A Passion for Running

Besides the photos on this page there is also a must-see photo here.
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@ about 18 miles

the big, happy finish line

Warning: This is going to be a long post so strap yourself in!
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I’ve had a few days to think about Sunday’s race. Some good things, some not-so-good things, and some puzzling things happened.

Before I get to into all that, I’ll start by saying I’m happy - very happy - about the result so please don’t take anything I say below to mean that I’m unsatisfied because that would not be correct. This post is simply about learning some lessons so next time can be even better. I think this sort of thing should end on a positive note so I’m going to start with the puzzling and not-so-good stuff.

Puzzling: I’m starting here because the puzzling stuff really set the tone for the race.

We runners often hear that race day jitters can cause heart rate to be higher than what we’re accustomed to in training, but what mine did really caught me by surprise. My heart rate jumped so quickly, and to such a high number of beats per minute that I was really quite shocked. If you read my race report, you have a sense of the struggle I had over deciding what to do about my unusually high heart rate. I slowed down and sped up a few times in the first five miles whilst deciding on strategy and, truthfully, the anxiety never fully left me until very late in the marathon (when the pain made puzzlement pretty much impossible).

I had a talk with the M.D. who sits near me at work. He told me I can chalk the heart rate effect up to a surge of adrenalin in my system. In other words, race jitters = adrenaline = high heart rate. Strange, because I did not feel nervous at the marathon. I guess I was more anxious that I was aware.

Lessons: Next time I will not worry if my heart rate is high and focus primarily on running by effort. I may also look into some pre-race relaxation techniques (e.g. meditative breathing).

Not So Good: The best way to run a marathon is to build up to race pace gradually and then run a steady pace from there. I did not execute this concept very well.

Of course, the first few miles were inconsistent due to problems I had managing my heart rate, but those first miles were only the beginning of my troubles. The bigger problem happened when I picked up “tag-along”. I made a BIG mistake here - I let my anxiousness spur me on to run mile 16 in 7:11. That mile really hurt me (no surprise there) and I had to battle for NINE miles after to get in at 3:30.

Lessons: I’m not mad or terribly disappointed about how I handled tag-along. After all, it was an entirely new experience for me! That said, next time I get a tag-along, I won’t waste any time telling that person to run his or her own race. I will also do a much better job managing how I react (i.e. will not increase my pace!).

Good: The first positive from the race is that - heart rate issues aside - I ran the first 15 miles very well. These were very smooth, steady miles. The small variations in pace were mostly attributable to changes in the course (up/downs + curve negotiation). Andrew has rightly pointed out that my pace was creeping a bit in the couple of miles prior to picking up tag-along. He also mentioned the creep was “not too bad”. I agree and think that even with that bit of pace creep, I felt very smooth at that point in the race. I do not think it hurt me.

The second positive is a spin on the whole “tag-along” experience. Acquiring Mr. Tag-along marks a new phase in my marathon running career - a phase that was born in Red Deer, but that made itself crystal clear in Regina. The phase is my newborn fondness for competition - for racing. What do I mean? Well, in my first six marathons, the goal was always internal. Meaning, that I never raced against other people. Back then, my focus was simple - to complete the distance in a set amount of time.

Starting in Red Deer, I began to develop some external competitiveness. By “external”, I mean that I was no longer competing with just myself - I was also competing with other runners. I can honestly say I never thought that in a marathon I would have the drive to win over other runners! I can also honestly say that, now that I’ve tasted it (twice), I love it! My favorite thing to do in the later miles of a marathon is to pass people. Sweet.

The tag-along connection is that, for the first time in a marathon, someone recognized me as a strong runner - a runner who was a good choice to draft off of. That’s a huge compliment and quite an ego boost!

