Just a week and a half until Pick Your Poison 50km, looking forward to it! Training has been going well, I feel great. I still struggle to get enough runs in, but I've compensated by going hard and doing stupid things while training: Wearing a 20lb weighted vest around the house doing sporatic exercises (haven't run in it yet), carrying my dumbells on runs, doing crazy exercises in odd places (you'd be surprised what you can do at your desk).
This morning I did the stairs for 25min with my 2 ten pound dumbells, it's getting much easier than it used to be. I remember the first time a few months ago when I did this, I had problems just moving across the 500 metres to get to the stairs! It's not running with the weight, it's my arms trying to hold up the weight. I thought I might have to start putting them in a backpack to get there. This morning, it was no problem running to and from the stairs with the weights at all. After 25min on the stairs, I ran back to drop off the weights, then ran another 5km feeling light as a feather! Dropping 20lbs instantly does wonders for you!
Last Saturday was the real kicker. I headed out to Sulpher to get a few loops in, I figured 40km if I was feeling up to it. I was curious to see how I'd feel on a long run with my 4lb dumbells. I ran the first 20km loop with them in 2h 10min, decent time on a trail with hills carrying weights. I grabbed some food from the car and decided I felt ok, so I brought them out with me for loop 2. There's a few spots where you run past the same point, I figured if it was too much then I'd just drop them and pick them up later. After about 30km, my arms weren't doing too bad but my knees were getting sore and my legs were tired (I usually bring Powerbar Gels and Electrolite pills for long runs, I'm haven't organized my shit this year and couldn't find either of them!). It was getting tough to run, but I stuck with it. Finished 40km with the weights in 4h 45min, I was exhausted by the end... Glad I did it though. Previously, the longest I'd carried the weights was 13km, this day I did an additional 27km.
Carrying the weights plays with my mind a little. I do feel lighter now when I run without them, my body is getting used to running 8lbs heavier. I was worried that running with them too often might mess up my form, but my form sucked anyway so it might actually be helping. It keeps me running at a slightly slower pace, so it stops me from taking big strides and landing on my heel. Also does great for my posterior chain (aka my ass), my lower back and hammies have to work a little harder to compensate for the weight I'm holding in front of me. I could put 8lbs in a pack or use a vest instead, but I really prefer the challenge and extra work of using my arms, great workout.
So, things are going well. A week and half to 50km of the hills of PYP, then a week later the 50 miles of hills at Bear Mountain. I really should take it easy at PYP and save myself for Bear, but it's always hard to do the when the race starts! Maybe some fellow runners will knock some sense into me. Or I bring the weights! No, I think they'll sit this one out...
Take Care,
Morgan
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Back to Running
Finally ran last night after exactly 3 weeks with no running. I was free last Saturday to run, but antibiotics were just starting to kick in and I didn't feel up to it. I feel fine now, so last night I headed out for a very hilly run with my two 4lb dumbells to make it a little tougher. I felt great after 3 weeks off! Some sore muscles and arms weren't used to the weights anymore, but after a few days it should all be fine. Time to step it up, less than 4 weeks to Pick Your Poison 50k and 5 until Bear Mountain 50 mile.
Being off for 3 weeks does have it's positive takeaways (everything does actually). It reminded me not to take being healthy for granted and to stay off my ass. It gave me time to reflect on training and how I'm doing things:
Short Runs: I haven't been doing fast road runs, been focusing on hilly trail runs with weights, stairs, or both. Maybe too much? There will be long flat or long incline/decline sections at Leadville, but my runs have been focusing on gnarly, hilly trail and stairs. I've been carrying dumbells on the trials, which adds to the difficulty and is much more taxing, but it does make the runs much slower. These are great, but maybe I should add in some more road or flat faster runs also.
Long Runs: What long runs? It's hard for me to fit them in, but I'll need to get creative and make sure to get more in going forward.
Nutrition: This is back on track. During my break, I attended a conference which meant 3 buffet meals a day, plus a drinkfest each night, not good. That was temporary, but I was also letting my regular nutriton slide, but I put a stop to that a week ago. No extra pounds will be coming with me to Colorado! In fact no extra pounds will be coming with me anywhere soon....
Strength Training: This had been going great pre-break, during my 3 weeks of stupidity I did none. Back at it now, but I need to focus more on running. There have been times during lunch at work when I'd hit the gym instead of running, I'll be more concious to run instead and do strength training at home with kids when I can't run. I bought a 20lb weighted vest the other day, I've been wearing it around the house while doing my usual pushups and squats, my kids think I'm nuts. They're usually right. I told my daughter I'm going to pick her up from school wearing the vest to embarass her, I think I scared her!
Races:
I looked into switching dates around so that I could do a 50 mile race in Ontario in May (either Seaton on May 12 or Sulpher on May 26), but my ex wasn't able to switch weekends with me due to her work functions. This meant the only option for me to do a 50 mile race would be Bear Mountain on May 5th. The actual race at Bear Mountain would be my pick out of the 3, but the timing is bad (1 week after Pick your Poison) and location is in the Catskills in NY, an 8hr drive which means a hotel and a day off work. No choice, so Bear Mountain it is. I signed up for it the other day, should be a fun trip as a few of us are going now. JD, Carlos, Steve and I have signed up for the adventure, still waiting on Chris to decide and possibly Kendra. Should be fun!
Not sure what to do about Pick Your Poison on Apr 28th yet. It's a hilly course, which is great, but being 1 week before Bear means I'll need to decide what distance to do. A smart person would opt for the 25k, so I'll likely do 50k and not run it too hard. Last year I signed up 3 days in advance, so I'll worry about it later.
Current Plan:
So, current plan is basically train as hard as I can right up until about 2 days prior to PYP, then take it easy during the week between the races, then go hard at Bear Mountain. With Bear being right at the beginning of May and no other races fitting into my schedule, I'll have 6 weeks until Mohican 100 on June 16th. Plenty o' time to rest, go hard for a few weeks and rest again before 100. So I guess everything is on track for now...
Morgan
Being off for 3 weeks does have it's positive takeaways (everything does actually). It reminded me not to take being healthy for granted and to stay off my ass. It gave me time to reflect on training and how I'm doing things:
Short Runs: I haven't been doing fast road runs, been focusing on hilly trail runs with weights, stairs, or both. Maybe too much? There will be long flat or long incline/decline sections at Leadville, but my runs have been focusing on gnarly, hilly trail and stairs. I've been carrying dumbells on the trials, which adds to the difficulty and is much more taxing, but it does make the runs much slower. These are great, but maybe I should add in some more road or flat faster runs also.
Long Runs: What long runs? It's hard for me to fit them in, but I'll need to get creative and make sure to get more in going forward.
Nutrition: This is back on track. During my break, I attended a conference which meant 3 buffet meals a day, plus a drinkfest each night, not good. That was temporary, but I was also letting my regular nutriton slide, but I put a stop to that a week ago. No extra pounds will be coming with me to Colorado! In fact no extra pounds will be coming with me anywhere soon....
