The Final Race Weekend of the Season - Another Double Header 2015

Well I am a little late posting this, but I went away on a vacation, and it was wonderful. So better late then never.

It was the weekend of Oct 24 and 25. I was very tired but I had 2 races in 2 days to do and thus would end my wonderful season of racing. I had already accomplished a lot this year, though had also failed to accomplish certain goals. All in all I say I came out with this season being a thumbs up.

First up this weekend was the BLT 5K. I won this last year when it was an untimed fun run. This year it was timed and some big names came out to race. I knew I wasn't going to set a PB here but I thought I could do well.

It was a rather cold morning, perfect for running, horrible for standing around before a race. I knew with Matthew White showing up I wasn't going to win this year, but I wondered just how close to him i could come in this race (he did race a marathon the week before).

As the race started I fell in behind Matthew. The pace seemed fine so I stay with him. I was quite happy to still be there 1.5 km later.

Finally just after the 2 km mark, Matthew pulled enough of a gap that I knew it was over. I hit the turn around and figured I had a good shot at second place, just keep the turn over rate high and push through.

I took one quick look back as I reached the end of the trail and right before I started the final hill climb before the decent to the finish. I was all alone in second. Knowing I had another race the next day I keep a decent pace but didn't push hard to the finish. I crossed the line at 18:01.  Second overall, 1st in Age Group and happy to be done.

The next morning and back at it. This time the MEC Shubie Park Half marathon. A half marathon on twisty crusher dust trails with loads of hills. Probably the toughest one around here. The field for this half isn't huge, as most people opt for the 5 and 10 k option, but there are always some fast people. I have usually finished the race 3rd overall each year, with one second overall male medal.

I knew this was my last race and my legs knew that too. I was tired and sore, but not injured!  At this point I wanted a solid race and hopefully a medal. I tried to hold back at the start but quickly saw a fast pace happening. I eased back a bit and fell into second place.

You know that feeling in a race, where you are done but have to hold it together to the finish. Those races don't always happen to me, but sometimes they do. This was one of those races. Sadly I started to feel that way at about the 2km mark. Only 19km more to go I though! Ahhh.

I held onto second place with Drew in third right behind me. Finally after about 8km or so he decided to pull ahead and off he went. I was fine with that, knowing I really just needed to hang in there.

As I was heading to 6 km to go, I knew where I would finish if I could keep this pace up. I even showed that to Tim who was taking photos.

  I think one of the hard parts of this race is that when you are alone in the woods, you are really alone. I find it easier to run strong when others are around. I found a little oomf as I headed to do the second loop and ran by the finish line area. But then back into the woods, and ugh.  A mean slight but long hill with less than 1 km to go just about had me walking but I pushed through. Then a surge at the end for a strong finish and I cross the line in 1:26:26. Overall a decent time on this course, but I was wiped. A long season finally done.

Now onto Movember. I'll be directing my race again on the 21st to raise money for Movember Canada. Come join us by entering here: https://raceroster.com/events/2015/6069/halifax-movember-run 

This month I'll step back from hard training. All easy stuff just to keep healthy and fit. I start to ramp things back up in December as I plan out next season. Thanks all.

Wintertime is approaching Compurtrainer Time is Coming

The wife and I headed out to Kinesic Sport Lab last night for a Computrainer session. Many of you have heard of Computrainers and many have even ridden them, but for those not in the now here's a brief run down.

A Computrainer is an indoor bike trainer that lets you hook you regular bike up and use it as an indoor exercise bike. That's the simple. But the Computrainer is so much more. With all of its attachments, you get an indoor bike that can be programmed to follow a predetermined course, even following the profile of real bike races or triathlon routes. The trainer itself will adjust to make things easier or more difficult depending on whether or not you are going up or downhill. It can keep track of your cadence, speed, distance, watts and even heart rate if you wear a monitor.

So okay, the Computrainer is a cool tool, but what about a class? Well at Kinesic, they have 8 Computrainers setup and a big overhead projector.  What that means is you get to have fun and compete against other riders. Enter you info into the system and it adjusts to your riding needs. Then go!

