Niagara Ultra Training Run!

I have a habit of not doing what I am supposed to do when it comes to running and the Niagara 100k was no different. I should have used this race to practice my pacing for Vermont, but no I decided (subconsciously) to race a distance I had never done before. Stupid Ass! Well it bit me in the ass and I DNFkd for the first time this year. I ran with Bill till half way, but should have ran my own race and heeded what other runners were doing. Not to blame Bill, I need to run my own race.

It all started at 6am. The temperature was nice, but not being too cool meant it would get warm as is usually the case at Niagara, where there is little shade. Starting at 6 was a blessing as the run out to the Falls was good and we felt good, probably too good. I had some good conversations with Chris McPeak and Lee Anne Cohen, but they got smart and backed off the pace. I picked it up to catch up to Bill. With the injuries, hamstring, kneee, glute, piriformis etc. This wasn't a smart move, but I was feeling good at this point. We hit the turn around at 25k at about 2 hours and 20 minutes. Headed out again and we were surprised when the first 50k runner passed us. Holy shit he was moving. The run back become some what more difficult. There are the up hills out of the Falls on concrete sidewalk, but was that just an excuse? It was nice to see the other runners going the other direction too. Bill and I were both taking more walk breaks as we progressed and few more runners were passing us. By the time we got to 50k it was becoming clear that to finish was going to be difficult to say the least. I got changed refuelled and headed back out, leaving Bill, who said to just go on. He wasn't looking good. His ankle and foot were bothering him. My right leg was staring to become a real problem.
I walked out of the 50k aid station and walked for quite a while. WHen I started to run it was far from comfortable, but I determined to continue on. At least for now. Iw ould continue on to walk/run/walk until the 60k mark where at that point I was mentally in a bad place and my leg was screaming at me to stop. With Vermont coming in 4 weeks I made the decision to stop. THere was no reason to continue on and do more damage. It helped that Kelly was waiting for Bill there and I knew I could get a ride back. Bill showed up about 10 minutes later and tried to talk me into continuing, but although I almost did, I knew there was no point. Joan had also came into the aid station at this point on her way back on the 50k and agreed with my decision.
I went back to the start line and had a couple of beers something to eat and cheered inthe 50k runners in.

This was great seeing people I know finishing in great fashion. Chris "Battman" Battaglia setting a PB for the 50k, as did Steen for this course. RickyMac finished and of course Joan finishing her first 50k. I also saw Deanna from work finishing her first too.

After heading back to the hotel to get cleaned up and looking for runners on the course we went to the outlet

mall for a bit and then back to the start finish to see the rest of the 100k finishers coming in.
Passed a few on the route back in and saw Catherine just tearing up the course she had passed many runners since I had seen her last and was looking very strong. Chris McPeake was still out there and struggling. He looked like he'd been dropped in a hot pool with all the sweat dripping off of him. Back at the start Bill had already finished and was getting cleaned up. He had finished in 11:47, a tough second half , but he did it. I watched Lee Ann come in and she also looked strong. Then Catherine came in, 12:47 a great job and she is on course to do great at Vermont at this rate. Good to see. Chris struggled in after having a really hard time with stomach issues etc., at least he finished.

A tough day for all, but some did a lot better than others. Myself? I have come out of it with my confidence in shatters, but still trying to convince myself that I did the right thing, but worried about what caused me to stop. I still have a few weeks to correct everything before Vermont, but its not going to be easy.

Base Borden Run

Register for the Base Borden Run Oct. 21

Lace up with the Canadian Forces and Georgian College for the Base Borden Run on Sunday, Oct. 21. Walk, run or roll in the 5km, 10km or half-marathon events hosted on the scenic grounds and training facilities of Canadian Forces Base Borden.

Proceeds support Operation Hero, an endowed scholarship for military family members who are pursuing an education at Georgian College.

This is Simcoe County’s fastest growing charity run – uniquely military from start to finish.

Registration includes t-shirt and commemorative dog tag. Enjoy a challenging, chip-timed course on varying terrain.

Register on-line at:

http://www.events.runningroom.com/site/?raceId=7707

Catching Up! Again!

So you might think that this was planned, but I was planning on doing a race report for Pick Your Poison and hadn't got around to it. Now that it is two week's later I have just finished the Seaton Trail 52k race and figured maybe I could do both race reports in one blog entry.

