October Highlights 2023

Well October came and it was the big race month, the Valley Harvest 50km Road Ultra Marathon. I had been training specifically for the 50km race for almost 3 months. Taper time following the Rum Runners Event in September went well. I took the week fairly low key but could not resist a little 5K parkrun action the day before. I opted to see how I felt and not go too hard, though I did still manage to get an 18:30 on that day. I promptly had a snack and then retreated home to rest up. 

 

I got my flat Ian picture ready while I contemplated my options for clothing. Turns out the nice weather we had all week was quickly turning into an over night hurricane / tropical storm.  I had always been ready to use my On Cloudboom Echos and my favorite Darntough socks, but I decided to go with short tights rather than split shorts due to the wetness of the day. And copious amounts of Anchor Soap Chafe balm. Pre race snack was Nuun and Naak, which sounds like a crazy kids show, and Maurten gels during the race. 

As we assumed, race morning was wet, and windy. It was still the tail end of the storm as we drove up, which didn't let me get the easy going relaxation type of prerace I wanted. Oh well.  We all kind of stayed inside and I didn't bother doing anything warm up like. I slipped a garbage bag over myself as I went to the start line. I do like to stay warm and dry for as long as possible, and this certainly helped. 

I already knew that the idea of a PB on this race was gone. Conditions were just not going to allow for it. So instead I opted to just see where things went. And soon we were off (without the garbage bag). 

I quickly tucked in with the top marathon runners (the 42.2km and 50km race start together) to help stay clear of the wind. While the rain was annoying, the wind was actually pretty fierce and would stay that way for the whole race.  We went out a bit fast for my liking, but I knew that I could step back from that after we split apart roughly 10km into the run. A couple of runners leapt off the front, but I stayed with my guys. We zipped off for the first km in 3:56min/km then "eased" back to a quaint 4:05. 

I left the pack, picked up the lead bike for the Ultra and was on my way solo. Now I had to fight the wind alone. The pace felt good, though I knew it was too fast for the whole race. Still, I opted to just kind of feel the pacing at this point.

The first 25km was soon done, I had consumed a couple of gels, and headed into lap 2. By now it was much lighter, and I even saw some friendly faces on course. At about 30km in, I had run my fastest 30km ever. I knew I had to start to ease things back. The rain was on and off by this point, but the wind was as strong as ever. 

I opted now, to start to slow right down during aid stations and drink a good cup of electrolyte. I found after 3 gels that my stomach was not bad but also not wanting another gel. So I held off consuming more of those. Always be aware of where your body will be before things get bad. 

As I approached the far turn around for the last time, my hat blew off and I had to go chase it. I had finally managed to get my pace down to where I had wanted it to be on a good day, let alone on this horrid day, to around a 4:12 pace. I crossed the marathon mark at 2:57, tying my fastest marathon time. Only 8km to go!     

At this point in the course you get a little downhill, then a solid climb for a couple of kilometers before a decent descent. With about 5km to go, my lead was pretty good, but my calves were starting to get angry from going out hard. I could feel a few little mini cramps come and go, then occasionally one would seize up. That did not feel good. 

I made it to the last 2km of the race and this was on a very muddy trail. The lead bike had been encouraging me on. My upper body felt fine but my calves were certainly not happy.  With no chance of a PB and a reasonable lead on second place, I eased back a lot, equally enjoying the end of the run and hating the end of the run. 

I finally saw the final turn approaching, and as I entered the last 100m on the track, was cheered on by my friends and wife. I pushed hard because that is what one does regardless of pain at this point. For the first time ever, I got to break the tape at a finish line and I was not going to pass up making it count.  

That was a tough day, and as I cross the line and stopped, my calves no longer had a reason to keep me going. I basically had to sit down, then finally ease my self over to the side to cheer on the other runners as I let it sink in that I won the 50km. Yes, it was almost 7 minutes slower, but I'll take it based on how that day went. 

A nice massage and some food and then I got my prizes. While the bottle of wine was nice, my Peter Eastwood mug was nicer. I still use it almost daily. 

The rest of the month still had to happen. I definitely took some down time though to rest up. Though overall I felt pretty good, better than I did following my first try at the 50km distance. 