Strength Training: This had been going great pre-break, during my 3 weeks of stupidity I did none. Back at it now, but I need to focus more on running. There have been times during lunch at work when I'd hit the gym instead of running, I'll be more concious to run instead and do strength training at home with kids when I can't run. I bought a 20lb weighted vest the other day, I've been wearing it around the house while doing my usual pushups and squats, my kids think I'm nuts. They're usually right. I told my daughter I'm going to pick her up from school wearing the vest to embarass her, I think I scared her!
Races:
I looked into switching dates around so that I could do a 50 mile race in Ontario in May (either Seaton on May 12 or Sulpher on May 26), but my ex wasn't able to switch weekends with me due to her work functions. This meant the only option for me to do a 50 mile race would be Bear Mountain on May 5th. The actual race at Bear Mountain would be my pick out of the 3, but the timing is bad (1 week after Pick your Poison) and location is in the Catskills in NY, an 8hr drive which means a hotel and a day off work. No choice, so Bear Mountain it is. I signed up for it the other day, should be a fun trip as a few of us are going now. JD, Carlos, Steve and I have signed up for the adventure, still waiting on Chris to decide and possibly Kendra. Should be fun!
Not sure what to do about Pick Your Poison on Apr 28th yet. It's a hilly course, which is great, but being 1 week before Bear means I'll need to decide what distance to do. A smart person would opt for the 25k, so I'll likely do 50k and not run it too hard. Last year I signed up 3 days in advance, so I'll worry about it later.
Current Plan:
So, current plan is basically train as hard as I can right up until about 2 days prior to PYP, then take it easy during the week between the races, then go hard at Bear Mountain. With Bear being right at the beginning of May and no other races fitting into my schedule, I'll have 6 weeks until Mohican 100 on June 16th. Plenty o' time to rest, go hard for a few weeks and rest again before 100. So I guess everything is on track for now...
Morgan
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Ooops.... Forgot I'm in Training!
Well, I'd planned to take a down week, that has somehow turned into 2 weeks of nothing! 2 weeks ago, I had my kids for the last few days of March Break and couldn't run. No biggie, I went hard leading up to it and had planned a mini-break/recovery week. After March Break, I had a business trip to Cancun for a few days with NO free time. I brought my running gear along, never left my suitcase. 3 days of buffet meals, no exercise. The one window of free time we had, my boss decides to have a meeting! It was a meeing over beers in the Mexico sun, so I wasn't complaining. When I got home, I then had the kids for the next 4 days, so again, no running!
I finally had some time Sunday evening, I had planned to head to Sulpher, but mid-day I felt slugginsh during a hike with my kids. We headed to the trails where I trained for HURT, I showed the kids the Stairway to Hell, the old steps I used to run up and down.
I finally had some time Sunday evening, I had planned to head to Sulpher, but mid-day I felt slugginsh during a hike with my kids. We headed to the trails where I trained for HURT, I showed the kids the Stairway to Hell, the old steps I used to run up and down.
My Kids Getting Ready for H.U.R.T. in 2022?
Anyway, I felt crappy so I decided I'd just run in Erindale Park and skip the drive all the way to Ancaster. Then a little while later when I dropped off the kids I felt even worse, now I'd decided I'll skip the run entirely and go for a bike ride instead. By the time I got back home, I was full on sick and I flopped on my bed and fell right to sleep at 5pm. Sick on Monday, stayed home from work, it's now Tuesday night and I'm still recovering but feeling pretty crappy. It's now been 2 full weeks with no runs, or exercise at all really. No exactly the plan.
I'll try to get back to it tomorrow. I've got the kids next few days, but I'll get some lunch runs in and get back to am and pm workouts. In my current condition I really don't feel up to it, hopefully tomorrow I can get back to it.
On to my next problem, upcoming races (which I don't feel ready for btw). Pick Your Poison 50km is 4 and a half weeks away. Sounds good, but I had hoped to do Seaton 50 mile 2 weeks after that, but due to scheduling looks like if I want to do a 50 mile in May, it will have to be the much tougher Bear Mountain. 2 problems here: It's 1 week after PYP, so I need to decide whether to skip PYP (which I was really looking forward to), or take it easy and do it with a back to back weekend of Bear Mountain right after it. The other deterrent is Bear Mountain is in Southeast NY State, 7 to 8hr drive away, which means a day off work, over night at hotel, blah, blah. Seaton would have been in Pickering 45 minutes away, could sleep in my own bed! So, no idea what I want to do now, but Bear Mountain will sell out soon so I need to make a decision. Ugh.
In the meantime, I better get back on the horse, already put on a few pounds in the last 2 weeks of nothingness.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Still winter....
Well, got some good training in last week. Started bringing 2 x 10lb weights with me to climb the stairs, did 20 minutes and almost passed out. Awesome. Got a good upper body workout in, got a good medium distance run on Wed night (15k) and a longer run on Sunday (33k).
Went out to Sulpher Springs on Sunday. It was all packed snow, but in the sunny areas it was a slush/mud mix. The shady areas were usually icy. I did the first 20k loop pretty hard, just over 2 hrs which is decent in these conditions. After that I was drenched with sweat and freezing! At the car I switched my wet shirts, hat and gloves for fresh clothing. I normally don't sweat that much in the winter by I ran hard.
I had planned to do another 20k loop, but I already arrived later than planned and I was heading up to Guelph right after the run to visit friends so I cut the 2nd loop short to 13k. I took my time and enjoyed it, stopped to take some pics of the local wildlife.
I went up and down JT hill 4 times, it was pretty much all ice. I'd have to grab trees on the way up and down to stay upright. On one of the descents, I slipped an fell back but landed with my hands behind me and slid, so the next time I did it on purpose. When I got to the iciest part, I squatted down with my hands behind me and slid down the hill, much safer than running down an ice hill! All in all, a good fun run.
Yesterday, I weighed myself for the first time in about 2 yrs, not sure why. I can tell just by my belt size that I've been carrying some extra insulation, but I was at 175! Last time I weighed myself (summer 2010) I was 165. I'll get to work and plan to be 165 at the most for Leadville. Carrying and extra 10lb for 100 miles in the mountains would not be smart. I won't wait for Leadville, I'll take care of this right away. So what did I do yesterday to get started? I took the day off of course and relaxed! I had planned to hit the gym at lunch but work got in the way. Then I planned to go for a light run in the evening, took a nap on the couch instead. Ok, start today! Work got in the way at lunch again, but I did hit the stairs this morning. I felt much better on the stairs, not even close to passing out! Running with the weights to and from the stairs was noticably easier too. Did 20 minutes again, but it went by fast, I'll increase the time soon.
I'm away on business Wednesday to Friday this week in Vancouver. I though I'd give the Grouse Grind a try, but then I remembered it's winter! I'm told it's closed, but forcast is rain the next few days and wouldn't be that enjoyable. I don't have much free time, so getting a run in is unlikely anyway. This will be a low mileage week, but I did 73km last week (compared to my usual 15k lately), so no biggie. I'll fit a long run in next weekend.
Look behind you!
Monday, February 20, 2012
And Here We Go.....
