Toronto Marathon Race Report

Whooo hoooo a PB!!!....Oh wait, this is the first full marathon I've done so any time would have been a PB!  I could have crawled and it would have been a PB

The weather was just nasty but at least it didn't pour but rather light drizzle and the wind while averaging 30 km\hr I'm sure there were several times it was over 50 km\hr.  That was a painful run but I'm glad I did it.  I'm some what disappointed I couldn't hold my pace as I died running up University Ave into the wind but that was expected.

Last night's sleep was horrible as I don't think I got more than five hours of sleep as I tossed and turned.  I'm glad I got a solid sleep Friday night with the help of a sleeping pill.  For some reason, the sleep two nights before the race is more important than the night before.  Why I have no idea.

I was constantly watching the Weather Channel for the last couple of days and they were pretty accurate with the forecast.  We got down to the start line at North York City Hall (not far from where we used to live) just after 7:50 am.  The Half Marathon went off at 8:00 am.  The area is surrounded by condos and office buildings and the wind was very strong and it was freezing cold.  I got ready while the kids waited inside the truck and then we headed over to the Starbucks to warm up and get the kids something to eat.  I had to go to the bathroom and there were two line ups in the Starbucks.  One for coffee and one for the bathroom.  While I was waiting, a lady with a small kid walked up to the front of the line, not realizing the line up was for the bathroom.    The lady in front of me told her sharply that she had to wait her turn.  Once she went into the bathroom I turned around and said to the lady with the small kid to go ahead of me and she looked very relieved.  Clearly you can tell which people that have small kids.  When a kid has to go, they have to go....immediately.  There is no waiting.  After I was finished, we headed over to the start line and the kids had to stop at every puddle to play.  The race was starting in less than five minutes and as usual, I was running to the start line.  At least this time I managed to make it to the start line BEFORE the race started.  I looked around for the 3:50 or 4:00 pace bunnies but couldn't see them.  I did spot the 4:15 pace bunny at the front of the pack near the start line.  WTF????

The race started and I jogged easily for the first couple of kilometers.  My brother Glen and his family were there as we headed down Yonge Street with the wind at our back.  Sweet.  Within two km, I was warming up fast and I ditched the garbage bag I was wearing (I was getting funny stares in the Starbucks).  The rain was on and off but more importantly the wind was at our backs.  I ran with an old neighbour for a couple of minutes as we chatted.  She remembered my name but I didn't remember her name.  Doh!

One of the problems I've had during long training runs was nutrition.  I talked to coach before the race and he said I should be consuming 300 calories per hour.  I never came even close to that amount so I was a little bit hesitate to crank up the calories but I didn't want to run out of gas during the race.  I calculated that would be two GU gels per hour and one bottle of Amino Vital. Coach suggested I use the 35 mm canisters that film came in and fill them with Amino Vital and add one salt tablet.  The plan was to run with one water bottle and when I emptied it, I would refill it at the water stations and add the Amino Vital as I ran.  I had to drink one bottle per hour so I ran with four canisters and about eight GU gels.  I wore my riding jersey that had three deep pockets plus I had two GU gels in the running belt.  This strategy worked out quite good as I knew they would be giving out Power Gel on the course as well.  They taste gross but do the job.

With the help of a nice tail wind, I hit the 21.1 km mark at an easy 1:54.  As we ran along Lake Ontario, I followed a guy that was running at my pace.  At some points I was running so close to him, if he stopped suddenly, I would have ran him over.  I was only about one or two strides behind him.  I hoped I could draft off him on the return trip back to the city (eastward into the headwind) after the 30 km turn around point.  Unfortunately, he couldn't keep up the pace with the headwind quickly taking its toll and I passed him around the 34 km mark and never saw him again.  I was beginning to struggle as the winds were quite furious at some points.  I knew I wasn't able to hold my earlier pace and it was only a matter of how much the headwind would slow my pace down.  I tried to hold a 5:30 min\km but it ended up more like 5:45 min\km and some times it was at 6:00 min\km.  By the 36 km mark I started saying to myself, "ok its only 6 km to go.  That's only one loop of the Rammerville loop I sometimes run around my house.

As we headed up University Ave, my pacing really began to slowdown as I kept drinking the Amino Vital.  I could feel my calf really cramp up but figured I could gut it out.  I hate the finish line as its 3/4 around Queens Park Circle and it feels like it will never end.  I managed a slight sprint at the last 200 meters but had nothing in the tank.  As soon as I crossed the finish line and stopped running, both my calves seized up and I fell on the ground.  Several volunteers ran over but I was ok after a couple of minutes.  I collected my big honking finishing medal which weighs about 5 pounds and got one of the solar blankets to keep warm.  The wind was whipping around and it was cold.  I made my way over to the food tent where they were giving out bagels, bananas and tangerines.  Pretty pathetic.  Someone gave me a carton of chocolate milk so I sipped that and collected my bananas.

I hobbled my way to the exit as my shin splint was killing me and looked for Tammy and the kids.  I prayed I'd find them quickly as I was absolutely freezing and my teeth were chattering.  I couldn't find them and I knew this was going to be trouble.  I told them I would meet them in the "family area" which I thought was on the southern part of Queen's Park so I hobbled\shuffled to the southern end (about 400 meters) only to find it empty.  I turned around and headed back to the finish line.  I was absolutely freezing at this point and hypothermia might be a problem.  I borrowed someone's phone to call Tammy but only got her voice message.  I headed back into the finishing area where they had warm tents for massages.  I signed up for one as my calves were killing me but was worried that Tammy and the kids would be waiting in the cold and rain. I headed back to the exit and I asked (begged) a volunteer to call Tammy.  Again, he got her voice mail and he left a message.  Just then, Tammy appeared at the exit gate and thankfully she didn't have the kids.  She left them at a friend's house.

We hobbled back to the car which was parked a long way from the finish line and I was absolutely freezing.  Finally we got in the car and I cranked the heater to 30 degrees Celsius.  Traffic was heavy heading back uptown and it seemed like it took forever as my teeth were still chattering.  We headed back up to Tammy's friend house near the start line.  We stopped at a Tim Hortons were I shuffled out to use the bath room.  I sure got a lot of strange stares just like the Starbucks six hours earlier.

All in all, not a bad race given the weather but not great.  I was on pace to finish around 3:48 but the end killed me.  I ran the first half at 1:54 but the second half at 2:00 for a finishing time of 3:54.  Good for 498 out of 1,296 and 61/115 for my age group.

