Second Helpings

“What’s next” is the question everyone is asking, and the question I ask the day after every race.  I’m prone to the post race blues and have found the best thing to combat it is plan my next race. 

Now that I’ve sampled them all from the 5k up to the full marathon, what next indeed?  Some folks once they’ve reached the full marathon distance stick with that and try to improve their times; maybe to qualify for Boston.  In order for me to qualify for Boston, I’d have to shave off more than 2 ½ hrs; so that’s not going to happen.

I found that when starting my running journey years ago and reached a 5k distance, after a while you think about going further and increasing the distance to a 10k.  And once you do the 10k, you look to the ½ marathon distance.  A lot of folks stick at the ½ marathon distance as there are loads of races for the ½ and it becomes fairly easy to train up for the distance and the recovery is quick.  Plus it’s an exponential jump up to the full marathon distance which scares most runners away.  But after a while you start thinking “just maybe…”  Luckily we have a handy 30k race nearby and that’s just 9k more than the ½.  After completing the 30k you get to thinking “well that’s was tough, but I survived, and it’s only another 12k to a full marathon.”  So let’s go for it!

I said prior to even contemplating the 30k distance that instead I wanted to work on getting faster at the 10k and ½ marathon distance and only then I might do the 30k and full.  However, that idea got snuffed as the 30k and full came into view and I felt the drive to go the distance. 

But now that I’ve successfully completed the full distance, I feel an almost calming sense of relief, like a weight has been lifted.  I have nothing more to prove to myself.  Now I feel I can go back for second helpings.  I’ve eaten everything on my plate and now I can have more of the yummy thing that I like the most.

For me, the most delicious thing is speed instead of distance.  I want to run to a faster 10k. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m really glad we did the full marathon distance; and this won’t be my last full marathon, I just don’t feel it calling to me as other folks do.  I found that in order to go longer distances I had to slow my pace considerably which seemed very unnatural for me.  And running those long tedious distances I didn’t find that exciting.  Sure it’s really neat to look back on a 20+k run and say “wow, look how far I ran.” But I didn’t find it nearly as thrilling as just plan running fast.  Maybe because I’m more built for speed, but I find it loads more exhilarating to run a fast 10k.  Running 20+k only leaves me exhausted, whereas I get a much bigger endorphin rush going shorter and faster.   

Plus you can recover from a 10k much quicker, it takes way less time to complete, you can get away from having to carry water, food, etc. on your run.  It has more of an appealing “just throw on some shoes and head out the door” kind of feel to it.  And training for a 10k doesn’t totally consume your whole weekend like marathon training does.  So I look forward t running less, but faster and not feeling totally whipped for the entire weekend.  But then again, I’ll have no excuse why stuff is not getting done on the weekends.

Marathon day

Race day started out at 5:30 am with Nancy being stressed.  Not stressed about the race at all, but stressed about us getting to the bus on time, stressed about getting to the starting area on time for the group stretch.  We get to the bus pickup and off we go but the driver ends up doing a loop right back to where we started out.  Folks on the bus are now a little concerned about whether the driver knows the route to the starting line.  So now the driver finds the way to the highway, but wait, we’re headed Toronto bound on the QEW.  Wha??  Ok, now everyone on the bus is getting quite concerned, as we’re headed in the opposite direction of the starting line.  We finally get turned around and headed in the right direction for the Peace Bridge.  Nancy is trying hard to contain herself as the biggest thing that drives her nuts the most is “being late” for something (anything in fact).  Finally we arrive at the starting area but we’re still sitting on the bus waiting to get off.  We can see our running group right next to the bus but they won't let us off yet.  The bus ends up driving to the other side of the starting area and we have to make our way back to our running group.  Oh, I almost forgot to mention, the whole bus ride I had a spring from the seat sticking in my crotch, just for some added fun along the way, plus the seats are made for kids so I’m crammed in the wee space with my legs bent in half almost. 

We get to the rest of our group, complain about the bus ride and start the warm up and stretch routine, drop off our bags on the bus and peel off extra warm clothes and await the start.  We plant ourselves towards the back so we don’t get caught up in the vortex of runners tearing off like jackrabbits at the start.  Nancy and I hug for a quite prayer and Christina takes some pics with her phone.  The race starts and we do a loop out and back and meet up with the Runner’s Edge cheering squad and off we go through the streets of Buffalo.  Local residents cheer us on as we run past which is loads of fun.  We meet up with Benny again about 1km from the peace bridge for some high 5s.  Running across the peace bridge was definitely the most fun part of the race as it’s a nice warm 15C with clear skies and the view is great.  Yay, back into Canada for a loop around Port Colborne with a nice cool breeze in our faces as the sun is getting quite warm.  Now we’re headed onto the Niagara Parkway for the long stretch to the finish line and the wind at our backs.  Wow, it’s getting sun is really heating things up.  We plod away and hey there’s more folks from the Runner’s Edge group cheering us on.  Coach Benny cheers from the bushes as he’s taking a leak – HA! 

Next up we cross the ½ way mark and continue to plod away making good time.  Woo, only 21.1k left.  Good Lord.  We meet up the Christina’s husband Joe as she picks up some bars, gels and body glide and tries to lube up those hard to reach areas.

