I'm not creating a blog

Summer came and went

2011-12-02T17:42:00.002-05:00

I have much catching up to do.

I'm consistent on getting out during lunch time for 5 or 6 miles, depending on the day, and I'm managing to stay in shorts as no really cold air has descended upon us yet. Mornings have been crappy. Either I discipline myself to be up by 6, which means going beddy bye by 10, or start running after work which I really don't want to do, I have precious little evening time as it is.

I ran a whopping 2 races this year. The Hair of the Dog on Jan 1 and the Mad Dog scramble on Oct. 30. Maybe any race with the name 'dog' in it is all I want to be doing. During summer I did some doozy lunch time runs in up to 100 degree heat because it seems to feel so bad-ass to run in 100 degree heat. And that's without the humidex. It takes about an hour to cool down even in the AC of the office.

Currently I'm just trying to get some semblence of volume in. I managed a couple of 200+ mile months, came up shy in November with a busy final week for work and a couple of crappy weather days thrown in. Most of November was near perfect running conditions, unlike some years when it's just wind and rain and basically just miserable for outdoor running.

I have no plans right now but I would like to be in decent shape for the Dog on Jan 1. Last year it was something like 42 and change for me, not my best but not my worst either but conditions were really good. It's one month away so I need some big weeks with some speed tossed in and then a good final week post Christmas.

Also I avoided all of the 5 peaks races despite them putting on a one-race-a-month schedule from April to October. Next year I might sign up for 5 of them and see how it goes. I've been spending the occasional weekend on the offroad cycling trails and selected a section from east end of the trailhead to Pottery Road to do time trials on. So far I've managed A 27:26 going westbound and a 27:42 going eastbound 2 weeks earlier. The trail will be too messy to run soon as wet snow is starting to be common. I'll add more hill work over the winter and spring and be ready if I decide to go.

I'm avoiding getting to docile after it slowed me down so much last spring. But it was probably all well and good and gave me some much needed recovery after 10 years on my feet. According to my logs I've gone past 19,000 miles. Still a ways to go before I've virtually circled the globe.

Winter blah

2011-02-01T22:53:00.002-05:00

It's winter blah time. Took a bit of downtime in November. It seems I'm still on it. I haven't been completely down, still doing the occasional 5 or so miles, just not consistent. I got on a roll just over a week ago and then had a cold come crashing down on me. My wind is fine but my legs and ankles and joints get complaintive from the stress after seeing limited activity.

Tonight we're having a storm of winter storms blowing through that should keep me off my feet for another day. I managed 5 at noon today, tomorrow will be dedicated to moving the white stuff.

5 Peaks race #5, Albion Hills

2010-10-12T16:56:00.002-04:00

And so it ends. Race 5 of the series went on Saturday morning at 10:00 AM. Sunshine and pleasant running temps met all at the Albion Hills Conservation area park. There was a half marathon event that preceded the enduro and sport runs, but had a bit of a hiccup as runners blew through the first (unmanned) turn and ended up running in the wrong direction. A few of the runners switched to sport and enduro to get something in that day. The later races were directed properly at the first turn and went on hitchless.

As I was in a tie for second place, I made the effort to spot my counterpart (although I only had a vague idea of what he looked like) at the start. A runner in wave two looked about as close as I was going to find so I opted to go in the front of that wave to be in the same general area. I had one of two plans going in; plan A) find him and stick with him no matter what; plan B) run my race and hope it holds up. I settled on a hybrid, sticking close enough to keep him in sight but not at the risk of toasting my own effort.

The hybrid approach worked out well. As counterpart weaved in and out of traffic and laid down some hard sprints to get ahead, I made moves when necessary (i.e. runner ahead too slow) but kept the effort down enough to sustain me through the race. This was not a technically difficult course, but demanding in terms of hills as they seemed relentless. Somewhere around 4k I spotted him having to walk a portion of a hill, and about half way I passed him as he had to walk an entire long hill. It may have been that the course turned out tougher than he expected, or maybe he just plain overdid it early. At any rate, once I made the pass halfway I was pretty well clear to the end.

I think my training went well on this one. Not the max I could have done, but I stayed consistent and didn't enter any lax periods. One particularly hard workout a couple of weeks before the race stuck in my head as having contributed to my readiness. It was midweek, I had a vacation day, and did a nearly 2 hour run down to the beach, over to the water treatment plant, and and executed a half hours worth of steep hill climbs (about 20 odd iterations). I needed to make sure my calves and quads would be in shape for this race so really wanted to run that hill as I would on race day.

I also kept to my plan, with 2 hour long runs every Sunday, hills sprinkled in, and some good solid tempo efforts. At work I have an 8k and 10k route I can follow and made a point of doing a solid tempo on Friday's doing an easy/moderate out 5k leg and a hard 5k leg back. These 5k return legs were done in 22:08, 22:16 and 21:20 over the preceding few weeks. The leg is downhill though so the numbers would be slower on flat, but solid efforts nonetheless.

In the end, I took 3rd in my age group for the race and 2nd a/g for the series.

This is an excellent series to run. There's some hitches here and there, big courses and difficult to arrange, but from a runner's perspective...pretty darn good. I think I'll be back next year, either that or the year after. I'm in good running shape right now and still focusing on more stuff this year.

5 peaks race #4 - Terra Cotta

2010-08-23T18:49:00.006-04:00

4 down, one to go. I'm hanging in there near the top for the 50-59 age group series points, by virtue of showing up at all 4 events so far and holding my own in them. I'm guaranteed one of the top 3 spots for the series (not first, I'm too far back) as the 16 point differential between me and spot #4 is more than 15 points. However, I'm essentially tied with the #3 spot, given that the 4 best results are used for series points. This gives both me and this competitor 37 points for our best 3 events so far. To retain 2nd place at the end, either I beat him, or he finishes 6th or worse in the Albion Hills.

Therefore my task is simple enough. Train hard over the remaining 7 weeks, find this runner at the start of the race, start with him and try to finish ahead of him. If I start in the wrong wave or the wrong spot in the right wave, it'll make it a lot harder to do.

I just finished 2 weeks vacation. Didn't do much running for the first week. At the cottage we rented for the 2nd week I looped lake every day but one. The route is about 10k, very hilly and a good workout each day. Now it's back to the grind, going out in the AM for as much as I can fit in, then squeezing in 5 easy miles mid day.

As for Terra Cotta, very strange course. I commented to another runner that this woud be a very easy course to cheat on, given the number of close interactions between segments. One point in particularly, it's a segment out to a drink station, then you loop a field and return over the same segment, then split off in another direction. Anyone wanting to could just skip that whole segment with a quick right turn and knock a few minutes off their time. And since it's 2 loops, they could do it twice. The runner I was talking to said he saw a couple of runners do just that. I'd like to think that runners are generally honest, but I guess there are exceptions unfortunately.

The Albion Hill course shows similar close encounters between segments. I'll be watching closely to see how those around me fare.

5 Peaks race #3, Rattlesnake Point

2010-07-12T18:19:00.002-04:00

With my Saucony Labyrinth trail shoes too deformed to fit my feet comfortably, I had to tackle this venue with a pair of reasonably grippy trainers that I use on local trails. Not the best pair to go with and lost time over the rocks, they also made it more difficult to run. This course seemed tougher than the last time I did, even accounting for the shoes. The hills seemed to be harder to scale.

I started in the back of wave 1 to avoid getting caught up in slower wave 2 runners. I think I was a bit enthusiastic over the first few k and it made the hills a lot harder to ascend. However I had clear space straight through and no holdups, only a couple of wave 2 runners caught me. Weather was good, warm at 25 or so, but dry, and the course was good and dry despite a rainy Friday. I was about the same time as 2 years ago, in the mid 1:04's. I did get within 30 seconds of the two fastest regulars in this division. However, if they had troubles on the course then my time is a bit misleading. My finish position was 4th for 50-59 and 44th overall.

A lot of runners look like they had problems. One particular downhill section on this course is very nasty and falls off unexpectedly quick. I had to brake hard on it to stay in control, the guy behind me sounded like he was anything but in control on the descent but he didn't go down, at least I didn't hear any 'thud' from behind. The med tent post race had wraps and ice packs and bandages going out, lots of folks with cuts and bruises and twisted ankles. One of my a/g competitors must have had a really bad race as he finished more than 40 minutes behind me despite beating me in race 1 (Dundas).

The next event is Terra Cotta and is supposed to be the most 'technical' of the courses, although a touch shorter in length. I think I'll either have to somehow get my Labyrinths up and running or break down and buy a new pair of trails somewhere. I've been trying to find some Saucony Xodus to try but to no avail in the local stores.

My monitor is rattling

2010-06-24T17:53:00.005-04:00

So it was yesterday. As we sat quietly typing in our office with the hum of the fluorescent lighting and A/C fans in the background on the 2nd floor of our 4 story office building, someone noticed that we seemed to be 'moving'. Kind of rolling a bit up, down, lateral...very minor but noticable.

We get tremors here, on rare occasions. You usually have to be really observant to pick them up. Maybe you'll move a bit, maybe a hanging light will slightly sway or you'll hear a rattle of something loose. This ain't the San Andreas fault we're on but this seemingly solid Earth we sit on isn't so solid. Stuff moves. Ground can push up at fault lines and create mountains (over really long periods of time, mind you!). In our case, it's a remanant of massive glaciers that sat over Ontario and Quebec 10,000 years ago. The weight pushed the ground downwards and after they've long since thawed and flowed away, it's been slowly rebounding ever since.

Yesterday's 5.0 quake was centered near the Quebec border, remarkably close to this 4.0 tremor from Feb. 24, 2006. I'm guessing that particular area had a pretty big pack of ice on it.

Apparently quakes and tremors in this area spread out over very long distances in their affected regions, probably something to do with the lack of distinctive fault lines that absorb a lot of the motion. This one was felt well down the eastern seaboard of the States, although almost not at all east of the epicenter. There is one large fault line that runs N/S in central Quebec that probably contributed to it's lack of effect to the east.

As the rolling sustained, gently, for several seconds, it quickly elevated to some pretty distinctive shaking, as my monitor, pictures and other items on my desk began shacking about, enough that I thought my monitor would topple over. This prompted a spontaneous evacuation of the building by it's residents and the same from most of the other nearby buildings as people quickly flooded the parking lots and sidewalks. I stayed back and checked USGS to see what was up and got a quick posting in on chrunners even as the shaking was happening, whiched recorded my post at 1:43:57, approximately 2 minutes after the epicenter event (about right for wave propogation effects outward from the source).

Pretty neat stuff. There's something fascinating about knowing the Earth isn't just a solid ball floating around in space.

5 peaks race 2

2010-06-13T14:00:00.003-04:00

Race #2 of 5 Peaks Southern Ontario series is completed. Improved a little bit and was more than a minute quicker than the last time I did this event although the course may be a bit different than in '08. 36th overall but 4th in my age group which kept me off the podium.

36 JAMES RODGERS TORONTO 5152 1:03:59.4 5:13 M50-59 4/24 32/153

I have to be careful of where I start. I was hung up in traffic for most of the race. When I ran this event 2 years ago I had plenty of free air. I don't think I could have gained enough to make the placement but it would have been close, I was less than a minute back of 3rd place. I was stronger on the hills this than I was in Dundas, passing people instead of being passed, and still had the stride length to beat them on the downhills. On this Durham forest course you're spending a lot of time on hills so it's either run em or fade back. The down hills require some attention to footing though not as bad as Rattlesnake Point will be.

Right back at it though, 11ish miles today but at a recovery pace. Up bright and early tomorrow and I want at least a full hour in the mornings augmented by my noon time runs when I can get them in. A little more quality over these weeks as well, I need to push the tempo runs to a harder pace. We'll see what I can put together for the next 4 weeks.

Yet another 3 day a week training program

2010-06-09T18:52:00.002-04:00

Came across this Toronto based blog called Stellar Runners. They tout the virtues of training according to the plans of the Furman Institutes First Training program. The First program has gained a lot of popularity (or notariety if you wish) with it's 3 days of running and 3 days of cross training style of marathon training. I'm not a fan of it. Some who have tried it had some success, others not so much. Many end up changing it to eliminate the cross training days, often substituting easy runs...this basically makes it pretty well the same as any other training program a-la Higdon or one of the RW plans. The cross training needs to be pretty intense for it to work and the run days are all hard days (tempo, intervals, long) so no real break in the program. I prefer easy runs, doing one quality day a week (hills or intervals depending), one tempo and my long, do a mid long (great for practicing marathon pace) and lots of easy stuff.

Anyway, the blog stumbled on another flavour of 3 day a week plans, this one called the PRO System, which is somehow related to this site called Marathon Nation. It seems this one differs in their use of pace prediction tables from one's 5k times, which they seem to believe reveals your best training strategies. Doesn't really sound like anything McMillan's Pace Calculator couldn't reveal but maybe there's something magical about their implementation that makes it all come together. or not.

It's some mix of threshold pacing for tempos and intervals (nothing new there) and what looks a little like MP and threshold based progression runs for long runs. Personally all I see is a lot of fast running that'll make you hate every workout. And it's all unnecessary.

Marathon training is easy, there's no secret to it. Get out 5-6 days a week, 3 of them nice and easy, keep your long runs easy but don't hesitate to add a little MP paced stuff during them (avoid that in the very long runs though), get a good solid mid week mid long that you can run pretty close to MP pace on. Do a tempo run as well, you can consider alternating the tempo run with intervals or hills on alternate weeks if you wish. The longs are every 2 weeks with mid longs an the in-between weeks, and a classic 3 weeks taper. Always go by feel, know what easy is and don't kid yourself on it, running too hard is counterproductive.

The other really important thing...don't confuse marathon training with proper conditioning training. Marathon training is designed to get you through a marathon, it is not designed to make you a faster overall runner. Another thing to remember, if you do take on marathon training, build a really good solid base by running lots of easy miles before you start formal training. If you're taking on a 50 or 55 mpw plan, don't hesitate to be doing at least that much for a few months before you start. Building a good solid base gives you lots to feed off during training and can make the task so much easier to manage. The miles will toughen you up and you'll be less likely to get injured when you start increasing those long runs. Plus you'll be able to recover faster.

Speaking of running a lot

2010-05-13T22:36:00.003-04:00

The crew at Running Ahead are busy following the progress of one of their members, Michael Henze, who posts under the moniker Dopple Bock. You can tell by the insanely high monthly numbers that he was training for something special, that something being the IAU 24hour Championships in France. At the point of this posting, Mr. Henze had covered 192km in 18 hours and 22 minutes, over a 1.26831 km loop, sitting 20th overall and 3rd American (ultra-maniac Scott Jurek is in 2nd, and 1st American). Besides needing to be loopy just to do this race, doing it on a 1.3k loop would put anyone over the edge.

I can't fathom that much running. I cover 2 hours and I'm ready to quit. It must take some form of fortitude to fight the discomfort and the demons that lurk with the time involved. You would need to be so incredibly comfortable with running, you would need to live it, breath it and basically make it your every waking hour, to run something like this and actually be competitive in it. I don't know what you would do when you finish a race of this type. Drop on the spot...crawl under a leaf and sleep...celebrate by doing a jig. I dunno.

For me, I had a couple of off days, getting only 11 miles from Monday to Wednesday with a few screwups in my schedule (including forgetting to pack my shorts for noontime runs). I did get 12ish in today so it makes up a little bit for it. It's okay, the legs appreciated the short break. Weather's been off this week as well, it seems April was the prime month this season so far and May has definitely seen the cool off.

Just over 4 weeks to Durham forest. Gotta keep it up.

7 days 70 miles

2010-05-07T17:09:00.002-04:00

It's May 7. My log shows 70.9 for the month so far. It's been a quiet week and I've been able to haul my butt out of bed at the 6:30 alarm and get out for (most of) an hour each morning. Then my standard 5 easy at lunchtime. Didn't do a hill workout since I wanted to be getting out twice a day and kept the priority on that. The consistency makes a difference and you can feel it after even one week.

It's not hard to do but it sure can be freaking boring at times. It's all time and not really miles, an hour here, and hour and some there, 30 minutes here. The miles are just scenery passing by and cracks in the sidewalks moving under your feet. After a while you feel like all you're doing is running all the time. I can't imagine what the guys pumping out 130, 140...200 feel like. I can see myself doing a couple of hours a day, I don't think that's really all that extreme or excessive. If I capped noons to 45 minutes, I could see 1:15 in the mornings and that would all be doable. The trick is to keep the effort down so you're not needing a good 24 or more hours recovery. Fine for a while, I could make a May of it.

Inevitably everything else spills over that time so I'm not in bed on time, not able to get out at noon or for long enough, things get cut short, yada yada yada. Basic rule is, run when you can cuz later might not work out. We'll see how the month goes.

I figured it out (5 peaks related)

2010-04-26T19:20:00.002-04:00

A post on RunningMania.com and some responses identified why I felt something was 'missing' at Saturday's 5 peaks race. They had lost a generator (no music), miscalculated the number of goodie handers for the number of people, and hinted at some other issues.

