Ben's running blog

Brrrrr!!!

2008-04-02T21:28:00.000-07:00

I finished my first ice bath of the year a few hours ago. As usual, the first 2 minutes were torture, then it was fine an definitely worth it, especially since I just finished a hard tempo run and I'm planning to do my run early tomorrow morning. I need to start working more on recovery, which I think I have been getting better at recently. Ice bath tonight and I've been stretching more regularly. Now I just need to get the massages happening again.

Hail Mary

2008-03-29T13:25:00.000-07:00

No, I didn't run a marathon. I just got back from my LSD and it starting hailing near the end. First time. Kinda cool

A change of pace

2008-03-11T22:01:00.000-07:00

I headed out for a trail run this evening. In addition to the rocks, roots, and other obstacles, I wasn't really ready to deal with the elevation gain. It was fun though, and I would like to get to the trails once a week just to change it up a bit.

First race of 2008

2008-03-09T21:51:00.000-07:00

Today was my first race since I ran a half marathon PR on June 24, 2007 and then completely quit running - or I guess take a break, since I'm back at it now. Since that half marathon PR, I didn't run again until January 4 of this year.

Okay, enough boring background information. The event was a flat and scenic 8K. I ran the inaugural event last year in a painful 42:27. I mean it was really painful, I think I remember my legs wanted to give out at around the 5 or 6k mark. It didn't actually feel too confident about 2 weeks ago, and I was contemplating whether I should race today, or just treat it as another training run (like I'd have the discipline to hold myself back). Then things just kinda came together, and my runs were getting quicker and started feeling better. So, I went out this morning with a goal to crack 40 minutes. My plan was to run the first half in 20 minutes, then to evaluate how I felt and adjust my pace accordingly. Well, I started out pretty quick, and I just couldn't seem to get myself to run any slower than 4:30/km according to my Polar so I just decided to keep going with that pace and hope not to crash from starting out too fast. I just kept motoring along at around a 4:30 pace, and I was still feeling great after 4k, 5k, 6k, I couldn't believe it - I was on my way to finishing well under 40 minutes! Or would my lungs or legs give out with 1k left to go? I wasn't sure, but I felt fine so I kept going, feeling very strong - I even ran right past the water station! I always say that I won't stop for water in the shorter races, but it's always so tempting when it's right there. Well, 6k down, 2 to go. I started to pick up the pace a little bit, and then quite a bit more for the final 800m or so. I think I was even racing the guy beside me to the finish (that's us in the picture!). I was going to ask him to race to the finish line, but I think the race was already on. I'm not too sure who won between the two of us, but that's not important, it was just a nice push for both of us to cross the line faster. Official time ... 35:53! I didn't even shave that much time off my half marathon PR after 6 months of training!! I am very surprised and happy with my time, especially since I've only been back at for 9 or 10 weeks now, and 3k was such a challenge when I first started back up. I'm also very curious to know how fast I could run this distance if I was in peak form. Here are my splits for this race:

1 - 4:50

2 - 4:33

3 - 4:27

4 - 4:29

5 - 4:27

6 - 4:25

7 - 4:27

8 - 4:15

This is probably the most evenly paced race I've ran.

Oh ya, it was also nice not to have a bunch of walkers in front of me with huge golf umbrellas this year (that happened last time). I have no problem with walkers, and I'm actually glad to see them there, but not at the front!

Okay, that was way longer than I expected, thanks for reading. Can't wait until my 10k next month, unless I do a 10k trail race 2 weeks from now, in which case, I can't wait for that!

What a great run!

2008-02-12T18:55:00.001-08:00

Just got back from the best run of this short year. It was also a short run, but I felt fast and strong. It was the fastest that I ran this distance while keeping my heart rate in the same range as usual. Can't wait for Thursday!

Time to recharge

2008-01-30T19:41:00.001-08:00

... not me, but the battery for my foot pod. I don't understand. The originally battery got me through five months of training, then it died sometime during my six months off. I started running again, so I bought a new one, but it only lasted 3 weeks and less than 30k! What gives?! It must have been a cheap battery. I hope the one I bought today lasts longer.

It's official!

2008-01-29T21:28:00.001-08:00

Okay, so when I pronounced my comeback in the last post, I wasn't sure if it was a permanent thing or not. Well, I can't say that I'm officially permanently back, but it really feels like it. I did however, officially register for 3 races last night, so that makes everything feel more real. What a great feeling!

