Seems I'm a little bit goofy

My Superboy costume was the best 60 bucks I ever spent.


Turning 42 this year, I wanted to run a marathon close to my birthday, but that really didn't work out. So as it happens, the Walt Disney World Marathon fell 4 days after I turned 42.2. This had to be a sign. When Kiza gave the go ahead to register she gave one caveat. You don't go all the way to Disney to run "just a Marathon". It was on my bucket list, so I figured: why not. I registered for the Goofy race and a half challenge. I really wanted that Goofy medal. (I didn't do the "Dopey" as mentioned in this post when I registered)

The next task was a costume, I had to do it in a costume. I found the coolest Superboy costume on a Chinese web site, $40 plus $20 shipping. I hummed and I hawed and in a moment of courage or insanity, I ordered it. I was a little surprised when I actually received it, I somehow imagined it was a scam or it would look nothing like the picture. I couldn't have been more wrong. This would make the race so much more fun, but I couldn't have imagined just how much more.

Training was not stellar. Cold and wet days, running back to back long runs, getting sick, all made it difficult to get good quality runs in. For the first time in my running life I found myself loathing the thought of going out for a run. Usually after 10 or 20 minutes of any given run, I'd find a groove and be happy with my run. Not this time. Every step of every run seemed more laborious than the last. I really wasn't enjoying my training. My longest training weekend was a 15km/31km combo, and that was only once. The rest were 10km/20somethingkm or a 30km with no Saturday run, and there were too few of those.


I did have a few cards up my sleeve though, I had trained running continuously, plus my Saturday pace was typically faster than the longer Sunday runs. On race day my legs wouldn't be as trashed since I was running the half with Kiza at a 6:30/km average pace, about a minute per km slower than in training, plus doing 10's a 1's which would ease the toll taken on my legs. Also, much of my training was on poor footing, in varying depths of snow and slush, and race day would be on dry pavement which would also be less taxing.


The only other variable was the weather and how a full Lycra bodysuit would affect my ability to run in hot Florida weather. Early race start and water retention of the suit might mitigate the risks.


The parade of zombies was much more lively and jovial than at Ironman. These people were way happier than they should've been before 4:00am. The Disney affair is very much an event for beginners. The average finish times are way slower than most races. Consequently, everyone is just so incredibly happy to be there, often in disbelief that they are actually doing this. It was rather refreshing. Not a lot of egos.


The march was endless, (and we were still in the bag check area!) and I was quite chilly even in my bodysuit. Huge port-a-potties lines congested passage to the corrals, we inched our way to the start area with the clock ticking dangerously close to start time. Ultimately we arrived at corral B with only 1 minute to spare before the 5:00am cut off at which time they said if you weren't in your corral you couldn't start the race. Clearly they didn't enforce this rule.


I liked the fireworks better than the Army Run's Howitzer. Being in corral B we got to see them 3 times, wheelchair start, corral A start and our start.





There were lots of long roads and parking lots, but there were so many runners you didn't really get that lonely feeling. Once in while there would be an entertainment station with a DJ or a marching band (standing still) or photo ops (which had long line ups, so we opted not to stop). Every one of these places where spectators were close enough to see us (and there was good enough lighting) I would hear: "Go Superman!"

At around mile 4, we came around the motor speedway (the out side, not the inside like the Marathon would) and caught our first glimpse of Cinderella's castle. That was magical. It was draped in pixie dust. But it sure seemed far away.


Coming into Magic Kingdom, even the staff (or "cast members" as they are called) would call out: "Go Superman!". But nothing could prepare me for Main street USA. The crowd erupted for us.


Well, for Superman. Poor Kiza, she was just "the girl running next to Superman". (sorry babe, next time you wear the costume)!


We stopped to take a pic of Kiza with Cinderella's castle in the background then ran around Tomorrow Land (Kiza commented that it must be hard to keep that from becoming Yesterday land), then through the castle to the sound of blaring trumpets. Very cool indeed.



And just like that, we were through Magic Kingdom and back on the lonely road headed back to Epcot.


Just before the end there was a rather nasty up hill (overpass I think) were the soldiers from Toy Story were "encouraging" people up the hill.


Next thing I know Sarge is yelling "Superman! Get down and give me three", stunned, I dropped and started doing push ups. Make it FIVE he says (apparently to give Kiza enough time to snap a pic)! Thanks a lot. I can't believe I actually did that, but I didn't have the presence of mind to do anything else. At least it made for a good pic.





Coming back in to Epcot, the cheers for Superman started again with a vengeance, as daylight increased more people could see the giant red "S" from further away. I decided then and there that I had to wear the costume for the Marathon, the benefit of the crowd support out weighed the risk of heat, and I would use my mitigation strategy too.


Kiza's foot held out, we finished strong in 2:19:02, all things considered, an admirable time. I was very proud of her. Then we walked all over the place and back looking for the buses. Frustrating end to the event, but we were happy once we were on our bus, headed back to the resort and the kids.