I chaulk it all up to being the first race of the year and I'm sure all will be fine for Durham Forest on June 12.

5 Peaks Dundas

2010-04-25T10:38:00.004-04:00

Okay, I liked the race itself. 5 peaks does a great job of setting up a course and making sure everything is clearly marked and each runner knows which way to go. For the non-race components, it seemed otherwise a wee bit...shall we say...flat. I'd run two of these events two years ago and something changed.

Okay, sign up for all 5 events, you get a nice technical shirt (lt blue for the guys, pinkish for the women). All participants on race day get a pair of nice Wigwam trail socks. Not a lot of bling otherwise. I seemed to recall getting a little packet with some kicking horse coffee and a couple of other things last time around. Food seemed sparse to me. The ever popular bagels were there but they were snipped into tiny little pieces, maybe quarter sized or less. There was some peanut butter (maybe nutella? wasn't sure), some humus, slices of melon and oranges. But everything seemed tiny little bite sized. Since I ran 12k enduro, and the 5k sports had long since finished, it seemed as though it was all picked over and not replenished or something. I dunno.

Now, for me I really like the race itself to be done well and that's where the priorities need to be. Course should be well done and safe and good start / finish. All of this was done very well. The staggered starts they did were fine, since it's chip time that determines finishing time and position, they don't use gun time. That's good and keeps the course from being overcrowded, especially at the start. The course wasn't closed, we encountered other runners and the occasional cyclists, but at least for me this didn't pose any problems.

This course is relatively easy by 5 peaks standards. Not a highly technical course, with runnable climbs and descents, footing that you didn't need to concern yourself with (only one short section had any real tree roots to get in your way) and the conditions were good and dry. I wore regular light cushioned trainers figuring it was all I'd need on this course and that did work out. It's fun to hit a trail race without knowing the course as you need to somehow adapt to what lurks around the next corner and you're never quite sure how long any particular hill will be.

Prizes were in the form of medals, top 3 overall (m/f) and top 3 in ages groups (basically 10yr groupings) and I was fortunate (or fast) enough to get one. A few draw prizes were given out. Instead of drawing from box the organizers opted to do some goofy challenges. Fun, but a bit hokey and not many bothered to hang around for them.

It's a good race and race series, but there was something that seemed lacking, certainly in relation to the last time I did these. Maybe it was just because it's the first one of the year and a few kinks are being worked out or something. I think the food issue needs to be addressed, especially for a late morning race that extends into noon. I was happy to get home and get something proper beyond a corner of a bagel. There was only 5 or 6 porta potties available which meant a lengthy wait over the final half hour before race start. Not being a gun timed race, this wasn't catastrophic for the runners since they could start after others left and still get a proper time.

Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to the next event on June 12 in Durham regional forest. I did run this course before so I know what to expect.

I think I'm ready

2010-04-21T22:43:00.002-04:00

5 peaks race 1 is on Saturday, Dundas conservation area.

I did what I call my 'setup' run yesterday. Several days before raceday I give a good tempo effort. I have to get my breathing up for a sustained period, strengthen the diaphragm and everthing that connects together in there. If I don't do this, not only will I lack the necessary snap in my legs, but I'll suffer from stitches horribly. It's one of the things I'm prone to in hard running.

Keeping the volume up and pace down is great for development. If I don't do this I just won't have the engine necessary to carry out a good effort. I wished I'd known this several years ago. Naivity of figuring you can just blast out every run and you'll do nothing but get faster. It doesn't work that way though. You can't look at running from the perspective of this run or this day or this mile. It's all about this week and this month and this cycle and this season and this year, and so on.

But when the season approaches, gotta bite down and push it through some hard efforts. Most of my hard efforts this season are hill related, as that's what this 5 Peaks race series puts front and center. I still have to hit the tempos, it's the only way I can get myself up the pace and hold it on race day without clutching my side and slowing down. So that's a big part of the setup run, to push it and give innerds a chance to adapt and recover.

3 days are left and I do feel pretty good right now. Last time I did a cycle like this, despite the slow average pace of my runs and the pedestrian feel they give back, come race day I was amazed that I could hold a hard pace. It's strange, you don't think you're going to be able to do it because you've run so slow for so long. And then when you do go hard, you're waiting for it to come up and bite you, but it doesn't quite. That's what volume does for you.

You need to look at your runs from the perspective of the whole cycle, not just one ro twn runs. To develop as much as I'm able to with the amount of time I'm willing to dedicate to this thing, it's making sure I can get in all the workouts I'm able, fit in enough quality to make sure my legs will turn over, and have enough of an engine tht when they do turn over, they won't cease up. That's what it's all about. Too much quality, and I'll spend too much down time trying to recover and basically losing whatever I gain. Not enough quality and, despite the gains within, I can't exploit them.

Anyway, 3 days to go. I have to use road shoes as my trails aren't fitting right anymore but the course isn't that hard so it should be okay.

The hard sell on home water purification systems

2010-04-18T21:36:00.006-04:00

This seems like the new Amway. A neighour's sister is getting into this as a business prop and is 'learning the ropes'. So were asked and agreed for her to do her shtick for us, for practice. A couple of neighbours and her sister also said they'd agree to a demo.

Toronto water is notorious for it's hardness, we all know this. We ourselves don't drink or use tap water directly for cooking, it all gets filtered first and that gets rid of the chlorine, the scale and the hardness. This business is local but I guess they have a couple of offices elsewhere. What they sell is a reverse osmosis (RO) system for drinking water and a water softener for the rest of the house. The RO system tucks under the counter with a small pressurized tank to hold the purified water and the RO filter system itself. If you want the 'whole house' system, add on the water softener that goes in the basement.

Anyway, the promo material has lots of skull and crossbone images, pics of people in full has protecting outfits. The word 'carcenogenic' shows up a lot. The speel does drops of chemicals into water to show chlorine content. This was her first failure with our filtered water. Most people neglect to change their water filters and after a couple of months they're useless. But we do ours. So the chlorine test on our tap water, of course, showed up an expected level. Their filtered water showed none. The test for our Brita filtered water barely registered and the fridge filter water showed nil. I'm sure she'd usually get a hit on the brita water, just not ours (we had actually replaced both filters within the last week).

So the next demo, she takes a peculiar electrode apparatus designed to fit in two glasses. In each glass a pair of electrodes are emersed and she plugs the thing into the wall and turns it on. In her water sample, it does nothing, while in the tap water it starts bubbling away, as expected. What's peculiar though, a red film is forming on the top of the water and gets darker and thicker the longer she leaves it in. Then she mutters away that this is a simple test using 'safe' metals in the electrodes of aluminum and iron. Now, iron in electrolysis, not only with the electron transfer cause oxidation of the iron, but also splits water into oxygen and h+ ions and increases the level of oxidation of the iron, thus all the red floatsum. The device also hid the iron inside an aluminum shield with little holes in it so you couldn't see the iron itself and what was happening to it. At the end of that demo, you have a glass full of reddish sludgy water, which she claims is drinkable because it's tap water. Well, it's not quite.

Next she does something else with a couple of test tubes that didn't make much sense except one gets cloudy and fuzzy and the other stays clear except for a small amount of crystaline material said the be nothing more than the added chemicals themselves.

The final demo, two beakers of water, one her sample of purified water and the other is tap water, adding detergent and showing how much more detergent it takes to create bubbles in the tap water and thus demoing the cost savings you'll have. Except that her sample water is the reverse osmosis water, which you'll only see from your kitchen tap fitted with the RO filter. The rest of the house lives with what the water softener supplies.

Then comes the hard sell. The simple RO system under the counter for drinking water only sells normally for 6 thousand dollars, but buy right there and you get it for 3000. They install it, it's guaranteed for 15 years and they'll service it each year but you have to buy the replacment filters, which run 100 bucks for the carbon filters and 199 for the membrane and sediment filters (replaced 1.5-3 years). The whole house system sells for something like 8 or 9 thousand, buy today for 6 thousand. So you get the 'if the issue is money, what will it take for you to buy today?' stuff and it's just different plans stretching out for many years in smaller payments but ends up being way more than just the lump sum prices. Naturally, we declined and I just said that since the brita cleared the water nicely I see no reason to go beyond that.

Since she's a friend of a neighbour I didn't want to burst her bubble too much and she seemed rather excited about the product and is hoping she can make a few dollars off it. But I quickly sent a link of info to her sister's hubby with info about it in case he even considers buying in for whatever reason. The demo was pretty hokey, between the toxic-waste style written material and the very questionable demos with pseudo-scientific explanations for what's going on.

For those who may be approached, read this. If you ever do consider a water filter system for home, RO systems (like ones from GTAWater can be had for a few hundred bucks with filter costs of about 65 bucks a year. Water softeners are iffy and have associated problems so be leery of the 'whole home' systems. To make proper use, you would really want to keep the water softener water away from the drinking water, and this means having some plumbing work done to separate the lines. Plus softener systems require salt replacment and may pose health risks to people with high blood pressure or heart conditions.

Bye bye Lakeport Brewery

2010-04-15T21:13:00.007-04:00

I guess all good things must come to an end.

I think I've tried every beer there is out there. When it comes to an everyday drinker, the priorities are pretty simple...taste great and don't cost an arm and a leg. When I lived back in Cape Breton it was Ten Penny, Moosehead or Oland's. James Ready stuck with me for a while, partly because of the name, party because of the taste. I was never an Alexander Keith's fan, it always came across as bitter due to the hop content.

When I moved to Ontario, I had quite a variety to pick from. Norther Breweries was a fave for many years, and when I was making my own brews they were one of that last holdouts for non-screwcap bottles and I still have a collection of NB bottles in my shed, should I fill a new carboy for fun. Another long standing regular was Molson Stock, which few people bought by I liked it becuase it was just that little bit different. Sleeman's was another, a bit pricey but they sure brew a good beer.

When the really cheap lowest-legal cost beers started competing, I picked up a few Lakeport Pilsner for fun...not a bad beer and cheap as it got. Not the type you would give to company but okay for drinking regularly. Then, one day, Lakeport came up with this:

It was love at first taste.

I found a beer that met everything I wanted. It was cheap, tasted great, and I didn't mind serving it out should friends come by. I even got a good chunk of the neighborhood hooked and soon everyone had a yellow honeycomb style case in their basements.

The story behind Lakeport is quite the success story. Lakeport had been around a while, competing with the multitude of other local brewers for a share of whatever market was left over by the big 3 of Molson, Labatt and Carling. Interbrew was busy buying up markets and accumulating into their vast empire. Sleeman's made a huge splash and managed to save the very wonder Upper Canada Brewery with their marketing power, and allowed UC to do their own thing even under the Sleeman umbrella.

Meanwhile, a young and aggressive Teresa Cascioli was hired by Lakeport's new owners became it's CEO. Under Ms. Cascioli's guidance and targetting the buck-a-beer campaign and a quality brew, Lakeport went from near bankruptcy to a legitimate threat to the Ontario market share of drinkers, so much so that Labatt and others had to start promoting clear knockoffs of Lakeport's products, particularly it's Honey Lager, in response. Lakeport grew to hold an incredible 11% of the Ontario beer market, which is an astounding number when you consider the players.

Cascioli held as 20% share long after buying out the owners, and then taking Lakeport public. Things changed in 2008 when Cascioli talked shareholders into accepting a 201 million dollar offer by Labatt for Lakeport's products and holdings. Ms. Cascioli sold out to a cool 43 million (and, honestly, it's hard not to blame her) and walked away from the brewery she took into the mainstream. I knew it was just a matter of time. As long as the beer came out of the Burlington Street plant, with the same formula and the same taste, I was okay even if the price made a modest jump or two.

Then came the big news. Labatt will seal the doors on Lakeport's Hamilton plant on tax day, April 30th, 2010 and move 'production' to London. I have a sneaking suspicion that with the move of the brewer, there will be a change in the beer itself, to London mass-produced standards and suppliers dictated by Labatt and parent Anhauser Busch. Shortly after the last remaining stock leaves the chilled shelves of The Beer Store, my beer will suddenly change, likely to a repackaged version of the Labatt Honey product that was created to compete with Lakeport's wonderful lager.

I thought I had my beer. Maybe it won't change, but my lovely find will now have a bitter aftertaste even if it doesn't and I won't be content with that.

All I can do is salute the 143 fine people that helped supply me with a lot of tasty calories over these last few years. Come April 30, I will take on my last case of Lakeport honey. When it is gone, my search will start anew.

So long Lakeport, it was wonderful knowing you.

Mylar Balloon

2010-03-19T17:50:00.002-04:00

I don't know why, but I found this fascinating.

As I started out this morning, it's clear, a few high light clouds, sun's not up yet, and it's dead calm. I turn and start running just loops around the track, and I'm quickly caught off-guard by a blue mylar helium balloon that's sort of drifting very slowly across the sidewalk. It's not heavy enough to land, not light enough to rise up, just at that proper weight where's it's bang on the same density as the air. So it drifts about, bobs up, bobs down, but mostly just moves along with whatever slight air currents abound.

In the first pace, it's just a bit higher than I am tall, it has no string attached. It drifts under a tree and just lightly nudges the bottom branches. From there it moves slowly northward into the main field of the park, which is surrounded by baseball diamonds and a club house. As I run my loops I just watch it drifting about, seeming exploring the field.

Along the back of the park I see it's moved down to ground level and the bottom 'plug' skips along the ground, nudging it up when it strikes something, then back. It's moving towards the clubhouse, which has a large covered area like a veranda, and I figure if it goes in there, it'll get stuck and stop.

A lap later it's changed direction, now drifting from north to south. It heads into the back part of one of the larger baseball diamonds, drifts under the foul ball netted and bumps up along the tall chainlink fence that surrounds it. There's just enough moving air to keep it bumped against the fence in a sort of 'stuck' position, and it sits there for a lap.

At this point, the sun is peeking over the horizon, although the field is still in shadow, but there becomes enough radiant energy from the lighted sky to just warm the balloons interior a tiny bit, and it moves upwards into the netting of the batting area.

Another lap, I check the fence and the balloons not there. Seems the air had shifted a little bit again, moving from south to north again. The sun is now above the buildings and balloon has now warmed up more than enough to escape it's earthly grip and is soaring high into the air. When I first spot it, it's moved to the north end of the park and about 70 feet off the ground. With each passing lap and the warming sun, it travels higher and higher and further and further north. By my 6th lap, it's out of sight and disappears into the blue sky.

I was thinking all the time what a cool video it would have made.

Peaking for the Peaks

2010-03-17T17:45:00.002-04:00

A couple of years ago, having plateaued in development and PRs for running, I needed to change things up a bit. I'd seen George Malloy's Summer of Malmo workout schedule from links on Letsrun and thought I'd cook up my own version as a test. So from April through the summer I boosted my volume to getting as much as 70 miles as week and sustained 200ish mile months with lots of doubling up (and the occassional triple tossed in for good measure) and lots of easy miles. It worked out nicely and I netted a new 5 mile PR when I ran the Nightcrawler in June.

Another little thing I did was run a couple of 5 Peaks Trail Series events for fun. I ran their 'enduro' events which are about 12k in length, figuring this makes for a good solid Saturday workout even if I don't do well. This year I signed up for all 5 and the first one runs on April 24, just over 5 weeks away.

I don't know how the races progress from event to event. It seemed to me they start them off 'easy' and progress to 'hard', with easy meaning lots of hills but less technical details, and hard being hilly and very technical. Durham forest was the first one I ran, very hilly but not an otherwise demanding course (good footing, reasonably wide, easy to pass...or be passed as it may be). Rattlesnake Point was very difficult with some hills that were simply unrunnable and slippery moss covered rocks and roots throughout. Last year they kicked off on a ski hill in Kitchener, which seemed to not go well as most racers slogged their way through mud and snow, with even the fast guys barely managing an 8 minute pace. This year it starts in the Dundas Conservation area and I'm not quite sure what that area is like, but I suspect it's somewhat hilly and manageable recreational foot trails.

For the last few months, I've been trying to keep decent volume and plenty of running, but it's always tricky in the spring. Fortunately the weather this winter and spring has been outstanding for running. So no excuse there. For the most part it's been work and home that's kept me from filling the log the way I want to. I have though been able to put short boosts of runs together, getting 30-40 miles over a few days, and then being forced to back off with my other obligations. I hope this works to keep pushing me upwards, theory being that the short but heavy cycles of running can carry over a couple of slack days.

For now I'm more or less on track. I've gotten my butt onto the hills the last few weeks for consistent hill workouts, focusing on short hills which is more applicable to these races. I'll still do some long hills for the endurance benefit. I don't think track workouts are worthwhile. And I need, need, need to discipline myself to adding strides on some easy runs. Also doubles are there, I should (he says, hopefully) get 9 runs this week alone, and then the weekend stuff.

So 5ish weeks to race-one, which won't have any real taper but will have easy runs the couple of days leading up to it, and no hills that week except what's normally on the routes I run. If I can keep mileage in the 50's and 60's and not drift back into the 30's and 40's, all should be fine.