Here we are getting set up 

Coach JZ adjusting fans and explaining our route

Our warmup consisted of getting our cadence up, some one legged drills and getting our hearts beating and ready to go for the main event. The main event being a 14.13 km moderately hilly time trial. 

While, yes, the Computrainer is a great tool to get fit and healthy, it is also a must go to tool for training for longer distance triathlons in a cold weather climate. From getting to ride the actual course profile of your upcoming races (it has many to choose from) to learning how to properly pace over the distance, this system offers huge benefits. It also makes you sweat (hence the big fans) and your legs burn, but that's all good.

The four of us in the class last night had a blast. If you haven't tried it and are curious, Kinesic offers drop ins when a class isn't full ahead of time. They also offer 8 weeks courses from base training to FTP from Hell session (if you don't know what FTP is the Coach will explain it in the course he's good like that). 

After the session and you legs are dead an email gets sent to you asap with a ton of awesome info about the ride:

That's the quick summary, the email has a link to way more info. But it gives you a great quick view of the ride.  It also makes it much easier to add to your current logging system for workouts. 

Anyway enough of that. If you live in Halifax, Kinesic is the place to head for a group session. You can buy your own Computrainer as well or other varieties with similar features, though I will attest to the fact that you won't push nearly as hard on the bike alone as you will trying to edge passed the guy riding next to you. Have fun and get ready for winter!

Valley Harvest Half Marathon - Pace Bunny Report 2015

Dark and early we climbed into the car and sped off to Wolfville. Another year and another Valley Harvest Half Marathon pace bunny job for me, another race for Elizabeth.

I arrived in time to grab my sign and line up near the front of the huge group of almost 800 runners. This year I was once again the 1:40 pace bunny, bit now with a new group, White Rabbit Pacing, and this year with a tutu. Heck why not.

As the race started I quickly found a nice pace for my runners, just a little slower than our ultimate pace. Within a few kilometers and some hills we were now averaged out and hanging at about 1 second a kilometer on the fast side. With this race being heavy on the uphill in the first half I wanted my runners to take advantage of fresh legs and then use the big downhills later as a rest. 

I was quite happy that I had a revolving but decent set of runners within site of me at all times. I tried to keep their mind off of the task at hand with loads of commentary and helpful running hints. Maybe it was annoying to some but I did get quite a few thanks afterwards.

I crossed the line at 1:39:32. A tad fast but I dragged many runners in at really close to 1:40.  I really had to hold back at 19km because my legs felt so fresh and some of my runners started to pick up the pace to get done asap. It was great to see them take off though.

At the finish I got to chat with a few runners and friends, drank a little water and then quickly took back off running. I still had to pace Elizabeth to a PB finish.

I ran out and was really pleased to find her well ahead of the 2:30 pace bunny and still running well. I encouraged her and talked her through the final 2 km of her run. She crossed the line at 2:21, some 6 minutes faster than her previous PB. Awesome. 

Now a couple of weeks off before the next race. 

Riverport Duathlon 2015

The final multisport race of the year for me is almost always Riverport. It has been and still is a great venue for a race. Over the years I have been low in the standings, high in the standing and somewhere in between. Come race weekend I am usually tired and worn down and wishing i hadn't signed up. But come race day Riverport always shines (well sometimes it rains).

This Riverport morning was really sunny and cold. The kind of day you can't decide what to wear for the race as you stand in the cold waiting for it to start. Ultimately I slipped on a thin base layer to fight the chill air and a thin pair of gloves as well.  I didn't overheat, so I guess things were fine.

Riverport is a unique distance event at 4km/28km/4km. It is all out all the time and hurts like heck.

We soon lined up for the start and were away.

I was just finally recovered from last weekend's double header of 10 km races. I hadn't even run all week, so I didn't quite know what to expect. I started off easy for me and fell in behind some fast runners. Soon we began to drop some who had over extended themselves a bit (I remember those days). By the turn around I was in 9th place (who there were a lot of fast guys). I passed a couple of more runners and coming into T1 I was in 7th place and felt quite comfortable. I ran a 14:21 for a 3:36 avg pace.

See I still look happy

A quick switch to my bike and I was off (I only had the 8th fastest T1 time at 29 seconds yowza!). 

