I felt a little bit let down after running the Victoria 8K. After planning and training for half year for 40 minutes of glory, life has been a little empty. But I now have another challenge and life is good again. My new goal race is the Provo Freedom Run 10K.
The 10K race takes place on the 4th of July during Provo's Freedom Festival. I haven't been to an American 4th of July celebration in a long time and look forward to spending it with my family. The race starts at 7AM. Last year's winning time was 32:41. I am looking for 35 minutes, and hopefully top 20.
It won't be easy because Provo's elevation is 4500 feet, while I train in Victoria with a whopping 30 foot elevation.
I did get a chance to run the course with my brother last month. He has been a real inspiration to me so it was an extra special run. Besides discussing various weird running styles (Jar Jar Binks, crabwalking) the best part was running down this old lady. We were finishing the last kilometer at a leisurely pace when this short skinny lady passed us. I told Aaron that I usually don't let that happen to me, but since this was a training/social run, I would let it go. Anyway, she got about a hundred yards ahead of us when we decided to stretch our legs a little at the finish. I caught her quickly and savoured the sweet scent of her despair as I dusted her. Yes lady, you really are that slow. Priceless.
Anyhow, the plan is to get my winter aerobic base up to 80km (50 miles) per week by January. Then I'll start sprint and VO2 Max training as well as hill training with my bike. Let the pain begin!
Friday, November 21, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
39:41
Last week was the big race, the Victoria Marathon Weekend 8K road race. It was this years goal race, which means it was the race I was training for all year.
The Royal Victoria Marathon includes a Marathon, half Marathon, and the 8K Road Race. All of which occur on the same day and start within 45 minutes of each other. Last year the downtown was so crowded that some Marathon runners had to park 2 miles away from the start (and finish). The idea of walking that far back to my car possibly in the wind and rain didn't appeal to me so I got a hotel room across the street from the race.
The race started at 730 AM. Apparently that is standard with races, but starting in near dark and the cold is going to take some getting used to. Luckily there was no wind and no rain. The temperature wasn't even that bad.
It was hard to see the start line as there were only some flags on light posts and not a proper starting gate like in Edmonton. I just had to assume I was in the right crowd.
The plan for this race was run the first half at 152 bpm and the second half at 168 bpm. I had set my iTunes playlist to music with a clear beat at the cadence I needed. For example, "Autobots" was perfect for the first half and "Bittersweet Symphony" for the second half. If I was right and if I could sustain the cadences, I should finish in less that 40 minutes.
People run fast at the start of every race. I just have to get used to it. So when the gun sounded and we got going I didn't worry that everybody ran past me. My 1K split time was 5:09. I failed to believe that EVERYBODY can sustain a 5:09 split time for the entire race so I just kept to my plan. Slowly the crowd stopped running past me. For half a kilometer they even kept up. Then the inevitable, epitomized perfectly by the runner I passed who was vomiting on the side of the road less than 3km in to the race. As for me, I was just warming up.
3km into the race I was weaving my way past the crowd. Finally I had to abandon the road for the sidewalk, which wasn't a problem for me since I had trained on the sidewalk anyway. 4km came and I had no problem fast forwarding to "The Field of Pelennor", and picking up the pace.
There is something psychologically satisfying about passing other runners and knowing they have no chance of fending you off. I do feel respect for my fellow runners who are just as dedicated and trying their hardest. I mean, its not like I was winning the race either, not even close (I finished 339th for crying out loud...). But still, I imagine they felt the same satisfaction when they passed me way back at the 1/2 km mark. Except the 1/2 km mark feels like a million years ago as I pass them from behind. A few glance at me as I run past, trying to measure if they have a chance to not get beaten. They don't, so they don't even try to speed up or at least match my pace. Most, though, have tunnel vision, just trying to keep their legs moving without passing out or quitting.
I did get passed at the 7km mark. By a boy who couldn't have been more than 11 years old. I have to admit I was quite impressed. I matched his effort until the last 250 meters when I started my sprint and passed him back. Still though, I couldn't even walk 8km when I was that age....
The finish and final sprint were very satisfying. Just like I had practiced. Thanks to the pacing and the taper I had alot of energy left and passed several others at the finish.
