MEC 5K Race Report

I knew this was going to be a tough day, but I did my best to put those thoughts to the side as I prepared for my first 5K race in six years. The idea was to test my current fitness, and I think I got what I wanted out of it despite going into the race rather tired and sore...

In short, the day was chilly and a bit wet, which of course is perfect for racing! No complaints from me on that front. My goal was to break 20 minutes. Based on some workouts I'd done over the Winter I thought I had a real shot at this goal. However, it seems that treadmills and footpads are not very accurate, and my current state of feeling tired with heavy legs perhaps isn't indicative of what I was capable of back then. However, I wanted to run a 5K to see where I was at and to base my training for a Fall marathon on that result. After all, the BQ as nice as it would be, may not be realistic at the moment given how much time I would have to take off my current PR in order to achieve this ultimate of goals.

In summary, I ran to the limits of my fitness and with that I am happy. Within the first kilometre I know it was going to be a tough day. My first split was 4:05.58, so I was falling behind the goal early. My second split was even more telling at 4:10.90. This trend was not good and I could feel it in my lungs that things were unlikely to get any faster. I was proven right when the third and fourth splits came it at 4:10.37 and 4:14.07. Ugh... By the last two kilometres I was really struggling, but at least I passed a few people that had been just ahead of me from the start. I was only passed by one runner with a little less than one kilometre left and he looked quite fresh, chatting to me as he ran by. A guy I had passed slowly earlier on hung onto my heels for quite a while, but with about a few hundred metres left and the Finish line in sight I was able to lengthen my stride just a touch and pulled away from him. My last split was 4:07.97. I guess it was never meant to be...

And I really hope I didn't get beat by a woman with an umbrella and a camera bag!

However, this is still a Personal Best at 20:49.7, so I guess that's something. It also allows me to set up my training for the marathon based on paces derived from this result. In the end I think it will be a lot safer for me to train this way rather than try and go for the ultimate prize of the BQ, which clearly I am not quite ready for.

Perhaps another test race this Summer will allow for a revisit of the above, but for now it's to the books to check what my paces for Long runs, Tempo runs, and Speed/Strength runs should be.

In much more exciting news my 10 year-old ran an amazing race! I told him, based on a few training runs, that he had a decent chance at breaking 30 minutes for the 5K. Instead, the kid goes out and pulls through a tremendous 25:06.2!!! 5:01/km pace is amazing!!! Another runner came up to us after the race and congratulated my son for a terrific race and strategy. He said that he followed Malks for the first three kilometres at a steady pace, but was unable to keep up when Malks picked up his speed with two kilometres remaining. I caught him as he was just finishing (as I was running some cool down laps in the parking lot) and was not only surprised at when he was finishing as I thought I had a lot more time to cool down, but with the way he ran across the timing mats and kept running right to me!!! The kid is awesome.

A Down Week Before A Test Race

I'm feeling wiped. The allergy season (stupid trees) coupled with life in general is draining at the moment. I recognize that my running isn't exactly in the "a lot" range, but the last two weeks saw me running more than I have in about a year and a half. Namely, six days per week and both weeks over 50km. Like I said, not "a lot" in so many ways, but when you've been running either significantly less than that or not at all if feels like a goodly amount...

Anyway, it has come to pass that my official marathon training plan of 18-weeks and the Hansons variety (hopefully without too much modification if this wonky body allows) starts a week from today. In the meantime I am taking this week to recuperate somewhat for two reasons: 1. just because I'm wiped, and 2. because I have that little 5K race on Sunday to test my fitness. I might as well go into it with enough rest to establish my current fitness more accurately as per the result (and subsequently use said result to set up a realistic pacing strategy for marathon training and racing).

So, here's to a down week. I personally hate them as I always feel either guilty for not training, or just beat myself up for losing fitness. In any case, I realize that taking a break once in a while is important to the overall goal of qualifying for Boston. So I'll try to actually do it right and not work too hard!

Just go to the gym a few times...

And, of course, run a few times...

But not every day.

I think...

First Race in a While

As the magical 18 weeks until the goal marathon are coming up in less than two weeks I've decided to try and gauge my fitness with something other than going to the local High School track and run a mile as fast as possible. Mostly, I'm not sure that would be as much fun as it sounds and I think I will get a better sense of where my abilities are in the present with a nice 5K, no?

