Race report - 2017 MEC Barrie Race Series Four (15k)

Some races just don't turn out the way that you expect them to ... in a surprisingly positive direction.

This past Saturday I ran in the fourth of five events comprising the 2017 MEC Barrie Race Series, and with three distance options (5/10/15km) I opted to go for the longest one as part of my final preparations for pacing this year's edition of The County Marathon this coming weekend.  I had no real designs on 'racing' the 15km but instead wanted to incorporate one of my regular Saturday "P-Train" (as in 'pain train') workouts into it and otherwise just have a pleasant outing with a number of my RunNinja compatriots.

So the scheduled P-Train workout called for the following:  warm-up + 4x(500m @ 10km race pace w/ 90 sec. recoveries) + cool down.  Now inasmuch as a warm-up is always a good idea, on this given day it might not have been necessary ... at 6:00 a.m. it was already 20°C (with the humidex making it feel like 25°C) and by race time at 9:00 a.m. it would probably feel closer to 30°C at the Orillia waterfront.

I arrived with my usual 60 min. to spare before gun time and had plenty of margin to pick up my bib, chat it up with some of the MEC staff, hit the porta-potty and go out for a light shuffle on the course route.  I also connected with RunNinjas Juan, David, Becca, Christina, Shane, Holly, Laurie and Sarah (all running the 15km), plus Rick and Katya (tackling the 5km).  I was particularly interested in seeing how Katya would fare as she was aiming for a sub-24 min. finish but was (in her pre-children days) a member of Team Russia at the 1996 World Junior Championships in Athletics. There they finished 6th in the women's 4x400m relay, and she would post a PB of 53.08s (!!!).

It was also interesting to hear Juan say that in scanning the crowd he couldn't spy anyone that he would pick as the outright winner of our race, noting that ordinarily he might recognize some of the really fast runners.  I told him to go take a look in the mirror ... but also acknowledged that perhaps the heat was a deterrent to some runners who might otherwise participate, knowing that the conditions weren't conducive to really fast results.

The Race
A number of us were sporting RunNinja-branded tech tees and/or singlets so we thought that it would make for a great starting photo to all line up at the front.  Sure enough ...

Photo courtesy of MEC Barrie Flickr photostream

So right out of the gate I started my first 500m interval and while a couple of folks hung with me for the first 150m or so pretty soon I was out in front on my own.  Even though I shifted right down back to a trot during the 90s recovery segments I had built enough of a lead through the bursts that after the first 2.5km I was out in front by a good 15 seconds or so, being chased down by Juan, Shane and David.  With the temps they way they were I tried to just keep a nice aerobic pace going for the next 11km, enjoying the opportunity to cheer on the 5km racers as they came back toward me (our race started with an extra 'spur' that the other distances didn't have to cover) on the Tudhope Park trail and eventually the 10km runners that I either intersected with or caught and passed.

It's worth noting that while it was pretty crazy hot while running it was probably no better for the volunteers who were at the aid stations and offering spray-misting or wet sponges along the way - my hat's off to them for standing unsheltered in the sweltering heat to make sure that we were staying somewhat refreshed.

By the time that I re-entered Tudhope Park (it was an out-and-back) there was still a decent gap between me and the chase pack but in my head I was playing 'don't-let-them-catch-me' games, so I did pour on a little extra juice in the final 1500m.  I also wanted to make it look like I was working hard for the finishing-area cameras, not like a jerk who was smugly floating his way to break the tape.

Photo courtesy of MEC Barrie Flickr photostream

In the finishing straight I came up behind a gal who was wrapping up her 10k and looked to be just jogging it in, but decided that I wanted to come alongside and really cheer her on to a strong finish.  She heard me as I urged her to pick it up and swing her arms for a great final kick, and she yanked her earbuds out and really started to move it which was so cool to see.  As I've heard said numerous times, "we think that we're running as fast as we can until someone says that a bear is chasing you" - we all have an extra gear.

