A whole lot of posts... 1000th

One thousand blog posts. Jesus that's a lot of writing. Forget Twitter and its 140 characters, or thousands of tweets, this is a real milestone. I was kind of thinking of novel ways to mark this but there is no better way than to look back.

It has been quite the ride. Blogging has become part of my routine, just as it is to slip on my running gear and putting on my Garmin. I used to sit down to type in my thoughts after a long run. The ideas turned into posts and it was gratifying. I used to think up blog posts in the middle of runs, a nice way to distract from the pain at times. As I hit 1000, the pace of posting is slowing, but the commitment to this form of record keeping endures. I can just rely on the Garmin and runsaturday and SportTracks or even a diary with columns and rows, but what fun would that be. There are always stories behind the runs and races and athletic life, and I am lucky to have found this venue, an open place to express the reasons why I run.


In numbers
Number of days this blog has been in operation: 1535
Number of words I've written, give or take a few thousand: 243,803
Number of times I recapped a race: 50+
Number of jobs I have worked in the time I have had this blog: 4
Number of marathons I've written a race report for: 8
Number of Garmins I have gone through: 3
Number of pairs of shoes I have worn down in those years: 22
Number of miles while this blog has been operating: 7986
Number of kilometres: 12852.2
How many times I would have crossed the country (Canada, that is): 2
The most written word: miles

Words: This is the tag cloud generated (by Wordle)

Most mentioned words that sum my running life: run, pace, Sunday, faster, morning, Marathon, training, Toronto, hard, pretty, felt, fast, hours.

In pictures:

Landmark moment (first marathon):

From "I am a marathoner" on October, 22, 2006

Self portrait:

From "Week 16 complete, 104 days to go" on July 9, 2006.

Food!
From "Rest day = eating badly
There's fuel, then there's fuel" on October, 11, 2009


Food to avoid before a race (learned the hard way):
from Race report: Harry's Spring Run-Off

Always running: Even while on vacation
from Picture the beach

Snow (Yes weather is a big deal for runners)
from A big snow storm coming in!

Candy cane (This gets my blog so many hits over the years - people love to search 'world's biggest candy cane')


My Obama sighting on Inauguration day (when this blog turned from running to covering the inauguration) from Obama's inauguration: Presenting, the President and First Lady, in photos!


Race swag: from Night Crawler 5 miler on June 17, 2009


Random photo:
At the end of the rainbow... from June 15, 2006


Favourite running photo from Toronto Marathon


Favourite posts

On running with company: "Company on the trail"
We then talk about the trail. Our favourite runs. The races we've done. We're both year-round outside runners and, on this hot day, we talk about running on this same trail, about how in the late fall it empties of spring and summer runners, about treading on snow and about winter cleats.

On melting down during a race: "Stumbling to the 5K finish line..."
All of this is to say that we're asked to train smart, but maybe I should learn to race smart and listen to the body. When it says slow, I shouldn't do the pig headed thing

On finally learning: "10 things I've learned about 'advanced' marathon training"
I'm still learning this, but rest is when your body repairs itself to become stronger

A moment or two of fame: A mention in Phedippidations blog of the week and a podcast interview with a friend on RunCast.

On pursuing a dream, and then achieving it:
Dreaming: "Race report: Scotiabank Waterfront" on September 28, 2008
A volunteer who was guiding me toward the wheelchair asked me if this was my first marathon. I just held out my hands, put up my four fingers and smiled. 'Four,' I said. 'This is my fourth.' I'm sure she'd think I was crazy if I told her I'm running my fifth in 28 days.

Scheming: "Elephant in the room
Funny, walking home from the race, I tried to come to grips with a wide range of emotions, but I can only describe myself feeling resigned. What an odd feeling

Achieving: "Reflecting on the BQ" on October 23, 2009
I've been on cloud nine over the past week. I don't think about it too much during the day, but every time I've gone out on a run since last Sunday when I qualified for Boston, there have been moments when I'm just beaming, smiling, and wanting to pump my fists

On running for my mom:
"Why I'm running today" on May 4, 2008.

Oh I wish she could see me, I think she'd be so proud. And so I run this race for my family, just for the four of us, and in the final miles, I hope to bring mom with me. (PS: I set a PR that day)

On why I run (one of many): "Winners and losers" from June 16, 2006
But of gains and losses, of pluses and minues, I see my Nalgene bottle half full. With every stride I force myself to run hard, I feel stronger somehow, and not only in my legs. I may regret forfeiting a longer slumber during my morning workouts, but relish in it when I walk into work, feeling fully refreshed and alive. Alive, good thing I mentioned that.

