Run for Japan!

As I'm sure you have heard in the news, Japan has been the victim of a huge earthquake and a devastating Tsunami. In solidarity to Japan, I have participated in the Run for Japan! initiative. There are a lot of runners in Japan, in fact the Ottawa Marathon last year was won by a Japanese when Arata Fujiwara set a new course record.

I ran a total of 10 miles (16km) dedicated to the victims of the natural disasters in Japan, their families and their friends and I then donated to the Red Cross for their operation in Japan. It is my hope that the world will unite and help Japan come out of this.

Hopefully Japan can come out of this quickly and return to normal. Some good news today out of Osaka that there were close to 155,000 people that applied for the Osaka Marathon which has a cap of 28,000 runners.

My thought are with you Japan and I hope that other runners and non runners will donate and have thoughts for you.

Overtrained + C4C

I've been suffering a bit from a cold and I tried to continue training during and I realized that I am really overtraining. Wikipedia lists the following symptoms for overtaining:

• Persistent muscle soreness (Delayed onset muscle soreness)
• Persistent fatigue
• Elevated resting heart rate
• Reduced heart rate variability
• Increased susceptibility to infections
• Increased incidence of injuries
• Irritability
• Depression
• Mental breakdown

Okay, I may not have all of them but I definitively have fatigue, infections and more soreness than usual. The cure has many options from reducing the amount of training to reducing the intensity or doing cross training. I'm not quite sure how to mix up my training with Miami coming at me furiously (less than 6 weeks away now) but I will try to reduce the intensity and maybe even cross train on the bike instead of the shorter medium runs.

This week I did not accomplish the 80km that the training plan wanted. I did finish my 21k tempo but I cut short every other run and ended up with a 19k long run yesterday. The mind just wasn't in it and with the body recovering from a cold, the endurance wasn't there yet either.

Time for Cans for Comments. Christmas has just sneaked up on me this year. I hope you guys realize that it is next Saturday! The malls were crazy yesterday, it took us more time to park than we spent shopping. We got everything we need so let's make sure that less fortunate families also will, comment early and comment often. For each comment, I will give a non-perishable food item to charity.

PS: Thanks to Dalla for the beautiful picture!

Cans for Comments + Benched

Holidays are fast approaching and while I've been slacking off on the Cans for Comments since September, now is the time to make up for it. It's a simple concept, you comment on this blog post and I donate a can (or other non perishable item) to a local food bank. I'll spice things up for the month of December and add that if you are a blogger and do a C4C on your blog, I'll make your comment count for 10 cans, just mention your blog in the comments. Here is a picture of my last contribution when my friends at foodiePrints made me realize that I skipped over a few months.
Running news aren't that good lately. I had a sensitive left knee that was quite worse than the usual soreness. I decided to bench myself for a while. I could easily have blamed the weather or some other cause. The Truth is that I am not that sad to be benched and get a bit a a break even though I realize that I'm falling behind in training and that Miami is only 7 weeks away.. I had a good stationary bike session on Monday and expect to get back on the road for a short test run tonight... Hopefully it's nothing serious and I can get back to business quickly, I have a 20 miler planned for Sunday after all ;)

Back on the (chilly) road

I've been quiet recently but rest assure that I am working my way back into a training plan to be in good shape for the Miami marathon on January 30th. After a full week of rest and relaxation, this week was a bit more busy training wise. I squeezed in two weight sessions and two runs. My first run was a systems check of about 6 km to see how everything felt and this morning a short 21km to get me back into the long run on Sunday routine. I always forget how substantial 21km is after dabbling in long runs of 30km or above for the last few weeks of my training plans.

