Run of the Week: Running in the Snow

The morning after the first big snow of the year I ran outside with Fast Alex and Semi-Fast Mike.  We left from Wolf Willow through the trails to Fort Edmonton Footbridge then came back along past Fort Edmonton and along the Quesnel bridge.  The snow was pretty heavy which made for tough running, but the fresh snow on trees and trail was pretty awesome.  I found a hole in my shoe and was worried about water getting in/feet freezing so I put a ziplock bag through it, it filled with air and worked pretty well, actually.

The Route

Snowy Trail

View From the top of the Stairs

Battle of the Fast and Semi-Fast

Fort Edmonton Footbridge in the Snow

Steep Stairs

Fort Edmonton Footbridge

The Snowy Balls of Edmonton

Across the Bridge

Keeping the Cold Out of the Running Shoe Hole

  

Edmonton Fall Classic 2013 - 30th Year Awesome?

Yesterday Semi-Fast Mike and I ran the Fall Classic.  I've written about this race before here and here, it is a great fall race with a scenic course and a good pancake breakfast after.  I think it was a little more expensive this year though...

My watch was dead when I went to run, so I didn't bother with heart rate but still carried my watch with me so my running form wouldn't change.  It was nice to just be able to run without worrying about timing at all, thought I felt I couldn't ask other people what time it was since I was holding I watch in my hand, and didn't want to seem strange.

I started the race pretty strong, near the back of the field but passed people consistently for the first several miles.  At the out and back SF Mike was only a little way behind, running pretty strong as well.  However, my left foot was starting to go numb and just before the half way point I had to sit down and take my shoe off.  My split time was still 45 minutes, which was pretty good.  The first 10 minutes or so of the second half involved me sitting down and taking my shoe off every little while, but after that I slowed down and sorted the problem out by about 2/3 of the way into the race.  I felt pretty strong the last bit, though in a little pain as always.  I crossed the finish line in just under 1:34, an improvement from last year but short of a PB.  Next year I guess?

After the Fall Classic

Special Medals for 30th Anniversary Run

Run of the Week - Classic River Valley Run From Downtown

In keeping with my ninety minute runs once a week training plan, yesterday I ran with Mike for 90. It was a classic river valley run from his downtown apartment, very scenic with the fall weather and what not. Features of the run:

• lots of solid trail running
• good fall views of the rivers and trees
• ran up the Kinsmen hill
• finished on the legislature steps

River Valley Running Route

View of the University

Running by the River

Thumbs Up in Hawrylak

Mike Finishes Strong at the Legislature

Registered for the Fall Classic

Just before the price jump Mike and I registered for the Fall Classic.  It is the 30th annual race, and it will be the third year in a row I've done it (see here and here)  so it should be a great experience.

I'm not sure what my goal time will be, I was going to try to get a PB but I don't think I'm really in good enough shape too.  I've been running 90 minutes every Sunday but then slacking during the week, only getting in 1 or 2 more runs a week.  It'll be interesting to see what effect that has on my overall time?  Fast Alex is still injured and so sitting this one out, so it isn't quite as competitive an event.

Semi Fast Mike is Also Racing

Run of the Week: Commonwealth Track Workout

Mike Post Workout

Higdon called for a 6 mile "race" this past weekend, and it was pouring rain, so we headed to Commonwealth for an inside run.  I like to run inside when you want to track how fast you are going because it makes it much easier to keep track of your speed.  My plan was to go the first 2 miles at 9:00 min/mile, then the middle two to 8:30 min/mile, then finally drop down to 8:00 min/mile for the final two.  Unfortunately, I couldn't get to 8:00 min/mile, due to fitness and math problems but I did manage to hit the other two goal paces.  Unless I can seriously improve my fitness between now and race day it is going to be tough to make much of an improvement on my PB, but hopefully I can top it.

Pace and Heart Rate

After the run we hit the pool, including the water slide, climbing wall, steam room, and hot tub.  We even saw the Eskimos injured qb, which was pretty cool.  I've decided my new tradition is to hit the water slide at least once every time I workout inside.  Seems solid so far, if immature?

Run of the Week - San Diego Style

Last week I was in San Diego, so I ran along the waterfront downtown there.  It is pretty nice, interesting running, tons of other runners, and I had good weather too.  My heart rate was pretty low (average 151) for a slow but OK pace (average 10:00 min/mile), so possibly being at sea level helped out?