I hit the bike and pushed hard. I knew there were a load of really great cyclists behind me and I wouldn't be able to hold them off for long. So I gave it good effort. I was passed by a few bikers within the first 3 kilometers, then a couple of more. Of course every time you are passed you have to slow down a bit to avoid drafting, which doesn't help your overall time, but those are the rules. Soon 28 kilometers was done and I came flying into the finish with only the 19th fastest time of the day at 33.4 km/hr. So we know I will be riding a lot this winter to see where I can make up some of that time. 

Into T2 I came. Beauty of a flying dismount, perfect switch into my running shoes and I had the fastest T2 of the day at 23 seconds. So yay, I had the fastest something.

The second run is always hard and having to push extra hard on the bike over extended me. I pushed through the ouch and managed 3:58 avg pace and a 15:49 time over the last 4km. Of course with no one right behind me, it gets mentally hard to push that extra bit. 

I crossed the line at 1:21:12 for 12th place overall and 6th in my age group. Being in your 40's can be tough in triathlon/duathlons. I was amazing to see the fight at the top end of the field. I also enjoyed getting back on the bike again and it gives me something to work on this winter that isn't just running (though I still see improvements there as well). 

Thanks Riverport. Hopefully we will see you again in 2016. 

Another Double Header - Rum Runners and MEC 2015

Another weekend and another race, or two! Will this madness ever end.

I have done this very weekend  for 2 years now, Rum Runners Relay followed by MEC trail run. Last year was painful, mostly due to the heat of the day during Rum Runners. I hoped this year to be a little better.

I purposely picked an early leg on Rum Runner Relay (an approx 100km relay run along Nova Scotia's South Shore), Leg 3, as it would leave me with more recovery time. Being 11.2 km long, it also would be hard but not on par with the 17km Leg 4 I did last year. Also early in the day generally means cooler temps. Nice.

My goal was to give a good hard run at Rum Runners and then go for a PB 10k time on the flat out and back race the next day. Goals, ha ha.

The start of the race was cool, almost cold, but I knew that would be really nice come race time. Things happen fast in Rum Runners (like me almost forgetting to register and sign my waiver form ahhh!) and we lined up at the crack of 9:30.  A quick glance around showed me some fast runners I knew and a whole host of other unknown runners. Maybe I would be fast enough this year to break my curse of always finishing 7th. Then we were off!

Two women quickly jumped to the front and lead us out. I decided to try and pace out with Mike and Dave, whom I knew were fast but smart runners. With 500m we assumed spots 1-3 and took off. I had felt prior to the race that a nice 4 min /km pace might be a smart way to head out. At the end of kilometer 1 we had run a 3:30 pace. Hmmm. Well it was mostly downhill, so okay.  Then kilometer 2 went by at 3:34 pace. Hmmmm. Still I felt good and was keeping up with the top 2.

We then hit some hills and my pace dropped to 3:45 on each of the next 2 kilometers and started to just drift slowly from the top 2. Over the next few kilometers I slowly drifted back, not fast though and saw them for most of the run, just in the distance.

I couldn't hear anyone behind me, but I knew that someone named Sasha was there, as I ran by numerous cars on the side of the road cheering her on. No time for looking back though. My pace was high and I felt really good.

Soon I was approaching the 10km mark. Having done some calculations the day before to prep for the 10km race on Sunday, I knew that I was going to go sub 38 min at this point. I checked as my watched beeped through the 10th km mark and saw 37:04. A new PB by 1:49. Well that was something. But I still had a little more than 1 km to go.

At this point we had to take a quick little left right jog to get back to the main road and I coudl just see over my shoulder that Sasha was maybe 100m at most behind me. It was hard to want to give up 3rd place at this point so I pushed hard again down hill, then up to the finish and surged just enough to cross the line in 3rd with an official time of 40:43 and a pace of 3:38 min/km. Where did that come from?  Needless to say I was pretty happy.

After spending the rest of the day cheering on my team and enjoying yummy burritos at the finished line of Leg 10, I headed home tired and weary and ready for sleep. My sun burn and sore legs didn't help with the sleep though.

