Tuesday, October 30, 2007

It was an indoor run today , 10K in 47:36 ! Strangely enough I didn't mind , I am working a 12 hour day shift so it was great to get a run in at lunch !

Ron.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Horror Hill 15K Road Race 1:13

Wow , 1:13:?? I figured around 1:20...maybe if it ws a good day around 1:15 ! I read a blog last night after googling "Horror Hill" .... a guy wrote that it should have been called Horror Hills , he also went on about not being happy with his time 1:26 and mentioned running Boston ! So I thought my goal of 1:20 was do able but would be a bit tough.

Weather was 14C , gusty winds with occasional showers! I was deterninted to pace myself in this race , I wanted to do the first 5 k at a 5 min / K pace. When I crossed the 1K mark it was right at the 5:00 mark . From reading budys blog he said that majority of the hills were in the first 8K. Based on this I decided to try to keep a 5 min pace to the 8K mark and then pick it up for the last half of the race . The BIG hill came between 4-5K, it was tough but I am use to running simialr inclines in my 16K loop. At the 8K mark I was 40:30 , a wee bit off pace and a little concerened that I didnt have it in me today ! 8-9 K was a flat strecth so I thaough its do or die and I never looked back. Crossed the 9K at about 44:50 , really turned it on to gain the lost time. Beyond 9K I backed off a little but every K there after to the finish was under 5:00 .
I started passing runners at between the 9 and 10K mark , by the time I made it to the end I passed 4 runners in the last 5K and wasnt passed by anyone ! And yes... its allot more fun to pass that it is to be passed !!!!!! Had a little fun in the last few K , there was a fellow in front of me that I gained on the hills then he streched it out on the flats. I came within a few meters the he streched it out to 20 meters . We went back an forth a few time then at last hill, and it was a big one, with about 300 merters to go I passed him , at the top of the hill with 150m to go he passed me. In the last 100m I passed him again and sprinted to the finish. As I passed him he commented "Way to go" !!!!! I love runners , I love running .... how very cool that was !

Ron.

Friday, October 26, 2007

15K run tomorrow

In the morning I am going to do a 15K "Country Road" Race. Its http://horrorhillrun.ca/general_info.html . Apparently the "Hill" part should be "HillS". I hope to do it in 1:20 , given the hills and all. I run hills all the time so I hope that it pays off and I can make it in time I suspect I can do! Its always a bit of a game to try to predict how you are going to do.

Ron.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

1:26:27 , learning to run in the cold!

Did my 16K loop today in 1:26:27... a new personal best! Weather was cool, 6C , overcast with a bit of wind.

Did the first K in 4:43, as fast as I have gone in awhile. Tried to slow it down a little to about 5:00/K pace for at least the first 5k. I wasn't sure how to dress , I had shorts on with my moisture wicking "metal" top and an old vented Rebok Nylon Coat. After a few K I felt a little warm and opened the front of the coat. By the time I got to the 8K mark I started to cool down and did the coat back up again! All in all I was warm enough except for my hands. I noticed them getting cold around 10K and by the time I made it to the end they were frozen. Next time I run under these conditions I will wear a light pair of gloves.

I really liked running in the cold , better then the heat! The time I did was a new PB for this route . I just broke the cold mark I set a couple of weeks ago by about 20 seconds. Its amazing how far you can go and how close you are to earlier times . By far the #1 thing that slowed me down this summer wad those really hot days!

Ron.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

1/2 on Thursday

Did my 21K run on Thursday in 2:10 . I haven't done a long run in awhile and I really noticed it in the last 5K.

On Wednesday Evening I did a 1.5 hour intense upper weight routine. Got up Friday morning , had a couple of small cups of coffee and took off. The weather was overcast , threatening rain and about 15C. At first I was comfortable but there was a strong wind when I was in the open areas. I have two chances to shorten the run , at 4K and can turn it into a 10K run , at 8K I can turn it into my 16K run. At the 4 and 8K turn offs I felt good and there was no doubt it was going to be a long one.

I was a little worried that if it started to rain I would get cold. Next time I run in these conditions I think I will add a Garbage Bag to my fanny pack as a just in case move.

I did a Gel pack starting at 11K, its getting harder to enjoy this stuff and I made sure I took it with lots of water .

At 14K I hit a really big hill that really took allot out of me , its about a 40m climb over about 300 meters, some parts steeper then others! Good thing about this hill was that there is about a 1K gradual downhill after for recovery but at the end of the downhill there was another steep on similar to the one that I just climbed !

Last few K were a real shuffle, my chest was cold. Wasn't sure if it was cold or just a tight feeling but it wasn't comfortable. I had the same feeling another time when I ran under similar conditions. I think I should have had more then just a light cotton short on. I really have to learn how to dress and run when its cooler!

After I finished I felt really tired , grabbed a big glass of Milk and jumped in the Hot Tub for 30 minutes. After the hot tub I had some chili and toast and hit the couch . I didn't feel very good , I was getting chills and I felt sleepy tired ... so I slept for an hour. It wasn't until dinner that I shook the chills and tired feeling.