PICK YOUR POISON -

On a beautiful spring morning we all assembled at the Heights of Horseshoe for the 4th annual running of the Pick Your Poison trial races. It was a nice sunny day, but a rather cool one and just slightly windy. Lots of familiar faces were there at the starting, too many to mention here, but generally the usual Barrie RoadRunners that enjoy the trails and, of course, the many OUS regulars. I went in to the chalet to collect me race swag and was very disappointed to find that they were out of T-Shiirts (WTF!), but shortly after telling me that they discovered a couple of boxes with copious amounts of shirts. So I got my shirt, my jar of local honey and was ready to run. I got all my stuff together at the car (or so I thought) and headed to the start area to mingle prior top the start. Chatting with Shawn, Nancy, Chris M., etc. We listened to the race director Adam Hill give us our pre race directions and then we were off.
My thoughts for this race were to just run a nice easy pace and be consistent and try to at least beat my last time running PYP. So running the few kilometre's were fairly flat to downhill and this spread out the crowd a bit. The 12.5k, 25k and 50k all started at the same time!! Down the old dirt road to a short single track section and across a small creek we were back on double track/road again at about 4k we were into our first short climb and then to the ski hills and the first aid station. This climb was a little bit more significant and would be more of challenge for each loop. THen down a single track and more double track before hitting "heart attack hill". Not sure if anyone would have run this one, I know I didn't. Once at the top another gentle climb to another aid station and back again to some great single track. A hard downhill followed and then some more climbs from the valley floor a few times before climbing the back of the ski hill to head back down to the finish.

THe second loop felt good too, but by the third I was starting to feel the pace of the first 2 loops. A few more walk breaks were needed and I was getting a bit disappointed in the fact that I was not able to maintain a consistent run. The 4th lap was again a bit of struggle, but I pushed my self harder than the last one to finish in 5:12, 3 minutes faster than the last time I finished this race. Not entirely happy but at least I was not injured at all.

17th place out of 50 runners.

SEATON TRAIL 56k -

I was always say that I won't do this race next year, but keep coming back. Not sure why, but I know it was one of the more difficult races on the OUS circuit. The plan was to run easy and again try to be consistent. And thats how it felt till the creek crossing. A couple of the front runners had stopped to take their shoes and socks off to cross (WTF???). I roared across in my usual fashion and on the other side I found my self alone!! WTF???. I couldn't be in first place could I? Apparently that was the case. I ran on, trying to maintain that easy pace, but I think my sub conscious was taking over pushing me to run harder and maintain the position. I continued Along till about 5k when I noticed another runner behind me. Ken Arnott was slowly reeling me in and this was a good thing. Being in first is not a comfortable position for me, so having Ken pass me at 6k was a relief. Unfortunately I kept the pace up and stayed in second until about 35k. I traded positions with another runner, must have been one of the runners who had taken their shoes and socks off earlier, cuz he did it again and I would leave him behind, only for him to catch up again. THis went on until he passed for good at 35k. At 40k I took a nasty tumble when I caught a stump and my calf locked up on me. My calf was never the same after this and run deteriorated from this point on and a lot of walking was had until the end. I finished in 5:49, not as fast as in the past, but better than last year for sure. This year was dry as a bone, compared to last years muddy monsoon.

Again I wasn't totally happy with the way I ran this race, but not bad. Work still to be done to get where I want to be. Consistent!!!

5th out of 46 registered runners.

Two weeks later it was time for Sulphur Springs 50 mile race. I had been here for this race the past two years, the first of which I didn't finish. That was a year where the results were written, by that I mean it wasn't going to happen. I didn't have the will and knew in my mind my goals weren't going to happen that year. I quit before the 3rd loop was over. Last year was a completely different story and I finished well and felt good about doing it. My drive was much greater and it showed. This year I was a little unsure. Like two years ago I was not as confident, but I still had the drive. The weather was much drier and warmer than last year and again tried to keep a nice easy pace that's what I thought I was doing as I followed and ran with at times Dawn Hamel and April Boultbee. On the second loop Laurie McGrath ran with us. It was a good easy pace and we were walking all the hills. Sometimes I would take a longer walk but would always catch up to them. On th least downhill, which is a couple a kilometres long I left them behind as I love running that downhill. Two laps down and feeling good. I took a long break to refresh, change shoes etc and then back out again. Now I was running alone for the most part and the dreaded third loop blahs caught up to me. It was a struggle to get through this loop as usual, but still better than two years ago. Finishing the 3rd loop I saw BIll going back out and only a few minutes ahead. The girls said he was not doing well and that I may catch him. But I took a nice long break again and off I went, full of piss and vinegar as I was thinking I may catch him. As it was he was renewed as well and I was never going to catch him. The rejuvenation soon faded and I was walking a lot. The last lap was one of the worst I had run in all the laps I had run here. But I finished and knocked off 44 minutes off last years time. I attribute that mostly due to the conditions. 8:45:59

18th out of 86 starters.


