Race Recap, Part Three - The Big Day (Miles 13-26)

It's 11:30PM, and I just got back to my house after a long photo shoot with my band Penny Blacks. I planned on going on my first run since the marathon today, but I couldn't get my duff off the couch after work. I need to come up with a new goal soon, or I'll end up getting out of shape again.

Tonight, my goal is to finish my marathon recap. Let's get to it, shall we?

Mile 13-19: A Mighty Wind, and a Mighty Good Friend

I hit the halfway mark in 1:36.05, and noticed I was catching up to a couple of marathoners. I passed one gentleman shortly after the half-marathon checkpoint, and caught up to captain Corona around mile fourteen. He was still in good spirits, and offered a few words of encouragement as I ran by. Captain Corona ended up finishing about ten minutes behind me, which made me wonder how fast he would have run without the six pack in his belly. I guess I'll never know.

Mile fifteen offered my a pleasant surprise in the form of Clinton Charlton. He agreed to bike with me for part of the race, but I never followed up for fear that I was driving him crazy with my marathon obsession. However, Clinton is a man of his word, and picked my spirits up before I succumbed to the mid-race doldrums. He informed me that I was in sixth place, but worried about my pace. "Dude, the speed limit here is 50," he said, without a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "You better slow down."

Unfortunately, the conditions forced me to take his advice. The strong cross wind became a strong head wind shortly after we joined forces, and the once easy course became quite hilly. I maintained my effort, passing another runner in the process, but knew the conditions were taking a toll on my time.

Luckily, the worst of the hills ended around mile sixteen, and a change of direction at mile seventeen eliminated the headwind. I was back in business, with less than ten miles to go.

Mile 19 - Finish Line: What Wall?

I was starting to venture into rarely charted territory, and wondered if I had enough gas left in the take to avoid the dreaded wall. My body felt okay, and Clinton was keeping me alert, but I wasn't convinced that I could make it to the finish line without walking. Instead of worrying about it, though, I started picking up the effort at each mile checkpoint, much like I did in my training sessions. Clinton kept me encouraged, as did the water stop teams and the supporters that dotted the course. Marta Kelly and Dean Strowbridge drove by me a half dozen times, honking their horn and cheering me on every time they drove past. I have some great friends, don't I?

I don't know if I ran around it or through it, but the wall was never an issue. Sure, it took a little more effort to climb hills, and I was a little crankier than usual for the last couple of miles, but this was a breeze in comparison to my other marathons. I wasn't going to qualify for Boston, but I couldn't have asked for a better marathon. I was having a wonderful day.

I ran into Alex Coffin with less than a mile to go, and he informed me that my fiancee was at the finish line and waiting for me. I picked up the pace with the hopes of looking strong for my finish line photo, and was greeted by Sarah (my fiancee), her mother, her brother, and five other friends. I crossed the finished line to a healthy round of applause, and then spent the next few minutes grinning like a fool and giving my friends and family sweaty hugs.

The rest of the marathon experience was a bit of a blur. I had a ton of food (they had a full roast pig at the post-race meal), a wonderful leg massage, and several great running chats with friends. Who could ask for anything more?

So, that's my marathon in three posts or less. I have one more post about the KV Challenge yet to come, so visit again soon!

Nature Park (now with 5 times more park!)

I am running the Kennebecasis Challenge Marathon in less than a month, and I have yet to set foot on the course. I planned on running the route today (well, a portion of it) with Brent Bethune and a handful of local runners, but fell asleep on my couch and missed the alarm clock. By the time I woke up, they were already well into their run. Guess I'll have to wait until race day.

Waking up late threw a major wrench in my running plans. My next move was to call Chris Fudge, but he had family obligations and couldn't join me on a three hour jaunt (I haven't seen him much since our fateful Labour Day run; I hope he's not weary of biking with me). I was going to call Clinton Charlton, but he spends every Sunday with his daughter and I figured he wouldn't have time. This meant I would have to run alone, which left me with one option: five loops of the Irving Nature Park.