On Twitter and the running community: Why runners should tweet on April 9, 2009.
Us running bloggers are a real community. Although we are often separated by time or distance, there are some common themes: We love to run. We run for fitness. We train for races. We obsess over marathons and all distances that require a bib and pins. We write race reports. We log our daily miles. There's one thing I've always loved about reading other running blogs. We encourage each other, offer up advice so that although we may not run with groups, we have a group to talk back to.


On rediscovering my origins of running: "Homecoming"
It's about 20 years ago, and yumke, at aged 10, is in phys-ed class running portion, which consisted of running around the track, then around the neighbourhood. The streets are wide, with tall trees providing ample shade. On the left and right are long patches of grass, with wide houses. The path weaves, and the little runners, in Grade 5, struggle to keep up with the distance. It feels like forever for us. We take walk breaks, only speeding up once in awhile when we catch our breaths.

On the mystique of the marathon
"The Biggest Loser and the mystique of the marathon" from May 6, 2009
I saw a headline the other day in the newspaper describing a 12 inning 'marathon' game. I see on TV how there's a Seinfeld marathon. I read about a marathon bargaining session by the union.

On seeking redemption "Braving it" on Nov 3, 2009
We reach the start line ready to race, ready to "express our fitness." Marathoning for us mere mortals is not about showing off your natural running talent on race day. We freaking work for it.

Hardware: "Meaning of medals on July 20, 2008

I hang them there to remind me of what I'm working for. I hang them there on my fridge to remind me to eat well (funny, huh). They inspire me, they give me goals, they humble me and they just want me to add more hardware to that collection.

On being a bad-ass: Don't mess with runners on May 13, 2009
The kid is on my heels and we blast out for another 30 metres, and I can literally feel the wind against my body, when he says something like 'I give up' and drops off.

Bad ass part 2: Weird encounters on a long run on Jan. 31, 2009
Stickboy is running right on my heels. He's got some speed but there's one thing I like to think. You take a marathoner in the latter part of a training run, and even on a bad day, he'll take down any drunken freak who thinks they can 'run fast'.

My favourite race report: "Race report: Goodlife Fitness Toronto Marathon on October 18, 2009
Yesterday, I pulled on my running gear and ran a scant 2 kilometres. The air was crisp, the sky clear, the wind slight. Later, I traded email with my friend Lee who said he had a good feeling about today. Weather was perfect, he said. I agreed.

Seeking something big: Epic on July 30, 2009
I went to the nearby plaza where I used to buy fries with gravy AND ketchup after school, and gobbled a few slices of pizza, a bottle of water and a bottle of orange juice, with barely enough change to take the train back home.

Not a post, but a book: And one thing I was proud to produce in 2008, and about ready to do a second one after Boston: A blog that became my own book

The friendly trails and oh god maybe I should start real training

The last two running days have been heaven in Toronto. Temperatures hovering above zero, a few moments of sunshine. I swear everyone was in a good mood on the waterfront trail -- dozens of runners I`ve passed over the last few days seemed to be smiling. I routinely do the runner`s head nod or wave but everyone was returning that today. Give us a respite from winter and runners will take full advantage.



Trust me, despite the dreary looking picture, it is acually nice out. Also bumped into a few friends. Saw Fran who was in the middle of his 15 miler and we chatted about training, I noted I had barely done any quality work at all, while he reminded me we were 12 weeks away from Boston. Yesterday, saw Jelly and her cousin on the trails, they`re ramping up for the 30K Around the Bay that`s in two months.

Warning: Geek out numbers part begins

I have been doing a lot of base mileage at an easy pace over the past few months. I decided to figure out what the hell that meant so I looked back at my SportTracks software to track the last 17 months and my average pace.

Last January shows that I`m entirely comfortable going with an easy pace. This month so far, I am at about a 5:16 kilometre pace, while last January, I did even slower paces. You see months where I have done a goal marathon (bolded) is usually among the fastest, while the three months leading up to the marathon I tend to up the pace.

	Month	Average mile pace	Average km pace
	August, 2008	8:03:00	5:00:00
	September	7:55:00	4:55:01
	October	8:26:00	5:14:17
	November	8:14:00	5:06:49
	December	8:44:00	5:25:27
	January, 2009	9:09:00	5:40:59
	February	8:20:00	5:10:33
	March	8:06:00	5:01:51
	April	8:05:00	5:01:14
	May	8:04:00	5:00:37
	June	8:08:00	5:03:06
	July	8:10:00	5:04:20
	August	8:17:00	5:08:41
	September	8:06:00	5:01:51
	October	7:59:00	4:57:30
	November	8:18:00	5:09:19
	December	8:24:00	5:13:02
	January, 2010	8:29:00	5:16:08

A note about average pace: It includes tempo runs that I`ll do at 4:20 kilometres (7 and change minute ish miles, marathon pace runs at 4:35ish Ks (7:25ish miles), daily fast paces of around 5 minute kilometres (8 minute miles) and a long run. Recovery runs, very much needed, slows down the average pace. I`ve always known that if I am fit, I can do a 15 - 20 miler at around 5:00 to 5:10 pace (or 8 minute miles and a bit slower), depending on the day and weather.

