MEC Race 2 - 5K at the Halifax Citadel (a week later)

So here we are a week later and I finally have the time to sit down and do a quick write up on the race I did last Sunday.

MEC's second race of the year was held at the Halifax Citadel and this is my 5th year doing this race. Not a race where PB is to be had, this race covers a crazy assortment of terrain, and finally after a 2 year absence we were back to running the full course again. The last 2 seasons saw too much water and or snow limit where we could run.

The weather was great. The wind had died back a bit from the day before, the temp was above 10C and the sun was peaking out. I thought about shorts but opted for light weight tights and short sleeves.

I took my spot at the start of the race with the other speedsters and soon we were off with the shot of a gun, fun times in the National Historic Site.

Very quickly we rounded the inside of the fort on a light gravel and took off for the main gate of the site.

I found a good pace and fell into fourth place overall. Then it was onto asphalt as we rounded the fort and then took a steep dive to street level below before coming back up the hill. I was now in third and easily catching second place.

Before we hit the next down hill section I took over second place and the gap settled to Peter in first, who was running great. As we headed back up the hill I caught up to peter and felt the pace we were both running now was great for me, hard but doable. I thought I could have surged forward, but we were only 3 km in and had more than enough crazy adventures to come so I stayed where I was.

As we rounded the fort again we popped into the back entrance and through a dark tunnel with oddly positioned stairs. It was blinding going from bright to dark to bright again, but it was fast. We then hit the second tunnel and it was worse  with a wet floor, tiny stairs down and a low ceiling. With a large lead at this point, peter and I slowed right down and shuffled through and out into the ditch (dry moat).

So now we were running on spongy grass and leaping over various divots and holes. I briefly took the lead at this point as I had run this a few times and told Peter to tuck in behind me. We then popped out of the ditch and onto the main road again to finish rounding the fort for a final time.

As we started back into the main gate Peter took the lead but then we were presented with a giant stair case up. I decided with about 0.5 km to go I better make my move and took the steps 2 at a time, taking the lead and surging onto the ramparts. Now I just needed to hang on, but this area is hard to pass in with guns (canons) and steps up and down before a final downward ramp to the finish.

I picked up the pace at the ramp and cross the finish line in first place, the site of my first win 4 years ago (this place likes me). Peter came zipping over the line less than 10 seconds later. I finished in 17:46.

 This shot shows Peter and I after the finish  as seen from the ramparts. Yes, they are high up.

Now back to training and getting ready for the Bluenose 10K in May. Many aches and pains to clean up and address, but it is nice being in my 40's and still finding some speed.

A Few Things From the Week of March 20, 2016

Okay so I could have posted sooner but I did not. The week started with a 25 km fun run called the Moose Run. It has been going on for 24 years now and I have finally found the time and health to do it myself.

You have 2 options with the Moose Run, solo or team, and while it isn't a race some people do treat it as such. I, though, didn't want to do that and opted to become an unofficial pace bunny. Primarily I was trying to pace my friend Craig along on what would be a hard training run for him. A pace slightly slower than he will be running at an up coming half marathon, but longer and hillier. I also liked the idea of pacing as it would help keep me from racing it too hard, and I really had not put the training into this kid of distance at speed this year.

Well we didn't hit our main goal of a 4:45 pace but we did keep the total run in at 2 hours, so I think Craig is on track towards getting a great half marathon time come May on a much flatter course.

A bunch of our run club also came over for the run, all with great results.

I also had another blood lactate test with the awesome Coach JZ at Kinesic Sport Lab. I felt good going in mentally and physically and felt better mentally leaving. Physically I was wiped but I did get some great results. Once Jeff is done compiling those numbers I'll write up another post with pretty graphs.  Needless to say, I have the capacity for a bit more, so that is going to be fun.

I got back in the pool, as I had missed the week before due to some family issues. The swim didn't feel great, but my times were still on par with where I had been, so that is totally encouraging.

Some great trainer rides also happened this week. With the weather getting nicer and nicer I will soon have to make the switch to outdoors, but then how the heck will I keep up with my tv shows?