This morning I joined the FrontRunners club here in Ottawa. They are a very friendly GLBT bunch and they meet a few times every week for a run and then breakfast. I didn't know what to expect so I didn't really prepare myself to be able to do breakfast after the run and besides, I needed a bit more distance than the regulars are used to. So I joined them for the first 8km and it was nice to run with company. I think I ended up going a bit faster than I planned but it was within endurance range so it's all good. My running partner left for breakfast while I kept going for another 10km loop to lock in the 21km I felt was appropriate for my return to long runs. At 1h44m it was a bit faster than a long slow run would regularly have been. I will definitively try to schedule my runs so I can run with them again. Maybe I can do my extra distance before I meet them so I can partake in the breakfast :)

Winter is coming here in Ottawa and today was quite chilly with the wind. I saw -11 on the weather network with the windchill but it didn't feel that cold. The layers are coming out of storage and the mathematics that comes with calculating how many layers and how heavy each should be is something akin to riding a bicycle, once you figure it out, you never have to learn it again. I was quite pleased with my 2 lights layers with a windbreaker on top. I added some hobo gloves and a tuque and was kept at an ideal running temperature throughout the workout.

My friends and local foodie celebrities at FoodiePrints were running their own Cans for Comments campaign and they made me realize that I have been totally forgetting running my own monthly drive. When they issues a call on Twitter for their followers to match their donations, I stepped up so I'm now on the hook for 25 items for the food bank. Stay tuned for my own campaigns to return weekly as the holiday season quickly approaches.

Q&A & Running to work

Out of all my training, it seems that the running to work is the one that elicits the most questions and surprise. I would have thought the gruelling 35km in the snow would have been more noteworthy but then, these happen outside of "regular" life so people don't really think about these. I'll take the opportunity here to answer some questions that I've been asked by fellow runners, colleagues, friends and family about my running to work. Feel free to add questions in the comments (about running to work or anything else) and I will address them in later posts.

Most people worry about my schedule. They figure that 24km is a long distance and that to run that far would take forever. In my case it takes about two hours. The bus commute is about an hour on average so really the run is only "costing" me an extra hour plus the prep time. Not so bad. So I usually end up adjusting my start time a bit so I only have to wake up one hour early.

The route is also an object of curiosity. Everyone has their own idea about what route I should take. I often get suggestions to use the pathway by the river. While it is a very scenic and somewhat quiet route, it would add over 2km to my commute. Waking up at 4:30am already, every minute I can save counts. I use the shortest route going straight on Hazeldean, Robertson, Richmond and switching at Scott street until I reach downtown:
It has the advantage of being mostly flat, having sidewalks for about 80% of the way and wide shoulders for the remainder. Being always on a bus route should something disastrous happen is also a plus. I also like that the route is lined with cornerstores, gas stations and malls where I could stop if I needed a break or if I run out of sportsdrink.

Nutrition always seems to fascinate non-runners. What does one need to eat to fuel up for a 2 hour run? I usually try to carbload the night before with a big serving of pasta, rice, potatoes or another source of easy to break down carbs. Morning of, I have my usual bowl of cereal and add a toast or waffle with a thick layer of peanut butter & honey or Nutella. During the run, I hydrate with a heavily mix sportsdrink (I usually add 30 to 50% more crystals than instructed). I do not use gels, salt tabs or other supplements but that is something I am looking into experimenting with this year. Once I get to the office, I shower and head for the coffee shop where I grab a 500ml of cocolate milk. That usually ties me over until lunch where I have a regular size lunch...

Stretching is also very important for me. Ever since I started a rigorous stretching regiment, both before and after training, I have been virtually injury free. I stretch my calves, my achilles heels, my glutes and do some squats to relieve my knees.

I've heard lots of comments from non-runners that if they had to run for 2 hours, their day would be over after the run. They don't seem to think that it would be possible for me to have a productive workday after this type of workout. For me, it's quite the opposite. I do not have hard stats to prove it, but I feel much more efficient when I run into the office. The rush of running sets the tone for a day of hitting and pounding that usually end up damaging my task list more than on a regular day. Plus the 2 hours I spend on the road prior to work has me thinking about all the issues currently facing me and has me devising strategies and plans to address the harder to solve problems. I feel that by the time I get to work, I got most of my day figured out already and the remainder is just following through.

The sweat generated by 2 hours of cardio exercise is also a focus of many inquiries. I am fortunate that my office offers showers, lockers and even an iron and ironing board for those of us that cycle or run into work. I bring my clothes to the office at least a day ahead and changed into the fresh set after showering. I stow my sweaty clothes away and bring them back with me at night to throw them in the washer, sight unseen (and un-smelled!).

