Posts of Go The Distance

Tamarindo Beach Marathon, 17 Sept 2011

2011-09-21T16:55:00.029Z

Well, after a devastating run at the QCM, I was looking forward to something more memorable.

Luckily, the TBM was it. Knowing I was only going to run a half marathon helped. Also, knowing it was in Costa Rica so it would be a "vacation run" helped. After the QCM, we were so busy getting ready for the trip and I was so disinterested in running, that I did not run at all between the QCM and the TBM.

It worked out fantastic. Fantastic trip to Guanacaste (from San Jose, CR) and the whole weekend went super excellent. The race itself started at 5AM (to beat the heat) and as it turned out, only the last 1/2 hr or so of the run was really hot. There were about 2,500 people running in all the events, which consisted of 5k, 10k, half, 30k, and full marathon. Unfortunately, there were Kenyans there, and they cleaned up. There were 3 Kenyans in the race, and a Kenyan won the full, half, and 30k events.

The weather was expectedly hot. About 23c and 85% humidity at race time. I was hoping this would be a decent run, and knew there was no way I was going to get a PB this time. So I just ran it and tried not to force myself too much. It went pretty good. I kept to my own pace, but still was passing people from the start, to near the end of the race. I finished the race strong and was happy with my effort. I probably could have taken off another 5 minutes had I really pushed myself - but I decided not to and am glad I ran it that way, since it made the rest of the day that much better. My final time was 1:57:14, which was 284th overall, (out of about 900 in the half) and 7th out of 24 in my age group. For a vacation run in the heat, I was happy with the results.

The run was organized very well. It started right on time and the water/gaterade stations were every 2k and there was alot of excitement during the race. Lots of people on the side of the road cheering everyone as they ran by.   The scenery was fantastic and there was little elevation change. The race was on the roads (which they closed at 4AM) and so was asphalt all the way.   The medal is probably the nicest one I've gotten so far - colorful, big, descriptive, etc.

If there was a negative it would be that the strictness of the race dissipated after a while. By the end of the half marathon, runners who had finished and their friends and family, were walking and standing in the middle of the road, while other runners were trying to finish.   Anyone who finished after about the 2 hr half marathon mark, had to dodge and weave through people and cars the last KM or so.   This was another reason I was glad to have done the half.   Although we saw people running the full as we were on our way out of town (those people would have finished in the 5 or 5 1/2 hr mark) - by that time the roads were open so they were having to deal with the traffic - lots of traffic on a small highway with no shoulders.   In my view, the last half of the race for the full marathoners was probably dangerous becuase of the traffic, if not because of the heat.

In any event, although my race times seem to be consistently slow, the enjoyment I got out of this race definitely brought me out of my depressive state after the QCM.

Next up is a 10k in the middle of San Jose - International 10k Costa Rica - Sunday 25 Sept.    I'm going to give that one all I have, since it's only 10k, and see if I can finish in around 45 or 50 minutes.

Queen City Marathon - 11 Sept 2011

2011-09-12T16:22:35.120Z

Let's just forget that one even happened...

Changes

2011-09-10T15:44:34.327Z

We are here on the eve of the QCM 2011, an event itself worth blogging about - many changes this year. However I will save that blogging for after the race.

In the mean time, I hope you enjoy the new site and the new format. There may be some bugs with missing or bad links on photos, but please bear with me as I iron out the last few pieces of the blog site move. I moved from a WordPress blog to a Google site, if anyone is interested in knowing that.

Lots to blog about in the next few weeks - but one thing at a time.

QCM 2011 is tomorrow. Time to head out for a final 5k warmup.

Sinister 7, July 8th 2011

2011-09-10T15:43:38.870Z

What a race! Sinister 7 is one of those epic trail races that just begs you to do it. If you are unfamiliar with the Sinister 7, check out the web site: http://www.sinister7.com/ In short, it is summarized thusly:

Total Distance: 148km
Stages: 7 stages ranging from 12km to 35km
Elev. Change: Gain: 5,250m / Loss: 5,250m
Duration: 27 hours to complete the entire course

Now you may be thinking that 148 km is probably too far for most people. This year, only 13 women and 24 men finished the whole distance solo. Which is why most of us join a team.