I finished this weekend with back to back 13 km runs. I have a bit of a cold so I decided to skip the hard workouts and aim for more of a recovery easy pace. The first run yesterday was at a 4:27min/km pace. Not bad for a heart rate zone of 1 on avg (my new zone 1) and with the same effort level today I ran the same course at a 4:21 pace.

I also became a #MoveItMonday ambassador over at moveitmonday.org.  Move It Monday is an international campaign encouraging people of all fitness levels to kick off the week with exercise.

Now on to some real recovery with a family supper.

Final Speed Skating Race of the Year - The 10 km Marathon v2

The final long track speed skating race of the year (for me) took place last weekend. I signed up for one race in the 2 day event, the 10km skate marathon. I had done this event a few weekends ago and wanted to see if I had made any progress from then to now.  Back then I finished with a time of 29:26, on a very cold day with a heavy crosswind.

This day was different. Warm temps, heavy wind down the back stretch and fresh, soft ice was probably far worse, at least for skating. But you skate with the conditions that exist, so off we went.

As this was more of an official event, compared to last time, we started in rows of 7 and the first lap was neutral, which means you take it "easy" and hold your position, hitting the start/finish line at speed (though that lap counts for distance and time).

Like any marathon event, this is all about pacing. And with the really harsh head wind on the back straight, it was about not over cooking things fighting to move forward.

I was amazed at the speed of the fastest skaters as they coudl easily form a train for the early part of the race and work together. it was quite good to watch, even as they eventually lapped me a couple of times. But even that train fell apart as the end of their race approached.

By the halfway mark, my lower back was starting to ache, but I tried my hardest to keep low and work on technique. With a few laps to go I was just praying for the finish as i soldiered on alone. I assumed with the wind and poor ice that my time wasn't going to be that great (for me) but I still hoped to keep it under 30 minutes. Somehow I managed to not only go a little faster than last time but crush it by almost 2 minutes overall with a time of 27:42. Wowza. (the winner did it in a little over 18 minutes by the way).

Of the 20 skaters I was 18th, so yeah, not some leap of perfection by any stretch, but it is progress and that is nice to see.

Overall speed skating reminds me a lot of swimming. Both are highly technical and form plays such a key role in speed for both. The worse your form, the more effort you need to put in to get any where and that wears you out. On the plus side, I burn more calories than those efficient fast skates and swimmers, ha ha.

With the crazy warm winter we are having, the long track oval may be pretty much done for the year, so who knows if I will get out for another skate or not. Regardless what a great winter it has been and I really am looking for more skating next year. Joining the Nova Scotia Masters Speed Skating Club was a great idea for me.

Another Speed Skating Race Report

This time a picture!

There I am just starting the 3000m mass start event. But first things first.

The day started out much warmer than last week's race. This time the wind was a head/tail win and not a cross wind which was nice. But the warmer weather and rain we had received during the week made the ice quite soft and took away the snow piles in the corners.

The day before i was trying to go hard in the corners during training and fell. Nothing major, just a slip with no consequences, but it did give me a little hesitation during the race because without the snow piles, you basically go onto a gravel area and into a fence. Ouch.

Anyway, first race up for me was the 500m Olympic style race. I was facing off against Greg this week. I decided to really go for the start and once given the go I was off, running awkwardly down the ice and quickly into the lead. But then my less than stellar cornering combined with the desire to not fall lead to me falling behind pretty quickly. I kept up slightly on the back stretch but Greg easily pulled away in the second corner. The push to the finish was on wobbly legs, as is always the case in the 500m and I crossed the line in 1:01.71. While I felt like it was my worst race in the 500m of the year, it turns out my horrible awkward skating style still managed a PB time by 4 seconds. I guess that running start of mine actually did some good.  Overall I was 13th out of 25 skaters. Mid pack seems to be my finishing place this year in that race.

Then onto the 300m  mass start. Mass start requires  little more safety equipment (check out my cool Kevlar ankle protectors). It also requires some guts for the glory. You need to be bold at the start of the race and I certainly was not. We all started quickly together and I was right on the tail end up in the group until another skaters barged in at the corner. I got stuck there for a moment and then repassed on the straight. Unfortunately I lost contact with the skaters in front by that time.  I opted to be conservative with my speed for the race lasts quite awhile but still tried to catch up to the skater in front for a draft. I just couldn't make that push through though and by the last couple of laps my legs were dying.