Post-race
I didn't even note my time when I crossed through the start/finish arch ... I just took a moment to high five the stranger who had powered herself across the timing mat ahead of me and turned around to go root on my friends who'd yet to complete their races.  In backtracking I found that Juan and David (and many others after them) had taken the wrong fork on the trail just as we re-entered the park area and wound up coming at the final section from the wrong direction (shades of Gary Robbins!) and tacking on maybe an extra 500m to their distance, which would account for why they weren't as hot on my heels as they probably should have been.  I also ran Becca in (she was on the correct home stretch) but after that was asked by race director Lynda to take some pylons out to where the split was unclear to try to help avoid any other misdirections.

Dave taking on cheerleading duties - one of the nicest guys ever!

After all was said and done it was a solid day's effort in gorgeous full-on sunshine (I'm sure that I went home a few tan shades darker) and an amazing showing by all of the RunNinjas.  We managed to claim all of the podium spots in the 15km division, and Katya took home 3rd place female in the 5km division with a killer 22:38!

Photo courtesy of Holly 'Flyby' Trudeau

Here's a video rundown I filmed after finally getting back to my car:

It wasn't a bad day's work after all ... and I'll take a podium finish anytime I can get it!

Looking forward to hopefully getting a few runners across the finish line in Picton with a Boston Qualifying time this Sunday!

#GOlikeneverbefore #haveafastday #getyourmilesin #werunthistown

Race report - 2017 MEC Barrie Race Series Four (15k)

Race report - 2017 GoodLife Fitness Toronto Marathon (Relay)

Riddle me this Batman:  how is it possible to not start a race and yet post a finishing time (without cheating)?

Be the anchor leg on a relay team.

It was still the dead of winter when my friend Gillian pitched the idea that perhaps some of us from the RunNinjas should enter a relay team in this year's edition of the GoodLife Fitness Toronto Marathon.  Being a veteran relay racer herself she knew how much fun it could be, and given that she was willing to take the lead on the organizational end of pulling a group of runners together (not far off from herding cats) this was just the kind of spark that we needed to get this initiative underway.

Being that this would fit the bill of tackling a new kind of race (which I'm usually pretty game to try) I agreed to be part of our 8-person crew which included Gillian, RickyD, Angela, Chris, Sarah, Cher and Iris.  After a bit of back-and-forth finagling we settled on an order of runners, with everyone taking on a 5km section of the 42.2km course except for me ... the hand-off to the final relay racer leaves 7.2km to cover so I had ever so slightly more distance to run out.  When we worked this all out I figured that this would not be a problem (given my penchant for running longer back-to-back workouts on the weekends) but after last weekend's thrashing at the hands of the Pick Your Poison Trail Run I wasn't carrying the same kind of confidence into the weekend.

At the same time, running with and for your friends adds a whole new dimension of 'giddy-up' to the experience.

With Gillian as our mastermind we held a few 'planning' meetings over Tim Horton's coffee and muffins to discuss logistics and even plan out race-day outfits (so that we could easily spot each other at the relay checkpoints) and brainstorm ideas for a hand-off baton (which eventually turned into a small flag that was passed from runner to runner).

Team #RunNinjas plotting our relay race tomorrow! #torontogoodlifemarathon

A post shared by Patrick Voo (@pbfvoo) on May 6, 2017 at 7:33am PDT

On race day we carpooled down in a few vehicles knowing that we would have staggered start times depending on which leg we each were responsible for covering, and to have cars parked at appropriate points along the course to ensure that everyone could get a ride down to the finish line.  Gillian, Iris and I commuted together into the city, arriving at Liberty Village almost three hours before I was scheduled to receive the RunNinjas flag at the 35km mark.  This gave plenty of buffer time to make at least three trips into the washroom at the adjacent Metro grocery store and for Gillian to walk the 1.5km to her checkpoint and Iris and I to march about 3km down to the Martin Goodman trail to her 30km checkpoint.  Of course I'd have another 5km jog to take after that, but with no time pressure it was enjoyable to do so as the fastest of the marathoners overtook me for the last quarter of their races.