Thankfully I didn't have to ride 180 km before this run or swim 3.8 km before the ride.

Funny of the day # 1:  I ran by a guy running with in bare feet.  I asked him if he forgot his shoes and he replied he didn't want to get them wet

Funny of the day # 2:  I ran by my daughter Rebecca before the one kilometer mark.  She yelled encouragingly that I was almost done

Funny of the day # 3:  In order to qualify for Boston, I would needed a 3:31 finish.  Not even close.

Rain Rain Go Away

This is going to suck

	Saturday May. 14	Sunday May. 15	Monday May. 16	Tuesday May. 17
Conditions  6am - 6pm
	Cloudy with showers	Light rain	Light rain	Cloudy with showers
P.O.P.	70%	80%	90%	60%
High	19°C	12°C	10°C	13°C
Low	13°C	8°C	5°C	5°C
Wind	NE 15 km/h	NE 35 km/h	NE 35 km/h	NE 25 km/h
24-Hr Rain	10-15 mm	15-20 mm

I went to pick up my race kit today and met John Stanton and he was handing out pace bands.  He asked me what time I was aiming to finish the marathon and joking I said 3:30 would be great and he handed me the 3:30 pace band.  I laughed and said not in my dreams.  I told him 3:50-4:00 is more realistic.  I talked to him for a bit more and he said to look as the marathon as a 30 km training run and 10 km race.  


With each racing kit, runners were supposed to get a six pack of Molson 67 (3.2% alcohol) but that was squashed by the lawyers.  Booooo


I'm still not 100% sure on the nutrition.  I walked to coach and the plan is for 300 calories an hour so that is two GU and one bottle of Amino Vital with one salt pills.  I need to figure how I'm going to carry the Amino Vital.  I guess the best thing is in film canasters and refill my water bottle and the stations.  I guess I'd mix them on the run.  This is should be interesting.  What's that saying about not wearing, eating or trying something new during a race?


Also the weather is going to be a serious problem.  With winds up to 35 km\hr, running down Yonge Street will be straight into the wind for about 17 km.   Wonderful.  I'll be looking to draft off of some big fat guy.  Also, I guess I'll be running with a garbage bag on for most of the race.


On the good news front, oddly enough during this two week taper, everything is dialing down, I've been starving and eating like a pig BUT my weight is down.  I'm down to 170 this morning.  SWEET!!!


So this is the plan
Friday night (tonight) - To night's sleep is the most critical so I'll take a sleeping pill but that means no beers
Saturday night - Carb loading although I've never believed in it.
Sunday morning - Four hours of hell
Sunday afternoon - Beer

Tapering Down

Well only eight days to go until a world of hurt.  After last week's long run of 3 hours and 45 minutes, I was still hurting Monday morning and couldn't do any speed work so I just ran for an hour at an unbelievably slow pace.  At some points, I was running (or shuffling) at a 6:45 min\km.  I emailed coach and told him I couldn't do any of the speed work (ie 5 x 1,000 meters @ 4:30 min\km pace) and he said don't worry about it as it was critical not to get injured this close to the race (well duh).  On that note, I skipped Wednesday's run as I was very tired and very hungry.  I couldn't believe how much I was eating.  Holy Oink Oink!

Thursday's swim was a write off as we totally screwed up the drill and we got it totally mixed up.  I didn't even bother finishing the set when 6:30 am rolled around.  Friday's run was better as I tried to run at a quicker pace rather than use heart rate.  I felt better but my shin splints were killing me after the run.  I've been stretching, rubbing and icing them.  Its bearable but I know they can get a lot worse without treating them.

This morning is a scheduled rest day so I decided to do P90X yoga which I haven't done in about six weeks and it showed.  After 20 minutes, I was bagged but all the Downward Dog stretches certainly helped my calf and my shin splints.  I couldn't even finish the total 90 minute work out and bailed before the balancing sets.

After breakfast we went to a bike swap to look at a new bike for Tammy (could this be her Mother's Day present?).  There were about 30 used bikes including a Scott Plasma (hmmm).  She ended up getting an used Devinci Silverstone for $600.  I've never heard of it but reading some online reviews (after we bought the bike...duh), it seems to be ok.  Tammy didn't really have much fun last year running the Hamilton Half Marathon but thought perhaps Duathlons would be more fun.  Her schedule had been set up with the Victoria Du (may 23rd) in mind but there was a small problem.  All of her biking had been inside at the gym and she didn't have a bike for outdoors.  I borrowed my sister-in law sister's bike but it turned out to be a mountain bike with knobby tires and it weighed a ton.  After "discussing" the situation with coach, we decided to scrap the Victoria Du and go for the Guelph Du next month which was a shorter course and gave her more time to ride outside.  We'll see what the summer brings but hopefully Tammy will stick with riding.

That's all I got as next week is the 2nd week of tapering.

When Ya Gotta Go...Ya Gotta Go!

Yesterday was the loooonnnnngeessstttt run I've ever done.  A whoppin' 3 hours and 45 minutes and it was long but not as bad as I thought it might be.  I left really really late as I slept in and didn't wake up until 5:45 am.  By the time I ate and got out the door it was about 6:20 am.  Not a good start.  The temperature was a little frosty at three degrees (Celsius) but was supposed to be sunny.  My goal was to run up to Aurora Road (18 km) and then west to Kennedy and back home, so in theory I should have been able to go further than last week's 35 km run.  There was a slight headwind but sunny and cool.  As the sun climbed higher, the temperature warmed up.  One thing about running north of the city, there isn't a lot of businesses or residential area but there are a couple of really nice golf courses.  I ran by one course and noticed they had a port-a-potty.  My stomach was acting a little funny, probably because I didn't leave much time for my breakfast to digest.  I debated to stop or not but finally common sense came through, as in "where would I go, if I really had to go?"  Fifteen minutes later and several pounds lighter, I was back running.