Now we meet up with Jim, Janice and their son Josh along with way cheering loudly as they wish us a happy anniversary and we run by for some high 5s.  Awesome, Jim and his family are always out there being so supportive of all the runners.

At the next porta potty station we catch up to a fellow runner from our group who is struggling with sore, tight legs.  So we pick up Christina Dsalon and she joins our merry group headed towards the finish. 

The folks at the mile 15 water station are already packing up and ready to leave, but there is water and sports drink on the tables, it’s help yourself kinda style.  We’re all really not impressed as there are many more runners behind us still. 

Next we meet up with my friend Ruth from high school as she is one of the road marshals for the race.  A big hug and I introduce her to Nancy and we chat with Benny along the route once again.

We run along some more and in the distance we see Christina’s mom waving furiously and Christina starts to get emotional.  Nancy tries to remind her that you can’t run and cry because you need to breathe right now.  Her mom is a lifesaver as she has water for us.  She takes a bunch of pictures, fills us up with water and shower of praise and away we go.  She saved us a few times with water throughout the race.

Seeing as it was so warm and I don’t want to cramp up, I’ve been taking a salt packet at every 7k along with a gel, dates or a bar – I did this in the hot summer months and it worked well.  Except by about the 28k mark I’m now sooo thirsty that I can’t get enough water.  This makes things difficult as too much water in the stomach and it all sloshes around causing great discomfort, but my mouth is so dry, I can’t last more than about 2 minutes before I need a drink.  After the 30k mark things get really hard.  We’re doing the walk/run thing and everyone is starting to ache in various spots.  My calves, quads are ok, I’m just getting overall exhausted.  We pass a runner curled up in the fetal position lying in the grass.  Hmm…that looks like a great idea, just rest a while.  Onward we go into Chippewa and meet up with more Runner’s Edge folks cheering us on and more high 5s as we cross the bridge.  3k to go and we can see the mist from the Falls where the finish line is.  We get near the top of the last big hill and come across Nancy and her hubby Kim on bikes who follow us in.  Heading down the long hill and Geoff our chiropractor runs up to meet us.  Awesome, as we’re all ready to drop.  He’s great and keeps us all running with encouragement and telling us the finish line is just around the corner.  We near the line and see family and friends wildly cheering us on.  I run up to Nancy and grab her hand and with big smiles we cross the line triumphantly with arms raised.  We collapse on each other sobbing as emotions boil over.  We made it!  Friends and family come with hugs and I hug many people I didn’t even know.  Oh well, it’s all good.  We pose for numerous pictures and Christina hands us some custom made t-shirts she had done for the occasion.  Sweet! 

Nancy didn’t even notice but her mom is here, as my sister Sandra arranged the surprise.  Nancy practically runs up the race course again to find her mom, which really makes her day having her mom at the race. 

Sandra drives us to our parked car and off we go the YMCA for the best hot shower ever.  Next we all convene at Napoli’s Ristorante for the best dinner and drinks with the rest of the Runner’s Edge gang as a kind of end of race season bash.  Many thanks to Anthony, a fellow runner in our group, who has graciously opened up his restaurant and fed us all for almost nothing.  The food is sooo good, we vow to come back again and again.  More hugs and congrats from everyone as we stuff our faces with the best tasting food.

Back home for an ice bath til my legs are numb and fall asleep on the couch; so tired.   

It’s now the day after the race and I’m pretty sore all over as expected.  And as the post race blues start up all I can think of is “when can I go for my next run?”  Oddly, I miss it already.

Marathoning is risky business

Last Sunday during the Scotiabank ½ marathon a 27 yr old guy collapsed and died about 200m from the finish line.  My sincerest condolences to his family.  We were there and saw the ambulance.  Turns out a gal at work; it was her husband’s second cousin.  He had run many races in the past and was in good shape.  Now that’s an extreme case of this risk, that the media and general population will gladly raise the issue that marathoning is really bad for you and nobody should run at all.  But this guy could have died shovelling show (which accounts for about 12 000 American deaths every year) or watching TV or inadvertently walking in front of a bus. 

I also had a friend entered in the full marathon on Sunday who had to pull out at the half way mark due to an injury.  And there are a few other friends that never made it to the start line due to injuries that derailed their training leading up to the race. 

There are no guarantees in life.  And I’ve always been told in training for rowing and other races that “anything can happen on race day.”  The favourites to win an event might have a bad race and lose, or the underdog might have the perfect race of their lives and win the race (I personally love when this happens).    

 

So why do we risk it all?  All the training, the dreams, the emotions, the effort, all the time, the commitment.  It could all be for naught. 

We do it for the glory of crossing the finish line.  For the accomplishment.  For the sense of victory.

Sure it’d be safer to just stay at home, tucked away in our safe environments, but what fun is that?  What kind of boring life is that?

I used to be that person.  Just bidding my time until ________ and only then would I be happy and start to live my life and enjoy it.  Until then, I wait and find useless activities to kill the time.  What a waste.