Because I have an April marathon this year, my February and March should have be doing closer to 5:00 to 5:05 kilometres. In short, I think the speed work, pace runs have to start as of next week.

Now the real work begins.

Weekly mileage: 42 miles
Year to date: 134 miles

Cool, sunny days

I don't mind as much getting in the miles during the maintenance period, the weeks and months between training. I do mind the fact that I don't get to see the sun very often. I spent Saturday with some friends and by the time I got home, only around 5 p.m., it was already getting dark. Some runners like me love to soak in the sun, so putting on my head lamp and blinker on late fall and winter nights leave me a little less motivated.

Today was a different story. Cool, blue skies and just warm enough for the semi brave to put on shorts and a T-shirt. I ran back and forth on the waterfront trail, tackling the hills of High Park and then into the city in the sun and cool shade before stopping at a Starbucks for an Americano. Everyone's out there with their heavy jackets, jeans and shades. I feel kind of like a rebel in my running gear walking a kilometre back to home, cradling my coffee and soaking in the sun. Kinda nice, actually a perfect way to take in a Sunday afternoon. Beats sitting on a couch watching football (no offense, sports fans).

So just glancing at my calendar:

-Holy crap my marathon training begins in three weeks. This post marathon honeymoon is quickly coming to a close. Luckily, I could probably use a dose of discipline in skedding in my training. This is Boston training, after all.
-My ramping up and maintenance mileage is building quite nicely. No major aches. My last four week of mileage has gone from 23 miles, 33 miles, 39 miles and 39 miles again just this past week. Did a 13 miler today and one last Sunday. I'm in DC next weekend and I think I'll try to push it to 15 miles. Time to go long once again.
-I'm at 1959 miles for the year, just 41 miles away from cracking 2000 again. If things go according to plan, i'll do the 2000th mile somewhere in the National Mall next Sunday. Or in Toronto around Dec 1 or so.

Road rash

I was just thinking on a recent run on my path how many hundreds of time I've gone back and forth. Soon enough, you see enough things, like mishaps. Back in 2006, a rollerblader hit a rock right as he was speeding around the corner. I was right there, helped him out, and called an ambulance. It was the one or two times I've ever run with my cellphone with me.

On Friday, I saw a rollerblader in the distance do a spin, then fall. Looked like any other fall, but when I came upon her, I saw blood dripping. She asked me to grab her iPod that she dropped a ways back and I fetched it but when I came back I saw that there was more blood missing and that's when I saw that it wasn't a scrape on her chin. She had a gash that definitely would need stitches. We hunted her backpack and there was a white towel. We got her blades off and shoes on and I handed her cellphone to her. She called her mom. I asked some event staff for a canoe/kayak race whether they had first aid people. They didn't, but we went to the staff. Luckily, she wasn't bleedly badly but I'm kinda glad she didn't see the wound, it wasn't looking pretty.

Anyways, I'm sure she's fine but it got me thinking again about getting injured on the trail. Lesson learned: When you're rollerblading, wear wristguards so you can at least put your hands in front of you. And second, when you see someone take a spill, stop and help. So many runners and cyclists just went by -- it could have been a lot worse.

Mileage was pretty good this week, up to 66 miles or about 106K. Today was supposed to be an MP run but I just didn't have it in me, and settled for a 30K run that progressively got faster.

Next week will be a stepback week -- partly because R. is coming to town and also because we have two nights of U2 (her favourite band). That's fine, I could use a little breather.

12 weeks down, 6 to go

Such is the life a marathoner in training. I've been at this for awhile and I've got a while to go.

The last week went quite well, I managed to hit the top end of the mileage (66 miles) while fitting in a few quality sessions: A workout at the track for the first time in a long time, a mid-week 13 miler run at faster than long run pace and a 30K long run.

I can't lie, the mileage is making me stronger but I'm getting pretty tired. So much so that I was going to go out for a run today (holiday) after putting a few hours into work but I just didn't feel like it. Today was a scheduled rest day and I took it.

This is another one of those peak mileage week. I don't have a massive 22 miler but a whole whack of medium long runs.

The schedule looks like this:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 10 miles w 5x600
Wednesday: 15 miles
Thursday: 6 miles a.m./4 miles pm
Friday: 12 miles
Saturday: 5 miles
Sunday: 18 miles with 14 at MP

That's five runs of 10 miles or more out of six days. Geez. Well, I've learned enough from experience to fit in quality and take rest while you can, so the plan is to try to follow through on the Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday workouts and make Thursday and Saturday shorter recovery runs. Sunday will be a challenging run to say the least, gonna have to find a route that will let me do 14 or so miles at pace.