The Marathon was going to be a crap shoot, I think it was the first time I went into a race really not knowing if I'd be able to finish it. I was under trained for Vegas in 2007 but in complete denial. This time I knew I didn't have adequate training.


I decided not to run with a watch or Garmin during the Marathon and rely on perceived effort. Since the plan was to go as hard as I could while the sun was still down and bank as much time as I could before it got too hot. I'd likely have to ease off at the end anyway so it made sense as a race strategy. Although I had no real goal, I did want to try and make it under my 3:58 from Vegas (didn't happen).


I decided to walk the mile markers, it wouldn't be exactly 10s and 1s but it would do. Turns out they each had a clock so I'd have an idea of my progress.


Once it started to warm up I began pouring water on my suit at each water station. This turned out to be a very effective strategy. I was through the half in 1:56 and change and hadn't seen the sun yet. I kept pushing the pace and it wasn't until mile 15 that the sun finally broke the tree line and even then only when we were at the top of an overpass.


By ESPN Wide world of Sports, there was no hiding from the sun anymore, but the water retention in the suit was doing it's job. Things got considerably harder by mile 19, but that was more to do with my fitness than the heat.


If the the cheers for Superboy were amazing during the half, they paled in comparison to the Marathon, I felt like a rock star. The thing with Superman, much like the Disney characters, everybody recognizes that big red "S", young and old, across all cultures. In the parks it was even better, the staff would call out to me, parents would point me out to their kids, if I struck a Superman flying pose with one arm out front, the crowd would go wild. Running through the baseball stadium when I was on the jumbo-tron, the stadium went crazy.

Definitely the best 60 bucks I ever spent.

The last few miles were really rough, I don't remember ever looking forward to a finish line so much. Coming around the Pavilions of the world in Epcot I had nothing left, even the cheers for Superman weren't enough to put any kind of bounce in my step. I ran, well jogged, to be sure, I took no unscheduled walk breaks, but I was sure looking for those mile markers at the end, let me tell you.


Then there it was, just like the day before, the finish line was before me, the crowd cheered, the announcer cried "Here comes Superman", and I did it. I ran a Marathon. No matter how you slice it, that is a very cool thing to be able to say, regardless of whether you did the half the day before or not. I was Superman.

During the race there were signs along the road. I first noticed them along the worst part of the course, where it goes along the waste treatment centre, the signed talked about how much water is recycled and whatnot. I mostly ignored them, but at one point my eye fell upon one that was a quote by Walt himself, it said: "It's kinda fun doing the impossible" - Walt Disney. It really struck a chord, I felt like I was doing exactly that, the impossible.


Donald Duck Half Marathon 2:19:02

Mickey Mouse Marathon 4:04:29

Goofy Race and a half challenge: 6:23:31


I couldn't be happier.

I think Crossfit is helping my run. PEC 1/2 Marathon

My goal was simple: beat my previous best from NCM 2008 at the height my my Ironman training (1:37:38)

I've run 4 half marathons since then, but as the 1:50 pace bunny. I haven't race one since. I've raced a good number of shorter distances and a couple of Around the Bays, but not the half.

My strategy was simple too: go hard to the finish line, or explode along the way.

I did pretty good. The last 5km were rough, but I dug deep. I finished in 1:38:23, 45 seconds off my PB. I'll take it.

The real story however is the training I put in.

These are mileage totals for the 6 weeks of training I put in.
27.82 km - 2:26:02 Pace: 5:15s /km
36.79 km - 3:25:47 Pace: 5:35s /km
36.50 km - 3:13:44 Pace: 5:19s /km
29.66 km - 2:41:52 Pace: 5:28s /km
30.59 km - 2:42:09 Pace: 5:18s /km
32.16 km - 3:01:58 Pace: 5:40s /km

My long runs were 12km, 19km, 12km, 19km, 23km and 10km

This is after a summer of virtually no running, but almost daily Crossfit.

I think it's safe to say Crossfit has helped my run. To get within 45 seconds of my best time (a time I got when I'd been training all winter gearing up for Ironman) on less than 200km over only 6 weeks says a lot.

We stayed with Erin McDougall, who lives nearby, the night before the race. A truly wonderful family and very gracious hosts. Just stay out of those two back rooms!

The biggest challenge was getting the kids to sleep. Race morning was early and not too stressful. Erin and I drove to the finish to catch a bus, leaving the women and children behind. Stood in line in the misty rain for quite a while before finally boarding a bus to the start line, arriving with maybe 40minutes to spare. Got my bag checked and went for a warm up run just shy of 10 minutes out, found a tree for a quick pee break then ran back with about 10 minutes to spare.

It was a small field, when the horn went off it was barely 6 seconds to get over the mats. I settled in to a groove right away, just under 4:30/km. Felt good, didn't feel like I was pushing it. Played leap frog with a couple of girls for the first 5km before dropping them, and one guy who really didn't want me to pass him.

He was funny. All over the road, like the anti-tangent, he'd pass people really wide, spontaneously switch sides of the road, it was weird. I stayed with him most of the run.

After I took my first gel at the 7km marker, the markers started to show up far more quickly than I was expecting them km 8, 9 and 10 went by in the blink of an eye.