I hit Aurora Road at the two hour mark and was way off last week's pace so I just turned around and ran south.  The temperature had warmed up and I began to overheat so I took off my gloves and hat and stuffed them in the back of my running jacket.  I had already drained one water bottle which I mixed Amino Vital and threw it away and was almost done my second bottle of plain water.  The sun really made a difference as I had to stop at a house in Lemonville (cool name for a town eh?) and got a refill.  By the time I got to Stouffville Road I had to stop and take off my running jacket.  Fortunately, it folds up into a little pouch with a draw string so I could wear it around my waist but it bounced up and down all the way home.  Somewhere along the way, I lost my GU Chomps.  I only had 2 or three left but was almost home.  I stopped at a gas station and refilled a second time and finished the run.  I wasn't hurting as bad as last week but by the time I got home it was 10:30 am.  It seemed my "pit stop" took longer than I expected.  Tammy had the kids ready and was heading out to take them to dance and swimming.  Usually I take Jake swimming but there was no way I could as I was a mess and needed food and an ice bath so she took all three of them.  Doh!  Now you know why I try and get out the door by 5:00 am.

I stopped by coach's house to check out a tri bike and had a power tap. I took it out for a spin but it felt weird.  I not sure I could handle riding it for six hours as my neck and back would be killing.  I had consulted with John Proc previously and he didn't think it was that great of a deal as it was a 2008 bike but I might go for the Power tap as biking is my weakest sport.

I told coach about my long run and I mentioned that I thought I had no chance of qualifying for Boston and he laughed at me.  I originally thought I might make it as I can run a Half Marathon in under 1:45 but wasn't sure about holding that pace for double the distance.  I told him how exhausted I was after each long run and he asked me about my nutrition.  Before yesterday's run I had:
two pieces of brown bread       150 calories
one hard boiled egg                   90
Cliff bar                                  250

During the run:
one bottle of Amino Vital              150 calories
most of a package of GU Comps   160

For a total of 800 calories.  Not quite enough for a 3:45 run.  Coach told me I should be taking at least 300 calories an hour or about 1,200 calories which probably explains why I'm so exhausted and hungry all day after my long run.

Oddly enough, my Polar was working and I averaged a 6:08 min\km pace which would put me to finish a marathon around 4.18 but if I can get my nutrition fixed, he figured I could hold a 5:45 min\km which would put me on target for a 4.02 marathon which sounds doable.

Oh yea, my blister on the bottom of my foot had fully healed from last week but using body glide on my feet prevented it from ripping open again.  Thanks A Couple of Hounds

Finally, congrats to my brother Paul and Sarah who had baby Hannah two months early.  She weighs only 3.2 pounds!!!

Getting It Done

I think all this running is paying off as I feel thinner then ever before although the scale would disagree.  I weighted in this morning at 172.6 pounds.  I stepped on the scale three times and got three different readings so I took the second reading. 

Yesterday's swim was an easy 1,600 meters and I wasn't tired at all.  I went to my parent's place and ran intervals in the afternoon.  I did 5 x 1,000 meters sprint at a 4:30 min\km pace.....I think, as my Polar is screwed up and not accurate.  Stupid Polar!  It was really enjoyable running into a 35 km\hr wind with gusts over 50 km\hr but sure made it easy to hit the pace with the wind behind my back.

After another late night meeting, I didn't get to bed until 10:30 pm last night but was up at 5:00 am and was riding (still inside).  I knew I was hungry and tired from lack of sleep so I actually ate a Cliff Power bar before I rode and drank Amino Vital during the ride.  Normally I wouldn't for such a short ride but I was bagged.  I did the usual drills of 6 x 2 minutes one legged drills, 12 minutes riding out of the saddle and 6 x 1 minute all out sprints which as usual weren't all that out.  Hmmmmm I wonder if a Powertap would help?

Tomorrow's run is 3 hours and 45 minutes.  This is going to hurt.........

The Importance Of Core Workouts

This is how I finished Friday's long run (35 km).  Kevin (chiropractor) had told me that you often see people running like the picture below because they have a weak core and can't maintain their form once they get tired.  I get it now...........



I read Scobie's tweets as he get reading for his return visit to St Croix 70.3.  He wanted me to race with him....well be at the same race.  I told him forget it as there was no way I was doing a four hour bike ride on my trainer.  Anyways he's always writing about doing core and stretching so today after 30 minutes of P90X yoga which was interrupted by the start of a massive Easter egg hunt in our house that lasted all 10 minutes.  Afterwards, I went upstairs and I did 20 minutes of core and stretching.  My core muscles are quite pathetic as I haven't been doing anything in a while looonnnngggg time and it showed.  I did 60 seconds of front plank, 30 seconds of side plank each side and 60 seconds of front plank again.  Within 20 seconds, I started to shake like a leaf.  In between the three sets, I did stretching of the hamstring, IT and hip flexor.  Somehow I MUST work this into my daily routine.

Today was Easter dinner at my house and the diet was pretty much trashed all day.  It started with the first Easter chocolate egg around 7:15 am and it was all downhill after that.  I pity the scale tomorrow morning.  Its going to be under a lot of extra weight...mine.

Oink Oink.  Happy Easter

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.

HTFU And Run!

This mornings weather was better than yesterday's miserable wet, cold and windy day.  I moved my long run to this morning as it wasn't supposed to start raining until around 10 am which hopefully I would be finished my 3:15 run except I didn't wake up until 5:30 am.  By the time I ate and drank 1.5 liters of water it was just after 6:00 am.  The temperature was a balmy three degrees Celsius, no rain but very windy.  It was blowing over 40 km\hr in a westerly direction so I altered my normal running route of a giant circle heading west first and then east back home.  One of the reason I like this route is because I run by a community center (where I go swimming) and can stop and refuel or empty.   But given the head winds, I changed the route to run north up McCowan Road for 1.5 hours and then turn south and run back down.  That way the wind wouldn't be a factor in my running.  Smart eh?

The route I took was the same that I ride my bike but I had a slightly different view running than when I'm riding.  On both sides of the road, there is a small creek and there are all kinds of interesting things in the ditch.  I think next week I'll bring a garbage bag and pick up all the empty beer bottles.  That was I can have my mortgage paid off or at least afford a new P2.  One of the more interesting things I saw (other than the dead animals) was a pregnancy test.  I wasn't going to stop and check to see if someone was knocked up!

The winds were still blowing but whipping across my body as I chugged up McCowan.  The nice thing about running this far north "out of the city" was that the shoulder was basically packed sand and firm enough to run on.  This made a huge difference in the pounding my body took last week.  I could feel my ankle but it wasn't too bad.  I think I'll always run up McCowan Road for my long runs.

I hit my turnaround point (Bloomington Road) and got a face full of wind.  The wind has slightly shifted as it was still coming westerly but slightly north and I was running into the wind.  My pace slowed down even though I was running down hill.  I was running along in a mindless daze when I scared a duck swimming in the creek beside the road.  It quacked and flew in front of me and instinctly, I jumped to my right.  Fortunately there were no
on-coming cars otherwise I would have been smoked.