I see many people follow this trend.  “Only when I get my dream job, will I be happy.  Only when I get married I will be happy.  Only when I lose the weight and am skinny…only when I get my dream house… “

Well I got news for you folks.  You’ll be waiting a lonnng time.  And most times, that dream job, house, spouse, etc just never comes along.  How long are you going to wait for nothing to happen?  And often, if the dream job, spouse, house does happen, you’re so used to not being happy that you’re stuck inside your shell, and you’re still not satisfied.

“Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.”  I love this quote.  To me this also speaks that “It’s about the journey, not the destination.”  Why not enjoy the journey?  If you’re always just looking forward to only the destination or finish line, it’ll be over and you’ll be back in a slump. 

I really appreciate my friend Michelle’s greenkoolaid blog about “Take a Risk, Take a Chance, Make a Change!”  It takes a boat-load of courage to come out of your shell and take a risk, but it can be oh so worth it.  Sure it’s much easier to just become part of the background white noise and maintain the status quo; but do you really want to be known as an unknown?  Do you want to look back on your life and think “that was a nice, safe time.  Nobody got hurt.”  True enough, but what did you accomplish?   

I’m often reminded of one of my fav all time quotes “Beware the turtle that makes progress only when he sticks his neck out.”  This speaks volumes to me.  Ever watch a turtle?  They only move when they stick their neck out of their shell.  Only when you risk, do you make real progress.  Stay inside your shell Mr. Turtle, and you’ll go nowhere.  You may even get run over!

On Oct 23rd, I’m ready to stick my neck out and risk it all.  I look forward to taking my time and enjoying the entire marathon experience, from start to finish; not just focusing on crossing the finish line.  

So, I choose a turtle as my next running tattoo after completing my first full marathon.  For the above analogy, as well as the obvious ones:  The tortoise and the hare story, the fact that we are not fast runners by any stretch of the imagination. 

And also some other tidbits regarding the turtle symbol that I really like:

The turtle’s whole life is one of steadfastness, effort, and patience. 

The turtle takes its wisdom one day at a time - not reacting, simply accepting and moving on in its natural methods. 

The Turtle is an ancient symbol, representing Order, Creation, Endurance, Strength, Stability, and Longevity.

For the tattoo I’m thinking about some type of tribal turtle picture with 26.2 (this is the marathon distance in miles) on its back and this great scripture underneath.

Isaiah 40:31

The scripture is “those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

You gotta have faith

Marathon training has thrown me some curve balls, as expected.  It’s no surprise that the long runs have been really hard over the hot summer months.  The part that I didn’t anticipate was the huge mental effort required. 

Previous training for a 10 k or half marathon, it seemed like a fairly easy recipe to follow.  Add 2k to each weekend long run to increase the distance.  Mix in a bit of hills and a sprinkling of speed workouts during the week to strengthen. Kneed in some off weeks every 4^th week so you don’t over train and get injured and take time for a massage.  Allow your muscles time to heal and rest.  Bake for 8-10 weeks and presto, you’re ready for race day.

For me, it didn’t seem to require that much of a mental effort to get the recipe right when training for these shorter races.

So, naturally I figured that training for a full marathon distance of 42 k that you just follow the same recipe but over a longer period of time (16 weeks) and your long runs just get really long.    

I never gave any thought to how much mental effort was required and I feel I’ve underestimated.  Sure it’s taken quite a big physical effort throughout the training (but you expect that when striving for these distances); but the mental effort for me seems to be the hardest part of the mix.  Doubts, fear, race day anxiety and other negative thoughts that chip away at your confidence.

There’s a phrase I hear a lot as race days approach: “trust your training”.  It gets me thinking, that I don’t think I yet trust the training.  Maybe because I’ve had some tough struggles at not being able to complete some of the long runs and that idea seems to be stuck in my head.  If I can’t do the distance in training, how the heck am I going to on race day?

I’ve also read a few articles that some folks never do any really long distance runs in training for a marathon.  That idea seems too crazy and hard to accept.  But the concept is that what matters most is your base training.  How long have you been running prior to the marathon training, and having that good, solid base.  Benny has always suggested we run based on time and not worry about the distance.  The idea is that what is more important is “time spent running well” and time on your feet.  With this method you may never get to more than about 28 k in your longest run.  That’s a far cry from the 42 k you’ll be required to do on race day. You may need to go 14 k more than you have ever done before.  That’s a huge gap to bridge. 

So I try to cling to these ideas and try to remain hopeful that it I’ll be able to go the distance on race day. 

But still, the logical brain in me has a hard time accepting this as it goes against everything I’ve had to do in training for previous races.  Sure training for a half marathon distance of 22 k we only did 18 k in our longest run, but you only need to makeup 3 k on race day.  Anyone could crawl for an additional 3 k if you really needed to.  But crawling for an additional 14 k? 

So there’s my big mental hurdle I need to overcome and I’ve been assured by many marathoners that we’ll be fine.  I need to trust the training, trust Benny and his methods as he has successfully trained many successful marathoners in the past.  I need to have faith.

But faith is a strange thing.  I did a Google search on the word and found this definition; “Belief that is not based on proof.”  I also recall hearing someone say that faith is when everything is telling you one thing, but you believe in the opposite.  I’m also reminded of Indiana Jones (in The Last Crusade) and his leap of faith across the chasm where he must believe and he steps off the ledge into what appears to be just thin air, but lands safely.  And of course a favorite scripture from the Bible, 2 Corinthians 5:7 which says “we walk by faith, and not by sight.” 