I got an invite to join a team only a few weeks before the event. I jumped at the chance right away, and am really glad I did. The team I was on was team #108, “2 hot girls and their muses”. I was tagged as muse #3, since I was to run leg 3 of the race. Everyone on the team was really super nice and we were all just out to have fun, and finish. All fun – no stress except what you put on yourself.

John, Andrew, Tracy, Jake, Kevin, Kim, Bill.

We all ran as decent as expected and Andrew crossed the finish line for us at about 02:39, giving us a total time of about 19:39:30, which was good enough for 71st place in the team category.

Many people compare this race to the Death Race in Grand Cache. Although there are similarities (super long ultra race in mountainous terrain) there are also really a lot of difference as well. Not only on the ground, but especially on the organization of the race itself. While the DR is showing signs of organization “glitches”, this Sinister 7 race had absolutely nothing to complain about – lots of food, great volunteers, great course markings, super transition areas, and anything else that you can think of that makes it a good race – was there.

Bill at leg 3 finish

On a personal level, I found this race very tough – even though I only ran one leg of 35 km, it was enough for me. Although I would one day love to run something like this solo, it is definitely not in the cards for at least a few years – and even then in the condition that I can learn a lot more about myself with respect to hydration and nutrition beyond the 30 km point of a race. Perhaps one day, but it will be later rather than sooner.

In summary, the whole weekend was absolutely fantastic. I saw friends whom I had not seen in many months, and our team spirit and general enjoyment of the race was not beaten by anyone. With the exception of a few scrapes and bruises, and some apparently bad vanilla gel that caused a stomach ache, it was a perfect weekend of running. I hope that I will be able to have the chance to run this one again next year.

Ketchup

2011-09-10T15:43:09.709Z

It has been a very long time since I’ve updated this blog – so this post is just to ketchup on all my activities.

In a nutshell, great year. On a personal level, I seem to have reached the point where I am not seeing big gains in results, so I figure I am probably reaching a plateau which will now require me to work much harder for lesser results. This may hinder a good training plan, but that is yet to know for sure.

I’ve caught up on my Race History/Agenda page – and will make an effort to at least keep that up to date. Otherwise, if I don’t blog right after an event, it will probably not get blogged about, since it is really only the enthusiasm of any event that pushes me to blog in the first place.

The one other thing to note on a personal training level, is that I believe I have done too much racing and not enough training during the Spring of 2011. This is echoed by the lack of PBs in the races themselves, and the fact that knee and calf muscles have been sore lately, which is unusual. Therefore, my plan will be to not race anything big until QCM 2011, with the possible exception of a 10k on Aug. 28th.

Thanks for reading!

Moose Jawg, 01 July 2010ntitled Post

2011-09-10T15:42:17.278Z

What could be better than celebrating Canada Day with a 10 km run? Not much, if you ask the participants of the 9th annual Moose Jawg, with proceeds going to their local hospital foundation.

Moose jawg 2010

This one I ran last year and enjoyed it, so I thought I would run it again. This year the weather was again super. Mostly sunny and although a little warm, it was bearable. I like this course. It winds through the trees and areas in Wakamaw Valley and uses both road and some trails (well, gravel roads moreso than trails) and as a 10 km event, it feels “busy”, but not over crowded. The water stations were great, the fans were great, and there was even a band playing Celtic music along the route. This event is always fun and friendly, which is why I would like to do it again next year.

I decided to do this race just to see how my 10 km race time was coming along. To my pleasant surprise, it is coming along nicely. Another Personal Best. I managed to finish 5th in my age group, and 29th overall, with a time of 0:45:39.

Moose Jawg 10k Age Group results
Moos Jawg 10k Overall results

The pancake breakfast was nice, and again I had a nice visit with friends which added to the enjoyment of the event.