Arriving at the 35km relay point I spotted our good friend and BQ-attempting RunNinja Rob trucking his way down the course - I trotted alongside him just to find out how he was feeling and was encouraged to hear that he was still on track to hit something close to his 3:15 target.  I also managed to spot a few other friends as I waited for Iris to come around and make the hand-off - Eldon, "Udora Flash" Dave and an unknown runner sporting the familiar race kit markings of the Malden Park Runners each received a hoot and a holler from me.  I admit to having been more than a bit worried about out other RunNinja compatriot YouJin who was attempting a BQ time of her own - while I was on the lookout for her I did not immediately see her, and watched as the 3:30, 3:40 and 3:45 pacers passed by the 35km mark, knowing that she was aiming for a 3:25-3:30.

When I finally saw Iris I quickly took up my position near the green relay-area pylons and with a quick congratulations and a nab of the RunNinja flag I quickly got up to speed.  My goal was to try to hold a 5k-race effort as long as I could - and with every quick peek at the Garmin 305 I saw that I was holding in and around a 3:55/km pace so I was encouraged by that.  Now I admit to feeling somewhat guilty passing numerous marathoners (in fact I wouldn't be passed by anyone for the entire 7.2km anchor leg) knowing that they'd all been working hard for 3+ hours by this point, and here I was on fresher legs ... still, it was a race for them and it was a race for me so (to borrow from the great Steve Prefontaine) 'to give anything less than my best would have been to sacrifice the gift'.

Any worries that I had about the weather conditions were assuaged as the sun peeked out from behind the clouds and it actually became quite warm.  There were moments that I felt over-dressed, and I did manage to work up a sweat which would have crossed over to uncomfortable had I needed to run further than the 7.2km.  That wasn't helped by the fact that as I rounded the corner into the finishing chute I passed a runner who decided that he wanted to try to outsprint me across the line - of course the competitive side of me would have none of that, and given the fact that he'd pounded out more miles than me on the morning I had a bit more left in the nitrous tank to cross a second or so in front of him.

Do you know how many times I heard "Go Pikachu go!" ...? #ItsAdventureTimeJake

Looking back at my splits I actually managed to click off a new 5k PB (19:41) in the midst of my run ... not too shabby given what my game plan was!

After collecting all eight medals for our team I was spotted by Gillian who led me back to where the other RunNinjas were near the final corner.  We'd gathered to wait for Iris who was running the full 7.2km back to meet us since that was the most direct route for her to reconvene with the rest of the group.  I found Rob had waited to see us finish (after his 3:18 performance), as well as YouJin who must have cruised by as I paused to get my bearings at the 35km checkpoint given that she wrapped up her race in a stellar 3:23 (more than a 20 min. PB for her)!

YouJin (second from left) and Rob (far right) now Boston-bound!

L-R:  Cher, Gillian, moi, Iris, Angela, RickyD, Sarah and Chris

Following the obligatory post-race group photos our team decided to vacate the city (as the Toronto Raptors were hosting game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference Semi-Finals which meant an influx of "We The North" fans to the downtown core) and head to Beeton for a bite to eat at The Whistle Stop.  While enjoying a well-deserved recovery meal we also discovered that our team came in third place overall for the relay - a podium finish we'll take!

All in all a great time, and a much better day for me than one year ago at the same race (although I had the privilege of pacing for a really good friend that time).  Congrats to all of our RunNinjas as we declared loud and proud that #WeRunThisTown !

Race report - 2017 GoodLife Fitness Toronto Marathon (Relay)

Man vs. cage (aka "How to play in traffic and not get hurt")

I'm a relentless road runner (even when I join my friends out on the trails).

I love to get my miles in while touring through my city, or even on the rural concessions.

With that in mind, close calls with vehicles large and small are bound to take place.

Last night during our RunNinjas group run we had a bit of an anomaly take place.  We not only had an runner vs. vehicle incident once, but twice.  On top of that, both confrontations turned into physical, hands-on altercations.

Not pretty, nor desirable for anyone.