I knew I was close to my goal. I knew that it was only 8k instead of 10k. But I needed a sub-forty. I had to wait until the next day for my official chip time: 39:41. I have finally broken 40 minutes.
The Royal Victoria Marathon includes a Marathon, half Marathon, and the 8K Road Race. All of which occur on the same day and start within 45 minutes of each other. Last year the downtown was so crowded that some Marathon runners had to park 2 miles away from the start (and finish). The idea of walking that far back to my car possibly in the wind and rain didn't appeal to me so I got a hotel room across the street from the race.
The race started at 730 AM. Apparently that is standard with races, but starting in near dark and the cold is going to take some getting used to. Luckily there was no wind and no rain. The temperature wasn't even that bad.
It was hard to see the start line as there were only some flags on light posts and not a proper starting gate like in Edmonton. I just had to assume I was in the right crowd.
The plan for this race was run the first half at 152 bpm and the second half at 168 bpm. I had set my iTunes playlist to music with a clear beat at the cadence I needed. For example, "Autobots" was perfect for the first half and "Bittersweet Symphony" for the second half. If I was right and if I could sustain the cadences, I should finish in less that 40 minutes.
People run fast at the start of every race. I just have to get used to it. So when the gun sounded and we got going I didn't worry that everybody ran past me. My 1K split time was 5:09. I failed to believe that EVERYBODY can sustain a 5:09 split time for the entire race so I just kept to my plan. Slowly the crowd stopped running past me. For half a kilometer they even kept up. Then the inevitable, epitomized perfectly by the runner I passed who was vomiting on the side of the road less than 3km in to the race. As for me, I was just warming up.
3km into the race I was weaving my way past the crowd. Finally I had to abandon the road for the sidewalk, which wasn't a problem for me since I had trained on the sidewalk anyway. 4km came and I had no problem fast forwarding to "The Field of Pelennor", and picking up the pace.
There is something psychologically satisfying about passing other runners and knowing they have no chance of fending you off. I do feel respect for my fellow runners who are just as dedicated and trying their hardest. I mean, its not like I was winning the race either, not even close (I finished 339th for crying out loud...). But still, I imagine they felt the same satisfaction when they passed me way back at the 1/2 km mark. Except the 1/2 km mark feels like a million years ago as I pass them from behind. A few glance at me as I run past, trying to measure if they have a chance to not get beaten. They don't, so they don't even try to speed up or at least match my pace. Most, though, have tunnel vision, just trying to keep their legs moving without passing out or quitting.
I did get passed at the 7km mark. By a boy who couldn't have been more than 11 years old. I have to admit I was quite impressed. I matched his effort until the last 250 meters when I started my sprint and passed him back. Still though, I couldn't even walk 8km when I was that age....
The finish and final sprint were very satisfying. Just like I had practiced. Thanks to the pacing and the taper I had alot of energy left and passed several others at the finish.
I knew I was close to my goal. I knew that it was only 8k instead of 10k. But I needed a sub-forty. I had to wait until the next day for my official chip time: 39:41. I have finally broken 40 minutes.
Monday, September 22, 2008
250 KM!
I ran 10 miles on Saturday and got a nice surprise when I uploaded the run to the Nike+ website. Apparently I have run 250 km since getting my nike+, so they gave me this really cool certificate. The 10 mile runs are paying off. I ran a personal best 10K today without really trying.
Less then three weeks to the big race, the Royal Victoria Marathon 8K Road Race....
Saturday, September 6, 2008
10 Miles!
Long distance running is about the heart, lungs and legs. I have been running interval sprints to strengthen my heart and lungs. I have been increasing my slow long distance training runs to improve my legs.
I have been slowly increasing the length of my long runs. The goal is to increase my stamina, or the ability of my legs to run at a pace near my lactate threshold. The theory is that the more I run at this pace, the more my leg muscles adapt to more efficiently utilize oxygen.
To put it another way, I already can sprint at a fast pace. But I can only sustain that fast pace for a certain amount of time. The long runs cause changes in my muscles which will allow them to sustain my fast pace for longer periods of time until I reach my genetic maximum. The hope is that my genetic maximum is at least 40 minutes!