Faith is hard for my logical brain to accept.  Actually I think what I need to do is not listen to my logical part of my brain, as that is what is getting me into trouble.  This is a very hard thing for guys I think, as we’re very logical creatures. 

It’s been a long road, but I do have faith.  I have ifaith in God and the bible’s teachings.  And now I seem to be gaining faith in Benny and in the training.  We’re on the long taper now and just trying to remain strong in body and mind.   

My lesson in all this is that marathon training (like logic and reasoning in trying to understand Religious faith), will only get you so far.  To bridge the gap requires faith.

Lost that lovin’ feeling

It’s an easy week this week in our marathon training, and easy week = reflection time for me.  Time to look back and examine the progress, time for a massage, time to reconnect with other stuff in my life besides running.  Ok, there’s little else in my life that doesn’t revolve around running in some way.

But lately, running has become a chore.  Or rather, the training has become a chore.  I didn’t realize when we began this journey that training for a marathon was a marathon unto itself.  16 weeks, over the summer, and we’re still not done yet.  In fact, the longest run still hasn’t happened yet.  That’s another 2 weeks away.  I think though, that the longest run is the biggest hurdle and hope that once that is done, things will be on a downward swing and not such a long drawn out process as we taper and near race day.  It’s all a huge commitment. 

Some things I’ve realized looking back on it all. 

1 - Training for a full marathon over the summer really really sucks.  It’s beyond brutally insane hot and humid.  Saturday long runs take forever and leave me whipped the rest of the day.  So my Saturdays are pretty much a right-off.

Getting up at 5 am on Saturdays to beat the heat is not fun as I have to get up this early during the week for work, so I never seem to get a chance to catch up on sleep.

I haven’t been out on the bike trails riding as I usually do in the summer.  I think after the behemoth Saturday run, I have zero desire for anything physical the next day.  I miss trail riding as its loads of fun. 

Summertime the kids have soccer 4 nights a week and trying to squeeze in running 3 nights a week on top of that, I felt I was stretched too thin.  Thankfully soccer is now done. 

There doesn’t seem to be any relaxing during the summer either.  On summer holidays I feel compelled to meet the training schedule and I don’t get to run whatever distance I feel like, or not run at all.

2 – I don’t think I was ready for this distance.  I’ve always said that once I was able to run 25 km several times and feel good about it, then I would contemplate a full marathon.  I haven’t been able to do this yet and during the high of successfully completing the Around the Bay 30 km race in March I signed us up.

3 – I’m feeling mentally exhausted.  Physically I’m holding up ok, but I seem to have lost the joy of running.  Now it seems to be all about “must get the run in, must meet the required distance on the schedule.”  There’s little fun in running now.  This has me worried, as once something becomes a chore for me, good luck trying to get me to do it.

4 – Leaving the kids alone as we run for hours on end is not fun for them or us. 

(Ok, a part of me really enjoys time away from them, but sometimes its just way too long.)

So next time we do a marathon (yes, we will probably do more marathons) we’re thinking spring marathon vs. fall marathon, because training during the winter months I think would be easier all around for us. 

For now though, time to make running fun again.  I think I’ll run with dog on Thursday and we’ll explore a new route; something near the lake is always fun.  Maybe I’ll even run naked!

It’s all about confidence

We had planned another 6 am early start to Saturday’s long run as it was going to be another hot one.  Unfortunately at 5am it was already 26C and the humidity put it over the top at 32 C.  I was pissed.  I haven’t had a good successful long run since the 24 km run which seemed like a lifetime ago.  My confidence was already at an all time low and I was hoping with only 2 long runs left that at least 1 of them would turn out well and give me the confidence boost needed for race day.  This day was looking to be yet another catastrophe in the making.  By the time we got to the start of the run I was already in a pissy mood.  So I decided to play it smart today and run the required time with the girls and whatever distance we reached was fine.  I had no expectations, and for some crazy reason this mindset always seems to work best for me.  This day would prove to be no exception. 

We just shuffled along nice and easy and by the 8 km mark we were all soaked and drank all our water bottles and had to fill up.  In fact every time we had the chance, we filled up on water because it was so brutally hot and you just don’t know if you’ll get the opportunity again. 

We met up with Benny at the 16 km mark and I was feeling fantastic.  We chatted about my pace for the day was “I don’t give a crap, I’m just out to do the time” and how this attitude really takes the pressure off and with zero expectations, when/if things go well, you’re pleasantly surprised and excited. 

On the way back I kept wondering about my friend Celine and how we usually meet her along the way, but haven’t yet.  I sure hope she’s ok.  About 5 km to go and filling up on more water and waiting for the girls at the top of one long hill they all came sauntering up.  Nancy and Chris looked ok, just a bit wilted, but I could see that Celine was having a really tough time.  She also said the “Diabetes Gods were winning today” which just compounds the struggle.  So for the next 5 km we all took turns running and walking.  I managed to finish the last few kms running most of the way and felt great.  Usually the last few kms I’m walking and ready to drop.  That day I finished feeling so strong, like I could continue on for the entire 42.2 km. 