Next up – Canadian Death Race – Leg 5, on July 31st, 2010

Kananaskis 100 mile relay, 19 June 2010

2011-09-10T15:40:43.614Z

I’ve heard about the K-100 since last summer. People said great things about it. So I wanted to participate. The K-100 is a 100 MILE relay from Longview, Alberta (just south of Calgary) around (West) on highway 40 [mostly] and then as #40 winds North, the race continues to the Nakiska Ski hill, just north of Kananaskis Village. This is a 10 person relay event, and I was lucky and found a team which included a few friends from Regina.

First off – the scenery. The Kananaskis area is absolutely magnificent. I made me wish I had a high quality digital camera in order to captures some of the fabulous views that I experienced. As it was, all I had was my iPhone camera, so the picture quality is minimal. You’ll just have to imagine the extra sharpness, colours, and fine quality that are associated with a better picture.

Animals on the highway

Woodpecker in Kananaskis VIllage

Lower Kananaskis Lake

I have more images of the K-100 on my Facebook image album; click here.

The K-100 is run almost entirely on the highway. The only exceptions are the last 2 legs of the race. And luckily, I got one of them. I ran leg 9, which was 90% trail run. And it was as beautiful as everyone said it was. That helped in doing well, since that was scenery that I was not used to – and absorbing the fabulous streams, rivers, and occasional elk just made my day. My leg of the race started on the edge of the highway, but the trail run was mostly around the Kananaskis village area, finishing at the Nakiska ski hill. If you’re wondering how my leg of the race, and the 10th leg of the race can finish at the same place (yes, it does) then you are correct if you jump to the reasoning that the last leg of the race is an “out and back” run. Leg 10 starts and ends at the ski hill. Even though I’ve only run this race one time, from everything I know I would say that leg 9 was the choice pick for the race. If I do this again next year, I think I will try and get this leg again. It was so peaceful and quiet and beautiful. A sharp contrast to most of my running around Regina.

The race consisted of 169 teams. Some were uber competitive, and others were struggling. Our team finished about mid-pack. finishing 79th overall. We were team #203, called Fast Forward.

Here is our team’s times: K-100FastForward

I finished my leg of the race in 44th place, with a time of just over 1:06, which I was happy with. After the race I met most of the team, and had a great visit with my friends from Regina, and also with an old high school friend who I’ve only seen a few times in recent years. It was a great event and I’m looking forward to running this one next year.

Next up, Moose Jawg 10 km on July 1st, 2010

Death Race Training Camp, 11 June 2010

2011-09-10T15:38:34.525Z

Ok, so everyone (or most everyone) knows about the now infamous Canadian Death Race. The 125 km ultra marathon trail race through the low mountains of northern Alberta. This is it’s 10th year, btw. I never had any intention of running that whole race solo (which many people do) because I’m just not ready. But I wanted to participate – so I found a team. Our 5 person team is called Speed Kills. I’ve been looking forward to this one since we registered in January. Anyway, this event is so intense, that the organizers have annual training camps, which are great opportunities to see the whole course, over a 3 day period. I had to take advantage of this great opportunity.

Grande Cache, if you weren’t aware, is about 4 hours West of Edmonton, and about 1 and 1/2 hrs drive North and West of Hinton. It’s a great little town. There isn’t much there, however. It used to be a mining town, but then it died out. They revived it somewhat by getting a penitentiary built in the neighbourhood. This has helped over the last number of years. The other major event that they have is this Canadian Death Race. It takes place every year on the August long weekend. And the t raining camp, as I have found out, is an excellent way to see the whole course, if you haven’t experienced it before. What makes it great is that you get to see the whole course over the weekend, not at once, and also part of the schedule calls for trail biking part of the course, so you don’t actually run the whole thing.

