Refocussing

It's been a while. I'm refocussing and looking ahead to the Comox Valley half-marathon in March and other races in 2010. I'll post a report on the Victoria marathon shortly. Been lazy I guess.

Tonight, a swim: 5 x 200 m on 4:00. I think my times were 3:33, 3:35, 3:42, 3:44, 3:47. Then a 750 m swim in 14:25. Felt good but a ways to go.

Big Bike

Saturday I rode from 55km from Comox to Buckley Bay on the old highway then back home on the inland highway. Great ride but I flatted on the connect about 20 minutes from home. I averaged just under 30 km/hr so was pretty pleased. The cut from Buckley Bay up to the top of the inland highway was my own Mont Ventoux.

Cowichan Challenge

Since September of last year, I've been going about once a week to the sports centre and getting in an hour or so of swim time. Usually I drop in at the 'swim fit' class where the coach gives us a workout, which provides some good motivation to stay in the pool for that long. I've never been a swimmer so I find it tough to focus on doing more than 20 or 30 minutes in a row. Swimming with others and doing an actual workout though gets me swimming for longer. I also knew that swimming is my weakness in triathlon and anything would help (case in point - at the Cowichan Challenge in 2008 I finished the sprint event 9th overall (that is 7th fastest run, 8th fastest bike and 34th fastest swim - pretty evident where my focus could be). Between weekly swims and more bike/run sessions (averaging two good workouts each week) I've put more time in this year than in past years.

On Sunday, July 5, I did the "Cowichan Challenge" main event (1000 m swim in Fuller Lake, 34 km ride and 9 km run). About one hundred people entered and while I still only finished the swim in mid-pack (19:48) I felt good. I remember doing the 500 m swim last year and gasping throughout the swim, wishing it was over and getting sweet-relief from doing the backstroke for long stretches. This time around, I swam straight through (with the exception of not being able to keep a straight line - sorry to the three or four people I pulled away from a straight line :() and figure that's partly from my new QR wetsuit (care of Simon - thanks!) and partly from the extra time I put into the pool over the winter.

Once I got myself out of T1 (it was a disaster trying to get the wetsuit off because I forgot there was a chip/timer on my ankle) the bike was fun. A hilly ride through Crofton and the Chemainus valley with some fast descents and a couple of tough uphills. I managed 29.2 km/hr and am still in awe of anyone that maintains 34 km/hr over any course. How do you guys do it? Turns out my bike time was middle of the pack also. I was pleased with it and felt strong throughout but realize I can spend some more time getting my legs going for a faster ride (maybe a trainer for the garage over the winter??)

After T2 (much less of a disaster) I was in my element. Running has always been my strongest point and it was again here. The few brick workouts I squeezed in over the spring paid off as I found my legs right away. There weren't any awkward hobbles right off the bike. I guess that even the bricks where I only ran a km or two off the bike even helped. I finished the run in the top 20 in the field for a 33rd overall placing (5th of 11th in my age group).

A good day in the sun and a great event. Lots of friendly volunteers and organizers and I'd recommend the race to all.

Now on to the summer. I'm still looking at the Victoria marathon in October but have to get my long runs in. Also thinking about the Sooke Subaru triathlon in September. It would be my first Olympic distance...

James

Fartlek?

It works. I did my lunch-run yesterday, as I try to do a couple/few times each week. It's a 5.7 km route and when I first ran it in September 2007 I think my time then was about 27 minutes. This year I hadn't gone under 23 minutes but yesterday I ran 45 seconds quick, 15 rest for the whole run and finished in 22:40. And it was hot!

Breaking 40

Breaking 40 - minutes that is, not years. One goal I have is to go under 40 minutes on a 10 k run. I know I've come close in training but I want to break 40 minutes in a 10 k race. Today I ran 9.74 according to Nike Plus and it looked like I was on track to go sub-40 but the hills on Pritchard and Noel (deceptive as it is) must have slowed me down a fair bit because I finished in 41:24. Ah well, a good effort despite the time. I raced the Comox Valley Tri-K on Sunday. Finished first in my age class and carved 45 seconds off of last year's swim and 90 seconds off the run. I did the 5 k run in just over 21 minutes. I was pleased but then seeing the teenagers' winning times with near 40km/hr bikes and 18 minute runs made me realize how much faster those kids can go. Good on em. How do you maintain a 40 km per hour ride over 20 km? I am impressed.

Next event? Probably the Cowichan main triathlon in July. 1000 m swim with Olympic distance bike and run. If I do that race I'll have no trouble justifying a couple of rums with Dave the next weekend.

First Post

I'm just starting posting to this blog. I've been watching a few other blogs and posts and like the way some people have compiled pretty good histories of their races and experiences.