Now that I will be moving downtown, everyone is telling me that I won't be able to run 25km before work anymore. I don't quite get it, I can still run for 2 hours, shower at home and walk the 10 minutes to work if I wanted to. And being downtown will give me the flexibility to do the other distances as well in the morning to take advantage of the cooler temperatures.

This reminds me that I've been forgetful about the cans for comments last month. Let's make this post a triple hitter, for every comment, I'll donate 3 cans to the local food bank. I have to move in September anyways so those cupboard won't be emptying themselves!

LA Afterthoughts + C4C

I received lots of online and offline congrats and comments about LA! Thank you! One of the things that came back the most was about taking so many pictures yet crushing my goal at the same time.... How did I manage it?

First of all, I don't think my goal was too easy. I think I just had a very rare perfect day. The fact that I was in a timezone 3 hours behind made the 7am start quite a late one for my eastern system and my nutrition was going right on schedule prior to the race, thanks to an All-you-can-eat pasta special for the Marathon at Maria's downtown LA. The weather was gorgeous. Even if it got a bit hot in downtown, once when we started going towards the sea the refreshing breeze came in to cool us down. The course was fabulous with lots of sights to take your mind off the grueling task of putting one foot before another and the community support was outstanding, recharging my batteries at every turn. I can't forget mentionning that my dad was also inspiring me to push the limit of what I knew I could do.

As the picture taking, I think it actually helped make me faster. Marathoners will know that the course can get pretty lonely and boring. It's not unusual to strike up a conversation with fellow runners when breathing is allowing it. Taking our minds off the littles aches that are developing or not thinking about how much fuel is left in the tank versus how many miles are left on the course is paramount to a good performance. Having the camera and thinking about the pictures and the sights that I wanted to bring back to friends and family did just that for me. While the running backwards was a bit dangerous (I almost tripped at least twice!) it also gave my muscles a break in the motion and I think this had a positive effect.

Where do I go from here? I have another marathon scheduled for the end of May, in my hometown with friends and family watching. I'll have to do well! My goal is simply a repeat of my LA performance to confirm that I am strong and can use the summer to get even faster towards that elusive Boston Qualifying time (3:10 for me).

LA Marathon, like most major races, had a bunch of race photographers on site. I never understood the race photography economy. While I do realize they spend tremendous amounts of money to take all these beautiful pictures such as this one:
What I never understood is the market for these pictures. A single picture will cost you $60. Granted they also offer an "economical' download of all the pictures they take of you for a "modest" $80. I can't justify myself paying that much money for pictures. Yes, I want a copy. These are amazing pictures of what is for the most part an extraordinary event, but seriously, $60 per picture? I had a chat with the girl at the counter at the expo about this. She seemed to hold a position of fair responsibility in the company and all she could do to validate that $80 for a download of all the pictures was a fair price was that it was their most popular product. I don't have an MBA in race photography economics, but let's say there are 50 photographers paid a per diem of $2,000 (I think this is generous, especially for LA where every closet paparazzi has good quality photo equipment), that's only $100,000 of fixed cost per event. Add in a generous amortization of $50,000 per race for website and bib recognition software and you only have a fixed cost of $150,000. If you sell a download package to %10 of the field at $80, that's $200k ($50k of profits). If you'd sell the same package for $25, you'd probably get %50 or more of the field buying it, that's over $300k ($150k profit). Maybe I'm wrong and there's already %50 of the field buying the download and I'm totally off the track here with my numbers.

If you are in the race photography business, I think your sweet spot for an almost universal buyin is about %25 of the cost of the race entry fee. For $25 or less, I'd buy the pictures before the race, before I even see them and not ask for a refund if they are no good. Anything over $30, I'll wait to see the results and if they are good I will get them. Anything over $40 I won't even think about it even if the picture is worthy of Time Magazine or National Geographics.

