BLT Runners and the Virtual Boston Marathon 2020

 

Earlier this year the Boston Marathon was postponed until September due to COVID-19. As that date approached, the choice was made to not hold the event live and instead do a virtual version for those who qualified. A tough choice, but being such a huge event, it was unlikely to be possible for an in person event. 

While not all runners chose to do the virtual run, some did and received a race kit by mail. Our run club, The BLT Runners,  had some members who did decide to run: Marg, Bruce, Pat, and Matt. So the rest of the club decided to step up and help them by hosting the marathon with all the support they would need.

A huge shout out first to Craig who got the ball rolling with group emails, organizing volunteers and arranging for a porta potty to be at the start line (thanks to Iain Rankin for that added support). 

 Together we arranged for a route that was a 10km out and back and a nice downhill finish of a few kilometres. This route did have road crossings and some volunteers were on hand to help the runners through. We also arranged for 2 official water stops, where racers could have their own calories and hydration set up.  While running on the "official" route wasn't mandatory, it was where the support was.

Aside from some logistic support, I opted to help out as a pacer and was willing to run up to 30 km with our faster runners. I am by no means a marathon guy but I can run long enough and this course was pretty flat. Other pacers would pop in at assigned spots for other runners. 

Race morning came, the porta potty was on site and the weather was perfect, cool with a slight breeze. I lined up with the racers as my pacing was starting from the beginning based on that mornings discussions.  I was going to be running with Matt and Pat. 

At give or take 8 am we were off and set a comfortable pace in the 4:20s per km. Bruce quickly went a different direction. 

Aid station 1 was at the 2.5 km mark (see the jackets, it was chilly), I zipped ahead and got the water and Gatorade ready for my 2 runners, had a sip of my Nuun and went off. 

By the 6 km mark we were all still smiling and happy and Marg was right on our heels. Our fans were out as well.

Aid station 2 was just a little ahead and the pattern of me zipping ahead a little to get the needed hydration / calories ready was well in hand. This also gave me a moment to stop and drink a little of my Nuun (I think this one was the caffeinated Cherry Limeaid).  Lots of cheers and support for sure.

A little past the aid station 2 was our turn around. Part of the course was paved and a little less than half was on crusher dust. While not as fast as pavement, the crusher dust areas were really shaded, which was a super bonus and mostly flat.

We would hit the same 2 aid stations a total of 8 times and while some people coudl only volunteer for a 2 hour shift, we had a lot of great club support from the same people the whole time.

Marg still wasn't that far behind us.

I don't have a lot more pictures, but I decided to stay with the crew through the aid stations at some point. They were really appreciative of the help from me zipping ahead and getting them refreshments. As well, up through 27-29 kilometres we were having great chats and keeping a good pace. After about 30 km, the guys were certainly starting to feel it. Normally a crowd would be there to spur them on. While the club support was great, it was sporadic and Matt didn't have the greatest summer training due to an injury. So I stayed with them to make sure they got through the last push.

I guess it was at that point as we hit the final aid station that I realized I was already at the 36 km mark and while the next kilometre had a bit of a climb, it was all down hill after that. So I knew at this point I may as well finish. I felt fine (yes, the legs were definitely a little heavier than the start).  

Pat's friend Jeff jumped in to make sure he was paced at this point, and I made sure Matt had the encouragement he needed to get up that final climb and get to the steepest part of the final decent. Once we hit that  I knew he was fine and I opted to run ahead and really stretch my legs a bit. I had hoped that my running a little faster would pull Matt along, as I know that in pacing if the pacer slows to the runners pace, the runner tends to slow themselves. 

The finish was on the parkrun downhill, and I love that downhill. I had one street crossing to go and it was clear and I finished at 42.3 (I went a little long just in case the GPS screwed up) and finished at 3:06:04. Oddly, my moving time was 3:04:40. So I actually spent over a minute standing still at the water stops getting things together.  

Matt would eventually pick it up, Pat came on with a strong finish. Both had great finishes right behind me. Marg would soon follow and looked fabulous, she had great pacing sup[port from Stacey for her final push. 

Bruce finished somewhere and then had to run back to his car. He had great pacing support from Wes and Jill.

It was amazing to have the BLT Runners step up and support this event. Sorry I didn't have pictures of everyone involved. While it was "only" a virtual run, it is obvious what the Boston Marathon means to people. I was happy to add the support to the guys that I did and get them through their final dark moments. Running the while thing ended up being a bonus, and feeling good afterwards was event better. 