So today I dragged myself out of bed and ran 10 miles (16.4) for the first time. 5K seemed like a long run a mere 2 months ago. Now even 10K seems short. My legs felt fresh until I hit the 12K mark at which point they turned to concrete. According to the running book I borrowed, this "dead legs" feeling is exactly what I am aiming for. The stress of running with "dead legs" causes certain biochemical signals in the muscle cells, and these signals instruct the muscles to recover in such a way as to improve their efficiency.
At least that is the theory. In any case, I am happy to report that my weekly mileage is up to more than 35k per week. I run 10K on Monday with the goal of a 1K sprint at the end, 5K interval sprints on Wednesday and Thursday, 5K easy running on Friday and Saturday is my 10 mile long run.
Now I have to do the most important part of my training...sleep.
I have been slowly increasing the length of my long runs. The goal is to increase my stamina, or the ability of my legs to run at a pace near my lactate threshold. The theory is that the more I run at this pace, the more my leg muscles adapt to more efficiently utilize oxygen.
To put it another way, I already can sprint at a fast pace. But I can only sustain that fast pace for a certain amount of time. The long runs cause changes in my muscles which will allow them to sustain my fast pace for longer periods of time until I reach my genetic maximum. The hope is that my genetic maximum is at least 40 minutes!
So today I dragged myself out of bed and ran 10 miles (16.4) for the first time. 5K seemed like a long run a mere 2 months ago. Now even 10K seems short. My legs felt fresh until I hit the 12K mark at which point they turned to concrete. According to the running book I borrowed, this "dead legs" feeling is exactly what I am aiming for. The stress of running with "dead legs" causes certain biochemical signals in the muscle cells, and these signals instruct the muscles to recover in such a way as to improve their efficiency.
At least that is the theory. In any case, I am happy to report that my weekly mileage is up to more than 35k per week. I run 10K on Monday with the goal of a 1K sprint at the end, 5K interval sprints on Wednesday and Thursday, 5K easy running on Friday and Saturday is my 10 mile long run.
Now I have to do the most important part of my training...sleep.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Me and Big George!
So Georges Laraque is a player in the NHL who used to play for the Edmonton Oilers. He is basically a fighter but still he is a pro athlete. Anyway, he and I have a long history of crossing each other's path without having ever met.
The first time we interacted was about 7 years ago. He was doing a call in radio show for the sports talk radio station in Edmonton. I decided to call in and ask him if he ever prearranged to fight people. For example, if the night before a game with Toronto he calls up Darcy Tucker and is like "Hey, so you want to fight me in the second period tomorrow?" So anyway, he called me an idiot on the radio and the next day my question was reprinted in the Edmonton Sun as the stupidest question of the night.
Then I moved away to Ontario for two years and then moved back to Edmonton. I had become something of a workout nut and guess who worked out at the same gym? That's right, Georges Laraque. I saw him all the time in my gym but we never spoke.
So anyway, I'm standing in line waiting for the Edmonton 10K to start and guess who I see about five feet away from me? Well the race started and he took off. But guess what? My official finishing time, 55:05 (chip time) was only 24 seconds behind Big George, the toughest guy in the NHL.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
That was AWESOME!
55:14! It all went according to plan. First of all, I didn't really sleep well at all last night. I thought I would but I didn't. I don't think I fell into a restless sleep until around 130AM. Not great to have two nights of no sleep before a race but since the race doesn't start until 10AM I could still sleep until 8AM so it was all good.
Riding the subway to the race with my number pinned to my shirt felt kind of weird. At least a couple of other runners eventually got on. Oh yeah, also had to run the race with my car keys and change for the subway home jingling in my pocket...at least they heard me coming.
And I did run them down. Basically, I started slow and it seemed like everybody passed me. I was running with the 60 minute pace bunny and we were both like "alot of fast people running today..." (both of us knew we would catch them later...) People were passing me at 2km who already were sweating and breathing hard like that scene in "Titanic"...I was surprised at how long it took for people to start dropping off though. I only started passing them at about the 4-5km mark, and then only 2-3 at a time.
I kept telling myself to "go slow", so that I would have some juice left for the final kilometer. Spectators were standing by the road and spraying us with hoses and squirt guns, which helped alot.
The course is basically straight and has only one minor hill at about the 7.5 km mark and that is where they started dropping out. I could see the group in the distance on the little hill. People were literally stopping, not just slowing down.