Well, 6 months from this week is Leadville. 4 months from now is Mohican. Nuff said. I've been easing into things, adding more trails, more weight sessions, eating better, but time to take it up a notch.
Saturday I had a great run, 20km in hilly slush. I went to Rouge Valley, but it was a snow/rain mix of crappiness. I'm still not used to the Rouge, I never seem to know which way I'm going. I was attempting to run north, which went well for a bit, but after 4km I wound up back where I started! Awesome. So off I went again, this time managing to head in the right direction. Very slow, very wet and some parts icy. The farther north I went away from the lake, the more it turned to snow instead of rain.
The fartherst point north I reached, I had to cut across someone's property to try and find a trail. This was a bad move, halfway across their property I suddenly heard a deep loud barking! I didn't even look, I just turned around and sprinted back, then across the field beside the property (still hearing barking behind me), then through the edge of the woods to a schoolyard I'd passed earlier. It had a fence with a gate, so I waited at the gate figuring if the dog was nuts enough to still be chasing me (now over 100 yards away from their property), then I'd close the gate and stay in the schoolyard. Well I waited a few seconds and didn't hear anything so I figured I was ok. I got impatient and re-entered the woods to head back south along the trail, the opposite way from the area of tresspassation (I just made that word up). Right away, I heard the dog barking RIGHT behind me!! WTF!?! I took off like a guy being chased by a dog in the woods, I went flying down the steep trail, actually hoping the dog might wipe out trying to chase me. I just kept sprinting like mad for a few minutes, I'd gone off the trail and made my own now, but eventually I couldn't hear the barking anymore. Great workout! On the way through this area earlier, I had noticed large dog foorprints in the snow, but there were no people prints to be found. Now I knew why, this hellhound must roam these woods eating people and covering their footprints.
Run went great, but due to getting lost and purposely heading off the main path in search of hillier trails, it was very slow taking almost 3hrs to do 20km. I managed to stay upright until the 19.2km mark, I slipped on my ass and back, sliding down a muddy hill.
Now back to the Joker, time to get to work. My first race is looking like Pick Your Poison, a 50km up near Orillia at the end of April so just over 2 months away. I did this one last year, but signed up a few days before the race without training so I'll do better this year. Lots of hills, good.
I also bought some 10lb weights to start hauling up and down the stairs. I'm going to skip right past the 5lb and just get right to it.
6 months and counting!!!!
Monday, February 13, 2012
2012 Plans and Leadville
Well, now that's it's Jan 1st....wait...I mean Feb 13th, I should start laying out my plan for the year. It basically revolves around Leadville 100, The Race Across the Sky.
Back in December, I was tinkering with my plans for 2012 trying to decide what to do. Last year I didn't make plans until the spring and by then all of the races I looked at were sold out. This year I have bigger plans, so I knew I had to get on it by Jan 1st. I had enough qualifying points for UTMB in France, but I thought I should get an altitude race under my belt first, plus this would be a huge expense.... maybe next year. The thought of Hardrock briefly crossed my mind, but it's a little over my head (not that that would stop me). Then I noticed the lottery and registration closed in early December, so that was out of the picture. Back in November I put my name in the lottery for Western States, but didn't get in. So 2 other races on my list are Leadville and the Canadian Death Race. CDR is only 125km, but it's got some altitude and is a tough race. The problem is, it's a logistical nightmare. It's in a small town about 6hrs west of Edmonton, with all hotels already sold out (there's something like 1300 runners, and like 3 hotels). Leadville is about 2.5hrs west of Denver, has something like 300 runners, plus this is way higher on my list anyway, so we have a winner!
Here's weird part: Once I made my decision, the first thing I did when I got up on Jan 1st was sign up for Leadville. Actually, first I peed, then signed up for Leadville. I might have had breakfast first too. Well, sometime on Jan 1st, relativily early, I signed up for Leadville. I had emailed a bunch of hotels in the weeks prior, so I'd know if there was even any space to book a room as everything seemed sold out. On Jan 3rd, I called a B&B that had room and grabbed one. I wanted to print up a logo for Leadville as a motivational reminder, so I went to Google images to look for one. When I saw a Leadville logo and clicked on it, I was taken to a blog, which turned out to be Chris' blog! Chris was one of the runners I went to Oil Creek with in Oct. I checked his blog to see why he had a Leadville logo, turns out he, Steve, JD and others had all signed up for Leadville back in Nov! This was great, I was totally planning to go alone and now these guys would be going too. I emailed Chris to let him know that I was going and where I was staying. Then a few minutes later JD sends Chris an email to say he just got a call from a hotel they were waitisted at and they were now confirmed, it's 1 block from where I'm staying. A weird series of events; I went from going to Leadville by myself staying at a B&B to now having a bunch of others I know there, 1 block away. In addition to Chris, Steve and JD, also going will be Carlos and Kendra. I haven't met them but I'm sure we'll recognize each other from the OUS races. By Jan 5th, the race had sold out.
LEADVILLE 100 Trail Race:
Leadville has always been at the back of my mind since I got into running. Before I'd even run a 50 mile race, I read the book 'Born to Run', and in the mille of the book there's a recount of running Leadville and I was smitten. This is a race with lots of history going back to the beginning of modern ultrarunning (notice I threw in 'modern', I'm sure people ran great distances to escape sabre tooth tigers and invading aliens thousands of years ago). It's starts at 10,200 feet in the town of Leadville Colorado, drops down to a low point of 9,200 feet before climbing up to 13,600 feet. It's an out-and-back course, so once you're done the first 50 miles, you get to do it all again in the dark!
THE PLAN:
Oh shit. I need a plan. Basically, I'll likely run a 50 miler at either Seaton or Sulpher in May, then Mohican 100 in June, then I'll have 2 months to recover for Leadville in August. I thought Chris, Steve and JD would be running Mohican 100 also, as some of them have some unfinished business there from last year, but they have switched to Laurel Highlands 70 mile instead. Doing Laurel would be the smarter choice, so I'll make the dumber choice. Laurel is 1 week earlier, so it's an extra week to recover, plus it's 70 miles as opposed to 100 miles. Mohican is hilly and I'm told can get very hot (as it did last year). My son's birthday is the weekend of Laurel, so no choice here. I am a little worried about recovering enough or getting injured, but really I could trip off a curb and get hit by a rickshaw tomorrow, so I'm not going to worry about the race or rickshaws. I'll also do the usual Ontario Ultra Series races, mostly 50kms, during this time.
TRAINING:
Better start! 6 months sounds like a long way off, but Mohican is only 4 months. Unlike Oil Creek last year which I was grossly undertrained for, I plan to be in top shape for Leadville. If not, this race will kick my ass and I won't finish. I'll revert back to my HURT training, lots of hills and stairs, weight training and maybe a little running here and there.
Running:
As usual, my schedule makes any high mileage plan a challenge, so my shorter runs will be much more intense to make up for the lack of mileage. I'll stick to mostly trails with lots of hills. I'll need to get some interval and tempo runs in to increase my V02 max, as this is really the only way to prepare for running at altitude when I'm at sea level.
