First big run since the Half

I ran my first Sunday LSD at 10K this morning. I have run a 5K since the 16th but this is the first real distance. It felt pretty good. I ran it as a comfortable 6:11/k pace. I felt like I had a little more in the tank and could have done 12K. This is also my first “just run cause you like it” run. I have no schedule and no goals set… yet. I am actively looking for a couple of races next year and if any of you have some you are running, let me know. I am always looking for an excuse to run.

My biggest issue now is, since I have lost all this weight, how do I keep warm? I have to re-learn all of my layering and try to come up with a plan for the different temps. I think I found a good one for this weather but parts of my skin still got very cold and if it dips a little lower I will need to do more.

I like my gloves but a wind resistant pair is in my future. I will need to get a better long sleeve technical shirt as well. What are you guys using as the temp drops?

Mike

Half Marathon is now complete!

I ran my first half marathon today. This is the race I have been training for for this one for a while. I finished with a 2:11:59 and I am quite happy with it.

This is a short post to let you guys know I did it. I will update with race details later

Thanks for following me through this en-devour and I will be sure to update on my next goal race.

Mike

Passed my last test

I haven’t posted for a while so I have a lot to catch up on. Where to begin…

I have had a serious case of the demons the past few months. Every run is a battle with them and I have come out on top for the most part. I ran anchor in our first Triathlon Relay. Ania in the swim, Tracey in the ride and myself as the runner. I am proud of my finish time. I did the 5K in 28:29 and I was sick with a respiratory infection. Not to make excuses but I think that was pretty good.

After the race we played on the beach for a while and I saw the Give-It-A-Tri group going out for the swim leg of their triathlon. I managed to talk my friend Dave to do the swim with me.

I have wanted to do this for a while now. I want to compete in a tri and I have been quite nervous about the swim. So we spoke to the race officials and got permission to swim the course after the last group went out. I finished the 400 meter course (slowly) in open water and now I have the proof that I can do it… just wait for next year… I will have a tri under my belt.

On to the running. That’s what started this whole mess in the first place. I have run my first 20k LSD (long slow run). Last Sunday, after 2 Sunday’s off and recovering from the chest cold, I ran it. It took me 2:16:35 (slow… I know) but I finished it. Now I have the proof (mentally) that I can do the half marathon. This is what I needed to get me through the rest of the training.

My biggest struggle now is time. I got so used to running in the summer with the kids home and being able to take an hour and a few minutes to do a good, solid morning workout. Now, I need to get the kids to school for 8:50 AM and I haven’t been able to complete more than 5K before work.

I got spoiled with 8-10K runs, hills, speed work and fartleks before work. Now, I am lucky to get the 5K in. I hope this doesn’t mess up my race day. I think that post race, 4, 5K runs a week with a big 15-20K run on Sunday will be good to keep the pounds and sloth away but what do I do until the race? How do I get up at 5:30 AM to run a long training run?

I think that’s enough ranting, raving, venting and confessing for now. I will talk to you later.

Mike

Running without your regular stuff

I started my run this morning and got to my first traffic light as normal and looked down at my watch… dead… I forgot to charge it up on the weekend like I normally do and it died.

I don’t like to think of my self as a creature of habit (some of you might) but this really threw me for a loop. I didn’t realize how much I had become accustomed to having this thing on my wrist. But when it was gone… well that messed up my whole run.

I was lost, and not because it was a GPS watch and I couldn’t find my way, but mentally lost. I had become dependent on my training partner/coach that is my trusty Garmin 305. It paced me, told me when to speed up, tracked my distance so I knew when to turn around and kept me motivated.

I missed my little beeps and chimes. I was unfocused and demotivated. The time was gone, the exact distance was gone and I have no idea how I did on my 6K steady run this morning. I am not even sure if I made it the full 6K.

For me this brings up a couple of questions. Should I be running without the GPS every once and a while to get it out of my head? Should I accept this as part of my training routine and not mess with it?

What do you do if something is missing from you training routine?

Mike

Fartleks… huh?

From Wikipedia:

“Fartlek, which means “speed play” in Swedish, is a form of interval training which puts stress on the whole aerobic energy system due to the continuous nature of the exercise.

This is what my training plan said I had scheduled for today. Now, I know what a Fartlek is (or, I thought I knew) and was somewhat excited about the idea of a new workout. Little did I know how silly I would feel running short bursts or speed down the street. And little did I know how freakin hard these would be.

