Ironman Mont Tremblant

Saturday, April 23, 2011

A Looooonnnnnggg Run

I switched my schedule up a little bit and took advantage of the holiday Friday as well as the fact that it was going to rain Saturday morning.  The run was for 3 1/2 hours and unlike last week, it wasn't freezing cold, windy or snowing.

I headed out with the plan to run the same route as last week but several equipment issues didn't get me going until 5:45 am.  Usually I lay everything out the night before so I'm not wasting time looking for this or that but with equipment failure I still wasted time.   According to my heart rate monitor after running five steps, my heart rate was 160 and then it went to 00 (I guess I was dead).  Then my new ipod stopped working so I had to fiddle around with it.

I started out strong and finished weak.  The foot pod was not recording correctly and it said I was running at a 6:05 min\km and I finished at a 7:20 min\km.  Ok I was going slow but not that slow.  My Polar said I ran 32.5 km but I checked with Google Maps and I ran 35.3 km.  Stupid Polar

Before this season, I asked my coach if he thought I could qualify for Boston and he diplomatically (which is unusual) said I had no chance.  Of my two younger brothers have done multiple Ironmans, only one was able to qualify and race Boston several times.  After yesterday's run, I realize I have no chance unless I'm still running 20 years from now.  I was hurting by the end and my pace had slowed considerably.  Running on the soft shoulder helps a lot but once I'm running on pavement or sidewalk, every step brings pain throughout my body.  I have shin splints on my right leg and the blister I picked up at Around The Bay ripped open on the bottom of my right foot.  The Toronto Marathon is only 22 days away and I have doubts about it.  I've run the Toronto Half Marathon before so I know how the race ends.  Running up University Avenue is a gradual uphill which you don't notice it when you're driving it but when you're running it....that's a different story.  I remember from the Half, that it seemed to be never ending and then running 3/4 around Queen's Park was agonizing long.  I'm strongly considering using the 10 x 1s (run 10 minute, walk one minute) for this race as well just to save the pounding on my body.

I limped home (literally) for another ice bath and a day of lounging around.  I fell asleep for a short nap on the couch with the kids screaming around me and then later in the day I had a longer nap for a glorious one hour.

This morning workout was on 35 minute spin on the bike as I watched the last two shows of Weeds Season Four.  What an ending!  I have to get season five from my manager.  I'm pretty sore and tired so I just took it easy.  I was going to do some strength training but felt too tired.  One thing I've learned about these long runs, is that I need to do more core and glute workouts.  I also need to do more yoga.  The last couple of Sundays, I've missed my P90X yoga.

3 comments:

  1. Props to you for getting out there and running for 3.5 hours! I like naps after a killer long run...actually, I have no choice sometimes :-)

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  2. Good to hear your run report and kudos for sticking it out. I hate equipment issues but my biggest problem is getting organized to get out the door. Just takes way too long, especially if the weather is off.

    Sorry to hear of the pain issues - hopefully the ice water helped.

    I YouTube'd 'blister care' so I can figure out how to quickly get my feet in running shape again. Maybe you're a pro, but I learned a few tricks and will probably try taping in the future. Good luck -

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  3. It sucks to start a workout having to fidget with gadgets and stuff. Thats a real pet peeve of mine.
    You can goto Boston if you want to. The question is how bad do you want it? Most people are not willing to fully commit to what it takes, much like qualifying for IM Kona. More importantly it takes experience, which 20 years might not be long enough for me hah!

    Heal that blister asap! You dont want that thing around for your marathon.

    Way to get it done. Thats one looooong training run. crazy!

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