Going Long (again) in 2024

Week starting May 01, 2016

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Location:

Garson - Sudbury,ON,Canada

Member Since:

Apr 20, 2013

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

I ran my first marathon in 1998: "The Friendly Marathon" in Massey, Ontario.  I was 32. I had never raced in a shorter event, and I trained really poorly - ended up running it in 4:00:30.  After that, I gave up running for the most part for 6 years.  I got into karate a bit more seriously, until I got my knee kicked out and had ACL surgery.  Then I became a 'fair weather runner' and started to run half marathons every so often.  As a priest, entering weekend races always meant having to book a holiday, so it just didn't happen much.  My holidays were primarily focussed on various canoe and kayak trips.

At some point, I started training more consistently, and started to think of myself as a runner.  I guess doing that in your 40's is better than never doing it at all.  I even started to wonder if I had it in me to qualify for Boston.  Well, I did.  First time didn't count, I suppose, since I didn't make the "cut".  But the second time was a charm, and on my sixth Marathon, run in Chicago in 2015, I beat my BQ by almost 6 minutes.  And now, running a BQ is routine for me, not that I have any desire to run Boston again.

Through it all, I've made tons of mistakes - and have had lots of injuries to show for it.  Hopefully, now that I'm in my late 50's, I'm a bit wiser and can use that to my advantage to continue running for a very long time.

My PRs:

5k (12 run):      Guelph, ON.     October 10, 2016   (50 yrs.)   20:10

10k (10 run):    Collingwood      October 5, 2013  (47 yrs.)  43:37

Half Marathon  (25 run): Cleveland   May 18, 2014  (48 yrs)  1:33:08

Marathon (12 run):  Ste-Jerome, QC  October 3, 2021   (55 yrs.)  3:22:10

Ultras (5 run):   

Run for the Toad 50k Trail   September 30, 2017 (51 yrs.)  5:31:23

Niagara Falls 100k   June 17, 2018 (52 yrs.)  12:26:30

That Dam Hill 24 hours   September 15-16, 2018  Completed 100 Miles in 23:20:44

Sulphur Springs 50 mile Trail   May 25, 2019  10:37:27

Haliburton Forest 100 mile Trail   September 7-8, 2019  26:46:27

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Pacing my sister in her 1st Half Marathon.

Short-Term Running Goals:

After a broken right foot in 2022 in the later stages of a marathon training cycle, then adjusting to a 1/2" heal lift in my right shoe to compensate for a leg length discrepancy, and then a left plank plate rupture in the late summer of 2023, I had to decide:  go fast or go long.  I opted for long, for this year at least.

May 2024:  Sulphur Springs 50 Mile Trail (revisiting it after 5 years)

July 2024:  Limberlost 54KM Trail

September 2024:  Haliburton 100 Mile Trail (also revisiting it after 5 years).

Everything this year is really focussed on the Haliburton 100 as my key event.  After that, and depending on how things go, I'll reevaluate.

Long-Term Running Goals:

Run until this old body of mine won't let me run any more.  I was inspired in the Spring of 2016, watching the start of the Ottawa Marathon.  Near the back of the pack was an 'old man', running with his walker.  I loved it!  I thought ... there's me in 20 years.  Maybe.  

Personal:

I am a Roman Catholic priest of 30 years, ministering in the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie.  I spent 8 years ministering in the small town of Wawa (where I helped establish the annual Blackfly Run) and 9 years in Sault Ste. Marie.  I have been in the Sudbury region now for 13 years.  Currently I Pastor 2 small Parishes:  St. John the Evangelist in Garson, and St. Bernardine of Siena in Skead, covering the area just Northeast of the city, surrounding the Sudbury Airport.

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Miles:This week: 28.00 Month: 189.50 Year: 588.50
Mizuno Wave Sayonara 2 Lifetime Miles: 412.40
Brooks Cascadia 11 Lifetime Miles: 302.00
Salomon Speedcross 4 Lifetime Miles: 160.25
Brooks Launch 8 Lifetime Miles: 153.00
Asics Metaspeed Sky Lifetime Miles: 32.20
Brooks Ghost 13 Lifetime Miles: 358.50
Saucony Triumph 18 Lifetime Miles: 372.50
Ghost 13 Blue Sole Lifetime Miles: 363.00
Hoka Bondi Lifetime Miles: 386.00
Triumph 18 Treadmill Lifetime Miles: 120.50
Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill Lifetime Miles: 102.50
Total Distance
48.00
Brooks Ghost 6 Green Miles: 7.00Saucony Kinvara 6 Miles: 10.00Mizuno Wave Sayonara Miles: 10.00Brooks Glycerin 12 Miles: 6.00Zoom Vomero 10 Miles: 5.00Saucony ISO Triumph Miles: 10.00
Weight: 157.67
Total Distance
7.00

7 easy miles; pace of 8:36.  Iced that hamstring both before and after the run.  Still tight.  Will have to keep paying attention to it.