The sun disappeared and all of a sudden I was freezing.  I should have worn my warmer running gloves instead of the light ones as my hands began to ache they were so cold.  And just when it couldn't get worse, it started to snow.  Didn't I say something about no more snow in yesterday's blog?  Doh!  The wind drove the snow (actually they were ice pellets) so that they were coming sideways and smashing into the one side of my face.  In fact, I had to pull my hat down as low as it could go to protect the one side.  Those pellets really hurt!

I was just thinking what other moron would be out running in this crap when down the road I saw someone riding!  They turned west and into the wind.  Now that's hard core!!  Later in my run I saw two other riders.  I guess they were chomping at the bit because of yesterday's crappy weather.

Speaking of chomping, I used GU Chomps for this run.  They reminded me of big Gummy Bears that my kids eat.  There are eight pieces in the package and are good for 1.5 to 2 hours of exercise.  I've used them on the bike last year but never tried them running as I imagined how hard it would be to chew and run at the same time.  Also I found the pieces got stuck in my teeth, just like Gummy Bears so I just popped two in my mouth and let them dissolve.  This worked out pretty good as I took two of them every 30 minutes.  The only problem is where to put them.  The stupid running jacket that I have doesn't have pockets and the zipper pouch of my running belt is very hard to access when I'm running.  I had to stop and dig them out.  Not very convenient.  I need to figure something out with this water belt.  I need to carry more water and also gels\chomps.

Heading south, once I crossed Major Mackenzie I had to start running on the sidewalk as traffic was too heavy to run on the road.  What a difference as I could feel the difference almost immediately.  The pounding on my feet and legs made running much more painful and my pace slowed considerably.  I ran south into the wind until I hit Highway 7 where I turned around and headed north again but this time I had the wind.  I turned down a road and picked up my pace as I was getting to the end of my run.  I ran at a much faster pace and finished at 3:22 for just under 32 kilometers.  I thought I ran further but running into the wind must have really slowed me down.

I took an ice bath again but this time I drank hot water while I was shivering.  That made a huge difference and I was able to stay in there for 20 minutes.  Later in the day, I went to the mall with Rebecca and walking around was extremely painful and exhausting.  I'm suppose to run tomorrow but that's not going to happen.  I'll take an easy ride on the trainer with not drills and watch Weeds Season Four.

Today Is A Perfect Day To....

Run....NOT!  I bailed from my 3:15 run when I woke up at 4:30 am and I could hear the rain pounding on the window so I went back to sleep.  With the wind blowing between 30-50 km\hr and it raining plus the temperature was only a little above freezing, I bailed.  Somehow I just couldn't envision running for three hours, soaking wet and then taking an ice bath.  That sounds like a recipe for disaster.  I'll try tomorrow morning

Rest.  Yes absolutely as I've been bagged and work beginning to slow down but still had evening meetings Thursday and Friday nights this week and probably next week.  It makes for a long day when I'm up at 4:30 am and I'm getting home around 8:00 pm.

Do My Taxes.  God, there is nothing more than I hate is doing taxes.  Well maybe interval sprints.  Just organizing the mess is like torture.  Every year, I swear I'll be more organized and file things as the year progresses but every year its the same mad scramble before the deadline.

Switch The Snow Tires From The SUV.  Ok, I think its safe to take the snow tires off the SUV.  I imagine we are not going to get a significant amount of snowfall and snow tires are probably not the most fuel efficient.  I switched the snow tires from my car last week and talk about back breaking work and the SUV tires are even heavier.  Maybe I should just fork out $30 and have the local garage take care of it.

Catch Up On The Blogs I Follow.  I seemed to be following a lot more blogs and barely have time to read any of them but some are quite funny

Ok, back to sorting out my (*&^%$%^^& taxes

I Am (Not) Going To Kona

Today was the draw for the World Championship at Kona.  (Un)Fortunately, I did not win.   I'm not sure how I'd feel if I "won" seeing I've never done a full Ironman.   I'd be embarrassed to tell people I "won" an entry spot considering how hard some people train to qualify to get to Kona.

Yesterday at swimming we were using flippers for half the session.  It was something different and a lot of fun.  On the first lap, I swam the entire length underwater with the flippers.  Serge yelled at us as we all did the drills wrong but still it was a lot of fun

This morning's bike totally sucked as I woke up at 4:30 am and debated on whether to bail or not.  I had a late meeting the night before and was exhausted.  I'm still riding inside and just continuing with the drills from last month except I had nothing left in the tank to do the six all out sprints after the one legged drills and out of the saddle riding.  Maybe I was still tired from Thursday afternoon hill training.  I went to my parent's house and ran in the afternoon around the old hood.  It was a great day to run but by the time I got to the sixth and seventh hill repeat, I almost puked....almost.  You know when you've had a good workout when you start coughing and can taste the bile in your mouth...........

Tomorrow's run is for 3:15 so I'm carb loading (beer) and its supposed to be windy, cold and pouring rain.  I AM NOT HAPPY! This going to be just miserable.

Sorry, could someone tell me why I'm doing all this shit?

Big Deal, I Can Do That.....Ok Maybe Not!

On another note, my ride this morning sucked.  I was very tired last night and still tired when I woke up this morning.  I even slept through the night!  I'm supposed to be riding outside but I've been too lazy to switch tires as well as its been cold and dark at 5 am.  I ride north of the city where there are no street lights so its pitch black.  Odd, last year at this time, I was chomping at the bit to ride outside. 

Ice Ice Baby

This morning's run was for a short three hours as we gear up for the Toronto Marathon in May.  This is the longest run I've done as Around The Bay was "only" 2:48.  Big difference.
I wasn't feeling 100% which probably had to do with all the beers I had at yesterday`s work conference.  After lunch we went up to a friend`s room for a couple of beers and then attended the afternoon session.  The final speaker at the end of the day was Yvonne Camus who was part of Team Canada entry into the Eco-Challenge race.  A gruelling 500 km race through the jungles.  Hmmm this sounds interesting.  Maybe I should look into this race after I get bored of Ironman.

Here is a video of Yvonne`s previous presentation.  Its a condensed version of her full presentation but a great insight to what it takes to complete the Eco-Challenge race and also survive and succeed at work.