We ran for a time of just under 3 hrs but only managed to do about 24 km, and I was totally fine with that result.  Sure it was slower than usual, but finishing the run feeling so strong and not totally whipped, boosted my confidence and I felt “over the moon” happy.  My confidence that has been stripped from me due to such struggling long runs for weeks and weeks was now back. 

But all the while during the last 5 km I couldn’t help thinking about my friend Celine as we watched her struggling to complete 32 km.  We kept telling her to “call it a day” and cut the run short and we’d drive her home from Benny’s store.  But no, I could see in her face that she would never get into the car, she was determined to complete the distance no matter what.  Nancy even asked me “is she Dutch?”  For those of you who don’t know, Dutch folks are THE most stubborn folks on the planet. 

I couldn’t help but think “oh man, I’ve so been there the last few weeks.”  She’s probably going to finish and feel like crap because the last few kms were such a struggle.  It doesn’t matter if you ran the best 25+ km of your life, if the last few kms are rough, you feel like a huge failure.  What a crazy notion, but well, it’s there.

It’s taken me a long time to realize this, but I think I’ve finally got it through my thick skull; it’s just not worth it.  Struggling to complete the entire distance vs. cutting the run short and finishing strong; I’ll take finishing strong any day.  Those struggling runs erode so much of your confidence it makes it so hard to gain it back.

That day I ran smart and listened to my coach and my body, and it sure paid off.  The boost in confidence is exactly what I needed vs. completing the scheduled distance and struggling.  Sure I haven’t managed to reach the 30 km mark yet in training, and sure it’s a long way still to the 42.2 km mark, but now that I have my confidence back, I have no doubt that I can complete the distance. 

Thinking back to that day it’s so weird how I started out the run feeling so utterly defeated and yet managed to finish feeling so strong again.

We get so caught up in our pace, splits, etc and fast times are really nice, but I think I’d rather finish slower and feel better, than finishing faster and struggling. 

Running is all about confidence for me.  A great run will make you feel as strong and confident as Superman, but a crappy run will humble you and make you as insecure as Clark Kent.

Reinventing myself

Last weekend’s long run went considerably better than previous long runs.  I slowed down and ran with the gals (Nancy & Christina) and I felt way better and stronger all the way up to the 25k mark.  Then the sun came out and cooked me and I was done, but managed to walk/run to 27km.  But it bolstered my confidence in my ability to successfully complete these long runs.   

Recently I had Nancy shave me head; a #2 all around.  I also shaved off the beard, but am growing it back due to request by Nancy.  I feel all nice and sleek now, and it’s much cooler.  I should have done this back in the brutally hot & humid days of July.

I also bought a new running hat.  Dutch Orange as I like to call it.  A big change from the red hats I’ve always been wearing when I run.  I also picked up some equally Dutch Orange shoe laces just for fun (and because they only cost $1.99) to match the orange splashes of colour on my next pair of shoes.  My next pair of shoes are also a change as the last 4 or so pairs of shoes were the same blue colour, same make and model.  My current shoes have reached their life span of 500km, so I need to break in the new shoes now.

And last night after our usual Tuesday run, I decided to get a new water belt.  My current one (the only water belt I’ve ever used) was driving me crazy.  It’s started to fall a part a bit, plus the 3^rd water bottle sits at the very back and causes some really good chaffing on my back  as it bobs up and down a lot, so I almost never use this 3^rd water bottle.  The wee pocket on the belt is so small it’s useless so I have an additional add-on pocket thing, which isn’t the greatest either.

The new belt has 4 water bottles equally distributed around the belt (2 in front, 2 in back) so it shouldn’t cause any chaffing or bobbing issues.  Plus there is a big pocket thing on the back and a decent size pocket in front. 

It’s amazing just the amount of “stuff” you end up carrying while running these longer distances.  I eat about 7 dates at each 7k mark, so that’s 35 dates I’ll need to carry for a full marathon.  I also like to carry salt packets to replenish electrolytes while on the run.  1 taken at each 7k mark, so I need about 5 of them.  Add in some extra eload powder to replenish what’s consumed in the water bottles, plus a cliff bar and/or a gel or two.  Nancy carries her cell phone, work pager, kleenex, eload discs, bars, gels, and other stuff.  Sandra is great to run with as she carries a small pharmacy with her wherever she goes.  Whatever might ail you on the run, Sandra probably has something that will help.    

Now I’m thinking; “maybe I can carry along a spare pair of legs, so when these legs get tired I can just swap them out like tires on a race car” – wouldn’t that be great?

All this got me to thinking last night; I seem to be reinventing my running persona.  Not sure if this is all accidental, coincidental, a subconscious or perhaps a totally conscious decision.   

Who knows, maybe with all these changes it’ll somehow help with my battle in completing these exceeding longer runs and on race day.  One can only hope!

Struggles, doubts and a change of plans

I’ve been running too fast.

There’s a line of thought that in order to finish a long run well (and strong), you need to start out slow.  Really slow.  What seems like painfully slow.  I’ve tried this in the past, and it’s worked wonders.  I was able to finish feeling strong and in fact, my overall time was only a few minutes off a PB.  It works well for me, because it leaves me with something in the tank to finish the run strong; and finishing strong is what really makes me feel great about a run.  For me, nothing feels worse than starting out too fast, only to implode in the last few kms of the run.

