Army Half Marathon - 22 Sept 2013

The Army Run is a special run for me. My very first Half Marathon was at the Army run back in 2009 and I have run it ever year since. This year is the 5th anniversary of the Army Run, unfortunately I missed the inaugural event but I still want to keep the run going.

I have been trying to go sub 1 hour 40 in the half marathon and fallen short on each attempt. 1:43:41 at the Minto Run for Reach in April of this year, tiring badly in the middle of the race but then finishing strongly.

1km - 4:53
2km - 4:33
3km - 4:53
4km - 4:47
5km - 4:49

6km - 4:54

7km - 4:51

8km - 4:57

9km - 5:00

10km - 4:45

11km - 5:01

12km - 4:51

13km - 5:03

14km - 5:10

15km - 4:56

16km - 4:55

17km - 5:02

18km - 4:53

19km - 4:49

20km - 4:56

21km - 4:56

0.1km - (ended up being 0.2km) - 3:57

Commonwealth Games Canada Day 5km race - 1st July 2013

As a proud Canadian I like to do a 5km race on Canada every year and have been following this tradition since 2010.

This year was no exception and I was glad to see that the old downtown race had been reinstated. It's a really great race; the start is on the Alexandra Bridge looking up to the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa while they play the national anthem. After that it is a gruelling uphill towards the American embassy, out onto Elgin Street and then a screaming downhill alongside the Rideau canal by the locks and then you follow the bike path along the Ottawa River, cross into Hull via the Portage Bridge and then it is a sprint to the finish past the Canadian Museum of Civilization to the finish line by Jacques Cartier Park.

With the anthem over I got into a frame of mind that would hopefully propel me to a new personal best. I had hit the mark of 21:22 the year previous in the Canada Day race (on a course in Kanata) and was hoping to get closer to breaking 21 minutes.

As anticipated, the first kilometre was tough, up hill and jostling for position. My Garmin showed 4:21 and I knew I had to go quicker than that to get a PB so I hammered it, especially on the downhill stretch past the locks by the Rideau Canal. 4:10 for the second kilometre; better. I am not sure how much of a toll that hard downhill stretch had but I fell off the pace while going along the river, and vowed to just keep pushing as hard as I could and see what I ended up with. 4:31 and 4:30 for kilometres 3 and 4 I held on and ran with what I had left, legs screaming, lungs screaming and hit the finish line as fast as I could nearly ploughing into John Stanton (CEO of Running Room), breathlessly accepting my medal from him as I fumbled with my Garmin to see how I fared. 21:24, just 3 seconds shy of a new personal best, damn that hurts!

Not only that, but I just missed out on a podium place as well with 4/17 in age group (M30-39).

However, on reflection I was really happy with the result, it showed me that:

a) 21:22 last year was not a fluke.

b) That even though my pace dropped and I felt like quitting, I pushed myself to the max and nearly gutted out a PB.
c) New 1km split PB of 3:53 on the last kilometre is crazy fast for me!

d) 21:24 on a course with a punishing uphill and downhill stretch is bloody good!

Ultimate Run for Men's Cancers 15km race - June 16th 2013

I have done the Ultimate Run for Men's Cancers 10km race for the last 3 years (under its various different names/sponsors) but decided on a new 15km option for the 15th anniversary of the race. Having never done a 15km race it was a good opportunity to test the Half Marathon pace I have set myself to go sub 1:40 in the Army Run in September.

They set the 15km race off first but I wasn't really sure what the actual course the race would take. I was given "about as far as the Pretoria Bridge and then turn around and do the normal finish for the 10km". I realized that would mean the tough climb would come between 11km and 12.5km and prepared myself mentally for this.

I got chatting to a lady at the start who had competed in every single one of these Men’s Cancer races and because she was unsure of the course I told her what I had been told. But as I was telling her it didn’t seem right; the turnaround would have to be much further away that the Pretoria Bridge to make this a 15km race. I didn’t like the uncertainty but shook it off and got ready for the gun.

Off we went and I quickly found my pace as the number of runners was quite small (42). I was actually in the lead for a brief moment but that didn't last as the fast runners sped off into the distance. I counted those ahead of me and tucked into 9^th place.