I still don't have a huge desire to train for marathons going forward. Never say never but it certainly doesn't have a huge draw. 

What? Where Did the Summer Go? COVID Edition

 Well here we are in September.  I last posted in April with a review of a great shoe, the On Cloudflow. As an aside, I still really like that shoe and run in it for things like tempo work. But what else have I been up to?

Well, with no in person races, I started doing a lot of virtual races, some were just personal time trials but a lot have been through VDOT. VDOT is the training system I follow as a coach and they have been working on establishing coaching tools, which includes their on coaching app (think Garmin Connect / Strava / Training Peaks). Within it, they they have established a virtual racing series which allows racers to choose their distance and results are based on the effort you deliver, this way you could race a half marathon or a 1 Mile and all the results can work together.

The rules of the VDOT race series all for some level of downhill and let you choose your course. Some of my efforts took advantage of the downhill, others were a lot tougher. I raced everywhere from 1 Mile, through 10 km. 

Needless to say, this is racing based on GPS data and not a measured course. Any PBs I achieved were not in any official records anywhere. GPS racing does have its downside, in that you have to pay attention to your watch and not the actual finish line. So it does take getting used to begin able t push yourself at the right time. 

It was actually back in April where I tried to better my current Mile time since we knew that the MacPass Mile was cancelled. I managed to knock a few seconds off my best MacPass Mile effort on a tougher course (MacPass is fast). 

A few 5K efforts followed with good results, though were primarily downhill hill. Then I discovered the 3K distance and ran that for awhile. It was great fun, and in many ways even harder than a 5K to get an equal effort under VDOTs system. PBs at a distance you never run are not hard to achieve, but I think after a few 3K efforts I maxed out at 9:51. That is unless I opt to train specifically for this distance. 

Eventually I decided to give a 10K a go and managed to knock almost 30 seconds of my previous PB from a couple of years ago. To be honest, this was a tempo run that got away from me. 

This half marathon was also a training run that got away from me. Some days just feel great. Not a PB, but the third fastest half I had ever run. 

My results on the VDOT were pretty good. I often was a top placer in Canada (sometimes the top runner), I won my Age Group numerous times, and was generally in the top 30 World Wide, sometimes dipping into the top 20.  I even won this great coffee mug from Brooklyn Running Company, which is my go to mug now.

A slight break from personal racing and I helped to set up a virtual racing series for the Maritime Harness Dog Association. While I don't often get to take part in Canicross running, I entered with my dog Newt and we rocked the Mile. We did manage to break that 20 minute Mile barrier once. 

As June approached our run club, the BLT Runners, had a birthday. With COVID we couldn't have our usual big event, but we set up a "cake" station for members to be able to run by and have a treat to celebrate. This great sign (made by Jill R) was our welcome to club members.

And not all runs were mine. I have been working with Craig towards a half marathon in late June that ended up cancelled. So we opted to run one anyway. We picked the local trail, ran together (but at a safe distance), and smashed his previous PB. I have no doubt he would have smashed it at the official event as well. 

Quick Taco break. 

I don't want to forget my awesome bike rides. For a bit I had some tendinitis in my ankle. I could run, but knew that a reduced load would be a smart play. So I ramped up my cycling and on my birthday did a 100 kilometre ride with my buddy Sheldon. I hadn't done one is quite awhile, so it was great to do that. 

That bike ride was actually supposed to be an epic trail run, but I opted to not push the ankle issue. So a few weeks later, I hit the Bluff Trail with a vengeance. I ran the whole trail, which also meant the side trails. Over 30 km later and on a 30 degree day, I managed to break 4 hours on this tough terrain. I know I can do better and will head back in the Fall, when it is cooler.  

I made some great bread as well. 

Two weekends ago, Craig and I went back to the parkrun course (I had been running a lot of time trials on this course) and went for our monthly hard 5K. I decided to really push the downhill portion (ie the first 2.5km) and hold on to the uphill. Last year I was able to do this by chasing a faster runner in 17:19 and didn't realize that I had a 17:14 in my old legs this day, especially as it was muggy and warm. But I did it and it felt great.

   

There's been more stuff, like swimming, hiking, and of course work. A lot of solo time. And not every run or hard effort ended up being the best part of my day. I pulled up short in an attempt to better my 15K time in June, I halted a few Mile efforts half way through, and even ones that ended up with good results felt bad. I've learned to cherish the good running days and work through the less nice ones.

Let's see what the Fall brings.