10K indoors again

Plan was 12K , 4@5:12, 4@5:00 and then 4@4:38 but it didn't quiet work out that way! Just short of 9K I had to go, bad. Decided to cut it short and end at 10K , did 4@5:12, 4@5:00 , 1@4:38 then 1@4:00 ... ended a little under the 50min mark!

Treadmill wasn't so bad, the gym has a 40 some odd inch LCD TV and a good stereo so I brought in a folder of concert DVDs. Today I rocked to a Doobie Brothers performance at Wolftrap! It was better then staring at the walls! Think I have found a new way of entertaining myself indoors... good thing its a long winter.

7.5K indoors...not as planned !

Little run on the good old tread mill. I was was really enjoying being indoors and had intended on running more then 7.5K. At 5K I had to go , made a quick stop ... started and then at 7.5K I had the same issue...OK I am done! I will try again tomorrow.

10k on the road again!

Another dull damp fall day here in Grey County. Temps at 6C with overcast, occasional rain shower and a lite breeze...Perfect day for a run I would say! So off I went all comfy in my shell. The route I took today consisted of 50% gravel Road, 40% Tractor Trails and 10% Trail. Right Knee was better but still not 100% . Last week Wed it was 50%, Sat it was 70% and today it was 90% . Opened it up after 7K, knee felt good and ran a bit at a 5:00 to 4:30 pace. At 8+k the pain came back a bit but not nearly as bad as before. I am still not ready to go longer yet and wont until I can run a 10K without pain. Working the night shift for the next 7 days so I suspect that I will be taking it indoors , maybe better for the Knee anyway.

Blog visits in 2008

Picture says it all , here are all the folks that read this blog so far in 2008! I think its pretty cool because I really believed that this would only be of interest to me ...kinda like a diary that you never loosse!

10K today , getting better!

10K on the road today at a 5:30 pace. Made it to the 7K point then the knee started up again. Managed to run through it but I took it real easy on the hills. Its OK after the run but I know that I am not up to any distance yet. Think I will continue with the 10K distance until I run pain free , will wait until Monday to run again! The weather was 8C , Wind , Cloud and a bit of rain , rather nice day for a run! I was really comfortable , compression shirt / shell and running pants topped off with a running cap...... what rain?

Vulture Bait Pictures...

10K on the road today

Its 4 days since the 50K at Vulture Bait and I was ready for a
run. Beautiful day , Sun , Crisp 3C with a stiff breeze from the North. For the first time since spring I wore running pants. No particular goal to day , just follow what ever the body wanted to do. Normally I go out a little faster for these "short" runs. First 6.4K was uneventful then WHAM , my right knee started to hurt!
After Vulture Bait it was really really sore up until today. The problems started after a 600 meter trail section with a 20m up and then down. Its a rough trail with lots of erosion but I was real careful today. For the next 4K I would run easy , when it hurt I would walk it off then back to running again. Walked the last K in its entirety. Not sure whats up but I will back off for a couple of days and not run until the weekend. Other then the knee I felt pretty good.

Vulture Bait 50K Trail Race

Did the Vulture Bait 50K Trail Race in London today. Managed a 5:52 finish 2:42/3:10 split.

Day started early, as is usual on race day I woke up before the alarm around 04:00. I was out of the house at 4:40. Two Tims stops enroute, Everything Bagel/OJ/Large Coffee then an hour later Large Coffee/Oatmeal Cookie...that was it for breakfast!

Arrived in London at 07:20. Picked up my race kit and then prepared for the chilly start at 3C. Decided on shorts, long sleeve running shirt, shell, buff and gloves. Kept warm inside by the fire! Talked to a fellow wearing a camera on his hat , it was his first Ultra and he was going to tape the whole run! Talked to the Women from the 5K aid station at Dirty Girls and her boyfriend Mark! Talk to a few others and then we were off to the start.

The OUSer events are pretty casual, it was hard to hear the starter but everyone knew when it was time to go. My first lap was an absolute blast , i meet some great folks and had awesome conversations! When I run my brain is in a different place, names often escape me ... I wish I could remember! All the chat did cause me to fall three times in the first 25K loop. I was only about 4K in when I took my first tumble, three Judges scored me a 9.0! I am pretty good at the shoulder drop and roll! After the race was over I learned that there wasn't a 50k participant that didn't go down at least once. Near the end of the first loop I witnessed a Women do a rather hard face plant , she was OK but it was really scary to watch. The problem that caused so many to go down was due to exposed roots that were covered with leaves. The trail at Fanshawe are heavily used by Mountain Bikes and Hikers and the soil is really compacted around the roots. You had to watch so intently that a momentary laps spelled disaster, too bad because the Fall Colours and the Lake were beautiful!