The work over the next three weeks will get me to the taper.

Ending a long run strong

Today's the longest run in the cycle and looking forward in my schedule, I don't have another long run of this length. When you do the higher mileage programs, 22 milers don't really scare me like they used to. The weather is usually my biggest fear.

I was up at 6:30 for the run. The weather is really cool this week so it was conducive for faster speeds.

As you can see from the map below, you can cover a lot of ground in Toronto. I started out east and passed a group of runners waiting for one of them who needed a bathroom break. They passed me and I let them go, giving a little bit of a chase but they were going too fast for me. I struggled to get beyond a recovery pace at first but after 5 miles, I started to warm up and started to speed up.

Fuel wise, I took in two gels at the 12K and 24K marks. It seemed to do the trick as I also had about 16 oz of Gatorade in my bottles.

Fast forward three hours and I had passed the 22 miles and I felt so good I added a little more mileage. I ended up with 36.5K or 22.6 miles in 3:04. The average pace was 8:09 miles or 5:04 kilometres. Not bad for a long run.

For the week, I logged 67.5 miles or 108K. For the month, 227 miles or 365K. Looking forward, I have speedwork starting this week and this weekend calls for a race. I will do a tempo run instead on Saturday.

Humility in humidity

I had stacked my long run for this past Thursday when I did 21 miles, so I could avoid the awful heat in DC, but this morning, I was greeted with cloudy skies that threatens to open up this afternoon. Instead of oppressive heat, I was given a gem of a running morning. Don't get me wrong, it's warmer than it's been in Toronto recently, but it's much better than I'd expected.

Thought that maybe 9 or 10 miles would do today, and my calves were really feeling it so I had to stop three times in the first 5K to stretch them out. I'm breaking in my new GT2140s after using my Asics Nimbus for the past 5 weeks or so. They're different types of shoes obviously so I'm adjusting.

By the time I entered Virginia, I was feeling great and by the time I hit the trail, I decided to turn up the pace for about 3 miles, topping out at a 4:36 km pace/7:24 miles. Despite the humidity, I was feeling great for those miles, maybe because the number of runners was motivating me to go faster. But by the 7 mile mark, I had to take a walking break when my heart rate pretty much spiked after I took a hill and kept on going. Ended the run just trying to maintain turnover. Felt great, sweat lots and I'm starting to feel the benefits of high mileage training. Still, I respect, even fear, the heat here. The next few days will be interesting.

My weekly mileage (Monday to Sunday) was 73 miles, my highest ever. I went more than 70 three times last summer (70-71). The next few weeks will fall back the mid to low 60s.

Weekly mileage: 73 miles (117.5K)
Year to date: 1181 miles (1900K)

Km splits	Heart rate bpm	Mile pace
5:03	114/133	0:08:08
5:17	133/136	0:08:31
5:24	137/143	0:08:42
5:09	140/145	0:08:17
5:21	145/150	0:08:37
6:17	139/153	0:10:06
4:59	146/153	0:08:01
5:08	149/152	0:08:16
4:53	154/161	0:07:52
4:36	163/171	0:07:24
4:42	169/173	0:07:35
5:34	150/162	0:08:57
5:25	149/159	0:08:43
4:57	151/156	0:07:59
4:56	154/157	0:07:57

Puddles, a long run and a longer time off

It was a happy coincidence that I made a pitstop at my condo after I'd done 12 miles. I filled my bottles, ate a GU and, for some reason, ran BodyGlide through some sensitive parts (yes, nipples). I had seen some grey and dark looking clouds that threatened rain.

That proved to be a smart move. I ran almost 6 of the last 8 miles in rain, and I'm talking about downpour. Raining buckets. I had decided, again nice choice, to run in the city for the last 12K so I was running up a major street with other runners going long running the other way past me.

At one point, with the raining coming down so hard, I sought shelter by a building. A runner who was going the opposite way decided to also duck in as it poured. We chatted. Funny how you can open up to a long distance runner by asking a few questions:

"How long you going today?"
"26K, I'm 23 in you?"
"32K, and I'm at 24K"
"You training for a marathon"
"Yep, Scotiabank, you"
"Doing the Scotia half, the Toronto full, you done Scotia before"?
"Nope"
"Did it last year, great course for half but it can get hot for the full"

Heh, here we are, two soaked runners with quite a few kilometres left in our runs, trading shop talk. We both saw the rain slacken a bit, said we'd both brave it, then we were off. I kept on running and it was a blast, splashing through puddles, having people standing in dry places gawk as I ran by. At some point, I stopped caring about jumping in puddles, I was soaked anyways.