I am not a sprinter. I try really hard to keep my pace at 5:20/k during my tempo runs and I am a consistent 6:30/k LSD runner. Trying to get my body to go faster than 4:20/k as a sprint (and yes, I know some of you can run a whole race at those speeds but for me, that is still a sprint) was hard. Really hard.

It didn’t even feel natural. The rhythm was off, the cadence felt wrong and it felt like I was a gangly teenager trying not to fall over my own feet.

It also took longer to get my heart rate recovered than I expected. I had to walk for most of my slow intervals instead of light jogs.

So I want to know, does speed work get easier? I have hit the phase of my training where there will be a lot more speed work and if this doesn’t at least get a little easier, I am in trouble.

I will update you as the weeks progress. Wish me luck.

Mike

14K… no problem

Sunday was amazing! I managed my first 14K run and did it in pretty good time for an LSD. 1:32:27. Compared to last Sunday, which was horrid, this was incredible. I didn’t over heat, no issues with energy and only one long walk break to get my GU in.

I switched my route back to west on Burnhamthorpe instead of going east. I find the run more pleasant and there are more shade spots on the south side of the street. This is a big deal on these hot days. In the spring it didn’t really matter that much. The cool weather was wonderful to run in. Heck, compared to last Thursday, I would rather run in the dead of winter (which is where this all started).

Here is the breakdown:

• GU – 15 minutes before run with a glass of water
• 4 – 7oz water bottles
• 5:50 pace for the first 2K
• Implemented a walk/run 1/10 minute plan
• Good music
• 1/4 bottle of water every break
• Second GU at the halfway turnaround
• I did stop my timer for the long lights, not sure if this is good or not but there were only 3
• My mental toughness was called into question at the 9K mark again but it was easier to push through this time and lasted for a shorter duration
• Couldn’t sprint the last 100m like I had hoped. Next week I need to set and keep that goal

I have received a lot of positive feedback on my running and I appreciate all of you who have taken the time to share your kind words. It sure does make it easier when you have a good support system for encouragement.

I would like to mention 2 people who, with out even knowing who I am, have helped me with information and validation that what I am doing isn’t impossible (insane, but possible). First is Alex Hutchinson. I was at the Toronto Scotia Bank Waterfront Marathon panel discussion and Alex was there with this book,

Which Comes First – Cardio or Weights: Fitness myths, training truths and other surprising discoveries from the science of exercise

.

I hadn’t heard of this before but with a brief review, it looked quite interesting. So I picked up a copy.

This is one of the best sources for information regarding training dos’ and dont’s I have come across. There are great tips and ideas in here and I love that he tells you, for the most part, what kinds of pros/cons you can expect from each technique or myth. It is nice to know that the technical shirt I got for $50 wasn’t a waste of money

The next person is Rebecca Gardiner. I recently started to read her blog on the Running Magazine site. I find it funny and enlightening. It is refreshing to read that others are going through the same struggles as you are and how they managed to over come them. Very funny, very well written (IMHO).

Of course the biggest supports are my wife Tracey and my 2 kids, Michelle and Matthew. They make this journey not only possible but enjoyable. There are few things better than seeing them at the finish line cheering me on. It means the world to me.

This was longer than I intended but since I have crossed the halfway point in my training and distance, I thought it justified a little something extra.

I hope you enjoyed it and I hope to see you out running.

Mike

Running in the heat part 2

So I sucked it up and ran this morning… 28C with a humid-ex of 38C… at 6:40 AM… freaking hot.

I was going to skip it but I was feeling guilty for missing yesterdays run due to heat. I should have stayed in though. It was horrible.

I ran a 6K today, steady run (well , that was the plan). I made it to the 2K mark no issues, slowed right down to drink a bit then pushed on to 3K. I had to take a walk break at the turnaround and that’s where things fell apart. I started up to a run again (5:40/k pace) and couldn’t get to the 4K mark without taking yet another walk break.

I picked the speed up again, and after about 1K more, I had to walk. This time for almost 2 minutes. I couldn’t get my heart rate down and I was getting dizzy. That’s where I gave up on the run and resigned myself to walking. There is a tiny hill at the end of my run where I did give a push to get to the top at a 4:50/k pace but that was only a short 30 second burst.

6K and 3 bottles of water from my belt, 38 minutes to complete and so damn hot it took me 15 minutes in a cold shower to get back down to my normal temp.

Next time I will take the day off… no point being a hero if you hurt yourself.

Talk to you soon,

Mike