The next event again two weeks later was not really an event at all, but our annual night run to Orillia and back. This year there were more runners and potentially a few other runners to go the whole distance instead of just me. Several groups were going out at different times. Brenda and Lee Anne were leaving before 5:30 and only going to Orillia, Joan, Angela and Battman were leaving at 6:15ish and again only go to Orillia. At 7:45 pm Myself, Brendan, Bill, Erin and Alan would leave the South Shore Centre on the south side of the bay to head off to Orillia on a nice night. We seem to have been blesses with good whether for this event in the past 2 years that we have run it, would this night hold out too? Somewhere between our group and Joan's group Steen and also started off with Kelly in support on her bike.
This year we would be missing Roger for the first time as he had a wedding to go to. We ran in his honour!!!
Off we went and soon Brendan found the pace to slow and off he would go before coming back to meet up with us. Eventually we would lose him all together. Marie was running support for us, which would be a blessing too! Marie would take pictures and stop at cross roads to make sure all was ok. The rail trail can be very boring, but at night it is not so. Especially when it gets dark. By the time the darkness got to us Alan was lag gin behind and at about 25k he called it a day, it was very humid and he was suffering a bit. He jumped in with Marie and Bren who had also decided 25k was enough for him. BY this time Tracy had also joined the support group. Everyone seems to have their own aches and pains that we all discussed at length and felt sorry for act other. I'm not sure this helped or not. But coming towards Orillia we cam across Ricky Mac riding his bike also in support. He had rode with Battman and Joan to Orillia to help out Joan who was struggling a bit. We got to Orillia just before midnight, so right on schedule, and left right on time too. Only four runners remained at this point, Myself, Bill, Erin and Bryan who joined us for the ride back. Turning around is always the hardest part. I know I was having a hard time motivating myself. Erin was talking about only going to the next aid stop at the 15th line. Once we got there she realized that she was at 48k and figured she had to at least get in 50. Our support on the way back was both Joan and Jim T. Joan was rather tired after running out to Orillia. What a trooper!
My right lower leg was bothering me and I was wondering whether this was to be the year that I didn't finish. At the 15th though, Bill let try some Traumeel Cream to put on my leg. By the time we were a k down the road I had no pain anymore and was running great again. woohoo, that stuff is awesome. Soon we were chatting to Erin about the history of the run an that I was the only one who had ever done it both ways. What? She asked, "you mean if I finish I would be the first woman to do it?" Her eyes lit up and she decided she couldn't quit now. So off the four of went in the pitch black darkness, only lit up by our head lamps. At about 1 am it started to rain lightly, but it felt good. At times we were running a little slower than a 5 minute kilometre. Hard to believe. As we reached Barrie the heavens opened up and we were getting soaked.
We ran most of the rest of the run in the rain and as we finished just as we thought we could get changed the heavy rains started again. A quick photo op and then into the vehicles to head home. We finished in just under 9 hours for 76k. A great night again. Finishing the entire distance were Bill, Erin and myself.

Since finishing the Night Run Orillia and back I have been on easy street when it comes to running. Not doing much at all. Taper to the nth degree. Ran a couple of times but not much intensity or distance. I spent last weekend volunteering for the Barrie Half and had a great time. This week a quick trail run on Tuesday and short road run on Wednesday as I prepare for Niagara and the 100k. Yes, this weekend is the Niagara and I was talked into, although it didn't much talking, the 100k. Still its good training for Vermont which is only 4 weeks away now. The hardest part, I think would be the 100k on asphalt. That will be hard on the feet I think. Still I look at all the difficulties of this race as good prep for Vermont.

One Week to PYP.