The incidents resolved themselves (to some degree) without any lasting impact except for a bad taste in our collective mouths.  So how can we do a better job at avoiding such nasty encounters?

As runners there are certain things that I believe are in our control - and from my 20000+ km of road running logged since 2010 I'm happy to share just a few tips and thoughts that might help someone else.

1. Never assume that you can be seen - yep, I'll bet you figured my first tip would be to make yourself as visible as possible, but it's not.  This is something that I've come to learn not so much from running as from motorcycling - even the most tricked out bikes, with flying fringe leather, neon accent lights, chrome covers dazzling in the sunlight and riders decked out in the most colourful of body armoured-jackets can be completely missed by car and truck drivers (affectionately known as "cages").  Add to that the distraction of windshields that have not been properly scraped and/or defrosted, the persistent and illegal use of handheld devices while driving, or perhaps kids in the backseat having a screamfest on the way to swim lessons.  Whether you call it selective perception or operator inattention, the mistake is yours (as the runner) if you take for granted that a driver will see you, even if they are looking straight at you.  Your best bet and mine is to believe that they do not see you at all.



Nope ... still won't see you ...


2. Run against the flow of traffic - I think that this is one of your best defensive maneuvers, even if you're running on the sidewalk.  The advantage that this affords you is not only being able to try to make eye contact with oncoming drivers but also the opportunity to anticipate and react if a close call appears to be imminent.


3. Make yourself as visible as possible - ah, finally it appears in the bronze medal position on the list.  Whether it comes to reflective vests, blinking LED-armbands (worn on the arm closest to passing traffic of course) or headlamps (which provide the most noticeable point of visibility in low-light conditions), there are ways that you can increase the chances - NOT GUARANTEE - that you will be seen by drivers.  I've even utilized glow-in-the-dark shoes to try to make myself stand out more during my pre-dawn workouts.


4. Signal your intentions - just as you can't read a driver's mind, they can't read yours either.  So if you're planning to make a turn, or even if you're crossing through an intersection and plan to carry on straight ahead, extending your arm to indicate your intended path not only is a helpful signal to the traffic around you but that added motion heightens your visibility.


5. Be courteous to drivers - believe you me this goes a long way.  I know that as a general rule pedestrians always have the right of way, but that's not going to be a great defense against a busted leg if you go nose-to-nose with a cage.  So when running on the road I try to hug the curb as best as possible knowing that cars also try to not stray across the divider lines and may have to contend with oncoming traffic (which I can't see since they're coming from behind me).  Also, when running with others I want to make sure that as traffic approaches we move into a single-file formation - just because we don't 'own the road' any more than cars and trucks do.  Finally, if a driver does give you an extra-wide berth as they pass please do acknowledge that with a friendly wave - positive reinforcement is always huge and is an investment in that driver being encouraged to continue to give space to the next runner that s/he encounters.


6. Minimize or eliminate your distractions - because this can be a problem that we invite upon ourselves.  If your earbuds are crammed with 180 bpm dance tunes dialed up to 11 and you're be-bopping your way down the street you may be just as oblivious as the vehicles bearing down on you.  Or you may not hear that emergency vehicle blaring its sirens forcing the cars ahead of you to pull off to the side of the road (as directed by law).  If running to music is your thing then consider wearing just one earbud so that you continue to be aware of your audible surroundings.

That's not a comprehensive list, but I can tell you that trying to keep just those few things in mind have kept me safe so far.  The reality though is that I've had my share of close calls, from circumstances where cars began to careen out of control (thanks to lack of road traction) to drivers who intentionally try to brush you off of the roadway - so caveat emptor:  you can try to do your level best and still wind up taking on a 174-hp 1.5 litre turbo-powered product of Japanese engineering.


Keep alert and stay safe so that you can live to run another day!

Man vs. cage (aka "How to play in traffic and not get hurt")

Race report - MEC Barrie Race FOUR (2016) - 15k

I absolutely love my tribe of #RunNinjas!

