March Total

Total distance in March 309.5 Km

132.5 km indoors at a 5:00 pace
80 km in Cuba, mostly on the beach
97 km on the road in West Grey

3 halfs and 3 30K runs

Slower , tougher 30K LSD today!

Got a long one in for my last run in March, 30K done on the road at a 5:33 pace. The weather was OK, Sun , temps started around 5C but there was a gusty S SE wind that played havoc with me. Lost the shell at 3K , was quickly starting to over heat running into the sun! Tied it around my waist, going long you never know when you are going to need it! Did the "Grandpas Farm" run today, down the 2ND , across the Edges Rd across hwy 6 and on to the 2ND of Bentick towards hwy 4 , pass Interforest through Durham and back up the 2ND of Glenelg. On the Edges Rd I noticed a shadow from a contrail on a flight from Europe to Chicago , the shadow line up perfectly with the flight path , it was like someone penciled it in the Sky!!!! Gelled at 9K , beans and Gatorade in between. Heading into Durham the wind was really strong , it was actually moving me around. When I got into town it was 16K in to the run , I had finished my Gator aide so I decided to stop at Macs and got some water. I was forcing myself to drink more , I dehydrated on the 30K treadmill run on Saturday. I hate stopping , even for a couple of minutes, you get so wet from sweat and it so cold for the first couple of Ks. Did another Gel at 17K , washed it down with water! When I turned North on the 2ND "Tuesday Afternoon" by the Moody Blues came on .... I got a good shot of the runners high , tingling from head to toe for about 30 seconds.... too bad it doesn't last longer.

I especially like the part.....

"I'm looking at myself, reflections of my mind. It's just the kind of day to leave myself behind. So gently swaying through the fairy-land of love"

and ...

Tuesday afternoon. I'm just beginning to see, Now I'm on my way. It doesn't matter to me, Chasing the clouds away. Something calls to me. The trees are drawing me near, I've got to find out why. Those gentle voices I hear Explain it all with a sigh.

Just too cool!

In spite of the extra Hydration and Carbs it just wasn't the day ! The last 10K were tough. I felt like I had enough Calories just not the giddy up and go! Stomach was a tiny bit crampy too. At 25K I tried some pretzels....UMM. After all the sweet the dry and salted hit the spot .... boy do you need water with those things.

Now , why was it slower.... 1) Adjusting my sleeping habits after mids last week 2) I did a 30K lsd just 60 hours earlier 3) The Wind 4) Just wasn't the day!

Rest day tomorrow , run again on Thursday , short and easy , Friday maybe mid distance and fast , will see!

5K with sore Quads

Quads are really sore after yesterdays trad mill run. I was going to go 10K but decided on 5K not knowing what if any effect there would be running with sore quads. Being that I cut it short I did a little upper body weight routines.

I don't get the same effect running on the road , not sure why they road and treadmill have different effects on the Quads.

Want to do another LSD tomorrow ... quads permitting.

My marathon nutrition plan

OK marathon nutrition plan.....

GU at 00:30, 1:00, 1:30, 2:00, 2:30, 3:00 total carbs 150 grams/800 calories

Sport Beans, 2 packs taken between Gels , total carbs 50 grams/200 calories

1st hour Gator Aid switching to Water , total carbs 35 grams/ 130 calories

Hydration plan, 1L Gator Aid 1st 1 - 1.5 hour , 2-3L of water the rest of the race.

Protein.... need 45 grams will get it from ?

Cruise control

30K done at a 5:00 pace indoors Saturday Eve.

Where to start.....

Well I didn't intend on 30K , was thinking more around 20K but in honour of Around the Bay tomorrow I thought I would stretch it out to 30. Besides , the distance and pace fits with the "training plan" and I do use that term loosely!

What did I learn.....

1) Total calories used , 2400 . Total calories ingested , 100... lets just say I depleted my energy stores and really felt it the last few Ks. I did a solid 5:00 pace to 25K , cranked it up to a 4:30 pace for 1K and then slowly backed it down to a 6:00 pace as I passed 30K. I envisioned the push the last few Ks on the Marathon and was trying to simulate it. However in the Marathon I would have ate a ton more carbs, probably in the order of 500 calories at 30K so there is a bit of a difference with my little push!