This is the time of year that the long runs start getting really long, and time on feet becomes the main goal. That takes a lot to get through mentally and one of the tools I’ve been using to manage it is listening to podcasts. There are two that particularly like. 100mileultrarunning.com and Dirt Dawg’s Running Diatribe. I favour the first as it is geared more towards ultrarunning, especially 100 milers. The creater of 100mile… is very experienced at 100 milers doing the grand slam a few years ago. Last year while listening to one of his podcasts I found that he was creating a new grand slam series, the Mid West Grand Slam. This series consists of the Kettle Moraine 100, The Mohican 100, Burning River 100 and the Hallucination 100 all done within one calendar year. I am thinking that this might be a legitimate goal for next year. I really enjoyed Burning River last year and would love to go back, I may even go down again this year and volunteer.

In the mean time I have been getting out a lot on the trails lately and enjoying it immensely. Mostly on the Pick Your Poison course at Horseshoe. I forgot how tough it can be, especially when you’re not used to running on the trails. But after a couple of weeks I’m feeling better about it. Last weekend I went out to the Ontario Ultra Series Warm Up event in the small village of Dunedin, Ontario that is, not Florida. I went there with Bill Lovett with a goal to complete three loops for 39k. It is a tough loop with not much but hills and where it is flat it’s trails which are never “flat”. At least this year the trails were snow free and provided for some good running. But if you think the up hills are bad the final 2.5k are all down hill and it is a rather steep gravel road which has been newly grated. Three times down that sucker and you know it.
The next day I met Bill and a few others at Horseshoe for another couple of loops around the PYP course. It was a little difficult at first. The stiff legs taking a while to get going, but soon enough we were running good, by the second loop we were pushing it hard. At least a lot harder than I was expecting to run..
Monday morning came and I was feeling like I’d run a hard marathon. I haven’t felt that way in a long while. It felt somewhat good!!!

This week I have decided to take it easy and use it as a rest week. I ran Tuesday and Thursday on trails at Simcoe County forest and wore my vibrams on Thursday that went good and I think I will use them on all the Tuesday and Thursday runs. Wednesday was the usual Running Room run with the guys and we ran up Ferndale hill by the dump. It is an intimidating hill, but I always run it good.
This weekend I will do maybe only a light run. Time for some rest and relaxation instead. I think my body could use it. The next few months see lots of racing coming up. From next Saturday to the middle of June sees me running an event, organized or not, every two weeks. Included in this is the 3rd annual Night Run to Orillia and back. An "event" that we started for my training for Burning River. It has taken a life of its own now and we have probably a dozen or more interested parties in doing at least part of the run or supporting the run. For those who don't know, we start at the lakeshore in Barrie at about 8pm and run the rail trail to the Home Hardware in Orillia. We usuall y arrive around midnight, refuel and turn around for the run back getting back to Barrie at about 4:30 am or so. Up to now I am the only one who has completed the full distance, but I have had a few who have said they may attempt it this year. I usually have a good group for the first half and one or two for the return trip. Looking forward to it and hope the weather is as good as it has been in the past two years.

So no rest for the wicked.

Its time for another instalment in my not so frequent posts about my running, my training and generally how things are going. So how are things going? Very well, I say tentatively. I say it tentatively because I always think that maybe something will go wrong just around the corner. I shouldn't think that way, but when you've been through all the aches and pains I've been through over the past couple of years...
Things have been going well though. The mileage has been up and down, but I'm still ahead of last year at this point with nothing negative to complain about. The weather has been cooperating for the most part. Early spring has given way to a late cold spell, but there is no snow on the ground so the trails are open and all is good.
Yes trails! the trails have been wide open for a few weeks or more and I was finally able to get out on them and it felt so good to be running on dirt instead of pavement or cement. Two weeks ago I drove to Ancaster to do a loop of the Sulphur Springs course. I had been thinking of doing more, but I had been out there for a while showing a slower group the trail, and just as well as most of them had no idea where they were going. At the end of the loop I ran the hill hard and felt good doing it. The rain had started to come down hard and I decided enough was enough and that was good for the day. The trails there were in great shape, mostly dry with only a few muddy sections in the second half. Easy compared with last years quagmire. Not that I'm complaining.
Also got out on the Pick Your Poison course last Sunday for a good run. Did 2 loops there for about 24k. again the trails are in amazing shape. FIrst time I've used my Garmin to follow a trail. Yes, I downloaded the course off the internet and loaded it on the Garmin and set it up. It wasn't easy to see the map on the screen with my old guy eyesight, but it worked and would tell me when I got off course, which we did a few times on the first loop. A good turnout for the run on a gorgeous day.
On Good Friday I ran with Rick and Oliver as we did the rail trail out and back for 36k. Another good run with JVH offering support along the way.
I picked up a pair of Sketchers Gorun shoes last weekend too. They felt so good and light and I finally got to run in them last night. A different feel for sure, they promote a mid foot strike and I could feel the difference. When I was done I could feel the muscle fatigue in places where I usually don't. Overall I was impressed. It will be interesting to see how many miles I can get on them and how far I can run on them for my long runs.
I was checking up on the races I have signed up for and the ones I am thinking of signing up for and it is quite the schedule. 9 Races of at least marathon distance and 5 more I am thinking about. THere maybe more too. THis morning I signed up for the Monster Mash Marathon in Dover, Delaware and the Atlantic City Marathon. Back to back marathons in October. I haven't done a marathon since October of 2010, but got talked into it by Rickymac. It didn't take a lot of arm twisting.

