Sandcastle 10k 2015: New Course, again!

Another stale post: 

From June, 2015. Saving these posts and not sharing them is kinda like hoarding. At the time I was busy with my M.Ed and the thought of taking the time to organize photos, edit and craft a post was not high on the priority list. I look to the blog as a bit of therapy--to hash out thoughts and feelings, put them into words and record them to read for another day. The problem with the blog is that it is being usurped by social media like Instagram and Facebook which make it very easy to share to as many people quickly. That, and for the fact that I have no sweet clue who my readership is--it seems like since I don't know if it being recieved or read rather than just clicked on, my motivation wanes. It appears that there are many from Russia, China, Germany, and the United States when I check the analytics. Thanks for reading from afar. 

But the purpose of this was not to get people to read it. It was to have a bit of fun, to preserve some of these exploits for my kids, and to be able to look back on what I have done, and where I have come from.



This year's Sandcastle 10k road race in White Rock saw yet another change to the course, keeping it entirely within White Rock, rather than the fast downhill point to point that started in Surrey at Crescent Elementary school and snaked down to the beach.

For the last 9 months, I have been running a route in White Rock on Monday evenings in the sun, rain, wind, dark, and light. All conditions have been braved on my training runs. I knew this new course like the back of my hand--no surprises here at all. Having said that, the course is a brute--serious climbs that lead to the highest point on the course at Johnson Road, after running up the Hump, Stayte, and Thrift.

Knowing that there was 152 meters of climbing over the 10k, I had hoped to race for just under 40 minutes knowing how those climbs would really take it out of a runner. But like all things race related, when the pedal hits the metal, stupidity and speed can take over, and that survival instinct of "take it easy" gets shut off in my brain.

I warmed up on the Promenade, not even able to run much faster than a 4:50 min/km. I thought my race may have been over before it began due to the fact that felt slow. Lining up I met Chris Barth's girlfriend Tracey, and we chatted and caught up about all thinks running. I took my place and examined the competition. 11 year old boys: check. 3 fast looking women: check. 1 short Kenyan male: check. Follow him, as long as you can.

That following of the race lead was over in the first 400 meters as he took off like a shot. I ran in second place, well beyond my abilities, and was caught up by Tyler Ginther, Jen Moroz, and Lisa Brooking. We ran the Hump and made it to East Beach in short order. Tyler pulled away, followed by the two ladies. The gap had formed, and I was pulling up the rear. Soon enough, Larry Lorette and Stephen Ptuka caught me. Stephen took off, and Larry, and I battled up Thrift. I managed to gap Larry, and pick up Jen just ahead. She was doing a run/walk up the hill, and we played a bit of leapfrog all the way up.

Cresting Johnson Road, it was a fast downhill on the other side of Thrift. I could see Stephen ahead by about 20 seconds. I tried to close the gap, but to no avail. Jen and I ran shoulder to shoulder along North Bluff Road until she put a dig in on me. I could not close it back, and knew that Larry was hot on my heels.

At 8 kms, I was ready to throw in the towel. But that is negative self talk trying to bring me down, and I stayed strong, knowing the downhill was right around the corner. 1.5 kms to the finish, all downhill along Marine Drive. I could make up some time here by lengthening my stride and running with reckless abandon.

I could not hear Larry behind me, but I dared to not look over my shoulder. Running scared, I pushed as hard as I could to the finish, closing out with a sprint to the line.

38:28. Mission accomplished.

On this tough course, I could not be happier. I have not been running hard lately, no tempo or long runs, no track sessions. Just plain old running. I still have my fitness from a couple of months ago, and heading into summer, I am excited to keep running and get ready for Victoria come July and August, much stronger for the work from the first half of the year.

Some more summer races to come, this is just the beginning of keeping myself sharp, balancing my bike and run, and finishing up my M.Ed at SFU.

6th overall
2nd in grouping 20-39
1st in age category 35-39

A good day for a run, swim in the ocean, a cash prize for placing, and a draw prize to boot!

Thanks to RD Tina and the Semiahmoo Sun Runners for putting on a great event on a beautiful June day!

I heart running!!

2015 Boston Marathon: Transformative, embodied experiences are the most memorable.

Man, can I procrastinate. I write a post, ruminate over it, let it marinade for another two weeks. I have come back down from the high of running the Boston Marathon, and I can confirm that there is nothing that I have experienced that parallels the enormity, the immensity, the experience of the Boston Marathon. So allow me to present the thoughts that stemmed from my experience on April 20th, 2015. It was a trip--one of the best I have ever been a part of in my life! 

From April 27th 2015:

The day before the race--Bluebird and beautiful!!!

One week ago, I took on the Boston marathon. Miles of training, hours of running, so much sacrifice, dedication, dreaming, stress, energy, focus....and it all happened!

