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Saturday February 04 2012

I have moved house and my blog continues.

Visit www.beachesrunner.com

New race report. First "out-of-towner" in a while. Check it out.

http://www.beachesrunner.com/arizona-rock-and-roll-marathon-2011/

It's been a busy time, busy busy busy.

But I have managed to get 2 of 4 new sites up with the other 2 almost ready, waiting in the wings.

The newest one is my new blog. BEACHES RUNNER. Why? Because I wanted a new name, and a new look and feel. It also runs on Wordpress, which for Blogging, is so much easier than trying to keep this site up to date. I plan on being more active (in writing) again so check it out, and by all means, leave a comment, suggestion, tip, whatever! The new site will focus more on running and fitness in general and less on my illustrious racing career :)

The other one is a site for our band MIXED TAPE. Check it out to stay in tune [ tune :) ] with what is happened, upcoming shows and of course, give your feedback and make a request for songs to play at future shows. There is also some articles on retro music (and current) and cool YouTube selections.

The other 2 will be interesting too and I will give you more info on them later and I'll let you know when they are up and running.

This site will remain live until the end of the year to browse and refer to. I hope to see you over at

First of all, I want to say hello again, because it's been a while since I wrote about anything here. This will also be the last post on this blog. Yes, that's right, Running With Scissors has run it's course so to speak. I plan to revamp my blogging ways. I want to change things up a bit, and write more interesting stuff, about running and racing, traveling and all the usual stuff but in a more informative way. Basically, less about me, more about the big picture. I also have several new adventures in relation to websites and blogs coming up. I'll explain more on this later.

Let's talk Fall Races shall we? The Fall season was important to me this year. You may know I dropped my quest of racking up as many marathons as I could do and decided I am, for the moment, more interested in racing marathons at a competitive level (with myself) rather than just reach the next milestone, which in this case was marathon #20.

So if you happened to read my last blob / race report, you already know the season started well for me. I had a decent training run @ The Scotiabank Half Marathon and followed it up with a personal best 3:18:20 at the Toronto Goodlife Marathon. I am happy for that, and stoked that I ran personal best and earned another trip to Boston but I know I can apply myself and do even better. If I were to grade myself on overall effort in 2010 it would be in the about 7/10, perhaps 8/10 but I have planned to boost that for Boston 2011. How is that going so far? Read on.

First, a recap of the 3 races after the Toronto Marathon PB. To be brief, which is all I think is necessary at this point, the remaining autumn graces went well, also not as good as I hoped, perhaps save for the Hamilton Half Marathon.

The Hamilton race was originally supposed to be another marathon for me but I thought I would try to be my Half time and Hamilton is a good place to do so. I knew I was prepared enough to beat my previous time of 1:33:59 and I hoped to do it under 1:30 so I could earn a spot in the NYC Marathon without having to go through the lottery process. As it turns out, the 21.1k course is NOT certified so had I accomplished this task, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. The bright side is, I did run well despite a chaotic morning and turned in a PB of 1:31:30 even with the long course. Yes, a long course (21.5k) but that is another story and ancient history already so I won't delve further.

The Hamilton Half was followed with 2 Cross Country races. Cross Country being not quite 'Trail Racing' means you can expect some challenging terrain but still run decent times. The 2 half marathons and marathon left me in no real mood to train between races so I didn't expect too much. I ran the first one, The Ontario Masters Championships 5k in 20:30 finishing very close to the back of my age group. This doesn't phase me as I know it's attended by mainly serious competitors (Masters being age 30 and over an divided into 5 year age groups) and after all it was the Ontario Championships.

2 weeks later, also in Guelph, midway through November was the Canadian Masters XC Championships and again, I was able to enter based on, well, the fact I can still sign a form, so I got in! This was the same 8k (4 x 2k) race I did last year and for the 3rd time in as many Masters Events, I finished 2nd from last out of about 25 men my age. My time was 34:30, about 25 seconds faster than last year but we also had to endure a major snowfall, winds, snow belting us in the face and -10 degree temps. Still fun? Yep. These shorter races are tough and so is the competition so without a decent performance (for me), I would be left way behind them all. I really like these events, they are well run and the people, the organizers and the runners are all super nice. I hope to get more people I know, and from the Beaches Runners Club to attend next year's events. The team aspect of running is just as enjoyable.

So onto 2011, and the fact I mentioned I plan to boost my effort level. Let me admit that I am already behind schedule, fighting between laziness or listening to my body and taking it easy for a while. Time however, is running out and a serious training schedule for Boston would include more running than I have been doing, less eating than I have been lately, more sleeping than I've been getting and at least some sort of strengthening routine. It's time to kick it up!

I have faith that I can mentally turn things around and get the momentum rolling. In the meantime, I hope to get more writing done. You will be able to visit this site and be forwarded to my new blog site where the admin side of things is a lot easier for me and you will be treated with a better look and feel and a new name. What is that name?

You will soon find out. See you soon!

Dave

P.S. I will also be guest blogging for The Food Network`s Nutritionist Theresa Albert in support of her new book "Ace Your Health" A 52 week program and there are 3 of of following her healthy lifestyle plan with 52 posts, one per week during 2011. This should be interesting, I will post the link when it becomes available.