On a side note, I went out for my first snow run today. It was quite peaceful at first. Dark. Nobody around. I was happy to just hear the sound of my shoes digging in the snow. Then I came across group of runners ... a big group of runners. At least 40 of them warming up for a run at a park that I was passing by. There are usually quite a few runners in the area where I run, but I've never seen that many runners in one place except for at races. It must have been a running group from a local running store. It was quite an uplifting feeling to see all these people getting ready to get out for a run as well.

Oh well, I'm looking forward to the three races I registered for, plus at least one and maybe 2 inbetween that time.

Starting over

2008-01-06T00:25:00.000-08:00

2007 was a mixed running year, but positive overall. I started pre-training at the end of January and set PRs in 5K (first time), 8K (first time), 10K, and half-marathon distances. The only goal I fell far short of is running 1000 kms for the year. I was on pace to exceed it, but I stopped running altogether after smashing my previous PR in the half by almost 5 minutes. My goal for this year is simple ... to become a runner for life. I wasn't planning to just run one big event last year and then totally stop running. I was planning to run a full marathon last October but my planned 2-week break after the half-marathon last June turned into over 6 months.

Yesterday was my first run since June 24, 2007. It felt great getting ready for the run. I felt as if no time had passed since I was last seriously training. I ran a whopping 3K! I was just happy to get through the entire run without stopping and without any major problems. Yes, I'll have to start all over again. I'm not starting any serious training yet ... just building up some base so I can begin a training plan in a few months. I'll probably run the same events this year. I would like to run a full marathon this year, but I'm not going to commit to that yet. I'll decide if I want to commit or not later in the year once I firm up my summer travel plans.

I'm planning to head out for another 3K tomorrow after a pick up a new battery for my foot pod which is dead.

I'm in the process of updating this blog and I guess another goal of mine is to post more often hear.

Happy running!

A Few Thoughts

2007-04-17T23:44:00.000-07:00

I said that I wasn't going to race again until my half marathon at the end of June, but I'm just itching to do a trail run again, and I think the Tender Knee on May 27 will fit the bill perfectly. It just means that I will have to delay my cutback week by one week. Actually that race, if I enter, will be my cutback at 12 km instead of the regulary scheduled 18 km. I don't think a race really sounds like a cutback, but oh well. I'm just wondering if I can survive it without any specific training because I think there is a monster hill in there. Hopefully but hill repeats that I've just started doing will be good enough.

I can't decide on a July race. I was originally planning to do a 10K and I really want to do that to try to improve on this weekend's time, but I'm also considering to do one of the 5 Peaks. I think that would be a fun mountain run. I know there will be more 10Ks that I can do, but if I don't do the one in July, I don't really picture myself entering any until next year. I still have a few months to think about it I guess.

I survived my first ice bath after the race on Sunday. I was wearing a sweater, and a toque and gloves and yelping like a dog. The real torture is in the first minute and then after that you kind of get used to it. It was really worth it. I felt so rejuvinated the next day and it didn't really seem like I need my post-race massage that badly. I will be doing more of these torture sessions as I increase the mileage. Probably after most long runs more than 14 km and after hill sessions and intervals if necessary.

I'm thinking about getting a pair of lightweight trainers to throw into the mix when doing speedwork and for short races. Actually I got the idea when I was at the Sun Run Expo and a pair was on sale. The felt really light and snug, but I didn't want to risk buying them and not having my orthos fit inside. So, no lightweights for now.

Tomorrow: 4 monster hills

Largest 10K in Canada

2007-04-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

So I just got back from this year's Vancouver Sun Run. They announced the registration total at 54,181 participants. It's still going on now as I type, as the walkers will be pouring in for the next hour or so. It's nice to live so close to the finish line. I usually end up walking for 30 or 40 minutes to get home or taking a bus across town, but for this event, the finish is just 2 blocks from my condo.

It was a great day for a race and it was already feeling pretty hot by 9:30. My unofficial time was 46:47 which would make that a new PR. I would really love to break 45 minutes one day. I wasn't trying to do that today though. I just wanted to run about 5 minute kms for the first half and then pick it up to about 4:30 and then 4:15 depending on how much energy I had left. I started out a little fast, I just couldn't help myself. I timed my splits:

1 - 4:33
2 - 4:59
3 - 4:50
4 - 4:48
5 - 4:57
6 - 4:38
7 - 4:41
8 - 4:33
9 - 4:35
10 - 4:09

I'm glad I had such a good time because I won't be racing again until my half-marathon at the end of June. I just stretched and I'm just finishing off a protein shake now. I'm going to attempt my first ice bath now. Wish me luck!