I wasn't exactly overjoyed with the notion of running the park five times, and took my sweet time getting ready. By the time I was ready to head out the door it was 4:00PM, which barely gave me enough time to finish before dark. Could I do it?

Loop 1: 32:23

I went through the first kilometer in a little over five minutes, which I thought was a little quick for a long, slow, distance run. However, I hard time slowing down, and ended up averaging a little less than five minutes per kilometer for the entire loop. My finishing time was two minutes faster than my quickest loop during my last long Nature Park Run (see Nature Park Park Park Park and a Bit for details), and I wondered if I could hold the pace.

Loop 2: 32:12

I started out with the intent of going a little slower, and couldn't do it. My body was already locked into the pace, and I was churning the kilometers out with ease. Of course, the idea of walking the last loop crossed my mind, but I pushed the negative thoughts out of my head and continued enjoying the run.

Loop 3: 31:08

Is it just me, or is the fifth kilometer longer than the rest? It is consistently my slowest portion of the Nature Park, and it always seems to drag on forever, no matter how well I am pacing myself. I was running around 4:45 per kilometer until this dreaded kilometer, and lo and behold, I slowed down. That being said, it was still my fastest loop of the day, and I did it with ease. Maybe I would survive the run after all.

Loop 4: 31:32

If you run several loops of a park in a row, you'll inevitably see the same people more than once. I ran by one women three times; the third time she giggled and quipped, "Oh, come on now!" Apparently, running the Nature Park five times is a bit ridiculous to some people. Pain was starting to creep into my legs and hips, but it didn't affect my pace. One more loop to go.

Loop 5: 32:20

I thought I would fall apart at this point, but I managed to average five minute kilometers for the last loop. Of course, it wasn't easy; my legs were starting to tire, and the hills were proving more difficult with each passing kilometer. I had a chance to run a sub 2:40 though, so I started pretending that I was finishing my marathon with a Boston qualifying time in my sights. With one mile remaining I picked up the pace, and finished my 32.5 kilometer run in 2:39.37. I was done, and it was still light out. Sweet.

Now I am home, and feeling great. I'll probably do one more long, slow run before I start my taper (next Sunday if all goes well), but I doubt I will run as fast as I did today. With only three weeks to go, my best bet is to take it easy, and focus on recovery until the big day. Hopefully I don't run myself into ground before then.

Labour Pains, Part Three w/special guest Chris Fudge

A Laborious Weekend Run by Chris Fudge (with additional commentary by Chuck)

Right out of the gate I should known our 30 k was going to be rough one when Chuck said he was a little worried. It didn't occur to me that this time it might be rough on me! We packed up on 6 liters of water, 3 rice crisp squares, 2 granola bars and a backup fruit snack. Plenty for this run.

This was my 3rd long bike-run with chuck this season and, as always, was more than happy to be the pack mule. It gives me a little extra work on the bike while he grunts through on foot. Most times this is never really an issue and I barely notice. Until today...

Our good friend Clinton jumped on board to join us while we take in the scenery and and looked forward to the long distance challenge (it may not seem like much when you consider we are on bikes and chuck is on foot, but with little long distance experience and a pack on back, it can be).

Generally we have an action plan that is talked about earlier (see previous blogs) but on this run I think Chuck was exited to see what I thought of the off trail paths he had planned out. I was excited as well. Most of the runs we do have far more road action and I'm keen on honing my dirt skills with my Mountain Bike. Maybe a few hills, rocks to navigate and near miss trees to get my heart beating.

We headed East on the familiar Golden Grove on a very promising first day of fall. A few kilometers in Chuck took us off road and into the tress and hills. At first I could see this was a generic ATV trail that had a few 'private road' signs and nice summer cabins around some small dead lakes. Pretty typical for New Brunswick and perfect for a few fellas on bikes and a jogger.

Chuck can get a good pace when running and generally always takes the lead when I am trying to huff up a hill. This was no different today and adding dirt to play in he took off with a good start on this trail.

Our first hitch on this trail came when Clinton and I had to navigate a few small puddles. Nothing big and certainly nothing I wouldn't normally bomb through on any normal biking day, but my better judgment kicks in when I need to consider I still have 25 kilometers to bike. Wet feet can wait for the latter half.