I arrived at the MEC 10K trail race bright and early on a super cold morning, perfect for racing.

My calves hurt, I was quite tired but I had accomplished my goal for the weekend already, so this was going to be fun (I always say that). I would be satisfied with a medal, maybe even a win if possible (you never know who shows up for these races). I also needed to have a 38ish min 10km. That would cement in my mind that I was a sub 39 min 10km runner for sure.

We took off, and I hung out with the 15km runners and top 2 5km runner at first. The 5km guys pulled a slight gap but soon turned around and headed back. I was with Adam and Chad until the 10km turn around and checked my average pace, 3:47 at that point. So still in the sub 38 min world, not by much but there. and as I tuend I saw no one behind us. So it was my race to lose I guess.

I headed back and passed many other runners heading out. The loose gravel was a little speed sapping, my legs were done running and I keep pushing as best as I could. My speed started to dip a bit but I knew I had a low 38 min 10km time at this point and as the kilometers passed by I knew I just had to hang on.

I crossed the bridge that was about 400m from the finish and picked up my pace as best as I could, then just before the line saw the clock was at 37:50, so I sprinted (ish) and crossed the line at 37:54. Done, spent and happy. Wow, what a come back from an early season of lower results. And finally a win for the year, that felt really nice, especially wearing my nice new Kinesic Sports lab top. Thanks Jeff Z.

2 great races with great volunteers and race directors. And it was also great cheering my wife into the finish as she did the 15km run with a great pace and time result on her way to what will be a great Valley Half marathon in a few weeks. And it was nice seeing more of my running group the Timberlea Tundra Pounders come out to this style of racing. Slightly lower key, but all kinds of fun.

10 and 5 km winners

So now a little rest during the week before, yes, the next race. Oh my. 

The Duathlon of Champions in Wolfville 2015

This past weekend saw a new Duathlon in the Province, the Duathlon of Champions. This was a fundraiser event for cancer, specifically to raise funding for research into cancer in adolescents and young adults (AYA) and the role of exercise in treatment.

The night before I had attended and taken part in a barre class (look it up, it was great) to help raise funds for prostate cancer research. That was 45 minutes of crazy intense workingout and I was left a little weak in the hips afterwards. So basically I wasn't sure how I was going to do at the duathlon, but it would be fun.

I arrived at the race site and got setup fairly early. That allowed me a little warming up as well as casual chat time. There were some great cyclists present, and on a course like this I knew that my cycling wouldn't be nearly on par, but I hoped that I still had a little speed on the run left in me. A success would be having the fastest first run in my mind.

We soon lined up after our prerace briefing.

And then we were off. I let Zach take the lead right off the bat and tucked in behind him. He is a spectacular cyclist and a pretty darn fast runner as well. We quickly started to set a fairly fast tempo doing the first kilometer in 3:38 and pulling a slight gap over the other runners.

As we started to get close to the 2 km mark, I was feeling strong so I decided to take the lead. Right after doing so I was presented with the option of going left or right and went left. Turns out that was wrong. So from first to 5th just like that.

I picked a pace and continued on, slowly closing the gap. All told I probably lost about 200-300 meters on the group by starting the wrong turn. But I wasn't trying to kill myself to catch the pack. Still, I knew I wanted that first run to be mine.

Within a kilometer I caught the 2-4th place runners and pulled passed them. Then over the next 500 meters I managed to catch back onto Zach (by the way he had taken that wrong turn as well). Coming to the finish of the first run we were side by side, so I pushed forth and claimed the first run. Whew, that was some work.

I finished officially in 18:41 for 5k, though it was more like 5.2km. Not bad. A quick T1 (28 seconds for the 2nd fastest T1) and onto the bike I went.

This route had 2 spots where police were supposed to wave us through stop signs. Sadly the police didn't show up. So I had to stop at the first sign and wait my turn (4 way stop). Then off I went.

Heading out was fine and I felt good, though was soon passed by the top three riders. I put my head down and kept riding.

I looked for the turn off that was supposed to be coming up and again the police didn't show up. But there was no traffic so I made the turn without incident. Though this may or may not have been the right turn, as it became obvious that without enough volunteers (and the police not showing up) we all got a little confused as to the proper course turns. We all seemed to make it to the turn around and all managed to get about the same distance, so I guess we are all good. Except Zach. He went for a long distance ride into the far off distance.