Next up is Pick Your Poison on the 28th of this month. A good course except for the fact that it is 4 loops to make 50k. I hate multiple loop courses, but it is close and there will be lots of others there that I know doing it.

Before PYP though is the Ontario Ultra Series warm up event. I did this last year and had a lot of fun on a very hilly course.


Hope to refresh this blog again sooner than later, so until then...

Green Jewel 50k Race report

I did the Green Jewel 50k race last year and felt it was a great way to get the racing season kick started. I t meant training started early in the year, but got me better prepared for the long distances I would run later in the spring/summer getting ready for Burning River. By all accounts it was a good move as Burning River was a great race as I did very well. So I thought what better way to get the 2012 season started than to sign up and train for the Green Jewel again. Another factor was that the race is an incredibly well organized, low key event that brings some great individuals from the north east Ohio running community together. I have got to know a few of them over the past year and its one of the things that keeps me coming back for races in this part of the world.
This year I would drive the six hours to Cleveland with Chris Battaglia, who I talked into signing up as Theo was still recovering from his injuries and was far from ready to race this distance. We left Friday morning and made to the Cleveland metro area by about 3 pm and hit the hotel to check in. There's no "expo" for this race, bib pick up etc is in the morning at the finish area, prior to getting on the bus to go to the start. Once we were settled in we went out to check out one of the local running store, the Vertical Runner. as it turned out they had what I had been very keen to search out, the new Garmin 910XT. I couldn't resist and picked it up. A good pasta dinner at the Olive Garden and an early night preceded the 4 am wake up.
Off to the race finish area to catch the bus, but a wrinkle in the plans. We pulled onto the road into the park area and then red lights in front of us! Whats going on? We weren't any where near the pick up area. Chris walked down the line of cars to find out what was going on. He came back with our bibs and it turned out we were waiting for the Park Ranger to open up the gates, which were closed due to the Salamander migration season. But the ranger showed up just prior to 6am and we were let in to get on the buses. The race would start about 25 minutes late due to the delay.
Last year there was only one bus, this year two and off we went to Rocky River and the start area. We didn't have to wait long to get the race started, which was nice as it was quite cool and very breezy. Prior to the start I got to talk to Bob King who I met at the Burning River training runs last year. Bob wasn't running, but volunteering which is very admirable. He was actually the aid Station captain at mile 15. Also met Pam Rickard who I had befriended on Facebook, a great bubbly personality.

I set my new Garmin up and off we went at about 7:23am. The majority of the first part of the course is run on bike paths through the Cleveland Metro Park system. The first part seems to be quite flat, while actually it is slowly rising. I quickly hooked up with Zack Johnson and we ran together form that point on till about 27k. We got chatting and didn't pay attention to our pace, which was a little too fast for our own good, but at the same time it may have helped our positive finishes.

