Uh oh... yes that topic... With the big news in the Lance Armstrong case, the suspicions in the Olympics (including a few confirmed cases), its time to discuss the dirty side of running....laundry!
This is probably less than a week of actual clothes!
It's amazing how many pairs of shorts I can go through in a week. Admittedly I'll go through a few more changes of clothes now that I'm married. Marci will even submit a few pieces of running laundry herself, so quite quickly, it adds up.
There's some advantages to this though. Since I have a few choice outfits, I said, well why not get a second one? This opened up a new realm that I never considered. Now even days when I think it's a bit much can I have a fresh pair of my favourite shorts.
For shorts I've become a big fan over the years of Sugoi's Piston Tri shorts. They make running versions too, but the tri shorts come with elastic pockets, and while they have a bike chamois, its more subtle. The pockets make the shorts. From keys, to money and gels, those side elastic ones are great.
Now suddenly Nike comes out with something similar! Their new shorts with as they call it "bike style" pockets are in my opinion better. It doesn't have the thin chamois, is a little looser, and the pockets are a little lower, which with a fuel belt adds more access to getting in there. Might have more of a chance to loose something but not so far. Trust me, side elastic pockets are KEY.
For tops, I've really enjoyed Goodlife marathon's Karbon made shirts. Karbon's shirts seem to chaff less, feel lighter, and fit better. Somehow I've ended up with 3-4 of them over the years in different colours, so they work out well. I have some good Solomon trail cutoff tanks that are feather light too. The Canada Running Series shirts are too heavy and awkward in my opinion, save for the Zoo run shirt last year.
Well I enjoy Adidas shoes, but to each their own. I like them because the backs in the heel from the Adizero line are thinner than everyone else, and for some reason I've worn them out fast and received blisters in Asics, New Balance, amongst others.
Since were' talking dirty... these aren't my dirtiest but these shoes used to glow neon yellow...
If I told you they were a week and half old would you believe me? What if I said I had about 200kms on them? They're the Boston 3's. My 2nd pair of them. I also use the better looking Adios, but no pictures today.
Since I'm on the topic of gear, my other favs are a sugoi hat, fuel belt 4 bottle holder, oakley easy lens changers, and of course body glide! I have an ipod shuffle, but as I mentioned I don't bring it much. I brought it Sun for my 20miler (32k) but of course, I left it "on" so I had batt good enough for the first 5km. Serves me right!
The past few weeks have afforded me little rest running wise. I've run 235kms in the month so far.. or 100k per week! It's by far a good solid chunk of training and I'm feeling a lot better in form. It does feel tiring though. Do you ever get to the point where you need to run a few miles just to loosen up? That's about how I feel these days.
With last night's speed session no exception, it started as a 4.5k jog around a 4:45-5:00/k pace, followed by drills, then 5 x 1mi (1600m) w 300m jog recoveries and a 2min break in between sets 2 and 3, and an easy few km home. Not that complicated. It still took me the first 2 sets of repeats to really feel my legs though, at 6:26, 6:26, it's nothing 'fast' but it isn't all that slow either. After the break I was stiff so 6:27, but then found my rhythm a bit and nailed a 6:19, and 6:22. Again, not my best by far, but as a measure of how I felt, this came across strong.
It's tough to do this many miles yet reflect back to Feb when I could nail 5 x mile w 30s rest @ 5:50-5:52 pace. I was golden then. It was also a LOT cooler. For those who forgot, we had the best winter ever. This summer is still too humid for great running so I'll take what I can get.
Today was what I needed. My watch couldn't get a signal so I just left it at home. I decided on a 10k route and just ran. The weather was nice, no humidity in the air, so I was able to relax and really enjoy it. I waved to all the runners I passed as I like to do when I'm relaxed and got some waves back. I'm surprised that I feel like I'm the only one who does this anymore. If I didn't initiate, people would ignore. This was one of the things that really got me onto running back in the day - how friendly total strangers were. Not to say running in a club you don't get the same camaraderie, but it's the chance encounters with your neighbours that bring it all back. PS I rarely run with headphones.
So with that, it's time to grind it out some more. Only about 7 weeks left til Chicago. Will have some great company for that - very much looking forward to it!