It's not only been a pleasure to get to know each of them and their engaging personalities, stories and trajectories, but also to be able to watch them become stronger, faster, more resilient athletes.

This weekend afforded another opportunity to watch the community of runners shine.

The MEC Barrie Race Series made its fourth stop of the year in Tudhope Park, Orillia - the first time that it's taken to the waterfront trail following the shores of Lake Couchiching.  With paths clearly marked for walkers, cyclists and runners it actually was a pretty near ideal locale for a race - and even on a gorgeous fall day such as the one we had (albeit quite chilly in the lead-up hours to the race) it wasn't too crowded and no one appeared to be put-out or put-off by the fact that a race was being conducted on this route.

I approached this race as essentially a training run in advance of my planned target fall marathon (still TBD) but also a good solid workout in advance of next weekend's pacing duties at The County Marathon (third year in a row).  My training plan had scheduled a 21k core workout involving a warm-up / 7k @ marathon pace (MP) / 90 sec. recovery / 7k @ half-marathon pace (HMP) / 90 sec. recovery / 7k @ pace of choice / cool down - and so I thought that I could weave this in nicely with the 15k race option for the morning.

Pre-race
Showing up about 90 min. in advance of the indicated 9:00 a.m. start gave me plenty of time to pick up my bib and chip, chat with a few of the race crew volunteers and then head out for the first chunk of my workout.  It was definitely brisk, but I knew that hitting 7k @ MP would keep me sufficiently warm, plus the sun was starting to peek up over the horizon which made a real difference in the air temperature.  The early miles also provided a sneak peek at the course route since this trail/path was new to me.

The plan was to conclude my first segment just in time to fall in the back of the pack of 15k runners as they crossed the startline timing mats - but through a bit of miscalculation and a slightly delayed send-off I wound up breaking into my second segment (7k @ HMP) a few minutes before we actually launched into the race.  All in all it still worked out ok as I still waited it out to cross the start line last.

The race
There wasn't a great deal of bobbing and weaving required to clear the slower 15k runners which I was pleasantly surprised by, and I'm sure that those runners appreciated not having someone brush right by their shoulders trying to scoot toward some clear space.  I scooted by my RunNinja pals Dave, Joy, Gillian, Crystal, Mariana, Lindsey, Laurie and Sonia while cheering them forward and managed to keep in HMP stride while working into the fifth spot of the 15k crowd.  One of the very cool things that I noted was that one of our youngest RunNinjas (Ryan, a grade 9 student) was tucked in the lead pack with two older runners and holding his own.  I wondered if I'd really been pushing myself in full-on 'race mode' whether or not I could have caught and dialed into the lead pack, but I was thrilled that Ryan was there to rep the RunNinjas!

As it worked out just after the 4k mark of the race I concluded my second segment so as planned I walked a 90 second recovery.  I was surprised that during that walking stretch no other 15k runners passed me, just a few of the 10k and 5k runners (with whom we'd intermingled after about the 3k point).  When it was time to switch into the third segment of my workout I decided to try to just ease it in at the planned pace-bunny MP for next week (5:00/km) to not overcook myself and still give my body a chance to get accustomed to the pace I'll want to hold at The County.  A kilometre into that third segment I had a 15k racer zip past looking strong - and while part of me felt like I really wanted to hunt him down the wiser part of me enjoyed the jogging effort and cheering other runners along as I continued to just cruise on through.

Look ma ... no feet!

Between the weather being quite brilliant and the lackadaisical pace I had a lot of fun out there.  I didn't end up picking anyone else off (at least from the 15k crowd) and enjoyed my way through to a 1:08:27 finish. 

Ryan ended up sticking in there for 3rd OA!

Post-race
But my day wasn't done ...

One of the fun things that I've made a habit of doing in the MEC races is heading back out to accompany some of the other RunNinjas across the line.  It's mostly a labour of love for me - I certainly hope that my friends don't find it demeaning or patronizing that I hustle along with them during the finishing stretches of their races.  I hope that I'm able to add a little somethin'-somethin' by way of encouragement, and not just end up being 'that guy' who photobombs all of their finish line photos.