2) A 5:00 pace will pretty much do what I want in the Marathon . My goal is simple , hold a 5:00 pace as long as possible and if there is anything left pick it up a bit in the last couple of Ks.

3) Nutrition is everything beyond 30K , plan well , stick to it or else suffer the consequences that will be there!!!!!!

4) Do NOT forget the body glide...OOPS! When I hit the shower I almost hit the roof when the water ran over those chaffed areas!!!!!

After I ran I weighed in at 172.6 lbs.... I was shocked! At the beginning of the week I weighed in at 178.8. I was hoping to get to 175 for race day but 6lbs is a ton in a week . The run I just did I didn't sweet too much , maybe a pound or two. Before I run again I will weigh in.

Tomorrow , I am not sure but I think a 21.1K LSD is in order ...MAYBE!

10K this morn

Still working nights, did a 10K on the treadmill at lunch , 5K at a 5:00 pace , 3K at a 4:30 pace , 1K at 4:20 and the last K at a 4:10 pace.

15K this morn

15K indoors at my usual 5 min pace. Was going to do 20 but I had to cut it short again! didn't run yesterday , too busy with work and all. Hopefully I can get a couple of more in before the week is over.

8K today

Took it indoors before work again , did an 8K at a 5:00 pace. I was going to go 13-15K but I cut it short ... tummy trouble.

12K last eve

Jumped on the treadmill at 10:30 for a 12K cruise at a 5:00 pace before I started work at midnight!

Had a little scare with the Garmin yesterday. Have been having trouble with one of my PCs , had it on the bench and was working on it , just finished removing the Sata drive and swapped the power supply out. I plugged the Garmin in to a USB port on the back of the PC Sync up the DB. It came up with a "New Hardware Found , do you want to install the driver" . I said no , unplugged the Garmin and plugged it into a front USB port like I usually do .... NOTHING happened. I tried to turn it on but it wasnt responding. Tried several times to no avail! I wa resigned to sending it out for repair but what would I do without it! This morning I was looking ta the Garmin Web info and was getting ready to call, tried the Garmin one more time and presto ... came up with " Lo Battery". It took a few hours to fully charge and it was fine!

30K today

Did a 30K LSD today, good quick pace ... Garmin says 30.0K -517 /+508m, 5:18 pace, avg HR 150 BPM.

Fit the run in between sleeping and Noah's birthday party. I didn't have more then a 3 hour window. I decided to take a new route, figured it would turn the 23K into about a 27K run. Headed down the 2nd, instead of heading into Durham I headed west on the Edges Rd, past hwy 6 the south on the 2nd of Bentick. Ended up on Highway 4 at Interforest and then headed through town then back up the 2nd.

Had 500 ml Gatorade, and a Chocolate GU. Waited until 16K to take the Gel, the whole run was fairly balanced energy wise , never felt a big fatigue. Didn't have the shallow breathing feeling either .... could have easily gone the extra 11.2K for a full. This is a good confidence booster for the Waterloo full in 5 weeks. I was tired and had kept the heart rate at a high rate , 150 bpm. I had more gas in the tank... pushing it I could have probably made the 2:30 mark for the 30K but I wasn't racing today.

Not sure what I am up to tomorrow but I suspect and easy 10 , maybe 17 or.....

6K indoors

Just a little 6K at a 5:00 pace in the Gym at the end of my shift tonight. I was going to go further but the I was feeling a little tired , being that I have an LSD planned for tomorrow I shut it down.

Getting lite

New shoes today , same as old Asics only a half size bigger. Took them on the treadmill tonight for an 8K Run , 5K at 5:00 pace then 3K at a 4:30 pace.

Weighed in after the run, its official I am no longer a Clydesdale ... 178.8 lbs. Last few times I weighed in its been in the high 170s, haven't been 180+ since January.

I am also on a no beer kick , I will try to hold out for another week and a bit before deciding if it helping me any. I would love to get down to 175 for the summer.

Jogging

Felt a little fatigued this morning but the weather was just too nice not to take it outside. Decided to be kind to the heart , did a 10K keeping the HR to 130 BPM..... I averaged 129BPM with an avg pace of 9.4 kmh! There were some pretty decent hills , +279/-269 m.

Fast 10 today ....

