September Totals

September Totals = 267.5 Km

1 Race , Sept 12 Haliburton 50K

Love Hate...Cold Weather!

Trying to dress for the cold is a real challenge. Its also the season when wind really comes into play. On the flip side of the coin good bye over heating! Yesterday I forgot the gloves and my hands and forearms were cold. Today I doubled up the long sleeve shirt , still had the compression short and added gloves and below the waste was shorts! Although I did a short 5.5km I was quirt comfortable in the 9C weather but it wouldn't have been long before I shed a layer! I think the double long sleeve tech top minus the compression shirt may have worked better!

10.3Ks on the tractor trail/gravel roads today. Took it easy but I picked it up to my "Marathon Pace" a for a couple! The weather was cool , 9C with a North Wind and Rain / Drizzle... what happened to our nice Summer Weather?????? Dressed in Shorts, Compression Shirt with a Long Sleeve Tech T on top and add a running hat. I was actually quiet comfortable once I got going ... could have used some glove..... mental note to self , wear gloves below 10C! Had a stitch at 4K , weird ... at first I thought it may have had something to do with the cold but I was able to run it off and forgot about it in no time. No long fast or hard runs between now and the Toad 50K on Saturday , I do see a trail run or another tractor trail outing again.

21.1 @ 4:55...a close look at my Heart!

OK , this is a bit different but the Blog is all about keeping a record of what I have done and where I am at and even where I want to go with this whole Running thing. Tonight I am working 12 hour mids so I decided to do a 21.1K run on the Treadmill at Lunch. The pace remained a constant 4:55 min/km and I monitored my heart rate. The JPGs are a km by km account of how my heart responded. After the 21.1K was done I did a 1.5K cool down so the total distance covered was 22.5km.



I am a 48 year old male with a Max Heart Rate around 165 BPM



0-1K , as expected a gradual rise.




1-2K, still rising.




2-3K, starting to level out.




3-4K



4-5k

5-6k

6-7k

7-8k

8-9k, NOTE ...dip was due to a very quick washroom break

9-10K

10-11K

11-12K

12-13K

13-14K

14-15K

15-16K

16-17K

17-18K

18-19K

19-20K

20-21K

21-22K ... done at a 6:00/Km Pace

22-22.5K ... Walking , about a 12 min pace

Stopped and sitting for 5 min.

Some of the variations in the beginning were due to grabbing a towel , taking a drink and occasionally singing. From around 12-16K I drank 2/3 of my Gator aide. 16-21K was no drinking, I ran out! Its really interesting to see how the heart rate became so consistent when the rhythm of the running was steady for the last 5K.

Over the past year I have seen huge changes , my resting heart rate has dropped from the low 60s to the high 40s and I have lost close to 15lbs. The cardiovascular changes and the drop in weight have helped tremendously!

The next 6 weeks the truth will be told. My Toad and Vulture Bait 50K Goals are to break 5 hours and of the Road2Hope 42.2 is to get it done in under 3hrs30mins. There may be a little too much optimism with my goals....time will tell!

Durham Run Clinic

The Durham Run Clinics fall session has begun. It was the first time seeing everyone since June and it was really nice to catch up on what every ones been up to! Did a 5.6K Run at a comfortable 6:00 pace...lots of yakking!

Tempo Thursday

Ditto yesterday but a K , 15K done at a 4:55 pace with a .2K cool down...had to go! The pace felt really comfortable tonight , like I could go forever. I had to stop or I would have been late for work. I am going to keep stretching out the runs at a 4:55 pace until a half feels comfortable.

Haliburton Pictures

The first picture was taken 4-5K in at around 06:30 am ... a great moring , a happy start!

The second picture is my not so pretty finish. Moments after this finish line picture was snapped I was down on all fours being sick. I was really trying not to hurl until I passed everyone at the finish line....

Back to back tempo runs....

And the flavour of the week is Temp Runs! Took it indoors again before work and did a 15K run , 14K at a 4:55 pace then a 1K cool down.

Longer Tempo Run

Did a 12K tempo run at a 4:55 pace with a .5K cool down before work at midnight. I haven't ever done regular tempo runs with specific goals in mind. After doing some research I realize that this hasn't helped me in the speed department. Its probably too late to make a difference this year but it is something that I am definitely going to do going into the next season. In addition to my weekly 3 hour LSD I will start doing a 90 minute tempo run.