The third thing I am happy about - the thing I am most happy about - is my “balls of steel” (haha! I hope that phrase I keep using has not offended anyone - I am really just having some fun). I’m really proud of the mental strength I was able to bring to the September 9 race. I was really happy to get an email from Andrew who said,

You have to credit your ability to withstand discomfort for your success. This was a major factor in this race. You focused and you got the job done. Honestly, there aren’t many who can do what you did.

Thanks Coach! Those words really hit home. I’m constantly amazed how you can look at numbers and “know” so many things about my training runs and performances.

I think a lot of new runners wonder about mental strength: How much do they have? How do you build it? The answers are, in my humble opinion, conceptually simple to explain but practically difficult to integrate.

In a word, mental strength - a lot of it - can be developed from experience. The more you run, and the more marathons you race in, the more experience you will have to build your own well of mental strength. Of course, what you do with your experience - the degree to which you are able to convert experience into mental strength - is individual. And there’s the challenge!

Experience. I had seven marathons to draw upon. Every one of those marathons - and the training that went into them - added to the well. The culmination for me in Regina was that I was able to win the mental game. I would not let pain and discomfort deny me.

This past year has been pivotal in my running career. All the long miles, the deep well of endurance I’ve been digging, Andrew’s guidance - these have have been the key to success in my last two marathons. Miles and miles of consistent focus, effort and determination is what it’s all about, folks. These things - more than anything - are what I am most happy and proud of right now.

So, keep on running. Do the work, enjoy the training (have fun!), and the rest will follow. You can do it!

I realized my upcoming races link was WAY outta date so I’m doing something about it by posting a new link which I will update as I add races. Hopefully, I will actually be able to add races soon but it all depends on how well the ankle does.

My next race will not be so much of a race as an experience. That said, my next experience will be on May 29th at the 21st Annual Coronation Triathlon.

And “no” I haven’t set a time goal for it yet although the goal I’ve set for the swim portion is 35 minutes.

Can I get back to you on the rest?

Oh, for those of you who wonder, this is classified as a Sprint Triathlon consisting of a one kilometer swim, 24km bike and 8km run.

Yes, I am going to do a triathlon!

The ankle is feeling good and I think as long as I stay away from runs over 10km for a while, it will stay that way. In addition, I feel uber-confident on the bike and NOW the swimming is coming along. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t feel like a swimming champion (yet) but I think swimming even once a week for the next couple of months is going to get me ready.

No speed records will be broken on this first (!) tri. It’ll be all about just doing it, growing as an athlete and as a person and having a whack of fun!

Credit goes to Aaron on this decision. Although I HAD decided to give swimming a try, I was nowhere NEAR committing to doing a triathlon but you know what? That buddy of mine is a sneaky bugger. He gets you in the pool and makes you take tiny steps and the next thing ya know he’s dangling carrots in front of your nose.

Seriously though, Aaron and I are gonna have boatloads of fun getting ready for this.

Wahoo!!!!!!! Yippee kiyay mudder trucker!

Preparations
Things could not have gone better. I got 10 hours of super quality sleep for each of the two nights prior to the marathon. I ate well, hydrated well and was feeling absolutely fantastic marathon morning. In other words, I was in perfect condition for the race.

Conditions
Overcast and 12C/54F with no wind and no rain. Absolutely perfect running conditions.

What Happened
HILLS are what happened!!

In Edmonton, we have some pretty astounding hills. Most of the big hills I climb during a training run dwarfed the majority of hills in the Victoria Marathon. That’s because in training, we run predominantly in the river valley.

However, in the Edmonton marathon, the course is run down into our river valley and then up again - we usually do this a couple of times so you end up with about 4 really good climbs. The rest of the course is largely flat because it is run above the valley.

In Kelowna, you get several very small hills and a nice downhill and the rest of the course is pretty much flat. They claim Kelowna’s is the flattest course in Canada.

In Victoria, you get kilometer after kilometer after kilometer of low grade climing. I’d say 30 out of 42 kilometers involve some sort of low grade climbing. So, to be clear, these are usually not very steep - they are long, and gradual climbs anywhere from a few hundred meters to a kilometer. Plus, there are about 3 pretty big hills as well.

