The long lonely run

On Saturday I ran my long 32K run on my own from home. I thought it was around -10° but it seemed colder. Part of the run was on packed snow and on the way back it felt like hard work.

I ran a section up town line and the cars whizzing by at 100Km/h was a little scary although most of the drivers gave me lots of space. I then ran right through Whitevale and up and down those hills. It was very picturesque though.

Running for 3 hours with the same two lines of a song going over and over in your head should drive you nuts but actually it can feel quite therapeutic.

This week, the weather is supposed to warm up to near freezing all week and I should be back to my usual schedule which will be good.

I will be registering for the Around the Bay Road Race today as the price goes up tomorrow and you all know how I hate to waste money!

Hit The Road Running Clinics.

That's more like it

Today the sun is out and it is a lot warmer than the past few days. Actually it was -11° C and very little wind so I'm glad I left my longer weekday run to today. Ran 8K up to Sunnybrook stables and back. There were a tonne of cross county skiers out today.

Tomorrow I will be doing my 32K and resting up Sunday and Monday.

Hit The Road Web Site.

Back to the deep freeze

You know it's a cold day when ice forms on the inside of your cars windows when you have the heater on. I managed to get out and run 5K in the -22C (-32 with windchill). The trail had been plowed and was much nicer to run on than yesterday. Even though it was still snow covered, it's much easier to run on 1/2 inch than 6 inches.

For anyone considering the Around the Bay 30K, the price goes up Feb 1st.

Corporate and Charity run team training.

Deep snow running

Last night we had about 6 inches of snow and I know I was complaining about the light covering yesterday but running through 6 inches of snow really takes it out of you.

I decided to switch my 6 and 8K runs for today and tomorrow leaving me just 6 to do today but it felt more like 10K. My entire route was covered in some snow by the deep stuff probably only took up 2K of it.

You know you're nuts when the cross country skiers are looking at you funny. So no speed work today but still a good workout.

I'm hoping it clears up a lot before my 32K on Saturday.

Challenge yourself.

Finally...not too bad

It was a great day for a run today, it was only around -10C and I was able to run without covering up my entire face which made breathing a little easier.

The train was about 50% covered in a little snow but it makes it so much harder to run. It's like running on sand, you feel like you're doing a lot more work. Hopefully it's making me stronger.

tomorrow there is supposed to be more snow so we'll have to play the speedwork by ear.

Sunday's long run this week will have to be done on Saturday. 32K is a long way to run on your own.

Corporate running programs.

Bad weekend for runners

Well everything I had planned for this weekend was scrapped. Saturday's volunteering at the Pickering Half didn't happen due to a scheduling conflict. Sunday's long run didn't happen due to a blizzard. The snow on my road was almost a foot deep and I didn't feel like trudging through that for 30K.

This week looks busy too. And next weekend doesn't look too good either. Oh well, I'll get my runs in where ever I can.

I'm considering doing a downtown clinic in the spring. Let me know if you're interested.

Icy Lashes... part 2

Another icy lashes day today. The temp was around -20C with a windchill of -30. I went out for a 6K run and it wasn't too bad.

Tonight and tomorrow they are forecasting snow and tomorrow I've volunteered to help out at the Pickering 1/2. I'm hoping the snow won't be too bad.

I'm finally signed up for the pig and looking forward to that. This Sunday I plan to run 30K as long as the snow's not too bad.

Run for Fun

Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon

Well I'm signed up for the flying pig, there's no backing out now (I'm too tight to lose the registration fee!).

Watch out Cincinnati.

Oink Oink

Learn to enjoy running

Icy Lashes

Yesterday my training was snowed out but today I managed an 8K in the -18C weather. The wind chill was actually down at -26C and I had a problem with my eye lashes freezing together.

It's pretty hard to breath through a frozen balaclava and on the way up the last hill I was sucking pretty hard to get enough air.

It's surprising how warm you can be if you layer correctly. After my run I stood outside and stretched and watch all the smokers freezing themselves looking at me like I'm crazy. Not only was I warm but I had just done something that was good for me.

Tomorrow I plan a short run and Saturday I'll be helping out at the Pickering 1/2 marathon. Sunday I'm planning 30K.

Beginner running programs

Deep Freeze

Today I went out for a 6K run and I saw no birds, no squirrels, no animals at all. It's probably because they all had the good sense to be taking shelter from the -22C.

I layered up well and wasn't cold although I hate wearing a balaclava as it makes it hard to breath, especially once the moisture from your breath starts to freeze in front of your mouth.

A good tip for running in really cold weather is start by running into the wind. There's nothing worse than running with the wind at you back, going too far and turning around to find you have to work harder to get back and it's much colder going into the wind.