My dead legs and confusion at points of the course lead to  only the 9th fastest time on the bike with just shy of a 32km/hr 20km ride. Knowing my spot in the race near the end of the ride, I also let up a bit to get ready for the final run.

The fastest T2 of the day followed, as I dismounted and switched to my running shoes. Then off to the trail I went.

I wanted a fast run and I got it. fastest second run of the day, 2.5k in 8:38 for an average of 3:28. That run may have been a bit short, so that speed may be a bit on the fast side, but I know it hurt.

I crossed the line in fourth place overall and second in my age group (behind Kevin). Not my most stellar outing, but I was really happy with the runs.  Now onto another weekend double header of running only event. Whew, this is a busy month.

Maritime Race Weekend Double Header 2015

So this passed weekend was the Maritime race Weekend. 2 races in 2 days. This year I opted for the 5km Friday night race (well this is the only choice for the Friday night race) and the Half marathon on Saturday morning.

I could go on and on about the great setup and great volunteers and atmosphere but why bother. It's all great. This race is well put together and is about as smooth an operation as you can get in a race this large (about 3000 runners in various races).  So lets go straight to the race.

The 5km race on Friday is a good one. Really quite flat for a coastal race, with a few minor rises and falls. It is an out and back on a closed (pretty much) road. So as a faster runner you get a lot of cheering from the crowd as you make the turn around.

This year I thought I would see if I could possibly beat my PB 5km time from last year, a 18:04. Still I didn't want to kill myself before the next days race! We lined up and were soon off.

A couple of runners took off quickly. I held back, just like last year. A few runners passed me and I figured I was feeling good, so I jumped on with them. We soon caught all of the early leaders and headed off. At this point I was in third spot.

As the leader took off ahead a little more I attempted to gain on second place and soon pulled up. We made the turn around and headed back. The air was really humid, but cool, and so far it wasn't killing me. I didn't bother to look at my Garmin. Heart rate and pace weren't a concern as my goal was to hang with second place. First was either going to burn himself out or else keep pulling away. I could in no way match his pace.

Soon the finish was coming up. I again pulled up to second place, said hello, then dropped in behind him. I held that spot for a bit but he kicked it with about 400 meters to go and I was already at max. I ran down the finish line straight and crossed the line with a new PB of 17:39. Wowza, where did that come from (training I guess).

Well the next morning I was back at it, same starting point (we line up by pace) and ready to go. Sorry for the lack of photos, but they aren't ready yet. Soon we were off. My plan was to head out at a moderate 4 min/km pace and see how that felt after awhile, hopefully dragging myself up to a 3:58 avg pace and another PB. Well that didn't quite happen.

That humidity from the night before was still in the air, but now with a nice bit of warmth. I felt okay heading into the 10km mark, but that was when the series of hills started. I had worked myself up to 4th place overall and was hanging with the group but started to drift back.

The legs kept turning over but something wasn't quite right. I just had no steam. Maybe it was the humidity, maybe the the fast 5km the night before, likely a combo of both, but I was not feeling it.

I hung on to the 3rd place runner for quite awhile but with 5 km to go he was far enough ahead that there was no way those tired limbs of mine could do anything about it. And I started to glance backwards, which is never a good sign. My pace average had drifted to 4:02 with 4 km to go and even though I knew it was downhill, I wasn't feeling good at all about going sub 1:25 (let alone the sub 1:24 I had hoped for).

As the final few kilometers approached, I started to run amoung the slower 10 km runners. Mentally I felt like slowing down to a walk and hanging out with them. But I let momentum carry me along. Finally the finish line came up. I crossed the line in 1:25:46 and in 4th place overall, first age group. ouch. It felt worse than the marathon I had run here 1 year ago to the day.

Still I am happy overall. Not every race turns out to awesome, and while the time wasn't what I wanted, my overall placing was good and I still finished in the 1:25 bracket. So back to training for something better next time!

Thanks again to the organizers. And now onto a month+ of racing. Bring on November and rest!