Doing the double raceday: Run, then bike. Part I.

Sandcastle City Classic 2012 Start.
Photo: Dan Ferguson, Peace Arch News

Yesterday I attempted something that I have only tired once before, and that was to run a race, then do a bike race on the same day. In 09, I travelled to Fairhaven to do the Chuckanut Footrace, which was my first. I finished that and came back home for the afternoon to ride the Tour de Delta Cat 3/4 crit. On that day, my run was good--a hard run that I had. prepared for poorly the night before by attending a summer part at one of my colleagues. My crit? A horrible disaster. I was dehydrated from the hot day, the night before, and the intesity of the crit trying to maintain 47km/h on the streets of Ladner. I lasted all of 16 minutes of a 30min + 1 Lap crit. Legs all packed up, I could not hold the pace, and subsequently dropped out of the race. Perhaps I had bitten off more than I could chew.

Sunday was different. I attended the Sandcastle City Classic in White Rock--a beautiful run through Ocean Park and down Marine Drive to the beach. Easy, this course is not. Although it is a net elevation loss, the rolling hills and climbs make this thing quite a challenge. This was my 3rd attempt at it since 2010.

In 2010, my goal was a sub 40 minute 10km, which I managed with a 39:36. Pleased as punch, I came back last year hoping to break 39 minutes. I clocked in at 39:24. A slight improvement over the first year, but I was disappointed that I could not muster something greater. After the end of last year's race, I was shattered, and Physiomoves provided me with a post race massage. That actually hurt.

Yesterday I went in with the mindset of trying to set an unrealistic goal for myself, and run my tail off to catch it. I thought 37 minutes would be tough, but was willing to try and run that fast to make a huge leap forward on my PB 10k.

The race began just up the road from Crescent Park Elementary School, and sees us run through the neighbourhood up an around to 132nd, down 132 to 18th ave, east on 18th to 128th street, through ocean park to Marine Drive, and down the drive to west beach, the finish being at the bottom of the hill. As I stated, this race is a killer due to the climbs, but also to the quad pounding descents on pavement.

I started the race hitting a 3:05/km pace, and cooled it down before I made it to the 2km mark, running 7 minutes for the first 2kms. It is hear that I feel that I can bank some time on this course. With a 10km, the race is too short to try and pick up time at the end, and this course seems to suit some time banking due to the downhills. I ran with Kristin Smart, a runner I ran with in the marathon a month ago. I know her to be fast, tough, and determined. I thought she might drop me, but we managed to pace each other fairly well through the first few kms.

Just after 4km, the course lead us onto Ocean Park Drive, and straight into a headwind. This is a long false flat section that seems to go on for longer than the 2km that it does, and pitches up near the end as it approaches 14a ave. This section was fast, but tough. The sun began to shoot through the clouds, and I bypassed the water station just after 5kms in order to conserve time. Again, a 10km is too short to waste time drinking.

At 6km, 14a is a beast of a hill--not the steepest, or hardest, but it is at the point in the race where going hard to earn a solid time begins to get difficult. Staying on the gas is necessary here to the top of the hill. Actually, between 5kms and 8 kms the race is at its hardest, as Marine Drive rolls along--climb and descend into a long climbing false flat before the near 2km descent to the beach.

Things were shaping up well for me, as I felt on the edge but not in too much trouble as I tapped out an average 3:49 pace. Unless I'm doing speedwork or Yasso's, I really do not hit speeds this fast for extended periods of time. But after all, this is a race. And PB's don't come without work. And the taste of blood in your mouth from your lungs. (*That last one did not actually happen at this race)

I felt good coming up 6km, and through the next two, I did everything I could to minimize my losses. My footpod  had me on pace for a 40 minute 10k, as I only looked at the average pace on my watch and crossed it with the running time of the race. I did not remember that my footpod was out a couple of hundred meters, so it indicated that I was running slower than I actually was. By 8km, I was telling myself that the end was near, and I could pick up some of the time I lost on the hills and rollers.

The downhill was long. Just when I needed my legs to open up and go fast, they would hit their limit. Forcing
myself to run faster, I crossed the 9km marker with a head of steam. It is necessary to run loose on the downhill to absorb a much of the shock as one can. Otherwise, the next few days are going to be really stiff.

As I approached the finish, the running clock came into view. I spotted 37:** on it, but could not make out the seconds. Just before the line, the clock turned over to 38:00, and I smiled, missing that minute milestone by 4 seconds.

PB 38:04. A hard charging Kristin Smart behind me.

38:04. A personal best.

3rd overall in 35-39 age group

20th overall out of 260 racers.

An improvement over last years 39:24. I am really happy with this result.