I know this and I’ve proven this to myself many times in the past by following the formula of starting out slow.

In training for my longest race ever, why have I been running way to fast? 

I think I haven’t been “running my own race.”  This is something coaches often say to athletes and I’ve had it repeated to me many times over the years, and I’ve repeated it down the line to others.  Don’t worry about anyone else; just run your race, your way.  This is great advice and has proven to have solid results for me.

So, why have I thrown all that I’ve learned over the years out the window and run with reckless abandon at a pace that I know is way too fast that I can’t maintain for much past 10k? 

Maybe it’s the damn Y chromosome in the way?  Maybe I’m trying to catch up to someone? Maybe I see others doing this and it’s working for them and I think I can do the same?  Maybe it’s pride?  Maybe I’m watching the clock too closely and think I can run this longer race at a pace even faster than I’ve done shorter races?  Yes, these are all dumb reasons to discard a proven methodology, but nonetheless are all part of the problem.

In the last few long runs (26k +), I’ve really been struggling, especially the last 5km + and had to walk/run to finish and my times were crap and I felt crap about the entire run.  The first 20k or so were quick (for me) but the wheels fell off the wagon after that, spoiling the entire experience for me and leaving me feeling defeated. 

I’ve had some serious doubts because of how the last few long runs went, to the point of not enjoying the training and regretting upcoming runs and it’s taken the fun out of it all.  I even thought of bailing on the race altogether.  Maybe I just can’t do a marathon after all?  Maybe I’ve reached my limit?    

I need to get my head back into the mindset I had when training for the Around the Bay 30k race.  Training for that race felt easy as I had absolutely no idea how long it would take and really didn’t care.  I just had fun and didn’t worry about pace, times, etc and everything went well.  I finished all the long runs feeling great.  I never doubted whether I could complete the race.  Now it all just seems like such a worrisome chore.       

The Niagara Falls race has been a curse for me in the past, and I really don’t want to continue with that pattern.  I’ve run the 10k race, troubled with brutal shin splints the entire time that left both lower legs totally numb and was forced to walk about ½ the race.  Last year I did the ½ marathon race and went out way too fast and started to feel tired at 4k.  At 14k I walked and ran the last 7k with more walking than running and hated the entire experience.

So the new plan is slow the heck down and run at the pace that I know I really should be running.  No matter how painfully slow it seems at first and I should finish stronger and feel better about the run.  Throw out all preconceptions about what I had intended for times and just have fun with it.  Because in the end, that’s what I know will make me happier and more fulfilled. 

Hopefully I can do this on race day as well, because that’s when I really lose all rational thought and take off like a scared jack rabbit.  I need to embrace my inner turtle, because we all know the story of how that race turned out.   

Know when to fold ‘em

Saturday’s long run of 26k was a bust for me, but I’m not upset about it.  Yeah for me! 

In the past, I’d be in a gloomy and “woe is me” funk for a while, thinking about “throwing in the towel” if a run didn’t go well, especially when training for an upcoming event.  This time however, I’m able to brush it off and say “that was just a miss.”  In fact, this was the first time I bailed and didn’t complete the scheduled run.

It all started out ok, we began at 6am to try to beat the heat, but there was no beating the brutal humidity that day.  My back was a bit achy to start and I had a few nights crappy sleep in a row which also doesn’t help either.  Despite having all these points working against me, I’m not one to let them stand in my way.  I usually just muster through it all and everything works out. 

The first hour of our run we were on our own before meeting up with the group at 7am.  Usually it’s a bit cooler at this time and the long early morning shadows help with the heat as well.  Not this day.  After meeting up with the group we were already feeling quite spent.

Things were going ok, but my calves were a bit crampy at about 12k so I took in as much salt as possible and stretched for a bit.  I even managed to snag an additional salt tab from Chris (our beloved water station on wheels guy) and pushed it out to 16k before the wheels fell off the wagon. 

Looking back on it now, this was probably a mistake.  I should have listened to the signs and turned back much earlier and just done a timed run and called it a day.  That would have been the smart thing to do.  But alas I’m of the mindset that “I planned to run 26k, and that’s what is going to happen dammit!” 

From 16k onward I walked a lot and drank copiously to keep cool.  I knew right then that I was done and would struggle to make it back and so I kept a lookout for someone from the group in a car to catch a ride back.  So, I did the walk/run thing (a lot more walk than run) and found Benny at the 5k mark.  I sat down to get off my aching feet for a while and chatted with Benny, drank more water, had some ediscs (electrolyte replacement discs), filled all my water bottles and thought “ok, now that I’ve rested a bit, I can manage that last 5k.”  More walk/run thing, again more walking than running.  Chris came by in his car at about the 2.5k mark and asked if I wanted a ride.  I think I jumped in the car before he even came to a complete stop and thanked him profusely. 

So I didn’t complete 26k.  No big deal.  I managed about 23k, with the last 8k or so walking more than running. 

My back was really achy sore now but the ice bath and regular doses of ibuprofen all day seemed to help somewhat. It’s still fairly tight today. 