A few things - after the marathon I guess I took it easy (mentally), which led to less prolific writing. This was accompanied by an Achilles injury, which isn't that much fun to follow. I still have some issues with the heal but overall its far better and running I have been. Did I mention I got married and went on my honeymoon? That certainly led to running less and eating more.
Well, back on track, running 80+kms per week. Will do some more updates later.
Wow, what a race! It really flew by. There's something to be said about that speed then, everything happens much much quicker. I can say that I did not hit my sub 3 original goal. Am I disappointed? Sure. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. But I had an excellent race and a very big PB of 3:02:13 to show it!
The Pre-Race Prep.
I wanted to work on two things for the final week, well maybe three. Tapering obviously, and waking up at 5am, and drinking the beet juice. Getting up at 5 was tough at times. But the race started at 7:30, so it meant to be prepared and as awake as I could. Waking up on Sunday was no problem. Was straight into my routine and off we went at 6:45. The early temps were perfect around 9c (48f) and little to no wind.
Start Line
Got to the start line pretty quickly. Since I don't live right next to it practically, we have to drive there. Thanks to Marci for doing her part :). She parked the car and let me and another running buddy out who we took from our new neighbourhood. Walked through the former stomping grounds and said hi to the RR. This also allowed me to use a shorter line to the bathroom. Once I was prepared, went to the back street, did my pre-race stretching and was ready to go. We heard a speech from the Great Bill Rogers. I was very surprised that the organizers got him to talk. That was cool. Then I met Canadian star Rob Watson as he was pacing his friends. We chatted for a bit then toed the line.
Race!
1-5km (20:47 min - 6:42/mi, 4:10/km)
The key here was not to blow up and dash out of the gate. I did see a lot of runners do this and they paid for it. Based on last year's statistics, only about 20-25 ppl may actually hit sub 3 (this year it was a bit larger and it was about 45), however maybe a hundred + actually passed me in the first 2 km. I stuck to the plan and just paced it out. Got cheers from the RR again and MBP Thanks Gillian for the pic!
Other highlights were the woman shouting after 2k - "There's only 40 to go!" I'm not really sure if she was being sarcastic (some thing she was being sincere). Needless to say, the first 2kms is very early.
6-10km (21:25 min - 6:55/mi, 4:17/km) - 10k @ 42:13 min
This starts immediately on the first challege of the coures - the big uphill from York Mills to Yonge Blvd. This is the steepest incline of the course and longest hill (ranges between 6-8%, for half a mile). I was expecting a 4:45/km pace for this one but actually cleared a 4:30 so happy with that. Past the hill you start to get into your pace again for a net downhill/rolling hill type run. I saw Coach Megan who said I looked relaxed (well as long as I looked it), but in reality I was. Let your legs clear out and enjoy the pace. I wasn't pushing too hard again b/c with the rollers, you want to conserve. Long race eh?
11-15kms (20:52 min - 6:44/mi, 4:10/km)
Now we move to Forest Hill. I not that happy about the indiscriminate distance adding. Ie. last year, we just went straight along the street, this year we had to go straight, then right the left, then right. This added both distance, and a hill. Not a big deal, but you deal. I've been passing people since the uphill, one or two at a time and nobody was passing me back. It was interesting. Still didn't want to touch the pace too much. Starting getting more downhill again in this section.
16-20kms (20:27 min -6:36/mi, 4:05/km) - 10-20km @ 41:19min
This is where I started to pick it up. You've got a great steep downhill that gets your cadence high, and then flat to downhill. People are starting to "race" this area, but I'm telling myself to relax, don't do it, but just pick it up a bit. I figure I can get a good 15kms or so out of this pace but it will prob hurt after, so be careful. However, with now more than an hour into the race, and being the prettiest part of the course, I am picking it up. I 'raced' or paced with one guy for a bit, but my legs were great and he tired out. Really enjoying this section as we went on to Rosedale Valley Road (used to love this part in the fall, but today it was very green and just as nice). If the temps were warming up, I didn't really notice it until you got out of the valley because of the trees.
21-25kms (21:15 min - 6:51/mi, 4:15/km) - 21.1km @ 1:27:45 - 6:41/mi, 4:10/km
Now we're into the downtown core. This is where I practiced a few weeks ago so I'm ready and excited. I did the second half of the new course about 3-4 weeks earlier. However the one difference is I hadn't previously ran 21.1kms to this point. Running through the city is always nice. I like the urban/tall building feel. Racing past the buildings I've been in and out of so many times, living the day dream that I get when I'm walking outside during lunches. It's fun. However there's not much you can do with the core, so with a few kms, we were out. and getting to the new condo developments and to the next stages of the race.
