Running a blender in a lightning storm
June 30, 2009 at 3:52 pm | In Running | 1 CommentI have an interview up at Mzungo Blog. Great site for current running articles, check it out.
Canadian 10 000m Championships (photos from Barb Phelan).
Doesn’t seem to be a shadow in the city
June 28, 2009 at 9:50 am | In Running | 2 CommentsGoing into the race last night I really wanted to run under 28:45 to achieve carding standard. I felt I could run that fast if everything lined up. I wasn’t super confident about running 68-69 second laps without the weeks and months of good workouts under my belt that I normally have leading into a track race. I still thought with my base and aerobic fitness it could happen.
It was about 25C when the race went off, a little too hot for chasing times over 25 laps. I went through the first lap in 70 seconds and knew right away that 28:45 was not going to happen. I actually felt pretty crappy throughout the race and I attribute that to running a marathon on May 24th and having my two highest mileage weeks of the year in the past two weeks. So yeah, no mystery at all why I felt sluggish. The good part is that I was racing Andrew Smith and Dylan Wykes who are also training for the marathon so they weren’t super fresh either.
29:20.81 for my first Canadian 10 000m title and my 7th Canadian title (4 X 5000m, 1 XC, 1 marathon).
It was my first outdoor track race in 22 months. I really want to get back on the track in 2010 so it was good to bridge the gap between 2007 and 2010 with at least one effort around the oval.
Off to the track again today to cheer on Speed River athletes in the 1500m, steeple, high jump and throwing events. We have a good chance at doing well in the team scores.
Next race is the Utica Boilermaker 15km in two weeks.
Three little birds
June 26, 2009 at 10:04 am | In Running | Leave a CommentOnce again you can follow updates for Speed River athletes at the Canadian Track and Field Championships at www.twitter.com/speedriver
800 Finals, Saturday at 5:50pm
1500m heats, Saturday at 6:30pm
10 000m FINAL, Saturday at 7pm
3000m Steeple Finals, Sunday at 2:25
1500m Finals, Sunday at 3:05
10 000m Start List
1 542 Coolsaet, Reid Speed River 27:56.92
2 450 Wykes, Dylan Physi-Kult 28:58.45
3 135 Mosley, Richard BC Athletics 29:12.17
4 597 Nakluski, Derek Toronto Olympic 29:53.40
5 158 Smith, Andrew Brooks Canada 29:55.54
6 452 Simpson, Scott Prairie Inn 30:08.00
7 448 Pieterson, Matthew Physi-Kult 30:47.00
8 550 Koziarski, Stephen Speed River 30:47.31
9 333 Walton, Adrian London Runner 30:48.97
10 447 Chiasson, Rejean Physi-Kult 30:53.14
11 230 Weikum, Jamie Edmonton Thunder 31:00.00
12 446 Boyd, Steve Physi-Kult 31:11.00
13 483 Norminton, Matthew Running Room 31:16.50
14 527 Ménard-Kilrane François, Sherbrooke 31:34.00
15 331 Nagle, Chris London Runner 31:46.88
16 605 Cummings, Travis U OF C 32:06.00
17 234 Bilodeau, Mathieu Energie 32:36.00
18 383 Ball, Richard Orillia Legion NT
Sporting the MJ button back in 1984.
Here comes the rain again
June 25, 2009 at 12:30 pm | In Running | Leave a CommentIt is pouring rain right now, maybe that will cool things off for the 5000's tonight. Once again I'll be on the sidelines watching the 5000m but this year it's not so bad because I'm actually running another event and I'm healthy. Both the Men's and Women's 5000 should be good races as the fields are relatively deeper up front than last year. I'm feeling a little better about the 10 000m now that I had a 200m repeat workout on Tuesday. I haven't moved that fast in a looong time. And it felt good.
Two weeks after Nationals I'll be racing the Utica Boilermaker in upstate New York. It is a very deep 15km and will be a good prep for the World Championships Marathon. I'm pretty sure there will be a couple of members from the US World Championship Marathon team competing as well.
Bruno is coming out in two weeks!
Best Bruno clip from a few years ago...
I run the streets all night and day
June 21, 2009 at 10:39 am | In Running | 3 CommentsI just finished my second highest mileage week since the fall (last week being the highest). I plan on running quite a bit in July to prep for the World Championship marathon. A few more miles in my legs should help with the later stages of the marathon. This week will be a little low as I'll do a three day taper in preparation for the 10 000m on Saturday night. I would say that I'm training through this upcoming race but since it is nationals I'll back off a couple days out so I don't feel sluggish for the race.