At 8k, I felt like I’d done 7k of climbing. At that point, I was only a minute off pace but I could tell already it was going to be a very long day and the hills had only just begun. On each climb I lost some ground. The cumulative effect was pretty disheartening. I’d try to speed up on the downhills but they just weren’t enough to counter all the climbing I was doing.

By the half way point, I was 7 minutes off-pace. Ouch. That really hurt. I knew I didn’t have a hope in hell for a 3:30, and was pretty sure 3:45 was gone.

I got to 23km and I started dry-heaving. If you read my blog regularly, you know that for me, dry-heaves mean my heart rate is around 90%. NOT GOOD. I walked about 2 minutes and shook it off. I kept going. That was my wall. Can you believe my wall was at 23k? 23 to 27 were just awful. I struggled every step and started doing the math. I need to pick up the pace or I wouldn’t come in under 4 hours. I battled. I thought about running the race for Aaron. Would he give up? No, NO WAY. I thought about “Sister” Corinne’s tenacity going up hills. Would she give up? NO WAY.

I kept going.

I thought about all you folk in the RBF and told myself that there was no way I was going to tell a story of giving up to all of you!

I kept going.

Then, at the 25th km marker, I passed a lady I had passed at 19km. I did the math in my head. She was one of the early starters and had been on the course since 6:00 a.m. I thought, “wow, what courage” and…

I kept going.

All the while, the hills just kept coming and coming until the 40th kilometer. I dug deep thinking if I busted my ass, I might just make 4 hours. That’s when some dolt of a lady and her dog tried crossing the course in front of me. I almost went down as I tripped over the dog. I didn’t have to say anything though - the crowd took care of that.

A few hundred meters further and a horse trailer tried to cross the road in front of me! The race marshalls were yelling and screaming at him to stop and he was going to keep going until they ran in front of him! I started to think I might be roadkill before the end of the race (I certainly felt like it at that point).

One mile to go: I’m thinking I need to run an 8:00 minute mile to come in under 4 hours and all I can muster is a 9:00. I dig deep and run strong but it just isn’t enough.

I cross the finish line. I’ve finished but not anywhere near my goal.

They take my timing chip off and I get my medal and a plastic blanket wrap. No less than four people tell me how great I did. It doesn’t feel that way.

My brother sees me, gives me a “high five” and tells me “great job”. I’m close to tears but the dissapointment is so intense they don’t seem worth it.

Lori arrives and gives me a big hug and kiss. Ok, that feels nice. Not all in the world is bad.

We sit down at the fountain in front of the legislature building. I think about what I’d just done and take stock. I have the following thoughts…

I just ran a brutally tough 26 miles.
I took a chance on a very hilly course.
It didn’t pan out and that was ok. I’d taken a shot. I feel better about having taken the chance than if I would have played it safe.
Because of the gamble, I paid probably more severely from the half way point on than most people did that day and I still managed to tough it out.
That was the loneliest run I’ve ever had. I tried filling my mind with visions of friends (both real and cyber) but 26.2 miles all by your lonesome on such a difficult day is a tough way to spend four hours.

Aftermath
I’m damn proud of that run. Someday, I will get my 3:30. I will get my 3:30 but it most likely will not be in Victoria. It will be in Edmonton or in Kelowna or on another MUCH flatter course! Having run that course twice now, I honestly think I’d have to train like the Kenyans to do well on it. Meaning: I’d probably need to run on a treadmill and run an increasing grade for several miles at least once a week at race pace.

Future Plans
Funny, but I don’t have any at the moment. First time in four years I don’t have a marathon in the works. Aaron and I have already spoken about working on shorter distance speed for a while before doing another marathon. That sounds good right now. A mental break from the marathon.