The trail otherwise was nice. plenty of up and down with ATV tread to ride. It didn't take long to see why Chuck dediced on this path. Uphill was immenent, and as always, I spew to myself the classic 'what goes up,must come down' to motivate myself. I can always look forward to this to catch up on Chuck and ask if he wants a little hydration.

This first 'real' uphill had way too much loose rock to sweat on and Clinton and I deiced to walk our bikes up. The real problem was, this hill didn't want to stop! Clinton and I had to remind ourselves that it had to end soon, this isn't the Rockies!

Halfway up, I see Chuck. Coming down! "@#$%," he said.
"What's wrong?"
"Wrong way, there's a bus."
"Ok."

This was when I pulled out my phone. I have a GPS built in and being the geography geek I am, decided to get my bearings for the first time (a habit I plan on using at the start of ALL our future runs). It appears there was another path heading to 1st Lake.

Onward Forward! Clinton and I followed Chuck through another path, thinking there must be a path that follows the diameter of the lake. Sweet! Nothing better than a bike ride around the edge of a lake.

When Clinton and I made it down (what ended up a very fun downhill trail) we ran into Chuck again.

"!@#$"
"Wrong way?"
"Yup, shoulda kept going."

This is where things start to feel bad. Neverming that the loose rock trails were slowing us down from Chuck, but now we had to back track. And there is nothing worse than back tracking on a 30K run.

So up the path we came, losing Chuck and making our way back up the original mess we had started on.
We finally crossed path with the bus (It's pretty typical to see a VW rusting away in the deep woods of NB, but not normally a full sized school bus!) which makes me want to pose a question with Chuck: why would this upside down school bus deter you originally? You didn't see this the last time you ran this trail? (I thought the bus was on a different trail. You couldn't see it on your GPS?) It was at the point of the bus the monstrous hill we were climbing started to level off. Our best hope of catching up with Chuck was the decent that I prayed was going to happen.

And it did. Loose rock, tires splitting, head over handle bars downhill. Sound like fun? Yes and no. Yes, because it's fun to try and make our way down without killing ourselves. No, because in the back of my head, I knew we needed to catch up with Chuck to give him some of the 4 1/2 liters of water we had left. This is not easy on this kind of terrain. No bombing, just finess and careful eyes.

At the bottom we came to another fork. Well now, here's a predicament. Chuck, any chance you told us this earlier and we both forgot? Or did you miss it? (Missed it. Didn't even see it. My bad.) Out came the GPS. (Let me know when the wedding is.)

It appears that we made it to the other side of 1st Lake. There was a path leading directly to Baxter's Corner and another leading around 2nd Lake, out further into the sticks and then back to Baxter's Corner. I assumed since we had already trudged through this much wilderness that Chuck would have wanted to start making our way back through to the Airport, down to Churchland Road, and finally back to our starting point. Apparently, I was wrong.

Clinton and I hit a small a small channel that fed from 1st Lake into 2nd Lake on our way towards Baxter's Corner. We ran into a few fisherman coming the other way who answered Clinton's, "Hey Guys, know how to cross this thing?" with, "We were curious to see what you would do!" One of the fishermen just waded through upto the thigh in what appeared to be the shallow part. Clinton and I followed suit, bikes over our shoulder and over to the other side. I can't believe Chuck took us through this!! (I didn't.)

Clinton and I decided to take a small rest and head foward. My mind was still at unease, knowing that Chuck had run so far without a drop of our 3 1/2 litres of water, a fruit snack, or a nibble of the 2 granola bars.

Things got easier at this point. No more back country loose rock from hell, just pavement. Not a sight I would normally embrace,but considering the terrain we just huffed though, a happy sight.

We put our bikes in top gear to catch up to Chuck. I know this road and there is no real uphill so we I know we can make it to him. Off we go.

We were somewhere near the St . Martin's fork when I got a phone call. Chuck. (we had joked earlier about whether he had the gumption to just ask anyone if they had a phone he could use) (I have no shame.). Apparently he was BEHIND us! How? Right, the fork. Chuck's plan was to take the other lake and go around it and back track.