Great Trail Race Today

2007-03-25T12:05:00.000-07:00

Today I ran in the Run Inn Sane 10km trail race at Pacific Spirit Park. It was a great race overall, and a very scenic route. I'm too lazy to do a full report, so I'll just say that my time was 49:10 and I had a great time. I can't wait to do another trail race or run.

First Race of the Year!

2007-03-11T17:03:00.000-07:00

This morning was my first race since my comeback to running. It was quite a steady shower here in Vancouver, not overly hard, but enough to lose your body temperature once the race is over.

I ran in the inaugural Harry's Spring Run-Off in scenic Stanley Park in Vancouver. If you've ever been to Vancouver, you probably visited Stanley Park while you were here. Due to the damage to the park during the winter storms, it didn't go all the way around the seawall, but it was instead 2 shorth 4 km laps around the park. The run is sponsored by Harry Rosen, a fine men's clothing store in Canada. The purpose of the event was to raise money to fight prostate cancer.

The normal race was preceded by the elite racers. The fasted male finished in just under 24 minutes and the fastest female finished in just over 27 minutes. Man, were they ever flying!

Being my first race, I wanted to run at my training pace (5:15 to 5:30 / km) for my regular long runs but I knew that would never happen in the heat of the battle. I started out way too fast! For the first 5 km, every time I looked down at my Polar, my pace was somewhere between 4:30 and 4:45/km! I knew I wouldn't be able to sustain that pace for the entire 8, but I still prodded along full steam ahead, one step at a time.

The first 4 km felt pretty good so I kept going at my current pace at that time. I started the feel it a little bit during the 5th km, but I was determined to maintain my pace until I crossed the finish. By the time I finished the 6th km, I was starting to feel the pain. It wouldn't stop my though, the little voices in my head made me dig deep for every last ounce (or gram for my fellow Canadians) energy I had in my. It was tough though, especially with all the rain going in my face and my soaking wet muddy shoes. I heard (and saw) a float plane taking off and it kind of took my mind off the pain for a little while. Once the plane was in the sky though, the pain had returned. No problem, I could see the final corner in the distance. I don't know what's it's called, but whatever it is, it kicked in at that moment and I was off. After a little while, I realized that I took off a little too soon, but that was fine, I didn't go all out so I was able to maintain that pace the rest of the way, until I was about 100 m from the finish then I really kicked it into high gear right behind the guy in front of me. They couldn't have chosen a worse place for the start/finish. It was on a bit of a hill. It was demoralizing going over it after the first lap but it didn't really slow us down at the end.

I'm going to list my splits below but they are kind of off because instead of manually pressing the lap button I used the auto-lap feature and the distances were a little off. I either need to go out and calibrate my watch/footpod or the race wasn't a certified course. The total distance as determined by my Polar was 8.52 km.

1 - 5:11
2 - 4:37
3 - 4:46
4 - 4:42
5 - 4:45
6 - 4:47
7 - 5:15
8 - 5:11
9 - 2:24 (last .52 km)

The official results aren't out yet, but my total time according to my watch was 41:42 which is a little slower than I was aiming for, but I think it's still pretty decent with this being my first race and all.I'm grateful to all the volunteers who woke up an hour earlier due to daylight savings time and for standing in the pissing rain to make the event possible and for cheering us on.

Next up: 10 km trail race on March 25, 2007

Back to where it all began

2007-02-25T23:03:00.000-08:00

I had some things to do at my mom's place in Port Coquitlam today, so I brought along the running gear and I did my long run back in my old neighbourhood. Poco is a small town with a population of probably around 50,000 about 30 km east of Vancouver. The title of this post isn't that fitting since I didn't start my serious running until after I moved away from home. I was however, on the cross country team in high school, so I did many of my training runs around the old neighbourhood. My run today was 7 km and that's my longest since my comeback to running about a month ago. This is going to sound gross, but man I had a major case of the farts on my run today! Just 2 more weeks until my first race of the season.

This is the last week of pre-training before I start training for my half. I was worried that giving my self 5 weeks of base training is not enough to do half-marathon training but I guess I'll just have to wait and see. The first long run in my training program is 7 km and that's where I'm at now, and I've been doing tempo runs in my pre-training at the same distance and pace as I will need to in the training program, so I think I'll be fine.