This week it's been nearly summer like. Next week apparently mother nature is to remind us that it's still winter/spring and we shouldn't get too comfortable yet.

Dear Red Wing Blackbirds

2010-03-11T18:07:00.002-05:00

Yes, I know spring is upon, and you have all migrated back north from the tropical abodes.

But please curb the desire to peck at my head as I'm doing my lunchtime runs.

I can hear you fluttering from tree to tree on the other side of the big fence the separates those big Richmond Hill homes from the street. And I know you're tracking me as I make my way up the incline of Leslie Street to the top. But don't think for even a minute I'm going to be changing my route on YOUR account. This route is nice and undulating, with no flat areas, and I can push a hill, or elect to glide quickly down if I want to work on my turnover. It's large enough that I can substitute for a hill workout if I miss my Wednesday morning ravine appointment.

Yes, they've returned. Usually I spot them first in the Leslie spit, which they seem to enjoy perching on for a while until the snow moves out. This year, we've seen almost no snow at all. If all the snow we had this year fell in one day, it would have been a fairly decent shovelling day, but not enough to shut er all down. So the birds have moved in early. Robins have been here all winter, I've seen them gathered in the hundreds in the trees even when it was 15 below. They've separated now, or maybe the migratory ones have moved back in, but they're also now in the neighbourhoods, singing away at the morning sunrise.

Speaking of morning sunrise, it's been so nice to run in the sunshine in the mornings. All of that will take a temporary haitus when DST kicks in this weekend, and I'll have to start out in the dark again. It's the price us runners pay for a brighter evening.

Anyway. I did sign up for all 5 of the 5 Peaks trail series here in south ont. First race is April 24 and I'm trying my best to be in shape when the first one goes off in Dundas. We'll see how I fair in my shiny new 50+ age category.

Both First and Last

2010-01-04T18:15:00.002-05:00

First and last, me in a race. You might think...I ran a race by myself, thus first and last. Nope. How about, I was first in my age group, but last in the race? Nope again.

I ran my first race of 2010 on New Year's Day. And it was my last race in my 40's. I'm now the proud owner of a brand new age group, 50's and up.

I can't say I'm overly distraught with turning the big five-oh. On the other hand I'm looking forward to it. I get a few months grace of getting in some good efforts in the new a/g before all the other 40ish folks that pound out races make the grade. Some already have, like James and Rob Earl of the East Toronto striders, so they'll still be waaaaaaay ahead of me no matter what. Several others are still not quite there. I may have to do some cherry picking to take advantage of it.

Running has sucked lately. Caught a cold in November, took a week off. Thought I was over it, then it came back on me in December. Never did make it to 2 grand in miles for the year as a result. Put in a few runs over the last couple of weeks and kept from failing too badly at the Hair of the Dog 9k down at the beaches. If the link doesn't show it, the balmy beach canoe club puts in on each year on NYD. Peach Schnapps is available at the turn if you feel inclined. Course seems good, Gmaps shows it to be 8.9k, and when you thrown in all the dodging around dogs and walkers and the like...just about 9k seems right.

Did meet and someone from Running Ahead there, who was in a similar state of not having run much over December. It was the 'neither of us has trained for this' showdown. I squeeked in the victory by a few seconds.

It's nasty cold out. I don't know why it has the be so damn windy at this time of the year to go with the sub zeros already in place. Adds that extra little sumthin that makes you want to stay indoors.

Seasons greetings, all.

Zenit-E

2009-12-12T18:02:00.010-05:00

Every now and then you encounter an indescructible force. Something that seems like it will last forever, or at a minimum, it will out last you. I've found a few of these things along the way. One is a plaid shirt I received as a Christmas gift when I was 19. I still have it, it looks exactly the same as it did 31 years ago. The buttons were replaced but that's all. Properly made polyester can withstand a nuclear holocaust.

Another is my Zenit-E 35mm camera. Pumped out of a former Soviet Union factory to the tune of some 12 million units, these 1 kilo bricks were the workhorse of photography in many an overseas country. I had wanted so bad to have a proper 35mm single lens reflex camera when I was young. People would take such great pictures with them. Load them up with professional looking small canisters of film and display lengthy exotic 35mm negative strips.

My camera at the time was a Kodak X15 Instamatic that accepted (rather expensive) Magicube flash blubs. They were bigger than standard bulbs, never required batteries, and triggered from a small metal spring that ignited a lightly explosive powder and caused the bulb to essentially 'blow up' inside. Don't ever drop these suckers, as they would become quickly useless if you did.

K-Mart had in it's display case in it's camera department a nifty looking black and silver slender SLR camera, marked as a Zenit-E. It was made from a single cast aluminum housing, with a long rectangular window in the front (which turned out to be the light meter) and the usual array of buttons and dials that marked a handheld 35mm SLR camera. True TTL viewing and return action mirror. However, this unit had a flaw. The stock Helios 44-2 lens had small but obvious bubbles in the main lens element. A customer who was checking it out just before me and my mom got there had noticed it. The sales guy was going to pack it up and return it to the distributer, but we talked him into cutting a few dollars off the price and I got my camera. In retrospect, the lens was half the camera's value so it wasn't a great deal.

As the Zenit was equipped with M42/1 thread mount, lenses were readily available, and rather cheaply as bayonet mounts were far more popular than the screw mount of the Zenit. I picked up a pair of prime lenses at a photo shop for 50 bucks, a very fast Pentax 55/1.8 and a 135/2.8 Haminex. The Pentax lens is excellent in quality, the Haminex also pretty good, and at 135mm makes a great portrait lens.

Zenit-E outfitted with Hanimex 135mm/f2.8 lens

The Zenit carried me until 1985, when I could afford an update and purchased a Minolta X-700, which was Minolta's top offering on an SLR. Fully automatic, the Minolta was an excellent camera although prone to problems in the mechanisms. It's been repaired once and, if I really felt the need to reload a film camera, it would need a second repair to correct the lens speed sensor. The Zenit was in the shop once to fix a faulty shutter blind that blocked out the far right portion of each frame. This was quite long ago and it's worked flawlessly since. I take it out from time to time and run the mechanisms to keep them from ceasing up.

I'm thinking of dropping by Henry's and pick up a roll of film just for the hell of it. I'm sure the film and processing will cost more than the Zenit is actually worth (as it often goes on Ebay for about 10 bucks), but it would be worth it to see what comes out of it. If not at least to see what anyone might think seeing me using it.

An ode to the junkie

2009-07-28T17:49:00.003-04:00

8 years ago I stumbled across the Kickrunning site while looking for weight training info for runners. I created an ID and signed on and soon was posting to the boards. Kickrunning became merged with Coolrunning and eventually bought out by Active.com. While the boards prospered as kick and cool, the boards were drastically changed for Active and most of the regulars disbanded to other sites.

For over 8 years we've chatted and posted our thoughts and training. We've met each other at races and get togethers, most didn't hide behind the guise of an arbitrary user name.

Joe came on the boards about 5 or so years ago, he was a heavy guy, built like a tank with long dreadlocks and a penchant for extreme fighting events (and he competed in some events too). But he was also a kind and gentle man, who would literally give you the shirt off his back if he felt you needed more than he.

Posting as VoodooJunkie, his size and larger than life attitude made him quickly popular on the forms. He didn't hide behind his ID, he gave details of himself and his life and didn't hesitate to show up at as many events and social happenings as he could. I never met him, those that did could only have the most positive things to say, any who did were instantly his friend.

Despite his size he pushed himself in running, completing many road and trail marathons, always wanting to bring his time down, doing his best in Chicago last year with a 3:40:30.

Late Thursday he posted his last run report, doing 20 miles in 3 hours, 3 minutes and 39 seconds on a humid sticky evening. On Friday, Joe was gone. His workplace posted this article to say he died from heart failure. Perhaps his penchant for burgers (he's competed in many a burger eating contest, and has won more often than not) couldn't be offset enough by the miles he's put in. We'll likely never know.

Joe was a good one. He made the virtual space and the real space a more enjoyable place. I hadn't conversed with him in a long time as he moved over to Kickrunners while I've been on the CHRunners site, both sprung up from the demise of Coolrunning. But I was always amazed at his tenacity and desire to give it his all whatever he did, there was no middle ground.

So long Voodoo

Alive is a good start to the day. Take it from there

My heel hurts

2009-07-16T19:56:00.001-04:00

but just when I walk.

Ah summer running, the sights, the smells, the piles of garbage

2009-07-10T18:08:00.002-04:00

Yes, it's the continuation of the city outside workers strike. The parking lot just below my training hill has an 8 foot high fence around it and a very neat pile of garbage constituting it's holdings. It's nicely done actually, every bag doubled up (or else you get to take it home and try it again), nothing torn or badly leaking. Even downwind from it, it's not too bad.

Our continuing cool summer has a lot to do with it, the baggy contents of the garbage piles aren't getting the opportunity to ferment in the heat like the last strike. The backyard pool is feeling the thermal pinch, and a lack of attention as a result (good thing I have a chlorine generator on it, otherwise I'd probably have drained it by now), but the plants and flowers have been thrilled by it all. Driving to work and running at lunchtime, the aroma of flora is almost overpowering. Back in the city the flowers and the garbage piles are basically cancelling each other out. If summer should suddenly decide to descend on us, it might be a different story.

Still struggling with scheduling. Did 7ish this morning and 5 more at noon, and I'd like to keep that trend going. Early rise tomorrow morning as I have a major task to do (demolish and rebuild a small porch) that will take the whole day so I want to get my run in bright and early or else it won't happen. Not sure how Sunday will fare, it all depends on how much of a toll Saturday takes out of me.

Press on.

Stabilty? Yet?

2009-06-24T18:16:00.002-04:00

57 miles in 6 days over 10 runs. Some level of consistency going on.

A strike by Toronto city outside workers is creating lots of summertime havoc in the area. Summer has started both officially and atmospherically as we are finally breaking 80's for daytime highs.

The local outdoor community pool has been undergoing renovations for the last two years. The work began two years ago with a hired contracting group, which dismantled the the changerooms and storage area for renovation, took the money, dissolved the company and left a hideous looking parts trailer on the grounds. A hot summer goes by with no relief for most of the locals, and a new group is brought in to finish the job. This goes on last summer with the pool remaining closed while a new pool heating system, handicapped accessibility ramp, revamped buildings and a kiddie splash area are all put into place. The pool was filled, open for two days, the closed and drained when the outside workers strike began on Monday.

Accessibility to Toronto Islands is impaired as ferry service is halted. Garbage collection is stopped, and finally...worst of all...the local race schedules are in jeopardy as many are held in city maintained parks, and the outside workers strike has put the kabosh on that. My real concern now is whether the water fountains in the park will be running. I assume the washrooms will be locked up but surely they could have left the taps on.

Luckily we just had garbage collection at our homestead so we have maybe a bit more leaway than others may have had (garbage collection alternates with recycle pickup on alternate weeks so garbage bins fill for 2 weeks before being emptied). The picketers are blocking access to the transfer stations, which normally stay open by management staff even during strikes, which is causing more problems. In the past pickets couldn't be set up at the transfer stations for legal reasons.

Now, all of that sounds pretty nasty for a hot summer. To cap things off, we narrowly averted a strike by the LCBO which controls the booze outlets (brew drinkers, don't panic! This doesn't affect The Beer Store!).

At any rate, my schedule has settled down a bit and I've managed to get daily doubles in on weekdays. I'm keeping it light with 4-5 milers every morning and at noon. If I can discipline myself to a proper bedtime I should be able to get 7 each morning which gives me a potential 60 weekday miles, plus weekend runs.

With luck, the strike will end after I've accumulated a good quantity of mileage and I can return to the local park race series with intentions of holding no prisoners.

Hello Summer

2009-06-02T17:43:00.002-04:00

Are you out there?

Not here, not yet. Good running conditions if you like it cool.

My log's in tatters (or taters? I dunno). Work has been keeping me busy the last week and cold windy conditions (and a ton of yard work to do) kept me home on long run Sunday. Last night I was still awake at 2 as my daughter was up late getting some school work finished, which left me cutting ZZZzzzssss.... until I had to get up.

Anyway, I did manage 5 this afternoon, a measily 2 yesterday morning and none in the afternoon. If I can squeeze in a couple this evening I will but not much hope for that. I just need to bed it early tonight and force my eyes open in the AM.

I know the plan, I know the schedule, like that back of my hand. And, as always, implementing the sucker is being a beotch. 4-5 easy Monday AM, 4-5 easy Noon. 5-6 up-paced Tues morning, 4-5 easy at noon. Wednesday hills or intervals, 4-5 easy at noon. Thursday mid long, another 4 easy at noon. Friday 4-6 easy AM, 4-6 easy at noon. Saturday trail or tempo. Sunday long.

It's not hard, it's manageable. It's just finding the bloody time, not just for the run itself but the time away from that to be prepped for it, like getting to the sack at 10ish, clearing my morning work by noon.

Even now the phone rings, I have to close up and head to the beach for my daughter's soccer game. That'll push dinner to later and then by the time dinner's settled down the tubes it'll be bedtime.

I'll get this moving yet. It's got to start in the evening, bed on time, up with the early alarm. I'd love to have the full hour in the AM, which would bring me to ~7 miles each morning, and tack on at least 4 at noon. Even that would be a sealed 11 a day through the week and then the weekend work.

Le's go dude...get 'er done.

Fast runners coming to Toronto

2009-05-29T17:50:00.005-04:00

Thursday, June 11th, is the inaugural Festival of Excellence event to be held here at University of Toronto's Varsity Centre Stadium, a beautiful and intimate field in the uptown core near Bay and Bloor. The complex is recently renovated with a striking blue synthetic track and 5000 seat grandstand. Standing room only tickets for this event are $25 dollars while grandstand seating ranges from $50 (obstructed view seats) to $110 dollars, with finish line seats at $160 and finish area (whatever that means) at $250.

The depth of this field gets richer by the day. 100m and 200m WR holder Usain Bolt will be competing in the 100m against the likes of Shawn Crawford and Ivory Williams. The 400m sports our own Tyler Christopher and LeShawn Merritt while the mens 5000 meters has 3 sub-13 entries in Saif Shaheen, Boniface Kiprop and Ahmad Abdullah. Lists for the women's events have yet to be posted.

I think I'd like to go. I better get tickets soon or be stuck with bad seating. I think the $75 grandstand seating would be a steal for an event of this calibre, and who knows when we'll see this kind of talent in Toronto (or even Canada) again, barring winning an Olympic bid.

Sharepoint and Infopath

2009-05-22T17:34:00.003-04:00

A departure from the usual running related info.

In my real daytime job I write code. The platform for the last few years has been web related code and I'm currently writing against MOSS 2007 (Sharepoint) and Infopath. We're using Infopath as the means to access content since it's easily modifiable by customers without the need for a development environment. This implies, unfortunately, that's it's not a development environment itself.

Infopath has been around a little while, it lets users create forms for use with workflows and a way of entering metadata with documents. It's matched with Sharepoint's document modelling and they two go hand in hand. If you install Infopath 2007, you can create and modify forms for your company and they're easily deployed and maintained using Sharepoint central administration.

What it doesn't do well at all is allow designing a form in one environment and deploying it to another. As a software developer, this is what I do all the time. This is the whole gist of enterprise level development. I've been saddled with the task of wrenching what I can out of these forms for the last couple of years. If I'd known what I was getting myself into, I would have gladly handed this over to another member of our team.

Infopath is an ad-hoc tool. You have an installation already, you create and deploy forms on it for users to use. It's architected this way, this is it's basic design. In the past, Infopath forms and templates were comparable to Word documents and Excel spreadsheets in that you really need the installed client to use them, and with Infopath you don't have any other way of using them, the technology is proprietary. To ease the customer burden, Microsoft took advantage of XSLT technology as a way of being able to render form content in a web browser. The introduction of Infopath forms services grants access to forms and form content through the browser. There's some tradeoffs with this, and this is where the fun begins.

First off, once designed in the browser, more than half the functionality of Infopath disappears. Many usable controls won't work in the browser, dynamic access to the document model is suddenly restricted. HTML is stateless and therefore the dynamic interplay of form and host goes out the window.

Secondly, the introduction of forms services inherently creates it's own tier in the architecture. This brings the dreaded NTLM double-hop restriction into clear play. As most deployments of forms and forms services will be in such environments of at least 2 tiers, virtually everyone who's ever implemented Infopath through forms services has encountered this problem.

As a bonus, data connection errors in Infopath are displayed to the user as the completely useless 5566 error, which claims an error has been logged in the event viewer (which is a lie, unless you've explicitly written errors to the event viewer yourself in the web services you may be hitting, or not) and gives virutally no detail on what went wrong. To troubleshoot, you need to peruse IIS and Sharepoint logs to see what happened. This doesn't always work because sometimes the call never makes it to the actual server, so you have nothing to go by. And don't think you can just bring up native Infopath to help (as Infopath will display the actually error encountered), because almost always the problem will not occur in native Infopath with it's direct calls to the web services, thus avoiding double-hop scenarios.