I was going to use this run to see decide if I was ready for a 6 hour attempt ... I AM NOT ! There is a 15K road race that I think I will do and I haven't dismissed the Marathon in early November !

Stay tuned... Ron.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Treadmill at 2am

Did a 10k in 49:30 on the treadmill at 02:00 am this morning! It was OK, got lost in thought while I ran. Its truly the only way to make time on the treadmill a less boring! Did the first 5K in 27 minutes, then I cranked it up and did the next 5 in 22:30! That's definitely going above the heart rate of around 140 but it felt good to go faster.

Today's thoughts turned to pacing again! I have decided that its better to pass then to be passed in a race. I can see the benefit of splitting the race into thirds , each consecutive one cranking it up a notch. Pacing it a tough thing to do when you start in a race but I can see the benefit and it would really help make it so I don't get passed !

Ron.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Havent been up to much, working mids this week and as i sso often the case I have been challanged to get enough sleep !

Sunday I did my 16K loop , 1:36 ! Not to bad but it was a warm day , 23C with high humidity. Heat wasnt a huge factor but it was 10 minutes slower then runnign at 16C .

Thursday I did an easy 10K on the treadmill , 52:00 ! The night before that I lifted weights.

I was going to run overnight but I was too tired. Sometimes its allot better to lay off when you don't feel up to it!

Will get another treadmill run in this evening. I find it to be a we bit on the boring side hitting the treadmill bit I am sure that as the weather gets colder I will be more motivated to run indoors !

Still thinking about doing a 6 hour race in a couple of weeks. Sometimes I think I am up to it , sometimes I know I am not up to it ,,, how fickle ! I am not going to commit for another week or so , see how it goes.

Ron.

Friday, October 5, 2007

HOT run today

Did my 16K loop today , it was HOT HOT HOT! The heat monster was definitely at work , it was 28C and very humid. I turned in a 1:42:53 , very slow but quiet understandable. On Monday I did the same run in 1:26 .
I walked the last 500m, figured I wouldn't have it in me for a cool down after running ! As soon as I was done I grabbed a tall glass of Milk and hit the Hot Tub for 30 minutes. I have the tub a couple of degrees below body temp at 96F so it was a good cool down. After the hot tub I grabbed a tall cool Beer and jumped in the swimming pool and floated around on an air mattress for another 30 minutes. So all in all a good day , its not often that you get this kind of weather around here this time of year.

Ron.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

10K Blowout *(^&*%^(%*^&

Every now and again you just know its not the day to be running , well today was one of those days. As is usual I did walke away learning a few things, here is what I know!

New Rule #1 .... DO NOT , I REALY MEAN >>> DO NOT have a massive steak dinner and then try to run the next morning ! This isn't the first time I have been suspicious that a big steak the night before is slowing me down but now I know this for a fact ! back in July I did a 10K and had some disappointing results, I expected to break the 45 min mark and came in closer to 48 minutes , the whole race felt like it was uphill ! The meal the night before the race was a big Steak!

I started out wanting to do a 16K run today , the route I take I can abort the longer run at the 4.5K mark and turn it into a 10K and that's exactly what I did. I felt very sluggish and a cramp. I even walked up one of my last big hills . Ended up with a whopping 1:02:53 , real slow for me. I didn't really get into the run until about the 8K mark ! Things started to come together at that time and I could have kept going but called it a day !

Before I set out today I had a large OJ, 2 Cups of Coffee and an English Muffin with Peanut Butter. Tuesday when I did a new PB for the 16K I has OJ, Coffee and a couple of Cinnamon buns !

On an upside I did wear my Heart Rate Monitor today . Learned that I am doing 150 bpm when I am at a comfortable , sustainable stride ... about 11.0-11.5 Kmh. I was suprised when I hit the hills and the rate climbed close to my MAX ! Regardless of my age of 46 years my Max rate is is around 175 bpm , so running at 150 bpm puts me in the 85% of max . Now this is a wee bit high , I probably should run more around 140 bpm or 80% of my Max . When I got above 160 bpm I notice that I was stressed , falling behind in o2 and generally felt tired ! One thing I didn't like about the HRM was the tightness of the strap around my chest.

I have a light dinner tonight , tomorrow I will have a cup of coffee and now food then hit the trail!

Ron.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Back on track...

Back to feeling 100%+ after last weeks flu bug. Did a 10K on the treadmill Sunday in 52:00 , felt a little tentative but I made it ! Today I did my 16K road/trail run , new PB at 1:26:53 , it felt great.
Temperature was a comfortable 16C, sky was overcast and there was about a 10Kmh swilling breeze.
Found myself watching my breathing to ensure it was deep, was conscious of the stomach movement. Heat wasn't an issue, fell behind on o2 on the uphills but recovered on the down. Had a little cramping in the right thigh , nothing major. Didn't bother with the gel this time , last time I did I spent 20 minutes trying to catch my breath after choking! Didn't miss it and ended up with my fastest time yet on this run. An hour or so before I went out I had a large Orange Juice , 2 Coffees and 2 Cinnamon Buns with White Icing mm good!
Going to save the long run for the weekend !

Ron.