News + 2015 Saskatchewan Marathon + 2015 Saskatoon Police Half Marathon

On Monday registration begins for the Saskatchewan Marathon.  At the most recent marathon, I ran the 5k event, but this time, I'm running the full 42.2k... and this will be my first attempt.  Although I'm not aiming for a specific time,  finishing in under 4:30:00 would be nice, and under 4:00:00 would be ideal.  So that's that.

As for recent news.  As hard as it is to believe, I've only run three times this month (and it's already December 13th).  And yet, despite this, I've logged just a tad under 60 kilometres (for an average of 20k per run).  I'd be at 80-100k right now if both kids hadn't gotten sick and, well, if I hadn't gotten sick either.  As nice as it would be to have logged more running this month, it's also good to step back sometimes and let you body rest.  Although I'm a bit tired from fighting off the bug, I could definitely do 5 or 10k today.  But why?  The marathon isn't until May 31st, and I'm not running any races in the immediate future.

And this brings me to my next bit, the 2015 Saskatoon Police Half Marathon.  Anyone who knows the inside scoop about the 2014 race knows that I ran it in a lot of physical discomfort and ended up finishing in just under 2:20:00--which is about the time I spend running a casual training run of the same distance.  So I have some unfinished business to attend to here.  My goal is to finish in less than 2:00:00 like I did in Ontario at the Chilly Half Marathon.

The key to everything, when it comes to races, is to be physically ready for the pounding your legs are going to take when you race.  Simply being able to go the distance in training isn't enough, you have to be able to perform at a higher level (otherwise you're not really racing).  At any rate, I still want to participate in the Hypothermic Half Marathon as well, but I feel more inclined to do the 10k event than the 21k given that the race happens in February (which is right about the corner).

So that's it for now!

Recap: Intrepid Dezine Half Marathon

Intrepid Dezine Half Marathon
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Distance: 21K (Half Marathon)
Time: 2:06:40
Pace: 9:36
Best Split: 8:17
10k: 54:59 (PR)
Rank: 1511/3127
Post race meal: Chocolate milk, sun chips, banana, half whole wheat bagel.


Comments: Another rainy race.  We started at six minutes after 7am--the delay was owed to a vehicle that stalled on the course.  All-in-all, I found it easier to run in Winnipeg than in Saskatoon, and was headed to a new personal record when near disaster struck about 3/4 of the way through.  Thanks to a build up of lactic acid, my quads and hamstrings really suffered, making it difficult to run. Ultimately the IT band on my right left became an issue.  I had banked enough time early on that I still consider my time (2:06) respectable given the circumstances.  The course started at the University of Manitoba and wound up Pembina into a residential section.  Runners were met along the route by a lot of locals with signs--a few even wanted to slap us five as we ran by.

The aid stations were more numerous and more useful than was the case at the Saskatoon Police Half Marathon.  Water and Gatorade were available, as were soaked sponges; at one point, volunteers were handing out sticks with Vaseline (for chaffing).  I used the aid stations primarily as a walk break--the theory being that my legs would hold up better.  Alas, my theory was wrong, as lactic acid flowed in.

I stayed hydrated by drinking water with GU Brew.  I fueled with Salted Caramel GU (3 packs total- take once before the race, and twice during). All-in-all, I never felt tired.

We crossed the finish line on a running track in a stadium.  Although I didn't sprint, I did greatly pick up the pace at the end, and crossed at 2:06:40.

I've certainly never hurt so much after a race.  Part of the reason for this (and for the one week delay between this post and my previous post) is that I've been under the weather.  First with a cold, then with gastroenteritis (which followed immediately after my previous race).  Clearly, when you're just getting over an illness, you're not necessarily going do your best.   However, sometimes you find out who you are when you keep running after realizing that there won't be a PR.

The things I think about when I run

Running path on the Meewasin Trail in Saskatoon.