I’m not sure if it was the sore back, lack of sleep, heat & humidity that did me in, or maybe it “just wasn’t my day.”  Apparently a lot of runners struggled that day and had to bail. 

But I’m not worried, as there are still plenty of looong runs to go in our training.  I still have plenty of time to prove to myself that I can go the distance.  I just pray that the heat & humidity are gone by then. 

This week we have lined up 2 x 40 min runs and 10k on Sunday (we’re leaving for vacation Saturday).  Massage time with Ali (my favourite torture artist) on Tuesday.  Whew, this easy week came at just the right time.

Whoa, you wouldn't believe what's chaffed on me now...well Phil would.  You mean I have to put body glide there now too?

Intervals under the moonlight – a duet

We got our intervals done last night.

'Twas a beautiful night to run; although it was really odd to start at 9 pm when the rest of the world was winding down. 

We have an almost perfect 800m loop right at our front door.  It’s like it was destiny when we moved into this house about 8 years ago.    

Last night I opted out of the bodyglide, thinking that we’re just running a few intervals and thought I would be safe.  Guess I’ll never learn. Yes, my nipples were still burning in the shower again this morning.  Note to self:  always always always use bodyglide for every run. 

It was a bit cooler and a lot less humid for these intervals versus last week’s set, but still plenty hot to sweat abundantly.  The street lights turned on just as we started our first 800m and we wore our super bright LED blinking lights so cars could easily see us.  Luckily we did, as there were cars not stopping at the stop signs in our neighbourhood and just rounding the corners; surprised when they noticed us there. 

There were also plenty of folks walking their dogs at this time of day.  Big, burly, powerful pit-bull like dogs too.  One couple had 3 big dogs each and we gave them the entire side of the road as we passed them as I don’t think they could have controlled them if the dogs really wanted a snack.  Half way through our intervals it got really quiet with nobody else around and all you could hear was the sound of crickets and your own foot falls, along with your own breathing.  The moon was a nice crescent shape, as the sky was clear, and shining down on us sweetly.  It was really romantic; except for all the running stuff and the sweaty, smelly bodies.  But other than that, it was really quiet, calm and peaceful. 

We also both felt like the intervals were much easier this time around.  We seemed to glide over the road and breathing was steady and very much controlled.  Not the usual gasping bearlike sounds.  We’re not sure if it was the cooler temps, lower humidity or that our bodies were getting stronger, but it felt (dare I say) almost easy?

We were supposed to run the intervals at race pace minus 15 seconds which we both tried to achieve, but our bodies naturally fell to a pace much quicker than that.  Nancy seemed to stay at 5:12 min for her laps, and me at 4:34.  I think your body has its own sweet spot for some distances and it seems harder to fight this natural rhythm than to just “go with it.”

We decided to cap the number of intervals at 8, as it was just getting far too crazy late to continue to do more.  Although, I definitely felt like I could do another 8.   We finished and got back into the house at 10:15 pm and the kids began to grill us like teenagers coming home late from a party.

“Where have you been?  Do you know what time it is?  Look how dark it is outside?  What are you still doing out there when everyone else is inside?”

I felt like I was 16 years old again and making up excuses in front of my parents.  Too funny!

We stretched, showered and had something to eat and shuffled along to bed to read for a bit at 11 pm.  Yes it made for a very late night, especially as I had to wake up early this morning; but at 5:30 am I bounded out of bed all ready to take on the world and feeling a great sense of peace and contentment.  Must be the endorphins still swimming around in me head.

I’m awake now, but by 3 pm I’ll be the guy in the cubicle slapping himself to stay awake. 

I’m sure glad we didn’t bail on running last night.  We would have missed out on a beautiful experience.

Need for speed

Its interval time once again.  I love interval and hill training.  Most runners think I’m crazy, but I’m built for this sort of thing. 

Running intervals and hills requires short bursts of speed, followed by a brief rest period.  These are two things I‘m good at; running fast over a short distance, followed by NOT running. 

I also like interval and hill training for a few other reasons.  It’s a great workout that kicks my butt and leaves me whipped.  I love that.  Plus it’s just plain fun to run fast.  Ever see a dog or an infant run?  They run with reckless abandon and smile and giggle the whole time (yes, dogs giggle).  Tell me they’re not having loads of fun.  It’s the closest feeling to flying that I can think of.  Sometimes towards the end of the workout, I’ll actually finish with my arms sticking out, mimicking an airplane and swerve along the road yelling “Wooo!”  It also makes you feel strong, being able to move that fast (versus the slow poke I am for the long runs).

The other part is more of an appreciation of what the intervals or hills do for my long runs later.  Next time out for a long run and I’m breathing so easily and everything feels almost effortless.  Awesome!  “Hills are like spinach!” you’ll often hear me say.  (Hill training has a more profound impact on the long runs for me.)  Ok, if you don’t get this joke, think Popeye and spinach.

The part of running intervals and hills that I don’t like?  It brings out all the aches & pains you thought were gone.  If something is a bit achy (tight calves, hams, etc), then running fast will aggravate that.  So it’s a risk you take, but I’ve learned to listen to my body and be smart.