Actually there are worse things but I won't go into that now.

I have to sign up for the Flying Pig this week... Also I have to decide which race will be the target for the next round of clinics in the spring. Any Ideas?

Corporate and Charity Team Training.

The long run

Yesterday I went out for a 28K run. We went north and decided to find the legendary 'Puke Hill'. It came about 10K out and it was rather nasty but I managed to get up it without too much trouble. Actually the biggest problem was the 2 dogs that chased us.

It was cold, probably around -10C but there wasn't too much wind and no snow. Once I got through the first couple of K I was nice and toasty.

The legs feel fine considering the lack of miles lately and the hills yesterday.

I finally got around to uploading the pics from the resolution run on Jan 1st. Unfortunately, the wife only took a couple of shots so this is the only decent one.



It's my youngest chasing me at the finish line.

Get to the start line.

Heatwave

Today the temp was 14C at lunchtime so I hit the road in shorts for my planned 5-6K. Once I got out there I decided to tap on tomorrow's planned mileage and skip going out tomorrow so I ended up running just over 9K up to Edwards Gardens.

What a beautiful day. Running by the river and then the creek reminded me of being at Disney with that constant background noise of running water. In Edwards Gardens the pond was flowing along with the rest of the creek and the ducks seemed a little confused.

So now I get 2 rest days before my planned 28 on Sunday.

Start your corporate run team here.

Stitches

Ran 7K last night and did 4 800M speed repeats. By the third repeat I thought I was going to puke. I guess it's not a good idea to eat a large amount of shepherd's pie less than an hour before a speed workout.

By the 4th repeat I had a really bad stitch and actually had to walk part of the way back because it was so bad. Of course, 1 minute after I had finished the run everything was great again.

The weather was weird yesterday. By the time I went out to run it was about 2C but there was a big thunderstorm 15 minutes before I was due to start but luckily it cleared up just in time.

Today 6K and it's very warm outside!

Run year round.

Mistake

Today I went out to run 8K and decided to head south on the trail thinking it would be clear like it is to the north. Difference is, north is towards the works department depot so they have kept their driveway nice and clean.

Of the 8K I ran, probably 6K was covered in uneven ice. It is so much harder to run on that stuff. On the way back I actually went up to Don Mills early just to get some clean pavement.

At least the conditions kept my mind off the freezing wind. The actual temp was only -2 but it felt much colder in the wind.

Also the Adidas didn't bug me today, no arch pain. Maybe they are just starting to break in after 47K.

Corporate and Charity running team programs.

Avoiding the weather

Thursday I skipped my run because it had snowed and Friday was supposed to be sunny and not too cold. So Thursday's run turned into Friday's run and it was a good one. I went out and ran 8K at a comfortable pace. The trails and roads were surprisingly clear and the temp was just below freezing.

Saturday was a rest day and Sunday we went out and ran 24K. Felt good the whole way and went for breakfast rather than coffee which probably explains why I'm heavier today!

I actually ran 64K last week.

Today is a rest day, tomorrows plan is 8K and the weather man is projecting 10C by Thursday.

Helped my good friends Jocelyn and Angela to set up a blog for their fundraising efforts for Team Diabetes over the weekend. Take a look.

Corporate team building.

Start the Speed Work

Last night I went out for my first speed session of the year. Just 2 reps of 1.6K. We have a nice 800M long road which is pretty flat so that's where I did it.

Ran really well and felt pretty good. Slowed down towards the end but mainly because I started out too fast.

Rep 1.
1K was 3:56, .613K was avg 4:11 so rep 1 was 6:29

Rep 2.
1K was 4:05, .654K was avg 4:24 so rep 2 was 6:55

It was cold last night so I spent half the night coughing after all the deep breathing.

Corporate and charity team training.

The New Year

Well on Saturday January 1st I took part in the resolution run 5K in Oshawa and ran a respectable 22:23. My boys ran across the finish line with me but then they wanted to go for a longer run and were not interested in letting me catch my breath. I came in 21st overall which isn't bad.

Sunday I got up for my long run but there was freezing rain coming down. If you live in sunnier climbs, freezing rain leaves a nice coat of ice on pretty much everything and creates very slippery conditions.

My car slid down the driveway, slipped around the first corner and I decided it was a good idea to go back home.

I ended up doing my long run on Monday, which was a holiday but had left my Garmin on since Sunday morning so at best I can guess the distance. I probably did around 19K but didn't feel to great for any of it and ended up getting blisters on the arch of my foot from the new Adidas.

Today I went out for an 8K with my old Nikes but now my knees feel a little sore. Got through it OK though.

Tomorrow I plan to do some speed work but will have to rely on the conditions.

New Year's resolution?