So 2020 started out for me in Colorado. I never get to take part in events when I travel there but this year we found a parkrun event in Boulder. We attended the event right after Christmas (2019) but then managed to get in on the Jan 1 event. So it was a great way to start the year. Elevation and a snowy course made for tough running. While I had hoped to see if I could get under 19 minutes, I did manage a second place run in 19:23. It was a great time (as parkruns are) with a fun group.
In February I helped Luke host a 5K fun run in support of Team in Training.
March started with me volunteering at the parkrun on Women's Day and that was the last parkrun before the world kind of shut down. The next week we were on our own. Craig and I opted to try a parkrun by ourselves, but in reverse. We all had assumed going uphill first then finishing strong downhill would be faster. We were not correct. It was just as hard, if not harder.
Working from home meant I got a few neighborhood Litter Runs in.
I basically started doing time trial every weekend, playing around with distances from 1 mile to 10k. I found courses that ranged from downhill only, to up and down and as flat as is realistically possible around here. Paved and trail seemed to get equal time.
With few real races to be seen, I worked on grabbing a few virtual PBs and started racing the Vdot virtual racing series. Throughout the year I won my age group (45-49) frequently against racers all over the world. It was fun to use this tool to push myself.
My 10k virtual PB for the year was a 36:15, set on the parkrun course with good downs and harsh ups.
I got approached by the local rep On Running shoes to see if I would try a pair out for a few weeks and then give my impressions on a Instagram live event. It seemed fun, so I said yes.
I pushed those shoes hard and ran exclusively on them for 4 weeks. In the end, I really enjoyed the feel and will definitely add them to my shoe rotation going forward.
In the midst of trying out the On Cloudflows, I helped organize a virtual fun run, the #MyHomeCourse5K for Northend Opportunities Fund. We raised some funds and got to run, with a course dictated as a 5K from our front door. I opted to run my favorite 1k loop from home with is a crazy uphill followed by a long gradual downhill. I through down a nice 18:19.
On a whim, I ran my third fastest half marathon on day.
The Bluenose Marathon weekend was postponed until the Fall and moved to virtual. I will say that I had not been doing as much longer distance stuff, opting for short and fast and decoded instead of the 15K to virtually run the 10K. It was by far not my best virtual run. I felt really blah by the end, even walking home when I was done. Still I put down a decent time for a crusher dust run that ended going uphill.
Shortly after and another Vdot race, I bounced back with my fastest 3k. This is a tough but really fun distance.
It isn't all serious racing. I helped put together a virtual 1 mile racing series for the canicross group. Newt and I entered and came last in every event. We also did not in fact break a 20 minute mile. But I believe our Instgram live stream of race 1 was a hit.
Craig was training hard for the Johnny Miles Half Marathon and doing really well. When it was finally cancelled we shifted that training to a personal effort. We opted to run on a good flat course (slightly negated by crusher dust which is slow) but chose a day with great weather. I ran with him to pace him and help motivate through the rough patches. His wife Stacey was there for his support with water bottles along the way. We pushed hard at the end and blew away his previous best time with a new PB of 1:24. He really put a lot into that and t was great to see.
On my birthday I had hoped to do a trail run I worked out, but throughout June, my ankle was nagging me and I didn't get a ton of trail running in. While it was feeling decent, I felt that doing that run would be silly and instead opted for a 100km bike ride to celebrate the day with my buddy Sheldon. It was a great choice and I loved getting a real long distance ride in a again, which I hadn't done in awhile.
A the lock down rules were eased a little by the end of June, I got to start organizing some small group cycling rides for Sportwheels. It was nice to get out and chat live with some people. We do a weekly 25k ride through the summer and early Fall each year.
I went out almost every week to the parkrun route. Some weeks I pushed hard, others I just enjoyed the outdoors. This particular week I went for it, giving everything I had on the downhill and pushing hard through the return back up the hill. While I ran a few faster 5K runs this year, I count this as a true PB.
I finally got to do my planned trail run. I opted to head to the Bluff hiking trail system and run the whole thing. While I had done this before , I had never included the paths the complete each loop, instead just running the perimeter. I opted for the hottest day we had seen for awhile, could barely see the final loop due to the over growth and ran out of water with 10k to go. While not my best performance, it was a blast, and I will be back!
Three times through the year I did my hat run. This is a 7.5 km loop with massive hills, where I change hats on each loop. While I had asperations of hitting a 5 hat run, 4 hats was were I maxed out. Again, I chose the hot day for some reason.
Two weeks later I joined in the fun of the Virtual Boston Marathon. We hosted some of our club members who had qualified but couldn't run Boston due to COVID. My part was to pace the faster runners through 21km. Instead I paced them through the whole thing to a 3:05 marathon. My second marathon. It was fun running it at this pace, but I still don't have the bug.
Then it happened, a race appeared! The Riverport Duathlon is one of my favorite events and we got to do a version of it live. It had some funky rules of course but overall it was great. I managed to start off with a 17:30 5K on the fastest 5K course in Nova Scotia (well not including downhills of course). Ultimately I finished 4th overall.
I am an ambassador for Nuun, an electrolyte drink. Due to COVID, they opted to host a Virtual Half Marathon for their athletes. I wasn't sure if I felt like pushing hard at that distance, but when the week arrived, I decided to get ready for it with a nice taper. I used Craig's Half Marathon course and on race day, I was given perfect weather (it had rained during the night, but cleared up and was slightly cool). My MP3 player broke a few hundred meters into the run, I had to contend with squishy crusher dust, but pushed hard and pulled off a 1:19, which was a PB for that distance.
As the end of November / Movember was approaching, I was lucky enough to be able to hold my event, The Halifax Movember 6K Fun Run. We didn't go virtual and managed to sneak in a few days before a new lock down. We played it very safe though and everyone had a great time as we raised money for Men's Health. In fact we raised the most money we had ever done.
A few more Vdot races and pushes to sub 18 min 5K runs (I managed at least 1 a month as I had planned), some pacing opportunities, and all of a sudden the year end was here.
The BLT Runners hosted a virtual Mile run (downhill!) to kick off our BLT Runners Xmas Marathon event (run a marathon worth of distance over the Christmas break). In the Mile I managed a 4:57 (compared to my flat Mile time of 5:04).
For the Marathon I opted for the Ultra distance and planned on doing 15K every day as something that was hard but manageable. I finished the 8 days with a total run of 127.85 km.
So thanks 2020. Yes, you were a year with more downs than ups but as a runner, I found a way through it and pushed myself to explore my limits while staying healthy. I found new ways to mentally push through hard efforts as well, which is a great skill going forward. I can't say what my favorite moment was, as each month seemed to bring with it, some shining time. I eagerly await 2021.