In other news, I was at the local running store yesterday and I bought a new pair of shoes to rotate in with my New Balance 765 that I'm currently running in. I bought a pair of Asics GT-2120. Here's a pic of them:

I also bought a Nathan hydration belt. I was going to go with a fuel belt due to the smaller flasks (7 oz. compared to 10 oz.) but the salesperson convinced me that the Nathan belt has better flasks and that they are easier to get out of the belt because of what the holsters are made of. I also like that there's a miniature pocket in the front where I can put my keys, and then a larger (but not that large) pocket in the back for gels or whatever. I don't need the belt quite yet as my long run is only at 7 km right now, but I did carry one flask in my hand on my run today. I'm thinking of maybe just wearing the belt with the one flask filled with water just so I can get used to wearing the belt and to get used to running with 40 oz. of fluids on my waste.

That's it for now, my next scheduled run is a 4 km tempo run at 5:00/km on Tuesday.

Booooooooooooring

2007-02-22T22:57:00.000-08:00

Easy runs are so excruciatingly slow, painful, and boring. I've been pretty good at resisting the temptation to go faster though. As boring as they are, I know they help me for recovery and preparation.

Cracking me up

2007-02-18T01:51:00.000-08:00

So, I started seeing a chiropractor mostly for preventative maintenance because of the amount of kilometers that I plan to be logging. I know I do have some imbalances in my lower spine and in other areas. I hope that I am getting realigned and not just getting randomly cracked. She would also like to work on my left hamstring and right IT band. I knew that my left hamstring was less flexible than the right. That's the same thing that I found out the last time I had a fitness assessment done at the gym, and also when I stretch it doesn't go as far as the right. I guess it's good that they both came up with the same conclusion. I probably shouldn't have slept on the couch last night. I think she will be sending me for sports massage too.

I guess part of it is also about milking as much as I can out of my extended health plan. Woohoo!

Introduction

2007-02-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hello fans! Thank you for visiting my blog. As you may have read in my profile, my plan is to use this blog to write about my rediscovered passion for running.

First, I think I will give a little history of my running:

2003 Sun Run (10K) - 48:17
2003 Pacific Spirit Run (10K trail run) - 47:05
2003 Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon - 1:46:08
2004 Sun Run - 50:41
2004 Scotiabank Half Marathon - 1:56:42
2005 Scotiabank Half Marathon - 2:21:10

Oh it looks like it's been more than 2 years since I've been actively involved in races. My 2005 result for the half marathon was so horrible but that's because I didn't train at all for it. I just entered to race to keep the streak alive. I was in so much PAIN at the end and for the next week. I think I was popping close to 10 Motrins a day for a few days! I won't make that mistake again.

My main goal for this year is to complete the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon in under 1:45. The date is June 24, 2007. I have a few tune-up races planned between now and my big day.

I'm currently training for my training program which begins on March 4. I'm currently in week 3 of my pre-training phase. I'm currently logging 15-20 kilometers per week with my long run only being 5 km. The pre-training phase includes 4 runs per week: 1 long run, 1 tempo run, and 2 easy runs. When I get to the real training, I will be running 5 days per week and peaking at over 50 km per week! I can't imagine that. I never really trained properly in the past for my runs. I was just in general good shape and I ran 5k about 3 times per week.

The runs that I have planned for the next few months are as follows:

March 11, 2007 - Harry's Spring Run Off (8 km)
March 25, 2007 - Run Inn Sane (10 km trail run) - tentative
April 15, 2007 - Vancouver Sun Run (10 km)
June 24, 2007 - Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon

Then I'll recover for about 2 weeks and get right back at it and prepare for another half in October. I'm thinking either Victoria, Bellingham, Kelowna, or San Diego if I feel that I deserve a vacation. Right now I'm leaning towards Bellingham due to the proximity and also it will be the inaugural event. But part of me would prefer to run San Jose because it's a full-half instead of half of a full. It's just a mental thing - I feel like I've only run half of the race if I do half of a full marathon. I guess I'll have to get over it since the half-marathon isn't a popular enough distance to merit enough of their own events yet. My goal for next year is to run the full marathon, but I still have a lot of work to do before that. On the way to my October half, I'm sure I'll do a few 10 k events around Vancouver in the summer. One that comes to mind is in July I believe. It's called Summerfast and it's very memorable to me because I remember I signed up for it one year and I showed up a day late! I was wondering why nobody was there.

I think that's enough for now. Wish me luck on my journey!

2008 - Full marathon - Vancouver and New York, Honolulu, or Chicago