Next for me though was hosting a canicross race in Long Lake Park. Fellow marathoner Rachel (se ran the Chicago Marathon the same day) popped over to help me, as I suspect her legs did not wat a fast dog to tow her around.  we had decent weather for once, raised some money for charity and kicked off the Fall canicross season in style. 

I took the opportunity to hit the bike for some recovery and chats. The Shake Out at 6 crew was always good for that. 

Though I was not in top notch fast shape, I did want to see if I had the ability to keep the sub 18 min 5K streak alive. We opted to check out the Tatamagouche parkrun. They are just as welcoming as our other parkruns, and the drive up was worth it, as I managed to squeak in a 17:55 effort on the crusher dust trail on the second last day of the month. 

My last October bit of fun was a trail run on MacIntosh Run. The weather was cool but nice and I just took it easy as I soaked up the goodness that was October. 

September 2023 Highlights

 

More catch up from the year we call 2023. This time September. So I certainly hit the ground running on day 1 of September with a trip to the new Tatamagouche parkrun. It was only 3 weeks old, so I (and as it turns out some other Chain of Lakes parkrunners) popped up for a look see of this new 5K run. It did not disappoint. A nice smooth flat crusher dust trail with good tree coverage but also a nice look at a tidal flat. This was a good chance for me to hit the month early for a sub 18 minute 5K. I achieved that with a 17:35.  We then hit the famer's market for coffee and treats before headed out for a day of adventure.

Then 2 days later I was back out racing again. This was the Cinnamon Bun 5K run to raise money for the BLT Trail repairs. I didn't know if the old legs could hold in for another tough run, but I thought I would at least give it a hard run. I tucked in behind a youngster who was running really strong. As this was on my regular parkrun route, I knew it well, so paced myself as best as I could. I saw him give some early surges in the last kilometer but I held tight, then with less than 200m to go I unleashed a pretty hard sprint finish. It was great to do this as I have not had the chance to race to the finish line in a  long time. I ended up running 17:38 and triumphing by almost 2 seconds. Two sub 18s in 3 days was tough but fun, and we got cinnamon buns at the finish line! 

A little time with the pups was in order so we spent a few days this month doing some adventures. Lexie, as always, was unsure of this adventuring, but hopefully she enjoyed the view at Peggy's Cove. 

Our local and favorite cafe, the 5K Cafe started hosting a weekly bike ride followed by snacks and chats. The Shake Out at 6, was a lot of fun for a more casual midweek fun ride.

We were getting closer to race day. I officially signed up for the Valley Harvest Ultra 50K Road Marathon. So I was all in. My biggest training run took place the week after those 5K races and was a 39km run with a fast finish. I chose the safe option of running straight to the 5K cafe to get food into me as quick as I could. The crew were nice and made the Silly Dilly pickle sandwich. It was perfect.  

Following the long long run, I wanted to get in a race prep run. So half distance (25km) and using my race kit (including shoes, the amazing On Cloud Boom Echo) and race fuel. Things went sort of well. I wanted to run on the trail to minimize extra damage on hills, but it was closed due to a storm the night before. So I had to run on the road, which I guess was good as I got more hills in! I also ended up running faster than I wanted. More on that next month. A sign of things to come! All in all I was happy with my training up to this point. No injuries, and I hit my goal training sessions really well.

The month ended with the Rum Runner Relay. This is a 110km 10 leg relay road race. Well Leg 1 was cancelled due to some road issues, so it was a 95 km race instead. I had 1 Leg of this event left to achieve after many years of running it. Leg 5 was both super short and crazy hard with an insane hill parkway through this 4.6km run.  My goal was to give it a hard push and place high. With such a tough course, it is silly to worry about specific paces and instead go by effort. So far in Rum Runners, I had achieved a top 7 finish in all 9 Legs I had run, included a previous year's win on Leg 2. 

We went out hard, and I opted to just push as much as I coudl up the climb to start the race, then hold on to what I had left. I was able to it the top of the hill a few steps ahead of my nearest competition, but all props to him, as he was willing to put an extra push into the downhill that I was not at that point. With the ultra coming up, I just had to hold a little back and not trash my quads. Still I managed to come in second, with a good lead over third place and not too far behind 1st. All in all a good run I think. 