I had set myself a pace goal of 4:44 per kilometre but so far wasn’t hitting that mark covering the first kilometre in 4:52. I figured I would pick up the pace soon but the wind was in our faces and the course was mostly uphill. I passed 3 runners to go into 6^th place and kept pushing as hard as I felt I could up until the Pretoria Bridge, where sure enough the marshal waved us through and said, “turn around is all the way up by the Laurier Bridge”. That made much more sense and allowed me to relax a bit and continue pushing. I wasn't however able to stop another runner passing me, putting me into 7^th position. I tried to hang with her for a bit and upped my pace, but I couldn’t keep pace with her and let her go ahead, consoling myself with a strong 7^th place rather than blowing up and finishing much further back. I hit the 5km turn in 24 minutes flat and noticed as I rounded the cone that there was no-one behind me for quite some distance.

Splits - 5kms

1km - 4:52

2km - 4:50

3km - 4:47

4km - 4:41

5km - 4:50 - 24:00

With a good lead on the runner in 8^th I decided to push on a bit and try and hit 4:44/km and managed it for about one kilometre until my legs protested a bit too much. Instead I took it down a notch, determined to finish strong and under 1:12:00 for the race.

By this time the 10km race had started and they use the same course as the 15km but with a closer turnaround. I saw some of the leaders heading the other way and noted their red bibs so that when they passed me (and they inevitably would) that I wouldn’t freak out thinking that a 15km runner was passing me. Sure enough a kilometre later some red bib runners started passing me. By this time I was approaching the 10km mat.

Splits - 5kms

6km - 4:43

7km - 4:50

8km - 4:53

9km - 4:56

10km - 4:51 - 48:10

Just over 48 minutes for 10km and the toughest part of the race was to come with the gradual but long incline to the 12.5km turnaround. Quick arithmetic in my head meant that I’d have to negotiate this last 3^rd of the race in a faster time than the 24 minutes I managed for the first 5km if I wanted to go under 1:12:00.

I pushed hard up the hill, cognisant of my slowing pace, but knowing that the last 2.5kms were downhill and that I’d have to push really hard in that section. As it had been for the last little while I would be passed, glance to my side, see a red bib and heave a sigh of relief, I had no idea if I was being hunted down by other 15km runners or not. I saw the 6^th place 15km runner (grey bib) heading back to the finish line and they seemed to be about a minute and a half ahead of me.

At the 12.5km turnaround I took a quick swig of water and then upped the pace, while all the time looking to the other side of the road to see where the next 15km runner was. When I saw him I realised I had a huge lead on him (over 2 minutes by quick rough calculation) and that I would finish in 7^th place overall (if I had counted correctly) as I wasn’t about to catch the runner ahead of me. I just focussed on pushing as hard as I could to get under 1:12:00 covering the 14^th kilometre in 4:40 and speeding up further for the 15^th kilometre.

At the finish the course takes a sharp turn onto grass and finishes in a park (where they had all the tents etc. for the race). I gunned it as hard as I could and could see from the clock that I had done just enough, hitting the mat at 1:11:44 for a very pleasing race.

Splits - 5kms

11km - 4:55

12km - 4:59

13km - 4:49

14km - 4:40

15km - 4:24 - 1:11:44

A quick check of the race results had me in 7^th place, 5^th place for men and 2^nd place in my age category (M30-39). I cooled off and it started to rain so I started to head back to the car until I heard my name called, turns out there were medals for 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd in each age group and I turned around and went to pick up a silver medal for my efforts.

In the end even though I couldn't hold 4:44/km I was very pleased with my race and silver medal (never received a special medal before).

Ottawa Marathon Report - Taming the Beast

BACKGROUND

I ran my first marathon back in 2010 and the lead up to running that marathon was the reason for starting this blog so that I could capture my thoughts and then post a race report. Since then the blog has become more of a documentation of my running that I will be able to look back on for years to come and relive the memories of my races etc.

When friends ask about the marathon I always find it a bit difficult to describe. Instead I refer to it as "the beast" and then shudder at the thought of those last 10 kilometers on very tired and sore legs.

After the first marathon in which I managed to go sub 4-hours (3:55:22) I never really had any real urge to do another, but slowly over time I started to dream about facing the beast once more and beating my personal best.