One of the benefits of having gone to LA is that I broke my phone so I got this new one:
It's more like a computer than a phone really and it has a GPS. I've seen lots of software for running and tracking distance, pace, etc and I will be trying them out in the next few weeks to see if there is a possibility of replacing my garmin. Less electronics to carry while I run is better in my books but I think it will be difficult to replace the purpose built Garmin watch with a more general use device like a phone. More on this as I experiment with the various software. If you have any suggestions for a good running software that runs on Android, let me know!

I totally forgot the C4C with the race excitement so I'll use the comments on my race report for the March numbers, so 8 food items will be donated to the Kanata Food Cupboard. Don't think that's enough to feed the needy? Leave your comments here for April's C4C, for every visitor that leaves a comment I'll donate one non-perishable item. If we go over 8 comments, I'll double March's donation!

60km weekend + C4C

With the wet and snowy weather giving me an easy excuse to bail on my training plan this week, I found myself catching up this weekend with 2 longish runs.

First, thanks for your comments during my slump. I'm happy to say that it lasted a whole 3 days. On Thursday I did a weights session and found a dreadmill on Friday where I lasted an entire half hour for what I hope is a total of 3.5 miles. It felt way too fast to be kilometres. I guess the treadmill is a learned exercise for longer distances. I can't believe some people that are doing their 2 or 3 hour runs on the machine! I remember a few years ago when I had regular access to one that I was able to do up to 60 minutes before getting bored. Maybe if there was something more exciting than curling playing at the gym I could have thoughed it out a bit more ;)

So on Saturday I set out to replace a workout that should have been done on Monday with 22km.
I was pretty happy with the pace (5:26m/km) for a total time of 1h58m27s.

Then the very next day, on Sunday, I went out for the longest run of this training cycle: 38km. I wouldn't necessarily have chosen to do back to back with the 22km but time has been very scarce these days and the weather today was just beautiful. It's starting to feel like spring already and I'm grateful for not having to worry about my water freezing or even catching something nasty if I decide to slow down and my sweat freezes over. My shoes didn't like the muddy conditions but then they are on their last lap anyways so I won't worry about them too much.
With a pace of 5:43m/km I would be about 1 and a half minute behind my 4 hour goal for the marathon but then I don't expect I'll run a 22km the day before the race :) My sleeping schedule hasn't been optimal either and nutrition also has been a bit hectic with meals at odd hours and from sources that I wouldn't consider healthy or nutritious.

I must admit I'm pretty happy that the longest run is done. All the upcoming "long" runs are under 30km until race day. These smaller training runs are easier to fit in the schedule and easier to recover from.

Because people are hungry throughout the year, this post is my monthly cans for comments post. You know the drill, you leave a comment and I donate a non-perishable food item. This month's cans will go to the Kanata Food Cupboard. Let's hope we can beat the 5 items donated for January.

BRRRrrrrrrr! + C4C

A cold snap has descended on Ottawa but that didn't stop me from going out to run. The alternative (dreadmill) is not one I am excited about! So I went in what the weather people described as a -32 celsius with the windchill. I didn't wait around for my GPS to warm up and catch a signal so the route is not totally accurate.
I kept it easy for the ~6km loop of the bridges. I know I have to mix it up but it was difficult to keep it slow in such a cold weather, I just wanted the run to be over! To be honest it didn't feel that cold but my glasses did get all frosted from the water condensation from breathing. And I don't think I get a good bounce from my shoes in such cold weather!

What I find kind of interesting is that the speed profile almost matches the altitude profile. I was going faster on the uphill than the flat surface...
Back in the holiday period, I was running a Cans for Comments campaign and pledged to continue to do it all year so here is this month's entry. It's simple: for every visitor that leaves a comment on this entry, I will donate a non-perishable food item to the local food bank. I also encourage you to give what you can to Unicef, Care or your favourite relief organisation for Haiti. I know I have given and plan to do so again regularly until the country is back on its feet.

I have a long run planned for the weekend. I'm starting to chicken out already because of the weather. Hopefully I'll grow some chest hairs overnight and brave the conditions!

Year in Review - Late C4C

With the weather outside turning all wet and icy, I have had to take my training inside. (That is an actual picture of the light at my front porch!)
I'm still not quite sure if my training session today will be in the gym or if I will brave the thin layer of snow on what is probably icy sidewalks underneath.