Our BLT Runner teams both did really well, with us finish neck and neck in the standings. A great bit of running by all members. 

August 2023

Well as we continue to catch up on how 2023 has been going we hit August. The month kicked off with the Natal Day Race in Dartmouth. Once again I chose the 6 Mile option, which is a three lap event. A perfect weather day was ours for the start. I had been lucky enough to secure an elite start Bib which allowed me to start up front. Ultimately my goal was to pace myself well and not really race others, but being able to run with the fast group for as long as possible certainly would be a benefit. 

From the start we took off at a decent pace. The course has a slight downhill start, then a climb, log downhill run, and finally a big up hill finish. I held back a bit on Lap 1, got up to pace buy the end and held through Lap 2, which brought me right on the tail of some other 6 Mile runners for Lap 3. I passed 4 others on that lap, and held on for a fourth in Age Group finish and the same avg pace as the previous year of 3:37 min/km. That was good in that last year they shortened the lap length due to some road construction. 

The Natal Day race was the only official race I did in August, focusing instead on a Provincial Tour of parkruns on my way to reach the 100 run milestone before the end of the year. From the Truro Victoria Park parkrun's 50th event:

To the brand new Tatamagouche Butter Trail parkrun  (with some fellow Chain of Lakes parkrunners):

To our favourite Halifax Chain of Lakes parkrun:

Outside of parkrunning this month, I started to really ramp up the long runs as I started to aim for a Fall long race. I really wanted to push my limits this month and see how the body would hold up. Turns out, not too bad. 

 

July 2023

So June 2023 had some odd weather with a severe drought and forest fires to start the Summer, then passive rains. Those rains continued all Summer long it seemed. But we still got some good sporting in! Here's some highlights.

Luckily the month started with the parkrun Canada Day run. We wore our red and had a blast on our favourite local 5K run. 

  

I got a new pair of the latest On Running Cloud Stratus. This is one of their more cushioned long distance shoes. First off, I love a good white shoe, so Yes on the looks. Coming from the Cloud Go, the Stratus was a heavier shoe, but is designed so well, you don't really notice it while running. I find the cushioning softer than the Go (which to be fair is still one of my favorites). The Stratus would go on to be my main Summer shoe for long runs and it served me well. I never felt too beat up after 30+ km runs.

We had a family trip to Colorado. I'll say that running there can be tough coming from sea level, but I do tend to adapt pretty quickly. You just need to hold back on the top end effort a little bit.  But while I do get my runs in, I have to get some hikes in as well as the views are amazing.  

A nice ridge line near Loveland, Colorado.

A great, no amazing view from Pike's Peak.  Also, I was amazed at how altitude from sea level to say 1500m is tough, but then stepping it up to 4300m is another thing altogether. I even took an O2 saturation reading and my levels dropped with from 90 at 1500m to 82 at 4300. I did a little breathing work and managed to get it back up, but it would certainly take some time to adapt to that on a consistent basis. 

Coming back from Colorado, I decided to start to ramp up my long runs. With no concrete Fall racing plans, I thought that having a good strong base of distance and hills would allow me more options. I could go long, or cut back and use that endurance to try out some faster short racing again. Getting back into the 30+ km running range after a year away from that went really well, even with the spike in humidity we got all Summer long.

I had been noticing this list of parkrunners with the most first finishes and saw that I was working my way up the list. So I kept working at it and by the end of July, I took over the top spot. This list is more about consistency than anything else. Obviously to get into the top end of it you have to run parkrun a lot, and generally push yourself to your best each weekend. It doesn't mean I get a first finish every time, far from it. But I do show up a lot. 

Hey It's June 2023

 So how was June of 2023? Well, if we don't talk about the weather in Nova Scotia, it was not too bad. 

I switched up training to get ready for the Baddeck Duathlon, my first multisport event in a number of years. To be fair, I decided to go back and race this event because the people who host it do a great job, and it was going to be great to see some fellow multisport racers again. 

First though I was back for another crack at the Bridgewater Tire Trot. 

This is a 5K race on a crusher dust trail that has been happening for a few years now. Initially it was postponed due to extreme dry conditions and local forest fires. Luckily, a little rain made it possible to hold the event. 