By the last mile or so, the rain stopped and I could see blue skies to the west.

I started today thinking of 15 miles but I knew that since I'd missed a run or two last week, I should start thinking about adding long runs to my sked. So 15 became 20 and I managed to work in 63 miles for the week. That's my first 100K week in quite a while.



Weekly mileage: 63 miles (102K)
Monthly mileage: 175 miles (282K)
Year to date: 1108 miles (1783K)


----
My blog has gone quiet for the past week and little while. Last week was a busy one as R's sister got married and, well, there were a lot of fun family functions to be a part of. I'm actually shocked I stayed the same weight giving all the noshing.

Also, some changes on the work front. This is my run blog so I very rarely write about my day job as a journalist. I'll say it now only to note that I have the next month or so off as I recently left a job here for a job here. I was looking back at my blog and remembered blogging about leaving the place I'm returning to almost three years ago.

I've never had more than two weeks off in a row in, say, the last 15 years so having about six is pretty unheralded. I've always had to struggle through summer marathon training where your hours are spent working, commuting and then running. So for the next month, i'll be resting, running, visiting friends, going to DC twice, New York once and working in this passion into middays instead of early mornings or 'after work'.

Hopefully I can get in a few miles while I'm also resting.

Back on the road

It was the real deal, the flu. Was out for two-plus days and I took off three days from running. On Saturday, I thought maybe I could do a 5 miler, but a few kilometres in, I knew that I would cut it short. I ended it after 5K.

Think I just needed another day to rest up, which is odd, cause this morning as I woke up, the thought entered my mind of skipping today's run entirely. I saw it was chilly out (14C) and the thought of getting chilled to the bone didn't sit well with me.

But I forced myself out later in the morning and it had warmed up to the perfect running day. Again, I set my expectations lower, aiming at 21K or 13 miles. There were a few tough miles when the last bits of the cold were making its way up my lungs but I ran the last part strongly and did 15 miles in 2:03:08 for 8:10 miles or 5:05 kilometres.

Have a 63 mile week planned. Don't think I'm going to throw myself right back at high mileage. We'll see how the next few days go. My next race (10 miler) is a week from now.

Long mileage starting to feel right

I still look at my weekly schedule and get a little intimidated with the number of runs and the miles I have planned. This week, for example, I just hit 59 miles, the most I've done in a week this year but not even close to the peak I should hit (around 70) in a few months.

It's six days of running a week but I got into a 11 day running streak before I took a day off yesterday to go to a ballgame, walk a lot and watch fireworks over the National Mall.

This morning didn't feel like doing my 15 miles and even a small part of me felt like saying no, but I kicked myself out of bed and by 9 a.m., I was ready to do the long run through DC. Very lucky this visit down here, it's so very cool down here compared with other summers, this being my third training in DC. Started off pretty slow and had to stop after 2 kilometres to stretch out my calves. I think it's a combination of too-old shoes and lack of decent stretching I've been doing lately.

That aside, I started to up the pace so I finished the run with an okay pace. I really did a different route this time around, doing part of the Mall then exploring the Mount Vernon Trail, Georgetown, Rock Creek Park, back to the Mall and up to the Capitol area and Eastern Market before coming back, finishing my run just a few hundred metres away from home and exactly 15 miles in the books. Odd how we can map out a run in our heads even when we stray away from the original plan.

15 miles in 2:06

Weekly mileage: 59 miles (95K)
Year to date: 974 miles (1567K)

 Next week, i have a whopping 62 miles planned, which will get me to 100K. Here's the sked according to Pfitzinger Douglas

Tuesday 9 miles w 10x100
Wednesday: 14 miles
Thursday: 5 miles
Friday: 11 miles
Saturday: 5 miles
Sunday: 18 miles

Early on, the pace run is challenging

What keeps us going at a reasonably fast speed for 26.2 miles or 42.2 kilometres? I asked myself that question this morning while I was doing my 16 miler. As I did my best to hold on to near 3:10 marathon pace, I wondered how the hell I pulled this off last year. Why did it feel easy last year and hard today?



Okay, it's about another 16 weeks till I'm supposed to 'peak', so I can take a little bit of solace in the training to come, but it's a mystery to me sometimes how that while I run all year long, the difference between running and training is pretty stark.

The plan today was 8 miles at marathon pace, which for me is about 4:30 kilometres to 4:37 kilometres (4:30Ks = 7:15 miles). For some stupid reason, I only warmed up for one kilometre before launching into it, maybe because I was impatient and wanted to get the run over with.