I finally passed the final group in the last 1.5 km. It felt awesome blowing by coins and keys jingling and everything. That's right...fear the ringing beast.
The final sprint was fun too. My power songs "Resurrection" from "The Passion of the Christ" and "My Name is Lincoln" from "The Island" brought me home. And I out sprinted some guy who kicked past me at the 8 km mark.
I'll post my official time once its posted on the race website.
Riding the subway to the race with my number pinned to my shirt felt kind of weird. At least a couple of other runners eventually got on. Oh yeah, also had to run the race with my car keys and change for the subway home jingling in my pocket...at least they heard me coming.
And I did run them down. Basically, I started slow and it seemed like everybody passed me. I was running with the 60 minute pace bunny and we were both like "alot of fast people running today..." (both of us knew we would catch them later...) People were passing me at 2km who already were sweating and breathing hard like that scene in "Titanic"...I was surprised at how long it took for people to start dropping off though. I only started passing them at about the 4-5km mark, and then only 2-3 at a time.
I kept telling myself to "go slow", so that I would have some juice left for the final kilometer. Spectators were standing by the road and spraying us with hoses and squirt guns, which helped alot.
The course is basically straight and has only one minor hill at about the 7.5 km mark and that is where they started dropping out. I could see the group in the distance on the little hill. People were literally stopping, not just slowing down.
I finally passed the final group in the last 1.5 km. It felt awesome blowing by coins and keys jingling and everything. That's right...fear the ringing beast.
The final sprint was fun too. My power songs "Resurrection" from "The Passion of the Christ" and "My Name is Lincoln" from "The Island" brought me home. And I out sprinted some guy who kicked past me at the 8 km mark.
I'll post my official time once its posted on the race website.
Friday, August 15, 2008
The Day Before the Race
The race is tomorrow! I can't stop thinking about it. My stomach is a little nervous.
Today we flew from Victoria to Edmonton. Apparently you are supposed to get your good night's sleep 2 nights before the race so that if you are too nervous to sleep the night before you are still okay. However, we had to get up at 4AM to make a 7AM flight this morning...so much for a good night's sleep. I'm so tired now I don't think I'll have any trouble sleeping tonight though.
After we arrived in Edmonton, I went downtown to register. There is a big tent with everybody's name posted with their entry number. You tell a volunteer your number and they get your gear for you. My gear bag includes: a cool free polyester running shirt (nice!), an entry number to pin on my shirt (#943), and an RF ID tag that you clip to your shoe so your race time is accurate ("chip time" instead of "gun time"). I also got a free 500 ml of Running Room water and a Powerbar. All this before a single kilometer is run!
My strategy is to start off relatively slowly for the first kilometer (6 minutes for the first kilometer) then pick up to an easy pace (5:45-5:30/kilometer) for kilometers 2-9, and finish the last kilometer in 4:30 or faster. It will take some discpline to slow down at first because I suspect alot of people are going to start out too fast and be passing me at first, so the temptation will be to charge out after them. But I am confident that I will catch the majority of them, and I wasn't going to keep up with the ones I can't catch anyway.
Anyway, thats the plan. We'll see how it plays out once the racing starts.....
Today we flew from Victoria to Edmonton. Apparently you are supposed to get your good night's sleep 2 nights before the race so that if you are too nervous to sleep the night before you are still okay. However, we had to get up at 4AM to make a 7AM flight this morning...so much for a good night's sleep. I'm so tired now I don't think I'll have any trouble sleeping tonight though.
After we arrived in Edmonton, I went downtown to register. There is a big tent with everybody's name posted with their entry number. You tell a volunteer your number and they get your gear for you. My gear bag includes: a cool free polyester running shirt (nice!), an entry number to pin on my shirt (#943), and an RF ID tag that you clip to your shoe so your race time is accurate ("chip time" instead of "gun time"). I also got a free 500 ml of Running Room water and a Powerbar. All this before a single kilometer is run!
My strategy is to start off relatively slowly for the first kilometer (6 minutes for the first kilometer) then pick up to an easy pace (5:45-5:30/kilometer) for kilometers 2-9, and finish the last kilometer in 4:30 or faster. It will take some discpline to slow down at first because I suspect alot of people are going to start out too fast and be passing me at first, so the temptation will be to charge out after them. But I am confident that I will catch the majority of them, and I wasn't going to keep up with the ones I can't catch anyway.