Over the course of the weekend of June 11th, our group ran/walked/hiked about 85 km, and rode about 26 km more – which is abotu 111 out of the 125 km course. There was a 7 km stretch of leg 5 (from the start of that leg) to the river crossing, which most people ran on the Friday night. I missed it however, because I was too fatigued from the day run. And there was about another 7 km that was fairly boring and inconsequential to the whole course, and so was also left out.

Camping in Grande Cache

The weather for the training camp weekend was fantastic. And lucky too. I spent the week before the training camp in Grande Cache. Wanted to try my hand at camping. It wasn’t really so bad, except that the weather was rather cold and damp. It rained every day for at least about half the day it seemed, and remained overcast for most of the days. As I wanted to be well rested for the camp, I had arranged for a hotel room for the weekend. In retrospect, I’m glad I did that. Even though the week before the camp was damp and cold, the sun came out late Thursday afternoon, and then on Friday and the weekend, it was mostly sunny, warmer, and it only rained one time that I recall, and not for very long. And then as strangely as the great weather appeared late Thursday, it vanished again on Sunday afternoon, and when I left the next day it was again cool and overcast.

On the Friday, we hiked/ran leg 2 of the race, which is the most technical leg. It’s not the longest, but there are more ups and downs, and “through the trees” hard to keep your step, places. There are two smaller mountains – Flood and Grand – and in between them is the infamous area known as “Slugfest”. Let’s just say that it is appropriately named. I think it’s about 5 km through Slugfest, but it feels like at least twice that. Mossy, steep, with lots of round rocks on which to slip and fall. I didn’t take any pictures while running this leg – I spent my time trying to stay upright through all the mayhem. The average time to run this leg is between 4 and 6 hours. I think I finished around 4:45 however we missed about 2 or 3 km at the end. The full leg finished right in the town, whereas we all stopped a few km out for the sake of convenience. It was this leg of the race on Friday that wiped me out to the point where I did not participate in the night run that evening – which was only 5 km piece of leg 5. I wish I would have ran that one though.

As I recall, on the Saturday we biked half of leg 1, and then ran/hiked leg 4, which is the assault on Mount Hamel. 37 km. This is, although longer than leg 2, easier in many respects in that it is just brute force uphill and downhill. The paths are good and the most technical parts are trying to walk/hike where the slope is steep and the path is mainly small rocks and loose gravel. I took a spill on the downside of Mount Hamel, drew some blood, but was not a significant injury and I was able to continue fairly easily. At the end of the the day, I felt noticeably more alive than I did at the end of Friday’s events. Saturday night there was an informal pasta supper and most people attended. It was great to sit down and chat with people from all over the land about the impending race. Here are a few images from the Mount Hamel adventure.

Summit of Mount Hamel

Me on the Summit

Climbing Mount Hamel

I have a more images in my Facebook photo album, click here.

The weekend was a great success. I met many great people, heard many great stories, and got many great ideas for nutrition and running in general. I was really glad I went, and want to go back next year. For someone who is running the race solo and is not familiar with it, I would definitely recommend it. If all goes well over the winter and into the spring, I am thinking seriously about doing this Death Race solo next year.

Next up, the K-100. Kananaskis 100 mile relay from Longview, Alberta, to Kananaskis Village on June 19th, 2010.

Banff-Jasper Relay, 05 June 2010

2011-09-10T15:34:37.697Z

The summer running season continues along with a collection of June events in Alberta. June 5th was the Banff Jasper Relay. The 15 person, 258 KM trek from Banff to Jasper. Background: the race is a 15 person relay, with two stages running simultaneously, so that all runners can run in the daylight. The South stage and the North stage both start at 7:00 AM. The South is 6 legs, finishing at Sask River Crossing. The Notrh is 9 legs, starting at Sask River Crossing and finishing in Jasper. I ran this last year and really enjoyed it, so I made the effort to do it again this year. This year the team was about to fall apart due to many people from last year choosing not to run ii this year (or at least choosing not to run with us this year. Hmmm…) So, I ended up taking over the captain’s chair, and was able to get a group together and get registered for the run. About 1/2 the team was new. At that point of the organization, I was just happy to have 15 committed people ready to run. I never had any concerns about fast people versus slow people, and we all agreed that it was a fun run, and we weren’t in it to be truly competitive. Still, 5 of our team finished within the top 7 for their leg – very impressive! Most of the rest of us finished middle of the back or slower. All in all at the end of the day, our team was in 18th place, out of 35 teams that finished. Just 1 spot below middle of the pack. For a new team with so many new runners, I considered that to be a great finish, especially considering our goal was just to have fun.