I was mostly within 7 seconds of 4:30 up until 15km, it started to get harder at that point.

At 15km one of the girls I had dropped at 5km passed me, so she became my new focus. Around this time, weird guy stopped to pull down his compression socks and 20 steps later stopped to pull them back up. I figured this was a fatal mistake, so I took advantage and passed him aggressively. Leapfrog girl was still holding a good pace and I was fighting to stay as far under 5:00/km as possible. Not long after that, compression sock boy passed me again, he really didn't want me in front of him.


The hill at 16-17km was expensive, but I still managed to pick it up a bit compared to 15km and 16km splits.

The hill slowed everyone down, but it broke weavy compression sock boy. At the top of the hill he started walking, I blew past him with less than 4km to go, trying to hold to leapfrog girl and never saw him again.

After the big hill, with the help of some down slopes and my rabbit leapfrog girl, I was able to get a couple of splits around 4:45 and the last km I put everything I had to try and catch her before the finish. I made it to within 10 feet, but ran out of road. I congratulated and thanked her for a great run and for pushing me to the end.

I friend of mine, Heath gave me my medal! Thanks Heath!

Looking at my splits, I definitely faded progressively but held pretty constant for the first 15km and was able to dig deep to the end.
1- 4:29
2- 4:37
3- 4:20
4- 4:32
5- 4:25
6- 4:32
7- 4:35
8- 4:34
9- 4:35
10- 4:37
11- 4:42
12- 4:37
13- 4:35
14- 4:36
15- 4:52
16- 4:54
17- 5:16  (the hill)
18- 4:46
19- 4:45
20- 4:52
21- 4:41
21.1 0:38 (169m) 3:45/km

I'm very happy with this result. In a couple of years, when the kids are older and I've got more Crossfit under my belt I plan to start a more conventional training cycle (not sure if it'll be for triathlon or just running), and I expect to see some serious improvements. For now, this seems to be working really well for me.

Thanks Kiza, I appreciate your support in these crazy endeavours. And thanks Erin for your hospitality.

ETA: 10th out of 46 in the men's 40-49 category (top 21%), 32nd male out of 195 (top 16%) and 35th out of 695 over all (top 6%). Not too shabby.

PEC half marathon training log for Monday, October 8th

I am race ready.

10km @ 4:34/km avg pace. Only started to get uncomfortable at the very end. Looking forward to PEC.

Year One - My Crossfit experiment

After Dexter was born I found myself faced with a serious lack of time available for training.

In 2008 I did my first Ironman, spent an enormous amount of time training, did a Marathon, a half-marathon, sprint, Olympic distance and half iron distance triathlons as well.

Then Delilah was born. In 2009 I did very little training or racing.

In 2010 I bounced back with higher mileage run focused year that saw me beat my previous bests at 30km in Hamilton, run a 43:30 10km at Fall Colours and a blistering 20:33 5km at the Cookie Run.  A banner year.

Dexter arrived the following January and suddenly, not only was there a new baby, but there was still a toddler at home. There would be no bounce back year this time. I had to get creative.

Enter Crossfit.

In order to minimize the impact on the rest of the family, most weekday mornings I quietly slink out of bed at five o'clock in the morning, dress, make a coffee and drive to Physics Crossfit to face the unexpected at the 5:30am class. One hour, that's it, and the actual workout part is only a fraction of that.  But what a workout.

Constantly varying, short, intense, full body workouts focusing on full range of motion, with the best exercises from Olympic Weightlifting, gymnastics, plyometrics, calisthenics and kettle bell will be thrown at me in unknown and unpredictable combinations.

One year ago today, I took my first Crossfit intro class and leaned things like "thrusters", "sumo dead lift high pull" and "over head squats" (which I was completely unable to do).


Through Crossfit I discovered that I had some pretty serious mobility and flexibility issues that I always kind of knew I had, but didn't fathom the extent or impact.  Now I could see, and it wasn't pretty.

One thing Crossfit has done is identify my weaknesses, and as the year progressed, those weaknesses became stronger, and exposed other weaknesses. On this one year anniversary of my experiment I feel that I'm finally at the point where I've worked through all the peripheral weakness and am finally focusing on the the core abilities and building strength where it counts.  


Over the past year I've done things I had never dreamed of being able to do, and in some cases, had never even heard of. I have emerged at the other end stronger, fitter, more flexible and mobile than ever before in my life.

I've done workouts that have included 100 pull ups. I've climbed a rope 15 feet into the air. I've dropped a really heavy barbell from my shoulders, and loved the sound it makes when it hits the floor.

I've also made some really great friends. Friendships bound in shared suffering and shared accomplishment. Friends you don't want to let down by bringing anything less than your "A" game to the workout.

I like what Crossfit is doing for me. I am a new man. Bring on year two.  I expect it to be a banner year.

Around the Bay Road Race 2012

Racing is a very different beast indeed.

In a previous blog post I mentioned that in recreational running you race yourself, or the clock, rarely do you ever race against someone else.

Well this past weekend I did just that.