I pushed as hard as I could on the last lap with wobbly legs and crossed the line in a time of 7:41.74. 7th out of 8 in my group. And seeing as this was my first 3000m, a PB I guess. Hopefully next season I can blow that away.

One more race I know about coming up this weekend. Another 10K marathon skate. I look forward to it and trying to beat my old time. We'll see!

Ugh, So Behind. Quick Race Report and a Movie Review!

I meant to keep up on this fast paced racing I am doing, but time does slip by.

Last weekend was another great bit of speed skate racing on Sunday. Well great to race but the conditions were crazy. High cross winds and freezing cold temps (-15C or less) made things tricky.

I signed up for the 500m and the 1500m races, Olympic style. This mean a 2 person battle and then all times are tallied at the end.

I had been working on my cross overs the week leading up to this and had made some good progress. I also found some fault in my form that was slowing me down, so that was nice to also work on (I am slamming my foot down too early).

The 500m was always going to be fast. My start was great and as I was on the inside lane I manged to hold the lead til the back straight, when I was passed just before the final corner. As the 500m is all about pushing hard, my form fell apart a little. I managed my cross overs in the first corner into the wind, but didn't feel safe on the second corner with the huge wind gusts at my back. I pushed through to the finish in a time of 65 seconds. That was second in my heat, 13th overall out of 23 skaters. The fastest skater, Cooper, was awesome to watch.

I had not raced the 1500m before so this was going to be a test of speed and endurance for me. I had a great start and hit the first corner fast. Too fast as a wind gust made me almost fall and I lost a lot of momentum regaining my balance. The 1500m is 3 laps long and I was already quite behind by the end of lap 1. The next corner wasn't so bad and I made it to the back straight in good form. But finally my endurance failed on the last lap and I was just happy to stay upright as I pushed to the finish line.  I finished second in my heat and 11th out of 11 skaters overall. My time was 3:27. Yeah, not very fast, but still fun.

Last night I was privileged to get into a sneak preview of the movie Race, the story of Jessie Owens' race towards getting into the Olympics and his success at the Berlin Olympics.

First off, how this has not been a major movie before now, I will never know. It is one of those stories that has everything Hollywood loves. Underdog, natural but rough around the edges kind of guy, raise to glory, some stumbles and then success. The story is fairly well known (at least you can easily look it up) so as is usually the case in these biopics, it is all about a well crafted script keeping you on edge.

I think this is a must see story. It is well told and extremely well filmed. The acting is great and I was impressed with the fact that the lead actor managed to capture Jessie's running style so well.  Now as is always the case in a biopic that is a 2 hour glimpse into a person's life, the focus is on the highs and lows, and I am sure some things were missed, others combined and others exaggerated. But the feeling is there and the important aspects are there.

As a runner, you want to see more of the athletics, but I understand the need to temper that with the side stories.  But I just suggest if you see it, pay close attention when Jessie arrives at the Olympic track and field venue. For me, that was so well done and was the building point I had been waiting for.

Back to it, I'll post again soon as I have a race this Sunday on the Oval!
 


 

Speed Skating Race Take 2 - The Marathon

So this past weekend I was able to take part in another speed skating event. Rather than the more traditional 2 up Olympic style event this would be a mass start marathon event. Apparently in the speed skating world a marathon is anything over 10km, with this one being around 10.1km (I think). 26 full laps.

In this style of event you have your timing chip on and start in a mass group. Due to its length, a super speedy start isn't totally important, though people did get off the line as quickly as they could.

The day before I had been working on my cross overs in the corner. This is where speed is built in speed skating and an area I just could not get a hold of. Thankfully I got some one on one lessons that really helped. I am not where near good at cross overs yet, but I am now approaching the point where I can get them without feeling like I will fall over. The trick being a speedy cadence (gee that pops up on my blog a lot) going into the corner and crouching low.

Due to being in a crowd to start the race, I avoiding attempting cross overs. I didn't want to trip anyone up. After a few laps I was mostly by myself and decided it was worth the risk to give it a try, as this was a for fun race anyway. And wow, what a difference. The speed you can carry through a corner with cross overs is significant.