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 I would definitely recommend this running route, if you are in downtown San Diego it seems like a great place to run.

I went just past the Hilton, where this view is from, all along the walkway seen here

Ran past the USS Midway twice

View of the Run Route from the Bay

The Plan to be the Man at the Edmontan Half Marathan (Spelling intentional for rhyming effect)

For the Edmonton half marathon I am going to follow Hal Higdon's intermediate program, with some alterations by KK as shown above.  This is a good decent plan and I'm going to try my hardest to hit every single workout on it and see what the results are.  KK's hill additions seem like they could be overkill, but what can you do, I guess?  I'm also going to try to swim and bike as much as possible, hopefully the cross training will help?

Update on the Quest to Beat Fast Alex

The goal to beat Fast Alex wasn't met in Vancouver this year, and in fact I regressed a little, slipping back 3 minutes or so.  On the plus side, thanks to a wonky knee for Fast Alex, the gap between us was at an all time low, a mere 34 seconds per mile.  On the other side, Rich continued getting faster and closed the gap between us to 31 seconds, and Mike was at a similar amount behind him.  As can be clearly seen in the graph below, all of our times appear to be converging, which makes Edmonton 2013 ground zero for a mega race challenge, I guess?  Realistically, I'm not sure I can drop my pace to below 8:30 for Edmonton, and Alex's times are routinely in the 7's, so I think beating Fast Alex will likely have to wait until the Fall Classic or next year.  But I guess a miraculous finish is always possible?

Historical Pace Times

Historical Race Results

Other People's Race Reports From Vancouver Half Marathon and Full Marathon!

In the tradition of posting about other peoples race reports (here, here, and here), here is another collection of other people's race reports, this one from the Vancouver Half Marathon (and Full Marathon reports too.)

• Her race start picture (showing the crowd) is way better than mine...  - Girl with the Red Hair
• Leana
• Sophie
• A race report AND a GU give away! - Another Mother Runner
• A race day decision, just like Fast Alex - Alan
• Poor Life Choices
• Jason in Hollywood
• Ellie
• Rupert
• Watershed Athlete
• Slow is the New Fast
• Athena Triathlete
• Yana
• Poor Life Choices
• and finally, My Report

Vancouver Half Marathon Race Report And Course Review

Mile 1 - 8:32 HR: 166

The start of the Vancouver half marathon is always fun, so many people crowded into Queen Elizabeth Park, everyone excited and ready to go.  I didn't love that we didn't actually start running until 7:15, since the race start was supposed to be 7:00 AM, but it was warm enough that it wasn't a big deal.  In that 15 minutes they had some warm up exercises and Oh Canada singing which everyone seemed to appreciate.  I started at the back of my corral, since I knew Rich and Mikey P were in the corral one back and I didn't want them to have a big lead on me if they caught up to me in the race.  Everyone in the corral seemed as fast or faster than me and I wasn't impeded at all.  The corral system once again did a great job of seeding people and reducing gridlock.

My game plan was to keep my heart rate at 170 or less and hopefully attain a 9:00 min/mile pace until the 7 mile mark, and then try to kick it up.  For this first mile that worked, my average heart rate was 166 and I did this mile in 8:32.  I definitely didn't feel like the pace was easy, but it didn't seem too difficult.

Start of the BMO Vancouver 2013 Half Marathon

Mile 2 - 8:18 HR: 172

Mile 2 is largely downhill, it is a pretty awesome part of the run, running with so many people down Cambie and being able to see Vancouver all the way to the mountains is very inspirational.  My heart rate was drifting up, at this point I thought trying to keep under 175 seemed more reasonable, but with the huge downhill it was tough to judge things accurately.

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Mile 3 - 8:47 HR: 175

Crossing the bridge over False Creek is awesome, this is another beautiful mile.  This section also travels along Pacific and is very scenic.  My pace slowed slightly here as the downhill was over and there was actually a slight uphill tick on this stretch.  I remember I was doing a lot of math in my head and still felt pretty good about my pace.

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Mile 4 - 9:51 HR: 178

This one was slightly uphill again, this is the part of the race that was new this year, the out and back on Quebec Street.  I think I had to stop and tie my shoes a couple of times which was the reason for the higher time.  I think I also ran into Fast Alex here, and assumed that meant I had caught up to him.  He ran off ahead immediately and I found out after the race he had actually started in a corral further back and so had actually closed 5 minutes off my time at this point.  I also saw Rich on the turn around and thought he must have started right behind me to be so close.  I found out later he was in fact just running really fast, and had started significantly far behind.