Never having done it before, the execution was far different than I had imagined. I made a number of tactical errors and they cost me dearly.

But even before race day I knew it would be tough. Much like Mark, the gentleman I was racing against, I only started training at the end of January, and ramped up my long runs rather quickly. I missed a large number of my scheduled mid-week long runs and had a hard time on many of my interval sessions. The week leading up to the race I had heel/Achilles issues and ran only once during my last week of taper and that was only 15 minutes. I didn't have enough mileage under my belt and too few runs.

More mistakes: I really should've brought my Garmin. I only had a watch and could figure out how I was doing at markers but never knew what my pace was at any given time. I should've brought gels instead of dates, which are much harder to chew at race effort than long run effort.

The race itself was great fun, well at least the first 21km were. Decked out in my Crossfit t-shirt and knee-high compression socks, while Mark donned his IM 70.3 Syracuse t-shirt and speed laces,  we took off about 20 seconds back from mats and I immediately let Mark take the lead and set the pace. I knew I could let him get a bit ahead, as long as I kept him in sight. But I couldn't do it, I found myself continuously on his heels. I was scared that I'd lose him if I let him get to far ahead. He wasn't pushing the pace, which I was thankful for, because I did no warm up before the race and was starting cold.

Somewhere after the 9km marker I made my first mistake. I let my honour trump the goal of the race. I began to feel guilty for sitting back behind Mark for the whole race just to pounce at the last minute, so when I was feeling strong I decided to take the lead and set the pace. I blew past him and tried to shake his confidence, but I really hadn't thought far enough ahead.

Now what? I didn't know how far behind me he was, or what impact if any my burst had. Suddenly I was scare of the attack that was sure to come. But when? Would I be ready? I slowed to a pace I felt comfortable (too slow, having a Garmin would've helped here), and braced myself for an attack that never came. At one point a British accent right behind me thanked a spectator and I though: how stupid of Mark to give himself away like that, now I know he's right behind me. Well it wasn't him, but he was right behind me! So some bloke unknowingly blew his cover for me.

Around 15km I moved to the side to clear my nose and looked over my should and there he was, so he knew I knew, and I knew he knew I knew, and he knew I knew he knew I knew, so the game was up and he took the lead again. What a relief. He was finding his stride I tucked in behind him and got ready for the hills.

But at this point I was feeling weak, and needed some food, so at 18km I made my fatal mistake, I stopped running to eat some dates, I was sure I'd make up the time having given my legs a little break and some fresh calories to fuel them. But they took forever to chew and swallow at race effort (compared to long run effort). By the time I got running again I had lost sight of him and began to panic. I hammered the next 2km in the rollers and really trashed my legs.

You have no idea how many white shirt bald guys are on that race course until you need to find one in particular. I never saw him again. I passed the 20km mats 50 seconds behind him. But I was already hurting. By 22km I knew the race was over, but the spectre of my possible attack chased Mark right to the finish line, which was the whole point anyway.

I hit the 24km marker at 2:00 and realized I likely wouldn't even be under 2:30. I stopped a couple of times after that, to refill my water bottle and regroup after the big hill but vowed to run the last 3km no matter what, and I did. My legs have never hurt so much after a race, not even Ironman.

This was the most exhilarating and nerve wracking race I've ever run. I thank you Mark for seeing it the same way I saw it, and making so much fun. We played the trash talk and bravado leading up to the race really well, the whole experience was a blast. My hats off to you, you were the faster man that day. Congratulations. Enjoy your spud trophy, it was well earned.

Me (right) congratulating Mark and handing
over the spud trophy (it's long story).

I certainly learned a lot and to do it again would do a number of things differently, but I don't think it'll ever be quite as much fun as this one, being the first and all.

Although a rematch is definitely not out of question, maybe a half marathon or a 10km instead.  Or maybe a beer mile... hmm...

ATB training log for Sunday, March 18th

Bad dress rehearsal great opening night right?

My last long run before race day was a bit of a disaster. Still some residual soreness from Friday's WOD and my heel isn't at 100% for sure. Ice, foam roller and rest for a today and tomorrow, maybe even Tuesday. A couple of easier runs, maybe something short near race pace, just to get a feel for that pace. And we'll see.

Right now, race day could go either way.

ATB jitters

It seems everyday I'm wavering between:

In the ATB Question-The hill at the end thread, I wrote:
This race isn't about time. It is solely about beating Mark. It would certainly be awesome if we pushed each other to a sliver, but that would be shaving around 10 minutes off both our previous bests, (well, 9 for me, and 11 for Mark, but who's counting)

Whatever it is, the pace won't be constant, I expect jockeying, strategy, attacks, regroups and the like.

I honestly don't know what to expect for a finish time, or how far behind me Mark will be. Time will tell.

And feeling like "I just hope I can give him a run for his money (and get a free beer out of it)".

I haven't felt this nervous about a race a long long time. It's gonna be fun.

Beer Mile!

Today's WOD:

4 rounds for time
-drink a beer
-run 400m

Official rules can be found here.
Colour me impressed Dave B.

