The first year I began running seriously was also the first year I ended up with a knee injury. Just as summer was beginning and everyone was lacing up their shoes and heading out, I was stuck inside my apartment. What kept me inspired and hopeful was another runner, Peter, who posted his journal on the Web. It's no longer around (much to my dismay), but his daily entries of his training highs and lows - as well as his own recovery from a similar injury - got me through summer and to the 1999 Canadian International Marathon. Every evening when I came back from the office I followed his struggle, right up to his first marathon in Quebec City in 1999. I never sent an email to him, much less met him, but he was a great coach. To Peter from Montreal, thank you.
2004 Goal: Complete a Half-Ironman Triathlon
Under Six Hours
2004 is in front of me, and I can see it glittering with joy and fun. Training for last year's triathlon was one of the highlights of 2003, almost as much as the incredible Half-Ironman in the UK. This year, logistics and cost prevent me from aiming for a full Ironman - I really do feel I'm ready for one - so it's back to the half again. However, I'm truly set on completing it under six hours. Oh, and a marathon too! The Big Triathlon will be the Timberman Triathlon In New Hampshire in August where both Peter Reid and Lori Bowden, reigning IM World Champions, won last year. The marathon will be the Alexandria Marathon in Egypt. And I will most definitely be sticking with the online coaching service ( e-grip .)
There are so many changes on the way for this year, and so many challenges that come with them. I'm excited, I can't wait to be out there pedaling and running and splashing - and seeing how far I've come.
- Week of January 1
- Thursday My sweetie and I celebrated our two year anniversary this evening by...going for a run! We both had such good memories of our run last year, and running is such a central part of who we are as a couple, that it's only fitting that we'd be out this evening at 8:30pm on a 9km run around Fredericton. It was warm with only a bit of wind, hardly any traffic, and we were both feeling great. We ran down Charlotte to University then Waterloo Row, up to the UNB gym, and back down Alexandra. We ran across the pedestrian bridge, remarking how wonderful it was to have it all to ourselves, and comparing it to what it's like in summer when hordes of people are on it. Then down Queen Street and back home. I can't think of a better way to celebrate the New Year.
- Week of January 4
- Wednesday It's the start of the winter deep-freeze, the one that plunges the country into -20 daytime highs and -30 windchills. This evening was just the beginning, but as I found myself struggling to keep up with the running club, my lungs decided they had had enough. A small bout of exercise-induced asthma - something I haven't dealt with in years - made the run absolutely brutal. Thank goodness some incredibly nice runners slowed down and waited for me! We did the Parkhurst/Inglewood loop twice and then back across to the UNB gym via Charlotte Street. I almost crawled into my apartment when we passed it.
- Week of January 18
- Wednesday Can you believe it? A whole two weeks without running. I thought I was going to go crazy. But it's the dead of winter, that time when the thermometer is frozen at -20C or there are two feet of snow on your front porch all of a sudden. So it wasn't until last night that time, temperature, and road conditions were all ideal at the same time. I went out for a pretty short run (42min), mostly because it was quite a bit colder than I thought and I hadn't dressed well enough. Everything felt great, really great. It had been such a long time since I had just puttered quietly around town and enjoyed the fresh air. I did the loop around Sunshine Gardens, ran by the YMCA (and saw a car in the parking lot with all of its doors open), over to Aberdeen, then turned around at Regent because by then my hands and legs were frozen. The temperatures are going back down starting tomorrow, so this may be the last outdoor run for a while.
- Week of January 25
- Wednesday At last a break in the deep-freeze. I didn't go out with the running club this evening. Needed a quiet, slow run and lots of time alone. I started my run quite early and did the courts around Sunshine Gardens, then over to Aberdeen and back home along Needham. The same route as last week, only slower. This can be the most frustrating time of the year to train because the mere fact that it's impossible to train as intensely as usual means everything slows down, like it or not.
- Friday Yep, I should've gone to the gym tonight or, according to my schedule, spent over an hour on the bike. But it's Friday and reasonably warm and I felt like an easy run with time to myself. Once again, the same route. By the end of March I'll be so sick of it, but for now it's the only place that's traffic-free and snow-free. I ran quite early when the sun was still out, which was a really nice change. I also experienced the usual fatigue and shortness of breath that daylight running causes. If only I could figure that one out.
- Saturday Yippee! I finally get out for a "long" run, the first of the year, believe it or not! It felt so slow, and the first half-hour was so discouraging. Whatever happened to that fantastic endurance I had late last year when 90min runs were the norm? Sigh. Anyways, two loops around Sunshine Gardens, then across town to Waterloo Row, up Alexandra, and back to the apartment along Charlotte. I felt a little woozy once or twice, but just slowed down (even more) and shortened my stride. I'll just keep telling myself to have faith in my training program.
- Week of February 1
- Tuesday I felt guilty yesterday when I left work and it was 4C - yes, 4C! - and sunny. Instead of going running, I stayed inside to do the 2 hour bike ride that I hadn't gotten around to Sunday. Well, this evening I switched the Tuesday tempo bike with the Wednesday when the forecast showed a small snowstorm on the way. So out I went for a lovely run this evening. I had expected a bit of a rough time, as I usually seem to have dead legs when I run right after work. Instead, my legs were stiff and tired from yesterday's bike ride. I still managed a decent trot to Waterloo Row, with two laps around Queen Court, then back to the apartment in time for a Fredericton Triathlon Club meeting.
- Week of February 8
- Wednesday I can't believe I'm down to only one run a week. Any other runner will understand my frustration. If it's not the deep freeze cold that's keeping me off the roads, then it's snow or rain or ice. At any rate, today's run felt great. I started with some of the courts around Sunshine Gardens, then over to Regent Street and back. The forecast said winds were light. I have no idea where that forecast was taken, but it certainly wasn't anywhere near Fredericton.
- Week of February 15
- Tuesday Traveling tonight, so I left work early to get ready, and to take advantage of a clear day. The forecast was a bit chillier than I had expected, and the route was the same one as usual: Sunshine Gardens, down Aberdeen, a lap or two around Queen Square, then back home. But the mere fact of being able to run outside in sunshine for an hour was great. My pace has slowed over the winter. I feel more like a sewing machine when I run, rather than an athlete with a graceful and fluid stride.
- Wednesday One look at tomorrow's forecast, and I switched my bike workout for a run, though a late one since I didn't get back until after supper. Yes, the usual route, but it seemed very quiet this evening. No traffic, no wind, no pedestrians. My legs were quite tired and even stiff. Actually, this might be due to the advanced yoga class I'm taking on Monday nights. Yes, that's right: I feel stiffer after the yoga class. I try to take it as a sign that I'm working hard!
- Friday My sweetie and I haven't gone for a run together in ages, so we took advantage of the nice weather and did my usual route around Sunshine Gardens and downtown. My legs are STILL tired and I still feel really slow. However, I remember thinking the same thing last year and then going on to run a great half-marathon in Ottawa.
- Week of February 22
- Monday Hello from St. John's, Newfoundland. Guess what? It's foggy here. This evening I didn't feel like taking on the long, steep hill just below where I'm staying, so I headed out onto a new road that wasn't open last year when I was here. As soon as I got on it I was enveloped by thick, quiet fog. There were no street lights, but everything glowed. It was like running in a bubble, with dark shapes (usually signposts) looming out of the fog off the side of the road. Tried a few hills on roads that branched off and felt really good. Still slow, though.
- Tuesday No fog this evening. Believe it or not, that actually makes things darker. I could barely see where I was going on the side of the road and it was all I could do to avoid sticking a foot in a pothole. I ventured down one road that ended on Loggy Bay Road. Bad idea. It was busy, with a lousy shoulder, and crazy traffic. The water on the road was just beginning to freeze, so I was terrified of slipping into traffic. Turned around and went back up the hill just as the rain was starting. My hip flexors were the weakest muscles, though I have no idea why.
- Thursday I gave my hip flexors and legs a break yesterday. The high winds and pelting rain also played a role in keeping me inside. Tonight I wanted to do a slightly longer run than previous nights (which have usually been around 45min.) There aren't too many options in this part of St. John's, however. I went down Pleasantville Street (?), which was quite steep, and nearly passed out with fright when I saw two dark shapes quietly walking across the road. They were dogs - HUGE black dogs - that didn't make a sound. No sniffing, no nails clicking on the pavement, they didn't even wag their tales. They just stopped as soon as they saw me and watched me run by. I felt like I was in a Stephen King novel. Just my luck that the road ended on Loggy Bay Road (again!) and I was stuck turning around and going by those dogs and back up the hill. This time the dogs were sitting on the side of the road, looking at the row of apartments on the other side. They were a bit friendlier and came up to greet me. Anyway, I kept going up the hill, which wasn't anywhere near as bad as I thought it would be, then back onto my usual route. Just over an hour of running and I really felt great.
- Tuesday No fog this evening. Believe it or not, that actually makes things darker. I could barely see where I was going on the side of the road and it was all I could do to avoid sticking a foot in a pothole. I ventured down one road that ended on Loggy Bay Road. Bad idea. It was busy, with a lousy shoulder, and crazy traffic. The water on the road was just beginning to freeze, so I was terrified of slipping into traffic. Turned around and went back up the hill just as the rain was starting. My hip flexors were the weakest muscles, though I have no idea why.