Speed River BBQ Monday June 22, 2009. 5:30pm at the University of Guelph Alumni Stadium.
Everyone is welcome to check out the open practice and have some Hamburgers and whatever else Moulton has planned.
National Track and Field Championships Thursday June 25th to Sunday June 28th. Varsity Stadium, Bloor St. Toronto. I'll be racing the 10 000m on Saturday at 7pm. I'll most likely check out the 5000's on Thursday night and the 1500 and Steeple finals on Sunday. Looks like it is going to be HOT all week with a little break in the temps by Saturday.
MON TUE WED THUR FRI SAT
| P.O.P. | 10% | 10% | 0% | 40% | 10% | 30% |
| High | 27°C | 26°C | 28°C | 27°C | 25°C | 25°C |
| Feels Like | 33°C | 32°C | 36°C | 36°C | 30°C | 31°C |
| Low | 16°C | 15°C | 15°C | 18°C | 16°C | 14°C |
| Wind | N 10 km/h | N 10 km/h | N 5 km/h | SW 15 km/h | NW 10 km/h | S 15 km/ |
A festivus for the rest of us
June 12, 2009 at 5:05 pm | In Running, commentary | 2 CommentsFestival of Excellence was a great track meet and I really hope it’s here to stay. Bolt was the highlight for the majority of the fans but the real exciting races were the Women’s 100 hurdles and the Men’s Mile. Bolt just creamed everyone and didn’t run all that fast (relatively speaking, as 10.00 is still a world class time). Whereas the Women’s 100 hurdles saw a great battle between Priscilla Lopes-Schliep and Perdita Felicien. A mere 0.02 separated last year’s Olympic Bronze medallist and the former World Champion. And in the Men’s 1500m Mile there was a good battle between Nate Brannen and Taylor Milne (both were Olympians last year) who went 3:55 and 3:56 respectively. The media didn’t focus enough on showcasing these Canadian racers and let people know that they can watch these same athletes compete again in two weeks time at the same track at the National Championships.
The street festival (aka Lane 9) was better than I thought. In the beginning they were going to have bleachers on Devonshire and then they just sold standing tickets without the seats. And when I found out that there would 1400 people looking through the fence I figured it was going to be pretty crappy. But in the end they did have bleachers to accommodate the crowds on Devonshire.
Hopefully this event goes off next year with or without Bolt. I couldn’t imagine last night happening without him but now that he got the event rolling perhaps they can continue to bring world class athletes to Toronto. Bolt overshadowed everyone last night so much so that LaShawn Merrit (last year’s Olympic Gold 400m runner) went pretty much unnoticed.
My workout yesterday felt a lot better than Monday’s workout. I think the farther away I get from May 24th the better I’ll feel. It also helps only running 18km the day before opposed to 29km on a hilly route. Sunday I have a marathon type workout lined up. It will be my first long workout since I raced the marathon three weeks ago however it won’t be a crazy marathon workout by any means.
Here is a vid of the Men’s Mile from the Festival of Excellence. Eight guys under Four Minutes. Way to go Milne and Boorsma!
Lively up yourself
June 10, 2009 at 1:54 pm | In Running | Leave a CommentI have my ticket for the Festival of Excellence tomorrow night. Of course I opted for one of the $25 standing area tickets instead of the $110 – $250 grandstand tickets. I’m really looking forward to the Miles, 800m, 1500m and 5000m. I wasn’t prepared to pay out the big bucks to cover Usain Bolt’s appearance and to watch the distance events. It sounds like the whole event should be fun and quite entertaining.
IAAF article on the Festival of Excellence
Recovery from the marathon seems to be going pretty well. I’m feeling pretty comfortable on my daily runs. My two workouts have been a different story. I’m not surprised I haven’t felt great yet and I’m pretty sure I’ll be feeling a lot better in the coming two weeks as it’s only been 17 days since the marathon. hopefully just in time to run a decent 10 000m on June 27th at Nationals.
Still waiting to hear an announcement about the Berlin Marathon team (it sounds like there are at least four guys who have qualified and want to go). Right now I’m preparing to run the marathon but it would be really nice to know for sure.