At the end of 25K I was beginning to feel it in my legs, a wee bit tight! My right leg was beginning to cramp. A similar problem caused me to walk the last 3K of a recent 30K LSD Run...I was worried! I wanted to take a quick pit stop but I decided to do it at the 30K aid station... figured that all those happy folks that finished the 25K would be a little hard on my pshcy! So off I went , still averaging around a 6:15 pace .... a 5 hour finsih was OUT , I was thinking maybe 5:30 .... took a few minutes at the 30K aid station. Up to this point I had been having Head every 5K , a couple of cookies , a package of sport beans and some coke and water. After 30K I did a Gel with Caffeine , I was really starting to feel fatigued and slowed to a 6:30 pace but was still running! All was reasonable well until I took my first spill of the second loop at 36K , the effort to save myself directed so much blood to already tired muscles that I blacked out for a brief moment. From this moment on it was a different race! Made it to the 42K aid station with many walking breaks! The volunteers were great ... they proclaimed " You have just run a Marathon" and asked me if there was" anything they could", I responded "You could call me a cab" ... we all had a good chuckle and off I went for the last 8K. I managed to pick it up a bit at this point, I should have jelled or did beans but I just had no desire ... I was still drinking Heed! 5:30 was out ...5:45 was still a maybe! This section of the trail had allot of mountain bikers , folks hiking and later on dog walkers. Most of the bikers were awesome and move to the side until I was by.... the odd one made me get off the trail while flying by at 20Kmh or more. Same thing with the walkers and hikers most moved off but I had to run around many. If they only knew what a mess my head was and how uncoordinated I was and how fatigued I was the may have been a little more understanding! I know we all share the trails but it was a bit frustrating , even dangerous! At 47K I looked and it was 5:33 ... 3K to go, now I was thinking keep it under 6 hours .... I yelled out loud " I CAN DO THIS " ZOOM off I went. At 49K there was a bunch of folks on the trail , HI .. HI ... Thanks ( Some were very supportive) and them BAM down I went for tumble #5 ... again a brief lapse of concentration!

I was never so happy to finish, broke 6 hours , Garmin said 5:52 . I sat on a picnic table for a few minutes and had some water , I was SO glad to be done but very satisfied with my performance at my second Ultra. I haven't been running much the past two weeks, the biggest part of my taper was a 1 week booze fest in Punta Cana . I tried to run but it was too HOT and well I was too %$%^$ !!!! I returned last Sunday and didn't drink the whole week , ate great and got lots of sleep.... some taper!

Missed most of the awards , I was so cold and was busy putting on layers. Felt sore everywhere and was having a tough time moving. Tips of my fingers were numb for about an hour. Managed a bit of soup and a kind sole gave me a cooler and then I made my way home. Not the end of the story....

Almost got toasted by a women in a mini van just north of London on highway 23. She drifted over the center line by about 2 feet... I could clearly see her Blackberry on the top of her steering wheel ...both thumbs a flying away while texting !!!!! In Palmerston a fellow coming the other way made a long 45 degree turn right across my path . I came to a complete stop inches from his rear quarter panel ... I think he was blinded by the Sun.

Believe it or not I made it home ... after 2+ hours in the car I had a tough time getting out. Slowly made it to the house , grabbed a glass of water and some Advil and jumped in the Hot Tub for 2 hours. I fell good now but I am sure my legs will remind me of what I did when I wake up tomorrow.

Notes from a couple of days after the race ...

1) I am sore , my wife has been laughing at me ... I now know what old age feels like! This was my second crack at the Ultra, both times 24 hours after the race I got a rash like a Sun Burn. When ever I am fevered I get the same rash , guess its got something to do with a raised core temp... weird!

2)Put some names to the faces ....

Before the race I meet Mark Coates from London. He told me that he hadn't been doing much running but had done 100 milers and other long events. We ran a similar pace and crossed paths from time to time. At the 30K Aid Station it was warm and I was tying my coat off, he offered to have his girlfriend take it back to the start if I wanted to drop it. I almost took him up but I thought what if I need it ..... 6K later the sun was gone , I was taking walking breaks and was Frozen. I would have been miserable without it!