My first two of 13 kilometres at pace were pretty lacklustre. My legs were still not warmed up and I think I was still trying to judge what 4:30 was actually like. Like other runners, I have various gears: slow long distance, general aerobic, sprightly (that's when I feel like going a little faster), marathon pace, tempo pace, 5K race pace. I felt I was at marathon pace but really I was running somewhere between sprightly and MP.

Long story short: Found 4:30ish pace by the third kilometre and was able to hold the pace for the next 11. Had to give some effort but somewhere in the middle of the run, I started to feel again what I'll get in a few months. Comfortable. In 16 weeks, this pace should be comfortable. Today, it was a little too comfortably hard.

0:04:57 WARMUP
0:04:45
0:04:46
0:04:31
0:04:38
0:04:33
0:04:34
0:04:33
0:04:33
0:04:35
0:04:39
0:04:33
0:04:33
0:04:27

And maybe I should fuel better and get a little more than 5 hours sleep before key runs.

I ran the rest of the run at recovery. So needed that.

16 miles in 2:08:51

Weekly mileage: 56 miles (90K)
Month to date: 198 miles (319K)
Year to date: 915 miles (1473K)

It's go time

Well, that was my break, 5 weeks off of marathon training. It's almost been like a reverse taper. The mileage from the past five weeks:

24 miles
31 miles
35 miles
45 miles
42 miles

I decided to not progress from 45 to 50 miles this week, wanted to give myself a breather before I go into it. Officially, I'm doing the 70 mile peak program, but having done it last summer, I know it's a tough one. I'm seriously thinking of paring down the mileage a wee bit by turning a recovery day into a rest day. If so, then I'll run 5 days a week and my mileage would probably top at 65 miles, which could actually be a good thing.

I think I could get battle ready on the 55 mile program but I'd like to be in top form by this fall. The difference between the 55 mile and potentially 65 mile peak adds up to an extra 10 miles on average through 18 weeks, so that's 180 extra miles. If that will bring me over the top, then i'll believe it.

This week has me peaking at 55 miles and includes my first quality run, a tempo run. As it turns out, i've sign up for a 5 mile race on Wednesday night, so that will substitute quite nicely.

Time to get down to work. Marathon day in 18 weeks.

Week to date: 42 miles (67K)
Month to date: 87 miles (140K)
Year to date: 849 miles (1366K)

Windy long run and the rabbit

If I were following the marathon recovery program, I'd be doing 9 miles today. Nope, I'm trying to boost my fitness to get ready for the 70 mile program. Today was freaking windy, with gusts between 50km/h and 60km/h. Decided to forgo the singlet for my Adidas Scotiabank waterfront shirt, which is pretty good for cool temps because it's slightly thicker than other running shirts.

Wanted to run to the Beaches because I enjoy the solitary nature of the trail between my condo and the beach. Not many long-distance runners use it compared with western Martin Goodman Trail. Good, I guess, was that the wind was at my back for the first half. I settled into a moderate pace, about 5:00 to 5:10 kilometres for the first five kilometres, letting the wind push me out.

I'm trying to eat my way into my surplus of fuel -- Clif Shot Bloks and GUs -- so I brought my fuel belt with water and chewed on the Bloks. A nice refreshing change to sometimes too sweet Gatorade I take.

By the 8th kilometre, right on cue, I was feeling really good, my mind and body settling in for long run. It's at this point that I turned my hat around so I could get a view of the big blue sky and also be a little more aerodynamic. Hit the 10K mark in 50:16, just a bit faster than 5 minute kilometres.

One thing that annoyed me was that three of four water fountains at the Beaches were defective. Note to city staff: Please fix.

The entire last half was run right into the headwind. Very annoying but I was a little surprised to see strong set of 4:42s. So like a few days ago, I just kept on battling the winds and it felt great.

Ahead of me, a runner was pulling off strong 4:45s to 5 and looked great, but I was gaining ground on her. It took me a good two kilometres to catch up to her and it gave me good impetus to keep my pace high. As I pulled alongside her with 4K to go, I decided to just go with a great feeling of acceleration and then turned the gear a little higher.

Last five kilometres: 4:35, 4:26, 4:28, 4:31, 4:27. Yikes, right into the wind.

Feeling good, I've done 35 miles for the week and 147 miles for the month.

Year to date mileage: 762 miles

My New York decision and the road back to marathon training

Okay, even though I saw the $275 Canadian charge on my credit card bill today from the New York City Marathon, I'm going to bite the bullet on that cost and do the NYC Marathon in 2010, deferring this year's entry. One day, I won't be surprised if I do three marathons in three weeks, but I don't want NYC -- possibly a do-it-once race -- run on tired legs. So i'll do Toronto, Marine Corps then go into my rest phase. Be interesting how I'll treat NYC in 2010. A victory lap or a full out attempt to race. Who knows.