The wind was high and picked up throughout the race. It was strong on the front straight pushing you right down the ice into the first corner. It was wicked on the back stretch, so carry that speed from the front and through the corner was essential, otherwise you suffered all the way to the second corner.

I did try to do my cross overs in both corners but I found that I was quite tired fighting the wind going up the back straight and therefore just didn't have the secure footing I needed to feel safe.

After about 3 km I could really feel my aching lower back. I am still working on proper form . Luckily the strong wind allowed me to stand and stretch a bit before committing to a tuck going into the wind. A couple of laps like that helped a lot.

My race stayed pretty much the same throughout. I was initially skating with two other guys until they pulled away. At about 7km in a woman passed me but was only able to pull away by about 50 meters or so and held station. I suspect it was during some of my stand up and stretches where she caught up to me.  I summed enough strength to hold my tuck through the final 2 km, though, and repassed her and on the final lap caught up to and passed one of the guys who I had skated with initially.

I wish I could say I skated out of the final corner on the last lap strong and pushed hard to the end, but that would be fantasy. Well i did push hard, but my legs were shaky and my form was shot. Still I crossed the line for my longest skate race ever (previously it was 5km) in a time of 29:26 and 11th out of 15 total skaters. The winner had a smooth time of 22:18. Considering my best 5km time from the last few years has been over 15 minutes, I think this has been a great improvement.

I followed this event with a 5km easy run and 2100m in the pool. Man, it is tough being a triathlete some days.  

MEC Race #1 - 5KM Point Pleasant Park Winter Classic, 2016

As usual the end of January brings with it crazy conditions for racing. Last year this race was cold, blustery and the path was hard slippery ice. This year was warm, melty and icy, though the ice was a combo of mushy and hard. Fantastic!

After last year's race where I had to slow down in some spots, this year I opted to spike my shoes to add some grip. This is a common thing done by winter runners, but this is the first year I have decided to do it. 10 big fat screws per shoe gave me plenty of grip.

This race had 2 options, the 5km and the 10km. I opted to do the 5km as I had in the past. I was hoping to beat 19 min (not a PB) on this hilly icy course, as it would be a course best for me.

We lined up (a little late due to the huge popularity of the race and the last minute sign ups) and after a good pre race warning about icy conditions we were off!

Last year I raced a guy for the 5km lead, not worrying about the 10km runner in front of us. That 10km runner dropped to the 5km race at the end and took the win. This year I was not going to be beat that way. I fell in behind Drew (who I knew was 10km all the way) and held pace with him for the first 3km of the race.

It was pretty rough footing, with ruts, ice, slush, mud and even bare sidewalk. My shoe choice, though, was working perfectly with plenty of great grip. Perhaps I had a little too much grip when we hit the cement sidewalks, but that section was really short, so not an issue.



I really like the 3 km mark of this race as you get to run for about 150-200m with the other runners going the other way. So there is a little cheering and high fiving. But then you immediately head to go down Cable.

If you don't know Cable, you are lucky. It is a steep hill with twists and turns, off leash dogs and random people. Running up it is hard. Running down it in the ice is worse. At this point I fell off a little from Drew but held on to second overall and first spot on the 5km at this point. Remember, in ice lots of little steps are better than a few big ones. So high cadence is your friend! ( I just did not have enough trust in those spiked shoes to go full speed but maybe I should have).

Follow Cable, it is a pretty straight forward run to the finish. Power through some small rollers, watch your footing and stay strong.

I was comfortably in the lead of the 5km at this point, but was still hoping for that sub 19 minute finish. A few more dogs got in the way, though nothing major. But this section of the park was quite mushy now that the sun was warming things up even more. It was really sucking the oomph from the old legs.

Time was getting tight so i picked it up a little, and then pushed hard for the finish line. I crossed first and won, but alas fell short of my goal time and officially finished in 19:14. I really think that if I had more trust in my shoes and cadence I could have found that speed on Cable, but thems the breaks. Besides, it is a nice way to start the season of running. A win! I was 1:27 ahead of second place.

Now to get back to some speed and hill work again. And a build on some distance, which has been lacking a bit. But I think some more speed skating races are going to happen soon as well.

Once you think of this race as a trail race or cross country epic, you really start to like it a whole lot. Can't wait for next year!