26-30kms (21:44 min - 7:01/km, 4:21/km) - 20-30km @ 43min, 30k @ 2:06:36
Now along the lake it is flat. However, if you didn't get the gist of the race, it was downhill. So now your quads are feeling it, worn and well its a new type of race. At this point I slow down here and there on the marginal level, but of course it counts. I wasn't really trying to pay attention to my splits anymore, just cruise it out. I think for the most part, still on the target 4:16/6:52 pace, but a few kms slipped out of sync. It's also now about 13-15c, 55-59f. It is not humid, but you can feel it. The lake presents a nice breeze, but of course that will slow you down too. At around the 26k mark there was a water station that I really miscued badly. I've been taking a lot of "sips" from the water stations, and most went down well, with a couple of coughs, but this I swallowed too much down the wrong way and almost gagged. Not a pleasant feeling, sight or sound. I was also on my 3rd gel during this part and it may have been a bit much.
31-35kms (22:30 min - 7:15/mi, 4:30/km)
At this point its becoming more of a battle of attrition. Skipping some water stations (as my stomach was too unsettled from gel, and drinking some to get some water in you, while after 30k you're going to slow down). The race is no longer "fun". It's hot, you feel crappy, but only 12kms to go, right? The focus became less on the race, and more on "just run it home, I promise if you don't stop you'll be very happy, okay? You stop and you won't be happy. Just do it". I got some encouragement from one guy around the final turnaround, to pick it up, but haha, that wasn't for me to do it. A woman passed me, who it later showed got 3:00:49 or so and I knew that I'd have to pick it up here for the final goal. But to me, maybe at this high level, my body was saying no.
36-40kms (23:15 min - 7:30/mi, 4:40/km) 30-40km @45:45 min
I mean if you look at the average pace, that's still very strong. That's 8 mph, to be able to do that after 35kms of running...man that's impressive. For my slowest speed in a marathon to be 8mph, I've certainly come a long way. Okay. Final 6km, 5kms, 4kms etc. I wish I had more energy to pull it though. I figure I may even have had a chance at sub 3 still. I have one more gel - do I take it or not? okay take it, do I have an advil? no that would have helped. Again, in my head in the plan, I visualized this being the final stretch, with wind at your back, and to really shine. It's tough man. I still refused to look at the watch - I didn't want to piss myself off. It was a battle of just finishing running. That's what matters. I did look at my watch as I went up the final hill. "Why does there need to be a hill here? Well a 4:55 km. Not great but not terrible. See? I told you if you kept running you'd be happy." At the 40k mark I was about 2:52. "Okay, not God awful (goal related) but you know you're not pulling sub 4kms at this point, so let's get the BQ time of 3:05 - you've got that, just roll it in." It's pretty warm out now - 15c/61f. There's little wind, so you can feel it. Not humid but still quite warm.
Final 2kms, 194.988m (9:55 min - 7:15/mi, 4:30/km)
Did you know that just 6 months ago, 4:30/km was my goal marathon pace?
Now it's time to pick it up. Well I don't really have anything left. The 41st km was nothing all that pretty but now a bit faster - maybe 4:35. Final km. No sign. Okay but there's a crowd finally. See my coach - "Jonas ' lets go - only 500m to go! A new PB is waiting for you". True, but I don't see the 42km sign. I do see a sign shortly after saying 4km (for the 5k race). I'm wondering - hey did she just lie to me and want me to run 1.4kms sprint? Regardless, it helped. I picked it up, passed two guys I was behind and almost full on sprinted in. When we make the final turn, I'm expected some fun glory, but no, the half and the full are sharing the finish - not separate chutes, but the same space. It was a bit annoy for a finsh to hit a wall of 2:02 half marathoners but I am done. 3:02:13 on my watch, maybe officially 3:02:14 (was probably .1 or so but it gets rounded up) and I'm done. Very happy. Tired, but happy.