Early in the race I ran with I think Bebrah Berman from Thornhill ( excuse me if I am wrong). We had a great chat about our teenage childeren, running and lots of other stuff. At the end of my first loop she high fived me as I headed out for the second loop!

Meet Nathalie Georgh from Owen Sound , briefly chatted ! Nice to meet other from the Grey/Bruce area.

Ran with Steve Beach from Richmond Hill off and on up to about the 35K mark, this is where I dropped off ... last I saw of Steve. He was telling me about his training . He said he does back to back 4 or 5 hour runs weekly. He was a real distance runner , he has done the 100 mile races! We talked about everything from Running to Family to Work .... you name it.

Results.....

Vulture Bait Trail Race London Ontario Saturday October 18, 2008 50K
----- ----- ----------------- ------- ----------------- ----- ----- ----------
1 35 Adam Hill 3:42:36 HM1-49 1/32 1 4:28 Orillia
2 54 Alistair Munro 4:00:13 HM1-49 2/32 2 4:49 Toronto
3 74 Paul Trebilcock 4:03:56 HM1-49 3/32 3 4:53 Hamilton
4 81 Dave Champion 4:06:28 HM1-49 4/32 4 4:56 Kitchener
5 1 George Aitkin 4:12:27 HM50+ 1/17 5 5:03 Cambridge
6 7 Shayna Boland 4:14:49 HF1-49 1/21 1 5:06 London
7 59 Keith Peters 4:18:06 HM1-49 5/32 6 5:10 St.catharines
8 28 Harper Forbes 4:20:53 HM1-49 6/32 7 5:14 Guelph
9 60 Tanya Porcellato 4:22:31 HF1-49 2/21 2 5:16 Guelph
10 37 Ian Hobler 4:26:26 HM1-49 7/32 8 5:20 Ottawa
11 14 Paul Chenery 4:30:58 HM50+ 2/17 9 5:26 Toronto
12 79 Sharon Zelinski 4:35:02 HF1-49 3/21 3 5:31 Toronto
13 76 Mark Wells 4:37:49 HM1-49 8/32 10 5:34 Ancaster
14 65 Brian Robertson 4:45:22 HM1-49 9/32 11 5:43 Port Hope
15 29 Thomas Gantert 4:46:07 HM1-49 10/32 12 5:44 London
16 12 Patrick Campbell 4:52:51 HM1-49 11/32 13 5:52 Waterdown
17 80 Christine Bush 4:52:59 HF1-49 4/21 4 5:52 Montreal
18 47 Brian Lauzon 4:55:46 HM1-49 12/32 14 5:55 Peterborough
19 18 David Collins 4:57:46 HM50+ 3/17 15 5:58 Burlington
20 6 George Biondic 4:58:33 HM50+ 4/17 16 5:59 Newmarket
21 57 Roger Parsons 4:59:17 HM50+ 5/17 17 6:00 St Jacobs
22 53 Jim Morrison 5:01:41 HM1-49 13/32 18 6:03 Thornhill
23 21 Jeff Cooper 5:02:34 HM50+ 6/17 19 6:04 Toronto
24 50 Cameron Lutley 5:05:28 HM1-49 14/32 20 6:07 Toronto
25 31 Brett Goodwin 5:08:33 HM1-49 15/32 21 6:11 Kingston
26 46 Christina Laflamme 5:08:58 HF1-49 5/21 5 6:11 Toronto
27 82 Carla Arnold 5:09:30 HF1-49 6/21 6 6:12 Mississauga
28 69 Bruce Smith 5:14:17 HM1-49 16/32 22 6:18 Burlington
29 27 Gary Edwards 5:15:58 HM1-49 17/32 23 6:20 Brantford
