"S" Marks The Spot - Again!

Timing is such a funny thing.

At the end of last year I made the difficult but satisfying decision to not renew my contract as an athlete ambassador for Skechers Performance Canada.  It was my hope that in doing so that would provide an opportunity for someone else to take my spot on the squad and experience the joy and amazing support that comes with being sponsored by (in my humble opinion) one of the very best running brands on the planet.

It also left me to be a 'free agent' of sorts for the first time in over four years.

I'll be honest and say that there was a part of me that was eager and excited to try out different brands of running shoes again ... for instance, I'd heard that Hoka One One was starting to build their shoes on a wider last (the narrow fit had been a deal-breaker for every pair of Hokas I'd ever tried on), and that Swiss manufacturer ON puts out a pretty sweet product.  I was also eager to perhaps try out a running shoe designed and assembled in the land of the Kalenjin, Kenya's own Enda Iten.

And then there was the fateful evening where my wife and I were Christmas shopping at our local Winners store.

We were trying to finish up getting gifts for our kids when I received a message from my friend and fellow running enthusiast Stefan Albinsson.  Stefan and I had first gotten to know each other as Skechers Performance ambassadors, but I also tracked with Stefan as he is an outstanding athlete and shoe/gear reviewer.  A little over three years ago Stefan became affiliated with the Swedish athletic brand Salming (best known for their floorball, handball and squash products) as they were branching out into the running industry and exploring the North American market.  He's since become one of the preeminent voices on social media elevating the visibility of the Salming brand, and his text to me was an exploratory message to find out whether or not I might be interested in joining their small but mighty troupe of ambassadors.

While I hadn't really had any intentions of signing on with another sponsor, Salming had definitely caught my attention over the past couple of years - between some very positive reviews of their running shoes, Stefan's high praise of the company (but hey, they're Swedish and he's Swedish) and my own intrigue at the organization bearing the name of one of my childhood hockey heroes (Toronto Maple Leafs hall-of-famer Borje Salming), this was a tantalizing opportunity.  We exchanged several notes back and forth, clarifying expectations involved with an amabassador position (as Stefan is the lead ambassador for Salming's US team), and eventually I submitted an application as part of their 2018 ambassador search.

Well lo and behold ...

So here I am again familiarizing myself with a whole new set of hashtags, a brand new tribe of amazing athletes and fascinating human beings, as well as a new array of shoes and technical running gear.  It's like being a kid in the candy store again.

I look forward to hopefully being able to enhance the visibility and reputation of this European brand here on Canadian tundra/soil.  I also hope that a pair of Salming Speed 6 will propel me over the Mississauga Marathon finish line in under three hours!

#nononsense #SalmingRunning #runswedish

"S" Marks The Spot - Again!

race report - 2014 MEC Barrie Race FOUR

i'm trying to finish off this MEC race season by completing as many of their series races as possible while not messing up my own training schedule - so this past weekend i was able to sneak in a 10k in conjunction with MEC Barrie's Race FOUR event.

the venue/locale for this race was around the orillia youth leadership camp which also served as the course for the Race TWO event.  this meant at least a somewhat familiar course - complete with a hairpin inclined turn and an uphill homestretch.

a few of the usual suspects were on hand for this race - several of the 'running ninjas' (so called because of our group runs with the one and only Optimism Ninja, jim willett) including lewis, rick, jason, pat, chris and jo.  also spotted darren from the barrie roadrunners when lewis and i pulled into the parking lot - a very fast and seasoned runner.

just a few of the 'running ninjas' (photo courtesy of MEC)

as they would say in pizzaville, it was a rainy day - alternating between mist and steady droplets by the start time.  this was all forecast of course, but between that, a noticeable breeze and the 12°C temperature it made for borderline miserable conditions - at least for standing around.  having already identified that darren would likely lead the pack and then noting at the start line that natasha (a girl who beat me by several minutes in the last MEC 10k that I ran) was also entered, i knew that i'd be working - and sweating - hard to be competitive.

natasha at far left and darren at far right (photo courtesy of MEC )

 

first three kms:  3:45, 4:10, 4:04 

i'd already determined to try to run this race 'digitally blind', meaning that i would not consult my watch at all during the run.  i'd had a couple of great workouts exceeding my expectations when i done that over the last two weeks, so i figured it was worth trying to 'run by feel' again.

from the start darren took to the front, followed by natasha and then me (with my good buddy rick hot on my heels).  the early part of the race had some noticeable elevation changes, and after the first 400m or so natasha assumed the lead position with a burst.  i managed to stay in third spot until about the 2k mark when a girl from the pack behind me put on a bit of a surge (or did i slow down?) to skip past rick and i and put a bit of distance between us.  

middle four kms:  4:08, 3:59, 4:04, 3:55

while staying in control i kept the 'elastic' intact between this new runner ahead and me - but as we hit the bends in the road i chose to take the tangents (even though it was not a closed course) while she did not.  i can't say for certain whether or not this bothered her, but what it did do was allow me to gain some ground - enough to overtake her to resume third place by about the 4km mark.

i was working off of my planned "comfortably hard" mental cue for these middle miles, and it seemed to hold me in good stead.  not having any statistical feedback on my paces, i would not have guessed that i'd put in two sub-4:00 min. kilometres during this stretch.

last three kms:  4:12, 4:00, 4:04

perhaps one of the downsides of running by feel and not by digital readout is that you do run the risk of zoning out ... in a less-than-optimal way.  that happened to me during the eighth kilometre and it took me a bit to realize that my stride had shortened and turnover was not quite as quick.  so with a shake of my head and a few bursts of driving knees i shifted into "uncomfortably hard" mode and tried to bring it home. 

i managed to pick off some of the 5k runners who'd started 10 min. after we had - what i didn't realize is that there was another guy behind me who was picking off the 10k runners in search of this third place spot which i'd held for most of the race.  by the time that i crossed the finish line i was sucking air for just two brief seconds before i felt a pat on my back and a "nice run - i just couldn't catch you". 

although the weather was sucky enough to not encourage any post-race lingering, i decided to head back out on the course to try to track down a few of my fellow running ninjas who were still working it.  i first found lewis who was trucking his way to a 46 min. 10k - a clear PB for him.  after confusing everyone at the second line with a second crossing, i turned back out to go find jason who was putting in a 15k - we connected with at about the 3k to-go mark, and i tagged along for the ride as he powered it home.  

this was again another outstanding event put on by MEC Barrie - from the loads of post-race goodies to prizes for win/place/show to free coffee and massages/medical.  the attendance numbers showed that they are definitely growing some head-turning events with both a professional feel and personal touch.

all in all i'm happy with my performance as this was basically a tempo run in my scheduled training week - plus it was an opportunity to once again race in my ever-lovin' Skechers GOMeb Speed 2 and don (for the first time) my new-to-me Skechers racing singlet (graciously sent over by my friend Stefan Albinsson).

next stop on the racing circuit is the County Marathon where i'll be an official pacer for the first time, hoping to help anyone who's interested to cross the finish line in 3:30.

see you on the roads - and as always #GOlikeneverbefore!

race report - 2014 MEC Barrie Race FOUR