In 2009 I'm focussing on a few sprint and maybe an Olympic distance triathlon with a few road races. I've already ran the Comox Valley half marathon and am signed up for the Comox Valley Tri-K in May. After that I haven't committed to any other races.

About myself, I have been married to Christine for nearly 6 years and we have two beautiful girls. Emma is 4 and a half and Abigail is 2. Emma and I will sometimes go for a "run" after I've come home from a workout. Abby is just starting to talk and likes to say "Daddy run" when I'm putting on my shoes or shorts. Fun.

I'll try to post a few times a week as I do workouts or come across fun reads.

Victoria, October 2008

Sunday, October 12, 2008
Royal Victoria Marathon
My 42.195 km

Prologue – My Dad and I are just outside of the Wax Museum with five minutes to go before the start of the 8 km road race. I'll be on the start line of the marathon in about an hour but am here to watch for my Mum in the 8k. (She would go on to finish 6th in her age group and was very pleased with herself.) We never did see Mum start the race but Simon Whitfield showed up and had no one to look after his daughter while he raced the 8 km. Turns out he was looking for a teammate who was supposed to be there to do some daycare. Dad offered to watch Pippa for the race or until Simon's teammate showed up. So Simon hopped the barrier to start the race (finished 3rd overall), Dad got to look after Pippa for a few minutes until the teammate did arrive, and I headed off to the start line.

Pro-prologue – I made the decision to train and race in the marathon sometime in August. I had been training with two or three short runs each week and most Sundays I would run a progressively longer long run. By mid-August I figured I was on track and not getting injured and could then complete the race. My longest long run before October 12 was 34 km and I had three over 30 km so I figured that should get me across the line. I wasn't expecting to finish the marathon easily but was confident I could finish strong. A bacterial infection and 10 days on antibiotics in late-September wasn't part of the program but you have to take the good with the bad...

8:30 am – The race started well. My goal pace was 4:30 kilometers and from past races, I know I tend to start fast. So after the first three or so kilometers when I was on track, I felt good. Some of the uphill kilometers were a bit slower but I made up the time on the downhill. At 10 km I was just under 45 minutes. So again, I was on track. I skipped the first water stop but ate one of my power gels and started taking in water soon after the 10 km mark.

9:30 am – Between the 10 and 20 km marks, I slowed down some. I realized I wasn't staying on my 4:30 pace but that didn't matter. I still felt strong and during some stretches would pick up my pace for five to 10 minutes at a time.

10:12 am – I crossed the half-way mark at 1 hour, 42 minutes. Two or three kilometers past half-way, I noticed my first cramp. It hit me in my right thigh and the cramp tried to pull my leg higher up. I forced my foot down and carried on. Every few minutes after that I would get another cramp. I made sure to take in water at every station.

10:30 am – Christine and Emma and my Dad arrived at the finish line. I told them I might be crossing around the 3 hour mark and they didn't want to miss me.

10:45 am – I think it was the 28 km mark where I actually had to stop running and stretch. Cramps in my thighs, calves and knees (knees???) nearly made me collapse. All I could do was shuffle/walk or stretch. After a stretch I could shuffle/walk another few minutes. Many times between 28 and 35 km or so I figured it would be much easier to flag down someone for a ride back to the start line. However, the thought of crossing the finish line (even in a hobbled state) was enough to keep me going.

11:40 am – 3 hours, 10 minutes. This was the cutoff time to qualify for the Boston Marathon for my age group. Before the race I had thought I might finish in 3:10. I was somewhere in Oak Bay when 3:10 came and went.

12:10 pm – Some marathons have “pace bunnies” that runners can run with. The bunnies usually finish within a few minutes of the time marked on their ears. I was just going past Clover Point (still four or five km from the finish) when the four hour pace bunny and his entourage blew past me.

12:30 pm – Four hours into my race and the kilometers were flying by now. I had less than two kilometers to go and could taste the finish line. My goal at that time was to run (and by that I mean shuffle/jog) the final straight stretch along Belleville Street in front of the spectators. Turned out that was a bit too ambitious and I again had to walk one more time. As soon as I could see the finish line, I started jogging again and then saw my Dad and Christine and Emma cheering me on. Emma had made a great sign and I think they were mostly relieved to see me, not knowing where I was for the past 2+ hours.

12:39 pm – I crossed the line in 4:09:21.The race started out great. The weather was great. My preparation, I thought, was good. The infection certainly didn't help and the antibiotics probably were the worst offender. The race itself was the most physically challenging event I've ever done and my body took the better part of a week to recover (one toe nail still doesn't look right). And I'll do it again. Running that marathon and knowing the preparation it takes to get to the start line made it worth the effort. The result could have been much better and that's what I'll work to next time.

Out.