Don’t worry. I’m not done. I’ll be back. It’s time to enjoy running for the sake of running for a while. To just embrace my passion for running and enjoy some “shorter” runs for a while!

Thanks everyone! You’ve all been an inspiration.

I’m a bit dissappointed with the race today.

I guess I should qualify that. I just finished running 26.25 miles and anytime anyone can do that, it is a fantastic achievement. However…

3:30 for ME on THIS particular day was not in the cards.

I took a risk in shooting for that time and I’m just fine with the fact that things didn’t quite pan out as I’d hoped. The bottom line is that the pace I needed to maintain on this extremely hilly course was not doable and I paid for it.

I was DEAD by the half and then it took everything I had just to finish.

I’ll post more later but I will share my estimated finish time - about 4 hours and 1 minute.

Sorry, if this sounds a bit bland. I’m a wee bit tired.

I’ll post more tonight after I’ve had a chance to rest and ponder.

My little family joined Lori’s parents, brother’s and significant others on a camping trip this weekend. Two days of campfires, GREAT campfire food, sleeping in a tent and fun with family. Very nice.

I managed a one hour run around the lake on Saturday afternoon. It was very tough going. The reason it was tough was the only liquids I drank for the 24 hours prior to running were beer and coffee…and some Gibsons Whiskey in my coffee. Definitely not an advisable hydration strategy! The run was also tough cuz I’ve been fighting a cold since Thursday and it was at it’s worst Saturday. The cold is getting better now.

It was a great way to end a rest week that followed last Sunday’s 1/2 marathon. But the rest is over and tomorrow it’s back to serious training. Why? See the post previous to this one for the answer.

Only bad part about being away is I missed the men’s Olympic marathon and an Italian won it!

The Taper & Day Before

First of all the answer to Mike’s question. Tapering is the art of resting prior to a race. The longer the race, the longer the taper. There ’s been lots written on the subject and there are differing views on exactly how to taper. My suggestion is to google marathon taper(ing) and/or search on a website like pponline.

My taper for this race went well. I did very little of anything this past week other than two 20 minute leg-turnover workouts and one trip to the gym. Home life cooperated too. Christopher only woke up a couple of times the two sleeps leading up to the race and compared to my last half marathon, I did not have a lot of running around/work to do the day before! In fact, I had a relaxing afternoon yesterday switching the stereos in between Lori’s new (used) van and her old car. Christopher helped his dad.

Nutrition wise, I ate and hydrated well the past few days and had a big plate of whole wheat pasta before I went to bed.

Morning

One thing I’ve learned is that my strongest runs happen at lunch time and my body has a hard time running in the morning. So, this morning I woke up at 5:00 a.m. to see if I could trick my body into thinking it was closer to lunch by the time I had to run at 7:30 (it worked!).

I ate some yogurt with granola, strawberries and blueberries, drank down a big bottle of gatorade and off to the race I went!

The Race!

Conditions were 45F/7C with light rain. In other words, perfect for me. I heard people complaining it was “too cold” or “too wet” but all I could think was, “MAN, this is MY day”!

The full marathoners started their race at 7:00 and we began lining up immediately after. Then, the mayor of Edmonton gave us a little talk about how great our city was (election is coming up and it’s Edmonton’s 100th anniversary this year) and before you knew it, it was 7:30 and the countdown was on.

In my last race, I went out too fast and quickly lost my pacing because I planned on non-existent mile-markers which turned out to be in kms. An unfortunate thing since I did not know what my km pace should have been and I did not wear a pace band. What a mess that race was.

So, today was partially about not repeating mistakes. Today, I made myself a custom pace band based on a 4:45 minute/km pace. The idea being that on each km, I would know precisely how close I was to my pace. I also set my watch to beep every 4:45. The idea being that it would beep at each km marker - providing I was on pace!

So, how did it all work? In a word - FANTASTIC!!