Post Race
So now thru the chute we walk to get medals. Since its 90% halfers, they try to put a half mara medal on me. I had to explain to the guy 3x that I ran a full. Yes I'm tired. Geez c'mon, people can really run a marathon in 3:02, yes, thank you very much. The Toronto Marathon always has chocolate milk at the finish, but this time it was a weird protein chocolate milk. Sure sounds good. The finish area was quite busy and confusing. I found a buddy who PB'd the half. We chatted for a bit, I used his phone to find Marci. We met up and then waited for my dad and sister, who were running the half in 2:10-2:20 (for a 2:16! way to go Em!) and eventually got out of there. It was quite the race and experience. I think I ran the race very well. I wanted a 1:32 second half, but I was closer to 1:35. It got warm, my quads were sore from the hills, stomach from the gels, it happens. I also chatted up with Rob again. It was nice to see him. Very friendly. His friend I think had a great race.
Later celebrated with some Chipotle. Man they have great burritos! And finally some beer and pizza with the great MBP group in the evening. What an awesome team!
With my next marathon not til Chicago I've got a lot of time to get better. If I can cut off another 7min by then well shucks. I'm sure that I will be hitting that sub 3. This was a nice progression and right on track. Thanks for reading. It was a fun day afterall.
Two more solid weeks (or really this Sat til next Sat) of training and then its taper time! Sounds like a plan eh? I'm not really sure that it is. Well I have an excellent plan on paper and it's working out fairly well, I just don't have time to really think about it. It's probably for the best. I've made bad mistakes in the past - 3 week 'taper' of no running before Goodlife last year - that led to complete failure...and other mistakes that are too many to name.
But I feel good about this one. I've seen a lot of hard work done on paper and I've proved myself that I can do it. I like the logic. If A + B = C then get A and B together and get your C. Well I'd say that A is hard work, and B is recovery/easy mileage, and while it seems like a pain to do, it's pretty necessary. I've seen the sign posts in my races this year and I know I'm on track for my goals.
Here's a sample of some of my A type work this week:
Sunday - Long run - controlled pace - 30k (2nd half of Goodlife course + 9k) - 2:15.
Tues - 3k warm up, then intervals of 3:55/4:25/3:55/4:25/3:55/4:25/3:55/4:25/3:55/4:25/ (10k) and a 3k cool down. "Recovering at a 4:25ish pace is intense. Takes a special something but it can be done. 16km
Thus - 2.7k warmup, then 60 hard/60jog for 1.9k, then 4min rest, 1mi @ 5:58 (with the first km at a stupid 3:24/km pace, and a slower 4:16 for the last 600m), w 3min rest, 4 x 400m in the low 80s with 60s rest, and repeat. Cool down for 3.5km for about another 16km.
My B work has been a focus on keeping a 4:56-5:10 easy pace for recovery kms. Believe me, they are needed. This is the way to go. It's too bad that my workout has left me on the odd days of some friends but I still try to run with them as they do track work and I do slow laps.
For a few more weeks I will continue to put it together and get my C - a nice sub 3 at Goodlife 2012.
I got a great send off from my friends at the North York RR. I had a great time so thanks to all. It's been a pleasure running with everyone there and I'm most definitely coming back. It's only a few stops away.
But it's been a turning point. Things will never be the same. Onwards and upwards as I move on to new adventures in life. That sounds more melancholy than I'd like it to. I am excited, really, but change is change.
A pretty amazing day! 2:04:59, which was my goal of a sub 2:05 race.
Here's the RR: I thought my leg tempo and push off was really good for most of the race.
The pace started out around 4:10 and slowly progressed a little down at
a time to 7k where I really hit my stride and got to about 4:02 to
about 15k were I was still feeling fine and relaxed, then down a few %
until the rollers where it got bad for a bit but had people to push me
through.
I was upset at first for slowing down
so much and having the hills take so much out of me but looking back at
it with a better perspective I'm really happy. Splits were 41, 41,
43 on the 10ks. I really went slow on the big hill...like not much more
than a lope. The rollers from km 19-22 were tough but I recovered
and maintained my sub 4:10 pace again after from 22-25, and even I think
the last 3k were decent (though at that point my chest seized up and I
couldn't get a deep breath). Legs were feeling fine and good at that
point. I saw/heard a few friends shout out my name in the last km and that's what I needed for a final push.