This person sure stepped it up from my “STOP PRE” sign last summer…
Deadly Combination
June 4, 2009 at 11:02 am | In Random | 2 CommentsCollabo! Running X Skateboarding. Two different instances this week of the significant combination. One at The Berrics and one over at NYC Bridgerunners.
Here’s another combination, this one I concocted this morning. This is an upgrade from my tried, tested and true recovery drink.
- 350ml of water
- 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
- 1 banana
- 1 scoop of PowerBar Protein Plus (Chocolate)
Mix that up in a blender and enjoy (add ice cubes on a hot day).
Monday, you can hold your head, Tuesday, Wednesday stay in bed
June 1, 2009 at 11:43 am | In Running | 2 CommentsThe week of recovery.
On Monday (the day after) I was walking around like Frankenstein and using handrails religiously while tackling stairs. Tuesday I had a massage to help the whole process. On Wednesday I went in the pool for some active recovery and started feeling pretty good. My 5km run on Thursday was stiff, slow and uncomfortable. Friday was a bit better but I was still hurting. On Sunday I ran 13km and felt comfortable and I’m happy to say that I actually felt good today on a 15km run. A few more days of easy running before I attempt an easy running workout.
The plan is to get after a 10 000m on June 27th as much as I can while paying close attention to recovery and using the August 22 Marathon as the main focus. I’m guessing the World Championship team will be named by next week because the marathoners have to send in their declaration form by June 4th.
Here’s a shot of Parliament from the Marriott.
This was a hail Mary photo (hands holding camera straight in the air) and you can’t see much except volunteers backs and Merga’s hand but I caught Merga’s time (told ya Cal). Ya, I didn’t have my athletes pass with me.
For a week I still ate my normal breakfast and dinner (and kept up my fruits, veggies and protein) but throughout the day I would eat whatever I wanted, cookies, ice cream, doughnuts, pizza. I tried to put on a couple of pounds but I’m not quite sure I did. I should of had more fast food…
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It’s Seven O’clock and I want to Rock
June 15, 2009 at 3:07 pm | In commentary | Leave a CommentJeeze, sounds like I have a case of the Muundays.
I’m really hoping for calm and cool weather on June 27th at 7pm for the National 10 000m race. I wouldn’t have to pray so much if the race would start a couple hours later once the sun goes down. It can be very hot in Toronto at the end of June and with the sun it can be pretty uncomfortable running 25 laps around a track. As both the race distance and temperatures rise there is a negative and exponential relation to performance times. I really don’t mind running a mile when it’s hot… even a 3000m isn’t so bad. But once you get up to 5km it really negatively effects your time and I don’t care to know what running a marathon in 28C would feel like…
With the 10 000m it’s not like we get the chance to run them every week. Two to four 10 000m races a season is what most 10km runners will do, which is likely the ideal amount. So with very few opportunities why do we have to have the one mandatory 10 000m (for carding, making national teams etc) run at a time when it’s likely to be hot. If the 10 000m was scheduled for 9pm when the sun sets it would help the times and maybe make the difference for someone making a national team, someone getting carded or even a PB.
I know the answer probably lies in having to have officials stay late and the desire to have a continuous schedule. I also should have said something to AC when the schedule came out if I really wanted something done about it and not just complaining here and now. I also know that some championship races will be run when it’s hot so this is good practice, blah blah blah. It still seems stupid to me.
My second rant is about the possibility of the Pan Am Games coming to Toronto/Hamilton in 2015. I really hope that we get the games as the facilities that come with the winning bid would be great for the area. I’m not sure we deserve the games though. Hopefully I’ll be proven wrong by the turnout at Nationals this year but the area doesn’t support Track and field enough, one of the main Pan Am sports. It could be argued that if we host the games that people will start caring because track will have more exposure.
I’m sure the Pan Am games will have a decent marketing campaign judging by the airplane banner that flew over the Festival of Excellence. If the attendance at Varsity stadium during nationals is dismal it may, in part, be due to very little marketing of the event by Athletics Canada and the host. Heck, the whole country was focused on Usain Bolt last week at Varsity stadium, is there a better opportunity to get the word out??? Fail. Oh, and Usain may still be running in 2015, so maybe Toronto should host the games after all since we know people will care then.
Proposed PAN AM Games stadium in the Hammer. So sweet.