With this new dose of winter, I started thinking about my training so far this year and how much it has changed. A year ago, after conquering the marathon distance (at a snail's pace admittedly), I turned my sights to a new challenge: the Triathlon. I found a nice indoor trainer for the bike portion, familiarized myself with the myriads of pools around my stomping grounds and their various schedules and conquered old man winter to run in the cold, running outside throughout the winter was a first for me.

My training regimen was pretty hardcore by my standards. Most days saw at least training in one of the disciplines and sometimes even two. Rest days were few and far between with usually one or sometimes two a week. I also started blogging to share my experience with current friends and family. Little did I know that the blogging would introduce me to an entire community of athletes and allow me to create new friendships. All my training really paid off when I completed my first triathlon and met my objective.

Life sometimes take unexpected turns and that's what happenned after the triathlon where I left for China. I had wonderful experiences in China but was unable to keep the training up because of various health concerns. I still had some incredible runs and life experiences in China so I'm not even concerned about the setback that the trip introduced training-wise.

While I don't keep an official mileage counter, having a nifty GPS device that I carry with me whenever I run has advantages. I was able to play with the numbers and get my total so far for 2009 so far: 570km of running and 2380km of biking! Incredible. If I ran all these runs in the same direction, I would have been able to run to Niagara Falls! Add the biking and I would have reached Miami! Incredible!

All the training for the triathlon was fun, but with my current schedule, it's very hard to keep up with all the training. Plus the gear required for a triathlon is really intense. If I'm really serious about competing, I'd need at least a new bike and some way to carry it around like a car rack or something. I'm not saying I'll never do a triathlon again, but at this point in my life, I need simplicity and training for a triathlon is not simple!!!

Coming back from the experience of having trained and participated in a triathlon, I now have a new goal. This new goal is a bit of an old friend of mine. While I may have conquered the marathon distance at ScotiaBank Waterfront Marathon in 2008, but I never quite conquered the clock to my satisfaction. Entering this new year and decade, I have two goals with regards to the marathon clock. This year, I would like to break the 4 hour marathon. This decade, I want to qualify and run Boston. Quite the goal, eh? I figure that if I can't get to 3:10 in the next 5 years, at least it will get easier when it drops to 3:15 on the accounts of me getting older at that time :) Now that I've committed to it in digital ink, I will have to deliver. I hope I can take you all on that exciting journey with me.

I didn't post on Friday so this will have to take place of the Cans for Comments for last week. The total from the week before was 8 cans so here is what is going to the food bank:
Since I'm late with the C4C post and this is prime holiday season, I will pledge to donate at least 14 cans which is the total from my most popular C4C post. If we can break that number, I will top it up of course!

Decade in review + C4C

Today is Comments for Cans again. You know the drill, for every visitor that leaves a comment, I will donate a can (or other non perishable food item) to the Stittsville Food Bank. Feel free to jump to comments right away if you don't want to hear about my decade-long story of getting fitter ;)

With the new year approaching, I turn a bit nostalgic about old times. This year two digits of the year will change at once bringing us into a brand new decade. I have an urge to take you on a reflection of how physical activity has changed my life and ponder at what is coming next.

10 years ago was the dawn of a new era. I spent New Year's eve 1999 partying like it was, well, 1999. I played the beach bum in Costa Rica with dear friends and warm weather. I was not in the best physical shape at all, weighing about 40 pounds more than I do now and not exercising very often...

The decade that followed was definitively not a lost one for me. I started on the path to a much healthier lifestyle without an actual plan to get fit. It started when my work took me to a location that had awful bus service. I decided then that biking to work was a viable option with the 10 or so kilometers that separated my home and my work.

Things took an unexpected turn when, a few years later, I transfered to a location some 25km away from my home. The new location had, you guessed it, awful bus service. I have never been a fan of driving a car to and from work (or anywhere at all other than highways really) so I took to biking there and back once a week, twice a week and eventually everyday in fair weather. I braved the rain once and discovered it wasn't that bad so I kept on biking from around easter to around Halloween. At some point I even biked an extraordinary 160km in one day with all my gear in tow to go camping. Thankfully a friend with an empty van drove me back from my foolish expedition.