Much like the last beer mile with my buddy David Grant , I was slower drinking the first beer than DB and my buddy Chris, and once again ego kicked to try and catch the leaders. Although my mind was saying, take it easy, you'll catch them on the second beer.

Well apparently not, Dave just ripped through beer #2 and I was out of breath from trying to catch up. Even Chris got out of T2 before me.

I kept them close during lap 2, but tried to dial it down so I wouldn't be so out of breath and hopefully drink my way closer to first place, but still Dave was out of T3 before I even started my beer. I finally caught up to Chris on lap 3, had dropped Al and knew there was no way I'd catch Dave, although he was running pretty slow on his final lap, I knew I couldn't drink fast enough to catch him.

When I left T4 Irongirl yelled out 8:20, so I knew sub 9:00 was out of the question, but knowing I had no beer to drink I turned it on for the last lap, I wish I had taken splits. I'll try and upload my Garmin data and figure them out.

9:47 is still a PB, and my first legit distance (first was a short track, second was a "Garmin measured" trail). The Garmin Walk with Delilah and Dexter measured 410m, the extra 10m will be attributed to Garmin inaccuracy.

It was a great event, it was nice to have 4 runners, there were 2 no-shows and Rick bailed due to a sore back, which was too bad, 7 runners would've been so cool. Next time perhaps.

It sure was a wicked buzz all afternoon!

Thanks racers for coming out! Thanks fans and spectators for cheering us along, and laughing at us. Thanks Rick for the great photos.

Thanks especially to Kiza for your help and patience. You're the best.

The 2011 Wellness Challenge 5km for the GCWCC

I ran this race last year and blew up pretty bad. I had been in really good shape at the time having run my current 5km PB of 20:33 only a month later. Last year's edition of this race was just poorly executed.

I haven't done a ton of running lately, with my Crossfit Experiment in full swing, and the Army run out of the way, I've been less than motivated. But thanks to the Army run and some lunch time runs, I felt that a sub 22:00 should be attainable.

Last year I arrived just in time to get my chip and start running. This year, I entered my department as a team and got the bibs/chips in advance, so I decided to run to the venue, about 3.5km from where I work. This was a great idea. I ran relatively easy and was there with about 10 minutes to spare. I kept moving and anxiously awaited the start which was very anti-climactic. No horn, no gun. All of the sudden people were running.

This is a charity event put on by Stats Can, and the majority of the runners aren't experienced, so naturally they hadn't seeded themselves very well, even worse than normal races. So the first km was dodging slower runners. The second km was dodging somewhat faster runners who had started out too fast. I focused on running the tangents and running hard.

I pushed hard in the last km, because I was doing time math and thought I could get close to 21:00, but I ran out of steam with less than 500m to go, and just held of for dear life until I crossed the finish line. It was rough with no water stations or water belt, but I had a bottle stashed near the finish and went straight to it after the race.

I finished in 21:22 (chip) 62nd overall, which, as I just figured out, is actually faster than any of the four 5km races in 4 weeks I did at the beginning of the summer. So I have to be happy with that. Sub 20 is coming. Next season, for sure!

Hard fought Army Run Pace Bunny Report

That was hard.

My training has been more Crossfit than running, and most of my running was geared towards the series of 5km races in the spring and early summer, I mean, I haven't run for much more than 1h without stopping since last year's Army Run. In the weeks leading up to the race, I really wasn't sure I'd be able to pull it off.

As a parent, leaving Delilah and Dexter with our friends Jo-Jo and Andrea was hard enough, but I was so worried about the race that it didn't occupy my mind for very long.

Then somehow, standing in the corral with 20 minutes to go, I knew I would do it. I knew that I would make it happen, even if it hurt, I had it within me to push myself, to make sure I didn't let these people down. Suddenly the nerves were gone. I was calm.

A friend of mine in the military, Ken, and I found each other in the corral and waited for the Howitzer to go off. Fellow RunningMania members Marg and Carla spotted us and came by for hugs. Carla joked that she and Ken, both from Alberta, had to cross the country to meet up for a hug! Then they went to find their corral, and soon, it was time to go.

So it was that, armed with the Coolest Race Shirt Ever (thanks Cynthia), my rabbit ears and good old pace bunny sign from every other Army run (with my splits taped to the back), I took off to the exploding sound of a Howitzer.

Starting with an up hill to the War memorial is never fun, but then you get to enjoy the long steady downhill from Parliament to the Portage bridge which really helps you sort out your pace for the first kilometre.

As we passed the War Museum I kept watching my Garmin, to make sure I was on pace. The paranoia of the pace bunny can get pretty severe. It seemed every time I looked up from my Garmin, Ken was right there in front or beside me. It was around this point, before the 4km turn around that I started making a mental note of the people around me. Besides Ken, there was "Ponytail girl", TEAM guy and the girl I presume he was pacing, yellow shirt sweaty guy and a few others, who would end up staying with me most of the way to the end. It was also around this point that the fasties started coming back the other way, which was very cool and inspiring. I yelled out a couple of time, but mostly my cheers were for the other bunnies, or people I knew.