LSD Monday

31K LSD done at a 5:36 pace. It was just one of those days when it was hard to get out the door. Heavy rain in the am made me delay my start until the afternoon. When I finally headed out it had stopped raining , temp was around 20C but it the air was very humid. 7 through 10K were done at what I hope to be my Marathon pace , 4:59/4:52/4:40/4:50... this is the first stretch of relatively flat terrain in my long run. Backed it down in the 11K , did a gel and then picked it up a little. When I hit town I did a few more "faster" Ks , 15 thru 19K were 5:16/5:16/5:20/5:33/5:00 then I back it down again when I hit the park. At 20K I started to get the heavy tight cold chest feeling. I had been wearing a compression shirt ... added a long sleeve tech T over it and I quickly warmed up .... actually way way warm. By 24K i took off the second shirt ... I was really over heating but the lungs were better, Tried to pick it up a bit on the run back up the 2nd. Last 7K were 5:25/5:20/4:57/5:21/6:21/5:34/5:34 . I got a rather bad stitch approaching 30K , time for for Electrolytes but I didn't have any.

All and all a pretty good run , my LSD route isn't flat but its not too hilly either . Garmin said +617/-628 meters. I have a ways to go if I want to do a 3hrs30 min 42.2. I recently realized that I need to stretch the tempo runs to 16K. Working mids this week so I am going to have a chance to take it indoors.

After the run I was quiet light headed! I believe i dehydrated a bit , only drank 2 water bottles in 31K and I was sweating pretty good. After a good dinner I laid down for a 3 hour snooze before going in to work for the midnight shift.

Tempo Friday

Wasn't sure what , where or when I ran today ... I just know I wanted to do something. It was grey and windy and a bit cooler this afternoon so I decided to take it indoors. For the first time since the late winter I wore my heart rate monitor. I did a 12K run , 1 K warm up , 10K at a 4:55 pace and then a 1K cool down. A year ago that sort of pace would have meant a heart rate in the mid to high 150s, today I hung out a around 135 ... a full 20 bpm less in a year! I was just getting into the run when I had to shut it down and quickly shower and get to work! Next week I am working mids and I think I will try to do the same run but double the distance one evening before I work.

Something different!

I felt really strong today , legs are almost 100% after Haliburton. Did my 11.1K trail loop , time and pace unknown as I intentionally left the Garmin at home. Things I like about running GPS free..... didn't have to wait for it to lock up at the start, didn't have to worry about pausing to take a stone out of my shoe, didn't have something rattling around on My wrist, didn't have to Download and Charge it after the run and I didn't have any data to compare to previous runs!

Back at it!

Working Eves this week , took it indoors at lunch this evening for an easy 5K @ 5:30 pace. Quads are still complaining after Haliburton on Saturday but it felt great to be running. I am entering the final stages of my roofing project so tomorrow I will be roofing , not running!

Haliburton Forest Trail Race

The Haliburton OUS race is a must do if your run Trails in Southern Ontario. The event takes place in the Haliburton Forest http://www.haliburtonforest.com/index.html, bordered by Algonquin Park to the North. The race is legendary for its rugged terrain , natural beauty and wild life!

There was a 26K , 50K , 50 Mile and 100 Mile events. I tossed around the idea of doing the 80K but decided to do the 50K instead. I am comfortable with this distance and wanted to add a bit of speed to the run before I started going longer. I looked at results ahead of race to get a feel for the course. Most years anything under 6 hours would get you a top 10 finish. My best day prediction would be around 5hrs30min.

The race starts at 6:00 am so I had no choice but to drive the 280km the night before. The trip took about 3hrs30min arriving at 10:30 PM. I wasn't sure where to go but when I pulled into the parking lot there was about 20 cars with foggy windows , I knew I was in the right place! I was driving my Durango so I had lots of room , I had an air mattress and sleeping bag and was able to fully stretch out. After a quick snack I crawled in around 11:00 for a short sleep , alarm was set for 4am. When woke up I had a couple of Oatmeal to Go Bars , OJ and a Yogurt. Picked up my Race Kit and Coffee at 5:00 am then it was time to get ready!