The Ottawa marathon is an excellent race, a beautiful and varied course, great crowds, diligent volunteers and very well organized. I live across the river from Ottawa so I know most of the course very well and felt that a bit of local knowledge would really help me during the race.

So I signed up for Ottawa and started my training in January following Bruce Deacon's "quest for improvement" marathon plan.

I have trained using Bruce's Half Marathon plan and I find that the format of his plans really suits my needs as a runner. The combination of long runs, lots of different speed workouts, race paced efforts, and steady runs really help me keep my focus and 5-6 days a week is just about right for my level of experience.

Despite missing almost 2 weeks suffering from "walking pneumonia" near the beginning of the program I rebounded really well and this was probably the strongest training cycle I have ever had since I started running for fun in 2009.

PRE-RACE

I got up early and picked up two out-of-towners; friends of a friend of mine who were both attempting their first marathon. We had a good chat on the way in to town and I tried to help them with my local knowledge of the course and where to go and what to expect. I left out what it feels to cross the finish line after 42.2kms. One reason is I didn't want to taint their experience, the other is that even two years after my first marathon I still struggle to put the feeling into words, words that make sense at any rate.

We found a decent parking spot and headed down to the race, lined up for the porta-potties, I wished them good luck and left them to do their own thing. I got in a brief warm up mainly to clear the butterflies from my stomach and focus on the task in hand. It wasn't long before I decided to squeeze into the corral and get ready for the staring horn.

The conditions for the race could not have been much better with overcast skies and a cool temperature.  I was midway into the yellow coral and close to the 3:35 pace bunny. I don't use bunnies for pacing, but rather as a frame of reference and instead rely on my Garmin. My A-goal was to go under 3:45 so my plan was to start on pace for 3:35 and then see where it took me as I didn't really have a good idea of what my endurance would be like over 42.2kms and would likely fade and hopefully end up crossing the line ahead of my 3:45 target.

THE RACE

The race started and we shuffled over the line and up the hill to the top of Elgin Street. As usual I had a lot of trouble finding a space to run and was worried about clipping the back of someone's heels. I decided to just see out the first kilometer and once the race had settled down, to find some space and get on pace. As it was, it didn't take that long to settle down and I got to my race pace of ~5:05/km and just focused on staying calm and tension-free.

As we headed down the Rideau Canal towards Dow's Lake, even this early in the morning, there were some decent crowds giving us plenty of encouragement as we slowly woke up to what we were in the process of doing; running a marathon.

First 5kms - 5:15 / 5:03 / 5:00 / 5:01 / 5:02  - total 25:21

Bang on target for the first 5kms and feeling fine, I held the pace as we headed up Carling Ave and into the neighbourhoods of Sherwood and Fairmount that had a lot of residents out cheering out in front of their houses. The atmosphere was excellent and the crowds thickened even more as we hit Wellington and headed towards the 10km mat.

Second 5kms - 5:05 / 5:02 / 5:06 / 5:00 / 5:02  - total 25:15 (10km split - 50:36 / official race split 50:58 - longer as I gathered extra distance by not running the shortest tangent of the course)

This next section saw us continue along Wellington and into Westboro before turning around and heading towards Tunney's pasture and the Ottawa River parkway. Live bands and music blaring out of various tents kept us moving along well. I was still just behind the 3:35 bunny and feeling very fresh. I felt the first hint of a gusty wind whilst heading into Tunney's Pasture so I ducked behind some taller runners and used them as a shield. I took my second gel as we left Tunney's pasture and headed up the river towards Island Park, all the time looking over at the faster runners who were returning from the turnaround and heading down the other carriageway towards the War Museum.

Third 5kms - 5:00 /4:57 / 5:02 / 5:02 / 5:08  - total 25:09 (15km split - 1:15:45)

After the turnaround it was now a chance to gaze over at the runners on the other carriageway who were waving over at us and whooping and cheering. You get a real feel for the size of the race as the crowds of runners bouncing along seemed endless with runners of all shapes and sizes clearly enjoying themselves. Soon enough, the first real hill of the course was upon us, a climb up and over the railway bridge that crosses the Ottawa River and into Quebec. I shortened my stride and powered up it knowing full well that a long downhill followed the hill and the road swept around and in front of the War Museum where huge crowds had gathered to will us on as we rounded the corner headed onto the Chaudiere Bridge and into downtown Hull. The wind had picked up and made the climb after the bridge a tough one, but I knew the halfway point was approaching so I pushed on and kept up my pace.