On the way back I got a shout out from Cynthia, Denise and Al, but somehow missed Kiza.

Bunny paranoia also requires that you verify you splits, because, you know, Garmin isn't 100% accurate and technology has been known to fail. My splits were consistently 15 to 20 seconds ahead, which I figured was good, since the hilly Gatineau side would cost me some time.

Just before crossing the bridge into Quebec, I see this guy standing on concrete divider, cheering us on, and I said "Hey, I know that guy", it was none other than  Dave Grant another one of the RunningMania crew. Gave me a real boost as we headed for the worst of the hills.

It's funny, I didn't really notice the unattractive area of Gatineau the race took us through, it was just the hills. A corner followed by a hill, followed by a corner, followed by a hill, followed by another corner and another hill. "The next one is a heart breaker" I yelled as we turned on to Hotel de Ville and faced a short but steep climb. I was glad when that was behind us.

Even after the hilliest parts, my splits were still 10 seconds ahead. I figured, take it while I can, it'll get harder before the end. As we crossed the bridge back into Ottawa, I was feeling really good, but I didn't want to get too confident, a bit more than half way to go, there was still plenty of time for things to go wrong.

It was around this point that I lost sight of Ken, this worried me briefly, but I had to focus on my job.

So far I had made pretty good use of the water stations, and hadn't even touched my bottle of Gatorade, but at the Foreign Affairs building, after the overpass, I started to notice the heat, and the balance of my water went on my head instead of the ground.

The kilometre markers were coming in rapid succession now, it seemed I hardly had time to look up the expected time for the next split and we were upon it. Thankfully still several seconds ahead.

Coming back from the Governor General's estate, who should show up beside me, David Dazé, preparing for Chicago. His marathon race pace was close enough to my pace that he decide to join me for a while. It was my favourite part of the race. (His too I would guess, because he got a ton of cheers due to bunny proximity!!) We had a pretty good chat along Sussex, which would seem to indicate that I wasn't pushing too hard to hold pace.

We got a shout out from the Jesses and finally, Kiza, who had to cross the median and practically run into on coming runners on my side to get my attention as we crossed paths at the Foreign Affairs building water station.

The hardest part of the race for me came just after the 17km marker. Perhaps it wasn't in the right spot, but for the first time my time was behind the schedule for 17km, by less than 3 seconds, but I had been over 10 seconds ahead. This might not have been so bad, but 17km is just before the long slow steady incline that is MacKenzie between St-Patrick and Rideau. I knew I had to pickup the pace to stay on track, let alone get back to where I was, but this far in to a half marathon on that incline, I had to work so hard, and I felt so slow. For the first time I felt doubt. I complained audibly enough for Dave to come to my rescue. "It gets better up ahead, we'll make it up, no problem". Of course he was right. And that was exactly what I needed to hear. Just hold on over this bump in the road and everything will work it self out. Thanks Dave, I owe you one.

The worst was over, but I was still working hard, there was still plenty of time to fall apart. At Pretoria bridge I didn't even think to look for Jo-Jo so focused was I.

David had put on his final kick with just over 2km to go. I had to remind myself of my job so I didn't try and follow him in!

The last kilometre was rough. David Grant appeared out of nowhere to cheer us in to the finish. Then the crowds carried us. The last few hundred meters were autopilot. The clock said 1:50:45 when I last saw it and Garmin said 1:49:34, so I knew I had done my job. I downed my nearly full Gatoraid bottle and went in search of my kids.

I was happy with my performance. I was under 1:50 chip, which I hadn't been the last two years (1:50:07 and 1:50:28) and knowing that I can pull off a 1:50 half with a few long runs and residual fitness makes me feel proud and confident.

I like this gig. Being "the" 1:50 continous pace bunny of the Army Run is a very cool job indeed. Now I'll have to add 2012 to the back of my shirt before next year. (And hopefully run longer than an hour straight, between now and then)!!!

My legs keep no pace with my desire - A Midsummer Night's Run

Well I lived up to the theme of this year's midsummer night's run.

"My legs keep no pace with my desire..."

My goals weren't aggressive, but the humidity and the killer Crossfit workout Thursday morning weren't a good mix. As a confidence builder for pacing the Army Run (1:50 continuous) I wanted to hold 5:00/km pace and I wanted to take no walk breaks. Missed the mark on both counts.

I drove to Kitchener Friday after work and had a reasonable night's sleep, but come morning I could still feel my glutes and hams after the walking lunges from Thursday morning's Crossfit WOD. I had brought a street hockey ball and sat on that most of the day to try and work out the kinks. I think Advil would have been a good idea, but it didn't occur to me until after. So I rolled, I stretched, I squatted, anything I could think of to get in race shape by the evening.

I spent a couple of hours at a business seminar my older sister wanted us to attend, so I was off my feet and rolled that hockey ball a lot.