Does it count as 'helping' if you can't keep up with them ... Gillian?!?

At the end of the day there were many great results to be celebrated - lots of PBs (Joy!!), overall/gender wins (Mike, Youjin) and age-group placings (Ryan, Sonia, Miranda, birthday-girl Shari, Crystal, Gillian, Lindsay, Laurie) ... and some 'honorary RunNinjas' also crushed their races (Eva, Emma-Joy, Darcy, David Collver, Glenn Barnes).  Basically everyone had a killer event!

We are family ... ♪ ♫ ♩ ♬ ♭ ♮ ♯

Once again congrats to MEC Barrie for organizing and hosting a superb race - it's no coincidence that MEC was just recognized as the #1 trusted brand by Canadians!

Thanks to all of my friends on and off the course for a fantastic day - and of course to Skechers Performance Canada for the killer orange kicks (GOMeb Speed 3 2016) that got shout-outs from runners and various passers-by all morning long!

Race report - MEC Barrie Race FOUR (2016) - 15k

Race report - 2016 Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon

Well, it all finally caught up with me. 

Despite putting in a full winter season's worth of training, I cannot honestly say that I arrived at the start line of the 2016 Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon healthy - and I paid for it.

The events surrounding the event were all great enough - being able to join Jim Willett as he wrapped up his #Marathon2Marathon escapade, sharing the race weekend with so many of my RunNinja compatriots, and participating in the largest and most prestigious race in our country (and at the nation's capital, no less).  But alas, the hopes and dreams of becoming a sub-3 hour marathoner were not to be for me.

 Our tribe of RunNinjas (aka "The Beautiful Freaks") - photo by Miranda Wade Cudmore

With the temperatures soaring well above 30°C (factoring in the humidex) the long walk from our cars to the expo in downtown Ottawa on Saturday afternoon (after having spent the entire previous day moving our home with the assistance of RunNinja friends) didn't help matters much.  While feeling mentally tough I tried to suppress the sensations of being physically depleted on Sunday morning.  I ran through the standard routine that I follow for any go at a serious race, including the pre-dawn shakeout run, solid breakfast, and arrival at the start/finish area with at least an hour to spare - and I must say that feeding off of the energy of the likes of RunNinjas Rob, Robert, Lewis, Rick, Mariana and Crystal made me feel like I might actually be able to pull off something decent.

Pre-race hopefulness ... photo by Crystal Oakley

There was an additional boost when I lined up in the Blue (anticipated sub-3:15 finish time) corral and not only met up with fellow Skechers Performance Ambassador Dave Liu (who was going for a 2:30ish gun time) but I was separated just by an arms length and a barrier tape from the elite athletes who were warming up in their cordoned-off front section.  Just being that close to so many great marathoners made me feel fast and ready ... I even tried to hype myself up by standing tall with my hands on my hips a la Amy Cuddy's TED talk.

But it was all for naught ...

With no 3:00 pacer I started out with the 3:05 pacer and immediately found that my legs were lumbering and heavy.  I managed to stick with this group for about the first 10k but then slowly found myself falling back, until the 16k mark (oh no - shades of the GoodLife Fitness Toronto Marathon!) when my right knee immediately went into full-out rebellion mode.  Pain radiated across the bottom of my kneecap and would buckle every time that I tried to open up my stride, and my pace fell from 4:25/km to 5:00/km. 

I continued to hobble my way forward with no ability to pick up any steam without incurring the wrath of my knee - all the way up to about the 22k mark where I decided that I needed to stop at the roadside medical tent to get some attention.  After a solid wrap I rejoined the fray (as best as a lame duck can) and continued to semi-limp along until all of the compensating that my left knee was doing finally ground to a halt and it gave way, radiating the same sort of pain transverse-wise from the bottom ridge of the patella.  Through some force of will I carried on one foot in front of the other (now clicking off 6:00+/km) until around 33k when a subsequent medical tent stop was made to tensor-up the now-aggravated left-knee.