I have also started a new band website for "Mixed Tape" which will also feature some blogging about retro and new music. Check it out at www.mixedtape.ca

It's about time. Right? Most of those of you who actually read this blog already know the details of the Goodlife Marathon so I will keep it brief. I could go into detail and rehash every moment because it is all so clear to me still. From failing at Mississauga earlier this year to my decision to back off multiple marathons and focus on one fast one this year in order to re-qualify for Boston.

But I won't. Except for the fact I really enjoyed the training program I set out for myself. It was geared towards the late October race, no meandering, no training at 'other people's' paces or doing hard workouts when I was scheduled for and easy one and visa-versa. It was fun knowing I was always on track, except for the fact many runs were shorter than I wanted to do but time restraints and not being able to drag my butt out of bed early in the mornings got the better of me. Sometimes I woke up feeling over confident that I didn't need to run that much. This is one area I will improve next time around.

I digress. I woke up Sunday October 17th and was bummed that my back spasms that plagued me the final week before had not subsided and considered not running at all. I decided to get moving and give it a whirl and promised myself I'd pull out if things weren't looking good, or feeling good. My support crew of Mary, Julie and Nir picked me up and got me to the start in time to see my lovely wife start the half marathon after her early morning pre race training run. Then it was time to warm up and focus, and I did, so much it seemed effortless. I felt great the entire run cruising down Yonge street, through the lovely areas of Forest Hill, Casaloma, Rosedale Valley Road, downtown TO, the Martin Goodman train and back into downtown. I did suffer a bit in the last 3k, but managed to hold pace enough to reach my goal and used the only real non-sparse crowds to get me home. Nir ran with me for the final 10k which was nice to have company and we were even joined for 5 of those kms by the awesome world record single amputee runner Rick Ball, a true modern day Canadian hero.

The splits were good for me, with a well paced first half, banking a bit of time on the downhill section and I arrived at the half in 1:36:30. I felt great and this lasted almost the entire race. I knew at about 28k I had it. I know that's early to celebrate but I just felt that good. It was great making the turn for home at 31k feeling this good still and was actually shocked when at 39k I started to slow. I didn't even look at the time again as I knew I was well within Boston Qualifying time and more than likely a personal best. I cruised through the aforementioned well spectated last couple of k's and stopped at 41 to take a breather so I could finish strong. I rounded the final turn 150 metres to go, passing the mrs and our good cheering friends which is a great way to finish. I crossed in 3:18:20 and breathed a huge sigh of relief combined with great satisfaction. Boston was a reality again and this time, I did it much stronger than the first time I qualified. I rewarded myself with a post race massage for the first time. I usually avoid them because I'm so sweaty but I had some cramping I wanted to attend to asap. I headed to the cheering friends section and was welcomed with warm applause and hugs and that warm fuzzy feeling good friends give you.

Thanks guys.

As for the event itself, I have been trying to promote it for years. I despise the late start, and especially that the marathon starts an hour after the half. Again I heard a lot of negative comments re the expo, the shuttle bus issues and running out of Mylar blankets, some food etc. Hopefully they resolve these issues to make the future events better. I like the route and the finish area though. It looks like the new May date will not see a start time change so I guess Mississauga will win me over, and many more despite my emails to the Race Directors stating the negative comments about this.

Oh, the medal, wow, gaudy, ostentatious and heavy as a pumpkin, but pretty, Olympic gold medal-esque and hey, why make 'em all look the same?!

That's all folks. This one's in the book and that book is already gathering dust! Time to move on, though it was nice to recap it here, I almost forgot how enjoyable this one was.

Next up, today's Hamilton Half Marathon report....stay tuned.

This is of course in relation to running and fitness. I have other personal goals as well but for now, here are my fitness goals.

I will probably only do 3 marathons next year focusing on speed rather than multiplicity. I do not currently have any milestone marathon goals. I am at marathon #20 now, so there's nothing exciting about any upcoming numbers. When I feel I can no longer run any faster, I will switch back to frequency because I do love running in the marathon events, especially out of town events.

So, go hard or go home!

Boston Marathon 3:10
Scotiabank Waterfront (Autumn) Marathon 3:00
HM -sub-1:30
10K - sub 40
5K - Sub-19

Weight goal - under 185 lbs

For those of you who see me IRL, please remind me of these regularly.

I have failed miserably to write any blogs, race reports or anything lately. The combination of being busy and lack of motivation  postpartum Boston Marathon Qualification have take their toll on my writing.

Now, these posts will have to wait another day, I would rather promote my quest to raise monies for Prostate Awareness, which although is being heavily encouraged by my workplace superiors, I still feel it is such a good cause so I have gladly joined the team at Flight Centre to do well in our quest. Several of my co-workers have lost family members or have family members currently battling this cancer - this is enough motivation for me.

So, This Movember, the month formerly known as November I've decided to donate my face to raising awareness about prostate cancer.  My donation and commitment is the growth of a moustache for the entire month of Movember, which I know will generate conversation, controversy and laughter.