30 11 Steve Burrows 5:17:23 HM50+ 7/17 24 6:21 Orillia
31 75 John Turner 5:18:34 HM1-49 18/32 25 6:23 Burlington
32 2 Doug Barber 5:26:08 HM50+ 8/17 26 6:32 Owen Sound
33 5 Terri Biloski 5:26:25 HF1-49 7/21 7 6:32 St. Thomas
34 78 Brad Wolf 5:26:46 HM1-49 19/32 27 6:33 Beaconsfield
35 9 Pierre Bolduc 5:26:46 HM50+ 9/17 28 6:33 Pierrefonds
36 43 Dennis Keener 5:27:29 HM50+ 10/17 29 6:33 Lake Orion
37 20 Iris Cooper 5:27:38 HF1-49 8/21 8 6:34 Toronto
38 73 Vernon Taylor 5:29:15 HM1-49 20/32 30 6:36 London
39 36 Maryka Hladki 5:31:20 HF1-49 9/21 9 6:38 Newmarket
40 32 Rob Gryfe 5:32:04 HM1-49 21/32 31 6:39 Toronto
41 68 Tammy Sieminowski 5:32:06 HF1-49 10/21 10 6:39 Toronto
42 8 Lajos Boldizsar 5:32:48 HM1-49 22/32 32 6:40 Tillsonburg
43 77 Scott Whynot 5:35:02 HM1-49 23/32 33 6:43 Barrie
44 13 Vincent Charbonneau 5:38:02 HM1-49 24/32 34 6:46 Burlington
45 4 Russell Bilodeau 5:38:37 HM50+ 11/17 35 6:47 Oakville
46 3 Steve Beach 5:38:48 HM50+ 12/17 36 6:47 Richmond Hill
47 71 Jill Suzanne Sparks 5:40:01 HF1-49 11/21 11 6:49 Bowmanville
48 44 Bernadette Kennedy 5:40:07 HF1-49 12/21 12 6:49 Toronto
49 30 Jim Glen 5:40:16 HM1-49 25/32 37 6:49 Hamilton
50 56 Howard Parker 5:41:54 HM50+ 13/17 38 6:51 Scarborough
51 63 Frank Reddon 5:42:17 HM1-49 26/32 39 6:51 Fort Erie
52 48 Pat Leggatt 5:42:42 HF1-49 13/21 13 6:52 London
53 33 Sally Heath 5:43:20 HF1-49 14/21 14 6:52 Waterloo
54 45 Katherine Kontio 5:46:19 HF1-49 15/21 15 6:56 Richmond Hill
55 24 Greg D'cruz 5:50:00 HM1-49 27/32 40 7:00 Ajax
56 38 Ronald Irwin 5:52:50 HM1-49 28/32 41 7:04 Durham
57 67 Adi Shnall 6:06:01 HF1-49 16/21 16 7:20 Thornhill
58 15 Amie Chong 6:10:03 HF1-49 17/21 17 7:25 Oakville
59 17 Mark Coates 6:12:49 HM1-49 29/32 42 7:28 London
60 49 Stephen Longhurst 6:13:03 HM1-49 30/32 43 7:28 Mississauga
61 25 Jim Delaney 6:19:27 HM50+ 14/17 44 7:36 Guelph
62 61 Kristine Raymond 6:22:57 HF50+ 1/2 18 7:40 Orillia
63 23 Christina Dabrowski 6:24:26 HF1-49 18/21 19 7:42
64 72 Matthew Swadley 6:24:26 HM1-49 31/32 45 7:42 Oakville
65 41 Gailanne Joachim 6:28:13 HF1-49 19/21 20 7:46 Mississauga
66 19 Chantal Cook 6:29:41 HF1-49 20/21 21 7:48 Beaconsfield
67 51 Hans Maier 6:35:21 HM50+ 15/17 46 7:55 Markham
68 22 Wendy Cormier 6:46:52 HF1-49 21/21 22 8:09 Brantford
69 62 Paul Raymond 6:53:57 HM50+ 16/17 47 8:17 Orillia
70 42 Gary Johnson 6:56:27 HM50+ 17/17 48 8:20 Oakville
71 52 Helen Malmberg 6:57:36 HF50+ 2/2 23 8:22 Toronto
72 58 Tim Pearce 7:01:08 HM1-49 32/32 49 8:26 Toronto
DQ 34 Paul Hennick 2:22:03 DQ 2:51 Toronto