I drove down to the race start and got my kit, then went to my friend Lesley's (thank you gracious host) and got ready. And after getting a $40 parking ticked, headed back to the race start area where I ran in to a few running friends. Just before the start of the 15km, I went for a warm up run backward along the 30km route, I figured I might see some of my friends running the 30km, and as luck would have it, I ran into Jesse, and ran a fun couple of hundred meters with her.

The race started pretty well, I had to work hard to keep my pace slow, and I succeeded for the most part, I was hitting the kilometre markers at 5:00 bang on. At 5km some guy asked me what our time was and it was 25:00 even. The next 5km got harder, I'd often be slipping in my pace, slower than 5:15s, but i was always able to pick up it up as soon as I noticed and keep my average pace at 5:00/km. I spotted Lesley on my way back from the turn around and she was having a good race. She was working hard, to be sure, but she wasn't hurting. It was gonna be good. We (me and the guy from 5km) hit the 10km marker at 50:31, so slipping a bit, but acceptable variance. There was still 5km to go, so it wasn't a big deal.

But it started to get harder to pick it up when I noticed I was lagging. I started to get sore in place I don't normally get sore: my knees, IT band/TFL. My legs were trying to compensate for my under performing glutes and hams. Then I got the water station just before 12km and the volunteer hadn't been keeping up filling cups of water, as I ran past the station I had been unable to nab a cup.

Right after passing the station I came to the realization that I'd really been looking forward to some water (I only had gatoraid on me) so I stopped and went back to get some and they had to fill one for me as none were ready.

I thereby aborted goal #2. From that point it just kept getting harder and harder. Pace was slipping and it looked more and more like goal #1 was going to happen either, so I just gave up. I ran with what I could muster, I took a couple more walk breaks. In the last two km, a group of 3 runners passed me, going marginally faster than I was, I picked it up to try and follow them in, and I held on to them for good stretch, but ultimately I couldn't and did the unthinkable, I walked in the last kilometre of a race!

I crossed the finish line, spent. 1:19:42, worse than last year, if that was at all possible. Got my giant medal and awesome water bottle. But I felt defeated. I'm still  glad I did it, my body will adapt stronger for it.

I didn't stick around after the race. I had a long drive back to Ottawa ahead of me and figured the sooner I got the road the better. I was treated to a fantastic lightening show in the last hour and a half of the way home which had me laughing out loud it was so awesome.

I've had some great runs lately, but in cooler, dryer weather, so I'm NOT really worried about the Army run, but a solid long run next weekend would be really nice.

Dave Grant's Beer Mile

Dave was totally I'm gonna kick ass here dudes, and he drank his first beer pretty quick so I was nervous cause in my other beer mile, my fisrt beer was my fastest and it just got slower from there, but i tried top ace my self, but I couldn't let him jkust run awayu, so i tried to stay with him in the first 400 bad idea managed to get my breathing under control and finshed my beer before him

NOw I was runnin gmy own pace and was better for it, not so out o f breath at beer 2 and 3. Afer beer 4 i ran for all i was worht since didn't need to save breath for another beer.

Broke 10 minutes!!! YEAH!@

9:52!  I ROCK!!!!!

Four of Five (but really of Four) - Canada Day 5km

Brutal.

Morning was chaotic, getting everyone loaded up and ready to go. We were late leaving, but still made time to stop at *$. We picked up Denise and drove out to Kanata for the Canada Day Race put on by Bushtukah.

My warmup consisted mostly of running back and forth to the van to bring back some item we no longer needed or to fetch something we'd forgotten.

Left the kids in the care of Jo-Jo, Denise and Clarisse and headed to the start line, wished Kiza  good luck and seeded myself near the front. I saw Nick and wished him luck.

I didn't think it would go nearly as well as I was hoping. My hips and back were still sore for recent workouts, and during my "warmup" I felt tight. But I was determined to let it ride.

We took off at a crazy pace and immediately hit an up hill. So much for pancake flat there Andy!  Pace was like 3:45 or something. Saw a big sign that said 1km way to soon to be the actual 1km marker, but then I noticed my stopwatch hadn't started! Grrrrr!

I settled down a bit, focused on running the tangents and taking note of the people around me. But I was already starting to feel it wasn't happening by 2km. I was hot, sore and out of breath and decide to walk the water station, get some fluids down and get my heart rate down, the hammer it home.

I must of left my hammer at home. My pace kept climbing and energy level kept dropping. By 3.5km I was in damage control. I rallied in the last kilometre and managed to hold pretty good form, if not pace, to the end.

I've been asking to much of my body lately. I have to remember this is a long term goal and plan, I'll continue CrossFit over the summer and re-test in the fall. Maybe beat Beethoven (the first 5km I ever did).

I was so wiped that I fell asleep in the van on the way home.

Final time: 22:37

Again, brutal.

Three of Five - Crazy Eights

Today I ran the third of five 5km races in my (personal, since nobody else decided to join) "shallonge". Race #3 was the Smiths Falls Figure Eight 5km. A more apt name would be crazy eights.

The way this zany course is laid out, I cannot fathom how they couldn't find an extra 500m somewhere along the way to make it the whole 5km long.