Forth 5kms - 5:01 /5:03 / 4:59 / 5:09 / 4:59  - total 25:11 (20km split - 1:40:56)

I could see the halfway mat up ahead at the top of the hill on Alexandre Tache and kept pushing hitting the mat at 1:47:26 (official race split).

Turning on to the Lac des Fees pathway the headwind was at its strongest so far and I felt the first signs of the going getting a bit tougher. I was glad to turn off the parkway and then into the neighbourhoods of Hull and then the downhill along Montcalm before we headed into the twisty-turny up-and-down section through the Government buildings in downtown Hull. With the wind and the nature of this section my pace dropped ever so slightly, but apart from running into the headwind my effort level felt fine and the 3:35 bunny was still just ahead of me, so the course was affecting those around me in exactly the same way.

Fifth 5kms - 5:09 /5:08 / 5:06 / 5:05 / 5:11  - total 25:39 (25km split - 2:06:35)

As I weaved my way through Hull I knew I was getting closer and closer to my family. They were waiting to cheer me on outside the Museum of Civilization. It was great to see my wife and two kids as well as my wife's uncle and our friend Kyla cheering me on and helped give me a massive boost as I crossed the Ottawa River again and tackled the big hill that leads past the National Art Gallery and up onto Sussex Street. I was still feeling really good and took my 4th gel at 28kms, but as we made our climb up towards the Rockliffe Parkway, I started to struggle as my ankles and knees started to ache and the 3:35 bunny got further away from me and eventually disappeared around a corner and out of sight. I was prepared for this as I am not an experienced marathoner and didn't really know just how long I could maintain my pace. I had succeeded for the most part through 28-29kms so I took solace from that, but then put my mind towards the last tough 12kms of the race.

Sixth 5kms - 5:02 /5:10 / 5:10 / 5:20 / 5:32  - total 26:14 (30km split - 2:32:49 / official race split 2:33:49 - longer as I gathered extra distance by not running the shortest tangent of the course)

It was "gut check" time now. My knee and ankle joints were really sore, and the downhills in this section were really tough as I was unable to thunder down them and thus lost a bit of time. My pace was dropping so I just kept pushing as much as I could and kept looking for the next landmark. I knew that if I kept on going I would have a massive personal best so I kept telling myself not to give up, that this was the real race and the first 28-29kms were just the warm up.

Seventh 5kms - 5:26 /5:27 / 5:30 / 5:42 / 5:43  - total 27:48 (35km split - 3:00:37)

Seven kilometers to go, I took my 5th and final gel and just focused on moving forward as fast as I could. I read all the signs people were carrying and hi-fived the kids who were holding their hands out for runners just to keep my mind busy and away from the discomfort I was feeling. Stanley Park was as noisy as ever and heading back onto Sussex I knew my family would be once more waiting for me near the American Embassy.

Sussex Street is another part of the course that runs both ways so there were still many runners heading in the opposite direction getting ready to tackle the Rockliffe Parkway and New Edinburgh and luckily I saw the two girls I drove to the race coming the other way. They went crazy when they saw me, clearly enjoying their races and we instinctively moved the the middle of the road to high-five as we passed in opposite directions. I got a really nice boost from this and was able to pick up my effort level a bit and push myself on towards the American Embassy where my wife, kids, Kyla and another friend Benoit were waiting to urge me on to complete the final 3.5kms to the finish. It was great to see them and I was able to pick up the pace again as I headed past the Rideau Centre and along the canal.

Eighth 5kms - 5:48 /5:57 / 5:58 / 5:47 / 5:49  - total 29:19 (40km split - 3:29:56)

I knew that I would pick up the pace in the last kilometer so I held back a little bit after the 40km marker so that I wouldn't ramp it up too soon and shuffle over the line. With 1km left I started to run as fast as I could and with 500 meters to go, without warning, my right hamstring cramped and my leg buckled beneath me. I steadied myself and actually yelled "NO!". Bizarrely enough the hamstring listened and stopped cramping but I was feeling rather nervous as I counted down the signs, "400m to go....300m to go....200m to go". With 100 left I put everything I had left into what felt like a sprint but in reality was probably some sort of jelly-like arms-and-legs flailing type movement. I didn't care as I could see the clock and knew I was about to break 3:44 and smash my personal best in the process.