Finally into above freezing temps:  4C/39F.  And the long range forecast points to that being a continuing trend.

Brooks Ghost 6 Green Miles: 7.00
Weight: 157.00
Comments(1)
Total Distance
10.00

"Strength" workout.  Supposed to be 3 x 2 miles at 6:50 pace (10 seconds faster than race pace) with 800 recoveries.

First 2 miles okay at 6:46 and 6;46.  Next mile okay at 6:46, but then I came to that big hill and decided to break up that sequence, so did a 400 recovery and then ran mile 4 at 6:37.

So far, so good.  But then I gassed out.  Ran just a half mile more and could only keep a 7:00 pace, and was getting slower.  So, instead of pushing it (and my right hammie was sore from the start), I decided to let it go and just cruised the final miles.

So, not terribly happy with the result.  Very inconsistent in my pacing.  Although the splits look good on paper, it was far from a steady effort and I was running "speed" interval paces at times.  Maybe that what caused me to gas.  Or maybe it was the terrible heat wave that has settled upon us:  running in a sweltering 7C/44F.  Whew!

Saucony Kinvara 6 Miles: 10.00
Weight: 158.00
Comments(1)
Total Distance
10.00

Yuck!

Was supposed to be a 7 mile tempo run.  I managed to crack off 3 and then I crashed.  

I had decided to run just over 7:00/mile for the first two or three miles, and then to pick it up.  Well, the first three went okay, averaging just over 7:00/mile, and then I just ran out of steam somehow.  Seriously - I could barely shuffle.  It was like every ounce of energy left me, and my legs felt like lead.  It was all I could do to run an easy pace to get in the 10 miles.

Is it possible that I lost THAT much fitness in those 2 weeks when I was injured?  I don't think so.  I should only have lost about 5%, and I already adjusted my program accordingly.

My best guess is I'm overtrained.  The signs point to that:  just sleeping 5-6 hours/night, when I normally get 6-7.  And my resting pulse rate is up over 50, when it's normally just below 50.  And of course the last few harder workouts I just could not finish with the effort I needed.

I'm 3 1/2 weeks out from my race, so no disaster here, I suppose.  My next 4 days are all easy running days, so I'll just run easy and see what happens.  Maybe running easy is the best I'll be able to do for the rest of my training.

 

Mizuno Wave Sayonara Miles: 10.00
Weight: 157.00
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Total Distance
6.00

6 easy miles; 8:40 pace.

Although the legs were heavy, I never felt I was pushing it.  Hopefully I can, at the least, keep my mileage up here at this pace, even if I opt out of doing any more speed work before my race.

Brooks Glycerin 12 Miles: 6.00
Weight: 159.00
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Total Distance
5.00

5 easy miles; 8:20 pace.  Legs not feeling as heavy, so that is good.  Also good news:  hamstring is no longer sore.  Still tight, and I'm working on it every day - but not sore.  Days are warming up steadily.  Mornings nice and cool for running:  8C/46F.

Zoom Vomero 10 Miles: 5.00
Weight: 158.00
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Total Distance
10.00

10 easy miles; 8:30 pace for a run time of 85 minutes.

First time running in shorts since the Chicago marathon last fall.  It's a balmy 10C/50F.  Almost broke a sweat at one point.  Or maybe it was the rain - it was falling steadily pretty much the entire run.

Saucony ISO Triumph Miles: 10.00
Weight: 157.00
Comments(1)
Total Distance
48.00
Brooks Ghost 6 Green Miles: 7.00Saucony Kinvara 6 Miles: 10.00Mizuno Wave Sayonara Miles: 10.00Brooks Glycerin 12 Miles: 6.00Zoom Vomero 10 Miles: 5.00Saucony ISO Triumph Miles: 10.00
Weight: 157.67
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