Click to enlarge

That said, we all try to do our best. You drive for 10 or 12 hours to get there – one thing is for sure, and it’s that you will run your best! As no one on our team was interested in tackling the toughest leg of the run (stage 9 – Big Bend) I volunteered to do it. I thought by doing so it would generate more excitement (since no one would worry about having to run that leg.) In all honesty, there were enough logistic issues that my only concern was finishing. However, when all was set and the run was under way, all my organizational headaches went away and my mind was free to simply enjoy the run. My guestimation for leg 9 was that I could do it in about 1:45 or so. The weather was pretty good – about 5c and overcast. We got some rain and some hail while running up the hill – was noticablely irritating, but the hail stones weren’t big enough to really hurt, so it didn’t appear to affect anyone. I was quite happy while passing 3 or 4 people on the uphill. However, once done the biggest hill of the leg, I was quickly passed by about 1/2 dozen (younger) speedsters, which put me back in my place. I did finish the run strong and excited, but only managed about 23rd place out of 38 or so teams. I was however quite happy with my time of 1:25:29.

Here is a description of leg 9. BJR-stage9

Much like last year, I only met about 1/2 the team. The distance of the race is so great, and personal conditions are such that it is just not the best race for such mixed team. We had 6 people from Saskatoon, 3 from Whitecourt, Alberta, 4 from Jasper, one from B.C., and me. The Saskatoon people all needed to get back home my Sunday evening, and so considering the distance, they did not drive up to Jasper for the post-race activities.

All in all, it was pretty much what I expected: great team mates, absolutely beautiful scenery (made me which I had a really good digital SLR camera), great weather, and all in all, a fun time. It’s never cheap to drive to Banff and back [from Regina], especially since I was by myself, but still – it was a great experience. I will probably do this one again next year. The biggest time issue was just organizing the team.

Lessons learned:
1. Don’t book a room at the Crossings Motel, at Sask River Crossing. It is horribly expensive, (along with fuel) and it’s rather noisy, and nothing special. There are plenty of Hostel’s along that highway, and most are in the range of about $25 per night. Fewer amenities, but a warm place to sleep is really all one needs. Actually, a camping spot near Jasper would also save one at least another $100.
2. Organize sooner. Although I didn’t have the chance to do it this year, next year I will organize much earlier. I believe that at the point where all runners are committed and have paid their registration, stress [to me, as captain] drops at least 80%. Which goes a long way to enjoy the weeks before the trip.
3. Car pool or drive slower. I could save at least 30% in cost of fuel by driving 95kmph rather than 115. On a 20 hour drive (return trip to Canmore/Banff) that represents about $60, or 1 tank of gas. Substantial. A better solution yet would be to car pool – although that’s tough when I’m the only one from Regina going, as well as the need to be at a different part of the highway as the rest of your team (on time for the start of your leg) as well as the possibility/probability of needing to support other runners. Still…

If you want to see more images from the Banff – Jasper area, and a few from the race, check out my facebook image album, by clicking here.

Next up: Canadian Death Race Training – next weekend! (June 11th, 2010)

Fargo Marathon – 22 May 2010

2011-09-10T15:30:16.441Z

So after the Minot half marathon run, I was really hyped to stick with the last month of a 3:30 training plan in order to nail the Fargo Marathon. Time to rest, time to plan, nice schedule in place – my plan was good. So we pack up the truck and the family and head for Fargo. While I was really hoping I could run a 3:30 marathon, in retrospect it was quite ambitious, considering that my previous best was only 3:51. However, I had ambition on my side.