Final 2.2kms - 5:55 /5:37 /2:31 (for 480 meters according to garmin - pace 5:18/km)

Official race time 3:43:51 a new personal best by 11 and a half minutes!!!

Reflecting on the race I was very happy with how I ran, I held my desired pace for 28-29 kilometers and then dug in and hung on when the going got really tough and my ankles and knees were hurting. The result was a 9 minute positive split (second half 9 minutes slower than the first half), however it is not really clear to me that if I had started out more conservatively as to whether my overall time would have been better or would the cumulative effect on my knees and ankles been the same forcing me to slow down in the same manner. This sorts of questions can be sorted out by running more marathons and trying out various strategies, but I have no plans as yet to run another marathon and will now focus on a sub 1:40 half marathon.

2nd Marathon is in the books!

Yesterday I ran a new Personal Best time of 3:43:51 in the Ottawa Marathon!!!

Splits can be found here.

***full report will be posted soon***

Marathon

3:43:51 - Ottawa Marathon - May 26 2013

Just over 2 days to go...

My second Marathon is almost upon me. At 7am on Sunday morning (26th May) I will be getting ready to cross that start line and hopefully go on to run a new personal best time (only other Marathon was 3:55:22). I feel ready, my training was a great success, now I just have to execute my plan in the race. The weather forecast is favourable. I am secretly hoping to go sub 3:45.

***WATCH THIS SPACE***

Long/Med Shoes - Saucony Progrid Kinvara 3 - RETIRED

Minto Run for Reach - 14th April 2013

This was my 4th Minto Run for Reach Half Marathon and my 12th half marathon in all. I like to think of the Minto as "the PB race" as I have set a new half marathon personal best each time I have run this race.

This was my first race of the 2013 after missing (DNS) Winterman Half Marathon and then not even signing up for the St. Patrick's 5km race in March.

Despite my setback this year with "walking pneumonia" I felt that I was back, close to my best and told myself "no excuses" going into this race. I find it is easy for a runner (or anyone else faced with a task) to try and protect themselves from failure by having a bunch of ready-made excuses at hand and then when the going gets tough to not try as hard as they can. There is nothing wrong with trying hard and coming up short. What I hate is to not even try and then fail. At the end of the day it is only yourself you are trying to convince, no-one else really minds what your PB is or how you ran, only you, and it feels horrible to try and make excuses to yourself as to why you didn't dig in and gut it out when things didn't fall your way. I know this as I let myself down in this manner in the ORW Half Marathon a few years back and vowed never to do that again.

I got up on Sunday morning to snow, gently falling and a rather chilly 2°C, "no excuses" I told myself with a smile, and finished off my breakfast and pre-race coffee.

I opted for shorts and a singlet on top of a long sleeved shirt, thin gloves and a cap. I knew I'd be chilly at the start but once I got going would warm up nicely.

My plan was to set a personal best in this race and keep the Minto PB streak going. I figured that if I ran an average of 4:50/km or thereabouts I would PB the race and I would also get a good look at my level of endurance at this stage in my training for the Ottawa Race Weekend Marathon in May.

I seeded myself 5 rows back and got off to a decent start, maybe a little fast but I knew I'd settle down into a rhythm soon so I didn't reel myself in too much, just focused on avoiding the puddles that the falling snow had made. The first 3 or 4 kilometers clicked by and I had the feeling that the wind might not be too bad today. The Rideau Canal can be pretty windy so I was expecting it.

One of the reasons why I PB this race is probably due to the Running Mania water/cheering station at Dow's Lake. This race is an out-and-back-and-out-and-back so you get a double dose of friendly faces, kind words, and encouragement. This year was no exception with a bumper crop of "maniacs" manning the station and I got a good boost from them as I ran by and headed for the 5km turnaround.