We went through the 15 mile mark in about 2 hours and 5 minutes and half way about 3 minutes later. It was at about this point that I was feeling the pace as my glutes were starting to tell me to back off. So at about 27k I told Zack go on with out me as I needed to back off. I took a few walk breaks and had quite a number of runners pass me. I was starting to take walk break every 2k or so. At the 19 mile aid station there was a smorgasbord of food, including steak, potatoes, and much more. At this point trying to digest steak would be impossible for me. I had a small cup of potato soup and was back off running again. After a couple more k I realized that I was gaining on Zack again. I caught him and it turns out he was hurting. His core was in pain from too much core work the day before. I left him behind but Zack would catch me on my walk breaks. At 38k we hit the first big hill

and a long walk up it ensued, a quick stop at the aid station at the top (the last aid) and we were off running again. Gradually I left Zack behind as I found I was able to push the pace a bit more, still walking most of the hills. I didn't remember all those hills from last year. In the latter parts of the race I was calculating what my possible finish times may be and figuring that a 4:35 finish was not out of the question. I had figured before hand that I would be happy with beating last years 4:48 time, very happy with a 4:45. A best case scenario would be 4:30. So I was doing well.
The last few kilometres were down hill, and although painful on the very sore quads, I pushed it and came into the finish at 4:31. I was very happy about that.

Zack came in shortly after me in a time of 4:35 for a new PR. Pam finished in 4:44 for a PR of an hour, incredible!! Chris finished in 5:50 looking really strong finishing.

Again a great race on a challenging course with great race volunteers and the best race director! I'm sure I will be back again next year as well as showing up to many more races in Ohio over the next few years.

One Week to Green Jewel

Well the training has went well and the taper is now. This taper is very welcome as I have been running every day for the month of February as part of the 29 Leagues Challenge, although it hasn't had any detrimental effects on me (as far as I can see), some days I have been dragging my ass out the door for a run. Having said that I am still feeling good, probably the best I have felt in a long time. My weight is down to below 170 consistently for the first time in a few years, and my runs have been a little quicker than the past year. The swimming has been going well and I am sure my over all energy level is up due to it.

This time next week I should be complete the Green Jewel 50k. Last year I finished in 4:58 and that was with a winter of lousy training through some brutal conditions. Although I haven't gotten any longer runs in than last year (longest was 35k), I feel that I am well ahead of last years training and should improve upon my time from last year. I am hoping for 4:30ish, but will be happy with just beating my time from last year. Just hope the weather co-operates. Last time I checked it was looking like about 8C and rain, but it has been up and down and all over the place every time I check.
So Chris B and I will drive down on Friday do the race, relax in the area the Saturday night and drive back on Sunday. It will be nice to get away for a weekend too. Haven't done that in a while.

As I said earlier the swimming has been going well and I am so glad that I decided to go out. It was difficult at first and actually is still to a certain extent, but I am able to swim further and push myself harder than I did a few weeks ago. Got past the 1000m mark a few weeks ago, swimming 1200m. I've been swimming 200m at a time as I did today (5 x 200m) and even did one 500m leg last week. That was rather hard. I quit doing the spin bike as it was bothering my right achilles. It is normally bothered by most things, but this was a bit more acute. So I stopped and as it was only a couple of weeks to Green Jewel, I figured a good time to back off a bit.

This weekend I planned on running only 15k today and 10k tomorrow, but with the snow and lousy conditions this morning I only did about 13k, so not sure what I'll do tomorrow. I'll see what the weather is like and make a game time decision. Then 5k or so on Monday and Tuesday, the regular thing with the group on Wednesday to finish off the 29 Leagues and then 2 days off completely, woohoo!

I'm also getting the itch to get one of the new Garmin 910 XT's, unfortunately they are hard to find. Delays in getting them to market seem to have made them that much more of a hot commodity. I will see if I can find one when down in Ohio next weekend.

February Starts with a Sick Day

Well after bragging to everyone over the past few months about how I never get sick, guess what? Yep, I've got a cold. Not a full blown illness or the flu or anything, but enough to come how early from work yesterday and stay home today. It is one of those head colds where you know you can get things done, but nothing seems to be working properly and the more I stayed at work the worse I felt, so I went home to bed and rested. It seemed to help a bit as I still went for a run last night and it was a good run. The weather had turned sharply colder and I was worried I'd feel it more, but once we got going it was a good one. Another thing that got me out for the run was committing to the February Challenge - 29 leagues in a month. The idea is to run everyday in February at least 1 league, which is about 3 miles or just under 5k. So sick or not I decided I had to go out anyway. I got 10k in. Today maybe a bit more of a challenge, its colder and I am still sick and at home. I have to go out and get a few things at the store anyway, so I will see how I feel after that. It is also a swimming night. Swimming usually makes me feel better, at least afterwards, not during!!! LOL. This coming Saturday the forecast is promising so hopefully I can get in a good 35k, followed by 25k on Sunday. THe next couple of weekends will be the last few long runs before tapering for Green Jewel. Hope the weather keeps co-operating.