- Week of February 29
- Sunday Dare I hope that spring is here early? The memory of last year's eternal winter still lingers, however. My sweetie took advantage of today's incredible weather and went out for a one hour run together. I kept focusing on short steps and a quiet, slow pace. We did the Sunshine Gardens - Queen Square - downtown loop, with a trip across the pedestrian bridge thrown in for good measure. Lots of people on the bridge.
- Thursday Not much time for a run this evening - it's the triathlon club meeting later on and then a swim. I was feeling slow and sluggish, maybe the effects of running in daylight (sounds strange, but true.) I went up Golf Club Road and did a loop around Kelly's Court. A bit of trouble in the hills: the first time this year I was wearing a heart rate monitor. My heart rate didn't go above 170 bpm in the hills, but I did find it hard chugging up the incline.
- Week of March 7
- Monday Back in Ottawa, though it is much warmer and more accommodating than last year at this time. I'm also smack in the middle of downtown rather than out beyond Rockcliffe. This morning I was up early and headed toward Parliament, where I ran a loop for my sweetie, while being followed by an RCMP vehicle. Ot was nice to be on the Hill without a tourist in sight. An inch or so of snow had fallen last night and made things a bit slippery here and there. My legs were quite tired from yesterday's tough gym workout, but my enthusiasm for running in Ottawa overcame that. I went past the Chateau Laurier and turned up Colonel By Drive, taking the same route as the hafl-marathon. Ran along the Rideau Canal (quiet! peaceful!), then crossed at Hawthorne and went back. That's the same route as the final two kilometres of the half-marathon. How odd to be running it without any competitors around and without feeling pressured! I really missed seeing the tulips.
- Tuesday Much the same route as yesterday, minus the loop around Parliament Hill. I didn't want to make the RCMP too suspicious. Last night I visited the Running Room to get a new pair of Mizuno Creations, the same shoes I had last summer. Yes, the weather is warm enough and the streets clear enough that it's time to start thinking about new running shoes! Nikes remain my favourite (and they're now actually less expensive than the outrageously-priced Mizunos), but I don't like suffering through the constant rolled ankles I get with them. So Mizunos again this year.
- Thursday A very short run this evening. I started at the Nashwaak Field House just before the lap swim and ran to Douglas Avenue and along Fulton for just under 30 minutes. It wasn't the best of runs: I had eaten a large supper earlier and hadn't waited long enough for it to digest. And it was pizza, a meal that always seems to get stuck in my stomach. Oh well. Focused on short strides and not walking.
- Saturday Windy and clear today. I had a long run scheduled and for once I actually had the time to do it! It was just after my first cello lesson (yes!!), so I was pretty chipper and inspired. I also wore my heartrate monitor since it was going to be sunny for the entire run. I really haven't been running with the monitor as often as I should be. My goal was to stay under 153bpm, which was usually feasible when I wasn't running into the wind. I started with two loops around Sunshine Gardens, doing the courts on the first loop, and then across to Queen Square and back to Charlotte. The pace was very, very, very slow. Actually, it was embaressing. But I felt pretty good and I suppose that's the point of it all!
- Week of March 14
- Thursday Brrrrr. Too chilly to go out for a run this morning, with a wind chill factor of -20C. So I actually went running just before noon. I did one loop around Sunshine Gardens, then added another one when I realised it would probably be the only route in town that would be sheltered from a bitter northeast wind. I didn't intend to make the run a tempo workout and really did want to keep my heartrate below 153bpm, but by the second loop it was stuck over 160bpm. Oh well. It still felt like a great run.
- Saturday Long run day. The training program has 40min down as a long run. I have a hard time thinking of that as even a short run! But according the logic of the program, this week is easy on the run workouts (to make up for last week) and tougher on the bike. Regardless, I went out for an easy 1h25min today. Spring was really in the air, aside for a bit of a bite to the breeze. The sunshine was bright and bold. I did two loops around Sunshine Gardens (appropriately), then across town to Queen Square, then Waterloo Row, up and down Alexandra, and back along Charlotte Street. Keeping my heartrate down was easy today. Then again, I was running very easily. Legs felt strong and steady.
- Week of March 21
- Wednesday A beautiful evening with a bit of a chill, no wind, and a fascinating sky. The moon was just a yellow sliver on its side with a really bright planet beside it. I went out for an easy one hour run that flew by, probably because I spent most of my time looking at the celestial scene above me. The run was so effortless, too. I'm not sure if this was because my legs are quite a bit stronger now that I'm doing more squats and hard bike work, or because I was running after dark when my body seems to like running best. It was truly a pleasure to be out tonight and running so easily.
- Thursday A group of us went to see Taking Lives tonight, which meant that I had to squeeze today's tempo workout between work and the movie. I'm glad I didn't go running after the movie (if you've seen the movie, you'll know why.) So I hopped on the treadmill for a great 40min tempo with my MP3 player. It's been over a year since I've been on the treadmill. I put the incline up to 1% to simulate the wind and feel of running outside and I think that helped. What was really fun was running to some great tunes. How inspiring! Time flew by and I felt quite strong.
- Saturday It was supposed to rain all day today, but things cleared up a little around lunchtime, so out I went for a quiet 1:30 run. Just a little wind and 6C temperature made it perfect for running, though there was lots of traffic. I had done a fairly tough workout at the gym last night, so I hadn't expected to feel so strong during today's run. My heartrate was up over 155bpm the entire time, but that probably had more to do with the two white chocolate Cadbury Easter eggs I ate just before heading out than it did with the running. Two loops around Sunshine Gardens, across town to Waterloo Row, then back to the apartment. Felt great the entire time.
- Week of March 28
- Saturday Geez, have I really not run in a week? It has been a whirlwind of a week, true, but running is usually what keeps me grounded during these times. My sweetie and I went out together this afternoon in what was a dryer but cooler day than we had expected. We ran across the pedestrian bridge and along the trail to Canada Street, up Murray Avenue, looped around, then back. We were amazed at the state of the trails: it's highly unusual for the trails to be completely cleared of snow until the end of April, yet here we were running on perfect surfaces and completely unobstructed by icy snow patches. The river has gone up a little, but it's nowhere near its springtime flood level. And my heartrate stayed very reasonable. My right hip was angry at me. Still, a great 90min run.
- Week of April 4
- Wednesday I decided to try the treadmill again today. The last time I ran on the treadmill at work, I added a 1% incline throughout the entire workout to simulate outdoor conditions. It really made a difference: the following outdoor workout happened to be great. And I really do like running with my cool MP3 player. Hey, there's even research that demonstrates that people who work out while listening to music they like burn more calories, work out more intensely, and have better cognitive abilities after the workout! So how could I go wrong? Did 40min, fairly fast, but really enjoying myself.
- Thursday Is there nothing better than the evening before a four day weekend? It's simply impossible to be in a bad mood when you've got four days of unimpeded running and biking in front of you. This evening I headed out a bit later than usual for my run. The training program showed a 30min run for today. I felt great on my way out, so I decided to try the trails by Rookwood Avenue over to Golf Club Road for the first time this year and then head uphill. But lo and behold my sweetie was out running too, and on his way to the gym when we bumped into each other on the corner of GC Road and Woodstock Road. So we ran back to the Y together, he headed inside, and I chugged back home.
- Saturday OK, there is something better than the evening before a four-day weekend: great weather throughout that four day weekend! That meant the first outdoor bike ride of the year yesterday, and a two-hour run on the Northside Trail today. I had to do about 5 minutes' worth of walking to get through the last icy snow patches left on the trail, but otherwise it was smooth running the entire time. Kept the pace very, very slow since my legs were a bit stiff from yesterday's bike ride. My heartrate stayed high. Not quite sure why. The run got tougher at the end as I headed home into a tough, cold headwind. Saw a big old groundhog in someone's backyard off Gibson Street.
- Week of April 11
- Wednesday Rain. Pouring rain. It's reminiscent of last year's wet summer and all the workouts I did in cold wet weather. I must have gotten used to it since I didn't even notice the rain this evening. There wasn't much wind and it was a nice 9C. I had planned to be out for at least an hour, and when I started the run I realised that it was one of those nights when you could cruise forever. Unfortunately, things started getting a bit cold and cramped after 40 minutes, and I was back home at 50 minutes. Two loops around Sunshine Gardens, then down toward York Street and back.
- Friday Just as the weather is getting better, I'm getting used to running on the treadmill. How odd. Well, I can't deny the benefits, now that I've discovered the 1% incline solution and my MP3 player. This evening I jumped on the treadmill for a 35 minute tempo. I'm running only slightly slower than last year at this time, though that's not counting the incline. Must be the music!
- Sunday I switched my long run and long bike around this weekend to take advantage of yesterday's beautiful weather. OK, so both days this weekend were stunning, but yesterday was a bit warmer and less windy so I headed out to Keswick Ridge on the bike. Today I had a 1h15m long run. And believe me, it was long. Running after biking, even if it's the next day, is always tough. I went out to the Northside trail to see if there was any snow left on the path, then turned around and came back home. My heartrate was sky-high, my pace was slower than a crawl, and I wasn't exactly in a great mood. But there's no more snow left on the trail!! How incredible is that?