Stairs:
The race reports and blogs I've read on Leadville have me dreading the big climb up Hope Pass, lots of stairs are in order. I'll do like I did for HURT, I'll progress to carrying weights up and down the stairs with me.
Strength Training:
I'll step this up big time. Basically 2 upper body sessions per week, 1 leg session (or 2 if I missed any stair workouts). Core gets thown into both workouts. Untracked will be lots of pushups, pullups, squats and crunches thrown in during spare time.
Cross Training:
Lots of stationary bike when I have the kids, I'll start using the pool at the gym, mountainbiking once the snow melts, hiking, and soccer starts in May.
NEPA (non excersise physical activity):
Do everything the hard way. Take the stairs, lots of time on my feet, stay active. My daughter hasn't walked up the stairs recently, she just stands at the bottom and says 'Leadville', then I carry her up. She turns 8 this week, keeps getting heavier!
Nutrition:
I had a combo at Harvey's the other day, consisted of a grilled chicken burger on whole wheat bun, salad as the side and apple juice to drink. Need I say more? A little while back I started to look into superfoods, this was more in an effort to just eat even better than I already do, mainly for health reasons. Each day is filled with lots of fruit and veggies, lean meat, green tea, healthy nuts, Acai juice, fish oil, flax oil and a multivitamin. I've even stopped drinking diet soda, because really what the hell is aspartame anyway? Lots of juice and water instead. As usual, protien shakes after each workout or run. I don't plan to be carrying ANY extra weight up and down the mountiains in Colorado if I don't have to.
Motivation:
Not a problem, I'm super excited to do this race. I just finished re-reading 'Born to Run', now I want to do this race more than ever. My kids know all about it and are excited too. They have been trained to just say 'Leadville' whenever they think I'm being lazy. I've printed Leadville logos for the fridge and at work. I've got a Leadville course map on the wall at work along with an elevation chart. I've also printed a huge 4ft high course map which I hung in my living room, my girlfriend is not impressed with my decorating taste.
LET'S BOOGIE!!:
Well, let's do this! I know when I trained for HURT, I was SO focused and determined that I was mentally done a few weeks before the race. That was only for a few months, so I'll have to be careful not to burn out as I've still got 6 months to go. I'll enjoy it, get some runs in with the other runners. It will be nice to chat about training for the same race, never done it before alongside other runners, should be interesting but also we can motivate each other.
My main concerns that I'll keep researching more are running at altitude, the water crossings, and the drastic temperature changes. I'll chat with others about it to get their perspective.
Take care,
Morgan
Back in December, I was tinkering with my plans for 2012 trying to decide what to do. Last year I didn't make plans until the spring and by then all of the races I looked at were sold out. This year I have bigger plans, so I knew I had to get on it by Jan 1st. I had enough qualifying points for UTMB in France, but I thought I should get an altitude race under my belt first, plus this would be a huge expense.... maybe next year. The thought of Hardrock briefly crossed my mind, but it's a little over my head (not that that would stop me). Then I noticed the lottery and registration closed in early December, so that was out of the picture. Back in November I put my name in the lottery for Western States, but didn't get in. So 2 other races on my list are Leadville and the Canadian Death Race. CDR is only 125km, but it's got some altitude and is a tough race. The problem is, it's a logistical nightmare. It's in a small town about 6hrs west of Edmonton, with all hotels already sold out (there's something like 1300 runners, and like 3 hotels). Leadville is about 2.5hrs west of Denver, has something like 300 runners, plus this is way higher on my list anyway, so we have a winner!
Here's weird part: Once I made my decision, the first thing I did when I got up on Jan 1st was sign up for Leadville. Actually, first I peed, then signed up for Leadville. I might have had breakfast first too. Well, sometime on Jan 1st, relativily early, I signed up for Leadville. I had emailed a bunch of hotels in the weeks prior, so I'd know if there was even any space to book a room as everything seemed sold out. On Jan 3rd, I called a B&B that had room and grabbed one. I wanted to print up a logo for Leadville as a motivational reminder, so I went to Google images to look for one. When I saw a Leadville logo and clicked on it, I was taken to a blog, which turned out to be Chris' blog! Chris was one of the runners I went to Oil Creek with in Oct. I checked his blog to see why he had a Leadville logo, turns out he, Steve, JD and others had all signed up for Leadville back in Nov! This was great, I was totally planning to go alone and now these guys would be going too. I emailed Chris to let him know that I was going and where I was staying. Then a few minutes later JD sends Chris an email to say he just got a call from a hotel they were waitisted at and they were now confirmed, it's 1 block from where I'm staying. A weird series of events; I went from going to Leadville by myself staying at a B&B to now having a bunch of others I know there, 1 block away. In addition to Chris, Steve and JD, also going will be Carlos and Kendra. I haven't met them but I'm sure we'll recognize each other from the OUS races. By Jan 5th, the race had sold out.
LEADVILLE 100 Trail Race:
Leadville has always been at the back of my mind since I got into running. Before I'd even run a 50 mile race, I read the book 'Born to Run', and in the mille of the book there's a recount of running Leadville and I was smitten. This is a race with lots of history going back to the beginning of modern ultrarunning (notice I threw in 'modern', I'm sure people ran great distances to escape sabre tooth tigers and invading aliens thousands of years ago). It's starts at 10,200 feet in the town of Leadville Colorado, drops down to a low point of 9,200 feet before climbing up to 13,600 feet. It's an out-and-back course, so once you're done the first 50 miles, you get to do it all again in the dark!
THE PLAN:
Oh shit. I need a plan. Basically, I'll likely run a 50 miler at either Seaton or Sulpher in May, then Mohican 100 in June, then I'll have 2 months to recover for Leadville in August. I thought Chris, Steve and JD would be running Mohican 100 also, as some of them have some unfinished business there from last year, but they have switched to Laurel Highlands 70 mile instead. Doing Laurel would be the smarter choice, so I'll make the dumber choice. Laurel is 1 week earlier, so it's an extra week to recover, plus it's 70 miles as opposed to 100 miles. Mohican is hilly and I'm told can get very hot (as it did last year). My son's birthday is the weekend of Laurel, so no choice here. I am a little worried about recovering enough or getting injured, but really I could trip off a curb and get hit by a rickshaw tomorrow, so I'm not going to worry about the race or rickshaws. I'll also do the usual Ontario Ultra Series races, mostly 50kms, during this time.
TRAINING:
Better start! 6 months sounds like a long way off, but Mohican is only 4 months. Unlike Oil Creek last year which I was grossly undertrained for, I plan to be in top shape for Leadville. If not, this race will kick my ass and I won't finish. I'll revert back to my HURT training, lots of hills and stairs, weight training and maybe a little running here and there.
Running:
As usual, my schedule makes any high mileage plan a challenge, so my shorter runs will be much more intense to make up for the lack of mileage. I'll stick to mostly trails with lots of hills. I'll need to get some interval and tempo runs in to increase my V02 max, as this is really the only way to prepare for running at altitude when I'm at sea level.