Anyway, thats the plan. We'll see how it plays out once the racing starts.....
Saturday, August 2, 2008
14 Days to the Race!
Not long ago, I went for a 10K training run with my wife's Uncle Rob. Before we ran, he asked if I was going to stretch. "You never see race horses stretch," I joked. "That's why their careers are so short," he shot back.
Later I developed a severe pain in my left knee. The injury cost me two weeks of running, during which time I could feel the fitness drain out of my body. After the pain subsided, I tried to run again, only to have the problem recur within 2km. I was scared and frustrated that I would never run again.
My brother Aaron competes in triathalons. So I decided to ask his opinion. "It sounds like an iliotibial band syndrome," he pointed out, "Basically you need to stretch and use an IT band roller." A visit to a physiotherapist who also happened to be the Canadian 10K cross country champion confirmed the diagnosis. The solution: stretching along with ice.
I call it my "aftercare", the stretching, yoga, rolling and icing that I do after every run. I now spend more time on my aftercare than I do running.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Don't Try This At Home
Its that time of year again. Time to shave my beard. I was going to grow it out but somebody suggested that my 10K was slow because of all the wind resistance my whiskers created so I decided then and there to remove both of them...
can't say I feel any faster now...
Can't believe there are only 16 more days to the Edmonton 10K!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
510 Seconds
40 minutes is 2400 seconds. That is how fast I want to run 10k. Right now it taks me 48 minutes 30 seconds. That's 2910 seconds. I need to run each kilometer 51 seconds faster. It sounds so easy! Here is an update of my training as found on nike + website.
http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/?l=runners,runs,14554880
http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/?l=runners,runs,14554880
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Real Estate Investing
Of course, it isn't a trip to the Big Island without taking a helicopter tour over the volcano. We were lucky to have 4 active vents to fly over. The picture shows a vent that is about 200 yards across. The lava is about 1000 degrees and created heat waves which could be felt inside the chopper. The helicopter is equipped with cameras to take footage of your flight. There is also an on-board camera to occassionally show the passengers inside the chopper during the flight. One of the other passengers threw up...right when the on-board camera was filming. Chicken salad croissant, $5. Helicopter tour of the volcano, $250. DVD footage of you hacking up the chicken salad croissant during your helicopter tour...priceless. (Actually, the DVD was an extra $40 and one of the other passengers bought it...)
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Just relax.
I'm in Hawaii where its warm and quiet. The conference is going well. Today was the helicopter tour of the volcanoes. We flew over four lava flows and a couple of lava fountains. Like the sign says, "just relax!"
Monday, June 16, 2008
Rewards
How do you reward yourself for achieving goals? I ask because this was the happy predicament I found myself in last week. My debt was finally paid off completely....for the third time. Hopefully this is the last time. It took only two months to accrue but six months to repay. In any case, it is gone and now it is time to celebrate.
Instead of the usual dinner and a movie, I wanted something different and memorable. As I was riding the ferry home, I saw a cupboard full of brochures for tourist attractions. Whale watching and obscure museums weren't appealing and likely required a permission note from my mom. Deep sea fishing sounded like work. Ziplining, however, had a youthful and adventurous appeal.
So today, to celebrate my new found fiscal health, I strapped on a cool yellow helmet and a very snug harness and hurled myself over the forest. This included 150 feet high wooden tree perches that swayed in the wind, 1000 foot zip lines that took over 40 seconds to traverse, and "the screamer", a final ride reaching up to 65 kph. Best reward ever. And I paid for it all with my Mastercard.
Instead of the usual dinner and a movie, I wanted something different and memorable. As I was riding the ferry home, I saw a cupboard full of brochures for tourist attractions. Whale watching and obscure museums weren't appealing and likely required a permission note from my mom. Deep sea fishing sounded like work. Ziplining, however, had a youthful and adventurous appeal.
So today, to celebrate my new found fiscal health, I strapped on a cool yellow helmet and a very snug harness and hurled myself over the forest. This included 150 feet high wooden tree perches that swayed in the wind, 1000 foot zip lines that took over 40 seconds to traverse, and "the screamer", a final ride reaching up to 65 kph. Best reward ever. And I paid for it all with my Mastercard.
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