Kristin came in at 38:07. I congratulated her on a good run. She told me she was hoping to 2 minutes faster.

Kristin was great--she is a very motivating competitor and she handily won the women's division of this race with her time. A 2:49 marathoner, a 1:22 half marathoner, and a 37 minute 10k runner, she is quite accomplished as a distance runner. She bested me by 8 minutes at the BMO Run Van Marathon this year. Very speedy, she is.

Running with her has upped my motivation and changed my perspective on what my abilities are as a runner. I feel that with the training I have put in this year, I can post the times that she has achieved. My goal for my next half will be to get in the 1:23s. I think cutting 4 minutes off of this year's 1:27 at the first half is doable. That will be an achievable goal. For 10kms, I am content with this result for now, but feel that perhaps on a less hilly course, I would be down in the 37 minute range.

The next big one is the Kamloops Marathon. This is an encouraging result leading to that race in about 8 weeks. I am looking for my best marathon result there, in the heat. We shall see what goes down.

As for the double, I headed up to the South Surrey bike park immediately after the race to do the Junk Yard Dog on my 29er XC bike. Race report #2 for the day will follow soon.....

The Vancouver Marathon 2012 Race Plan: Sub 3 Hours

With 5 days to go before the marathon, I have started to develop my plan to execute on race day. It is going to have me digging deep, over-reaching what is suggested that I am capable of achieving based on the race/pace predictors and calculators. In spite of those computer generated, formulaic algorhythms that burp out my race finish times (and I might add, that I have found one that is nearly bang on based on my previous race finishes at a variety of distances), I still believe that I am capable of running a sub 3 hour marathon. Maybe I am being foolish, maybe I am realistic, maybe I have a tonne of heart and determination.

I have the fitness and the form, no injuries to speak of right now, and the course looks great. By the time I hit the Burrard Bridge, I will be feeling great, and the Seawall in Stanley park will be old hat, running that familiar route in reverse of the First Half-Half Marathon that I have done for so many years.

I think this is my year. Not only to shave--no--scalp last years time, but to obliterate it. The last few blog posts have been focussing so much on the time of the marathon, the preparation, and the obsession of the run for me. I am obsessed about this run. It kinda feels like Christmas as a kid for me. The same anticipation of that day, the same childlike excitement of Christmas morning, these are the feelings that I have before big events like this. The Test of Metal, Chucknut 50, Whistler Gran Fondo, the 2011 Vancouver Marathon, ANY cyclocross event, all of these events that get me charged up and feeling alive. This one is no different.

Here is the plan in miles:

Here is the prediction based on my previous results. This prediction is nealy bang on in all distances, which probably makes it more realistic. But to hell with it. I am going to find something within me to buck the prediction:

In my back pocket is a 6 hour, 11 minute 50k run that I did a month and a half ago. I know pain. I know suffering. I know where to go to get something extra to help myself along. This race course is less hilly than last year's. It is flatter, which means I have to be on the gas the whole time, just not full gas.

5 days away.

Sub 3.

That is the goal.

50km run before the 50km race

This last Sunday, I tackled my first 50km run. In training. Some people, and often many running training programs do not subscribe to running the full distance of an event before the actual event. The Running Room will develop training programs to take people to 20 miles or so in order to complete a marathon. If you ask me, those last 6.2 miles, or about 10km or so, can be about the toughest ten kilometers to get through. It is there where you begin to lose focus, develop in your mind and actualize self doubts, and let your body do what it wants to, rather than overpower your instincts with you mind, and stay disciplined through the pain.

So last Sunday at 5:00 am, I wolfed down some oatmeal and out the door to meet Sean at 5:30 down the road. We determined a figure 8 loop that took us through the Shed, up to the Alex Fraser Bridge, back down to Highway 10, into the shed, and over again. 2 loops. 4 gels, 5 bottles of water, 1 clif bar, 1 pack of Clif bloks, and a roll of toilet paper that I managed to dispose of in the first 4 kms. Par for the course, really.

What struck me on this run was that I was fine over the course of 4 hours, but with 4 kms left to go and 4:45 into the run, my steps became labored. My concentration waned. My energy diminished, and I had trouble believing that I could finish out the run.

This is all very important to the race coming up on St. Patrick's day. I know what 50 kms in my legs feels like. I know it will be really hard. I know that I have enough food to propel me through this run. I know all of this because although I have not done the course, I have been in the dark place of self doubt. I have felt what it is like to want to stop, but need to continue to push on. I have developed the confidence in myself to know how hard I need to push myself. When the event is for real, and the timer is running, something in me clicks. I have endless strength and determination, unlike on a training run.