As you can see I was 56th out of 72. Normally I would be a little bummed about that but it really didn't bother me in the least! I was the newbie running with a field of very accomplished runners. I truly was a privilege to be able to run with these folks.

Getting ready for Vulture Bait

Three days until my 50K Vulture Bait Trail Run. Training plans have been ....



-Scotia Half Sept 28 1:44:48
-6 Days later Oct 4 Run for the Toad 25K Trail 2:24

- Oct 5 thru Oct 12 , 7 Days of excessive drinking and 5 almost 10K runs at 30+C on the beach!

-Oct 13-17 , get sober, sleep allot and eat like hell!



Oct 18 , the plan is to survive. I had been averaging 3 30K runs/month May through Sept...hopefully it will pay off. I know if I haven't run long for a couple of weeks it seems allot tougher. 12 days Before my last Ultra I ran a 28K LSD at a 6:08 pace , this time it 14 days since my last LSD that was 25K at a 5:56 pace ( Toad Trail Race). I expect that I should have a similar run to Dirty Girls!

The plan is to go out easy, being a relatively flat run I think a 6 min pace for the first 25K and then try to maintain it for the next 20K then if there is anything left pick it up for the last 5K. Its also all about nutrition, starting at 30 minutes I will take in nutrition. No water , all sport drinks...plan on a brief stop at all aid stations and take in something. At 30K I have a power bar to munch on , at 40K I have a caffeine gel. Its all about carbs , electrolytes and hydration!

My Gold Medal day is a 5 hour run, Silver is 5:30 and a bronze is 6:00. This is only the second time going this far , realistically and think it will be somewhere around a Silver and that's quiet OK by me , I will be happy just to finish.

Punta Canna Running

It was another incredibly hot day for a run but I managed to

squeeze out just shy of 8K for a weeks total of 45.61 km on the beach at Punta Canna.

Would have like to have gone longer but it was just too hot. I would go 5Km then cool down and start again. The sand was variable depending on the tides , near high tide it was very soft at the waters edge . It was more like running through mud. As the tide was going out it got better , almost like running on a solid surface. There was always a constant angle, going out and back the ankles got an equal work out! No matter what time of day I went out there were always lots of folks on the beach. Passed the odd runner, only a few serious folks ...it was mostly the " I am on a holiday and I am going to run on the beach crowd. I passed one guy in a full black nylon running suit...he should have been dead. It was funny seeing others react when you flew by them at 30+C .... more then one person gave me that "You must be LOCO Look". I was glad to put on a few Kms but I must say I prefer the weather 20 degrees cooler!

30K last three days

Its been hot, too hot for running

but I did it anyway. Did 3 10K

runs on the Punta Canna Beach

in the last 3 days!

7.4 K on the beach today

In Punta Canna... hot hot got! Was a little hung from the first day booze fest, spent the day sobering up....as the sunn started to go down I hit the beach for a 30C run, did 7.4 K at a blistering 5:38 pace, pretty good for the heat ! Going to stay resonably sober tonight and hit the beach before 7:00 am .

Run For the Toad 25K Trail Race 4/10/2008

I am the last one in, Green Shell/Buff

Run for the Toad Oct 4 2008 was a blast! Did 25K in 2:24:23 / Garmin Time. It was so cold at the start , I was fickled pants or shorts ! Opted for shorts an hour before the race an it was the right thing to do. Had shorts/compression shirt and a shell plus gloves and buff to top it off. Wasn't too cold at the start , it didn't take long for me to unzip the jacket and lose the gloves. Wore the jacket through the entire race , temps was 10C at the finish. The race started slow , I was really tyring to keep it to a 6 min pace for the first half and then what ever I had left after that. The strategy worked , split was close to 1:13:20/1:11:12 .... I am pleased!

The course was generally rolling , Garmin said +/-1037/1040 for elevation. It was a slow start but that was quiet fine with me and helped to achieve the negative split. Folks were pretty quiet on the course , at the 16K mark I shouted " Anyone seen the Toad yet " ... someone piped up and thanked my for breaking the silence , I am not sure if they were being sarcastic or not! Kidded around with some other folks , this one fellow would pass me on the flats , I blew by him on the downhills ... this probably went on for at least 5K. I joked with this women in front of me that she was my target , we switched positions a few times and as she passed me near the end she said " who's the target now ". Lots of fun ... felt quiet fatigued the last couple of Ks , I was passed by a half dozen or so folks ... this was the first time in the second loop that this happened! I did mange to catch the group and was able to pass three of them in the last few hundred meters. As is usual for me I picked a fellow to race at the end but he wasn't into to it and all I managed to do was shave a few seconds off , good enough for me.

Overall it was fun , I didn't stick around for the meal. I had to leave because I am taking off on vacation tonight and had to get home thus the abbreviated race report.

Another 12K Trail Run

Did a 12K trail run Tues Eve after my half in TO on Sunday. It was a bit strange, had a real burn in the quads on hills that I normally hardly even notice! Thought it may be caused by the colder weather, 14C , but that's not really that cool! Anyway I finished and then did a recovery drink carbs/electrolytes and protein then a big Chili Meal! Feel good today, Wed... may try it again tomorrow.