- Week of April 18
- Saturday Well, it's a very warm 28C today in....FLORIDA!! Yes, I'm in Florida! So is my bike! After a somewhat traumatic day of traveling on Thursday, the fact that my bike arrived (and in one piece) is a minor miracle. There are some serious chips in the paint, on the wheels, and on the gear levers, but I took the ol' Marinoni out for a spin last night and it rode as reliably as ever. I guess there are some advantages to a steel frame that even carbon can't beat. And it was quite something to be biking between palm trees and by the ocean on a Friday night in Florida.
So why am I here? Because on the first snowstorm of winter in December, I got the crazy idea of signing up for St. Anthony's Triathlon would help get me through the winter. It certainly did make the winter go by faster, but this has been a pretty stressful weekend since I don't have my ever-cheerful sweetie to chauffeur me around and find answers to all the problems I find (Problem No. 1: my credit card got forgotten at home.) Yesterday I picked up my registration packet and bought a wetsuit from one of the gazillion vendors at the sports expo. That my credit card is at home is probably a good thing: carrying extra cash around in that expo would be a very bad idea.
This morning I got up early to do some sprints on the beach while the sun rose (life is rough.) Running on sand was tough, but the heat and humidity are exhausting and will be major factors to consider tomorrow. I'll be spending the rest of the day at the beach, then taking the bike over to the venue this evening to check it in and put it in transition. Logistically, trying to transport a car is a major source of stress. I will be posting a race report on this page tomorrow evening. Race results will be posted on St. Anthony's Triathlon website: click on "Race Results" on the left hand side, then go the the 2004 results, St. Anthony's triathlon/Individuals. Wish me luck!
- Sunday What a hot day it was. For all my forgetfulness during this trip (I forgot my bike helmet at the hotel yesterday when I brought the bike to the venue), everything went perfectly. OK, so there's the two minute penalty I got somewhere on the bike, but that doesn't mean a whole lot. Things started off very well yesterday when the cab driver who picked me up at the hotel with my bike called in to his dispatch "Unit 1 to dispatch. I'm bringing over the future winner of the triathlon to St. Petersburg." That was sweet. This morning I got a ride with the delightful and funny couple, Jerry and Helen, and their bitchy companion Alison. Setting up transition was easy (thank goodness for my comprehensive checklist!) I chatted with a few of the women around me. Most of them were quite easygoing as well. Around 7am I joined the flood of people on their way over to Spa Beach, just under a mile away. One woman walking beside me had done 10 Ironmans!! Seven of them were Hawaii! And she was 67 years old! It was quite hard to justify being nervous after meeting her.
I had to wait over an hour at the beach before my wave started. I was really surprised at how calm I was: anyone who's seen me before the swim knows how terribly nervous I get. This was worse because the ocean swim (salt water, swells, lots of choppy waves) was really terrifying me. I spent some time just relaxing in the water and trying a few strokes. Wow! The salt water wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! My wave was off at 8:30am, and I made sure I kept smiling and singing that little phrase from Finding Nemo "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming." Yeah, yeah, it's corny, but it works better than anything else I know. The swim course was three legs: one straight out into the bay, the second parallel to shore, and the third straight back to Vinoy Park. I thought the first leg would be toughest, since we'd be heading straight into the swells and I'd be swallowing more water, but I was wrong. It was the easiest. The taste of salt water was hard to deal with, and the swells were about three feet high by the time we go to the first corner. The second leg was parallel to the swells, so most of us kept getting pushed toward shore. The swells were larger than before. I have this vision in my mind of when I tried to sight the next buoy, and instead I saw three swimmers ahead of me, lined up one behind the other, climbing the wave while I was in the trough. The last leg was the toughest one, since those same waves were hitting a concrete wall (where we would be climbing out) and reverbrating back, which meant we had big waves coming at us in both directions. That's when I started choking down more water and getting very tired. One side of my goggles started leaking (salt water BURNS!), and the men's 30-34 wave caught up with me. They were pushy and rough, even when other women were trying to clamber up the stairs. - Week of April 25
- Thursday This evening I went out for my first run since Sunday's triathlon. I don't know whether the triathlon or three days' rest had a bigger impact on my level of fitness, but something was definitely clicking tonight. As soon as I started I could tell that this run was going to be fabulous. My legs felt strong, my pace was steady in spite of myself, and my heartrate refused to go over 145bpm. I really felt like an Olympic athlete out for a good run! It was also great to be running along the river and across the pedestrian bridge. Unlike most springs, the flooding is pretty well nonexistant this year.
- Sunday I switched bike and run workouts around this weekend, doing my long bike ride on Saturday and my long run on Sunday. This morning as my sweetie and I started off, my heartrate suddenly zoomed up to 175bpm and stayed there for the first ten minutes of the run. How discouraging! I thought that maybe yesterday's bike ride had taken a big chunk out of me (my legs were quite stiff but not really tired.) After about 15 minutes of running, I checked my heartrate monitor and saw that it was down to 145bpm. Believe it or not, my heartrate stayed around 140bpm for the rest of the two hour run! That has to be the lowest I've ever seen it. The pace was pretty slow as we took the trail along the river, crossed the bridge, ran around Devon, and then headed back the same way. The heat was surprising in the final half-hour and my legs got a bit tired. Even so, I was amazed not only by the low heartrate but by how good the run felt in spite of a three hour bike ride yesterday.
- Week of May 2
- Wednesday Last Sunday's run was too good to be true. I went out this morning and for 50 minutes my heartrate didn't go below 168bpm. I think the problem is exhaustion and two tough workouts yesterday. I started with a loop around Sunshine Gardens, then went down to the Delta (formerly the Sheraton) and along the river. According to the training schedule, today's run was to be a tempo run. I gave up trying to get my heartrate down and simply ran faster (well, it seemed as if I was running faster!) At one point I had a hard time breathing; it felt as if my chest was congested and I simply couldn't get enough air into my lungs. I'm not sure what that indicates.
- Saturday My sweetie and I went out for a long run on a windy, windy day. I thought it would be easier than last week, when I did my long run after the long bike ride. It wasn't, but at least it was better than Wednesday's rough run, and at least my heartrate didn't scare me. It stayed in the upper 140s and low 150s toward the end of the run. We went to Marysville via the Northside Trail and had quite a time getting back across the pedestrian bridge because of the wind. The Ottawa Half-Marathon is in three weeks and I'm a little worried about the very slow pace I'm running these days. I have lots of endurance, but I'm practically walking.
- Week of May 9
- Tuesday I'm in Hamilton (Ontario) today. I left the hotel early this morning for a run and headed northwest, since it seemed like a better idea than heading into what seemed to be a cesspool in the downtown area. I normally don't run very well in the morning; my legs feel dead, my stomch hurts...heck, everything hurts. But this morning was surprisingly good. I ran between King Street and Main Street, lacing up and down the residential streets that connect the two. There were great long, easy climbs all over the place that are perfect for testing my pace and strength.
- Saturday 29C, sunny, hot and muggy today. So what do I do? Why, a three hour bike ride followed by a 30 minute run in the middle of the afternoon, of course. I know, it sounds sick, but I really do enjoy the heat and I figure if I can make it through one of these workouts, then race day will be a cinch. I managed the three hour bike ride quite well, but the 30 minute run was just short of torture. Ran down to the Delta, along the river, and back home on the pedestrian overpass on St. Anne's Point. I think I had to stop four times just to put my head down and not pass out.
- Sunday My long run was today, since I had switched it with yesterday's brick workout. Nothing like slogging through a 3.5 hour workout on one day, then going for a 2.5 hour run the next. Fortunately, it was cool and slightly overcast today. My legs were incredibly fatigued, but that was all the more reason to concentrate on short strides, upright posture, and a steady pace. One cyclist passed me about 40 minutes into the run and commented on that steady pace. 30 minutes later, he passed by me again just before the Penniac train bridge and said "Now I'm impressed." That got me motivated. I was hungry for part of the run, but not in the debilitating way that I used to be last year. I think more emphasis on adding protein in my diet, a concentration on low heart rate during the run, and a protein/carbohydrate snack (whole wheat tortilla, almond butter, mashed banana, honey, and a dash of salt) before the run have really helped. Anyway, for the first time ever hunger pangs didn't cripple me after they started. The last 20 minutes were tough. My feet kept striking the wood on the pedestrian bridge as I shuffled along. But I didn't walk!
- Week of May 16
- Wednesday Long easy run this evening right after work. What a beautiful evening, too! And since it was about the time that everyone else was leaving work for home, I had the trails all to myself. For the first few minutes my legs were in rough shape, but they got better and I was surprised at how well they held out during a run that, being after work, is usually horrendous. Even my heartrate stayed low. My pace was equivalent to last year around June, judging by the time it took me to get to the bench on the Northside Trail at roughly the 27 minute mark.