Stairs:
The race reports and blogs I've read on Leadville have me dreading the big climb up Hope Pass, lots of stairs are in order. I'll do like I did for HURT, I'll progress to carrying weights up and down the stairs with me.
Strength Training:
I'll step this up big time. Basically 2 upper body sessions per week, 1 leg session (or 2 if I missed any stair workouts). Core gets thown into both workouts. Untracked will be lots of pushups, pullups, squats and crunches thrown in during spare time.
Cross Training:
Lots of stationary bike when I have the kids, I'll start using the pool at the gym, mountainbiking once the snow melts, hiking, and soccer starts in May.
NEPA (non excersise physical activity):
Do everything the hard way. Take the stairs, lots of time on my feet, stay active. My daughter hasn't walked up the stairs recently, she just stands at the bottom and says 'Leadville', then I carry her up. She turns 8 this week, keeps getting heavier!
Nutrition:
I had a combo at Harvey's the other day, consisted of a grilled chicken burger on whole wheat bun, salad as the side and apple juice to drink. Need I say more? A little while back I started to look into superfoods, this was more in an effort to just eat even better than I already do, mainly for health reasons. Each day is filled with lots of fruit and veggies, lean meat, green tea, healthy nuts, Acai juice, fish oil, flax oil and a multivitamin. I've even stopped drinking diet soda, because really what the hell is aspartame anyway? Lots of juice and water instead. As usual, protien shakes after each workout or run. I don't plan to be carrying ANY extra weight up and down the mountiains in Colorado if I don't have to.
Motivation:
Not a problem, I'm super excited to do this race. I just finished re-reading 'Born to Run', now I want to do this race more than ever. My kids know all about it and are excited too. They have been trained to just say 'Leadville' whenever they think I'm being lazy. I've printed Leadville logos for the fridge and at work. I've got a Leadville course map on the wall at work along with an elevation chart. I've also printed a huge 4ft high course map which I hung in my living room, my girlfriend is not impressed with my decorating taste.
LET'S BOOGIE!!:
Well, let's do this! I know when I trained for HURT, I was SO focused and determined that I was mentally done a few weeks before the race. That was only for a few months, so I'll have to be careful not to burn out as I've still got 6 months to go. I'll enjoy it, get some runs in with the other runners. It will be nice to chat about training for the same race, never done it before alongside other runners, should be interesting but also we can motivate each other.
My main concerns that I'll keep researching more are running at altitude, the water crossings, and the drastic temperature changes. I'll chat with others about it to get their perspective.
Take care,
Morgan
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Bahamas Marathon
Working in the travel industry, sometimes there are fam trips (familiarization trips, now you've made me type the whole thing), which are cheap tours for travel industry people to go on and pretend to be interested in a destination to get a cheap trip. Recently, I pretended to be interested in the Bahamas! For any of the organizers reading this, I'm kidding of course. I'm very interested in Bermuda.... I mean Bahamas....
A few months ago, a fam trip came up which included a trip to the Bahamas and entry to the Bahamas Marathon. I actually saw this last year, but H.U.R.T. 100 is the same weekend so I was a little busy. This year, it fit into my schedule. When I signed up back in October, I thought this would be a good opportunity to re-learn how to run fast again. I haven't done an actual road marathon since Boston almost 2 years ago. Doing ultramarathons since then has been at a much slower pace, so I thought I'll do some speedwork for a few months and nail this thing, then I'll start the season with a new found speed to go with my endurance... Well, that plan went in the crapper.
It started off fine enough in November, I was picking up the pace on my runs and planning to do much more, but then disaster struck. Well not really, I was just being lazy and not putting the effort in. It was still on my to-do list though, but then I got a wicked sinus infection for the first 3 weeks of December and I couldn't run, felt like crap the whole time. Then along came Christmas and holidays..... the sun was in my eyes.... the dog ate my homework..... I'm on my period..... etc. How many excuses am I allowed to use? It's my own fault, I just couldn't get myself up for this one, plus I was still enjoying my break after Oil Creek 100 in October. So, then along came January. I'd run a little here and there through Dec and Jan, but only about 10k per week! I am indeed the King of Training Wrong...
Snow's a Comin', Let's Get Outta Here...
I went to the airport Thursday morning to meet the group. I relaxed in a chair and started re-read 'Born to Run', the book I'd read almost 2 yrs ago before doing my first 50 miler. I have a big race coming up in August, there's a portion of this book where they're running it also, so I thought I'd read it again now that I'm signed up, more on that later.
At the gate I met our organizer Annie and the 13 other runners. Annie said to me 'So you're our marathoner'.... Huh? It turned out I was the only one running the marathon! Most of the others were doing a 5k, I guess they really did want a cheap trip! Why didn't I think of that? Annie was running a half marathon, plus Diane was walking the half, the others were doing 5k. One of the 5k runners (Sue) convinced 3 more runners to get together and do the marathon as a relay instead. Jose, Carole and Danielle all agreed so Annie would contact the race organizers and have them switched to the relay instead later. Annie handed out our race shirts, we were sponsoring Yellowbird to raise money for a school in Exuma, Bahamas. They were bright yellow cotton shir.... wait, cotton? Better remember to put band-aids over my nipples before the race...
Flight was great, had an empty seat beside me and I slept the whole way. First time on Westjet, they were very friendly and I have no complaints. Except for no free beer. And $5.99 to watch a movie. And no free food. Ahhh, those are more like observations, not complaints. I actually just wanted to sleep anyway.
Pre-Race Nutrition and Training:
Leading up to the race, nutrition consisted of beer. Training consisted of getting up to go order a beer if there wasn't anyone else around to do it. Oh yeah, I'm gonna rock this race. We stayed at the Sheraton, had a nice dinner hosted by the hotel on Thursday night. I hit the casino later on, I left after raking in about $15. Friday, we flew to Great Exuma for the day to visit Sandals. We were supposed to do an island tour, but that was cancelled so we arranged to go snorkelling instead. Had a blast, great weather, lots of drinks (sticking to my pre-race nutrition plan). We flew back to Nassau that evening, then that night a bunch of us went out to Senor Frogs' for late dinner and dancing (I still don't know what the Dougie is). Got right back on the nutrition plan, ordering beers by the bucket!
Saturday, we went to visit Atlantis for breakfast and a tour. I slept in while the 5k suckers had to be in the lobby by 5am for a ride to their race! Wait, that will be me on Sunday... Turns out they messed up the start time and went an hour early! Atlantis was huge, the tour took us over 2 days (2hrs, felt like 2 days). Apparently they cut it short, it was even longer last year. One girl got to skip out because she was going scuba diving... I always knew if I'd learned to scuba dive it would come in handy someday, dammit!
Saturday night we had a dinner hosted by the Hilton. Normally I'd be happy to have a buffet meal the night before a race, but it was seafood night! I didn't want to eat anything funky and have stomach issues in the morning, so I stuck to some noodles... and beer. Normally I don't have any alcohol the night before a race, but this thing was shot anyway, so what the hell. Only had a few.