So, it fits rather nicely that there is a local and very low key race on Sunday, May 31st and that counting back 18 weeks from my goal marathon in the Fall brings me right to June 1st. I actually do get a kick over how that worked out...

Anyway, I figure a 5K is better to assess my fitness level than anything I could do on my own and I wasn't really interested in running a 10K or 15K (two other distances available for the same event), or searching for a half marathon somewhere. In the end I realize that a 5K can't tell you as much about your marathon potential than a longer race, but I still think there's value in it. Mainly, based on this result I will be better able to set my paces for training and, in theory, the marathon itself. I suppose a spot check or two during the 18-week training period will also be advisable, but I may not ever get to it. Rather, I suspect I will try and use my results from the tempo and speed sessions to determine whether my pacing goal is too aggressive, just right, or not fast enough.

Oh yeah, I will be trying out the Hansons Marathon Method plan for this marathon. It feels right to me and I've blended the Beginner and Advanced plans into one to give me some wiggle room on mileage, although both plans top out near 100K in the high weeks anyway. Here's what it looks like:

We'll see what the 5K results says about my fitness! I'm very curious myself and am still wondering how I will manage the pacing for this event. Based on some faster sessions I did over the winter, all on the treadmill, I should be able to easily beat my current PR of 21:20, but then again I haven't been running all that fast in over a month and am lacking in confidence in my ability to hold a (for me) pace at or below 4:00/km for that duration. My dream goal, of course, is to run faster than 19:30, but I'd also be very pleased with anything under 20 minutes. I just hope that the weather is good and that my health is good on May 31st!

Wow! We make our own beds, then must lie in them...

It's been a while since I last committed thoughts to blog here, but the fury in the running community over the alleged cheating of one Boston Marathon finisher has really taken be aback. The short story is this guy posted a letter that his kid's principal sent informing him that the child's absence from school to attend his Boston race was not a sufficient excuse (i.e. the kid wasn't sick). His BIG mistake was not to argue with the principal about the merits of the educational benefits of a family trip to the Boston Marathon, but rather posting the principal's name! Now the poor principal is apparently receiving death threats from numerous losers, which is something that I cannot fathom from any sensible to remotely sane person doing...

But on the running front, this runner has now brought his entire racing and running history under the microscope of the running community. Seems like he cheated his way into his BQ and now the posse is on the loose. Makes for interesting reading to look through the Runner's World Forum and LetsRun.com community threads. A lot of hate out there to be sure... Though I did find these memes very amusing! Mr. Rossi seems to be a publicity hound, and he sure hit the jackpot on this one.

Which brings me to my current state of affairs. As I embark on a plan to train for and run the Prince Edward County Marathon on October 4th, 2015, I am faced with the prospect, if everything falls into place, of defending my result. Given my injury history I recognize that the potential for me to BQ this year is remote, but that does not mean that I will train to NOT qualify. What if the miracle of miracles happens and I train health, hit all my paces, take care of my body, nutrition, rest, and on the day have the run of my life and qualify? Who out there will then go through my past results and possibly question my achievement? I suppose keeping this blog up and running is one way as it shows clearly the ups and downs that I've gone through. Another way is to make my Garmin data public. Then again why should I have to worry about justifying my future success to anyone other than myself and my family when I know that my training and my racing performance has ultimately lead to a legitimate result?

Too early to think about such a horrible possibility, but never too early to state unequivocally that I would never dream of cheating to get to Boston. Qualifying may be easy for some, but it sure as hell is not for me. In the seven years since I've picked up running I have not come close to qualifying. Through ups and downs, successes and failures, milestone achievements (few) and disappointments (many), and all of the personal history that is amassed throughout the process, I would never be able to sleep at night nor face my family if I cheated on something that I've already committed so much time and energy into doing. If it's not to be it's not to be; I can live with that. But I will not give up and look back on what might have been if I cheat and give anything less than my best effort. What lessons would I be teaching my kids in the process? And what is the point of doing something so personal as training for and running a race that really has no meaning to anyone except the runner themselves and then deciding that just getting to run the race, no matter what, is more important that achieving the standard in the first place? Running the BQ standard, fair and square, is much more important to me than actually participating in the Boston Marathon.

I hope to do both. And I hope my kids are able to share the experience with me.