- Thursday I was actually looking forward to a tempo workout on the treadmill today. Ah, the joys of owning an MP3 player! I can hammer a workout on the treadmill with inspiring music and the images of success that come with it. I did 40 minutes of tempo with a 1% incline (I don't think I'll ever go back to running on a flat treadmill; adding an incline leads to a huge difference when you get back to outdoor running.)
- Sunday In spite of the overcast skies, today was an incredibly perfect spring day. Every tree was remarkable for its colour and vividness, particularly the crab apple trees in full bloom. My sweetie and I did a 90 minute long run (I did my long bike yesterday), going through Odell Park at the beginning, down around Inglewood Drive, to the Sheraton, across the river and then back. I couldn't believe it, but my heartrate didn't jump around too much when I got into hilly Odell Park, and at the end of the run I even felt good enough to try out different strides at a faster pace. One week from now and I'll be trying out my strides in the Ottawa half-marathon!
- Week of May 23
- Wednesday A long easy run this evening that I turned into something a little faster. I had done weights earlier today and a tempo bike ride last night, so my strides felt short and tight. I was really trying to focus on the short steps, high cadence idea and it worked most of the time. Ran to the Sheraton, along the river, across the pedestrian bridge, and into Devon, then back. Very nice trail with not too many people out because of the wet forecast. The short strides made me feel very athletic and it was soothing to hear my footsteps on the gravel in the stillness of the evening. I'm a little worried that I won't do so well at this weekend's Ottawa half-marathon: I've got plenty of endurance (more than last year, anyway), but no speed whatsoever. Last year I could run do the Sheraton-river-bridge route in just under 25 minutes. Now it takes me at least 26 or 26.
- Thursday A hard tempo run on the treadmill this evening. It's my last full run before the Ottawa half-marathon and I wanted to remind my legs what it feels like to go fast. I had the MP3 player blasting some great music and the incline set at 1%. I really hope I haven't run so hard that my legs will be stiff tomorrow, particularly during the long drive to Ottawa.
- Saturday My sweetie and I are in Ottawa for the National Capital Half-Marathon ! We are staying at the fabulous Benners' B&B for the third year in a row. We got our race kits yesterday evening when we drove in from Fredericton, and even spent a little time in jam-packed sports expo, at least until we both got sick of the crowds and the pushing and shoving. It gave me flashbacks to Greece and the Athens Marathon. This morning we had breakfast with the other guests, including two other runners, and shared some funny running stories. My sweetie took me to the incredible Mamma Teresa's Ristorante , THE best Italian restaurant I've ever been to outside Italy. The tiramisu will knock your socks off. The meal was so good that we both ate too much; during our very short fast run two hours later both of us could still feel our pasta in lumps in our stomach. The run was only about 20 minutes, with four short sprints along the Rideau River.
- Sunday Race morning and it is absolutely BEAUTIFUL outside! I mean that perfect crisp, dazzling blue and yellow spring morning that you only get on weekdays when you can't enjoy it. My sweetie expertly finds a parking spot near the start line and a lady kindly gives us enough change to pay for it. The day is starting out pretty darn good! We were a little late in getting to the crowd at the start line. With this year's record number of participants, ten minutes before start time was way, way too late. The start was on Elgin Street and we could see the huge mass of people spread in front of us. We finally saw the first runners go under the start gantry and five minutes later we were running as well.
It's hard to tell people who don't run these events just what the crowd is like when the gun goes off. This year was the most packed event I had ever been in, and the first ten kilometres were an exercise in frustration as I tried to get around slow-moving groups of runners that stretched across the road. Right at the first kilometre I lost 15 seconds off my pace chart simply because of the congestion. It didn't let up until at least the tenth kilometre, so I adapted by running harder than I had planned on my pace chart. After the second kilometre my sweetie was well ahead of me and there was no way I could catch up. We had agreed to run our own races, but I was secretly hoping that I could somehow beat him in the run! Oh well, maybe next year. My lesson from last year's run was that I had run too conservatively at the start, or at least I felt I hadn't given every inch of the course everything I had. This year I wanted to be pushing myself almost the entire way.
There's a small hill in the course at km 7 and that's when the crowd finally settled down as people were out of breath. Having an excitable, screaming crowd of runners may sound appealing to first-timers, but for those of us who are running against the clock it's simply a distraction. I concentrated on Stings Desert Rose as much as I could to focus myslef, and it really worked. The first of a series of long gentle climbs started at km 10 and I couldn't believe how great - truly great - I was feeling. What was actually happening is that the wind was picking up and acting as a good tailwind in those hills. I started picking up speed and actually ran my fastest kilometres going uphill! I couldn't believe how good it felt to run faster and how effortless it was. I also knew that I would pay a price for it later. Past Hog's Back and along the highway where the course narrowed down I really cruised, then downhill, under a bridge, uphill (it was getting a bit tougher now), and to a turn-around where I kept an eye out for my sweetie. I spotted him at the water stop just after the turn-around; I glanced at my watch and when I passed that point I realised that he was only a minute and half ahead of me! Either he had really slowed down in the hills or I had sped up (or both.)
I had a bit more trouble running up the bridge than in past years, which is when I started getting worried about how well I could sprint the last two or three kilometres. I was still 40 seconds ahead of my pace chart and had made my biggest gains in the hills. Past the Experimental Farm and around the little arborium, where I saw my sweetie running out (1:18:10 on my watch). I marked my watch, ran into the arborium, then headed for the Gatorade stop that is usually at the exit and where I usually take my first Gatorade of the course. I wasn't actually feeling all that thirsty or out of energy, but I was getting hungry and hoped the sugar in the Gatorade would keep my stomach quiet. That was my biggest mistake of the run. The Gatorade wasn't diluted. In fact, it was much, much stronger than usual. I took a sip, started choking and coughing as it hit the back of my mouth, stopped, then started gagging. For almost 30 seconds I stood still, coughing and hacking and trying desperatly not to throw up. When I finally started running again I had a terrible feeling of nausea that never went away. To make matters worse, I passed the point where I had seen my sweetie and realised he was more than five minutes ahead of me (1:23:30). Darn! How had he put four extra minutes between us in two kilometres?! I tried to speed up a little on the downhill stretch out of the arborium, only to discover that speeding up made the nausea much worse. Now instead of putting mental energy to running faster, I had to devote it to not throwing up. Argh!
The final five kilometres are on the flat along the Rideau Canal. In previous years the National Capital running events have been held during the tulip festival, so you could at least admire the bright red and yellow tulips as you ran toward the finish. Not this year, though, since the running events had been moved to the end of May, a week after the tulip festival. So I didn't have nature to inspire me. This was getting discouraging. I tried finding a runner with a pace slightly faster than mine. Another woman about my age (it's the competitive streak in me!) with a light and graceful stride was near me and I managed to stick with her for a while, pulling back every now and then when the speed made me feel nauseaous. By km 17 I had (to my great delight) passed her for good. In the last kilometre one man ran to my right and he and I started trying to outsprint each other for the finish. I think we finished almost together, but for the first time ever my lungs were what kept me from sprinting, not my legs.
My final time: 1:55:18. That's my fastest half-marathon time ever! The funny thing was, I was absolutely convinced that last year I had run the half-marathon in 1:54:55. Until I typed this entry and checked the events from previous years, I had been quite disappointed in myself and wondering what I was doing differently this year. But in actual fact, I ran the half-marathon last year in 1:56:39, and the Quebec City half-marathon in 2001 in 1:55:56! Yeehaw! Here were 2003's Lessons Learned:
- Facing the run with a much more serious, focused attitude than I normally have. Sounds discouraging, but it isn't. I've noticed in the past that I tend to do better when I isolate myself.
- Playing Sting's Desert Rose over and over again this morning before leaving my room. That song was stuck in my head, and every time I started mentally tiring during the run, I would recall the song and use it to steady my pace.
- Eating lightly throughout the weekend, particularly the day before the run. Supper was a small bowl of penne with pesto sauce. Breakfast was fruit salad and a bagel. I munched on Nutribars all morning, though I was a bit too hungry when the run started.
- Being comfortable. Clothes and shoes fit perfectly and were ideal for the temperature. I didn't overdress, as I had last year.
The reason why I put down 2003's Lessons Learned is because they're the same as 2004. The only one I didn't follow was eating lightly. The meal at Mamma Teresa's was out of this world - maybe not the right thing for an athlete to do the evening before a big race - but I wouldn't have traded it for a lighter, less delightful supper. The other lessons are very valid ones. Being serious and focused before the run and not letting excitement get to me was something that got reinforced at St. Anthony's Triathlon and has made me feel more successful at the end of my events. This year's Lessons Learned:
- Have a pace chart with me. If it's a triathlon and a pace chart doesn't apply, then have goal times for each phase. The chart or times should be just out of my comfort zone. The reason why the chart/goal times are so successful for me is that they help me stay disciplined and focused, and remind me that I need to push myself if I want to get faster. They also make the miles go by so much faster and keep discouragement at bay.
- Have a specific time goal ("I want to finish this race in 1 hour 50 minutes") and a "feel-good" goal ("I want to feel exhilerated when I cross the finish line" or "I want to feel strong every kilometre.") The second type of goal makes you feel as if you've accomplished something truly extraordinary when you finish, because in reality if you want to do a fast 21.1 km you can do it at home.