Sometimes when I run on the streets of Forest Grove I'll catch the smell of meat cooking on a propane grill behind the opaque fence of some house I'll never visit.  The smell is borne of the meat, and it snakes over the fence slowly like a cloud until it reaches my nose and I breath it.  It originated from the thing it smells like, and as I run through it, I try to focus on the fragmented memory it evokes--of a time long ago, when I was a boy at summer camp, the hot days, the hot dogs, the unpalatable smell of chlorine, the fresh dirt kicked up by my tennis shoes and the thrill of a Friday night camping away from home.  All these things fit together perfectly and rationally in this fragmented memory, (a once perfect memory). And yet it's hard to know exactly what I've forgotten, or why my neural pathways choose to remember the scent of grilled hot dogs; and not, for example, where I left my blood sugar meter.
My summers at camp are such a surprising thing to think about as I run on the winding streets of the neighborhood.  
One thing I do to get myself through runs if I'm tired is to imagine I'm nearing the end of a marathon.  In this reverie there are lots of friends, former coworkers and maybe even some neighbors--all of whom are genuinely surprised at my running ability.  I've never bothered to analyze these waking dreams.
I never dream of running when I sleep. 
When I would run along the East River in New York City, I would often distract myself by listening to sports radio.  Sometimes I would listen to podcasts as I crossed the Williamsburg Bridge into Brooklyn.  (My god, that bridge was tough.)  It's really too bad that the bridges here in Saskatoon are not suspension bridges.
Where I am doesn't seem to matter too much.  Even when I've run in the desert, the basic reality about running does not change. If I don't think about my breathing, for example, it won't be an issue.  I don't often stop to take photos... I don't often stop at all.  I like to maintain the intensity all the way through the run.
If my muscles are too tight, I try to focus on just putting one foot in front of the other.  It's weird, but sometimes I almost feel like I need a warm-up run for my recovery run.
Sometimes I think about the street I'm running on.  Right now many of the streets in Western Canada (particularly in northern cities like Saskatoon and Edmonton) still have dirt and sand on them.  It's not particularly attractive, but it keeps my mind active for a few seconds.  Sometimes I think about previous races.  The Saskatoon Police Half Marathon was my least pleasant because of the knee pain (which caused me to finish at 2:19).  The Chilly Half Marathon, despite being insanely cold (-17c), was actually the most fun.  The interminable walk from my hotel to the Pizza Hut was probably a bad idea after the Chilly Half Marathon.  I must have spent an hour walking on Guelph Line, freezing the entire time.
Saskatchewan is colder than Ontario, of course, but the chill of the cold in Ontario near the water is absolute.  
If I'm running in the cold (say, anything colder than -8c), then I'll probably reflect of my runs over the Williamsburg Bridge at least once.  Perhaps the thing I didn't like about the bridge was the rows of people I sometimes had to swerve around.  They always seemed to walk so slowly and devoid of purpose.  On the Manhattan side the bridge let out onto Delancey Street.  Sometimes I'd head east on Delancey, down a vaguely steep decline until reaching the foot bridge over the FDR Drive, and keep running along the East River Path.
I wonder if my mind would be able to function if I were to run in conditions colder than -20.  
Right now, thankfully, the temperature hovers between 2 and 10c, which is very good for running.

I'm not precisely sure what else I think about when I run.  Usually it's the events of the day or something along those lines.

Arresting Developments in Saskatoon (or, today's extended Half Marathon recap).

Saskatoon Police Half Marathon
Downtown Core, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Distance: 21K
Time: 2:19:18
Pace: 10:15
Best Split: 8:46
Rank: 42/57
AG: 43.38%
Post race meal: Chocolate Milk, Iced Coffee and Blueberry Muffin from Tim Hortons

Comments: Some days you have it, some days you don't.  Let's look at the positives: I finished... despite two injuries (IT Band and SI Joint Syndromes).

The highlight of the day was when my knee seemed to buckle from the IT band pain.  Of course, sans a foam roller, I had to get by using my phone to release the IT band.  That was not terribly pleasant, but it allowed me the ability to finish without destroying my knee.

The race started at 8am on a misty Sunday morning. Runners crossed the start line, which was between police cars with whirling police lights.  Notice the theme here?
(Luckily, as bad as my time was, it did not lead to my arrest.)  After a circuitous route through Downtown Core, we wound down to Victoria Park and along the river.  I ran a tad bit faster than I had planned to.  Right around 5k is when my knee started to hurt, and my quads and hamstrings started to argue with me.  The problem is basically this: because of the SI Joint point, I needed to have a hip adjustment (simple procedure... done several times). Because my hips adjusted and aligned properly, I'm now "burning different fibers of the same muscles."  In English, I'm rebuilding my leg endurance.  I'm not really able to do much about my muscles during a race, but my knee was another matter.  As I mentioned before, I used my android phone (in lieu of a foam roller) to massage my IT band. The result was that the horrific/sharp pain that accompanies IT band syndrome was minimized.  Alas, I would have to do this virtually every 1-3 kilometers, and that is what really killed my pace.