To help alleviate the problems, data connection files can play the role of intermediary between Infopath, forms services and the service layers you're trying to reach. It doesn't necessarily solve them, but it at least gives you a fighting chance of getting things to work. For starters, you can add explicit credentials to the connection files (bad idea from a security standpoint, but it usually will work). Or you can leverage some back end help in the form of Single sign on, Kerberos authentication, or forms services proxy. The forms services proxy is a bit of a mystery, there's tons of info telling you how to enable it and get the forms to use it, but squat explaining what it actually does from within. Kerberos ain't all that welcome either as it and Infopath don't seem to get along very well, as we're now discovering in our rollouts. It's less about Infopath in this case and more about web services, but you have few options on how to access server content in Infopath without web services. You'll find that you'll need to go back to Visual Studio to make your web services Kerberos friendly before this option is viable.

I can only recommend to anyone out there that's planning on using these tools that they should do their homework first. There's much more information available than when I started, and I sure could have used the information in the links below when I started this. Good luck, you'll need it.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms771995.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc704269.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms772101.aspx
http://blogs.msdn.com/infopath/archive/2006/10/02/Data-Connections-in-Browser-Forms.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb787184.aspx#ip2007AdvancedServerSideAuthentication_UsingtheSingleSignonService

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms464040.aspx

http://www.thenewmossness.com/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=19

Mississauga Half Marathon

2009-05-10T22:08:00.003-04:00

1:33:02

I'm good with that. I'd figured on a 1:35 based on my training. My 5k on Wednesday evening gave me some hope for a better finish. It's hard to say if that race impacted my finish today. I was glad for the hard workout which let me get a better feel for the effort and I could handle breathing harder as a result. On the downside my quads were a bit sore throughout the race but honestly never became a problem. Were I doing the full, I'm sure it really would have shown up, but I could handle it over the half.

This was about 5 seconds faster than I had run this course 2 years ago. I wasn't in great shape then either, so maybe with a little work I can reclaim a PR here next year, even though I'll be in a new age bracket then. It was nice to see the sub 22 opening 5k, despite being into the wind, and being able to keep in the 22's the whole race. In case anyone else ran this and didn't notice, the 10k sign is about 250 meters past the actual 10k split point.

All and all, a good effort. A bit chilly down there, but good for running the half. I'm curious how those doing the full handled that N/W wind.

1 day, 14 hours, 24 minutes, 12 seconds

2009-05-08T17:05:00.003-04:00

So it says on the banner when I navigated to the Mississauga Marathon main page.

I've done Mississauga 3 times. I ran the inaugural run, doing the half marathon, finishing in 86th place of 1907 participants. If memory serves me right (and that would be rare), I believe the 10k didn't finish at the same location the half and full did in the first year. So that puts me as one of the first hundred people to ever cross that finish line.

The second run was the full in 2005, and got me a ticket to Boston. I last ran it in 2007, doing the half and a reasonable 1:33ish finish. This year I'm not so sure what to expect. My longs are in the 14-16 mile category and run nearly every week, I've been trying to sustain that all important mid week mid long. Bigger weeks as of late (50s and 60s) have me tired on my longs, but the pace hasn't reflected it as I've been able to run 16 in the mid 8's, even though I've been trying to keep them easy. My 5k race on Wednesday (or, more accurately, my 4.7k race) was run at about a 6:40/mile pace, so that shows some pace improvement as spring moves on. It's not a matter of getting faster, it's a matter of being able to hold the pace that seems to improve when the miles get up there.

I skip this race every other year mainly due to the timing. It falls on Mother's day, and I can't exactly make that day for me every year for obvious reasons. It would be nice if they could move it by a weekend, then I could make it my late spring staple. Or maybe I could have Mother's day moved?

Anyway, for the others that are making the trek to Miserysauga on Saturday and Sunday, good luck to all!

My First Win!

2009-05-07T17:17:00.003-04:00

If you're a runner, you can't help but fantasize about barrelling down the finishing straight, a multitude of spectators wildly applauding as you break the finish line tap, your arms raised in glorious victory and hoards of runners start filing in behind you, each relegated to serving their personal goals rather than that big one.

So let's first make a few adjustments.

There were no wildly applauding spectators. There was the race crew, comprising of two co-directors, a photographer, a small handful of setup volunteers and the guy riding the lead bike.

There was no finish line tape, just a line. There were no hoards of runners filing in behind me, unless 6 constitutes a hoard.

However, a W is a W, and a W is what I got. The race was part of a 64 race summer series known as the Beat the Recession 5k Trail Series put on by a couple of enthusiastic runners that have staged events before. It's 20 dollars per event, whether you sign up online or onsite. The courses aren't deadly accurate or certified, but most trail racing is more about the course than the distance, it's a race, not a time trial. The events move from location to location, and this one was located a convenient 1 mile warmup jog from my house. Makes it kind of obligatory to enter. Future events are located here and there around Toronto in small city and regional parks. These are easy trails, not the kind you encounter in the 5 Peaks series where you need your wits about you every second to avoid having something really bad happen to you.

It was fun to lead the pack, to have the bicycle escorting me through the route and clearing the way. It was small and would have constituted 'cherry picking' if I'd known who was going to be there, but I showed up not really knowing what to expect. Their innaugural event last Sunday featured 2008 Toronto Marathon winner Daniel Mburu of Kenya, who took the win in a casual 17:16 (compared to my 19:26). I'm sure it was not much over a jog for him. For me, it was leave part of my lung on the course, as I hoped nobody in the group behind me was sandbagging it.

They return to this venue again in 3 weeks. I'm hoping support for the series picks up. It's fun, well organized and fairly casual at the same time. And it's cheap, anytime you can get a race in for 20 bucks, it's a good deal. I know I need the occasional race to get the legs turning over, speed workouts and tempo runs don't quite reach the same level as gutting it out in a race.

This morning I felt fine, did a nice easy 5 miles and had no after affects to deal with. My concern was getting a bit burned before Sunday's half in Mississauga.

It appears that Ryder Photo did the event photography, as their website has a link to it, hopefully whatever pics they took will be up soon. I'm thinking I was looking a bit stressed down the chute.

Dead slow Monday

2009-05-04T17:40:00.002-04:00

Man, was I slow today. Progression run on Saturday and just under 16 yesterday, the two together kinda took the pop out of me for a day. I did a lowly 2 miles at a 12ish pace this morning (I never concern myself with recovery pace, I just saunter along at whatever feels good no matter how slow) then added 4 at lunchtime at a more normal easy pace of 9 but just didn't feel very energetic.

Yesterday I popped downtown to watch the runners at the Sporting Life 10k, catching most of the 12,000+ as they rounded the bend at Yonge and Richmond. I was then thinking I should have joined them, the RDs added 800 spots at the last minute at a reduced rate (sans T-shirt) if you just wanted to run without the goodies.

I've got 6 days to the Mississauga half, toying with how to spend the week. I did 62 last week, I think I'll just cut volume the last 2 days prior and go with that. Weather at this point shows cloudy and chance of a shower, temps okay. It's been a while since I've raced a half, still not feeling like I've regained my levels back from a docile winter.

Back in the 200's

2009-05-01T17:21:00.002-04:00

Managed to squeeze in just over 200 in April. It's been a peculiar spring up this way, it's like the weather really doesn't want to break. On the flip side we've had some pretty hot days going in to the 80's a couple of times, but for the most part it's been coolish with a persistent wind. The sun make sup the difference, keeping it feeling warm. Good for running, keeps you feeling comfortable once you've warmed up.

I'm looking forward to the Mississauga half next weekend, it'll be my first race since the Hair of the Dog on New Year's Day. I'm keeping the race and running budget down to the bare minimum this year. I'm finding race fees getting more and more out of hand. It follows the concept of what the market will bear, and as long as folks are willing to hand over 50, 80, 100, even more for race fees, then events and RDs will continue to charge those numbers.

There used to be a few sources of cheap races in the area. The Ontario Roadrunners Association used to host their 'Orange' race series, which gave fun little 5k and 10k events at about 15 dollars for a non-member like me. As a bonus they were held in the park I train in which meant a warmup jog from the house to the start line. These events are history now. As a substitute I was running some XC stuff the Ontario Masters were doing, but they've also bumped fees for non-members (mostly a ploy to get you to join...the race fee is the same as a membership fee...that sneaky Dougie Smith :-) ). I might join up, maybe next year when I turn 50 and I really do feel like a master. I'm still just a young gun.

Anyway, I'm limiting myself to this, the Nightcrawler, maybe the Toronto Challenge as I mentioned last post, and maybe a fall half (or even full, depends on my training).

Speaking of people willing to pay expensive race fees, the Sporting Life 10k goes this Sunday. I imported the confirmation list from the website and came up with 11900 entries. This includes 7 Kenyans and 4 Ethiopians (just in case any locals had designs on the win). This will be my destination for Sunday morning, sprinting down to catch the leaders as the turn off Yonge Street, which makes for a great viewing point as you can see them well up the street. New course this year, they've finishing in Fort York and they'll be turning west off Yonge onto Richmond. Years past, the exited Yonge east and looped back to finish below the CN Tower, which meant I could see the leaders turn off Yonge, then jog over and catch them at the finish. Can't do it this year, I have to run just as far as the leaders to get there, so I have to choose my vantage point. I'll still be able to catch the pack at the finish line. The new route cuts down on cheating to, there's no short cut as they route is already the shortest distance.

To the trails

2009-04-25T11:29:00.003-04:00

I hit the local East York harrier trail this morning to check out it's condition. The run was my substitution for the start of the Southern Ontario 5 Peaks Trail Series, which kicks off today in Chicopee. I'd run a couple of their races last year and had a blast, doing Durham forest and Rattlesnake Point. I even amassed a handful of age group points (I slid into 16th spot for males 40-49, just behind Des Maloney, not bad for having only run 2 events). Next year I turn the big 5-oh and want to run their full schedule in my new age group.

The local trail I ran this morning was in not bad shape, mostly runable. The section behind Massey Square at the east end of the trail (it ends at Vic Park, where Dentonia Golf Course begins) was a bit tattered with fallen trees and you have to pick your way around them. Everywhere else was in perfect condition, lots of mud along the upper swamp section high above Taylor Creek, and the switchbacks at the west end were fun as ever. I really like this course and try to get it in every couple of weeks. By later summer the growth gets pretty thick, you gotta keep your mouth shut to with the proliferation of flying creatures about, so I've learned to breath with my teeth clenched (having once swallowed something sizeable while pushing through some branches that I'd rather not ever learn what it was).

It's 2 weeks to Mississauga. For anyone doing the full, they're getting into taper mode. For me doing the half, it's full speed ahead with my foot planked firmly on the gas. Mississauga will be a good long tempo run and hopefully give me a much needed boost as I prep for the the Nightcrawler and maybe the Toronto Challenge. The Challenge is supposed to be an accurate course based on feedback from those that have run it, although it's not listed as certified according to Merrel's. However, mts does list the Nissan 5k challenge course as certified for 2007 and I believe this is the same course the Toronto challenge uses (it was originally named the Nissan Challenge). I'll assume it good for marking a 5k time against. The MTS site, by the way, is a good comprehensive listing of certified courses through Canada, very well done. Not the number of times the Nightcrawler course has been remeasured as the city's been doing work in that area the RDs have had to adjust start/finish lines nearly every year as a result.

Beauty Saturday upon us, mid-high 20's today, rain tomorrow and hot again Monday.

Boston has come and gone

2009-04-21T17:12:00.002-04:00

and I watched it on TV, and the net while I worked.

I have my Boston shirt on from 2006 today, the one that came with the race kit, the one you only get as a registered runner. I don't wear it too often, I don't want it to wear out. It's a good quality Adidas long sleeve navy blue shirt, very simple with the BAA logo on the front, Adidas logo on the back, and '2006 BOSTON MARATHON' printed on one sleeve.

I had also bought a nice short sleeve shirt, which has seen a lot of wear, and a gaudy silver 2006 jacket, which has seen almost no wear. I don't know why, but I thought that jacket looked mega cool when I was standing in the expo. Sure seemed to change when I looked at it in proper lighting. But I do put it on for picking up race kits and stuff, I just ain't wearing it to dinner, or drinks with friends. It's like a flashing sign saying "Look at me! I'm a nerd! Look at me! I'm a nerd!". But I had to have it, it's symbolic, ya know?

I get a flood of enthusiasm when Boston runs. Watching some of the big local races gets me excited too, but nothing like Boston. It's the screaming crowd and the flood of runners that have already proven themselves capable of maintaining that clip. Even just following the net blog reports during the race gets me going.

Too bad I didn't get to run yesterday, spent the day prepping for a demo today and clicking 'refresh' on the BAA site. On top of that, it was pouring rain all day, the harsh horizontal stuff accompanied by a brisk N/E wind, and cold...nasty cold.

I put in a little extra 'ooomph' in my run this morning, although it was short at about 5 1/2 miles (for an 'ooomph' kind of run, that is). I have a tendency to do this a couple of days after a long run, not quite sure why, but about 2 days after my longs, my legs want to go, regardless of whether I run or rest on Monday.

I did get in 65 miles last week, and all is and was fine. My legs and my joints and stuff are toughened up enough that going from 40 to 60 or so miles really doesn't stress me at all. I'm not a 10% rule kind of guy, in fact I'm not really a rule kind of guy at all. They're just guidelines, take em for what they're worth.

I didn't hit that masters 5k I mentioned on Saturday, it would have been a waste as I was sluggish from my bigger week. I'll be in better condition as summer approaches. Mississauga half is in 2 1/2 weeks, I'm hoping to not embarrass myself too badly in it.

Nice while it lasted

2009-04-14T18:04:00.004-04:00

Yesterday it was nice and calm outside. No wind, not enough to even flutter of the flags. Today, we get it back, out of the east, brisk even though it's fairly mild out.

This is one of the adventures of spring running, having to figure out how to dress. The wind makes you cold when it hits you and hot when you run with it. At least in the summer it's consistent...hot. Maybe termed better as 'warm', 'hot' and 'stifling hot'. Still shades of the same colour and it doesn't change how you dress because you're as close to nude as you can get away with in public.

The wind is an element I abhore. Maybe not so much in the summer, it's quite a relief to have a good cross wind when it's a hot day and you need that cooling effect. Usually though, you're either into it or with it, either battling you're way through it or sweating up a storm when it's at your back and at the same speed as you. That little microclimate builds up around your skin and all that heat you're producing follows you along, blown along with the breeze. I figure if I stopped or changed direction, this cluster of sticky sweaty boiling air moves along and wraps itself around some poor sap walking along the sidewalk just ahead.

I want it calm all year around, I'm good with that. I create my own cooling 10k per hour breeze shuffling along on my bread and butter training runs. When I run harder the air accomodates by moving faster over my skin, a self-adjusting form of air conditioning. I haven't figured out how to keep it there during jogs between intervals or adjust it on a hard hill climb.

Anyway, a couple of days into a hopeful 60-70 mile week. Tomorrow might be a bit tricky with an early start at work for a remote dial-in and some Microsoft technical rep visiting that we're supposed to meet at somepoint during the day, hopefully not at noon as that's my second run. I'll figure out a way to get them both in, methinks I'll be doing an after-hours run at try to maintain my 10 mile a day diet.

A little better

2009-04-11T11:55:00.002-04:00

10 miles yesterday with an embedded hill workout. Kinda impromptu, I headed to the beaches and continued onto the grounds of the water treatment plant. The plant's been redone to make the grounds accessible to the public to walk around and it's a solid steep climb from the water's edge to the main building. A few times around the plant then a good quick return home. Today's just 7 1/2 recovery but at least I'm starting to feel like I'm moving again.

Mississauga half in 4 weeks, I'll push the length of these runs each and double up as much as I can.

Passed Dougie Smith of the Ontario Masters T&F Association this morning, he was poking me to be sure to show up next Saturday as they're doing road races this summer, using this course. Given that it's a 5 minute jog from my house to the start line, I might take it in, it'll give me a bit of racing practice if nothing else.

Still not doing it

2009-04-08T18:34:00.002-04:00

I'm still not getting out there to do the things I need to do to improve. Stuff happens, I lost 2 days last week and this morning I had to transport daughter to soccer practice, which occurred smack in the middle of what would have been my hill workout. Opted to just do it near the office at noon, except that a lunchtime meeting kicked in and cut that out. I did get out for a couple of miles but no time for the workout. Now it's late and I won't get back in time to get it in before din din. Arguably I could be doing that instead of typing.

Laziness, life, all that stuff. My theory has always been run when you can, because later might not be so accomodating. Things will settle down a bit but I need to make adjustments to fit in the work I need to do.