This is probably the oddest 5K race I run, the trail always seems to be confusing as to if you are running a slight incline or a slight decline. It shifts a lot as it follows a river. Add in a lot of tree cover which can make GPS signals spotty and you just have to be ready to run what ya brung. 

With a tight first few corners before the transition to crusher dust, and an unfortunate trail gate that couldn't be opened before the race, I knew that a fast start was definitely needed. 

So off I went, pushed by a few other fast runners to go hard. I made it through the obstacles in first, then had the opportunity to define the pace. My next goal was to hit sub 18 minutes. Slight uphill and crusher dust are certainly not the best conditions for this, and with GPS iffy as I mentioned, I had to do the math while running. It hit the 1 km return mark needing a 3:45 km with the worst of the uphill to come. I managed a 3:41 and crossed the line in 17:55 and 1st overall. 

This was my fourth win in a row at this event, and while those wins won't last forever, it was pretty nice. It was also great seeing a huge turnout from my run club the BLT Runners. 

Back at multisport with the Baddeck Duathlon. This event was last held in 2019 and I had a blast doing it. I knew my bike riding capabilities were not where they were once, but still it was a great excuse to visit Cape Breton and get away for a few days. 

It was the same race as previous years. A tough gravel road run with massive climbing and a crazy decent to finish, then rolling constant hills on the bike, only to go back up the hill for one final run. 

Off we went. My goal here was clear, lead the first run. I knew the better bikers would over take me soon enough so I just wanted to keep my little piece of glory on that first run. 

I pushed hard on those hills, just holding back enough to be able to get through transition 1 and onto the bike in one piece.

I was a little rusty on transitions, but I got out onto the bike in relative ease and peddled away.

I was passed by the riders over the course of the next 22 km but felt good in my effort. I kept the speed up around 32 km/hr. The rust really showed though and a little bad luck. We all had to stop at a stop sign and put a foot down. I forgot to gear down as I should have, so getting started again was tough and I definitely lost some time there. The course also has one way bridges and the biggest one was unfortunately in use when I got there, so another short wait. I doubt it would have changed the results much, with maybe a slightly faster finishing time. 

I started the final run in 5th place and finished there, with a solid effort, though I was definitely more gassed from the bike ride than I used to be, and couldn't quite muster a full out hard effort on that run. 
 

Following the duathlon, we headed to the Highlands for some awesome hiking, even though it rained like crazy. Lexie joined us for turned out to be an excellent hiker.

The month ended with a nice birthday hike. I have often gone for a big bike ride or epic trail run, but this time I went for a speed hike. 15 km with a stop enroute to brew some hiking coffee and sit and sip and ponder things. It was a nice way to end the month. 

The Days of May 2023

Well May has come and gone and I finally had the chance to throw down some racing. In fact, the month was full. So let's go picture heavy and word light as we catch up with things. 

First up was the Club Dog Runnin' Spring Rust Buster Canicross race. There were two races on the day for me as I got to run with two incredible dogs that I borrowed from club members. The first race was the 3 km Standard race. 

Canicross races are run on trails ranging from crusher dust to single track, with canitrail being a little rougher trails.  The Oakfield Park trails are a little mix of some crusher dust and some more gnarly trails with lots of elevation change, sharp turns and lose footing. Now attach a dog to you, run way faster than you can on your own and have fun! 

Phoebe and I got to start first in race the 3 km standard. Phoebe is perfectly fine not chasing another dog (some dogs really like that to give them a boost). She's on the smaller side compared to some dogs I run with, but dang is she strong. She took off and we quickly settled into a fast but manageable 3:15ish min/km pace. My legs were feeling it by the end of kilometer 1, but we kept it up. A quick slow down to visit another dog that was just out for a walk, a few trips to the ditch to check out a puddle, were the only issue. All of those were dealt with so quickly though. 

The final kilometer is definitely the toughest on this course and we held our pace finishing strong with a tight bungee lead. As the races are usually time trial efforts, we had to wait until the end to see our placing and we won. I broke 10 minutes on a super tough course and I was super happy.

This year I opted to also race the 1 km sprint race. I had the chance to race with Kona, who I have run before. Brother to Phoebe!  Kona is a little bigger with an extra bit of strength. While we had run some training races before, I hadn't unleashed Kona's full potential before, so this was going to be crazy fun. The scary part was going to be a little section of the course where we had to traverse a small detour due to the trail being blocked. 