The year after, I moved work locations again. I was a bit dissapointed when my new work was only 8 km away from my house. The bike ride was barely enough to work a sweat. One of my colleague was a runner and was able to convince myself and another colleague that running was fun. Pretty soon things snow balled and we were a bunch that would go out a few times a week. Never the same group but there was always someone heading out from a group of 5 or 6. Running can be infectious like that.

That's where I fell in love with running. The simplicity of the sport. The freedom of surfaces on which it can be practiced. The variety of routes I could take. I went from aiming to finish the 6 or so km route we used at lunch without stopping to beating my previous time over and over. I even started to leave the bike at home and run to and from work on top of my lunch time training. My runner colleague came back from a marathon and he could barely walk. I knew there had to be something mystical about the distance for him to get in such shape for it. I wanted some of that too.

While running with some more experienced colleagues, I noticed that one of them was wearing an armband computer. I had a total geekout when I realized that the thing tracked speed and distance. I always had odometers on my bikes but never realized I could have the same info while running! I had to get such as device and after setting speed and distance goals (approximate distance of course!) and meeting them, I rewarded myself with the gizmo and it totally changed the way I trained. I put it to good use by entering a half marathon right away. My first road race! It was a painful race but I finished it. I was a bit over my innocent goal of under 2 hours but very satisfied with my performance nonetheless. The Endorphins were buzzing in my blood and I knew I could never go back to the way things were before I became an amateur athlete.

I entered other races and continued my lunch day workouts whenever possible despite the changes in employers. I am lucky that my employers are always so cool with allowing me to take a long lunch and make up the hours at night. I raced twice in my first racing summer and only once the summer after that. I got hurt while pushing too hard in the fall and had to take a break from training for a few months, while my injuries healed.

The following summer, I planned to make good on a 3 year old promise to run a marathon. While I trained all summer, I had not followed a real training plan and about halfway through my training I started getting soreness in my knees and had to slow down training. I decided to still keep my commitment for the full marathon in the fall. The race was hard and long. I never imagined it could be that long and lonely towards the end. I was determined to follow through on my goals and I finished the race, uninjured but way below my goal time, swearing never to attempt the distance again!

With the marathon distance conquered, I needed a new goal. I set my sights on a triathlon, having recently cheered for a friend of mine at a multisport event. You'll hear all about how training for the triathlon was in an upcoming year-in-review post where I'll go into more details of the various events of 2009.

Last week, I had 14 comments, so here is what the donation looks like:
Hopefully I didn't scare too many people away with my long winded reflection on my life changing decade and we can beat the 14 items that were donated for last week!

My snow run + Thank you!

Everyone else is posting about their snow experiences so here's my own :)

After postponing my run because of weather and schedule issues, yesterday was when I found the time to go and evaluate the state of the running trails for myself.
I was pleasantly surprised at first that the running paths were in a pretty good state until I reached the point where the cleaning team decided it didn't need to go any further.
Running in winter wasn't that bad. I could use the snow and slippery surface as an excuse to not push as fast. With the sun shining it was very comfortable. I completed the 8.5km in about 45 minutes so it was a pretty good run overall.

Thank you for all your comments yesterday. Needy families in Stittsville will appreciate the donations!

Tonight I'm pretty excited to go see the olympic flame reach on parliament hill. I hope to have the determination to wake up early tomorrow for a long run and perhaps glimpse the flame in motion as it passes through my neighbourhood (at 8am!)

Quiet week + C4C

It's been a very quiet week on the running front. The busy schedule early in the week combined with the snow storm in the middle of the week forced me to move my workouts indoor. It's funny how I was claiming I don't need a treadmill a few days ago. This week surely felt like I could use one! Hopefully I can find some time today to get out there for a short run.

Last week's Cans for Comments (C4C) yielded an impressive 9 cans (7 online comments + 2 offline). I cheated a bit and got some Nutella in place of a can. I'm sure no one will complain :)
My good friends at foodiePrints were kind enough to donate their own cans based on the number of comments on Saturday...