The plan was always pretty simple and effective. Monday easy (used to be rest, last summer it was 4-5 AM recovery, 4-5 PM recovery), Tuesday light tempo (or easy) AM (double up with 4-5 easy in PM when available), Wednesday either hills or intervals AM (double up again with 4-5 easy when available), Thursday 8-10 easy AM (and blah blah double up), sometimes I tripled on Thursday with an available hour during soccer practice with youngest daughter. Friday easy (AM / PM when available), Saturday moderate to hard tempo depending on how I feel, and Sunday long.

It works, as long as I stick to it. I need to discipline myself to get to bed on time and not be farting around at night, get out the door no-matter-what in the mornings, and make that time for doubling up when I could. It doesn't help that I spend too long at work, partly guilt driven for spending too long at noon, which leaves little evening time and I'm up late making up for it. Then stuff happens in the mornings that cut in, my Wednesday run is now interfered with due to taxiing my daughter in early. I'll have to move the hills/intervals to Tuesday, relegate Wednesday to easy junk miles and tighten focus on the Saturday tempo run.

I read an interview with Deena Kastor not long ago where she talks of thinking and living like a runner if you want to be one. I don't need to revolve my life around it for sure but I do reflect back on that article and take some of it with me. So getting to bed on time, organizing my day better so I can double up, and staying disciplined in getting those key workouts in.

Last year at this time I was working on a 200+ mile month. Weather's been a bit tough this year too, we've had heavy cold rain over the last week, snow and sub freezing temps with high winds (the one element I really hate running in is wind) and makes it tougher to get out.

Spring is here!

2009-04-06T21:34:00.003-04:00

You can tell by the white stuff on the ground.

I did a nice slow 15 miles yesterday, getting in the good weather while I could. I missed Friday as I was megabusy at work and it was hammering rain all day. Saturday we were up early to head to the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival, and I was waddling around the rest of the day laden down with pancakes and maple syrup. Not sure how much of it burned off on the 15 miler.

This morning was horizontal rain at about 1 degree C, not my ideal conditions. The temps dropped later in the day to change the rain to snow, making it much more paletable and I did a late day 5 mile street loop. Tomorrow will be chilly and windy but not too preciptous. The cold always seems colder at this time of the year, partly because we're getting accustomed to warmer temps, and mainly because cold at this time of year is accompanied by a good stiff wind, as it's the only way to get all that arctic goodness this far south.

Missed the spring sprint this year, a nice chip timed, cheap and (reasonably) accurate 5k on the boardwalk. It was the start of my running season last year, chugged along at a pedestrian 20:55, and didn't really feel like doing worse than that given my pathetic training this winter, and besides Elmira and it's maple syrup was calling. This race has become popular for the local hot shot club runners, you can tell by the times, with 50 folk breaking 20 and the top finishers in the 15's. Notice the entries of Ron Da Silva Jardine (at 16:48) and James Earl (17:02), both of the East Toronto Striders running club. Both these guys are my age, just a touch younger. I'm always guaranteed to be a few spots lower on the age group page when the striders show up. Fortunately, I get a few months reprieve from them next year when I tick over to 50 and they take a short while to catch up. I'll hit the sprint for sure next year and see how I do in my new age bracket. I'll need to be better than last years 20:55 if I want to make an impression though. We'll see.

Perfect Running Pace Revealed

2009-03-31T18:45:00.004-04:00

So Livescience.com posted an article regarding a study at the University of Wisconsin - Maryland regarding running efficiency in terms of calories per kilometer. While the article and study is interesting of it's own, the author makes a rather grand statement to present his slant on the study:

"The most interesting finding: At slower speeds, about 4.5 mph (13 min/mile), the metabolic efficiency was at its lowest. Steudel explains that at this speed, halfway between a walk and a jog, the runner's gait can be awkward and unnatural."

This entry has quickly permeated the net, primarily due to the wording of the article and the way it's being perceived. As an example, one comment on the article reads as:

"posted 03/30/2009 08:18:18 AM

gid wrote:

I'm wondering, is walking at 4.5 (with a low metabolic efficiency) good for losing fat? am I right to assume that low metabolic efficiency means that more energy is expended per hour and per kilo? "

Similar comments appeared on Diggs and Running Ahead along the same lines, mostly of form like "they must have used elites in the study, because a 7:13 pace is very hard to me to maintain", that sort of stuff.

This is where you, as the reader, need to look closely at what's being said. The Running Ahead link is of particular interest as it presents graphs used in the study. These graphs show the data from the 9 subjects, each with a Y axis presenting energy consumption as calories per kilometer, and the X axis as pace as meters per second. Viewing them as is, you can't help but think "it must be easier to run at that faster pace than a slower pace". And...you would be wrong.

It's a quick an easy conversion to change the graphs to show energy consumption per minute (instead of per kilometer). The conversion is straight forward:

(CaloriesPerKilometer * PaceAsMetersPerSecond) / 16.667

for each point.

I picked the second graph entry for an example, applied the conversion and my values came out roughly as:

2.0 m/s = 10.3 calories/minute
2.4 m/s = 11.7 calories/minute
3.0 m/s = 13.5 calories/minute
4.0 m/s = 16.7 calories/minute
4.5 m/s = 20.4 calories/minute

The lowest energy consumption is where you would normally expect it, at the slowest pace (2.0 m/s). In comparison, the study graph shows the lowest calories/kilometer (~73 cal/k) occurred at a much higher 3.7 meters per second, about the average for the males in the subject.

To look at the original graph, you would think this subject would find it easiest to run at 3.7 m/s. However, they will be consuming about 15 calories/minute at that pace (and sucking in all the oxygen to burn it), while slower paces, as we would normally expect, consume energy at a slower pace (and thus you breath easier too).

What you can notice is the sizeable jump in energy consumption per minute once you pass that noted 'sweet spot' of 3.7 m/s. From 2.0 to 3.0 m/s (increase of 1.0), your rate goes up by 3.2 calories per minute. Same from 3.0 to 4.0 (increase of 1.0), about 3.2 calories per minute. However, go from 4.0 to 4.5 (only 0.5), energy consumption goes up 3.7 calories per minute, more than twice the increase rate than below the 'sweet spot'. It get worse from there, the curves from the original study are parabolic so the energy demands per minute will increase dramatically as pace goes up beyond that point.

What this all means, don't be fooled into thinking there's a magic and quick pace where running becomes remarkably easy and you'll become a highly efficient running machine. Sure, you'll use less energy over a given distance, but the barrier for most runners sits at the energy consumption rate per minute, not per mile (or kilometer), because that's what dictates how hard the effort feels and how hard you have to breathe to keep up.

The article misleads the reader into thinking something that's not true.

Not a PR, but close

2008-10-19T15:25:00.003-04:00

20:11 in the Toronto Marathon 5k this morning. The good part of today's race, it felt manageable throughout. I had a couple of 65 mile weeks this month, which helped with the endurance. A good set of hard hills midweek carried me over. I've never quite gotten the hang of a 5k 'taper', meaning how to spend the day before. Yesterday was completely off for various reasons and I opted the just save the legs for a day. I still end up with 40ish miles for the week so that's about as much of a taper as I'll give a race. I'll probably do the Hamilton half on Nov 2nd, no tapering for that one, I'll just switch the Saturday tempo for easy.

The Toronto Marathon seems like such a cheapskate event to me. There was more than 2000 finishers in the 5k, about 4600 in the half and another couple of thousand in the full. Yet race management gives stingey prizes and a/g awards are minimal depth. They offer Pierre Laurent watches for the top 3 in the full (probably nice watches, but they're not money) and budget $3500 total for masters top 3. Prizes in the half weren't determined by race day, probably gift certificates or maybe memberships to Goodlife? Whoopee! For the 5k, this year you get a lovely...finishers medal. A finishers medal for a 5k? Actually, probably more than I believe happily accept it. I took mine but stuffed it in my pocket rather than wear it. Maybe I'm just peeved for taking 3rd in my a/g in the 5k and getting nothing for it. If I'd taken first, I'd be given the luxury of running it again next year for free.

I know races are pricey to put on, but surely they can offer a little depth in these mega events. The Nightcrawler 5 miler isn't a huge race by any standard (less than 1000) but they give out nice prizing and lots of merchandise and this really makes the race. It also draws considerable talent. I mean, I do 20ish in this big event and it nets me 28th place of 2000 overall, which shows that all the real runners stayed home. Actually the real ones ran the zoo run on Saturday.

Sleep would be good

2008-08-27T16:02:00.002-04:00

Drawback of summer, everyone else in the house is off. Wife, kids, cat, fish...all on vacation. While some of us (specifically me) need to get to bed early and up early, the rest prattle around and do their thing, some of them till 3 and 4 and in the morning.

I managed a couple of good months, keeping my weekly mileage in the 50s and getting out there every morning and every lunchtime, tossing in a few evenings during kids soccer practice for good measure. Some weeks hit 70 miles, some down in the 40's but I was consistent. This month's a bust so far. Was supposed to do hills this morning, couldn't open my eyes. Last night I was picking up eldest son from a friend's house near midnight and had to drive the other friends to their homes as well. When I got back, everyone else was snoozing.

Not that it's all bad. The down time is good after several months of up mileage (for me, anyway). Another complicating factor, I ripped the skin from the back of my right foot while on vacation and the only pair of shoes I can use are pretty old and beat up. This was last Friday and it's still not healed over, due to re-opening the wound every time I run. My good pair makes it unbearable to run.

I worked through lunch today so I think I'll cash out early and try to get something in this evening, maybe an 8 miler with hills would be good as I'm only getting the one run in today. I'm off the next 5 days with a couple of carry overs to make a good looooong weekend. It's been a month since I did a proper long run, every Sunday has had something going on, be it soccer tourneys or driving to the cottage and back.

Anyway, I'm on my next phase, if I can every get it properly in gear. For the next 6-7 weeks I'll be doing at least 3 good quality sessions a week and pop up the mileage back into the 200's a month. The volume is good but it can make you rusty for speed after a while and you need that quality period to make your legs turn over properly. With the volume, I can hold my speed. Problem is I don't have the speed right now and that's what comes next.

Target race is late October, same as I've done the last 3 years, the Toronto (now Goodlife Fitness) Marathon 5k on October 19th. My times here have been 20:03 (my 5k PR) in '05, 20:19 in '06 and a sucky 20:33 last year. As the Nightcrawler sits as my summer benchmark, this one is my fall staple.

Still a month of summer left. Weekend promises great weather.

Survived

2008-07-14T17:47:00.003-04:00

Managed to get through the race without killing myself. The course was very difficult, as seen in some of these shots:

Trail shoes were a must, one runner I talked to felt he may have done well taking his 'rock' shoes instead his trails. In the end I was 43rd out of 369, 10th of 73 in my a/g, and escaped without any twists, scrapes or broken bones. I think this style of running suits me well as I have a tendency to watch my footing anyway when I run, so guarding my foot placement in a race seems to be fairly natural for me. That said, I had a few close calls with foot movement that could have gone bad. I'm not sure how many had problems with the rocks but I know a few got caught up in the raised roots. Pace is never something to regard in these races, it's you and the course and the other runners.

Recent PR

2008-07-11T18:08:00.004-04:00

33:15 for 5 miles, (gun time of 33:30). I must be doing something right.

Tomorrow I have a 12k trail run, if I can get my butt out of bed early enough. The weatherman promises a nice humid day and a high of 30.

I did the 2nd race of this series last month, well enough to get a few points in my age group.

Hopefully the air tomorrow is breathable.

200 mile month

2008-05-05T17:04:00.003-04:00

I haven't run a 200 mile month since I was in marathon training 3 years ago. These are generally accompanied by one or more 50 mile weeks. These were hard to hit on single daily runs, but I find them a cinch to hit when doing doubles.

I've tacked on a number of double run days, given that I can now shower here in the office (um, not literally the cubicle I'm in, but you know what I mean). I haven't made any changes to the morning routines, still sticking with a quicker Tuesday run, hills or track on Wednesday and a Thursday midlong. The second runs are at noon and I'm doing them whenever time permits. The usual run so far is about 4 miles but I've got a fairly nice hill climb if I go north instead of south and that might add a little extra sumthin to them.

The extra runs actually make the harder days easier. I get to work out the stiffies with a nice slow recovery run, and doing this closer to the next workout is better than leaving a big 24 hour or more gap. Not many holes in the log either. I've only got 3 blank spots in the last 4 weeks.

Sporting Life 10k went this weekend. Usually I high-tail it to a spot well down Yonge Street and try to time it to arrive just as the leaders hit the turn. Forgot all about it this year. Kenyan's filled in 5 of the top 7 spots, but what really caught my eye in the results list was 17th place finisher Jerry Kooymans taking second masters runner in a blistering 32:53, with only Montreal's Louis-Philippe Garnier sliding in for 13th overall. The difference, Garnier is 44 while Kooymans is 8 years his senior at 52. It's impressive to see him running this kind of speed these days. For comparison, he ran this race in 34 and change 3 years ago...not exactly slowing down any.

I've signed up for a trail race on June 14th. A 12 1/2 k run over some bike paths in Durham Regional Forest. Gotta get my new trail shoes all dirtied up for practice. Should be fun!

In the spirit of competition and sportsmanship between nations

2008-04-10T17:21:00.003-04:00

As much as we snowy Canadians can up the anti for the Winter Olympiad, with our snazzy Calgary bobsled track and sky high Canadian Rockies, I much prefer the raw athletism of the Summer Games. There's something about sprinting and throwing and rowing that brings me inspiration and keeps me glued to the tele. Maybe it's the warmth that summer brings, as I've never been a big fan of winter and winter play.

I shudder in the fall when I see those temps start to drop, and defiantly keep my shorts on until the chill wins over ignorance. Knowing I'll be trudging along in umpteen layers of clothing at -25C makes me want to block it out with the persistence of a zombie.

I do like it warm. As hard as it is dealing with a 90 degree day and high sun, it still feels better than having my teeth chatter and my lips swollen for lack of blood flow, running face down into a 40kmh headwind and icicles dangling from my hair.

Canada has had some success in track and field, despite the embarrassment of Ben Johnson. Fortunately Donovan Bailey pulled us out of that one and brought us cleanly back into the limelight. Our 4x100m men's team that year was one of the strongest ever fielded, with Bailey, Bruny Surin, Glenroy Gilbert and Robert Esmie taking the works. Perdita's stumble at the hurdles...tough as it was to take...was at least an honest try and had us that close to gold. She will get her chance at redemption and I guarantee she won't be face to face with the tarmac this time. Our newest hero is Tyler Christopher, who took gold this year already at the World Indoor T&F Championships in Spain last March.

What we lack are good distance runners. It's less of Canada's fault and more of a North American malady. The Yanks are starting to see the light, though, with team Hanson showing that hard work pays off, and Ryan Hall's amazing runs taking the US marathon record, dominating the field at the Olympic marathon trials and prepped to go big in London next week. Up here we just don't have an organization that can make good distance athletes. The ones with potential have to make do of their own accords. Local Charles Bedley (a familiar sight for me as he trains in my area) has run a 2:16 last year, taking third in California Internation Marathon. The link has video of the finish and a good interview with Charlie.

Canada cheaps out on sending distance runners to the Olympics keeping the standards still out of reach and giving athletes little reason to try. If the standards could be lessened we would be able to grant Olympic experience to our distance runners, and having that chance would help push more of them to higher levels. Bruce Deacon of BC was our last entry to the Olympic marathon at the Sydney 2000 games. Jerry Ziak and Matt MacInnis also have the potential to be there. All three of these guys are in their 30's so age will become an issue before long. We need young runners with potential.

The women's side of the things has it's own issues. Tara Quinn-Smith of the Brooks project has run a 1:13:53 half while BC's Kirsty Smith has a sub-1:17 already this year. These girls are young, still in their early 20's. A step up to the full marathon distance must be in their futures. They still have their work cut out for them on the world stage, as their efforts don't even show on the worlds top list for the year (the top list cuts off at 1:13:00 so far for the women).

Hopefully politics won't interfere too much. And the pollution.

178 pages and counting

2008-04-08T12:16:00.002-04:00

From time to time I like to poke into Letsrun for kicks and giggles. It's a free-for-all running forum that anybody who knows anything and anyone in running is familiar with. It's not uncommon for elites and sub-elites and coaches to chime into the mix, it gives some insight into the goings-on of the high-end running world...although Runner's World it's certainly not (thankfully).

Among the more popular threads is Henry Rono's quest for the 50+ mile record. Henry was an elite athlete in the 70's who set several world records but never made it to the Olympics due to the Kenyan boycott of the 1976 Montreal games and 1980 in Moscow. In subsequent years Rono fell into alcoholism and his career halted.

After following this thread for the last couple of years I'm convinced Rono could give a shit about the record and is more inclined to seek out appearance and related fees. Gebresellase he ain't, at least not anymore. Runner's World did a lengthy article on Rono last year. The author ran into walls trying to get Rono to contribute directly, but Rono wouldn't offer squat without some dollars in the mix. Instead the article was built around the content of the thread on Letsrun, a sort of Cole's notes compression of 2 years of ramblings.

