all three runs were done at a relaxed pace overall. The weather was beautiful and there are no issues to report. Just a delightful change in scenery, with some hill work worked in too.

Now on to that obstacle course!

Enigma Miles: 8.00
Weight: 161.50
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Total Distance
8.00

Comments made yesterday.

Enigma Miles: 8.00
Weight: 161.50
Add Comment
Total Distance
8.00

Comments made 2 days ago.

Enigma Miles: 8.00
Weight: 161.50
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Race: Sudbury Miner's Mayhem (4 Miles) 00:42:46, Place overall: 26, Place in age division: 18
Total Distance
4.00

Okay, my results are posted. I didn't run with a watch, so am going with the "official" distance ... not certified.

This was my 1st "mud run" and was a LOT of fun. I started in the second wave. There were 13 waves of about 40 - 50 people spaced 5 minutes apart. The great news was my sister (new to running) was in my wave.

I decided to just enjoy the experience, so didn't race hard. There were 532 runners, with 459 finishers. Each runner put themselves in a category of their own choice: Hard Core Miner (will race it hard), Light Duty Miner (good shape, but not crazy) and Weekend Warrior (goal is just to finish it). I put myself in the "Hard Core Miner" group, of which there were 63 of us. I placed 18th in that group, and 26th overall with the open field. My official pace was clocked at 6:07/km.

Anyway, there were about 14 obstacles (called Mayhem) over this 6.5 km course. Crawling through mud under ropes, over tires and logs, scaling walls with ropes, being sprayed with water along the way, slides ... you get the picture. VERY steep climbs - it was basically up and down the local ski hill, over and over and over again. Very rough in places - ruts and such - so you had to be careful with your footing.

As I said, a lot of fun. Everyone who finished got a miner's hard hat instead of a medal. Cool. My right knee was a little 'off' - likely due to the downhills I did this week - and so I was very careful on the steep and rough downhill portions of the course.

It was a beautiful morning for this, and the hose down at the end felt great!

I'm going to take tomorrow and Monday off from running, and then ride my motorcycle to Grimsby on Tuesday - a 6 hour ride. I'm running a 10 km there that night, and am aiming to PR it. We'll see.

Ghost 5 Miles: 4.00
Weight: 160.50
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Total Distance
36.50
Brooks Glycerin Miles: 8.50Enigma Miles: 24.00Ghost 5 Miles: 4.00
Weight: 161.00
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