When we got back to the hotel at about 10pm, I still hadn't got around to getting any food for breakfast in the morning. Gotta have my Mr. Noodles! Jose needed something too, so we took take a taxi to the nearest grocery store. $20 round trip (Jose talked her down from $25), so we each paid 10 bucks and I got my 59 cent Mr. Noodles....
Back in my room by 1030pm to get a decent sleep before the race, but I couldn't sleep. I haven't had a full work week since before Christmas, I'm still used to going to bed late so I was messed up. Finally turned off the TV at 1230am, then dozed off a bit after that...
Race Day!
Up at 3:45am after a 3hr nap, good plan. Had a coffee, granola bar and banana, then ate my Mr. Noodles while sitting in the tub soaking my legs in hot water to loosen them up. Got dressed and taped up my shins, not even sure if I need to anymore but it helps keep the calf cramps at bay longer. Met in the lobby at 5am for our ride to the start. Annie and Diane were doing the half, plus Sue and Carole who were doing the first 2 legs of the relay all jumped on the bus. There were a lot of other runners in the lobby waiting for a shuttle, but our group had our own private driver Bubba all weekend (picture what you think a guy named Bubba would look like, and you're correct). Ok, so we're at the start by 5:15am, I think we left early enough to avoid any Bahamian traffic jams. It was a little chilly, so we hung out in the lobby of the Hilton a few blocks away to stay warm. Just before 6am, we headed over to the start.
Now that I'm about to start a marathon, let's just recap what's going on here: I haven't trained since, well, October really. I haven't run a road race since last June. I'm wearing new shoes I haven't worn in yet. I'm carrying some extra 'body insulation' from my lazy winter, not really necessary in the Bahamas! I've been hitting the beers way too much over the last few days, including last night. I slept 3 hrs last night. What am I even doing here?... Oh yeah, it was a cheap trip.
And We're Off!
6am, go! I just kept a steady pace in the crowd for the first while. We start downtown, then head over a bridge to Paradise island, then back across another bridge. We then head east for a bit, before turning back west, passing though downtown and then following the north shore heading westward. I passed by one of our relay runners Carole, she was waiting for Sue to arrive so she could go. There were barely any aid stations for the first while, but really they weren't needed yet. I wore my smaller belt with 2 small bottles filled with Eload, also brought along Powerbar gels, some Clif Shot Blocks and as usual my salt and electrolyte pills. Without training, cramping up would be inevitable but I was doing everything I could to delay it. Flat ground or explosive movements seem to set off my calf cramps. I can run a hilly course for 35hrs without cramping, but can't get through a 1.5hr soccer game without them seizing up. Or a marathon for that matter! I was feeling pretty good at this point....
The sun came up behind us just after we left downtown. It was a beautiful morning running beside the ocean. We had a big wind pushing us from behind, this was not going to be fun on the way back! My quads were already getting sore and I still had a few hours to go. A little while later I passed by Danielle, she was waiting for Carole to arrive. The long, straight, flat runs were getting to me, I'm so used to twisting and turning trails. I'm also used to chatting with fellow runners and knowing the aid station people, marathons are different as it's basically a huge group of people running in silence. So, I started to liven things up a bit, I'd say hello to runners I passed, or I'd give words of encouragement to people who passed me. I started saying good morning to spectators, they always seemed to be caught off guard and surprised. "Look, they can talk!"
I got to the halfway point at 1hr 45min, this is right about where I thought I'd be. Heading out toward the turnaround, I passed the final relay runner Jose, then passed him again after we turned around. This meant I had about 12k to the finish, I'll just keep plugging along. Shortly after that I passed Danielle heading the other way, she was looking strong on her way to Jose. My pace had slowed a bit, now I noticed I was really getting hungry. I'm used to the aid stations at ultras which are stocked with lots of solid food, but here there was just some gels! I hadn't though of this ahead of time, otherwise I would have packed some munchies. The closest thing I had to food was a pack of Clif Shot Blocks (basically big square gummie bears), so I ate that but it didn't help.
Things were starting to go downhill now (not literally, I wish). Headwind was strong, flat roads went on forever and I was really hungry. My forearms had cramped up and legs were twitching getting ready to cramp. Food would reeeeealy help right now. If I see a kid on the side eating a candy bar, I'm taking it. I put my head down to avoid looking way, way down the road and just kept going. This wasn't a problem, I've been though mental challenges on a run a thousand times tougher than this, but I just wasn't enjoying myself.
Cheer Up Dummy
Then, I looked up and saw the light blue ocean beside me and I put things in perspective. I'm in the friggin' Bahamas! It's a beautiful day, sun is shining, there's no snow. I get to go for a leisurely run along the shore. The people at all of the aid stations were so friendly and supportive, they made it a great atmosphere. I've tanked the race before it began, so there's no pressure here, just have fun. Well, at least keep it under 4hrs dumbass, this ain't a birdwatching stroll.
What To Do After a Marathon?
Go on another hotel site inspection of course! We got back to the Sheraton just before 11:30am, we had to be back in the lobby at 12:30 to walk to another hotel for a tour and lunch! It was Breezes which is just down the street, not a problem but my quads were not very happy. Hotel was nice, great location and great beach. This is actually where the fam stayed last year. The tour was quick, then it was time for a very welcome buffet lunch! Plus more beer.
That afternoon, it was time relax. Some of us walked along the beach on the way back, the sand felt nicer than walking on any more concrete! A few of us spent the afternoon with drinks by the pool, followed by drinks on the beach. I didn't leave time for a nap, I had to go change as we were off to visit another hotel for.... wait for it..... a site inspection! This one was welcome, it was at Sandals Royal Bahamian, a beautiful property and not too big so tour was brief. We then sat down for a great dinner on a covered patio. After dinner, they said we were welcome to spend the evening at Sandals and enjoy ourselves. A few of us went to the piano bar for awhile. Let me tell you, if you've never got hammered and joined in on some tunes at a piano bar, I highly recommend it! From what I recall, my singing was spot on... Jose on the other hand.... I don't even know how to describe the sounds he was making, I think he was trying to bring back the Fat Boys.
We seranaded all of the Sandals guests until midnight when the piano bar closed. What was that? Another bar on the property is open until 3am? On we go... We ordered more food and many beers. We had a great time joking with staff all night, maybe they found it refreshing to have a fun drunk group around instead of just couples (who were all in bed by midnight, we may have kept them up though). Eventually, even the staff left. We attempted to leave the property with our beverages at 3am, but the guard at the gate stopped us, busted! Then he said 'Let me put those in plastic cups for you!' Great! We then wandered back down the street to our hotel. Our Bubba back to the airport was at 1030am the next morning, thank goodness got to sleep in.
Trip was great, company was great, got to meet a lot of good people and had a great time. The fam was very well organized, good job Annie! Bahamas was beautiful, I plan to go back again and see more of the island and less hotels next time. Lots of new hotels popping up soon, lots of development going on...
Next?