- Week of May 30
- Wednesday I can't believe I actually went out running this evening. I ran the Ottawa half-marathon only three days ago and can still walk this week. In previous years my legs have hardened into unbendable pieces of flesh and I couldn't run for several days after the half-marathon. Now I'm off for a peaceful run across the river for over an hour! Progress! And maybe the protein bar I had right after the run, as well as the 40 minutes I spent sitting in the sun to warm my legs.
- Thursday Tempo run this evening after work on the treadmill with my MP3 player. I started discovering some sore spots: a hip flexor that didn't flex very smoothly, an angry quadricep. The 1% incline my also be pulling on my Achilles tendon. Gotta take it easy.
- Saturday What a day! Just like a week ago in Ottawa, only hotter and no wind. It was remarkably still today, and even the city seemed to be deserted. Lots of people along the Green, but once I crossed the pedestrian bridge the path cleared out and I was running in that magical quiet of a sunny Saturday summer afternoon. I wasn't feeling all that well today, mostly my fault because I've been on a junk-food diet all week, but the sheer beauty of the day overwhelmed everything else. I stopped a few times just to take it all in. Because of that quiet it was easy to stop my mind from its regular chatter and try to "meditate in motion." My focus was the sound of my footsteps on the gravel and being as steady as possible. It's something I really have to practice more often.
- Week of June 6
- Wednesday In Ottawa again! How strange to be hear so soon after the big half-marathon trip. The alarm rang at 5am for my run and I almost didn't make it up. The area of my back between my shoulder blades is in terrible pain. It's the same thing as I had last spring, which got worse when I went running. I finally did get up, simply because I knew I'd feel guilty if I didn't go for a run while in Ottawa with such great weather. It was 30C with the humidex at 5:15am when I stepped out! Oddly enough, though I started sweating almost immediately, I didn't feel the heat at all. I actually felt really, really great. I think what put me in such a great state of mind was how much it felt like the middle of summer. My legs were like stiff springs as I ran down King Edward toward the Ottawa River, then swung up Sussex toward the War Museum, up to the Chateau Laurier, and to Parliament. I did a tour of Parliament, much like I had in February though without the accompaniment of an RCMP vehicle, then turned back. There are some long gentle slopes along Sussex up to Parliament that I seemed to feel more than usual.
- Thursday A speed workout this morning, although under much cooler conditions than yesterday morning. Still sunny, though. I warmed up going down Nelson Street, parallel to King Edward but without the traffic, then crossing the Rideau River behind Ottawa City Hall on a beautiful little white bridge. After 4x15s pick-ups, I started 10x1 minute sprints in a neighbourhood I'd never been in. The sprints were discouraging: I swear I wasn't moving any faster! It's only fair: I've been eating lots of chocolate this week and had to pay the price sooner or later!
- Saturday I remember whining last year about the wet, wet weather we were having throughout May, June, and part of July. What a difference this year! (Knock wood.) It's been sunny - well, not raining, anyway - every weekend so far. Today was a bit cooler and a bit more wind. I had a two hour run and started off from Charlotte Street down to the pedestrian bridge rather than going to the Sheraton. After crossing the bridge I turned right and had a friendly dodge with a young boy out biking with his sister and father. About 40m after passing me, the boy tried to pass his sister, who swerved, lost her balance, and skidded off her bike. She jumped up, paused, and started screaming and wailing. Her brother stopped and said sorry and seemed really sincere, which made the rest of the scene all that much sadder. The father caught up with them, passed his daughter without a second glance, and grabbed his son by the arm. For the next three or four minutes, he ranted and raved at his son, calling him stupid, shaking his arm, waving his hand by the boy's head. By this time I had passed them and then decided to stop running when I heard the yelling get louder and become downright abusive. To be honest, I thought that wingnut was going to hit his son, even though there was another couple walking along the path. While the daughter screamed and screamed, the father yelled and waved his arms near his son's head. It was truly ugly; in my mind, I had drawn the line at him hitting his son. If and when that happened, I felt obligated to step in. But it didn't. The father got awfully close to that line with his verbal abuse and his hand right by his son's head, but he never crossed it.
I went back running after I sensed that the father's attention was shifting from his son to his daughter, but for the rest of the run I couldn't help wonder if I had drawn that line too far out. Should I have said something earlier? Should I have told him to cool it once I heard how abusive he was being? I can only imagine what it must have been like for that boy to be the victim so much crap in front of other people, for no other reason than his sister had a bad sense of balance. The only measure I had of whether I had drawn that line at the right place was whether or not I felt guilty. And I felt guilty. I think that's when I realised the full extent of Aristotle's quote, "Courage is the greatest of virtues, for it is the one that guarantees all the others." To step in between an angry, 200lb man and his defenceless son when no one else is willing to do so requires moral courage; moral courage is the first thing one must express in order to show compassion and justice.
I was well into Marysville by the time I had worked that out. To shake up my route a little, I ran along Morrison Street and up to Royals Field (it's time to start putting some hills into my run.) The pace was great though my head didn't really feel connected to my body. It got worse on the way back until I finally stopped running after crossing the pedestrian bridge and had to walk the last three blocks. - Week of June 13
- Wednesday Oh, I shoulda gone running this morning when I woke up and the sun was shining. Instead, I hit the snooze button and slept for another 30 minutes, telling myself I'd run after work and before my weightlifting workout. Well, I did go after work, but I wouldn't call it running. It was 45 minutes of torture. As soon as I took the first step I knew it would be a long run. I felt like crap, my stomach hurt, my legs were barely moving. I shuffled along the path to Golf Club Road, having intended to do some hill-bounding. That lasted about 20 metres before I had to walk. I shuffled up the rest of the hill, looked at my watch, and went back home. Ugh.
- Thursday Things were a bit better tonight, though I was awfully sore from last night's weight training. And I had the really dumb idea of running to the track at the Field House for my sprint workout and running back. Well, just running there took 25 minutes, mostly uphill. It's not even a nice run since the route goes across the busy Westmorland Street Bridge. I had taken an iron supplement this morning and had completely lost my appetite, which meant I hadn't eaten supper by the time I started my run. The funny thing is, my appetite didn't even return AFTER the run. The sprints themselves went really well. I started with a quick series of 4x100m dashes on the straight stretches of the track, 400 metres easy, then into the main set of 8x400m. That was a lot easier than I thought it would be. In fact, I ran each sprint in the exact same amount of time. Maybe I took too much time to rest between sprints. Finished it off with 4x100m sprints on the infield grass, then a long slow run back home.
- Saturday Did I recently write about how great the dry weather is? I shoulda known better! Rain today. Heavy, non-stop rain. I actually didn't mind it as much as I used to. That's because I've discovered that there's something far worse, more uncomfortable, and more miserable than running in the rain: biking in the rain. It's amazing what gratitude can do to change how you feel about something. So today I did my 1hour 40minute long run in the rain actually grateful that at least I wasn't biking. OK, so the last 30 minutes were chilly, but I truly enjoyed having the entire trail system to myself. It's like being in my own world, far away from everyone else snuggled in their homes. It was too cold to stop so I kept a great, steady pace the entire way.
- Week of June 20
- Wednesday A long evening run around Golf Club Road. It was the same run I had tried last week right after supper and hadn't done too well at it. It's very cool and grey these days and that makes for contemplative running. Today was dedicated to my thesis supervisor, YC Lee, who died last night after two years of fighting cancer. His death is the type that makes us feel shocked, then hurt, then angry and outraged that someone so great could be gone. We almost want to get angry with him for having had the nerve to leave us when we knew that we couldn't afford to lose someone so wise and humble. There are plenty of shallow people out there who have made no impact on anyone else's lives - why couldn't they be the ones to go? Every day that I work and put pen to paper to create a report, teach something to someone in any context, or find myself in a spot where I have to find the right attitude to deal with a tough situation, I think of YC and the incredibly principled values he lived and worked by. I have never had any other teacher about which I can say this.
- Friday Just a short run on the treadmill in preparation for Sunday's triathlon. I specifically decided to go for a treadmill workout tonight rather than head outside because of the good luck I had with this type of run just before the Ottawa Half-Marathon. Setting the pace a little faster than usual, getting the tunes going on my MP3 player, and having an incline all get me inspired the next time I run outside.
- Week of June 27
- Sunday It's the Rockwood Park Triathlon today! I have such great memories of this event last year: the beautiful weather, the great people, and how fantastic I felt on the bike and particularly the run. The weather holds out today: it's sunny, relatively warm, but the wind has really picked up. After getting completely lost in Saint John (something I seem to do every time I'm there!), I finally find the event site and take my time setting up my transition. The more time and care you spend putting it all together, the faster and more easily your transitions will flow during the event.