Clinton and I huddled around my speakerphone trying to figure out where he was when Chuck (who must have decided he had worn out his welcome on this strangers phone) said "Ok, well, I gotta go."

We couldn't do much but keep going. We didn't know where he was so I couldn't backtrack to give him water. Our only alternative was to keep going, get the car and hope we can find him. On a whim (and I would never have done this if I didn't already know I was coming back to pick it up) I set up a 500ml bottleof water in a Gatorade bottle on the side of the road. (Thank God that was you!) To many, this would look like litter. But to Chuck,it might as well have had a bow tie and flashing lights with an arrow. I could only hope he might realise this was the same old plastic bottle I've been toting on my bike the last few runs.

In light of our events, Clinton and I decided trudge through the Airport road and straight down to the Golden Grove, which apparently must was our 2nd short cutof the day. We made it back in roughly half an hour and jumped into the car. I couldn't wait to hit Chuck with the 2 1/2 liters of water and 1 granola bar. He must have been melting away.

I sped up the through way without caring that the A/C was eating up the gas. We needed to get to Chuck! He was probably a withered salty mess!

We neared the same spot we spoke with him on the phone when we saw that white clad red head bobbing up and down the road. There he is! We pulled over unsure if he would only want the water, or get in!

He got in. It was in fact enough for him too.

"Dude, you want some water?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, please ...oh, I want...to..ask you something."

I hadnt realized before he had a plastic water bottle in his hands.

"PLEASE tell me that was YOUR water bottleon the side of the road."

Yup.

I don't have an easy way to end this...uh....novel of a day, but I can tell that the next time head out, I'm charting our course. I don't want to get Chucked on the next run.

Labour Pains, Part Two w/special guest Clinton Charlton

Three Hours My Foot: My Adventure with Chuck and Chris
- by Clinton Charlton (with additional commentary by Chuck Teed)

Labour Day was a fitting metaphor for my inaugural long distance ride with my buddy Chuck Teed. Inspired by my good friend Chris Fudge, I recently purchased myself a decent bike to tackle some trails and get back into shape... somewhat (anything but a pear would be an imrpovement at this point). I was pretty excited at the idea of doing my first 30k and I spent the night before imagining what my new bike, a KHS Alite 1000, would look like covered in mud. I had visions of drinking Gatorade while summer sweat rolled down my rippling bicep (hey it's my vision alright!). The morning of, however, my excitement turned to nerves as I wondered if I would even be able to stay on my bike long enough to see the completion of the ride, let alone keep up with my friends. I have done a few rides as of late without too much effort, but certainly nothing more than 15k at the most. Oh well, no turning back now. When Chuck arrived at my house at 10am, my nerves gave way to excitement again, and I could not wait to meet up with Chris and start this journey. This was until Chuck piped up and said "I'm a little nervous about today".

PARDON ME!?!

At this point, I pounded Chuck with what was surely an unreasonable barrage of questions about what I could expect from today's trails. Chuck assured me it would be fine and that we were trekking through a series of roads and trails through the woods that would amount to about 34k altogether. Three hours from now my nerves would be replaced with that glowing sense of accomplishment and perhaps even a plate of guilt free french fries (more on that later). Alright, we're at Chuck's mom's house eating granola bars and waiting for Chris to arrive. What was I even nervous about? Chris arrives and we tune up the bikes while Chuck putters about his mom's garage. Some small talk and a few questions later, we're on the road.

"This ain't so bad" I thought. We hit a few hills right away but I knew to expect that. The weather was perfect and after the initial grunt and heavy breath, I started to catch my stride. Chris and I made small talk while Chuck ran off ahead. I knew we'd catch him on the downhills anyway, so I was not concerned. When we finally made the crest of the final hill, Chris and I stopped for a sip of Powerade while I checked out my bicep (sigh...not a single ripple). We made our way downhill to Chuck and then turned onto a dirt path that led us into the woods. The trail was great and had just enough tree trunks and small rocks to make it feel like my new bike was worth every penny. Soon the trail turned uphill and was riddled with loose rocks that resembled those you might find on a river bed. It made for a difficult climb but nonetheless, I was thoroughly enjoying myself. Again, Chuck took off ahead, with Chris and I confident we would catch him on the downhill.