At 5:40 the Bagpipes started calling everyone to the pre race activities. There was a role call for the 100 milers , a prayer and then we all walked a couple of hundred meters to the start / finish. It was still dark at 6:00 am and we were off. First 30 minutes were on a gravel road so I decided not to use a light , many were. Bumped into lots of folks that I know at the start , wished Stephan and Kinga Miklos good luck with there 100 Mile Race and caught up with Kevin from London doing the 50 miler. My strategy was to go out at a reasonable pace and then pick it up later, running with someone going longer kept me from going too fast. I chatted with Kevin for the better part of an hour then I picked it up a bit. About 10K in I bumped into the legendary Doug Barber , ran with him for a bit until we met up with Ron Gehl. At round the 20K mark heading for the 50K turnaround I started to pick up the pace a , ran some of my fastest Ks between the 20 and 30K marks. Nearing 30K it started to cramp just a touch so I downed some Electrolyte Replacement pills and it seemed to work. I slowed it down a bit after 30k but I was still running everything with the exception of the steeper climbs. I held a pretty constant pace through through 40K and wasn't feeling too bad. Did a GU2O at 40K to beef up the electrolyte's. The stomach felt a bit queasy and I was starting to dehydrate . I was trying to keep the fluid intake up but I really didn't feel like drinking any more! Past the 40K mark I was beginning to really fatigue but managed to keep pace. The last 7K was on a gravel road and I kept thinking about how I could pick it up a bit at the end! Last 5k on the trail were 7:00, 8:06, 8:09, 7:30, and 8:06. When I hit the road I was able to pick it up, last 7K were 6:27, 5:38, 6:07, 6:54, 6:22, 7:12 (big hill) and the last K was the fastest but I forgot to turn my Garmin off for nearly 2 minutes while I was on all fours being sick!

I always judge my race on how many folks I pass vs how many people pass me in the last half! From about 25 to 40K I passed a few but no one went by me. With about 10K to go I was passed by two runners, one who was just edging me out and then another who blew by me stating he got lost and added 6 miles to his run ... he was really fast. In the last K I gave up another 2 positions...I was giving it my all trying to keep up with these guys but it just wasn't there!!!!! After the race I learned that the guys that passed me in the last K were doing the 26K race .... d'oh!

My Garmin data said I covered 47.79km +2877/-2879m with a total time of 5:36:52 , minus the 1min43sec that I forgot to turn the Garmin off it put me in at 5:34:53. I haven't got my official time or position yet but it should be close to my estimated Garmin time.

Offical reults ...I will post them when I get them!

Garmin data.....

Last short little one before Haliburton

Late lunch but managed another 5.5K run.

Ditto yesterday

Taking it easy in advance of Haliburton! Another 5K indoor run at a 4:5 5 pace then a 500 meter cool down.

Lunch Run

5.5K indoors at lunch, 5K @ 4:55 pace and a half K cool down. Haven't run since the LSD Saturday, definitely noticed the extra reset. Felt really good.

34K LSD yesterday

It was 3:44 pm when I headed out for my LSD Run yesterday. Another beautiful late Summer day , temperature at he start was 22C but it was very humid and cloudy. The temperature was quiet variable , sometimes it shot up to 24 to 25 when the Sun came out and when I ran into some rain it cooled down to around 20C. Heat sis come into play now and again! 9K in I did a couple of faster Ks , 4:54 /4:49 . It felt good at that pace , I was pushing it a bit early on in the run to make it harder later. I was running into clouds of small insects now and again. I was hot and sweaty and these bugs were were sticking to me! When I made it into Durham I bumped into my Son Robin and he said I looked like a Car Windshield! I wasn't drinking enough , only filled the water bottle once ... should have drank at least twice what I did! Making my way out of town I ran through the Conservation Area where the Tornado hit. The trial I took was open but he Forest around me hadn't been cleaned up so I got a close up view of the damage! Heading back up the 2nd there was one big grey cloud that followed me. It was sunny everywhere but above and then it started to rain. The rain brought welcome relief from the heat. Ran for about 4K in the rain. As I was nearing home I hit 30K and 2hrs50mins. I decided to finish my run on some trials so off I went into the bush. Added another 4K to my run and finished up in 3hrs24 minutes. I have been wanting to stretch out the time a bit.

Last couple of LSD have included some fast stuff early on. This certainly made the later stages of the run much tougher! It served as a good reminder to go out easy in my next 3 Ultras and then pick it up or maintain towards the end. I think I will try to hit a 6:30 pace for the first half of Haliburton . If its a good day I will pick it up a little at the end , if not I will just try to maintain.

Lunch run again

6K done at lunch , another indoor run!

2K @ 4:55 , 2K @ 4:30 , 1K @ 4:00 then a 1K cool down.

LSD tomorrow!

Cruise control at lunch

Took it indoors at Lunch , 5.5K at a 4:55 pace! Felt like I could go forever today , lots of pop in the legs. May get a run this eve!

First September Run

10.3K trail run at an avg 6:23 pace. Legs still felt heavy , I really didn't have a whole lot of energy to spare. Had another busy stressful day at work which really doesn't bode well for a run later in the day. The weather is the best of the summer , 24C Sun no wind when I headed out. Looking forward to a great week of running weather.