After Yvonne's presentation there was an open bar and the only thing that saved me was I had to catch the 6:30 pm train otherwise it would have been ugly.

Anyways that why I wasn't 100% for this morning`s run.  I left the house at 5:15 am loaded up with water and gel and wasn't looking forward to this at all.  The run was pretty uneventful but gruelling.  I really struggled the last five kilometers as my legs and ankle were sore.  By the time I came to the last kilometer, my pace was down to a 6:15 min km.
I was wiped out.  This was tougher than Around The Bay which goes to show the power of 10 x 1s (run 10 min, walk one minute).  Next week should be fun as my run gets up to 3:15.  Ok seriously, how am I going to do a marathon  That's another 12 km

After I stretched, I decided I needed an ice bath.  I've taken them before and they are NOT fun but they do work.  I lie in the tub and start filling it up with cold water.  Once the water covers my legs, I dump a bowl of ice in and try and sit for five minutes.  I wear a sweat shirt but my teeth are still chattering.  The idea is to cool down the muscles and it promotes faster recovery.   Ice Ice Baby.  Try it.  It works

Look, Two Snow Flakes That Are The Same!!

Thankfully, its going to warm up this weekend to 21 degrees Celsius and we won't have to deal with this crap anymore!



On the injury front, I'm still going to physio and my back/shoulder/neck is getting better.  Yesterday the therapist used acupuncture with electricity.  I almost fell asleep on the table nodding off while being electrocuted. 

On the training front, I've had a couple late nights this week and its beginning to catch up.  On Monday, I went to function for my work colleague's children and Tuesday I took my dad to the baseball game.  We watched the Blue Jays beat up the Oakland As.  Funny how the stadium that holds 55,000 looks so empty when there is only 11,000 people at the game.  How does Rogers (owner of the Toronto Blue Jays) make any money? 

This Saturday is a "short" three hour run and it ramps up from there...ugh.  I need to figure out my water belt/nutrition situation.  In the past, I've only run with those green Gatorade bottles that you get in your grab bag from races.  I've used a fuel belt in one of my triathlon races last summer and it fell off when I started running.  I had to run with my water belt in my hand for several kilometers.  All the new water belts are Velcro straps and not the clip in kind that the old ones have.

That's pretty much it for today............

I Got Lucky This Morning

Well not in that sense!  But the weather was predicting 90% rain/snow with winds up to 40 km\hr.  When I woke up at 4:45 am I could hear the rain pounding on the window and seeing that I don't have a treadmill or belong to a gym, I really really didn't want to run outside in that crap.  Fortuenantly, by the time I was reading to head out the door at 5:30 am the rain had stopped and for the entire run it hardly rained!  Bonus!

This morning's run was about speed work.  After the warm up, I was supposed to run at zone three/four (150 - 165 bps) for 15 minutes twice followed by four one minute all out sprints.   Running at zone three/four isn't a problem but the speed work was as I totally died after the second one and my "all out sprint" turned into a slow jog by the last one.  I'll use the excuse that my body is still recovery from Around The Bay two weeks ago because Saturday's one hour run was pretty crap.  I died at the end and was exhausted all day.  In fact, I had to take a nap both Saturday and Sunday afternoon.  I love taking naps but its been a while since I've had to take one nap, let alone two naps.  My naps are usually 15-20 minutes long and I wake up totally refreshed.  Well worth it as the irratiblity drops considerably.

Other than that, not much else is going on.

Insomina Strikes Again!

Its about 2:47 am and I can't sleep so I might as well catch up on my blog.  Work has been extremely busy and I've had no time to even read anyone's blog.

The recovery from Around The Bay has been fine and I mentioned that I think I ran harder on the Chilly Half marathon than this race.  The difference is the run 10 minutes and walk 1 minute.  I wasn't that sore at all however my neck/shoulder/back is still a problem.  I've had Kevin do some ART on it and it did help but he's in Europe this week. I also got a massage which helped as well but I can't keep getting a massage every day.  Yesterday I went to physio and that helped as well.  In fact I think she helped the most but in fairness to Kevin,  I was very late for my appointment and he squeezed me in and didn't have time for a full treatment.

I wasn`t quite sure what was going on with my neck/shoulder/back but its been bugging me for the last two weeks and it was one of the reasons for considering on bailing from the race.  I wasn't sure how painful the constant movement would be but I didn't even notice it during the race.  It turns out that some ligaments in my neck are over stretched and the pain when I was sitting down was very uncomfortable and in different parts of my body.  On Tuesday at swimming we were doing kicking drills with a flutter board and I couldn't do it because my right lat/ribs were very sore.   There also was pain in my right tricep as well as my right back down the spine and right shoulder.  Interesting, the therapist had me on my stomach and was working on my back and there was pain in my right chest.  She ended the treatment by using acupuncture.  This must be latest "in thing" as my massage therapist uses it, chiropractors and physio therapist as well.  I couldn't care less who uses it as long as it works and it does.  I have another appointment on Friday and despite how crazy it is at work, I'm making time to get his problem fixed.

On another front, I've been having some issues with my coach.  I talked to my friend who is a very accomplished triathlete (IM Germany 10:04) about switching coach.  Basically my beef with my coach is the lack of communication.  Now I realize, communication is a two way street and in fact I've always said how my job and coaching are very similar so communication in my job is very important.  Just to give you an example, before the Chilly Half marathon, I had no idea as to what my coach expected of my performance.  He did email me before the race asking ``how I was feeling and if I was ready.``  I said I was ok but how fast should I run.  He replied go for a PB (personal best).  I took this as a ``C`` race and had about six beers the night before.  I ended up missing my PB my 1.3 seconds and my coached emailed me after the race I told him my time, and he didn`t respond.  I guess he wasn`t happy with my performance.  I didn`t mention I rolled my ankle three times in the race as it didn`t hurt so I didn`t think it was serious.  It turned out to be a problem later that week.  For the Around The Bay race we talked before the race as I was unsure if I could even run but there was minimal debrief after the race as in ``good time`` and that was it.

Now I`m not the type of person that needs a lot of hand holding and have everything explained to me.  If the schedule says run for two hours, I go do it regardless of whether or not its +35 degrees or -30 degrees Celsius.  I don`t need a ``pat on the head or good job`` for every race but shouldn't there be some communication before the race and after.