Glad I got that out of the way, you won't find me on a road again anytime soon! I'll do another post shortly with my plans for 2012, but it basically revolves around Leadville 100 Mile Trail Race, aka 'The Race Across the Sky'. It's in the Colorado Rockies, starts at an elevation of 10,200 feet. It's not until August, so until then I'll do the usual Ontario Ultra Series races and fit another 100 miler in before then to get ready, likely Mohican 100 in June.
To all of my fellow runners from the Bahamas, good job! It was great to meet you all, I hope you all enjoyed yourself as much as I did!
Take Care,
Morgan
A few months ago, a fam trip came up which included a trip to the Bahamas and entry to the Bahamas Marathon. I actually saw this last year, but H.U.R.T. 100 is the same weekend so I was a little busy. This year, it fit into my schedule. When I signed up back in October, I thought this would be a good opportunity to re-learn how to run fast again. I haven't done an actual road marathon since Boston almost 2 years ago. Doing ultramarathons since then has been at a much slower pace, so I thought I'll do some speedwork for a few months and nail this thing, then I'll start the season with a new found speed to go with my endurance... Well, that plan went in the crapper.
It started off fine enough in November, I was picking up the pace on my runs and planning to do much more, but then disaster struck. Well not really, I was just being lazy and not putting the effort in. It was still on my to-do list though, but then I got a wicked sinus infection for the first 3 weeks of December and I couldn't run, felt like crap the whole time. Then along came Christmas and holidays..... the sun was in my eyes.... the dog ate my homework..... I'm on my period..... etc. How many excuses am I allowed to use? It's my own fault, I just couldn't get myself up for this one, plus I was still enjoying my break after Oil Creek 100 in October. So, then along came January. I'd run a little here and there through Dec and Jan, but only about 10k per week! I am indeed the King of Training Wrong...
Snow's a Comin', Let's Get Outta Here...
I went to the airport Thursday morning to meet the group. I relaxed in a chair and started re-read 'Born to Run', the book I'd read almost 2 yrs ago before doing my first 50 miler. I have a big race coming up in August, there's a portion of this book where they're running it also, so I thought I'd read it again now that I'm signed up, more on that later.
At the gate I met our organizer Annie and the 13 other runners. Annie said to me 'So you're our marathoner'.... Huh? It turned out I was the only one running the marathon! Most of the others were doing a 5k, I guess they really did want a cheap trip! Why didn't I think of that? Annie was running a half marathon, plus Diane was walking the half, the others were doing 5k. One of the 5k runners (Sue) convinced 3 more runners to get together and do the marathon as a relay instead. Jose, Carole and Danielle all agreed so Annie would contact the race organizers and have them switched to the relay instead later. Annie handed out our race shirts, we were sponsoring Yellowbird to raise money for a school in Exuma, Bahamas. They were bright yellow cotton shir.... wait, cotton? Better remember to put band-aids over my nipples before the race...
Flight was great, had an empty seat beside me and I slept the whole way. First time on Westjet, they were very friendly and I have no complaints. Except for no free beer. And $5.99 to watch a movie. And no free food. Ahhh, those are more like observations, not complaints. I actually just wanted to sleep anyway.
Pre-Race Nutrition and Training:
Leading up to the race, nutrition consisted of beer. Training consisted of getting up to go order a beer if there wasn't anyone else around to do it. Oh yeah, I'm gonna rock this race. We stayed at the Sheraton, had a nice dinner hosted by the hotel on Thursday night. I hit the casino later on, I left after raking in about $15. Friday, we flew to Great Exuma for the day to visit Sandals. We were supposed to do an island tour, but that was cancelled so we arranged to go snorkelling instead. Had a blast, great weather, lots of drinks (sticking to my pre-race nutrition plan). We flew back to Nassau that evening, then that night a bunch of us went out to Senor Frogs' for late dinner and dancing (I still don't know what the Dougie is). Got right back on the nutrition plan, ordering beers by the bucket!
Saturday, we went to visit Atlantis for breakfast and a tour. I slept in while the 5k suckers had to be in the lobby by 5am for a ride to their race! Wait, that will be me on Sunday... Turns out they messed up the start time and went an hour early! Atlantis was huge, the tour took us over 2 days (2hrs, felt like 2 days). Apparently they cut it short, it was even longer last year. One girl got to skip out because she was going scuba diving... I always knew if I'd learned to scuba dive it would come in handy someday, dammit!
Saturday night we had a dinner hosted by the Hilton. Normally I'd be happy to have a buffet meal the night before a race, but it was seafood night! I didn't want to eat anything funky and have stomach issues in the morning, so I stuck to some noodles... and beer. Normally I don't have any alcohol the night before a race, but this thing was shot anyway, so what the hell. Only had a few.
When we got back to the hotel at about 10pm, I still hadn't got around to getting any food for breakfast in the morning. Gotta have my Mr. Noodles! Jose needed something too, so we took take a taxi to the nearest grocery store. $20 round trip (Jose talked her down from $25), so we each paid 10 bucks and I got my 59 cent Mr. Noodles....
Back in my room by 1030pm to get a decent sleep before the race, but I couldn't sleep. I haven't had a full work week since before Christmas, I'm still used to going to bed late so I was messed up. Finally turned off the TV at 1230am, then dozed off a bit after that...
Race Day!
Up at 3:45am after a 3hr nap, good plan. Had a coffee, granola bar and banana, then ate my Mr. Noodles while sitting in the tub soaking my legs in hot water to loosen them up. Got dressed and taped up my shins, not even sure if I need to anymore but it helps keep the calf cramps at bay longer. Met in the lobby at 5am for our ride to the start. Annie and Diane were doing the half, plus Sue and Carole who were doing the first 2 legs of the relay all jumped on the bus. There were a lot of other runners in the lobby waiting for a shuttle, but our group had our own private driver Bubba all weekend (picture what you think a guy named Bubba would look like, and you're correct). Ok, so we're at the start by 5:15am, I think we left early enough to avoid any Bahamian traffic jams. It was a little chilly, so we hung out in the lobby of the Hilton a few blocks away to stay warm. Just before 6am, we headed over to the start.
Now that I'm about to start a marathon, let's just recap what's going on here: I haven't trained since, well, October really. I haven't run a road race since last June. I'm wearing new shoes I haven't worn in yet. I'm carrying some extra 'body insulation' from my lazy winter, not really necessary in the Bahamas! I've been hitting the beers way too much over the last few days, including last night. I slept 3 hrs last night. What am I even doing here?... Oh yeah, it was a cheap trip.
And We're Off!
6am, go! I just kept a steady pace in the crowd for the first while. We start downtown, then head over a bridge to Paradise island, then back across another bridge. We then head east for a bit, before turning back west, passing though downtown and then following the north shore heading westward. I passed by one of our relay runners Carole, she was waiting for Sue to arrive so she could go. There were barely any aid stations for the first while, but really they weren't needed yet. I wore my smaller belt with 2 small bottles filled with Eload, also brought along Powerbar gels, some Clif Shot Blocks and as usual my salt and electrolyte pills. Without training, cramping up would be inevitable but I was doing everything I could to delay it. Flat ground or explosive movements seem to set off my calf cramps. I can run a hilly course for 35hrs without cramping, but can't get through a 1.5hr soccer game without them seizing up. Or a marathon for that matter! I was feeling pretty good at this point....