The Chuckanut 50 is next week. I will be by Sean's side and we will be running it together. It will be a great bonding experience for the both of us, and I am going to be proud to finish with him. It will be tough, but it will only make me tougher. I know what to expect my body will do next week on the run. I just have to prepare it to behave the way I want it to. Showing up prepared, stoked, nourished, and ready to go is my goal now.

Sugoi Brand Championing--the selection

The news came this afternoon, something I knew about myself already, from the years of loyalty. I have been selected as a Sugoi Brand Champion. Very exciting!!

I have been using and abusing my Sugoi gear in Vancouver for the better part of 12 years, and no matter how much mud, rain, water, sun, snow, road grit, blood, sweat, or anything else I brutalize it with, it just keeps up with me. I can honestly say that I do not think I have ever disposed of any Sugoi product–it is darn near indestructible.

I am proud to officially represent Sugoi at all of my upcoming events in 2012. The last of the Fraser Valley Trail Series, Race #4 is here in the lower mainland/ Aldergrove this coming weekend, and after 3 races, I have steadily improved my placings and finish time over my 2011 results.

Last week was the PRR First Half Half Marathon, where I threw down a 1:27:31–cutting 2 and a half minutes off of my half marathon PB from 2010. The next big event is the 20th anniversary Chuckanut 50km out of Fairhaven, WA. Long training runs upwards of 30, 40, or 50kms lately have become almost a spiritual experience. Perhaps starting at 5:30am helps this, as I am nearly asleep for the first hour of the long run.

This is all the set up for the BMO Vancouver Marathon where I will be shooting for a 3:07:00. I need to be under 3:10:00 to meet the Boston Qualifier. Should I make my time goal, you bet I will make the trip to Boston in 2013. Three months to go before the BMO, I have the distance in my legs, now I just have to get the speed up. 2012 is just getting better and better!!!!

The 2012 Fraser Valley Trail Series--Houston Trail Footrace

The last month I have been through some ups and downs, but right now am currently working on an "up". Injuring myself in the Resolution Run in crescent park on New Year's Day left me hobbled with a sprained ankle, sore achilles tendon, and a huge question mark on my progress. Treating those injuries has been better than good, as I can now get out of bed in the morning and not limp around until the lower leg and foot warm up. it has been so good that 9 days ago, me and my brother in law, Sean, ticked off a 39km run in 3 hours and 45 minutes. Forced rest the week before due to illness left me feeling great, along with an improved bed time of 10 pm.

Which leads into last week. With the #3 race of the trail series on Sunday, my lead up was great--3 runs mid week, a CX ride on Saturday, and a chance to open up the engine on the course that is quite difficult with varied terrain--steep hills, undulations, and flats. I was looking to improve on my time of 45 minutes from last year.

Feeding on homemade ravioli and broiled chicken the night before (thanks Fab and David!), I was more than fueled up for the race. I even popped some Sportlegs and a mocha gel before the race, just to have some more jump and fend off the cramps when I needed it most.

The start of these races is so low key and chilled out, there really is nothing to get too worked up about. Nerves do not play a factor in the FVTS races. It is a great feeling to be able to go and run hard without the butterflies. At the start of the race, I did not start my watch until about 800m into the race. I was running faster than I wanted to, but knowing the course is much of the battle, and I know that the hills would play a factor in drawing some time off of the high speeds I was putting in.

I ran much of the race with Darren Walton, trying to gap him on the downhils. He would catch me on the uphill kickers, and we would even each other out. Mark Rowat, a New West runner registered for the Chuckanut 50, beat me in the last race in Campbell Valley, so on of my goals for this race was to beat him. Those downhills were me friends, as it felt great to open up and go full gas down them, caution be damned.

Darren and I would run the last 3 kms together, until the final straight stretch down to the finish, where I put a dig into him, beating him by 8 seconds and setting a series and personal course best of 42:19, good enough for 7th place--my highest placing yet. Running the last km at a 3:40 pace was comfortable, if not on the edge. Sean followed up 46:05, Mark Rowat at 43:49. Our winner yet again is the awesome Mike Murphy blazing a 36:39. He runs so smooth and so fast. Another great race from Peninsula Runners--well organized, fun, and friendly. Thanks to them!

Up next is the First Half Half Marathon.Things are really coming together for me and my run. The ankle is much better, the fitness is there, and the strength and endurance is all falling in line.  I need to work some magic and hammer out a quick pace to beat my 1 hour 30 personal best. With this weekend's run in the books, I feel that a 1 hour 27 half marathon is doable.

Time to set up a firm goal. An average of 4:14 per km this week for 10 kms, I feel like 4:02 per km is doable, perhaps my highest maximum average at this point in my running life for a half marathon. That would put me in at 1 hour 25 minutes. We will see. One more run to go before a bit of rest and then Sunday.