Finally the part I'm dreading the most: putting on my wetsuit and walking all the way down to the lake. The transition is a good 300m uphill - very STEEP uphill - from the lake. It's windy and cool and I'm nervous. The water is damn cold, so I try to avoid facing reality by not warming up. When the gun goes off at the start, I plunge in and force a smile on my face: it's impossible to have a panic attack or be in a bad mood when you're smiling. And it works! I can't believe what a great start I'm having on the swim! I'm actually keeping up with people! Within a few strokes my face is frozen and my skin hurts. And I keep bumping into people, something I'm not used to because normally they've left me behind by now. Thank goodness I did that triathlon Florida. The one most important lesson from that triathlon was overcoming my fear of swimming. Maybe that cognitive therapy concept of making people overcome their fears by facing whatever it is they're afraid of in the most intense possible way is true: no swim in New Brunswick can be anywhere near as intimidating as the the swells, salt water, and 3,000 athletes of St. Anthony's. In the past two years I had always taken it pretty easy on the swim, settling into a comfortable rhythm without much aerobic effort. This year I push myself and I don't let up.
Two loops of 400m, and I feel so disoriented and tired when I get out of the water to circle the buoys on the first loop, but I keep going. I don't do as good a job on sighting and swimming in a straight line on the second loop. Still, it's a short swim and then up that bloody hill to the transition. I think that run up from the lake to transition should have counted as a sport in itself. Trying to run up an incredibly steep, grassy slope after 18 minutes in freezing water, dizzy, disoriented, and completely out of breath. I get tired just typing it. Anyway, transition went well. I had rehearsed mentally yesterday several times over, so my focus was great and my mind was clear. I just wasn't moving quite as fast as I wanted. Out onto the bike course! It's a steep downhill on rough pavement at the start, then two very, very sharp turns at the bottom where I pass two cyclists who have wiped out. Onto the highway and I feel slower than last year. The downside of being a slightly better swimmer is that I don't get to pass as many cyclists and runners later on. I still pick off lots of them, especially in the hills. My legs come back to me after eight or nine kilometres, and then I'm really rolling. I stay on the aerobars as long as I can, even up hills, and push myself pretty hard. I really want to see how hard I can go on this triathlon. The last stretch uphill onto Somerset Drive is tough but my cadence is high and I ignore my pounding heartrate.
T2 goes very well. Again, it's all so fluid when you've gone over it in your head during every spare waking moment you have. My run starts with its usual short steps and shuffle and two or three men fly by me. No worries, I know I'll pass them later. Sure enough, everyone grinds to a halt in the first big hill and I chug past them. The first three kilometres of the course are tough uphills; what's amazing is that this year I can charge up them with a high heartrate and burning lungs - and keep running at that level of discomfort. My lactate threshold must have taken a quantum leap ahead sometime during the winter. The fact that I could swim hard, bike hard, then actually feel great on the run and run hard is simply amazing. And when I hear the cheering from the finish line, I've still got some speed left over for a strong finish.
The stats:
Swim = 18 minutes, give or take
Bike = 39 minutes, average speed is 29 km/h
Run = 27 minutes Total time = 1 hour 28 minutes. That's ten minutes faster than last year, in spite of a new (tougher) transition!
Conclusion: I like this idea of going harder. It's so much more satisfying. This is going to be such a great season! - Tuesday Switched my speed bike workout for my longish run that's usually on Wednesday evenings. I had an extremely long day/long/night/long day at work. Came home a bit early and had a nap, then I decided that I'd do my sprint bike workout, but alas my bike pump broke and I didn't want to waste a cartridge on them, so I went out for a 1 hour 10 minute run. I was pretty amazed that I could actually run after the long hours at work. Mind you, I've always found that some of my best runs happen when I'm most tired. I think that's because I simply don't have the energy to do more than find a steady cadence, and because my posture is more relaxed. Anyway, I ran a whole lot longer than I had planned and felt great after.
- Friday Day off from work! I get a four day weekend! I'm treating this as if it were my big summer vacation, and it's paying off. Oh how wonderful to be able to laze through some summer days. OK, so today was wet and gloomy, but nothing was going to get me down. I had my sprint workout today (again, switched with a bike ride yesterday because of the weather.) Ten minute warm-up, 4x15s pick-ups (ouch), 6x3 minute sprints with 1.5 minute rests. It was tough. I barely made it through the first sprint and wondered how I'd every get through all six. Oddly enough, no burning in my legs. For once it was my cardiovascular system that had a hard time keeping up.
- Saturday The weightlifting routine of my training program changed about three weeks ago to what it calls the "Power Phase." There's more emphasis on lifting the maximum weight for a shorter number of repetitions. It really works! But one downside: my legs are total mush. I haven't been this tired since the last time I ran a marathon. Apparently, this is normal. But I was still worried when I started my run today in very humid but cool weather. I started slowly toward the Sheraton, then slowly over to the train bridge, and all the way down to where the path comes out into a field just before arriving in Marysville. As I have found out over the years, fatigue is merely an opportunity to focus less on speed and more on technique, which is exactly what I did today. I relaxed, I stood tall, I took short quiet steps. It was one of those heavy, humid, sort of sunny days that is so full of summer that you can't believe how lucky you are to see it all. There was no one on the path but me and no wind to make any noise. Just quiet. I quietly trotted out to the my turnaround point and stopped for a while just to look at the field in the summer air. Perfect summer, or as Alexander Smith (Scottish poet) put it so well, "Time has fallen asleep in the afternoon sunshine." These are the kind of days that carry you through winter.
- Week of July 4
- Wednesday Oh what a beautiful evening. No wind whatsoever, golden evening sunlight, hot and summery. I think it's the last little bit of good weather before yet another rainy streak. I decided to do my longish run in the hills of Golf Club Road, mostly because I read an interview with Lori Bowden today in which she talks about her running workouts and says that doing hill repeats has probably been one of her more successful tactics. Interestingly, she also mentioned that she avoided doing her long run after a long bike ride and always tried to keep the run portion of a brick workout short. Her logic is that it takes too long to recover from these runs and the quality of the workout is too low to actually get any benefit from it. Having occasionally done my long run after my long bike, I definitely agree: the run tends to be painful, slow, and I'm in a bad mood because of the frustration I'm feeling at my pace.
But I do like hills and they went very, very well tonight. I was trying to be a steady runner with solid legs. Time went by fast, mostly because I spent most of it looking at the scenery, particularly across the river. Ah, summer. - Thursday Ooof, second sprint workout today. My cardiovascular system is taking quite a beating (and hopefully improving.) Mind you, this morning's sprints were in the pool! This evening I drove to the Fredericton High School track right after work for my 8x400m sprints, with 4x100m pick-ups before and after. The first set of pick-ups were absolutely awful. It felt like I wasn't moving any faster than my warm-up! Things got a bit better when I started the 400m repeats and my time was 1:56 for the firt one - faster than usual for me. But whereas I normally get faster as the repeats go by, this time I was staying at the same speed and the final two were two minutes each. The 100m sprints on the infield grass were awesome, like running on springs.
- Saturday After a full day setting up the site for the Duncan Hadley Triathlon, my sweetie and I went out for a long run this evening in light mist and drizzle. We did two nice loops around Odell Park and I was happy to finally feel some power in my legs. We went down to the Sheraton and along the river. Before we knew it, we were both black with flies, those tiny no-see-ums that normally have a terrible bite. They were drowning in the wet air and covering our arms and faces. We picked up the pace and finally gave up and headed home after only an hour (but a FAST hour!)
- Sunday A brick workout today. My three hours on the bike got cut down because I simply ran out of time. The Duncan Hadley Triathlon was held today under hot, beautiful conditions. Seeing all those people swim, bike, and run really inspired me. The wind picked up a little in the afternoon, so I biked a bit harder than usual then hopped off and started running. The transition to the run was almost seamless, but after 20 minutes I could tell I was getting tired. Times like these I really start worrying whether or not I can actually do a half-Ironman in six weeks from now.
- Week of July 11
- Wednesday I somehow managed to make it out for my easy longish run this evening, in spite of a tough weightlifting session at the gym earlier today. To add to my legs' despair, I went for the hills when I started the run. Twice around the lower half of Odell Park, which was actually very pleasant even if it was rather dark. Then down to the Sheraton, along the river, and back home for a 1 hour 15 minute run. I slowed down once I left Odell Park and got to flat ground. I have to keep remembering that the point of these runs is to keep my heartrate low, not run hard.
- Thursday Tough sprint workout today. I think it's one of the toughest sprints I've ever done: warm up 10minutes, 4x100m pick-ups, 1x800m, 1x1600m, 2x800m, 2x200m. It comes out to the same distance as last week's workout, but the 1600m interval really saps my legs and lungs. What was funny, though, is that in spite of feeling tired and slower throughout the workout, I actually ran every single lap in two minutes, plus or minus one second. Even the very last lap. I don't know if this is a good thing or not, but it's not something I could do in previous years.
- Saturday Yippee! Hot weather! Too bad I'm not used to it, because it made today's run pretty tough. I started out with two loops in Odell Park but remarked that my legs didn't have the spring that they had had earlier in the week. Obviously those sprint workouts on Thursday had taken a lot out of them. Then down to the Sheraton and across the river to Marysville. I tried keeping my pace slow but the last 30 minutes of the two hour run were still brutal. I've been taking iron supplements and hoping that they'll help me get over the light-headed, weak feeling I sometimes get on long runs, but that didn't work today. Lots and lots of cyclists on the path.