Let's see if we can do better this week. The rules are the same, for every visitor that leaves a comment on my blog, I will donate one can/food item to the Stittsville Food Bank. If you want to share the love, remember that Marlene is also doing Cans for Comments on her Mission to a(nother) marathon blog.

Tempo Lunch + Thank You!

After yesterday's failure to get out to run in the dark early morning, I was able to make a bit of time and go out for an early lunch run. Being a bit short on time, I made it a tempo run, thinking I could shave a few minutes that way.

Going back to a familiar route after a long absence from it is somewhat like seeing an old friend that moved out of town. While there has been a few changes over time, making things more interesting as you need to catch up, the basic features are the same and I was reminded why I liked this course so much that I ran it at least twice a week over 2 years ago.
I can't say that the whole run was easy, but it definitively felt better than my other runs since I started training again. I feel like I'm getting back in the thick of things and even if I didn't meet my goal of finishing under 50 minutes (I did 50:41 according to the watch) I am pretty satisfied with my speed with the following lap times:

• 4:44
• 5:02
• 5:14
• 5:06
• 5:09
• 5:11
• 5:13
• 4:42
• 4:53
• 4:56

Maybe Atomic's Serial Killaz helped me maintain a more steady pace throughout the 10km
Another week or two of catch up training and I will be ready to start a marathon training plan, hopefully in time to catch up with the Los Angeles Marathon. Anybody knows a good 12 week plan? I have a 16 week plan that I can probably compress a bit :)

And a big Thank You! to all that commented yesterday! I also received offline comments so I'll be adding cans for those as well.

Early failure + C4C

My schedule is getting really busy so it was with the best intentions that I set my alarm at 4:30am this morning so I could get my run in before I go to work. I even actually woke up in time and looked outside to convince my sleepy self that it would be dangerous to run that early in the darker than dark streets. To be fair, the area I live in is somewhat remote and any 5km or longer workout would need to include at least 1 or 2 km on a dark road with no sidewalks or lighting. So I went back to bed and enjoyed the extra hour and half before it was time to get ready for work. Hopefully I can squeeze in a run at lunch time (not very probable with my crazy schedule today) or after work if I still have the energy for it.

Today is Cans for Comments day (C4C). For every visitor that posts a comment on this entry, I will donate one can of food to the Stittsville Food Bank.

Sunday Rush

This Sunday is fairly busy for us so I set my alarm (yes, on a Sunday, runners are crazy that way!) and headed out in a beautiful chilly morning. I wanted to do 15k to see where my endurance level was after my little break from training. It was much tougher than I expected but I'm pretty satisfied with the results (1h20m).
It was nice to use the trans Canada trail for part of the run. I should take advantage of our good weather before the snow starts to be a problem. My pace profile was all over the place as I was trying to find my new comfortable level for longer distances.
I felt really good this morning. It was nice to feel the endorphin rushing in my blood. It had been a while since I got such a good "fix" ;)

The beats were pounding from my headphones with Transient 5 in the mix.

I decided to follow the lead of Marlene and Mel and get in the spirit of giving to those less fortunate and participate in cans for comments as well for every Friday in December. I don't have such a huge following as they have so I'll put myself out there and risk having to go to Costco to get all the required cans and pledge to donate a can for every individual that comments on my posts on Fridays.

We Won!

Actually, since it was a charity event, everybody wins!! That being said my department came in strong for our first year participating in the health challenge with first male finisher, first female finisher and 5 spots in the top 10!! I came in at #18 (of ~150) with a time of 22:31.5.

When I got to the site, the first thing I noticed, beside the frigid temperature, was that there were some pretty fast people. I'm talking running up and down, doing all kinds of weird stretching/jumping exercises fast people. I knew I wouldn't win for sure. Then the announcer got on the mike to let us know that it was partially a trail run and that some obstacles (trees amongst other things) were blocking parts of the path. He gave everyone a free pass for not PB'ing under these conditions: "We are not even sure the course is exactly 5km!".

Then the start siren came out of nowhere and we all started along. It was quite a fast start with everybody angling for their respective places. The course followed the street for a while and then we headed for the trails where things got twisty and slippery.