It was quite a sight.  I even heard at least one onlooker comment "Look - both knees taped up" as I attempted to finish up the race.

The agony of defeat de-knees

What was perhaps the most frustrating was that my cardio was all there, and my muscles were feeling otherwise fine.  Even psychologically I was still with it, as at around the 38k mark I decided to give my regular finishing kick a go, managing to drop from 6:00/km to 4:27/km while weaving through the sea of humanity as full and half marathon runners merged down the finishing stretch along the Rideau Canal.

I crossed the finish line in a disheartening time (to me) - but was still able to celebrate so many victories by my fellow RunNinjas, including a number of PBs (including Mike's sub-3 BQ), first-time marathon finishes and the conclusion of Jim's east-to-west journey.

So what did I discover?

1. I'm pretty slow - I may have to rethink my potential to post a sub-3 marathon finish.
2. I'm pretty stoopid - for all the talk that I've spouted to others about taking appropriate rest and avoiding overtraining, I managed to blow straight through that stop sign.
3. I'm pretty tired - it's time to take a step back.  A mini off-season is long overdue, and will provide me with an opportunity to re-evaluate what I'm going to do with this running stuff in the future.  

For now, a hearty congratulations to all who toughed it out over the course of the Ottawa Race Weekend - you've earned a real 'pat' on the back (the inverse of what is depicted below, especially if my knee issues turn out to be chronic and not acute)!

Race gear for the 2016 Ottawa Marathon:

• Skechers Performance Division racerback singlet and split shorts
• Skechers GOMeb Speed 3 2016
• Polaroid PLD 3011/S sunglasses
• Running Room no-show socks
• Garmin Forerunner 305
• Louis Garneau LG1 energy gels
• KT Tape

Race report - 2016 Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon

Anticipating my first one-legged race

The weekend is almost here - and not just any weekend, but the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend.

I've been looking forward to being part of the biggest road running event in our country for a couple of reasons - first because it's the terminus of our RunNinjas sensei Jim's epic trek from the Fredericton Marathon to the Ottawa Marathon, and secondly because I'd targeted this marathon as my goal race for the spring season (in hopes of attaining a sub-3 hour finish).  Alas, the best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray ...

Jim is doing just fine, and managing to capture some fascinating people and experiences as part of a video documentary that he is compiling along his journey's route.  We RunNinjas are going to be over-the-moon to be able to reunite with him and celebrate this phenomenal and superhuman accomplishment!

On the other hand, I will have see what Sunday brings, and celebrate just being able to get to the starting line.

Since my last adventure running with my friend Nav at the GoodLife Fitness Toronto Marathon I've been battling some knee issues, and as I've discovered just recently a strain of the short head (lower part) of the biceps femoris.  Tenderness, weakness and pain led to me taking almost a full two weeks off immediately after the GoodLife Marathon and then resuming training/tapering with modest success.  As such I'll be heading into Ottawa with a bit of a busted wheel that will be taped up like Red Green had attacked it.

If that wasn't enough, the one thing that I've heard about racing in the Ottawa Marathon is that while the course itself might be conducive to decent finishing times, the ambient conditions may not ... and this weekend is shaping up to be a messy scorcher.

I've been heat training this week (layering up for workouts on even the warmest days) to try to acclimatize but I'm not sure whether or not it will have any significant benefit based on the projected forecast.

As such it will be a real roll of the dice in terms of how things turn out.  If there is a silver lining in this (thunder)cloud it could be that the one mitigating factor might benefit the other, as the heat seems to alleviate the tightness and pain that I have been feeling in my right knee.

I'll get to the start.  I'll be excited to be putting my fluorescent orange Skechers GOMeb Speed 2016 through their first race.  It'll be awesome to share the experience with all of my RunNinja tribe (some of whom I've helped coach in preparation for their first marathon) and reconnect with Jim.

One way or another, it will be a memorable weekend ...!

#GOlikeneverbefore #RunJimmiRun #RunNinjasCapitalTakeover

Anticipating my first one-legged race

(Brief) Race report - 2016 MEC Barrie Race ONE (5K)

It's MEC Race Series time again!