I'm doing this because 4,400 men die of prostate cancer in Canada each year and one in six men will be diagnosed during his lifetime.

This is a cause that I feel passionately about and I'm asking you to support my efforts by making a donation to Prostate Cancer Canada.

To help, you can either:

-     Click this link http://ca.movember.com/mospace/135367/ and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account
-     Write a cheque payable to 'Prostate Cancer Canada', referencing my name or Registration Number 135367 and mailing it to: Prostate Cancer Canada, Suite 306 145 Front Street East, Toronto, ON M5A 1E3, Canada. 

All donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

For more details on how the funds raised from previous campaigns have been used and the impact Movember is having please visit: http://ca.movemberfoundation.com/research-and-programs.

Thank you in advance for helping me to support men's health!

I just wanted to post a quick report on The Run For The Toad. This really is a race / event that calls for much more than a quick report. So much to be said about it's organization, support, aid stations, swag bag and great people that attend but my mind is now elsewhere and I am thinking I really need to get back on track with reporting sooner after the events than I have been lately.

Nevertheless, here is a little tale of a big race. About 1100 runners and walkers. 900 in the 25k and 100 in the 50 plus 100 various walkers. And EVERYONE in great spirits and friendly as is the case with the Ultra marathon and trail running scene.

For now, I will tell you, if you have not already heard, it is a fantastic event. The options are 25 or 50 km trail race that repeats a 12.5 km loop which is about 90% trail and 10 percent asphalt. Superb running conditions on a dry day and still manageable in the rain, although trail shoes would have made the rain we experienced a whole lot better.

The loop stars out on hard packed grass along a small lake shore and heads around the lake and into the woods. It is single track trail for a while but wide enough to pass fortunately as a lot of slower runners started way up front.

We then traversed over about a kilometre of asphalt, which was mostly roads and parking areas for the campground. We pass many tents and trailers and finally headed into the woods again where we were met with the steady hills. Beautiful though and so fresh.

The loop winds and turns so often you start to wonder where north is pretty quickly. Or where the start finish area is for that matter. And the hills. about 20 of them up and down, up and down. They were not menacing, except for a couple ,and they were usually brief, about 30-60 seconds to climb or go down, but they were just so persistent. Every bit of flat land was a relief. I am sure there are tougher trail runs out there, but this was no slouch.

The key point to this race was a hill, about 3/4 of a km from the end of the loop. This particular hill was tougher than the rest. Steep, and fairly long at 150 metres. No 150 metres isn't long but when it is grassy, damp and steeper than most hills we tackle, it's a chore. Eveilishly there was a photographer at tthe top making this spot feel like the grim reaper area of the Around The Bay Race.


I made the first loop in my goal time of 1:02:00 as I hoped to finish at 2:05 or better. Then the rain started in and it got to be unsafe to run down the hills too fast, and slippery so turns and uphills were a bit slower. That and my fatigue level having finished off an 80km week and I turned in a 1:07 second loop for a 2:09 total.

I will definitely invest in a pair of trail shoes for future off road races. I was quite envious of those who had theirs on.

The aid stations were great, typical of an Ultra race as they were serving us lowly 25k'ers and the 50km peeps. Water, gatorade, Bananas, M&Ms, gummies, pretzels. All good, especially since I inadvertently missed breakfast (Left my bagel and cream cheese on Starbucks counter!)

Post race, very memorable, full meal with grilled chicken breast, buns, 3 kinds of pasta salads, raw veggies, grilled veggies and crumble pie. Awesome. Unfortunately we were pressed for time and had to hurry off bit the cold afternoon rain didn't really make it too upsetting to rush off. I would ave liked to have been able to wait around to hang out with our friends, Duff, Frank, Bob, Dave, Larry, Martina and several other familiar faces.

So next year, I am going to lobby for a group trip as this is a nice change of pace, scenery and quality of events we do on a regular basis. We won't go there for personal bests, but we will go for a great time.

Those who know me well, know that I do not approve of wearing the race shirt until AFTER you have completed the race. Don't worry Ginny, I still love you!

So, I get the update email today for the Goodlife marathon and what di I see? A proposition to wear the shirt during the race! What? yes, here is is as it reads in the email:

Win a Karbon Training Jacket - value $100!
Be spotted in your Karbon GoodLife Fitness Toronto Marathon tech shirt as you cross the finish line, and you could win a great Karbon Training jacket!

Oh my, this will lead to more and more people breaking the cardinal rule of event shirts!

"Cool, bright autumn days rank up there with balmy spring days as some of the most pleasant times to run throughout the whole year. The crispness in the air and the almost cinematic quality of light make being outdoors both relaxing and invigorating, and you find yourself looking for excuses to get outside instead of looking for excuses not to.

Of course, that's when the sun is shining. But even on chilly overcast days, it's still nice to throw on an extra layer and head out for a run along the canal or the river, not worrying about heat stroke or whether you're lugging enough water around to stay properly hydrated. Yes indeed, autumn is a great time for running."



This quote comes from the most recent email adcvert promoting the 2011 Ottawa Marathon.

Photo of Duff taken from the Run for the Toad 25k Trail Race. A premier Autumn event!

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