I hadn't run a trail at all this season so this was refreshing. I was really glad to follow someone going roughly the same speed as me. It would have been hard to pass someone in the forest and he was able to scout the trail for me. My only worry was keeping up.

Once I got out of the woods, I was able to increase my pace a bit and run side by side with my friendly leader from the wood for a while. Then I saw people ahead and decided to go fishing and reel them in. I think I was able to overtake one or two runners before heading over to the finish line. With about 250m to go, I realized someone was challenging me so I turned the afterburners on and had a really strong finish (first time I get yellow in the speed heatmap afaik).

I'm really happy about my run. I had a bit of soreness in the ankle in the morning before the run but after warming up I didn't feel it anymore. It's not really a PB, although being my first chipped 5k so it may count as that. My Garmin agreed with my colleague's that the course was 5.15k. The reception under the trees in the forest may have introduced a bit of error...

Lap times:

• 4:01
• 4:35
• 4:41
• 4:16
• 4:24

We'll definitively be back next year for another crack at the trophy that we didn't get since it is based on amount of participants (being a charity) rather than speed.

Surprise!

The surprise I was holding back on is that I am leaving for China in less than 2 weeks! Alex is going there on business, so I'm tagging along. In total we'll spend close to 5 weeks in China, starting in Shanghai where his business engagements are. We'll have about a week and a half after his business is complete to tour the country until we leave from Beijing.

I'm hoping to train a lot while he's busy at work so you'll definitively be along for the journey. Hopefully I can find some nice running routes even if Shanghai may not be the best place for a runner with all the traffic. If you are interested in following me with my non training activities, I've set up a new blog: Buzzing In Shanghai.

Lots of preparation to do, so that explains my lack of training this week. I have a charity race tomorrow where I'm hoping to make my department proud in a 4 way contest for the title of the healthiest department (I think that's what the bragging right is called!)

5k + Terry Fox Run

Sunday morning runs are my favorite. Even after a somewhat late night yesterday at a good friend's wedding, I managed to get up early (with an alarm on Sunday, that's how much I wanted it!). Today is special because I wanted to participate in the Terry Fox Run. Terry Fox was such an inspirational athlete and his dedication to raising money for cancer research resonates with me since quite a few of my loved ones have been affected by cancer.

The day began with a tempo 5k run to get to the start line:
I did pretty well with a total time of 22:37 with km times of:

• 4:21
• 4:38
• 4:40
• 4:26
• 4:31

The volunteers at the race looked at me funny getting to the race already hot and sweaty. They were very friendly and I was impressed by the amount of people showing up, hopefully we raised lots of money for research. The run itself was 10km and even if it was only for charity, I still enjoyed reeling in runners ahead of my and passing them one by one. I didn't even go that fast with a time of 51:13. I went home instead of onward to the finish line but the distance of 10km checks up. The knee is a bit sore today after a few months of not complaining, but that's nothing compared to the adversity that Terry faced as he ran across Canada.

Thanks Terry for the inspiration, the marathon of hope lives on.

Shoe Reward

I've been a bit quiet on the blogging front. This is not necessarily because I haven't trained, even if I did slow down a bit with only 2 stationary bike and 1 swim session in the last week. Unless you count participating in the Marche de la Mémoire, a walk to raise funds for the Alzheimer Society.

The reason why I haven't trained and blogged is simple: I started a new job today and have been real busy with the transition. It should take a few weeks before I settle down in the new position and have a regular schedule. Hopefully I can find a new groove that will work well with the new job.

On the running front, since I beat my PB a week ago, I am entitled to a reward! This runner is easily rewarded with a new pair of shoes! The design for my usual show, the Asics Nimbus has changed and made it uncomfortable for my big toe, so I went for the next best thing and got this model:

They are Saucony Progrid Triumph 6. A pretty fitting name for a reward shoe if you ask me!! I look forward to training in them and who knows, maybe Saucony will be my new brand from now on. I still think Asics makes some killer gel cushions and neat apparel. Hopefully the friendly shoe expert at the store is right and Asics will review the design to go back to the way it was before.