Then it began...

Moments later Chuck came stammering down the trail in our direction murmuring something about a school bus and the words "wrong way". Chris and I gave a chuckle (PUN!) and turned around to follow Chuck. We proceeded down a trail that most bikers would only dream of. It was the perfect combination of trunks, stones and brush and it was mostly downhill. We made it about fifteen minutes down this trail when Chuck came back in our direction yet again. Ugh!

"Sorry boys" Chuck said "the first trail was the right way". Chris confirmed this with the GPS on his new state of the art cell phone. (Where was that state of the art contraption when I made the mistake in the first place?)

Chuck ran off ahead while Chris and I made our way back up the hill and back onto the first trail. Now confident that we were on the right track, Chris and I climbed up a series of loose rocks that seem to increase in size with each mile of what seemed like an endless hill. Positive that Chuck was quite far ahead, Chris and I assured each other that we would catch him on the downhill. Our concern was that Chris was carrying a backpack that had all of the day's supply of food and water. "Oh well, we'll catch him" we thought. The hill continued for what seemed like forever and each time we'd make a crest, it only led to another section of more incline. The rocks were quite difficult to navigate and to top it off, our feet were soaked from the multiple bogs and puddles that riddled the flat areas (which were few and far between). Finally we crested the final incline. Before Chris and I began the descent, we inspected my caliper and tried to isolate a noise that my bike had been making (turns out it was just caked on mud). At this pont I started to feel tired and I powered up with some water and the joy of knowing that the downhill would be a blast.

Wrong!

The downhill was way worse than the climb (sorry about that). The rocks got bigger and it was impossible to navigate our way through it with any speed. It dawned at me at this point that Chuck would be much faster on foot and I worried that he may need water soon. Chris and I trekked on through the rocks and finally made our way to flat land. Chris and I decided to pick up as much speed as we could in an effort to find our friend and get him some water. This was until we got to a fork in the trail. It was a total crap shoot at this point as to which way Chuck could have gone but Chris and I made a decision to take the trail that veered to the right after we conferred again with his GPS. Apprently this was not the way Chuck went, but how were we to know?

Chris and I made our way to First Lake and ended up travelling along the beach until we came to an inlet where some fishermen were waiting to see how we would pass. The fishermen rolled up their pant legs and waded through and Chris and I followed suit. At this point it should be noted that Chris and I were geeking out and feeling pretty cool about having just portaged our bikes across water in the woods (yet still not a ripple in the bicep). We dried ourselves out and got back to it, finding a road only moments later that led us around First Lake. At this point, we knew where we were and Chris and I figured we'd have about an hour left of biking. We made our way around First Lake and onto the main road. We put our bikes into our highest gear and started to push ourselves to see if we could find Chuck. Then Chris' cell phone rang.

No Way! It's Chuck! Knowing that our friend was safe, Chris and I decided to hurry back to the cars and then grab Chris's truck to go get Chuck. We pushed our legs as hard as we could and made our way back to Chuck's mom's house. We found Chuck, weathered but still in one piece, and made our way home.

Oh and before we went home, we got a plate of guilt free french fries and had ourselves a good laugh.

I can't wait to go out with my friends again! (keep working on the bicep, my friend!)

Labour Pains, Part One

Sometimes the best stories come from the worst experiences. That was the case on Monday’s long run. I didn’t run nearly as far as I planned, but it was quite the noteworthy adventure. So noteworthy, in fact, that story will be told from three different perspectives. Clinton Charlton and Chris Fudge joined me on my run, and will offer their take on what ended up being a very trying day.

I mapped out an adventurous 22 mile run around the East Side that included sections of Golden Grove Road, Churchland Road, Loch Lomond Road, Barnsville Road, and Second Lake Road. The highlight of the run, I thought, was a seven kilometer stretch through the Sands Road, an old trail that connects Upper Golden Grove to Second Lake. The course was challenging (hill after hill for the first seven miles) but manageable, and despite some initial hesitations, I thought I was in for a great day.