If you follow the latter portions of the thread, you may find the tone of many to be changing from supportive to doubt to frustration to ambivalence. Henry's last 5k time trial was 20:34. Geez, my last race (last Saturday) was 20:51. If Rono thinks he can get the master mile record off that performance, maybe I should pull my own socks up and get my own. Of course I've got about 100,000 more capable masters runners in my way...which is my way of saying Rono hasn't got a hope in hell of getting that record.

20:51

2008-04-07T11:37:00.002-04:00

Saturday morning 5k. 20:51.

I'm glad I was under 21. It wasn't a super stressful effort. I didn't feel like a super stressful effort anyway. It was hard and it showed me I'm fine to run under 21 and that was my basic goal here. No markers on the course, no times called out, it was strictly by feel.

This follows a heavy week of training, beginning with last Sunday's Around the Bay 30k which I ran horribly. I'm hoping to start adding lunchtime runs as well to augment the overall volume. This should actually let me increase the amount of quality I'm putting into my week. I want two more heavy weeks, then one moderate week towards another 5k on April 27th.

Exploiting the luxury

2008-04-03T11:37:00.002-04:00

This morning I directed myself southbound for a jaunt along the boardwalk by the beach. The air was dead still, clear and chilly with the sun just peeking over the horizon. Frost covered the timber of the boardwalk, the sharp angle of light cast by the rising run revealed every bump, warp, knot and any other feature you would never see in the midst of the day.

A good run for Thursday, 9ish miles in under 1:20 which granted a reasonable pace when you account for the warmup, the hill climb back and the occasional detour as I waited on changing lights. It's always neat to watch the city wake up and progress through the morning from the light traffic of dawn to the congestion of rush hour. The beach itself is always a welcome target and not something often seen by our local populace at that time of day. For me, it's just somewhere to go, since I'm out there anyway. If I'm going to be covering a bunch of miles it may as well be a nice bunch of miles.

Yawn 2

2008-04-02T09:29:00.002-04:00

The bed seemed awfully nice this morning. The alarm clock was an evil demon. Trying hard to stick to my routine, which should be easier to do with warmer mornings upon us. If you can call -3 warmer. At least the winds died down overnight, as they were howling at 80 kliks yesterday. I got in a 5 mile light tempo run yesterday morning in tropical 8C conditions before the winds started.

This morning was a followup of some early season speedwork, running park laps alternating hard and easy. Pace wasn't outstanding, about 6:47/mile for the hard laps average, which is about 10k pace for me (or was, maybe I should say). Having run a 30k on Sunday and tempo yesterday might have had something to do with it, or maybe it made it easier...who knows?

I know if I stay disciplined to my schedule I can regain my fitness. It's far too easy to stay up too late on those midweek nights, especially when I'm pitching in on homework help and tidying up after the day. We tend to eat late and it cuts into the evening.

On the plus side, the snowbank on the lawn is down to only 4 feet tall!

That sucked

2008-03-30T14:55:00.002-04:00

My training really wasn't where it should have been. In the past I've executed a normal training week the week of the race and continued right through, doing little more than taking the day before off. This year I lightened up the week and only did maybe half the mileage I usually would hoping the taper would make up for the inadequacy in training. Didn't work.

Less than 10k in to this thing my left hamstring was getting very tight. This has been an ongoing problem for me this season on long runs where my left hamstring gets tired too early. I'm going to have to augment the running with some strengthening and see if that helps. It will also help to get the local HS track back into use as it's still buried in snow. The speed sessions will build up those muscles and hopefully that will alleviate the stiffness.

I didn't have a problem with breathing. That was pretty consistent and easy throughout the race, even when things were difficult. At 20k I started some short firm walks to help loosen the legs up. The right leg had to pick up the slack for the left and started it's own complaints late in the race. What I didn't do was walk any part of Valley Inn Road which is a long lofty hill that marks the beginning of the end. The hill felt good to run since it was all quads.

I don't like this race much anymore. It used to be fun when the Hamilton Convention Centre was the host location and finishers were granted a slice of pizza and a tall frosty brew. Running Room now fully organizes the race. At the finish you're given a white plastic bag that volunteers fill with the usual cold race fare, and you're hustled out of the area. The feeling is no longer friendly, it's just 'here's your medal, here's your food, see you next year". It was a party atmosphere and live band in the past, how it's just bland and rushed. I think this is the last year for me. Unless I get a good strong winter in and get the hankering to beat my 2:22 PR for this course, it will be off my list.

I'll consider Mississauga's half next. It's a great race, well done despite being only a few years old, on a great course. You can hammer the lengthy downhill of this and it's a blast to do the half. The full is a bit less flashy and somewhat ugly when you're doing the extension off the half, but worth running if you think you're close to BQ condition.

After that, I'll try to be back in the 33's for the 5 mile Nightcrawler in June. I've got my work cut out for me in that one. After gaining a minute a year for 4 years in a row, last year was a minute slower than previous. Don't suppose now being 48 has any impact on this, ya think?

yawn

2008-03-30T07:05:00.002-04:00

I'm eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, washing it down with tea.

The sun is just peeking over the horizon, I can see the glow on the buildings to the north. A clear and cold night, there's a beautiful half moon hanging in the sky out the back door.

It's race morning. An hour's drive to Hamilton awaits me next. Race starts at 9:30. Parking will become an affair of it's own so it's best to arrive at least an hour early and hang out in Copp's until the time comes. I'll take along the bare essentials in terms of ID, my driver's license and insurance card, a CC and whatever cash I'll need for parking.

The challenges this morning are purging (getting to the bathroom enough times) and fueling (getting to the cupboard enough times). Most of my fueling takes place over the last few days. This morning is just a top up to prevent my body from extracting the goodies that are stored, it contributes nothing to the race itself.

We dodge the rain bullet, which is much appreciated. Sun and a few clouds, light winds and right about the freezing mark. I'll likely wear two tee's (one s/s, one l/s) and my light jacket, regular running hat. I'll take the toque and dry clothes to change into once I'm done. If I'm lucky I'll find the crew from kick and ch there, but it won't be easy amongst 8000 people.

Sandwich is gone. One more potty stop and I'm out. My bib number this year is 1950. 10 more and I would have had my birth year.

Whether the weather will wither or not

2008-03-26T12:11:00.003-04:00

Slushy messy light snow down yesterday, just enough to make a mess. Temps dropped overnight with dry cold air pushing through, evaporating most of what fell and firming what was left into patchy ice.

My venture to the end of the driveway and lack of suredness under my feet, and still some time until the sun poked it's way over the horizon, had me second guessing the run this morning. I salted the sidewalk and driveway and watched a morning runner navigating the bicycle lane down the street and figured I'll check if conditions on the mains were better than my sidestreet. Not bad, once I got down there, but my plan to warm up in the park and do my usual long hill routine was out. So it was 10 minutes out and 10 back to warm up, hit the toidy and head back out to run up and down Haldon Avenue a few times.

The hill itself was a bit tricky, but passable. The occasional car heading towards the park lot caused a brief pause as the remaining snow banks along with some parked cars meant we both couldn't occupy the lane together and one had to give. 1 ton of car beats 130 pounds of skinny runner. 5 passes on the hill in just over 4 minutes each was it. Can't overdo it as I'm 4 days way from the bay and that requires some semblence of taper.

An hour total, timing the return from the cooldown loop and meet precisely at my front door when the watch clicked over to 1:00:00. I know the routes so well now I can get within seconds of planned mark every run out. Somebody opted to spice up the visual scenery on O'Connor by placing an apple into the mouth of some raccoon roadkill and literally sticking a fork in the furry unfortunate's side. Nice. I was glad to only have passed it twice. I think a call to the city cleanup crew is in order.

Weather roulette is the game now. You don't win anything, you just have your expectations flutter up and down as the forecast adjusts each time. What's of consideration is the wind direction. The ATB runs around Hamilton's inner harbour at the most western point of the lake. East winds cross the lake in full and will dictate the conditions in Hamilton regardless of the forecast. Right now, it calls for 25 klik easterlies and temps just about freezing. That means wet snow in the face for the second 5k leg of the race and along the side for 9 k of waterfront. Two years ago I ran this race in shorts and a T. Whenever I attend this race I bring a bag full of clothes of all types, light and thick, water resistent and not, long and short, making the final call within minutes of the gun going off.

This race isn't what it was before. Running Room now pretty well runs it and that means the obligatory bag of cold food and you're ushered on your way once you're finished. It used to be, up to 2 years ago, beer and pizza and a big room to sit and chat afterwards. I guess the pizza folk got tired of staying up the night before making enough for 3-4 thousand runners. This year it's nearly 9000 in total, about 6000 of them doing the 30k.

Maybe I'll byob. Beer takes on it's own unique characterstic after 18.6 miles of racing.

I think it's time for

2008-03-25T18:21:00.002-04:00

my yearly post.

A bit of the last while has me poking around sites like classmates and facebook finding names of those from years gone by. Given the nature of those sites, there's a lot of folk from schooldays in there, a few pictures, some new content. Over a 30 year gap there's a lot of changes that take place.

It's no doubt the nature of the sites themselves, biasing introduced by design, but I'm surprised at the number of people that retain contact with their school mates. Quite frankly, I haven't given a lot of them much thought, and I wasn't one of those 'central' figures in school. Some people would remember me, most wouldn't, no standout here. I had my friends and have kept some level of contact with a couple, but very few. Even when I go back to Sydney and visit I generally just stay with family and not socialize too much. I wouldn't know where anyone was anyway and I really wasn't (isn't) that type that makes the extra effort to retain those bonds.

Still, a part of me does look back and kind of wants some of those old friendships to be there in some form or another.

In this body I've gone day to day, bed at night and wake up in the morning, and the time just ticks on by with those tiny bits of erosion that cumulate to form the face that looks back at me from the mirror. I've spent my time with work and family and lately I've realized that I haven't made much time for my own relationships and contacts. Part of it is my personality, part of it is finding the time in the big city to really make those things happen. Places I've worked at in the past had quite a social atmosphere to them and made it easier to make that one night a week to just hang out and yakkity-yak. That hasn't been the case here and I've found it's quite wearing when you lack that outlet.

It's interesting to see how others have fared. There are a few from way back when that I'd really like to know where they've gone to and what they're doing.

I've got a 30k coming up this week. Weather's supposed to be wet snow. Blech!

Oh my

2007-11-16T17:50:00.001-05:00

Look how long I've been gone.

Why, hello there

2007-01-10T11:54:00.000-05:00

I haven't updated this in a bit. I'm ramping up a touch to start the year, after a relatively quiet November and December running-wise. My son and daughter have both been pestering me to take them running so I'm making time for each. They run at different paces but surprisingly not that different (he's 15, she's 9) although I can't go near my son when he decides to sprint. He ran a 16 second 100 meters a few weeks back when we were goofing around at the local track. I figure with a bit of training he'll easily be under 20 for 5k before the year is up, probably sooner. She's just as agressive and has her own strong finishing kick. She'll run laps around the block with me and doesn't seem to get too tired. We're working towards getting her ready for her spring track and field day at school.

I said I'd be reluctant to run the Bay again this year, after last year's changes, but it's hard to resist a spring event like this one.

Winter is threatening to actually appear this year. -6 this morning, for a brief jog back from Crappy Tire to get a tire fixed.

Down time

2006-12-07T13:14:00.000-05:00

The start of winter is a tough period to get motivated. It'll be easier when the snow's down, the winds tail off, and you have those crisp clean winter days to train in. Winter itself isn't all that bad, and actually quite pleasant for running. The transitional months are painful, but serve a purpose to 'toughen' you up. It's a lot easier running in calm cold winter air after you've trudged through a few weeks of howling winds and horizontal cold rain.

I'd developed a bit of a sore hip, nothing detrimental to training, but present nonetheless. It's on my right side, the side with the golfball sized bunion on my foot and similar (but smaller) aggravations to my middle toes. I'm guessing I adjust my gait ever so slightly when hitting my right side, and the accumulating effects mean the upper part of my leg also takes a hit.

I'm taking it a lot easier these days, only getting 30 or so miles in a week and opting to rest whenever the weather just isn't very accomodating that particular day. In the past if I've survived the fall without injury, I've pushed through into winter and spring and full tilt, and it's left me feeling less than rested come the next racing season. It's seemed that fall injury is a bit of a blessing, forcing me to take time off and recoupe. Without it, I have to force myself to cut back, and it's not easy to do.

Last Sunday I did a 2 hour run with the core 90 minutes at a light tempo pace (something a bit slower than half marathon pace). I'd started this while training for the Fiddler's Run, alternating an easy 20 miler on one Sunday with a hard 14-16 miler the next. The harder mid longs are pretty manageable. The pushed pace on the mid longs make marathon pace seem a lot more comfortable, and the length of the session helps me adjust to continuous effort. The one thing I've found myself doing a lot these days is much slower running than I have in the past, keeping pace near 9 a mile instead of always forcing 8 or better. This is out of necessity, if I want to keep on running.

A little post season down time...if I stay patient enough.

- The Fiddler's Run ended up cancelled due to the storm system pushing through on race morning. A bad call since the day turned out quite beautiful and I substituted a 23 mile long run...much of it shirtless... for a finishers medal. They auto-insert my name for next year, but I'll really need to think it over first. I doubt they'd be silly enough to cancel it two years in a row. Would they?

10 1/2 weeks

2006-10-20T18:59:00.000-04:00

No Kim Basinger involved...and (thankfully) no Mickey Rourke either.

I've crammed a whole marathon training period into 10 1/2 weeks. I started mid August, quickly ramped up through 14/16/18/20 miles, then peaked to 23 miles a week ago Monday. Don't know if it'll work but it sure went smoothly.

We'll find out a week from Sunday.

Yes

2006-08-23T18:49:00.000-04:00

I'm still here

Long ago and far away

2006-05-22T16:34:00.000-04:00

I'm several dollars poorer but my names sits on a list of finishers for the 2006 edition of the Boston Marathon. Officially I ran 3:49:06, finisher number 10825 which means a good chunk of the second wave of starters passed me en route to Boylston Street. It's peculiar how easy it is to jeopardize months of training just to have a couple of days of enjoyment in a new place. We visited Salem and Marblehead the day before, did a bit of siteseeing in the area, a lot of driving (most of it unintentional, Boston is not a 'driver's city). Saturday had poor diet as we missed lunch (blame it on the driving around Boston part) and Sunday's lunch was no better. Stuffing my face with pasta on Sunday night wasn't going to make up for it all, my body wasn't going to process enough carbs into glycogen in time for Monday's noon start. Add on to that too much time on my feet including an unnecessary 3+ mile jog on Sunday morning. I dressed warm enough for the wait in Hopkinton but I knew I was unprepared.

I kept running until I met my family at 39k and continued to 40k, where I simply had to give up trying to keep only 1 foot on the ground at a time. I was in pretty dire strites and actually felt like I would have to dnf shortly after I started walking. The brain wasn't functioning all that well and despite being 10 minutes off pace I had convinced myself I could still requalify with a solid effort over the last 10k, except I'd have had to PR both the 5k and 10k distances to do it, which doesn't make much sense in my long since recovered state of mind.

I won't forget the noise of the crowd and I'm at awe that they do this the whole way and many keep it up until the last finisher crosses the line. I had my name pinned to my shirt and the walk from 40k to Boylston was met with wall-to-wall resonations of my name saying "Come on! You can do it Jim....keep goooooing!!!!". Simply amazing. I was petrified to start jogging again on Boylston for fear of just keeling over, but once I did start I felt fine.

Anyone who tells you that there's no event like the Boston Marathon, they are not exaggerating or embellishing in any way. The girls at Wellesly are everything they say, beautiful from the first to the last and all willing to take kiss (or a sweaty hug) from a runner. Heartbreak Hill isn't that steep, but it takes forever and the crowd pulls you all the way up. Every downhill must be respected and for my next attempt I will need to practice downhills more than I do the uphills. At 30k my quads were ready to call it quits, they felt like hamburger and I still had 12k to go. It was probably the largest contribution to my not running the whole way.

Next time.

One week to go

2006-04-10T19:02:00.000-04:00

I've been down this road before, it's never any easier. Every quirky sensation is magnified 100 times. I can't tell if I'm getting a horrible head cold...or if my throat is just a touch dry, or maybe that twinge in my knee really is something going wrong.

All I want to see is just a regular plain old week, no different than that last 50. All I want to do is to get up, kill the alarm clock, slog my way through another 5-10 miles (even less this week), shower, drive my kids to school and head to work.

All I can do is go one day at a time, and watch my step.

Boston Marathon. What a long strange trip it's been.

T Minus Two Weeks and Counting...