Feel like I'm getting back into base mileage mode a lot faster, two weeks out from the marathon. I knew that when I turned my Saturday 'long' run of 8 miles, prescribed by my marathon post-race cycle, into 13 miles. Ran it in 1:41:15 or 7:43 per mile pace. I ran it with a heart rate monitor and kept my bpm around 150 mark for the first 15 or so kilometres.

Last week's mileage topped out at 31 miles, the week before was 24 miles.

Here's the plan this week:

Monday: 5 miles
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Rest or 3 miles
Friday: 8 miles
Saturday: 5 miles
Sunday: 13 miles

That will bring me up to 36 to 40 miles for the week.

Year to date mileage: 727 miles (1170K)

Three races in three weeks, or the marathon sandwich

For some odd reason, I'm breaking the marathon training rules. Next Sunday, I'm running in the Sporting Life 10K race (presented by my employer, National Post) as part of the company team. I signed up for that a few months ago. In 14 days, my next marathon, Mississauga. Then a week after Mississauga, I run the Capitol Hill 10K in Washington DC.

Here's the thing. I intend to give more than a little effort next week. For my marathon, I think I'm picking a relatively conservative 3:30 target time. And the Capitol Hill race will be run as recovery.

Here's my schedule the last week which includes my last track workout and a race on Sunday.

Monday: rest
Tuesday: 7 miles with 8x100
Wednesday: 8 miles with 3x1600
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 12 miles
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 6.2 mile race

Mileage update:
January: 119 miles
February: 162 miles
March: 133 miles (two sick weeks will do that to you)
April (month to date): 186 miles
Last week: 44 miles
Year to date: 601 miles

Yeah, my year to date mileage is a little low and if I kept up that pace, I'd hit the 1700 to 1800 for the year. The summer is going to be another monster running one, so I still expect I'll be close to 2000 by year's end.

And now, back to training

I was just looking over my training logs for the mileage I've lost to my cold/flu in the past month. It was pretty bad, one of the longer bouts of sickness I've had in the middle of marathon training

March 2 - March 8: 43 miles
March 9 - March 15: 20 miles (first cold, took four days off, then probably came back too soon, raced 5K)
March 16 - March 22: 15 miles (second cold, ran two days)
March 23 - March 29: 32 miles (felt blah for most of the week but able to run 30K race while still weak)
March 30 to April 5: 50 miles (cold just about gone, did two races on one day, then a 20 miler the day after)
April 5 to April 12: 46 miles (some muscle soreness early in the week but by last three days, feeling close to normal)

So now I have one more week of hard training before the taper. I've lost out on a month of quality work but at least my mileage is back to normal. The four races in a month in the end will have to do for pacer and tempo work. That will do.

Next week, a few challenging runs plus a 20 miler on the weekend. I'll be in DC so I may do the 20 miler on Saturday so I can enjoy the rest of the weekend with R. Then, the taper arrives.

Running more than 40

Today's long run went okay. Not sure if I was dehydrated or just a little tired but 26K felt a little harder than I thought it would, given my recent longer runs. That's okay, I'm thinking time on feet is what that matters.

I'm up to 44 miles for this past week, which I'm happy with as I was scheduled to do a little less. Here's a look at the running in the past three months.

December: 89 miles (20 runs)
January: 118.6 miles (23 runs)
February: 158.3 miles (20 runs)


So it's getting up there. This week's schedule


Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 8 miles with 8x100
Wednesday: 4 miles recovery
Thursday: 11 miles
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 4 miles
Sunday: 16 miles

I may switch a few days but will give myself Friday off.

Mississauga Marathon: 12 weeks to go

Today finish my last pre-training run before the 12 week program begins tomorrow. My target race for this marathon cycle is the Mississauga Marathon on May 10, 2009. I'm following the same program I did last year, the Pfitzinger 55 mile program. It's a compact little program jammed with quality work, lactate threshold runs, pace long runs and track work. I'm looking forward to the gains that will come quickly as I ramp up the mileage and get back into marathon shape.

I've been using the last few weeks to get back into shape.

Monday: 6.2 miles
Tuesday: 4 miles
Wednesday: 10 miles
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 3.1 miles
Saturday: 6 miles
Sunday: 13.6 miles

Weekly total: 43 miles

I did my long run today, 13.6 miles in DC through the Mall, around East Potomac Park, on Mt. Vernon Trail and on to Rock Creek Park. Long runs like these let you take in a lot of scenery while you fine tune your body. My first few kilometres were as usual a little blah but by the end, I was really going and I picked up the pace. I've now thrown down a 13 miler, a 15 miler and another 13+ in the last three weekends. I'm eating better these days, and aim to drop five to 8 pounds during the next 12 weeks so I'm in top racing form.