The run began slowly as I pushed my way up the hills that give Upper Golden Grove its name. The boys struggled behind me, and I barely said a word to them for the first six kilometers. I didn’t mind; I was sorting through my thoughts and working out my mental kinks in the hopes of maintaining a positive focus. They caught up to me as we approached Sands Road, and together we entered the trail, or, as I called it at the time, “God’s country.”

Unfortunately, I hadn’t run the course in eight years, and in that time God had sold the trail to some terrible landowners. The rugged trails I once remembered were shredded to bits in some places, leaving mounds of rocks that were nearly impossible to navigate. The trail was so scarred from the elements that I was sure I was going in the wrong way. After a brief mental battle I turned around, apologized to the boys, and headed in a different direction.

The trail I picked was better groomed, and soon I was back in the rhythm and enjoying the scenery. Fall was already visiting the forest, and I was greeted by fallen leaves and rich colors. I ran down a long, winding hill, turned a corner, and ended up on a rocky beach with no trail to be found. Now I was lost, and at least fifteen minutes off course. I turned around (again), gave Clinton and Chris the bad news (again), headed back up the long, winding hill that I just ran down.

I eventually found my way back on course, but navigating the trail was a battle. The rocks were large and begging for a broken ankle, and in many places it was washed out, slowing my pace to a crawl as I danced around every hazard imaginable. My favorite sections were covered with giant puddles that filled every inch of flat ground. At first I tiptoed around them, but eventually I gave up and splashed through them, cursing with every step.

My dream trail was turning into a nightmare. My legs were fatigued from the relentless hills, and my ankles were sore from the countless twists and turns of the trail. The extra thirty minutes I tacked on the run didn’t help matters either. Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, I emerged from the woods and back into civilization. The nightmare was over.

Sweaty, sore, and painfully chafed, I sat on the side of the road and waited for Chris and Clinton to emerge from the woods so I could change my shirt and get a drink of much needed water. I waited. And waited. And waited. Eventually, I gave up on waiting and jogged to the nearest house, hoping that whoever answered the door wouldn’t be startled by my sweaty appearance. Luckily, the woman who owned the house was quite friendly, and soon I was dialing Chris’ number, hoping he would answer.

Chris picked up the phone, and proceeds to tell me he is on the Loch Lomond Road and heading towards the airport. Apparently, there was a fork in the trail that I didn’t see. Chris and Clinton took a right where I went straight, and instead of meeting me, they ended up ten kilometers closer to home. We tried to figure out how to rectify the problem, but I was too frustrated to be of any help. I hung up the phone and continued on my way, cursing the day I planned this ‘fun’ run.

So now I am sore, sweaty, annoyed, and without any water. My mouth was dry, my lips were cracked, and I could feel a sunburn creeping into my face and shoulders. I stopped at a corner store, but had no cash for water, so I slurped greedily from the bathroom tap (don’t judge me). That sufficed for about ten minutes, but soon I was dry again, and desperate for water. I had no clue where Chris and Clinton were, but hoped they had left me something to drink somewhere on the route, because I was hurting.

And then it appeared like an oasis in the desert; a full bottle of water standing upright on the side of the road. I had encountered a few random bottles in my travels, but this was the first one that looked obviously placed. At least, that’s how I justified it when I unscrewed the cap and downed the bottle in one sitting. I made a mental note to chat with Chris and Clinton about the water when I finished my run, but I really didn’t care where the bottle came from. I was thirsty, so I drank.

Chris and Clinton ended my adventure about ten minutes later, showing up in Chris’ SUV just as I was closing in on the airport turnoff. I could have crawled home on foot, but at that point I had been running for two hours and forty five minutes and didn’t have much left in the tank. I climbed clumsily into the backseat and sucked back Gatorade as the boys had a good laugh at my expense. Not exactly the heroic ending I had in mind, but at least I was finished.

That’s it from me. Stay tuned for part two and three, starring Chris and Clinton!