Forecast for race day – Overcast, rain, and high humidity. The Friday night of the weekend there was a 5k family fun run/walk. The race was organized with an added incentive – called the GoFar challenge. All you had to do was run the 5k on Friday, and then either the full or half marathon on Saturday, and there it was – an extra medal. So naturally I figured I had to do that. And I did.

Friday began with a pasta supper at 4pm. Guest speaker – none other than the ultra marathon man, Dean Karnazes. Although the meal sucked, Dean’s presentation was pretty good. He spoke about motivation for running, and included his 10 minute video clip of him being on the David Letterman show. It was pretty decent.

Anyway, the Friday night run was good. My plan was to treat it as a calm, slow, relaxing run since the marathon was the next day. Normally I run 3k the day before anyway, so I figured what’s 2k more between friends. It was a crowded, but fun run and worth doing.

Saturday morning was cold and raining. Not heavy, but just enough so that you knew you were cold. And often runners will tell you that’s a good thing. I would have to agree with that also. The rain lasted about 1/2 hour or so, and then the sun came out and it got warm – and humid. I was feeling pretty good all the way through the first half of the run, making the 1/2 way point at 1:45:06, which had me on track for a 3:30 finish. However, it was not to be. For reasons which probably ranged from improper and bad timing with hydration and nutrition, to unexpected heat and humidity, to running the first half too fast – all factored in to give me a poor finish. I knew just past the half way point that I would not make the 3:30. My legs were just done. I was not too depressed – I knew I would finish and once I knew I wasn’t going to make my Boston Qualifying time, I just sauntered to the finish. The finish line was indoors, at the FargoDone, and the last 100 metres or so was also downhill. The only excitement for me was those last hundred metres where I sprinted past about 3 or 4 people just before the finish. It doesn’t seem to matter how tired I am at that point in the race – I seem to be able to sprint for that last 10 – 15 seconds to cross the line.

There were plenty of pictures thisd time. However, they were taken by a professional group, and I did not feel like paying $54 (USD) to have a digial copy of me crossing the finish line. So below are some small images of the race – maybe you can tell it’s me there, or maybe not. SInce they were free, it’s all good.

Oh, final race time: 4:06 something. There’s also an image here of a snapshot of the timing results from the website.

All in all, I’d give this one an 8/10 as well. Well organized and well supported. Fan support was great and definitely worth doing again.

Next up: Banff Jasper – June 5th.

Click on the image below to see the smaller text.

That’s the Fargo Marathon for 2010.

I think I might like to do this one again some time.

It was a great experience and it’s always nice to go to the USA for some running and cheap beer.

The race was very crowded, but by and large, everyone was happy and glad to be there.

The jumbotron was a plus. You could see yourself on the jumbotron as you ran by at the start, and as you run into the finish. People inside the FargoDome could watch people in real time as they got closer to the finish. It made it very nice for Patricia and the kids to watch me come in – they knew I was only a few minutes away, and watched me cross the finish line.

It was a tough race. I felt dizzy and nautious. Still, a good day.

Half Marathon – Minot, N.D. 24 April 2010

2011-09-10T15:29:22.528Z

Wanting to be part of some social group of some sort, I embarked on a van ride to Minot with some friends for the Minot Marathon which was held on April 24th. It was really a great trip. The weather was pretty good the whole way. And during the run, there was only a small breeze to contend with. Mostly sunny, and about 10c as I recall. Perfect running weather.

While some in the van were as interested in shopping as they were in running, it made for a relaxed weekend in fact. And since I was only running the half, and not interested this time of getting any personal bests, I was more relaxed than usual before the run. This was my first time to the Minot Marathon, so that also made it interesting. Most everything about it was good, to very good, however like almost every race, there are one or two quirks. Although the race when off without a hitch and the weather was great, we did not have timing chips, and the results were manual. Cross the finish line, the person yells the time and then grabs the bottom part of your bib, rips it off, then writes the time down on it, and hands it in to the front desk, where they manually post it.