- Sunday Four hour brick: 3.5 hours of biking, 30 minutes of running. The bike was great but hot (I was sweating within 20 minutes of starting) and I wore myself out trying to escape a thunderstorm for an hour. When the run started I was really warm and sweating buckets. Running down Church Road just past the Barton Bridge didn't help because it can be a cauldron. Still, I kept the pace very slow and steady and never needed to walk. On the other hand, my running legs never came back.
- Wednesday I've turned my Wednesday longish easy runs into hill day. That's partly due to the interview I read where Lori Bowden claimed it was one of the workouts that helped keep her strong on the run, and partly on the memory of the year I ran the Venice Marathon and how well I did. That summer I had also done the Quebec City Half-Marathon and, having spent weeks doing ALL the hills in Golf Club Road, I bounded easily up the two major hills in Quebec and sprinted to the finish. Hopefully history will repeat itself. But right now I seem to be having problems with my hipflexors, which are simply exhausted. I ran slowly tonight but had a tough time with my heartrate. The view across the river once I got to the top of Golf Club Road was worth the effort, however: today's extremely high humidity lay like a thick, hazy blanket over all the hills and the river was a mirror of calm.
- Thursday Sprints today. As I laced up my shoes in the apartment, I actually dreaded going out for a run. I dreaded that tired, slightly sick feeling I'd soon be getting, that heavy feeling in my legs as if they weren't even a part of my body anymore. Sure enough, that's exactly what I felt as I started down Charlotte Street toward the pedestrian bridge. My 4x15s pick-ups were sluggish, the 3x2min sprints were painful, and 1x12min sprint an exercise is determination. Finished it off with 3x1min sprints, then back home. Running in Devon was a nice change, though. But when will my running legs come back?
- Saturday A two hour run today. I'd like to think that my running legs came back after my plaintive request on Thursday, but actually it was the cool weather, overcast skies, and entirely flat course that made today's run go so well. I decided to give myself a break from the hills simply because my legs no longer seem to be recovering from various workouts. And maybe I was inspired by the most incredible ad I've seen: See Lance Ride . I was on my bike yesterday in extraordinarily windy conditions, and simply having that song in my head and the images playing in my mind kept me going and, more importantly, so appreciative of my time and experience on the bike. Watching a cancer survivor on the eve of a record sixth Tour de France win inspires me. So today's run went well. I ran on empty trails and in quiet and peace. I counted my cadence and made sure my left foot hit the ground at least 21 times in 15 seconds - and that this stayed the same at both the start and the end of the run. In the final 15 minutes I ran along The Green to the small overpass bridge past Regent Street and met my sweetie who was doing his own run. More inspiration.
Don't for get to See Lance Ride . - Wednesday Big news! I've signed up for the 2005 Ironman Lake Placid !!! On Monday morning, four minutes after registration opened online, I was sitting on a computer at work and signing up for the event I've been dreaming about since I started triathlons. Registering was a team event: everyone in the office hlped with the countdown util registration opened, making sure I wouldn't be late, and a colleague held my hand when I paid (that was tough.) The countdown has begun!!!! Then on Tuesday my sweetie and I went to Saint John so that I could do a long swim workout at the Canada Games Aquatic Centre, and I realised that I couldn't swim 3km in less than two hours. What a crushing start.
So in the next 364 days I've got to learn how to swim and buy a bike, unless I can find a way to take my sweet, beloved Marinoni apart. And if there's anyone out there who's planning to do Lake Placid next year or has done and has advice and stories to tell, please, please email me !! I'm going to need all the help I can get, as well as advice about where to stay in Lake Placid.
So tonight I went out on my longish hill run. My weightlifting program switched from the power phase to the chisel phase last week, and just like the coaches on my coaching program predicted, my legs revived and my runs are feeling better. I was getting pretty discouraged for a while. Anyway, I had a slow start around Odell Park and up Golf Club Road, but I focused on a high cadence and relaxed shoulders. Things started getting better in the second half of the run and before I knew it 75 minutes had passed and I was still running well. - Thursday Sprint day, though not on the track. Instead I have a 10min warm-up, 5x1min sprints, 1x10min, then another 5x1min. I started on pavement around the Inglewood/Parkhurst loop, then went down to the path along the river, ran across the pedestrian bridge, and came back to Charlotte Street. The sprints were OK, but nothing spectacular. Maybe my expectations are too high.
- Saturday A holiday weekend and we finally get some decent summer weather! It was sunny and really humid when I left the apartment, but the sun sort of disappeared after a while. The humidity had me sweating buckets within minutes of starting. I did two loops in Odell Park, trying to stay slow and comfortable, then I went down to the river and across to the Northside Trail. All I focused on was keeping a very, very short and low stride. It was easier when the sun was gone, but of course that wasn't what I was looking for! I wanted stifling heat and no wind! Anyway, there wasn't a soul on the trail, which made for pleasant and relaxed running. Drank lots of water (very unusual for me) which probably kept me from getting too dizzy or parched on the trail. Just over 2 hours.
- Week of August 1
- Thursday I didn't go running yesterday because I've re-arranged this week's schedule a bit to allow for the fact that I did my long bike ride on Monday. Tonight was sprint night - or, more precisely, my "try to run faster but not really" night. My legs go faster and my lungs start burning, but I don't actually move faster. This is so frustrating. I tried running around the nearby track used for harness-racing, but it was busy so I moved back onto the roads. The racing track actually has a nicer surface than the regular tracks, but it's angled and I find that hard on my knees. I felt good when I started (no more weights after last week. Taper has started!) The 4x100m pick-ups were pretty unspectacular. Then I moved into the 2x1200m sprints, which I figured was about six minutes each of running hard. I could keep up the speed in spite of breathing hard, but it really wasn't much speed (and sometimes I was distracted by what a beautiful evening it was.) On the second sprint my legs started to stiffen - the first time this summer that I felt myself reach my lactate threshold! Cool! Finished off with 3x100m sprints on the grass in Wilmot Park.
- Saturday Cool and sort of wet today, so my 1h35min run was pretty easy. I really wish the weather would co-operate with my race plans! Ran the usual trail: across the pedestrian bridge, to Marysville, around the cotton mill, and back home. The one advantage of grey weather is that I have the entire trail system to myself. Ah, peace and quiet! Very good for seeking a tranquil state of mind and returning from a run feeling refreshed. I did the usual: focused on short, steady strides, upright posture, etc.
- Sunday Very early wake-up this morning since my sweetie was running in the Saint John Marathon by the Sea ! And wow, did he run! It was (another) cool, wet morning, perfect for setting personal records. After doing a little bit of shopping at Saint John's new Running Room, I went outside to wait for my sweetie. From where I was standing, I could see runners coming down the Harbour Passage bridge, then turning off toward the finish line. I spotted my sweetie's black t-shirt and white cap on the bridge and I realised he was having a great day! Sigh. Wish I could run that fast!
I got my chance this afternoon during a brick workout. The bike ride was an exhilerating: a windy trip out to the end of the old highway and the start of Highway 3 to St. Stephen, then turned around and tried Mazerolle Settlement Road. Absolutely beautiful, but lots of work. Came back home, then headed out for a 30min run. It was OK, but as usual I wondered how I'd ever finish the half-marathon in New Hampshire. - Week of August 8
- Thursday A grey windy afternoon at the FHS track with thunder rumbling in the distance. I made the mistake of taking an iron pill two hours before my track workout, so nausea was a major problem. I felt OK (for a change) during the 10 minute warm-up and the 4x100m pick-ups. The main workout was 1x4000m, accelerating on the straight stretches and easy jogging on the curves. The first few laps were OK - heck, I even felt strong! But the nausea crept up until I was stopping after every lap. By lap 7 I couldn't run without gagging. No more iron pills.
- Saturday Summer arrived today for a quick visit. It was hot, humid and sunny - my favourite conditions. I had a one hour tempo to do, which I saved for mid-afternoon when the heat had peaked. Oddly enough, I never actually felt hot, though I was sweating heavily (but not the salty sort of sweat.) Did two loops around the bottom gravel path of Odell Park since the heavy rain of the previous days had made the dirt trail a mud basin. Then down to the Green and to the pedestrian bridge, back home. I actually had found a good pace and enjoyed the running. Unfortunately, that damn nausea and hunger caught up with me.
- Week of August 15
- Week of August 22
- Friday Unlike at last year's half-Ironman, I didn't seem to recover as well this year. In fact, my quadriceps and hip flexors were stiff right up until yesterday, whereas last year I managed a two hour run around London with my sweetie on the Monday after the race. Oh well, tonight's fabulous run made up for that. I went for my run right after work, something I normally dislike because I seem to run and feel my worst at that time of the day. However, these are exceptionately busy days and 4:30pm is the only time slot I have to squeeze in a run. I also have no training plan for the Alexandria Marathon in six weeks, just run as much as I can and tread the fine line between building up mileage and overtraining leading to injury. Tonight was neither: it was a beautiful, perfect day with lots of sun, a bit of wind, and chirping crickets. My legs felt stiff but the stiffness didn't seem to affect them, and I ran strong and steady. Maybe it was the image of the athletes competing in the Athens Olympics during yesterday's and today's triathlons - man, can those people run! They have a very upright style with high arms and a strong core that I was trying to imitate tonight. I didn't quite do a two hour run; instead, all the way to Marysville and back in 1 hour 20 min.