I past lots of ppl on the course - I
can't figure out how they all got ahead of me? I was like 5th row back
at the start - was there another start for the 5k ahead of us at the
same time or something? I passed a few hundred people in the first few
min (BUT wasn't 'going out too fast), and was continuously passing ppl
the whole race. Two tough guys (fast looking guys) who I passed around 7km were able to
catch up again on the rollers, but I was able to beat one of them in the
last 3k! The other who may have been
sponsored was able to maintain
his lead. There was another guy in green who passed me around 22km
and I almost caught him in the end but didn't have an extra gear.
There was one woman who I was racing with/trading places from 18 onwards
but she seemed more relaxed - really killed the hills and I lost her
on the big one.
Other than that I As I said I recovered from 22-25.5, which is where the hill
training really helps. Well I got my goal - sub 2:05 even if it was by
1 second! That's what counts, and it is definitely on the track of sub 3
at the marathon.
After I had my celebratory beer and a nice organic burger at Earth to Table Bread Bar on Locke St. Good food there!
Start with the goods: Overall: 1:25:48 - 4:04 avg pace (target 4:05).!
Now that that's out of the way here's the report + pics:
Pre-race setup - very organized
We
had perfect weather considering (heavy winds the day before) and a nice
blue sky to run with. Pretty warm, and just a bit of wind here and
there.
Got a parking spot pretty easy, got some caffine, and chilled for chilly to start. Went for a couple kms easy + a few strides to shake out the system and headed to the front of the pack to get a good spot. I always believe I seed myself well but I stay competitive and go for the front. People tend to blow past me- their mistake, and I let them know it when I catch up in the course... okay no I don't say "haha" but its never fun to be passed.
5k: 19:46
I didn't exactly stick to race plan though. I
ended up getting caught up a bit in the moment - so much for that. The pace felt good
and you never know if the garmin is accurate (especially at the
beginning) so I went out too fast. KM 1-3: 3:46, then slowed it
down a bit just in case it was right, 3:58, 3:55, 4:03 + 9 second
(personally I think their first km marker was too short, which would
explain the time - I pressed it when i say signs unless my garmin was
very close). Knowing that I was going to blow it running sub 4's I
turned it down a bit but not too much to get my body off. I worked on
form, good movement and good foot strike patterns, quick legs etc.
10k: 39:52
Felt light. But by km 10 I was pushing it a bit too hard. Again I
wanted to tone it down but not too much that I loose the edge. I
passed a few ppl from 5-10km but it was pretty stable. I miscalculated when we'd cross the start street again so I gave bad directions for my 'crew' to watch me and cheer me on.
15k: 1:00:12
Then 10-15
(turnaround at 13). I think the course was or appeared more downhill on
the way back. Avg ks going from 4:02-3:56 in this section, and there
was a bit of wind. This section of the course was pretty quiet but I was happy with the pace in terms of the next km sign comes up pretty fast. There's nothing worse than when you're already tired and the kms are getting further and further apart.
20k: 1:20:55
15-20k - this is where I
slowed the most and prob what you would expect for someone to go out too
fast. I think I did a pretty decent job holding on. There were
definitely times I felt it and times that I let it up a bit for km 16 and 17 (slowed down
to 4:14-4:20 - a bit imprecise b/c I stopped pressing the lap button at
the signs and relied on autolap) but I wanted to work on a final go.
At 17km as planned I wanted to give it what I had left. 17- 4:06, 18 - 4:12, 19 - 4:09, 20
- 4:05, and then a 3:44 pace for the final kick.
21.1: 1:25:48
I did manage a
sprint, although small. I was definitely feeling winded and in the hurt
zone in the last km. I really said - this is the end, finish strong,
pain is temp, glory is forever kind of deal and it worked. I continued
to pick off a few guys and gals 1 or 2 at a time. Past another 5 or so
in the last few km. A few ppl passed me at the turn around, one gal,
who might have been 3rd, and one other guy around 15km. I think they
had a good 30second+ lead at the end so I don't know if I could have
taken them today, but I didn't let anyone re-pass me.
So it was pretty consistent and that's very positive. I guess I was aiming for about 20:25 per 5k so I ended up
being 19:46, 20:06, 20:20, 20:33. Pretty stoked about that.
Anyways,
sorry for the lengthy read! I think there's a lot of positive out of
this and definitely exactly where I want to be. It was tough and I
toughed it out. I'm glad that I still have so
much improvement over last year... things are looking
up in my training so time to buckle down and give'r hell for the next two months.