So the results weren’t “cut and paste”able, however I think I got second in my age group and finished the half marathon in 1:47:08. Not too bad, considering at the half way point, there was a hill which was very comparable to the Lumsden hill. Plus I had to make a bathroom stop at the bottom of that hill. So I’m sure I lost at least 3 or 4 minutes between the two. All in all it was a great relaxed run. I even had enough energy when it was all over to go shopping with the crowd.

Once again, no photos I’m afraid. Just one photo when I crossed the finish line, but it wasn’t a good one. And I seem to have misplaced it.

I’d give this trip an 8/10. I’d definitely go back if I could go with some friends again and make it a relaxing and fun weekend.

RPS Half Marathon – 18 April 2010

2011-09-10T15:27:48.389Z

The Regina Police Service Half Marathon is an annual event in April which tests contestants on a 21.1 km route in Regina. I ran this one last year and enjoyed it very much. In April the weather is usually acceptable, and it often feels like Spring while running this race. This year, I ran the race only two weeks after my Gopher Attack Marathon, where I ran a PB of 3:51. My Spring focus was on the Gopher Attack, so I had no ambitions or expectations of doing better than average for the RPS. That said, I was delighted with my result.

Place	Race#	Name	Gun Time	Div/Tot	Sex/Tot	Div	City	Net Time	Pace
54	61	Bill BROWN	1:40:37.20	14/61	46/192	M4049	Regina SK	1:40:25.84	4:46

This adds confidence to my training which coincides with the general idea that rest is as important as training – the training breaks down the muscle fibres and the rest allows them to build back up just a bit stronger. I will definitely be working rest breaks into future training schedules.

No pictures for this run, but certainly it is one I will remember.

Springtime Gopher

2011-09-10T15:26:48.810Z

It feels so good when you dedicate many weeks of training, and it pays off with a real good race. Such was the case for me of late. I jumped into week 8 of a 16 week 3:45 marathon training schedule from the John Stanton book of Running. That was in early January. Training went very well and I had a great half marathon on Feb. 28th. New personal best 1:43:50 for 21.1 km. Continued on for another month, and on April 2nd, I ran the annual Gopher Attack Marathon in Regina. On the new, Boston Certified out and back course, I managed another personal best for marathon distance, as I was able to complete the full 42.2 km in 3:51:05. I was very happy with time and improvements over the last few months and have good confidence I can continue to improve over the summer and at this point I may try to Boston Qualify in September.

The weather was almost perfect for the race – it was cool in the morning and about 10c or so and sunny by the end of the race.

PB for marathon distance

Next race: Regina Police Service Half Marathon, 18 April 2010

Marathon Preparathon

2011-09-10T15:25:46.436Z

Well – only a few days until my next marathon. I’ve been thinking, and I really believe that the most relaxing days of the whole process is the week before a big run. That’s because at that point, there is nothing more to do from a physical training perspective. Nothing you do physically the week before the big run will get you a better time. Thus, there is no pressure to “get out there” and hit the pavement for that extra mileage. The only focus is on nutrition. This time around, I am trying to spend at least 5 pre-race days with eating habits such as I would have the day before the race. Oatmeal in the morning, and pasta at night, mostly. At least some sort of pasta. as a side dish, or the main dish. Caffeine intake decreased, and increase in glasses of water every day.

In analyzing previous marathons, I found that I just burned out at about the 32 to 34 KM point in the race. Therefore, the trick for me is to add better nutrition for a longer period of time before race day, as well as to better manage my fluids intake during the race. Also, I plan to try and maintain about a 5:20 – 5:30 pace for 42.2 KMs. That, as opposed to doing a faster pace and potentially burning out. If I can maintain that 5:25 pace over the distance and finish strong, I will make my 3:45 goal. More importantly, however, I will be poised to attempt a 3:30 on September 12. BQ.