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Mile 5 - 8:25 HR: 184

This chunk was through down town Vancouver, I thought there was a little bit of a hill here but the Garmin doesn't seem to show it.  I don't really remember this section that well, I think I was mostly just doing math to see if I was on pace for my 7 mile change up.  I think here I realized my heart rate was too high but couldn't settle it too much.

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Mile 6 - 8:46 HR: 179

The next chunk was through Yaletown, and the most memorable thing was getting a gel.  I grabbed it, stuffed as much as I could into my mouth, then washed it down with some water and grabbed a second one.  I was actually hungry before this so I knew that calories could possibly help.  Looks like I settled my heart rate down a little bit here too.

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Mile 7 - 9:18 HR: 179

At this stage I was really just looking forward to getting to mile 7 on time and hopefully picking it up.  I was working hard but hoped I could put some extra effort into it and still had high hopes.  This is a pretty nice mile in English Bay.

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Mile 8 - 8:24 HR: 187

My game plan at this stage was to try to keep my heart rate under or at 185 until mile 10 or 11, then REALLY push it.  I probably wasn't too worried about the 187 though, I think I may have changed the plan to just keep it under 190 shortly after this mile started...  Going into Stanley Park there was a bit of a hill and I said "Aw man, I thought they got rid of the hill" and the girl beside me said that was a really de-motiviating thing to say.  I felt bad.

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Mile 9 - 8:36 HR: 191

I was really hurting by here, but I knew once I reached the end of mile 9 I could have the gel I was awkwardly carrying in my hand, so I was somewhat motivated.  Running in Stanley Park is always awesome, even when you are very tired and sore.  Before this I had been thinking that as long as I didn't push too hard and bonk I would beat Mike and Rich, but that if I didn't push too hard and risk bonking I would not get anywhere near Fast Alex.  However, at the end of the second turn around I heard Rich shouting hello so he was quite a bit closer behind than I had known, and he sounded quite strong, so I began to be worried about him catching me outright.

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Mile 10 - 9:00 HR: 193

Heart rate up, pace down, doesn't look good.  Was not feeling optimistic about a final 2 mile speed burst at this point, was really more just hoping to hang on...  Running in Stanley Park was still awesome.

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Mile 11 - 8:40 HR: 193

I think I tried to increase my cadence, it seemed to work, as I started running faster at the same heart rate.  Though maybe my heart rate was just maxed out?

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Mile 12 - 8:53 HR: 195

This is where I was supposed to be really pushing it, but I was just trying to hang on and finish without bonking.  I couldn't believe there was still 2 miles left at the start of this mile, it felt like it had to be less...

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Mile 13 - 8:57 HR: 195

This was a painful mile, trying to convince myself not to walk, just a little bit.  (And succeeding, of course).  It became apparent that the Garmin was not completely in tune with the course either, and that I would be running for 0.2 miles or so longer than I had expected.  I kept trying to convince myself I was almost there, but it still seemed pretty far for most of it...

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The Last 500? Metres - 9:10 HR: 196

Someone had a sign that said punch here to power up, so I ran over and punched the sign then raced off energized.  The extra boost didn't last long and I ended up just struggling to run and not walk on this last little chunk.  Very very glad to get to the end....

Team Whatever Mike Called us at the End of the Race

Conclusion

I think I just lost too much fitness in the three weeks before the race and couldn't maintain and improve my speed as the race went on.  Beating Fast Alex will just have to wait until Edmonton...

The race was excellent overall, the course is gorgeous from start to finish and the organizers really seem to be trying to make the race better and better each year.  The street festival at the finish was pretty cool.  The post race food kind of sucked though, but what can you do...

Vancouver half marathon is finished!

I'll write a more detailed post later, but suffice it to say, beating fast Alex will have to wait for another day, maybe Edmonton?

Vancouver marathon is almost here

Set up was going on right outside of our hotel tonight and the race is less than 8 hours away.  Better get some sleep....

Carbo load dinner at Antons

We had our classic carbo loading lunch/dinner today.  Antons pasta bar in Burnaby is known for its huge portions.

Vancouver Marathon expo

The Vancouver marathon expo was.... average.  There were some cool features and booths, and package pick up was excellent and fast.  Could have used more selection, but that is always true...