Hot Hot Heat

It's 1:00AM and I am sitting in my house, sweating profusely. Everyone told me to expect cold summers on the West Side, but thus far it's been nothing but fun and sun. Guess I'll have to add air conditioning to my list of purchases for the house.

I encountered a who's who of musicians on my warmup run today. Former Coffin Birth guitarist Shane Storey honked at me as I was running down Dunn Avenue, and I passed Hospital Grade bassist Andrew Earle on Lancaster Avenue (nice shirt, Andrew!). I also encountered Clinton Charlton while he was sitting patiently amidst a pile of cars on Douglas Avenue. It was like I had my own cheering section as I struggled in the heat.

I arrive at the PES track soaked with sweat, and unsure of my ability to run fast. I had six 800 meter repeats planned, but the combination of sun and fatigue from Sunday made me wonder if I could get through the workout in one piece. Luckily, Brent Bethune was joining me for the workout, which meant I had someone to push me through all six repeats. I blasted through the first 800 in 2:48 (22 seconds faster than needed), and only rested for a little over two minutes before starting again. The shorter rest times resulted in a slower repeat (2:54), making me realize I had my work cut out for me.

I felt the sun sapping my strength on the next two repeats, but I still managed to keep the times under three minutes (2:54 and 2:56, respectively). That was the last time I saw a 2 on my watch for the rest of the workout. I was seven seconds slower on my fifth 800 (3:03), and thought I would have a hard time keeping Brent off my tail (he was running about 10 seconds behind me) for my last repeat. However, Brent shouted words of encouragement to me as we started our last lap, which gave me the motivation I needed to finish strong. My time (3:00) wasn't impressive, but considering how I felt, it wasn't bad. Thanks Brent!

I've got a couple of races coming up in the next two weeks, but before that I need to get another couple of speed sessions and a long run under my belt. Drop me a line if you want to join the fun!

P.S. My mother and uncle are looking for a fourth person to join their marathon relay team at the KV Challenge Marathon. If you are interested, please drop me a line at kvchallenger@gmail.com. They would love to participate in the event, and would love if someone could join them on the road! Remember, early bird registration ends tonight, so sign up now!

Nature Park Park Park Park (and a bit)

It's 1am and I am sitting on the couch, listening to music and wishing my legs would stop burning. I would go to bed, but I have to listen to a few CDs for a project I am working on and it's already past due. Hopefully I can get through every disc before sleep takes over.

Today was the first time in weeks where I had to do a long run without the benefit of my partner in crime Chris Fudge, and wasn't exactly thrilled with the prospect. Without Fudge, I had no way to carry the water and food I needed to successfully finish a 30 kilometer run, and I hate the thought of running into stores soaking with sweat in order to grab a Gatorade or a granola bar. I'll save that look for my photo shoots, thank you.

I eventually decided to run five loops of the Nature Park. I didn't love the idea, but it would give me an opportunity to refuel every 6.5 kilometers, and would also allow me to measure my progress per loop. Here are some highlights of the run:

Loop 1 - 36:02

I decided to run the course backwards. I did this for two reasons: I wanted to mix the run up a bit, and my friend Clinton Charlton (buy his latest single, 'A Place To Play A Song,' here) was meeting me on his bike and traveling in the other direction. The run didn't start out out too great - I began by climbing a brutal hill, and almost got creamed by an inattentive driver (20 kilometer an hour speed limit, people!) - but I had most of the kinks worked out by the time I met Clinton. Overall, a little slower than I planned, but not too bad.

Loop 2 - 35:27

This time I decided against the nasty climb, which tacked an extra 30 seconds onto my run, and ran with traffic. Clinton and I chatted about our weekends - Clinton was surprised I could talk while running, but I held my own in the conversation department - and made some tentative plans for fall. Overall, a productive and enjoyable loop.

Loop 3 - 34:41

Clinton made his way home (we made plans for a 15k jaunt later in the week, so expect to read more about him in the blog) so I settled back into my own thoughts and tried to hold my pace. I think I was a little paranoid about slowing down, because I actually ran this loop faster than the first two. It probably helped that I didn't have to dodge any cars, as they were starting to close the park as I began the loop. A few people shouted words of encouragement as I ran by, apparently impressed that I was running multiple laps around the park. I'll take that over "Run, Forrest, run!" any day.