2006-04-04T12:50:00.000-04:00

Nothing changes yet. I'm doing nothing different than I have this past month. A review of taper to Mississauga has me running a normal week, doing a ladder workout for track on Wednesday, 9ish miles for mid long...the usual stuff. It all worked then so I'll do the same things now. The most important thing is to not get concerned or picky over what I'm doing for now, the final week is the most important one. My really critical time comes on the race weekend. Family will be with me, they'll want to go here and there and everywhere, and I'll be wanting just the opposite. In the two years I did Niagara they had me all over the place on the Saturday before, I was already tired when I got to the start line on Sunday morning. Somewhere in the back of their minds, they reason that since I can run a full marathon, all this walking should be easy.

To the track tomorrow morning. Ladder workout sans 1200's.

9 laps

2006-03-28T17:59:00.000-05:00

If you run the same short segment over and over and over again you become intimately familiar with every foot and every view and every feature. I've covered this loop hundreds and hundreds of times. It is exactly 750 metres long. I've taken as little as 3 minutes to run around it and as long as 5. I have dodged wayward baseballs, leashes, dogs attached to leashes, dogs not attached to leashes, people, bicycles, lumps of poop, puddles, lakes, glaciers, front-end loaders, vehicles that are not supposed to ever be there in the first place, rocks, cracks, holes, the ever present crowd waiting at either of two bus stops. There is the young high school boy who sits in the bus stop with his feet up, the older woman who has a different wig for each day, the old guy and his son from the retirement 'villa' adjacent to the park, Penny who walks her Newfoundlander, Freddy who walks his German Shepherd, the guy who takes his dogs into the ball field and runs round and round and round. Some people have stopped showing up, maybe they moved, maybe they bought a car, who knows. Sometimes someone shows up once and never again. The news boxes have a different front page each day, the front-end loader clears ice left outside the arena every Thursday, the garbage trucks do their pickups for the arena twice a week. Sometimes the guy driving the truck pulls in, pulls out a paper, and spends an hour reading it. The maintenance guy for the arena walks his dog every morning. The crossing guard for the school arrives at 8, but I'm usually done by then.

And they all watch me.

The Boston Taper

2006-03-27T12:56:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I ran a 30k race as part of my last long run before Boston. I ran this race during my first 20 miler towards Mississuaga last spring, raced it fairly hard, and that worked out well for me. Doing it as my last long run this year, I dunno. The weather was stunning and I did manage to keep myself reigned in enough that at least I didn't go anywhere near my previous finish times. I did 2 slow miles before it started, ran the race just a bit slower than marathon pace, then another 2 1/2 slow miles immediately afterwards. I was all over the wall in the cooldown jog. Don't ask me why but when I bonk I get a big bright spot that shows up in the middle of my vision, and it was glowing pretty good at the end of it all. But I was upright and not suffering badly from a running perspective.

Now comes taper. Not sure how to handle this week. I'll try a little jaunt tomorrow and see how my legs are. I had a blister on my baby toe that I didn't notice until late last night when I smashed it against the corner of our sofa. Ideally this week, I go easy for a couple of days, get 8-10 miles in on Thursday and scrape up a 2 hour run on Sunday. If I'm hurting I'll just have to cut it all back until I'm strong again, hopefully no later than this time next week. My only real concern is that yesteday's runs only had me on my feet for 3:15 when I really wanted to be out there around 3:25. Odd for a race but I'd rather have finished 10 minutes slower than I did. On the other hand I never sat down or stood still between arriving at the race site at 8 am until I got back in my car at almost 1, maybe that will help.

After all this I sure hope there's 26 good miles in these skinny little legs of mine.

The Internet is a Wonderful Thing

2006-03-17T18:43:00.000-05:00

I found this while doing an image search for volleyball star 'Sanda Pires':

Ladies in Sports

And now for something completely different

2006-03-03T17:47:00.000-05:00

Kevin Beck calls it the 'World's most earnest parody site'. Others are even less kind. For the person that stumbles onto Richard Gibben's running site, whether accidentally or from his force feeding of every running discussion board known to man, we hope they've done their homework.

My first experience with him was somewhere in Coolrunning where a reference was made to some nonsensical study being presented and one of the posters quickly recognized the info coming from Sir Richard and then preceeded to give us the quick rundown. It seems Richard is a runner of some experience but never really took it seriously (he sounds like an A type personality) until one day he decided that he would go out and kick the running world's butt in a concerted motion as he mowed them down in his path. No doubt he bought a gob of runner literature, read it all and decided to pound out a million miles a week, cuz somewhere it mentioned all top runners do this, and warning signs of imminent injury be damned proceeded to beat his knees and legs into useless props with a sole remaining purpose of keeping his ass from touching the ground. I don't think he races anymore, given the last result I saw from him likely had him finishing just behind Susie Q Austin's butt as she celebrated her 30 minute 5k victory shortly before the finish line was dismantled.

The whole thing seems to have left him rather disgruntled with the anyone capable of maintaining a 10 minute a mile pace for more than 10 minutes. Since surely his interpretation of training methodologies couldn't possibly have been erroneous,the fault MUST lie with the likes of Lydiard and Vigil and other top coaches. He's therefore decided to declare war on what he calls 'conventional training wisdom' and show the world that there is better path to success than hard work and dedication. Now we're not quite sure what 'conventional training wisdom' is since no two people train the same but let's not interfere with a good battle.

Somewhere in my exchanges with him on CR, he decided he didn't like my attitude (one of his favorite methods of evasion is to cry 'Attack! Attack!', declare you the latest member of his sh¡t list, and you'll never get to call his bluff again). So, to allow me to continue my hobby, I 'cleverly' signed onto his own discussion board as 'okrunner' (hee hee....I sure pulled the wool over HIS eyes) so I can get my share of shitsandgiggles when debugging ASP script becomes tedious.

His global contribution to the running world, in terms of advice, is to run 3 days a week...one interval workout, on tempo run (which he likes to call a 'power run') and a long run...and no more, and a top runner you shall surely soon be. This is remarkably like the FIRST marathon training plan published by the Furman Institute, which Sir R seemed to take quite strongly to as of late, and I have a feeling FIRST rather influenced this groundbreaking work of his. Anyway, it's easy enough to disect what comes off his fingertips into typed words and show him how his logic processing unit seems to have a short or two somewhere, but you do have to step around the dozen or so unrelated responses he usually provides to try and muddle whatever the original point was being made. But stick with it, I've learned to keep it focused for him and have even managed to get him to admit he makes things up (see his disc. brd. thread on 'FIRST Training Research Update'), but I have be oh so careful in my responses lest my alias gets bunkied up with my CR ID on his list.

I'm not sure what quite to make of him. I don't know if he's making the whole thing up and laughing hysterically at our own amusement of his brilliant work, or if he actually believes what he's peddling. Either way, like a dog that you can get to chase his tail, it's always fun to poke a stick at him now and again. Beck may have it right.

The Science Fair

2006-03-02T12:17:00.000-05:00

Having at one time been young and infinitely naive and now being old and finitely capacitive I have a tendency to try to pass on the legacy of my experience to my oldest son. Unfortunately I have almost no ability to consolidate the events that allowed me to learn from what I now perceive as being paths to disaster. I've always had great confidence in myself to stand about 6 inches over the horizon and see what's coming, what it might do to me (or for me) and how best to handle it. For some reason I just can't seem to transfer that same level of confidence to my son. Maybe if I could see the world in his eyes I might realize he has the same talent, or maybe all I'll see is video game images a la first person viewpoint.

His big task in school the last several weeks has been to research, prototype and document an item ultimately to be included in his HS's science fair. His original plan involved levels of water in various size hoses and tubes to see what they would do. After he and I going through the plan we decided it didn't make a lot of sense (fill the various size tubes with water and measure pressure at the bottom) and instead decided to persue demonstrating how force can be applied to water in tubes, essentially hydraulics.

Now, understand my son isn't a big believer in providing feedback nor is he stellar in the arena of initiative. But once he puts his mind on something he can certainly persue it to the end even if that end is completely in the wrong direction or 100 yards beyond the edge of a cliff. He'll still be twiddling while approaching terminal velocity, oblivious to the upward motion of all around him and the inevitable meeting with the ground below. This takes a certain amount of reigning, as I explained to him one time to always make sure that what you're trying to accomplish is attainable (even if you're the only one who believes it is).

We built a prototype of a piston driven hydraulic setup. The plans became modified a dozen times over, going from a ballast supplied system (which, after review, we realized simply wouldn't do anything at all) to a closed system. The prototype had two upward tubes (simple ABS plumbing parts) of different diameters and a 'sealed' piston to compress the hydraulic fluid (water in this case) and record the effects on the other piston. Unfortunately we couldn't get the pistons to 'seal' no matter how hard we tried. We reviewed and revised the designs, added thick lubricants to help reinforce the seal...nada. Weeks went by and we were getting to crunch time. Classmates had theirs nearly done, documented, tidied up, and there's my son with little to show except a pair of leaky tubes.

So, on advice from his teacher, we changed the whole setup to use prefabed pistons (syringes) and we devised a sealed system (aquarium air-line tubing and connectors) and managed to form a sealed hydraulic lift system using one very narrow syringe as the activator and a large diameter one for the lifter. Then over a period of three nights built a display setup and stands to aid in measuring (it's very difficult to balance weights on the tiny end of an insulin syringe), and also managed to throw together a practical application display where we put 3 syringes together to mock up a disk braking system. He's a bit depressed that the original work had to be abandoned, he so wanted his nifty looking tubes and pipes and steel-rod pistons to work, but we can't persue what simply will likely end in failure. I'm hoping he's accepting of the new design and it seems he and his classmates had great fun pressing the various pistons and watching what happens. Today he's got a ton of work trying to get measurements and numbers and I have to just hope it all works out without being there to offer guidance.

And I reflect back on my own venture into the Science Fair arena. Me and a friend were trying to build a very basic digital logic system (this was before the days of PC's and it was nothing more than two switches and some lights) and a comparable analog system (although this failed miserably as we had no means of being able to build an output display). We had literally no help from our parents and teachers, persued blindly and abandoned to somehow have something to show, and stood with a rather ratty looking display that mimiced someone having emptied a box of garage junk onto the floor and this is how it fell together. Yet, we won a prize (only because there were less entrants at the fair then there were prizes to be handed out) and came away feeling that we somehow managed to accomplish something worthwhile.

I don't know which outcome my son would rather have, whether the tried and failed original, or the functional 'plan 2'. But I've got at least one more late evening on this one as he has to put together an information display and we cross our fingers hoping it has at least something to do with whatever his original intent was.

Freedom's just another word for being naked

2006-02-22T18:09:00.000-05:00

I joined Bally's recently. Up until July and for the 5 previous years I had been fairly regular in going into the basement 2 or 3 times a week, setting out a nice cushy thick workout mat and doing a routine with 110 pounds of dumbells that kept me reasonably toned and firm anywhere above the legs. In July I started a bathroom reno which required a complete gut and rebuild and the basement floor become a storage area for anything involved. In January I waited for and took advantage of Bally's best offer (I get reimbursed anyway) and now do my workouts there (I still do all of my running outside).

Now, I'm not particularly modest or shy, and maybe it's just some deep seated conditioning from days of yor, but I find it just bizarre the way a lot of men simply like to walk around a locker room completely buffers. I keep a towel wrap and a few guys wear swim trunks when transitioning too and fro the locker area and the shower. Nonetheless it seems that at least half of the guys I've seen just like to stand around and make sure everyone gets a darned good view of whatever it is they like showing off. Maybe it's because I cut phys ed in high school, or maybe because I didn't play league sports, I dunno. But I just can't see myself walking about, looking at myself in a mirror, chatting with other equal fabricless guys and being totally nonchalant about it.

I don't think they need to see my junk and I'm certainly not interested in seeing theirs.

This is the hard part

2006-02-13T12:58:00.000-05:00

Make no mistake, it's at this point that it can get pretty difficult and you've got to drum up the reserve from within to get there.

It's 9 weeks to Boston. I'm on 20 mile long runs and all the crucial filler runs in between. As long as I prep for them properly the longs aren't that difficult or demanding, but every other run has to be there to make it work. I have to get up in the AM to tackle that recovery run or that hill workout or make the time for that 80-90 minute mid week mid long. This is the period that crams in the conditioning and the effort, builds the endurance, builds the stamina, sets up my system to handle my goal marathon pace.

I'm not on a schedule, I have no plan or chart set up on a wall somewhere, I just follow my routine and execute the item I think I need on any given day. I know what's going to carry me from one weekend to the next and I know what will mess me up and make any particular run harder than it should be. At this point it's all about execution. I run when I can get it in knowing tomorrow might be a problem so better to have it done than not. I can't skip just because I don't feel 'up to it'.

Saturday I overdid it a bit. My nonchalant run over trail and road ended up being 7 miles...too far. Then we had to go to a kids birthday party and I spent an hour in a pool, half of it treading water which takes more out of you than you expect. And I didn't get any proper meals in. Sunday morning I was tired when I woke up and just not fueled up. As nice as a fresh blueberry muffin is, it won't replace a good solid meal of carbs the night before. 10 miles in I figured I needed to shortturn my second loop and cut it back to 18 1/2 miles...still not bad. It was tough though as I knew I'd be running sans glycogen for a while. Still, that has it's own benefits and so it's not like the run's a total loss. I've accounted for at least one missed target over this period anyway.

I just have to keep in mind that don't want to be standing in the start corral wishing I'd trained properly. It's just not a fun experience.

The body is a funny thing

2006-01-28T22:32:00.000-05:00

Plan, run to a point just over 5 miles away, run back, pick up a bottle of warm gatorade waiting inside the doorway, run to a point just over five miles away and run back.

Sounds simple enough. And that's what I did. Out, back, peel off the safety seal and discard, turn around, out, back.

Some time ago when I was still a teen, my dad was finishing work in the city with weekend approaching and discovered his car was on the fritz. We were 16 1/2 miles away in the cottage soaking up the east coast sun. He opted to walk to the cottage, thumbing to passing drivers hoping to pick up a lift. He got sporadic hits but had a sizeable trek that eventually brought him to the doorstep something like 4 hours later. In work shoes his feet were sore and blistered and he didn't do much moving around for a couple of days.

In finishing off 20 1/2 miles in a 3 hour period, I get home and stroll a couple of loops around the block to keep from getting too tight. My feet don't have many complaints, the ever present sore spot at the base of the middle toes on my right foot that may or may not ache after a run (it's been there since many years before I started running), a couple of toes have the skin just slightly abraided, nothing more than you would feel if someone accidentally dragged a leather purse over your foot, and a few stiff joints.

I run a distance, I run a bit for a couple of weeks, then I run a bit further than that. The schedule is burned into me like making Kraft Dinner. Monday rest...Tuesday take the trash out, if I feel good (no big run last weekend) then it's 5-6 miles of tempo. If I don't have the time or I'm stiff, maybe 4-5 miles of nothing much...Wednesday, alternate between a hill workout (long or short hills) or a track workout (10-12x400, 5-6x800 or 3-4x1600)...Thursday, try to get a bit of distance in, 10 miles is the target...Friday rest...Saturday I do what I feel like, could be 5-7 miles of tempo, could be 5 easy, could be 6 or 7 miles of muddy messy trail (which is the preferred option)...Sunday, long, sometimes very hard, sometimes just very easy.

And the body compensates. Give it work, it will happily accept more. Work the cycle...push, rest, push, rest. The cycles are short (easy day, hard day, easy day, hard day) and long (buildup period, recovery, sharpen, race, rest and recovery, base build...). I've reached the point where I know what I can hit when I can hit it and what I need to do to get there.

2 hour runs are nothing. I can do them anywhere anytime. Once you hit 3 hour territory you know you're not just another guy in shorts.

"Yeah, I was over to the track early this morning getting a few laps in"

2006-01-20T12:17:00.000-05:00

I'm sure this is what the track walkers tell their spouses or friends or anyone else they talk to. They seem to have an affection for inside lane 1, the preferred lane for those for whom the measured track distances actually mean something...that being runners.

A typical high school or college track has 6 to 8 lanes, each 1.2 (it varies from track to track) meters in width and the inner most lane measuring out to precisely 400 meters. For a person executing an interval workout using a multiple of the set distance of 400 meters, that inner lane is crucial to having an accurate assessement of the workout and the current level of conditioning. Most walkers don't even know the lanes have a set distance, and many think all the lanes are the same distance...duh.

As I arrive this morning, not specifically to do a track workout but just to use the parameters to help set pace on this moderately easy run, I arrive in total darkness with the venue all to myself, opting to run clockwise this time to balance out impact forces inherent in running in continuous left turns in the conventional (counterclockwise) direction. As dawn breaks, they arrive and promptly start their stroll on the innermost lane drawn like a floating spitball spiralling towards the inner vortex of the bathtub water going down the drain. Sometimes they actually get mad at me, as though I'm invading their preallocated space. I'm pretty accomodating and will vere around them when necessary but I'm also not above ensuring they feel a sudden rush of sweat laden hot air blowing across their neckline...usually this prompts them to shift left (or right) 1.2 meters. Sometimes 2.4. Sometimes 8.4. Since a hard 400 will be accompanied by short explusions of saliva, this can also have an effect, keeping in mind this isn't intentional but it's surprising difficult to either spit or swallow at these times so fluids will go wherever air goes...mostly outward bound in random directions.