I had planned on going out a bit slow but wasn’t phased at all when my first 2kms were EXACTLY on pace (my watch beeped at 4:45 as I stepped by the first and second markers!).

I was extremely pleased with this. I am not a great pacer but I was off to a terrific start with my pacing with those first two kms. All I had to do was keep running the same pace.

For the most part I was able to do so with a couple of “bumps” in the road. Around the 6th km, I had 1.5kms of gradually challenging uphill to contend with. I ended up 25 seconds slow at the end of the uphill. I planned on this since I knew I had to come back down the hill and, by the time I did, I was 25 seconds ahead of pace. After that, I had another km on the flat. That kilometer really screwed me up because by the time I got to the marker I was 30 seconds slow again? I thought to myself, “there is NO way that could have happened” and kept going. The next km was all uphill. I focused on not losing any more time. From that point on, the race was essentially flat.

As I logged km after km, my concern over those lost 30 seconds grew and grew. I just couldn’t figure it out and what was more, I started slipping a few seconds more each kilometer.

The 16th kilometer was the turning point where I found my second wind and settled into a faster breathing pattern.

At the 19th kilometer marker I heard a familiar, “go Marky”. It was Aaron cheering me on. He was a sight for sore eyes but I was too focused to say much. He asked about my time which I mumbled along with “I’m a little slow”. A few moments later I realized I’d gotten those lost 30 seconds back and figured they MUST have screwed up on a couple of the markers and the 19km one just set things straight.

I dug deep in the last two km, gained a few more seconds and crossed the finish line in what looked like 1:40:59 - exactly my goal time but I know the chip will adjust it a bit downward (I’ll let you know how much when I find out).

I’m really happy about a few things with this race:

- I trained well (especially all the crosstraining I’ve been doing)
- tapered well
- set out and implemented a SOLID race place
- paced myself exceptionally well

Perhaps most importantly, this race really sets the stage for my upcoming marathon in October. According to this race predictor, I am right now capable of running a 3:30 marathon. My goal for October is 3:36. Even though a LOT can happen at a marathon, today was a big step toward my next goal.

I suppose if there was one thing I wish I could have changed, it might be the fact that I was sort of alone out there. I missed Corinne (outta town), Tom (sick with the flu) and Aaron (knee injury) but it was great that he came out to cheer at the 19 kilometer. The positive side of running alone is that I had no one to push/pull my butt across that finish line - I did it on my own.

And what’s the best way to finish a race? To be greeted and congratulated by your wife and kids of course! Christopher had some big eyes watching his dad “the runner” arrive.

Afterward I took my little family for a big brunch at Ricky’s where I had coffee, pancakes (with strawberries & cream!), bacon, potatoes, eggs and toast (there’s the part of the report Dianna asked for!).

mmmmmmmmm……….

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Addendum: OK, I just checked and the results have been posted. I am right PISSED off! My time is listed as 1:41:05! The time makes absolutely no sense! I crossed the finish line UNDER 1:41 and certainly did not start RIGHT at the finish line so, if anything, my time should have been adjusted downward!

Argh! I don’t care what the hell those results say. My time was 1:40:59. I know it’s only six seconds but I don’t care!

On the good side, I was 27th out of 147 men in my age class and 87th out of 1018 finishers (top 8 %).

By FAR my best showing ever.

Well, the 2004 Edmonton 1/2 marathon is in the bag and I have good news to report!

This short report (which I will add to later) is just to say that I finished in (I think) about 1:40:56. I had a techical problem in the last 50 feet of the race so I’m not sure of the exact time.

Anyway, my goal was 1:40:59 so this result makes me very happy.

More later…

Holy Smokes! After the responses I got back from yesterday’s weather related post I’m feeling pretty lucky to be dealing with the temperatures we have in Edmonton!

You runners in the U.S. and especially in the south truly have my respect. Temperatures over 80 degrees just seem so horrible to me!!