They said that due to construction the course was shortened by 200m. The course was notorious for being short, however the math they apparently used assumed the original race was 5km, minus 200m giving 4.8km. Now depending on who you trust for the actual distance, my race is either an incremental success or a bitter setback.

The official race distance, which Sportstats used to calculate paces, is 4.8km, so my result of 20:21 gives an average pace of 4:15/km and therefore a 5km time of 21:15

Andy's Garmin said it was 4.67km which give a pace of 4:21/km and a 5km extrapolation of 21:47

and finally my Garmin said it was only 4:48km, which in turn give 4:32/km and 22:42.

Judging solely by how it felt, I'd guess mine was closest, but averaging it out I guess I'll take Andy's.

I went to pick up Clarisse at a sleep over in Greely and made it to the race site in time to pick up our kits get our numbers on, chit chat with Joe and Jessie (of Zoomphoto) and get ready to start. Our races started at nearly the same time, but at two different locations on either side of the finish line, so by the time I got Clarisse squared away, there was no time for any kind of warm up.

Plus yesterday's workout took a big toll, and my massage on Friday did too. I couldn't hold my form, and every step seem like more effort than it should've been.

The course was crazy, we ran on recreational paths, on grass, through an RV park, on gravel, on packed dirt, up a steep grassy hill, over a bridge, on roads, sidewalks through trees. Why they couldn't throw in a 100m out and back to make up the lost distance is quite beyond me. It was insane.

Andy took off from the get go, and there was no way I was catching him. A bunch of kids not much older than my daughter did too, I caught one or two of them, but they passed my easily later in the race.

The last two km were really rough, I had nothing left to kick at the end. I pushed myself hard and my body just couldn't respond.

I can't say I'm surprised, my demands have been very high a lot lately, and my body had reached its limit.

Clarisse was no doubt tired from the late night sleep over and early wake up call, plus Emilie's run 1km the day before, she ran a respectable 13:18, not her best but solid for the amount of sleep she got.

Maybe I'll give my self a bit of a rest before the Canada Day run next Friday.

Two of Five - Doing it for Dads

Last time it was the realization on the car ride to the venue that struck me.

This time is was the pre-race dreams. Forgotten bib, shoes, can't find where the car is parked, the port-a-potty line is huge and the race is about to start!

Haven't had one of those in a long while.

I hydrated really well this time and did a proper warm up and things went a lot better. I was alone, which was good and bad. It was nice to only have to worry about myself, but it was sad to be with out my cheering section.

I saw Andrea and Dave Dazé and his daughter during my warm-up, as well as some Zone3ers. Lined up near the start line, as there were many many slow runners up near the front, I didn't want to get stuck behind them.

My splits slowed almost continuously throughout the race. The course is up and down out and back, with long undulating hills that aren't too steep, but seem to go on for a long time. A wind had developed just before race start, and made the way back more challenging. The last two kilometres were brutal, but I didn't walk this time, which was a minor victory. I felt more solid this week.

Place 54th of 749
Time: 21:58.7 Chip: 21:53.5 avg. pace 4:24
Men 40 - 49: 10th of 80
Gender 46th of 420

A full minute faster than last week, but still 1:30 slower than my PB. 3 races left, but I'm not sure if the distance on two of them will be accurate.

This was good progress. Next up, Smiths Falls Figure 8 5km, which apparently is short

First of Five - Britannia Beach 5km

It wasn't until we had gotten everybody loaded up in the van and were out on the highway that I actually stopped to think about where we were going. You know it's been a long time when you suddenly it dawns on you and you get that giddy feeling "We're going to the races!!!"

I wasn't expecting much from this race and I met my expectations

I wasn't particularly well trained, nor properly hydrated, but this was the first of the 5 x 5km in 5 weeks and a benchmark to see how this whole Crossfit Endurance experiment would help or hinder my progression towards a sub 20:00 5km.

Clarisse and Delilah were doing the 1km.

We met Jesse at the start/finish area, setting up her ZoomPhoto camera. (thanks for the water!)

I tried to at least get a good warm up in. My legs didn't have much pep.

The field was small so I was practically on the start line. There were more than a few youngsters who I expected to go out too fast so I positioned myself to let them go and pass them later.

The race started on grass and moved to the recreational path, through a wooded area then out to the edge of the Carling before turning around and heading back. The last 500m before the turn around is uphill. Here I stopped. Walked for about 10 seconds either side of the turn around and hoped the rest and the downhill at that point would kickstart the return trip.

It worked to a certain extent. My throat was really dry. I grabbed an Eload cup the first time through the water station, which was gross. So I stopped and made sure I got a water on the way back, then set to the task of bringing it home. I didn't have my garmin, so I have no idea what my pacing was, but it doesn't really matter.

I gave what I had to give, and now the work can start.

Delilah finally managed to not finish last! Progress! And Clarisse ran a 5:35 kilometer finishing 6th out of 66. Not bad at all.

Results.

Placed: 19th out of 171
Time (Chip) 22:55 avg page: 4:35
Cat. placement (Men 40-44) 3rd out of 5
Gender placement: 18th out of 77 (chicked by one girl)