Perfect weather for some speed work. Temp of 11C , Sun and a stiff breeze from the S SW. Wore shorts and Patagonia long sleeve shirt with a BUFF....perfect! Headed out for my 10K Michael Schmidt run, into the wind and sun on the way out then at the 5K turnaround the wind and sun were at may back. Figured it would be a fast return with the breeze at my back. Did the 10K in 46:02, this is more then 3 minutes faster then the best time on this route ...is not easy...some big hills. I am ready to do a 10K again, thinking Mount Forest in May....not just break 45:00 but get it close to 42:30!!!!!

17K today , great late Winter Running

What a perfect late winter day for a Run. Sunny/8C and almost no Breeze. Did a 17K loop today, up the 2nd then east on the Glenelg/Holland town line and then South on the baseline to Grey Rd 12 then home. At 11K the road I was on was flooded! At first I was hesitant to go through then I realized it was 11K back or 6K forward and I was running out of time. Besides ... " I am a trail runner... what would a real trail runner do" well my answer was " go right through". It was weird but it didn't even feel wet or cold. For a K or two I just felt like I had heavy feet that took a bit to lighten up!

80K in Cuba last week....

Did 5 runs in Cuba last week. Sun 11K , Tues 21.1K, Wed 21.1K, Fri 21.1k and Sat 6k.

We arrived late on Saturday March 7th. I didn't have a whole lot of sleep the previous two days and did sleep really well the first night. I did manage to get a run in on Sunday morning, headed out of the Hotel and out on to the street....yuk! Its was gross , dirty , dogs chased me and I was given the evil eye by security at a nearby construction site. Headed back to the Hotel and on to the beach, the sand was very soft and was tough to run on. Headed west and around a point to the next beach and it was much better , flat, like concrete and easy to run on. Went a few Ks and was really feeling tired and hot....its the first day and I was tired and not use to the heat so I packed it in at 11K ... good start to the week.

Didn't run Monday , too hung over from my Beer fest Sunday.

Real running started Tuesday. Up before dawn and feeling good , out by 06:30 am. Headed out a couple of 2Ks to the next beech that was easy to run on. Turned around at the 9K mark and headed back to the resort. At the turnaround the Sun was above the horizon but behind the clouds. It didn't start to get hot until I hit the resort at around 18K. The resort was huge, 1K from the lobby to the beach. It was divided into two sections, each section had a 600m circle loop around the pools.. made for a great "Track" to run on. Finished off the run at 21.1K!

Wednesday I did another half on tired legs, this was my first time doing back to back "long" runs . The legs felt tired from the start... kept telling myself I was building running character! The legs actually felt the same way that I did at the 30K mark of my last Ultra. This run was started in the dark heading West , the Full Moon was setting in the Ocean as the Sun was coming up behind me.

Looking behind ....

Looking ahead ....

By the time I made it 9K down the beach the sun was almost up and the moon was disappearing in the Gulf of Mexico...

And I finished under a bright warm Sun...

Last few Ks were done in the resort , picked up the pace a bit too. It was easier running on a solid surface.....

Thursday was a rest day, after back to back "long runs" I need to rest the legs. Besides the night before I enjoyed some fine Cuban beverages.....

Friday I did another half, as I was heading out in the dark an older Woman with a raspy voice commented to me as I passe ed by " I respect that" . The fresh legs felt good, it was a bit warmer this morning so but I was getting use to it. Did the same thing as Tue/Wed , down and back on the beach then a few laps around the resort to make up the 21.1K.

Saturday I was up a bit later , it was travel day ... we were leaving at 18:30 so we had the full day. I only did a short but faster run , managed 6K with 5 under the 5:00 pace.

23.5K indoors today

Kept to the 5:00 pace today , did the 21.1K in 1:44:15! Did a 15min cool down for a total of 2 hours of running. I was debating taking it outside , it was Zero and getting warmer with a brisk South Wind....after my cold LSD last Saturday I just couldn't do it!

Ditto yesterday

Another 5K@12@5:00pace.

5K today

Another 5@Noon@5:00pace again! I volunteered to be a run leader at a learn to run clinic this April/May. This evening I find out the details and get this .... I am fitted for new shoes and clothing! Should be fun.... we are meeting at a local PUB.

5K at lunch

5K at luch done at a 5min pace. From this point on all indoors runs will be done at a 5min pace!