All this talk about the heat makes me think this might be a good time to tell the story of my second marathon…

…the heat on that day was the worst I’ve ever experienced while running. It took place on June 22, 2002 (on my 35th birthday!) in Edmonton. The official temperature was 90 degrees Fahrenheit but the start announcer cautioned us it was actually 102 degrees off the pavement (which is of course what we were running on!) plus the whole damn thing was in direct sunlight with not a smidge of shade.

What made it worse was we’d had an exceptionally cold spring and it was only the week of the marathon when the temperature rocketed so we had absolutely no conditioning for running in even moderate heat!

I will never forget that day. Every step was utterly hellish but so amazingly worth it.

I remember the first few kilometers so clearly. I was DYING out there and Aaron was pushing the pace. It was the first marathon we’d trained alone together for so I really wanted to keep up but the heat was just killing me and all I could think was, “if I gave chase, I won’t finish”.

Aaron was at least 100 feet ahead of me me when suddenly he looked back, stopped and waited. Once I caught up he said, “buddy, I can’t do this alone” to which I responded, “I want to do this with you but I just can’t maintain the pace you are setting”.

So, (God bless him!) he slowed down and we ran every remaining step of that grueling race together.

The water stations in the first half of the marathon were very panicky - everyone was gulping down as much aqua as they could get their hands on and throwing the rest over their heads. We went past countless homes who mercifully hosed us down as we ran by. I bet I soaked myself a hundred times in an effort to keep cool.

At 20km, I remember seeing the halfers turning off and heading for home and realized I still had over two hours of running to do in the unbearable heat. A part of me thought about joining them so it could be over but a bigger part said, “okay, now it’s a marathon” and I kept going.

The miles wore on and the line of runners got thinner and thinner. It got very lonely and even hotter as we crossed the North Saskatchewan River and then we climbed two miles worth of hills. Aaron and I were quiet for several kilometers - we were too focused on surviving to care about talking.

The turning point came after we got back on the flat around 28km. We passed some enthusiastic spectators who provided encouraging words (I have no idea what they said!). It felt like we’d been out there forever so a line from Shrek popped into my head and I said, “Thanks for coming - we’re here till Thursday” and Aaron chimed in with “Try the veal”! The spectators laughed. We laughed. We had found our sense of humour and it was at that moment when I knew I’d be ok and would finish the race. I even started telling people it was my birthday just so I could get extra support. It probably drove Aaron crazy but I didn’t care!

We passed 32km (the wall) and kept going each step getting harder and harder than the last. We stopped letting people soak us because we were feeling sicker with each successive drenching. I think going from hot to cold over and over was not good for our health.

From 34 to about 40km, we walked as much as we ran - alternating between one minute of running and one minute of walking. Good friend Barry appeared right about then and cheered us on from the sidelines saying “you guys look great!” (ya, right Barry!).

Then Aaron challenged me and said there was no way we’d be walking in and that we were not going to come in later than 4:30. I can’t remember what I said to him (something like “I don’t care”) but he wouldn’t hear it and said something to get my ass in gear which I did. We ran strongly in the last two kilometers and finished in 4:28 so Aaron got his “under 4:30″ wish. It’s amazing what you will settle for on a day like that. On average, it was said most people finished 30 to 60 minutes slower than their goal. We were no exception having planned on finishing in 3:45.

So much good came out of that day…

-We finished 213th and 214th out of about 650 finishers (so top 1/3). But 400 people did not finish. In other words, we ROCKED just by crossing that finishing line.

-Aaron and I were like two victorious warriors crossing that finish line. Training together and running that marathon truly cemented our friendship.

-I found inner strength I never knew I had. Sure, my first marathon was tough - very tough but THIS one was my worst nightmare and I had conquered. From that point on, I’ve had the confidence of knowing I will always finish. That confidence has spilled into the rest of my life. I know I can get through anything…

…and so can YOU!

This was us…