Where Do the Hours Go?

I always seem to have the right intentions, but I'm never able to get things done. Case in point this blog, I would love to do daily updates, but i have trouble doing monthly updates. I think I'm going make the time.
So how is the running going? Maybe I should ask how is the training going, as I am doing regular swimming sessions to supplement the running, along with a bit of spinning too. Theo talked me into going out swimming on Tuesday's, Thursday and Saturdays and other than the odd session I've going out regularly since the start of the year. At first I found it very tough, but over time I think I am getting much more efficient and I am sure it is helping the cardio. Just trying to do 2 lengths was tough at first, now I start with 4 lengths. Spinning for about 45 minutes or so before swimming on Tuesday's and Thursday's is just bonus points, just seems to hurt my ass, but I am sure it is having an effect too. With Green Jewel coming up in 5 weeks it will be interesting to see how I fair compared with last year. I'm thinking that I am in much better shape than last year, although not without a few niggling little problems, I would be disappointed if I can't beat last years time. All things considering though, all the races this spring etc are just training runs for Vermont in July.
The running has been hit and miss, most of it good, but for some reasons the long runs on Saturday have been rather difficult. And stranger again is that the Sunday long runs have been generally, really good. Comparing last years run log with this year so far. Monthly, the mileage is almost identical and I am actually ahead if last year for my long runs. So in that respect I am doing well. I still feel that I have to get the long run distance up, providing that the weather co-operates. *fingers crossed*. I guess really can't complain too much as the weather has been far better than last year.
Race Schedule?
Yeah things are starting to shape up with the race schedule now. 6 Races are on the schedule with the latest addition the Niagara Ultra 100k. A new distance for me, but Looking forward to it on the Niagara Ultra course. Always a good event. Not sure what to expect though, just get it done I guess.
As I mentioned earlier I have the Green Jewel 50k on March 3rd in Ohio. Then in Seaton Trail 52k in May, thankfully much later than las tear and the horrible weather that hit in April. There is Sulphur Springs 50 mile race at the end of May. Then Niagara on June 23rd. We will probably be doing the annual night run to Orillia and back the weekend before Niagara, which will conflict with the Barrie Half Marathon, so our running support may not be quite as good as the last two years.
Those races all lead up to Vermont 100 on July 21st. At the moment the only other race I have signed up for is the North Coast 24 Hr event in Cleveland in September. There are many other events I would like to do, but at the moment I am biding my time. Pick Your Poison, Dirty Girls, Haliburton, let's see....

A New Year...

A new year and new ideas about training pop up, whether they work or not we will find out in the months to come. So what have I changed? Well Theo talked me into going swimming at the East Bayfield Rec centre and possibly spinning too and last week I took him up on the offer. With the extra workouts it's not leaving much time for rest though and I will had ego be careful with that and take the days off when I feel I need them. I started running Monday nights before the new year and with runs on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday now joined with a long Saturday run, Tuesdays and Thursdays were my only days off. Not anymore as Swimming is Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Saturdays swim following my long run. I'm guessing this will either kill me or make me stronger.
So far the swimming is going well, albeit tough slogging. I am so inefficient when swimming, but apparently with a few pointers and some work that will get better. At the moment I am just trying to get used to swimming for as long as possible now. I definitely feel the work in the arms and shoulders. My first spin session was this past Thursday ad it was ok, rather boring, but a lot of sweating.
THe running has been great as the whether has been very cooperative, at least until today that is. The temperature dropped during the day to -8C and snowed most of the afternoon. The run tonight felt tough, but mostly due to the sloppy conditions as apposed to the cold an wind. Tomorrow I have my long run and it may be rather abbreviated as it is supposed to be about -18c in the morning, with out the wind chill. We shall see!
I've been upping the mileage as my first race of the year is only 7 weeks away at the Green Jewel 50k. As of today I have also signed up for Seaton Trail 52k, Sulphur Springs 50 miler, Vermont 100, and the North Coast 24 hr. I still plan on signing up for Pick Your Poison 50k (still no registration available for that one yet!!!! Come on guys), although I was surprised to be the first one signed up for Seaton Trail. The Niagara 100k is another race is want to do, I think! Most of the rest of the Ultra Series too, but the time will come to sign up for those.