Taper tantrums, Cheezies and the run up to the Saskatoon Police Half Marathon

My next (and 2nd official) half marathon is tomorrow, and I am ready to go.  At gun time, it will have been 8 days since my last run--thank you IT Band--when I did 18 kilometers.  That's some serious tapering on my part.

If I weren't doing a half, I'd have taken some easy 5k treadmill recovery runs.  For the record, I do not expect to set a new half marathon PR tomorrow.  The reasons are pretty clear, my IT band is really being trouble.

My weight (currently 175, which is good for my height and frame... I'm 6 feet tall) is probably 3-4 lbs heavier this time around.  That said, my training has consisted of 175 kilometers over the last 6 weeks (compared to 130 kilometers in the same period leading up to my first half marathon)--since virtually all of this has been at 480-500 meters elevation (not to mention the running in Alberta, where the elevation is over 1,000), I'm properly acclimated to running in Saskatoon. If I'm really lucky, and my IT band holds up, you never know... Maybe I beat my half time from Ontario?  Hmmm....

In the lead up to tomorrow's race, I've cut back on processed foods, and pretty much eliminated junk food.... Well except for part of a bag of Cheezies, a few servings of Spicy Kraft Dinner... and a handful of Maltesers.  Oy vey.

Of course, my real diet has consisted of items like green bell peppers, breakfast sausage, eggs, broccoli, bananas, crystal light, chicken and (occasionally) pasta.  Right now it looks like my dinner before the half marathon will be a homemade pizza (isn't my girlfriend awesome?).

The weather at gun time will be anywhere from +1C to +5C (31-41F).  If it reaches +5, this *could* the warmest run I've had over 12 kilometers in as many years.  Strange, but true.  I intend to wear my Brooks Adrenaline GTS running shoes, Brooks pants + Reebok top with 1/4 zipper.  Would be nice to wear the fitted Under Armour leggings, but hey.

So my prediction, unfortunately, is that I am going to finish in 2 hours and 20 minutes.  My IT band has hurt profusely on every recent instance of running above 5k.  Additionally, my body still needs to adjust to the hip adjustments--trust me, my leg muscles are learning to run again right now.  That said, my work with the foam roller (only recently begun), proper rest, and actual improvement might make it possible to come in under 2 hours.  My goal, is 1:59, by the way.

On a more positive note, I'm scheduled to be in Winnipeg in about 7 weeks for the Manitoba Half Marathon. Winnipeg is 200 meters below Saskatoon in altitude, so that (along with a careful start to my marathon training) could be an advantage.  Obviously, my goal will be to set a new PR; but I'll be aiming for 1:45.  After that, the next half marathon will be in July in Saskatoon.

Running News Round-up: Death, Taxes, Boston and Blood Sugar.

By now you've probably heard about the two fatalities this past weekend at the Rock ’n’ Roll Half Marathon in Raleigh.  One of the deceased runners, Derrick Myers, is profiled in The Charlotte Observer. The 35 year old runner collapsed near the finish line.  Meanwhile in Galveston, Texas, a third runner died near the finish line of the Run Like a Diva Half Marathon.

The New York Times has a write-up about the Boston Marathon bomber.
It seems like a British guy won the North Korean Half Marathon--interesting article that talks about what running a race there is even like.

As everyone knows, Monday (4/21) is the Boston Marathon.  Those of us who took zero steps to be included in this year's race will be relaxing in the comfort of our respective domiciles.  I definitely want to run this race one day.  Right now, I think that just completing a marathon should be (and is) my objective. As some of you know, I am scheduled to make my first attempt in September at the Queen City Marathon.  QCM is a "Boston Qualifying" race, of course. but my objective is to complete the race, not qualify for anything.

In my own world of news: I'll be running the Saskatoon Police Half Marathon one week from today. My personal best is just over 1:57 (note: I've run one official half marathon race).  Since I'll be running a tougher course at a higher elevation than in Southern Ontario, I'm not expecting to set a new personal record.  The course is near (and along) the river, and it should be an interesting race.

I noticed an article on NPR (also, The Guardian has a write-up as well) about how low blood sugar causes crankiness. I'd be interested in seeing more about how elevated blood sugar (i.e. beyond the norm) alters one's mood.  My experience is that melancholy often ensues.