- Saturday My sweetie and I were in St. Andrew's-by-the-Sea (which is actually even prettier than it sounds) for someone's wedding today. I think it was the hottest, muggiest day of the year: my kind of weather! After surviving the ceremony and the interminable reception with 300 people, I couldn't resist the quiet and solitude of a run. I left the Algonquin Hotel's parking lot around 7:30pm, when the sun was getting low and evening had settled. There wasn't much to see behind the Algonquin, so I turned around and went down to the waterfront then turned right (away from the town) and ran on a quiet road to the golf course. The sun was shining straight into my eyes, everything was glowing orange, and there wasn't a breath of wind. Running was a bit tough: I had had lots to eat earlier and my legs are STILL recovering from last week's triathlon. But when I got to the end of the road, I was inspired. The road turned into a small path that went straight down to a part of the golf course that overlooked the Bay and the setting sun. Ran down the hill, then around and up through the empty golf course. It was like running in a storybook. I even saw a deer, standing quietly ahead of me. For about 15 minutes I followed the paved path through pristine greens and heavy, humid air. then turned around and went back to the Hotel. Climbing up to the Hotel made my quads shout.
- Sunday Today my sweetie and I were out for a long run (only six weeks until the Alexandria Marathon!) OK, so it was a short long run (12 miles.) We did the usual route to Marysville and then out to the train bridge just before Penniac. There were lots and lots of bicycles out today, probably because of the fantastic weather we've been having. The pace was good and I felt surprisingly capable of doing this.
- Week of Sept 5
- Saturday Sorry about skipping entries last week. It has been a crazy month. I did go running every day on Labour Day weekend, though; I just don't know if I'm ready to admit how bad some of those runs went. On Saturday I went for a 37 minute run and nearly had a heart attack. I had been inside all day, so the run was something of a shock to my system. The funny thing was, my legs had felt phenomenal when I had started the run. So on Sunday I was surprised to still feel great when I set out for Marysville, although my heartrate was sky-high. It shot to outer space when I passed a flasher on the trail. For anyone running the trails in Fredericton, beware of a guy with a basketball who's always looking off to the side. 'Nough said. Monday didn't go so well. In fact, Monday's run was embarassing. My hip flexors were sore and weak and I had absolutely no energy for a two hour run out to Lincoln. I actually had to walk the last 20 minutes. How am I ever going to run a marathon in five weeks?
Because I'm scrambling to finish my Master's this week, there weren't any opportunities to go running. Today was the first run since Monday's travesty. My willpower - and the memory of that run - restricted my run to one hour, in spite of the perfect weather. Two laps around Odell Park, then along the river to the green bridge over Saint-Anne's Point and back home. Things were OK; not great, but OK. - Week of Sept 12
- Tuesday What a horrid day at work. There are times when you simply want to skip over an entire week, and this is one of them. Every day is a whirlwind, but it feels more like being hit by a Mack truck...over and over and over again. This evening I put the Master's report aside and go for a run. The sun sets early now, so my run is in the dark and it feels fluid and easy. I go across Wilmot Park, along Woodstock Road in front of the Old Government House, and back on the trail at Sainte-Anne's Point. I really do feel good! I keep my strides short and fast. It's a very short run (36 minutes), which does no good to my self-confidence in training for a marathon in one month.
- Thursday No running last night because, believe it or not, my legs were stiff from my puny 36 minute run on Tuesday! This is just NOT inspiring any confidence in my running abilities, three weeks before the marathon. This evening I left just as there was enough light to run on the path between the Sheraton and the Small Craft Aquatic Centre. After dark I can't see a thing on that path. Everything seemed to be working well as I ran. I kept my strides short, trying to figure out a way to deal with the hip flexor weakness that creeps in when my legs are tired. That'll be my biggest concern during the marathon; it ws certainly the toughest issue to deal with during the Timberman Triathlon. After crossing the pedestrian bridge, I deviated from my usual route and ran up Waterloo Row, along Dundonald, and down Alexandra. It's usually a winter running route, but running dark limits where I can go.
- Week of Sept 26
- Sunday I AM A MASTER'S GRADUATE!!! At long, long last, my years of graduate studies are over! This week I presented my report, which was accepted. I thought the darn thing would never end. That's why I haven't been running a whole lot lately. My sweetie and I were signed up to do the Run Through History's 15.2 miler, but alas the volume was turned down on the radio alarm clock, so we never got up in time. Doh! However, everything has a reason, and there was indeed a reason for us - particularly me - missing the run: my ITB is back to haunt me. Yep, less than two weeks before the big marathon in Egypt and I can't bend my left knee after this afternoon's run. Could anything be more discouraging? All those weeks of not running, not doing weights, and barely even walking while I spent every evening and weekend hunched over my computer typing my Master's report have caught up to me in the worst way.
The run started out well enough. It was a such a clear day with touches of fall colours and scents everywhere. I psyched myself up for a three hour run, which I decided I needed to do at least once before the marathon if only to build my confidence. I ran down to the Sheraton, along the Green, and out to Penniac. My pace was very slow and the first hour seemed harder than the second, oddly enough. The knee became troublesome after the Penniac Bridge. I stopped occasionnally to stretch it, but it got worse until I could no longer run through it. I tightened my laces (to keep my ankle from shifting in the shoe) and switched sides on the trail, which helped considerably. In fact, I managed almost an hour of running before I resorted to walking. The pain in BOTH knees had become so sharp that, on the pedestrian bridge over the Saint John River, I stopped running and actually walked the rest of the way home. It is a measure of how painful my knees were that I started walking while other people were watching (pride goeth before the fall.)
Less than two weeks until the marathon: what do I do? Lots and lots of ice, a reasonable amount of Advil (it gives me a terrible headache), lots of yoga, and the occasional run on the treadmill. Oh, and praying.
Transition went smoothly. Actually, it went so well that I spent a moment or two standing around thinking that I had forgotten something. I trotted to the mount line, which seemed sooo far away (the disadvantage of big triathlons: big transitions.) I'm always a bit nervous about getting on my bike: the swim has made me a bit sick and very unsteady, anyone else trying to get on their bike without being careful might bump into me, and there are lots of spectators to watch if anything goes wrong! But it went well and I was on my way on a very boring bike course. After the splendour and excitement of the UK Half-Ironman, St. Anthony's comes up very short, especially in terms of the bike course and the surly volunteers. The wind kept picking up, and there were lots and lots of very tight turns, especially at the start of the bike. There were athletes of all levels riding together, which made things even worse. At one point I heard some people screaming behing me "To your right." I was trying to pass someone when a bunch of those hot-headed men in the 30-34 age group caught up with me and were trying to pass. They were screaming at me and at each other and once they got about 15 meters in front of me, two of them collided and crashed. I didn't stop. They deserved it.
There's not much else to say about the bike except that I was relieved when it ended. Transition 2 went as well as Transition 1; I still stood around for a moment thinking it was just too easy. Then I chugged my way onto the run course where the heat was almost unbearable. I was barely moving at first, especially since the first mile and a half is probably the hottest part. But oddly enough I was one of the faster and steadier runners out there. To cool down I ran through every water hose available, took a water bottle at every station and poured it over myself, and headed for shade every time I saw some. I was so soaked at the end that my bib number was starting to fall apart. One of the best parts about this triathlon is that I've finally gotten to know my nutrition requirements, as well as what does and doesn't work for me. I had a Clif Shot at Mile 2 and Mile 4, Gatorade twice, and I was great. I sped up as the miles passed, which I always seem to do, and finished off with a decent sprint. The run course was in a nice residential area, nothing special. The spectators at the end were great. Better than the volunteers, anyway.
Here are my final times. Sure enough, my transition times are really great (finally, something I'm good at!) and my run time probably goes more to showing how poorly prepared other people are for the run. My swim was slightly faster than at Sackville, my bike slighly slower, and my run much slower. Then again, this is my first triathlon of the year, and it's April , not August. I haven't even done any serious speed training yet! This was a great experience and a great way to get ready for the big race in New Hampshire.
Rank in age group (out of 196 starters): 88
Rank overall (out of 3200 starters): 1831
Swim time and rank: 37:47 (141st)
T1: 2:50
Bike time and rank: 1:22:25 (77th)
T2: 2:45
Run time and rank: 58:33 (65th)
Overall time and rank: 3:06:19 (88th)
Here are some (grainy) photos:
Week of July 18
Week of July 25
This week is on the 2004 Trip to New Hampshire page.
November 1 2004: As I usually do every year following the Big Trip, I'm taking a break from blogging until January 2005. For the next two months I'll be nursing my knees, drooling over my new Litespeed Ultimate bike (woohoo!), and getting myself ready for the 2005 season and...IRONMAN! Check the Egypt page, since I'll be adding photos every now and then.
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Last updated November 1, 2004 by Helen Rooney