I used to run this type of training “full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes” and would push myself beyond what I should and injury something.  Strained hams, calves, etc. and then I couldn’t run for weeks afterwards.  I just let my enthusiasm get carried away.  Now I’ve learned to listen to my body when the warning signs start and take heed.  It’s just not worth it to push on when things flare up and injury yourself, especially when you are training for a specific upcoming race and you just can’t afford the time off your training schedule.  It’s not fun to have to dial it down, but it’s the right/smart thing to do if you want to continue to run afterwards. 

I’m also like a metronome when running intervals.  Often we’ll do a set of 10 X 800 meters and my times for all 10 are within 1 second apart.  Mr. Consistency is what coaches have called me.  Sweet!

Alas, tonight’s intervals present a different challenge.  We’re home from work just before 6 pm and Noah has a soccer game at 7:10pm, Gracie’s soccer game is at 7:20pm, both lasting about 1 hr.  Nancy will take Gracie to her game, and I’ll take Noah to his.  There’s not enough time to run before soccer, and by the time we get home afterwards and ready to run it’ll be somewhere close to 9pm. 

So we start with an easy 2k warm up run, more stretching and then 800m interval, rest 2 min and repeat for 10 times.  End with an easy 2k.  This whole process often takes a long time when we run with the group at 6:15pm.  So if we start by 9pm, just how long will I be out there?  I should be in bed at 10pm to get up for work at 5:30am.  Hmm…don’t see that happening.  Do we totally bail on running tonight?  That’s not really an option either.  Maybe just run a few intervals and shorten the workout.  That’s probably the smart thing to do, but knowing me, during the 6^th interval at about 10 pm, I’ll say “just a few more, I’ll sleep later.”  Maybe Friday night I’ll catch up on sleep.  Nope.  Up early on Saturday for a long ass run of 26k.  With the heat lately I’ll probably want to start the Saturday morning run at 6am, which means wake up at 5am.  I’ll go to bed on Friday at 8 or 9pm.  Again, that would be the smart thing to do, but that never happens either.

So tonight if you drive past our house in the dark hours of the night, you can see this nutbar with his blinking LED lights, pretending he’s an airplane and running around in circles. 

No good deed goes unfed

Why do we reward good behaviour with food?  And crap food at that. "Hey good job.  Here's some donuts and cake."  (We all know that donuts and cake are crap food, right?)

When I experience this at work I often graciously turn down the food and say “thanks I appreciate the sentiment.”  But I get looks like “well isn’t he a snob, and ungrateful.”  I often feel brow beaten into eating crap I don’t want, because folks just keep pestering you.

I work in a cubicle farm where everyone sits all day, so you can imagine almost everyone is very overweight or carefully watching their weight.  To reward these people with more crap food is making the problem worse.

I just don’t get it.  It’s like dropping a brick on someone’s toe that is already broken.  Why would you do that?

I also see folks give crap food to others in an effort to cheer up a friend.  “Sorry your boyfriend dumped you; let’s gorge ourselves on ice-cream.”  Huh, how does eating ice cream help the situation?

Is it our North American society that only does this?  Why is there such an emotional attachment to food?  It's just food for heaven's sake.  Sure it tastes good, but it’s not love or compassion or <insert emotion here> that you are craving.

I guess I just don’t seem to have the emotional attachment to food that some others seem to be a slave to.  Now don’t get me wrong; I enjoy eating some foods more than others as some food just taste better.  I’ll be the first to admit that I’m an ice cream addict; but I won’t touch brussell sprouts (they are just plain evil).  But after the 5 luxurious minutes of the wonderful taste, you think “oh, I should have eaten all that” and feel guilty the rest of the day.  It doesn’t seem worth it.

And where and when does this emotional attachment to food start?  I see my mother in law, who takes care of our kids during the working day, as she says she wants to treat the kids so I often come home to numerous chip bags, cookies, fast food wrappers, etc all scattered throughout the house.  I think “you want to spoil the kids so you feed them crap that is no good for them?”  That makes no sense.  So maybe we teach this to the next generation at an early age and they just perpetuate the behaviour forward to their kids.

I also recall on older commercial when some kid broke something or got hurt and the parent quickly whipped up some easy to serve milkshake concoction that was crap and gave it to the kid.  The kid then smiles and forgets his woes.  “Ooh, don’t cry, here’s some crap food to make you feel better.”

We celebrate milestones by eating food too.  “Congrats on your graduation or anniversary.  Let’s eat.”  In fact we often celebrate making it to Friday with Pizza or some other food.

It’s no wonder we have such an obese society.  For every occasion we eat.  We even makeup occasions to eat.  “Let’s have a potluck lunch just because we haven’t had one in a while.”

So how do we break this crazy ingrained behaviour? 

How about rewards using non-food items.  Make someone a homemade card saying thanks or congrats.  Something from the heart.  We all love that sort of thing, don’t we?  How about a treat of a gift card to a bookstore or non food related store, movie tickets or just a face to face “Hey, you did a great job, I really appreciate it, thanks.”  I like this best of all, but our society is quickly turning away from this type of activity.  “Can’t I just email or text something instead or just leave a voice mail message?”  Now there’s a real personal touch.

Or how about instead of rewarding someone with crap food, perhaps dish out something else which not good for you.  “Good job Joe, now here’s a poke in the eye.”