Splits for 1st 5km

1 - 4:38
2 - 4:46
3 - 4:50
4 - 4:54
5 - 4:41
Total - 23:49

After turning around I quickly found out why the wind didn't seem to be a factor, it was mostly behind me on the way down the Canal. However, it wasn't gusty or really strong so I quickly put it out of my mind. This is where experience comes in handy, having run this course before I knew that the 6th kilometer (and 16th) is the toughest of the race, the road has an uphill stretch and splits in two with high banks on one side and the canal on the other. This creates a bit of a wind tunnel. I knew not to get down on myself as I felt my pace fall off and vowed to make sure and pick it back up after I got past this tricky section. The rest of this section of the race that takes you to the 10.05km turnaround was pretty uneventful. I was mindful of my pace as it was dropping off a little and was leapfrogging with the same 4 or 5 runners not knowing which of them were running the half marathon and which where running the 10km (and speeding up for their finish).

Splits for 2nd 5km

6 - 4:58
7 - 4:56
8 - 4:58
9 - 4:53
10 - 5:01
Total - 24:47 (10km split - 48:36)

I knew at the turnaround that I'd have to pick it up a bit and was in danger of getting lulled into the pace of the other runners around me so I passed a couple of runners and focused on the road ahead. My feet were pretty wet now, but I felt fine and kept pushing knowing that I was going to give it my all on the way back up the Canal after the final turnaround. Soon enough I was approaching the maniac water station and Marg told me that I was "looking strong". That helped as now it would be easier to tell myself to pick it up than if I looked like a dead man walking.

Splits for 3rd 5km

11 - 4:53
12 - 4:58
13 - 4:56
14 - 5:01
15 - 4:55
Total - 24:43 (15km split - 1:13:15)

On the way back past the maniacs I told Mike "IT'S GO TIME", he nodded, he knew what I meant, but hearing myself say it helped convince me to up my effort level and go for the personal best. After a quick calculation I knew that if I kept it under 5:00 for the next 5kms I would have a new personal best, so I just kept pushing and started to pass some of the other runners who were tiring a bit.

My plan was to push even harder when I got to the final water station with 1.5kms to go and sprint as soon as I could see the finish line (about 200meters from the finish).

As it was, two runners flew past me with about 2km to go so I just focused on them and tried to up my pace to chase them down. I didn't catch them, but I caught and passed some other runners and then as soon as I saw the line I gunned it as hard as I could. Luckily there are no race photos for this year's event as I probably have broken a few lenses as I put everything I had into those last 200 meters. I could see that the clock was on 1:43:00, I knew at this stage I would set a new personal best, I just needed to shave off as many seconds as I could.

Splits for last 6.1km

16 - 5:04
17 - 4:56
18 - 4:59
19 - 5:02
20 - 4:56
21 - 4:42
21.1 - 0:42 (garmin measured 180 meters - 3:52/km)
Total - 1:43:41

In the end it was another personal best at the Minto Run for Reach, beating time from last year by 17 seconds. Very pleased with how I tackled the race and the end result. I think I definitely have enough to go sub 1:40 in the future and the mental toughness I showed will definitely help with that goal.

2013

Apr 14 - Minto Run for Reach HM - 1:43:41

May 26 - Ottawa Marathon - 3:43:51

Jun 16 - Ultimate Run for Men's Cancers 15km - 1:11:44

Jul 1 - CGC Ottawa Game of Life 5km - 21:24

Sep 22 - Army Run Half Marathon - 1:43:50

Update - April 2013

I am training hard for my second Marathon, the Ottawa Marathon on May 26th. I am feeling really strong at this point in time after the pneumonia setback that saw me miss Winterman and then not even register for the St Patrick's 5km race.

My first race of the year will be a Half Marathon this Sunday at the Minto Run for Reach, here in Ottawa. I am hoping for a very strong race and a personal best (sub 1:43:58). One thing is for sure, regardless of the outcome I will get a nice idea of whether the marathon pace I am training at is overly optimistic/pessimistic or not.

---WATCH THIS SPACE---

First Ever DNS

Unfortunately I didn't make it to the start line of the Winterman Half Marathon this year. Having been sick with a headcold for a while I discovered that I had an infection in my lungs. The doctor prescribed antibiotics and I decided not to risk damaging my lungs any further.