This morning I circuited the course 25 times to total 10,000 meters in a bit over 50 minutes, not including the kilometer between the track and my house and my warmup laps in the muddy confines of the nearby park. The walkers continued towards their habitual 8 to 10 laps which they'll complete some time long after I've left, their cardiovascular system thoroughly cleared by the rush of blood through their arteries. In all fairness, good for them to be out walking, but surely there must be far more interesting things to see along the streets than lane 1 of the local track.

Pitch Black

2006-01-12T12:54:00.000-05:00

which is what greets me at 6:30 in the morning. The park system isn't lighted so you hope for cloud cover to reflect the streetlights back down, so at least you can see what your foot is about to step on. I managed to step ankle deep in a puddle as I was avoiding a glacier that formed over the pathway. One mile out I returned back to answer natures knock on my sphincter door, then 7ish miles out and back. It's really hard to see dogs at the time of the morning, you have to go by sound. I think the owl hooting in a tree down there was hoping for a nice tasty Shihtzu to take home for the yunguns.

Blonde Joke

2006-01-05T15:39:00.000-05:00

I admit...I liked it.

Run, run, run, run, run

2005-12-22T12:25:00.000-05:00

I ran an 18 miler on Sunday. I was anticipating that it would be a disaster since I've had a couple of problems of running out of energy on shorter long runs lately, including a horrid bonking at 12 1/2 miles on one run and barely squeaking out 14 on another. That's really just prep on my part...the previous days run was too hard for me at this point and just not enough fuel reserves. This time around I took it easy the day before (5 miles only) and deliberatly kept the pace down on the 18 (about 8:40/mile). I got back home after 17 miles and still had reserves left so I did an extra mile in the park...no problems.

I don't stop during my runs. Sometimes in the summer on very long runs the heat can get to me and I've got to stop and catch some breeze to cool off. Or a shoelace gets untied, or I've got to take a nature break. The running world can be viewed in two segments...those who take walk breaks...and those who don't. I'm in the latter category. I see walking during runs as removing some of the satisfaction and it's detrimental to training. I know the proponents and what they say "it prevents injury, it let's you go further than you otherwise would, it prevents bonking" yada yada. None of it is particularly true, all can be managed by pure running and training. Walk breaks introduce a bad habit, and one that can be very difficult to get out of. Beginners should do it because it helps get their bodies accustomed to running and getting the distances in they need to promote early development. If they ran only as far as they could they wouldn't get very far and wouldn't get out very often. Other than that, don't bother.

Once you get used to running without stopping, it's like everything else, you adapt to it, your body adapts to it, it becomes natural and normal. You'll be able to hold a pace for the duration instead of only 8-10 minutes at a time. Recovery will come around, the thought that it 'promotes recovery' is bogus. It only 'promotes recovery' because it 'reduces training', so there's less training to recover from. If someone did that 18 miler I did taking a break every 10 minutes, or even longer when it comes time to take a gu or fiddle with the fuel belt for a while, they're not getting out of it what I did. I did that run because I can, anything else just wouldn't measure up.

Just to let you know

2005-12-20T12:35:00.000-05:00

I really have nothing to say lately.

I think I'm somewhere around.....here

2005-12-01T18:15:00.000-05:00

I always have trouble figuring out where I reside in terms of being a runner. A sort of running identity crisis. I'm new to the game and never did this to any level before. I think the closest I got was running one lap around a cinder track in the 70's in Junior High health class as part of the 'participaction' awards tests...I recall it nearly killed me. So I have no background other than what I've accumulated over the past 5 years.

I've seen a lot of people who were quite involved in their high school years or in college, etc. or just people who have been at it for decades on end. I don't consider myself as any part of a 'boom', it's just something I'd always wanted to do and one morning headed out the door and started. I'm not in it for any trendiness it might carry.

I don't think of myself as slow, but I certainly don't consider myself as being anyways fast either. A couple of years ago after completing a pretty competitive level 5k one spring morning, one of the local fast guys (part of a very small but talented running club) who has seen me in the park came up and introduced himself, saying "I see you in the park a lot...so how'd you do today?". When I told him my time of 20:05, he just kinda nodded and walked away. Elite snobery? Sure was (methinks he thought maybe I would fit into their group and were approaching for recruitment, but my recreational numbers didn't quite jive with the 'requirements' I guess). But it certainly shows that I'm really not at any level that would make anyone with talent say "hey...that's pretty good!".

If I were midpack, I'd probably be pretty comfortable running with the masses and finishing in the thick of the mob as they squeeze their way over the finishing mats. If I were at the back, I could probably let loose and have fun and really not pay much attention to time, instead just enjoy the surroundings. If I were at the front I'd be fierce and competitive and work strategies throughout the race working to snag those all-important awards positions that everyone else considers waaaay out of scope.

Instead, I'm somewhere between the top and the mid. I'm not going to win many awards (I occasionally snag an a/g placement) and certainly no prize money or trophies to sit on a mantle. I'm not slow enough to just slog through it so I end up having to push to make sure I'm not passed near the end. My rewards usually come with seeing the mass of people yet to finish, finding my way to the food tables without lineups, maybe spotting some faces that are in my league and they'll be my adversaries for the day. It's finishing in that top 15% or so, knowing that I've held my ground and I'm not retrograding into 'jogger' territory.

I'm not anything to brag about. People do far better doing far less work than I do. It's a lot of effort for little or no tangible return, and it can be expensive to boot.

Can't quit now though.

Noodly Appendage Forever

2005-11-25T17:36:00.000-05:00

I'm sure that Bobby Henderson probably figured he'd post his letter and that would be that. Far be it for the masses to let something as (in)significant as this get by unnoticed. Either fortunately or unfortunately, Mr. H will now be forced to live with his own creation for as long as TCP/IP connections exist (and beyond to the next incarnation of network communications...and so on and so on). No doubt the popularity spawned by the FSM has it's drawbacks but Mr. H does seem up to the challenge. It's surprising to see the context of hate mail that comes his way. Here's a message for the masses...LIGHTEN UP!

When my next big run comes up, I'll be sure to pay homage to Him and stuff myself with a second helping of spaghetti, meatballs and maybe a brew...or two. Maybe the next day's expulsion of e-coli will reveal it's own miracle.

The Coming Tea Party

2005-11-21T17:25:00.000-05:00

I have no idea why I would want to run Boston. It's expensive and takes a lot of planning. If you're a mediocre distance runner like me, it takes a fair bit of training as well. Last winter I trained through some viciously cold conditions that decided to descend upon us after Christmas and didn't let up until the Easter Bunny froze his tail off in our backyard, and as a reward for that effort I get to do it all again, only this time at the 'show'. I've invested in two new pairs of shoes to get me through the winter, along with a pair of trials from last year that should keep me on my feet when the slick stuff dominates. It's hotels, and travel, and getting my documents up to date, paying the BAA just to run the thing (you'd think they'd be happy just to have me) and facing 3 hour runs with a scarf wrapped around my face to keep it from solidifying.

Last year Patriot's day in NE was better suited to packing a minimalist's version of bathing attire and hitting the beach more so than it was for running a marathon. The year before was not much better. I figure this time 'round it'll be pissing rain from point to point, the Wellesley girls will have headed back to their warm dry quarters once the first women go by, my family will stand, drenched cold and miserable, somewhere along the race route, shout "Hi dad...we're goin' back to the hotel" as I (hopefully) pass by, and I'll find myself heading up Boylston Street to a smattering of polite applause by others waiting only for their respective kin and more-or-less disappointed that I wasn't him/her.

I just can't figure out why I'm looking forward to it and counting the weeks.

goatees

2005-11-18T12:11:00.000-05:00

I've decided that all men who sport goatees secretly worship the devil.

The rain, the park, and other things

2005-11-09T12:58:00.000-05:00

like hurricane force winds.

Master t&f Cross Country race in Sunnybrook. Nothing can make you feel deflated like having lots of older folks kick your butt in Cross Country, but that's what makes this race so fun! A little mud every now and then is a good thing.

I wish I'd remembered my hat.

I see trees of green

2005-10-31T12:19:00.000-05:00

and red roses too.

Not that I'm complaining. It's Halloween and it looks like the trees aren't giving in yet. We have a castor bean plant that's busily throwing out new branches even though it should be dead. I'll suspect this will be a bad year for ice wine.

My application to the Boston Marathon has been accepted. Hotel is booked. Fee's are paid. Now I just have to spend another entire winter training.

Did I get it? Did I get it?

2005-10-17T09:34:00.000-04:00

Nope.

And all 28 runners who finished ahead of me DID get under 20. It was at least heartwarming for a couple of them to actually thank me for pushing them below the mark, by virtue of my consistent pacing and making them 'dig deep', as it were, down the stretch. Had I been paying the slightest of attention to either my watch or the giant finish line clock sitting front and center as I came down the chute, I probably could have done the same myself.

I consider myself the first loser.

Cherry Picking

2005-10-14T10:24:00.000-04:00

In running terms, it means seeking out a race where you know nearly everyone is slower than you. The idea is to snag an award or at least a good age group position. Usually it's a nothing event with a couple of dozen people that nobody's even heard of, but it can be something bigger, usually a short race associated with a high-profile longer race. In this case, it's a 5k event that goes with a Marathon on Sunday. Last year's times show only 15 people (out of 600) beat 20 minutes, previous years fared a bit better. It comes down to who shows up. The 10k Zoo run is on Saturday, which draws most of the mainstream runners, and not many of them are going to run both races.

We'll see. I either show up at home empty handed or I break my 20 minute cherry.

Owls

2005-10-13T10:32:00.000-04:00

I guess I have to resign myself to running in the dark for the next few weeks until we switch back to standard time. There were owls hooting in the trees as I crossed under the bridge this morning. From a distance, I thought they were mourning doves. When I got close enough it was easy to tell they weren't doves. Too bad they're too elusive to get a good look at. As a teen I tried chasing down a Screech Owl that decided to make our cottage area it's domain. He/she could be seen sitting on a treetop wailing away, but I couldn't get within a couple of hundred yards of it before it would take off and stay well out of range.

Last year I had the opportunity to get up nice and close, about 6 feet, from a red-tailed hawk that was prowling ET Seton park. I figure it had a few years on it and wasn't going to expend unnecessary energy unless I looked threatening. There's also a belted kingfisher that patrols the creek during the winter...not sure why though...it is the most polluted waterway in the GTA, the only living things in it are ducks, and even they avoid sticking their heads in the water.

flinging poo and blowing snots

2005-10-12T13:15:00.000-04:00

Don't ever think running is an elegent sport. The necessity to hold a given pace for a period or time or wait around amongst a mass of people for the start of a race has a certain amount of influence on what one considers socially acceptible. Take Mississauga the year before last. Inaugural runs are subject to oversights and such, and it's not unusual for even established races to come up short on facilities. Just west of Square One lies sections of undeveloped land, some of it park, some of it just regen, which became a convenient and well used toilet for the 3000 odd runners taking part in the events of the day. The lineups at the potties precluded getting through before gun time so a parade of men and women alike took advantage of the thick untended brush to relieve themselves of their pre-race hydration strategies. It's funny how quick one abandons their modesty when a) your teeth are swimming b) those people over there don't seem overly worried about squating on a trillium plant.

I have had reason to make the wonderful park facilities in central Toronto my own personal lavatory on occasion, usually just for watering purposes only, but not always. Despite the prominence of washroom facilities, it doesn't help much that the park staff won't unlock the doors until well after the posted 'this washroom closed until 8:00 am nightly' expected opening time. Nonetheless, I try to stick to certain requirements...cover the offending material, stay beyond 200 meters of any water...etc. I make the grandest efforts to keep this event to maybe once a year, which this year was yesterday. I knew it was going to be an issue when I was a mile out when certain forces began their parade forthwith and I just decided to keep going forward instead of looping back. When you gotta go, you gotta go.

Snot rockets are another issue. There's only so many ways to clean those pipes when you're breathing like a locomotive. It's not a pretty sight and not something to execute in the presence of others. Other options, which I've exercised at times, are using one's shirt, using one's pocket, or just making sure you've got a supply of tissue on hand, although once they become bathed in sweat they're not particularly useful for anything other than plugging holes in drywall.

Yes, we look like we're doing something healthy, and yes some of us might be dressed to the nine's in our high-techy fabric shorts, jog bras and proliferation of equipment strapped to our chests and belts. It's just those human essentials we have difficulty with.

N

2005-10-10T10:52:00.000-04:00

N became apparent to me as footsteps rumbling the timber stretchers on the bridges as I headed down the pathway out of Edwards Gardens returning back to Taylor Creek. I first heard them several seconds behind me on the first bridge at the entrance to the park, and as each subsequent bridge passed underneath me the gap got shorter until they were clearly at my heels. It's instinctive to pick up the pace, the first thought being if they are truely faster, then they'll pass me anyway. I wasn't quite used to runs of this length yet, but I was willing to hit a 7 minute pace for the 8 minutes it would take to reach the split at Sunnybrook.

Once the main park appeared, I split south and she split north, I spun my head with the question in my mind Who IS that?!?. Impressive, lengthy, smooth, and apparently quicker than me.

Her name appeared in results in races we were in together, although I didn't usually know it. I'd spot her easing her way through the park, I'd toss a nod or wave her way and she'd wave back...she might have known me from the chase, or maybe it was just me.

On warmish summer day, a local road race in walking distance prepped in the park below me. Sign up...warm up...wait at the start. And there she stands...a little tete a tete in shoes to happen. I guess I was in pretty reasonable shape at this time. As usual, out too hard, but it wasn't until the turn to come back I realized she was most of a minute behind me. Not the challenge I was thinking it would be.

Fast forward to September. A little local cross-country this time. This is the race she preps for, I could tell by the way she had been running the last few weeks. At the gun, I slip ahead a few steps and carry it down the hill. The course switches from open field to single track and damned if she didn't cut a corner and dart in front of me. Fine. The course is long, I can tell by my pace and my watch. I'm determined to stay right there, and as we reel in fading runners it seems as though she's trying to trap me in back. At one point I have to run off path and dance through the shrubs to get around someone just to keep contact. The hill is make or break, as she darts up smartly and I choose to conserve. Since it's back to field I won't get trapped. Once crested I can get back on pace. The hill is her nemesis, I slip ahead, her breathing is laboured and she struggles to get form. I can sprint, even when exhausted. Once over the line, I turn, she lightly slaps my hand and says "good race".

This year I didn't enter the race as I didn't realize it was on, but I did watch. I specifically timed N just to see if she was any faster. Sub-20 she went. My first thought "short course", and a check on finishing times tells me that's the case. A week later I jogged it just to see if it was short. 21:50 for me, so yes it's a short course. The thought comes to mind...can I beat her time if I run it on my own? Once around the park to get my breath back, then I tear off at race pace...without race officials at the corners I'll need to dodge dogs, leashes and people. People are jumping to the sides as I blast around corners and through tree stands. Take the hill and hammer it across the field, I'm not even looking at my watch to see where I'm at.

Once I hit where the finish line was, I hit stop, and go into a cooldown jog. Check the watch.

2 seconds faster.

I guess I'm not old yet.

Oh, wait...I might have something.

2005-10-07T12:46:00.000-04:00

With CNN keeping the American viewing audience up-to-date on a viral outbreak at a Toronto nursing home, it almost makes me wish for another hurricane to start swirling in the Gulf just to draw Ted Turner's attention away (well, not really...a good tropical depression should suffice).

I suppose this should be of concern for any Yankees planning on visiting our fair city and popping into the local old-folks home to lick the banisters and toilet seats. They might be interested in knowing there are in the order of 40 or so outbreaks of various types in nursing homes throughout the GTA each year and this is not uncommon (not just here, but anywhere), given the tight clustering of the residents, staff and visitors combined with the relatively frail state of the primary occupants. Go to Google and type 'nursing home' and 'outbreak' (and filter out the word 'Toronto' if you want to avoid bombardment of the current hot news item) and you'll find a cornucoppia of news and information items about similar events right in everyone's own back yard.

Part of the argument is "what if I get sick and have to go to a hospital? I'm not going somewhere that will make me worse or kill me.". I'm not sure how often people think of this when visiting some equatorial tropical destination while drinking margs and getting in a base tan. I'm thinking one look in the waiting room at the local clinic might convince you to rely on the healing powers that many millenia of evolution has equipped us with instead.

According to Wunderground, the National Hurricane Center says the only threat is a non-tropical depression 550 miles northeast of the Leeward Islands that's not doing much except producing better rain. And the outbreak turned out to be Legionnaire's Disease so I suppose the glamour has gone from that one anyway. I guess it's back to homeland security updates and watching Larry King grow more wrinkles.

2005-10-06T18:19:00.000-04:00

umm..

Nope...still nuthin'

2005-10-05T10:47:00.000-04:00

nuthin