Loop 4 - 36:06

I thought I would start falling apart at this point, but I actually held it together for the entire loop. That being said, the effort to keep it together increased quite a bit, and I had to push on hills (both up and down) to hold my pace. My legs were screaming for the last kilometer, and I didn't know if I could finish another loop. It didn't help that nightfall made it nearly impossible to see in some sections.

Still, I wanted to get at least 30k under my belt before I called it quits. I had to come up with a plan, and fast.

4.5k - 28:44

My solution was to run as far into the Nature Park as I could before it became too difficult to see. I was most certainly the last person in the park - I passed two people as I made my way in and they looked at me like I was crazy - which meant that if anything happened to me, I would be up the creek without a paddle. I managed to run 1.5 painful kilometers in the darkness before common sense told me to turn around. It's a good thing too; I almost bailed a few times on unseen potholes.

Exiting the park with 30k in my sights, I decided to run length of the driveway and back, effectively tacking an extra 1.5k onto my run. It was tough slogging, and it felt like it took forever to make it to the rocks. I forced myself to pick it up for the last stretch, and finished without hitting the dreaded wall. That being said, I did slow down, and had I completed the fifth loop, it probably would have taken me 40 minutes. Definitely something to work on in the future.

Well, that's it for tonight. Not sure what is in store for the upcoming week, but when I figure it out, I will post it for all to read. Have a good night!

P.S. I will apologize in advance for spelling mistakes and copy editing problems. It's 2AM, and I am too tired to correct things right now. Any wonky wording will be corrected in the next 24 hours or so.

Back on the Blog

I still do not have a functioning computer, but I've borrowed one long enough to update my blog. Here's what you've missed in the last four months.

Music: I've recorded and played a handful of shows with Clinton Charlton (you can purchase 'A Place to Play A Song' here), and have also spent some time recording with Penny Blacks. Hopefully we'll have an album out within the next year, but at this point I am not sure. Fingers crossed

School: I finished my Bachelor of Education July 16 (4.0 GPA!), and will have my diploma in October. Hopefully I will also have a teaching position by that point, but no one has knocked down my door just yet. Hopefully I'll be permanently employed before I retire.

Training: I almost fell off the wagon a few times, but I can safely say I am back on course. My times aren't as fast as they need to be, so Boston might be out of the question for October. That being said, I have noticed a few problems in my training that I have corrected in the last few weeks, and I hope those changes will bring me close to race shape for the fall. The next race on my schedule is the Hampton Five Miler; if I can average around 4 minutes per kilometer, I know I will have a fighting chance to run well at the KV Challenge. Wish me luck.

I will attempt to get everyone up to speed over the next few weeks. If anyone has a little computer they're willing to part with, let me know!

Back to the Blog Part Two

It's been a while since I wrote, but this time I have a good excuse - I spent four days in Sydney attending the East Coast Music Awards and Conference. To be more precise, I spent three days in Sydney, and one day driving, but who's counting? During that time I played three shows with a miniature version of Penny Blacks - we usually perform as a seven piece, but only four of us made the trip - saw 10-15 different bands, and managed to lose 45 CDs. If anyone finds a box of Hospital Grade, Clinton Charlton, and Ermine CDs, please drop me a line!

In the midst of last week's musical madness, I managed to fit in a handful of runs. Two were actually quite good - I muscled my way through six fast 400 meter repeats on Wednesday (plus warm up and cool down), and ran fifty solid minutes the other night - but the other two were simply average. I was really hoping that I was going to have a wonderful workout week leading up to The Paddy's Day 5K, but I didn't quite hit the mark. We'll see if adversely affects my race performance.

Until then, I suggest you take a look at my friend Amy Grant's blog Buff To The Bone. Amy's a Moncton fitness jockey who is also an avid runner - we ran the Saint John Half Marathon together last year - and she loves giving out health and fitness tips. Check it out!