Oh, one of the reasons for keeping my coach is he`s pretty cheap (Yes I know, you get what you pay for) and he fixes my bike as well as provides me supplies (clothing, gels etc). He almost like an one man local bike store and his prices are a little cheaper.

So to all my followers (all 15 of youse guys) who work with a coach, what do you get from your coach, other than your schedule.......











 

Around The Bay Race Report

This run was literally a last minute decision ie at 5:30 am I decided to run.  I was sort of worried about my back\shoulder and my ankle but when I woke up everything seemed ok.  The race started at 9:30 am in Hamilton which was about an one hour drive but we dropped off Rebecca at my parents along the way.  We got there around 8:50 am and I was a little worried about parking but we parked in some restaurant parking lot and headed to the start line.  We walked down to Copps Coliseum when we figured we already passed the start line. People were pouring out the arena and heading to the start line so I followed the crowd.  I was very thirsty at the time but I wanted to save it for the race.  Probably its not a great idea to start a race thirsty.  I meandered towards the start line looking for a place to get some water but couldn't find anything.  I was amazed about the number of clothing people had thrown on the ground.  I hope the race crew picked up the clothing and donated to charity.  Out of desperation, I grabbed a water bottle that someone had discarded and drank the rest of the water (yes I know that's gross but I was THIRSTY!)

I started the race at the back of the pack and took my time getting to the start line.  The plan was to use this as a test run and not try for the 2:35 coach was originally targeting because of my injuries.  Rather, we agreed to use the 10 x 1s and run around 5:30 pace.  The first 10 km was fairly easy with the walk breaks and I ran around 53 minutes.  I had trouble running at a 5:30 pace and found I was running closer to a 5:00 minute pace.

The course follows some of the same streets that the Hamilton Half marathon that I ran with Tammy last fall.  Around the 14 km mark I caught up to Lisa and we ran together for about three minutes and then we split up.  I hit the 21 km mark around 1:57 mark but the course started to get hillier.  The rollers were reminding me of Muskoka 70:3 but not as many (or so it seemed).  The big test was was around the 25.5 km mark where the course goes into a valley and a killer one km hill takes you out of the valley.  There was no way I was walking that hill and managed to pass several people.  By the time I reached the top, I`m pretty sure my HR was pushing maximum but I still manged to run around a 5:00 pace with  four km to go.  As we ran past the cemetery, the Grim Reapers we standing in the middle of the road, high fiving as we ran by.  I could see Copps Coliseum was in sight but I could feel my right foot sliding around in my shoe.  I looked down and saw my shoe laces were untied with one km to go.  What to do.  I stopped and tied my shoe and hammered it down the road.  As we ran past the stadium with only 100 meters to go I saw a runner down on the ground and a couple of volunteers were helping him.  I hope he was ok.  We rounded the corner and headed down the ramp in the Coliseum towards the finish line.  The roar of the crowd was deafening and I sprinted the last couple of meters.  After I crossed the finish line, I looked up saw the stadium was more than half full.  This wasn`t going to be easy finding Tammy and the kids.  We walked under the seats where I grabbed the post race bag and found a place to stretch.  I looked up and saw two girls talking and one of them didn`t have a drop of sweat on her.  I wondered if she even ran the race but she was wearing a race bib and was in the area restricted to runners only, so she must have ran.  I looked like crap.

I headed up the escalators to the seating part of the stadium and was surprised by the sear number of people walking around and the level of noise.  I hobbled over the seating and looked around trying to spot Tammy in the seats but it was impossible.  I went back down towards the runner`s exit and found them.  Unbelievable.  I thought I would be looking for them for hours, because there were so many people there.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about this race:
a)  It is a race I`ve wanted to run for a long time (this is the third time I`ve trained for it but only the first time running it.
b)  I originally was shooting for a time of 2:35 but ended up with 2:48 because of the 10 by 1s
c)  I walked this race.....grrr
d)  At least my ankle held up ok (we`ll see about tomorrow) but I have a king size blister on my foot
e)  This was the furthest I`ve ever ran (30 km) and even missed two long runs
f)  Props to John Proc (first road race) and Daryl who had smoking times

I rate my performance on this B race, a B-

Blind Date With John Proc....Ugh!!

So a lot has happened this week.....or maybe not.  As you recall, I hurt my ankle after running two half marathons in 6 days.  I've always had ankle problems but its been a couple of years since its flared up but it dates back to about 15 years ago when I was playing Australian Rules Football and as I ran off the field, I stepped in a two foot hole twisting my ankle quite badly.  Ironically, this is the worst injury I had of playing 11 years of Aussies Rules.  Every once in a while, it would flare up and I couldn't walk for a week or so which is one of the reasons I hired a coach.

On Monday I ran 11 km at race pace to "test" the ankle out.  It held out fine with only a minor soreness so on Thursday, I talked to coach and we set out a game plan.  The plan is to run at a much slower pace than originally planned and use the 10 x 1s to minimize the pounding (the 10 x 1s is to run 10 minutes and walk 1 minute).  The worst case scenario is that if I ran and got a stress fracture, I would be out for about six weeks.  That would eliminate the Toronto Marathon in May but I could always run the Hamilton marathon in November.  I was more worried about wrecking my triathlon season so I went to see Kevin (chiropractor) and he confirmed I had no stress fracture and was ok to run.  Yea!

One of the other reasons I wanted to see Kevin was my right shoulder/back was killing me.  I don't know what I did but just sitting at my desk had it throbbing.  It turns out that all the extra hours of working/sitting at my desk, has caused my shoulder/back to tighten up.  Kevin did some painful ART and suggested a massage.  It felt better but no where near perfect.

This morning I went for a short 30 minute run which was a lot harder than I anticipated.  I actually struggled and my shoulder/back was killing me.  I'm not sure if I can run for 3 hours!!  Also my foot was a little sore as well.  I decided to go pick up my race kit in Hamilton today as I actually had some spare time.  I remembered that John Proc worked in Hamilton so I flipped him an email and after some going back and forth we worked out a plan to meet and pick up our race kits.

The drive to Hamilton was uneventful but once I got downtown, the one thing I hate about the city is all the (&#*$*&&#@ one way streets!!  I drove by Copps Colosseum several times trying to find a place to park.  The one lot I pulled into wanted a measly $10 to park.   Umm no thanks!!  I found a side street to park for free except in Hamilton it looks like they only clear one side of the sidewalks and walking around in dress shoes in the snow is always interesting.