My goals for this program is pretty open. In six weeks, I have the Around the Bay 30K race, which I want to go sub 2:15. If I can do that, then I believe I'll be in shape for 3:15 to 3:20.  So I'm going to take things in strides, build my pace runs and LT runs and regain some speed. I have a 5K in one month and that gives me 28 days to get into sub 20 minute shape. That's not going to be easy but I've learned to be confident in the Pftizinger program. I pay the price and take the pain, and it'll translate on the roads.

Here's the upcoming week:

Monday: 8 miles 10x100
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 13 miles
Thursday: 5 miles
Friday: 9 miles
Saturday: Rest (In New York)
Sunday: 6 miles (A lap around Central Park).

That's right, I'm going to NYC next weekend for 5 days with R. Our hotel intentionally is close to the park so I hope to get good running in. I'm going to try my 13 miler on Wednesday if I don't get it in Monday so I don't have to pressure myself to do long runs over the weekend in New York.

This is what bliss feels like

I've been reading Huruki Murakami's 'What I Talk About When I Talk About Running,' his memoir about being a novelist and a long time runner. It's a good time for me to read stuff like this because it's helping me refocus as I'm finally coming back to life.

He writes about how running is much like writing and how it balances his life. For me, running has been a little bit of a struggle lately. I can not reconcile what I know to be my potential and what I'm actually doing lately on the roads. I've felt sluggish even though I've been upping the frequency of my running.

That has changed over the past few days and week. The past few sessions, seemingly out of nowhere, I'm getting my groove back.

It's true that there are different sorts of running and I think that in the past 800 or so posts that I've written on this blog, it's likely that I've skewed towards the longer distances. I remember the first time I tried a 20K run, years ago on a summer day. I had everything wrong, no hat to sop up the sweat, not enough water to rehydrate and not enough shade to protect me from the rays. But after the run, I felt happy, exhausted and exhilarated.

We write, us long distance runners, about the runner's high. There's widespread debate and there seems to be enough of a divide of those who think it exists and others who get the high when they stop running (my favourite quote from the Spirit of the Marathon documentary). Me, I every time I embark on a long run, the first 6 kilometres feel bad. I can never get into it and my lungs and heart just seem out of synch. My body needs that half hour or so to realize that I'm about to ask a hell of a lot more of it.

Today's run was a return to those days. It was sunny, bright, cold but the type of chill that a runner relishes. We build up plenty of heats with each successive kilometre.

My first five ranged from from 5:11 to 5:30 kilometres. I felt ugh. I turned a corner and into city streets. By the time I reached the 10th kilometre, I had upped my pace to 5:06. I stopped about 11 kilometres in to admire the view of the lake, the sun glistening off its surface, I had come 10 kilometres to get this view, then I was on my way again.

Then something happened. I started running on streets to give the pedestrians the sidewalk, and I started flying. 4:53s, 4:36s, I started to find my running pace. During those last 8 kilometres, I was running on the same course that I ran the Scotiabank Marathon last year, and I remembered how I imploded in those last few miles and I got a lump in my throat, almost on the verge of tears of the memory of how well that day began and how horrible it ended. Today's run was just another long run, I've done countless of these 13+ plus milers, but it was something more. I was shaking off the winter on this spring-like day. I was refinding my stride and feeling the more powerful with every surge that I threw in. I was getting the heart back up there, I was breathing hard and for that last blissful hour, I was refinding my pace and I felt like a giddy kid doing so.

This is the longest run of this year and in those miles, I rediscovered the long distance runner in myself emerge. He threw down a 4:33 22nd kilometre and for good measure, another one. My pace is back, and although the winter will come back, I'm ready for the season. At the very end, I felt happy, exhausted and exhilarated.

14.92 miles in 2:00:38.

So I've run 40 miles for the week, and I'm just getting started. To get things rolling, I've signed up for four races in the coming months, the calendar is being set.

Weekly mileage: 40 miles
Year to date mileage: 171 miles

Finally hit my target

Finally think I hit a good running week, topped off 34 miles with a 13 miler today. The weather was just perfect, sunny and warm for a February day. I now have two weeks to get my mileage just a tad higher cause I have to start ramping up for the Pfitzinger program, which peaks at 55 miles. In a 12-week program, I'm going to have to quickly build fitness.

My 13 miler didn't feel that great, I had to take plenty of walking breaks. Maybe I was a bit dehydrated or just lacked energy. Whatever it was, I'm sure I'll shake out of it in a few weeks.

The plan for the upcoming week is to again hit 35. I think now I want to aim at quality, which means an 8 miler or more on a weekday, maybe a pace run as part of a 5 miler and try to hit 20 miles for the weekday runs. For the weekend, I'll try my hand at a 14 miler.

At one point, the long runs are going to feel easier. Can't wait for that