The sun came up behind us just after we left downtown. It was a beautiful morning running beside the ocean. We had a big wind pushing us from behind, this was not going to be fun on the way back! My quads were already getting sore and I still had a few hours to go. A little while later I passed by Danielle, she was waiting for Carole to arrive. The long, straight, flat runs were getting to me, I'm so used to twisting and turning trails. I'm also used to chatting with fellow runners and knowing the aid station people, marathons are different as it's basically a huge group of people running in silence. So, I started to liven things up a bit, I'd say hello to runners I passed, or I'd give words of encouragement to people who passed me. I started saying good morning to spectators, they always seemed to be caught off guard and surprised. "Look, they can talk!"
I got to the halfway point at 1hr 45min, this is right about where I thought I'd be. Heading out toward the turnaround, I passed the final relay runner Jose, then passed him again after we turned around. This meant I had about 12k to the finish, I'll just keep plugging along. Shortly after that I passed Danielle heading the other way, she was looking strong on her way to Jose. My pace had slowed a bit, now I noticed I was really getting hungry. I'm used to the aid stations at ultras which are stocked with lots of solid food, but here there was just some gels! I hadn't though of this ahead of time, otherwise I would have packed some munchies. The closest thing I had to food was a pack of Clif Shot Blocks (basically big square gummie bears), so I ate that but it didn't help.
Things were starting to go downhill now (not literally, I wish). Headwind was strong, flat roads went on forever and I was really hungry. My forearms had cramped up and legs were twitching getting ready to cramp. Food would reeeeealy help right now. If I see a kid on the side eating a candy bar, I'm taking it. I put my head down to avoid looking way, way down the road and just kept going. This wasn't a problem, I've been though mental challenges on a run a thousand times tougher than this, but I just wasn't enjoying myself.
Cheer Up Dummy
Then, I looked up and saw the light blue ocean beside me and I put things in perspective. I'm in the friggin' Bahamas! It's a beautiful day, sun is shining, there's no snow. I get to go for a leisurely run along the shore. The people at all of the aid stations were so friendly and supportive, they made it a great atmosphere. I've tanked the race before it began, so there's no pressure here, just have fun. Well, at least keep it under 4hrs dumbass, this ain't a birdwatching stroll.
I enjoyed the rest of the race, taking in the ocean scenery. I'd been cramp-free thus far, but that's only because I slowed down and was being careful not to exert myself. This can be frustrating, I'm full of energy and not breathing hard, but my legs won't function if I pick up the pace. Lesson learned. Kids: Stay in school, don't do drugs and train a bit before doing a marathon.
Well, That's Done
As I neared the finish, I though I'd pick up the pace with a few hundred meters to go and.... d'oh!....Both calves cramped up! I had to stop and stretch them for a minute to get them moving again. Ok, let's just trot to the finish then. I rounded the last corner and and just kept a slow pace to the finish. I always do a full out sprint for the last 100 metres or so, but not gonna happen this day. I was busy waving back to my fellow Yellowbird supports, I didn't even notice passing a guy with about 50 metres to go, apparently he did because he turned it on and shot past me right before the finish. Glad to help, buddy... I finished in 3hrs 52min, under my self imposed 4hr cutoff. Not exactly scorching, but I'll take it...The finish is at a beach, there was lots of food and a great atmosphere. My quads were done, they'd been sore as heck for the last 3hrs or so. I sat down at a picnic table with some munchies. Another runner from our 5k group, Norm, was there for support and he supported my very well by getting me a couple beers. Might as well stick with the nutrition plan from the last few days. I was in pretty good shape, it was just my quads that were really sore. New shoes turned out to work fine, zero blisters. The cotton shirt was not good, my nipples were borderline bleeding (and have since scabbed over), plus I had some cuts around my neck from the stitching inside the collar. If I do this again, I go shirtless and write Yellowbird on my chest with a marker...
Jose and I at the finish
A little while later Jose showed up, the last runner on the relay team. He came motoring in, he'd never run 12k before and it was easier than he thought! Or he's in better shape than he knows. He hits the weights and just runs a little on the side, I was happy for him to do so well and enjoy it. A bit after that Diane came in from walking the half. Annie was already there, she placed 2nd in her age category for the half! We then took pictures of everyone together, including in the ocean, then found Bubba and headed back to our hotel.
What To Do After a Marathon?
Go on another hotel site inspection of course! We got back to the Sheraton just before 11:30am, we had to be back in the lobby at 12:30 to walk to another hotel for a tour and lunch! It was Breezes which is just down the street, not a problem but my quads were not very happy. Hotel was nice, great location and great beach. This is actually where the fam stayed last year. The tour was quick, then it was time for a very welcome buffet lunch! Plus more beer.
That afternoon, it was time relax. Some of us walked along the beach on the way back, the sand felt nicer than walking on any more concrete! A few of us spent the afternoon with drinks by the pool, followed by drinks on the beach. I didn't leave time for a nap, I had to go change as we were off to visit another hotel for.... wait for it..... a site inspection! This one was welcome, it was at Sandals Royal Bahamian, a beautiful property and not too big so tour was brief. We then sat down for a great dinner on a covered patio. After dinner, they said we were welcome to spend the evening at Sandals and enjoy ourselves. A few of us went to the piano bar for awhile. Let me tell you, if you've never got hammered and joined in on some tunes at a piano bar, I highly recommend it! From what I recall, my singing was spot on... Jose on the other hand.... I don't even know how to describe the sounds he was making, I think he was trying to bring back the Fat Boys.
We seranaded all of the Sandals guests until midnight when the piano bar closed. What was that? Another bar on the property is open until 3am? On we go... We ordered more food and many beers. We had a great time joking with staff all night, maybe they found it refreshing to have a fun drunk group around instead of just couples (who were all in bed by midnight, we may have kept them up though). Eventually, even the staff left. We attempted to leave the property with our beverages at 3am, but the guard at the gate stopped us, busted! Then he said 'Let me put those in plastic cups for you!' Great! We then wandered back down the street to our hotel. Our Bubba back to the airport was at 1030am the next morning, thank goodness got to sleep in.
Trip was great, company was great, got to meet a lot of good people and had a great time. The fam was very well organized, good job Annie! Bahamas was beautiful, I plan to go back again and see more of the island and less hotels next time. Lots of new hotels popping up soon, lots of development going on...
Next?
Glad I got that out of the way, you won't find me on a road again anytime soon! I'll do another post shortly with my plans for 2012, but it basically revolves around Leadville 100 Mile Trail Race, aka 'The Race Across the Sky'. It's in the Colorado Rockies, starts at an elevation of 10,200 feet. It's not until August, so until then I'll do the usual Ontario Ultra Series races and fit another 100 miler in before then to get ready, likely Mohican 100 in June.
To all of my fellow runners from the Bahamas, good job! It was great to meet you all, I hope you all enjoyed yourself as much as I did!
Take Care,
Morgan
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