Anyways, I met up with John Proc (christ, this guy's tall).  Its always good to meet other triathletes.  We chatted while waiting for the doors to open (thankfully we lined up inside) and picked up our race kits which is by far the crappiest race kit I've ever seen.  Basically it was the timing chip and a T-shirt and that was it!  We even had to bag them ourselves.  The race expo wasn't all that great either as the prices looked to be the same in the stores.  We did find a beautiful foam roller for John but true to his form, he wouldn't cough up $40 for it.  Actually that was very expensive and I don't blame him.  I told him I could get one for about half price from the Chiropractor College in Toronto but even that seemed to be out of his price range!! Cheap Cheap!!!

I had to boot back to Toronto as I had arranged for a massage for my back as sitting in the car for two hours didn't help it.  The massage was predictably painful but did help somewhat.

So I guess whether I do Around The Bay will turn out to be a game day decision on Sunday morning..............

Run For Japan

I am of Japanese descent and the recent earthquake in Japan has left me wondering what else can I do besides the obvious of donating money to the Red Cross.  Reading Scobie's blog, he posted this interesting article.  Its called Run For Japan and its a different fundraiser.  Please help any way you can.


The Objective:
To cover 24,901 miles (right around the world) in 28 days with at least one run dedicated from every country in the World. To achieve this runners around the globe are being asked to dedicate just one run to the people of Japan and donate at least one unit of their home currency per mile run.


I'll figure out which run to dedicate and speaking of which, I ran this morning for 40 minutes and while my ankle was ok, I could "feel" it towards the end of the run.  If the race was three weeks away, I could make it but at this stage of the game with only eight days to go, it makes no sense to push it and run the risk of destroying my 2011 race season.  Around The Bay will come and go for me in 2011 but there will be 2012.  I'll target another Half Marathon somewhere around late April.  Email me if you're interested in buying my bib or if you know someone looking for a bib.


PS:  For the record while I know we have relatives in Japan, I think they are in the south.  I've never been to Japan and never met them.  I am a third generation Canadian and my parents have only been to Japan once in there lifetime.    Any relatives we have in Japan are distant, literally and figuratively.  

What To Do?

Tomorrow I'm supposed to have a long run of 2:40 hours but there is no chance of that happening.  My foot pain has gone away thanks to the anti inflams which I stopped taking yesterday.  Today I walked around the Ontario Science Centre for five hours with no pain but I think it would be wise to bail from my long run tomorrow morning.  So here's the dilemma:  I rolled my ankle several times a couple of weeks ago at the Chilly Half Marathon and the following week, my run schedule was too intense.  Last Sunday, my ankle started to hurt.  I've hurt this ankle many of times in the past and it usually subsides after a couple of weeks of not running.  The Chilly was a "C" race and I shouldn't have pushed it when the Around The Bay (30 km) was so close.  This is a race that I've trained for twice in the past and was not able to make it to the start line.  It is a "B" race but one I've wanted to do as it is the oldest road race in North America, in fact older than the Boston Marathon.

I probably could finish the race, but not in the time coach would be expecting me to finish (around 2:30 - 2:40).  At the same time, despite my foot feeling "fine," do I risk further injury and possibility jeopardize my 2011 season?  After this race, I have Sporting Life 10k (C race), Toronto Marathon (I've never done a marathon), Muskoka Long Course (B race), maybe Peterboro Half Iron (A race), Calgary 70.3 (A race) and Muskoka 70.3 (A race).

Or do I go for it and let the chips fall where they may?

This is Trouble.........

On Sunday my left foot was beginning to throb.  We had friends over for lunch so after they left, I started to do P90X yoga as I didn't have time to do it in the morning.  With the time change, a late rise and a mad scramble to clean the house left no time for yoga.

After the friends left, I went down for some much needed yoga.  I was still sore from Saturday's 25 km run and thought this would help.  I completed about 50 minutes before I had to make the kids' dinner.  My left foot was beginning to get sore and by night time it was throbbing.  For Monday's workout, I was supposed to do more speed work but running down the driveway was going to be a problem so I rode instead.  Half way through the ride, I got bored so I rode out of the saddle for about 15 minutes.  Not bad but my foot wasn't much better and in fact I was walking with a slight limp.

I've had this problem many times with this foot as it is on the inside of my left foot.  About 10 years ago when I was playing Aussies Rules Football, I was running off the field and stepped in a hole about two feet deep.  I rolled my ankle badly and its never been the same however its been about four years since its "blown up."

I was quite sure why now but I can think of several maybes....
1.  the Chilly Half was not an "A" race but I ran like it was (the coach told me to)
2.  during the race, I rolled my ankles three times, twice on my left foot
3.  last week I had no recovery week
4.  last week I had two interval runs @ 4:30 min\km and a long run of 25 km so that's two half marathons in six days
5.  the return of Pseudo Gout as I've had way too many beers over the last several weeks.  Pseudo Gout is similar to regular gout and extremely painful but a trip to the doctor ruled that out but at least I did get some anti-inflams.  That means no beer and bloating.  I always gain weight when I'm on anti-inflams

So where does that leave me?  Well, Around The Bay is in less than weeks and that's a race I've missed twice because of injuries.  Its not looking good but we will see how the rest of the week shapes up.  I talked to the coach and agreed to bail on the two interval runs and most of Saturday's 2 hour and 40 minute long run.  Wow good decision coach!   Coach was expecting me to run ATB in 2 1/2 hours but not a chance of that happening now

I've been totally pissed off the entire day

Weekly Update

Work is still busy but beginning to slow down however I have to work in about two hours so I figured I'd post a quick update

Monday
Nothing doing as it was a recover day from the Chilly.  I thought about doing P90X yoga but was too tired so I just read blogs.

Tuesday
Masters swimming but I was still tired and didn`t have a good workout.  Hockey was the same that night and we got hammered.  Its only pick up hockey so who cares

Wednesday
A pathetic bike ride as I barely made it through the drills.  Why am I doing drills three days after a race   What happened to my recovery week  The weather is looking really crappy with rain, snow and wind and tomorrow I have to run intervals so I switched it today while the weather is somewhat bearable.  I went over to my parents at noon and ran around the old hood.  Unfortunately I forgot my running jacket and there was no way I could run without a wind breaker and I did not want spend more than one hour driving home and back.  I phoned my brother Glen to see if he had any old jackets at the house.  He didn't but said just to wear any old windbreaker.  That did the trick as I wore my Moms bright yellow jacket which wasn't a bad idea as it was very overcast and rainy but the jacket made it easier for cars to see me.  The workout was 6 x 1,000 meters sprint @ a 4:30 min km in the pouring rain and wind.  This was going to be fun....not.  Clearly if this morning bike workout wasn't a great one, neither was this run.  Did I mentioned I ran a half marathon three days ago  I died on the last sprint and it was a slow jog back home.