Kona wasted no time when given the chance. We started this race in third and he does not like to be behind another dog.  Now I didn't know what our chances of catching the other runners ahead of us were since it was such a short race.  The detour was probably the only time we slowed on course, and only because I made sure we did.

We did catch second place about 600m into the race and Kona made sure we passed quickly. While we didn't manage to catch first place, we did end up making up enough time to win this race as well, though only by a few seconds. Our 2:56 finishing time didn't tell the whole story as we spent a lot of time in the 2:30 min/km range to make up for our slow down. 

Lexie and I picked up our prizes since she is easier to carry than the Kona and Phoebe. Huge thanks to Club DogRunnin and MAHDS. If you want to run with your dog, check out https://www.maritimehdsport.com/

The next weekend I had no time to rest! This was Fredericton race weekend, but before we went headed to the race I managed to get a parkrun in!

Then off to Fredericton for the 10 km. Craig was racing the Half Marathon so I travelled up with him. The weather was less than perfect, being really cold and with a strong wind.  I didn't get a lot of pictures of the event, but it is a mass start race with the 10, half and full marathon runners starting by race pace.  The race itself is pretty simple. You run though the city, cross a bridge, do a little tour of the other side of the river, then head on back. At a certain point the half and full runners split off. The conditions were tougher than I hoped for and while I could see the runners ahead of me, I mostly ran solo. 

The wind was really noticeable in the last few kilometers, especially crossing the second bridge. It was also at this point I noticed that 10km had come and gone and the end of the race was not yet here. I did my best to keep the top 3 runners in sight and finally came across the finish line.

The race ended up being 600m long due to a misplaced turn around cone. That and the high winds pretty much threw away my time goal. I did finish strong, but ultimately I don't know how close to my time goal I could have been, as I usually save a little extra effort, but to be honest, when the finish was no where and the 10km mark was coming up, I slowed a bit and just lost the mental oomph. Alas, it is what it is.

Another weekend and another race. Weekend 3 saw the Bluenose Marathon Weekend come to Halifax. I had not planned on running but ended up entering the 10km. I knew that my legs were pretty tired by this point with little recovery, but it was going to be nice to at least run through Halifax with some of the fast guys.  

First up though, a 5km parkrun! 

I didn't go into this parkrun with any sort of goal, I just wanted a nice run with some fun people. I chose to run with the leaders and just let them dictate the pace. I stuck with one runner until close to the end and the big 2.5km hill finally took its toll on him. Excellent effort though as I tried to pace him up the hill for as long as possible. 

I finished the parkrun with a 18:30 in what I hoped would be close to my goal pace for the Bluenose 10km.

The Bluenose this year was going to be extra tough. A slight down hill through town and across the bridge (sounds like Freddy). The big difference to Fredericton is that the bridge in Halifax is incredibly steep to allow huge ships to pass under it. Add to the this that each side of the bridge has a super steep hill to take you up to city level. 

I made it to the bridge in 8th place and on pace, even holding pace up over Nantucket on the Dartmouth side.  By this point, I had moved into 7th place overall and held that for the rest of the race. Coming back to the bridge, we were all hit with a huge head wind, which made the climb over to the Halifax side that much harder.

 

The On CloudBoom Echo were really fun shoes to take on this journey. 

The cheers from people I knew on the side lines was really appreciated. I was certainly feeling that kilometer worth of super steep climb. I came through the finish in 37 minutes. Slower than I hoped, but hey, this was not a flat easy race, so add in tired legs and I am okay with that.

Lots of friends from my run club were present to race or pace different events. And hey, we beat the rain! 

10km runners. 

A little bling shot, including the Age Group award I won, which was  great hand made wine mug from Peter Eastwood. I use it for espressos. 

The final weekend came and while there was no official race, I had one more parkrun to do and this time I wanted to try and achieve my goal of a sub 18 min 5km run each month. So off I went, running pretty hard down and while not killing it on the up hill, I help on for a decent 17:37 finish. 

So I needed some down time following this month. The old man legs were feeling it. The lungs on the other hand were perfectly fine.