If you've read any of my other race reports you'll know that I hold these events in high regard because of how inexpensive yet excellently well-run they are as well as how they create an easy access point for runners and racers of all experience and ability levels.  If at all possible I try to make it to each of the local MEC Barrie races even if it means that I incorporate the race as part of the day's scheduled workout.

For the 2016 edition I resolved to try to tackle some of the shorter distances offered in each of the series events - one of the things that I've wanted to do is to try to increase my overall speed and so at the behest (okay, that might be a bit of a strong term ...) of our RunNinja sensei Jim I signed up to tackle the 5k option for Race One.  A number of the speediest RunNinjas also selected the 5k as their race of choice - including Mike, Rad, Mark, Robert, Trevor, Rick and James - which meant that we had a pretty decent chance of showing up on the podium but that I would be eating a lot of their dust.

The ambient temperature for race day was around -12°C with 25-30 kph winds making it feel more like a balmy -18°C.  I arrived about 90 min. before start time and managed to sneak in some warm-up miles with our resident RunNinja photojournalist Rob (who was running the 10k event) and Mark.  We scouted out the various points along the Barrie Waterfront trail where the wind would really factor into the equation as well as sneaking in the requisite pre-race potty stops.

We should have figured that the fact that the Speed River Timing crew had vehicle troubles and showed up later than expected might be a portent for things to come.  More on that later ...

All in all there was a great turnout for the event, and MASSIVE representation by the RunNinjas!  If we all had matching race kits (and it was about 20 degrees warmer!) everyone would be wondering where this running club came from.

The 5k race included unofficial 'corrals', as Chris (the race MC and general manager of MEC Barrie) called forward everyone who anticipated finishing the race in under 22 minutes toward the front of the starting chute.  Optimistically I wandered toward the start line timing mat thinking that (like the videos of Mo Farah that I'd watched the day before) I would try to tuck in to the rear of the lead group and follow them home, hopefully putting in a decent final kick to overtake a few competitors.

We're allowed to dream, aren't we?

While things started out reasonably well (with me holding to a 3:50/km pace) for the first bit, it came unraveled by about the 2km mark.  I was hoping to cruise comfortably for the first third of the race and push a bit in the second third, but that section of the course turned slightly uphill and my legs starting feeding back that I was still asking more of them than they were ready to deliver.  Even at the halfway-point turnaround there was little relief as the now-downhill section was counteracted by a discernible (and cold) headwind.  It took almost everything that I had to not lose complete sight of the lead pack and to stay on the heels of a female runner who had been plugging along for the first 3k with one shoelace untied and flapping dangerously around (I did let her know about it!).

Over the final 2k I tried to make a bit more of a push and passed the female runner ahead of me (only because she finally - and strangely - decided at around the 4k mark to stop and tie her shoe) but was passed by my pal Rad in the final 800m as he put on a burst that I couldn't match.  I wound up crossing the finish line in and around 20:25 - and if it sounds indecisive it's because the original results posting had me finishing somewhere in 30+ min.  It turns out that the timing chips were messed up for some of us, and even in the process of trying to rectify things the corrected results show me finishing ahead of Rad, which I know didn't happen.

On the plus side Mike and Robert both finished in the overall top three for the 5k distance (check the gun time) and five out of the top 10 spots were held by RunNinjas (seven of the top 15 if you factor in Trevor and Ricky's great results as well).  There were a lot of terrific performances out on the course, and I was privileged (as part of my cool-down run) to accompany RunNinja supreme Helen as she cleared 60 min. in her 10k race!

Robert and Mike, two speedy cats!

Helen crushing it!

It was another fine community running event hosted by MEC Barrie - I think that they cleared 350 registrants for this first race of the year, which is phenomenal!  This series is definitely growing in popularity and participation ... and hopefully we RunNinjas can continue to grow along with it!

Next up ... Race Two on the trails!

(Brief) Race report - 2016 MEC Barrie Race ONE (5K)