Thursday
Masters swim again which was a little better but I bailed on the last drill of 5 x 100 meters @ 1.45.  I tried swimming the first 100 meters but my goggles filled up with water and that was the end of workout.

Friday
Another ride and more one legged drills.  Did I mentioned how much I hate one legged drills
At least this ride was a little better than Wednesday.  I was supposed to pick up pizza for dinner on the way home but ended up getting stuck on a call.  I ended up being 90 minutes late and was starving.  I made the mistake of having one slice and it was all down hill from there.  One slice lead to another and.....  Then I opened a beer and another and.....

Saturday
Unsurprisingly,  I gained two pounds last night.  This mornings run was for 2:20.  This was not going to be fun.  Did I mentioned I ran a Half Marathon six days ago  I got up at 4:30 am to eat and catch up on some blogs.  I left at 5:20 am and was tired at the end of the first two kilometers.  The temperature dropped and the sidewalks were like skating rinks so I ran on the road.  At that time of the morning it wasn't a problem as traffic was very light and when a car approached, they either changed lanes or I jumped on the side.  It wasn't an exciting run and not much to report other than the fact that it took me 2 hours and 20 minutes to run 24 km.  I did not care about pace or what zone I ran in.  I just wanted to get it done.  Maybe drinking beers the night before a long run isn't such a good idea

Time for a quick nap at 9:50 am before heading into work.

That's all I got.

HEY!!! GET THIS ASSHOLE OFF THE COURSE!!! - Chilly Race Report

We went to Great Wolf Lodge Waterpark in Niagara Falls, on Friday for a two night visit.  I've known people who went to it and they said they had a good time but didn't know what to expect.  I tried updating the blog while I was there on Friday, using my POS Blackberry (time to get a new one) but obviously it didn't save so I just summarize our stay there.

As I said to a friend, "I'm glad I didn't pay full price for our stay!"  and he agreed.  All in all, it was okay but after hanging out in the park for hours soaking wet, I had a chill and felt a little sick.  On Friday night, which was two nights before the Chilly Half, I took a sleeping pill to ensure I had a good night sleep and it turned out that I had one of the best sleeps in a long time.  I went to bed around 9 pm and didn't wake up until 6:30 am!!  I was out like a light!!  I guess all extra hours I've been working finally caught up to me.

Saturday morning, it was pouring rain and barely above zero degrees.  I was supposed to do a 10 minute run but I didn't run since Monday so I increased it to 20 minutes.  There was no way I was going to run in that crap for 20 minutes so I went to the gym and ran on a treadmill.  That was painful and I struggled to finish.  How others run for hours on a treadmill is beyond me.

By Saturday night, the rain was pouring down and the winds were howling.  I'm glad the Chilly was on Sunday as the weather was suppose to change and the temperature was to drop below freezing.  That's better than running in the pouring rain but the winds were just nasty.  At dinner I had a "small" 32 oz beer (equivalent to three beers, I think) and then another pint.  This was my version of carb loading.  Friday and Saturday eating were a disaster.  Good thing we didn't have a scale in the room.

Sunday morning the weather was just as nasty but the rain had turned to snow and there was about 5 inches on the ground and more coming down.  The Chilly is in Burlington which is about 40 minute drive from Niagara Falls.  However it took longer than expected as the roads weren't plowed and it was quite slick.  We saw lots of accidents and several cars and trucks in the ditch.  That did not sit well with Tammy as she was on the verge of flipping out and it wasn't as if I was speeding or anything.  I actually was driving fairly slow and responsible.  In fact, I was driving so slow that several trucks were passing me

We finally got to Burlington with 30 minutes to spare and pulled in the parking lot of the hotel that was hosting the race.  I tried to get in the hotel to change and take a leak but it was completely full and they weren't allowing anyone else in.  I went back to change in the car which was a disaster as I couldn't find lots of things that were kind of important, like my bib which the timing chip on the back.  I finally got ready to go and ran to the start line which was about one kilometer away.  Talk about crazy, I was running to get to the start line when the race had already started and runners were coming towards me!! DOH!!

The temperature had warmed up from Niagara Falls to a balmy -5 Celsius but the winds were blowing around 25 km\hr.  It was really hard to figure out what to wear as the windchill would make a big difference.  The roads were very slushy and the city layered down salt which began to melt the snow.  Within the first 500 meters, my feet were soaked but the dangerous part was the slush hid the potholes.  In fact I rolled my ankle three times by stepping in a hidden pothole.  That would come back to haunt me.

Things were going along until around the 8 km mark when a car pulled out of a parking lot and proceed to drive down the street with runners in front of him.  I don't understand why people can't wait or why they need to drive when there is a race in progress.  People on the sidelines were yelling at him and motioning him to pull over.  One girl in front of me, pounded on the driver side window.  He hit the brakes and I thought he was going to get out and confront her.  That would not have been a good idea....on his part.  I finally caught up to the car and pounded on the trunk and then on the other side of the street was a cop standing there.  I yelled at the cop "HEY, GET THIS ASSHOLE OFF THE COURSE!!" and she immediately ran across the street and flagged the car over.  Thankfully the idiot didn't hit anyone.

By the 14 km mark I was beginning to tire.  Eload was one of the sponsors for the event and they were giving out lemon flavored gel at one of the water stations.  I grabbed one and ripped it opened.  It was absolutely disgusting and I dumped it at the next water station.  Sorry Dr Stoddard but your gel sucks.

Around the 15 km mark I was running beside a cop car.  I asked for a lift as I was getting tired and the cop laughed.



Final results:  1:44:44 (missed PB by 1.3 seconds....crap!!! I shouldn't have stopped when I rolled my ankle three times) for a 5:05 min\km pace but according to my watch, I only ran 19.76 km for a 5:18 min\km pace.  Crappy Polar!!

Final verdict:  The carb loading worked as I was hoping to finish around 1:50 plus the chilly  they served at the end of the race was awesome!!!

Not sure how I'm going to do at Around The Bay (30 km) in three weeks.  I won't be running at the same pace, that's for sure.