The Renaissance

Square One

I rose again on sunday to run for the first time in 2 weeks, since pulling up during the MEC half marathon.

The old adage of going without something making you appreciate it all the more is triply true for me and running. One thing that amplifies this is an extra couple of days a week in the gym. I was forced to watch people frankly hurting themselves doing such things as holding onto the treadmill as if superglued to it, keeping their backs bent on the rowing machine, etc. 

There seemed little escape from seeing other pet hates such as people reading while working out, wearing hoods and woolly hats. 

Pressure Valve

I'd given myself 2 weeks before the next run on November 1. Just survive October. That was easier said than done: I work in the energy sector in Calgary, and there have been countless job losses this year (many in October), and jitters about new governments, provincial and federal. Running keeps me centred among times of worry, fully justified or otherwise, so its absence was keenly felt. 

On sunday morning, I laced up to go for an exploratory 5k. Nerves? A few. It's hard to overstate how badly I wanted the waiting (to run again) to be over. There are times that it is the best coping mechanism bar none. Other runners know what I mean. 

The Run

The plan was to go easy pace for 5k, stopping even if I felt PB-fantastic. First few minutes, just concentrate on smooth technique. About 10 minutes in, felt quite a bit of tightening. Run gently. 

Just before the 20 minute mark, all signs of discomfort faded. As I finished up on a newly opened stretch of pathway, I even started to enjoy it. Gasp!

Next Up

Next saturday, it's off to Banff for the Winterstart, a 5 mile race in the dark with glow sticks. One run on wednesday before that just to check everything. There's gradient on this course, so at the moment it's helpful to have no temptation to attempt a PB (31:02). 

This will end my 2015 season, and my training program for 2016 starts right after. Winter's coming, time to get ready to outdo yourself next spring. 

MEC Half Marathon, a race too far

Hindsight's a wonderful thing, why can't it happen before the event? Last Sunday I had to drop out of a half marathon just after the halfway point. Annoyingly, all while hoping for the best, I had been expecting it. 

That'll learn him

Instead of a detailed description, I'll spell out the 2 things I can learn from, take away and apply: 

 

Don't make the same mistake twice: I repeated an error from 2012, doing my first post-race run at full speed as planned. A 5x 1min interval workout, I had to finish it walking with groin trouble. So after a race, that next planned run should be cut in half even if you "feel good". 

Don't miss a strength/ workout prior to a race: my hamstrings seemed to weaken quickly without this stimulus. It's not really a fatigue causing workout, so taking a rest from it on the wednesday prior to a race doesn't save any energy. 

I'll add one more: do a shorter distance for the second race if doing 2 close together (under 6 weeks for me).

What's next?

On November 7, I'm doing my first ever Banff Winterstart. This is a 5 mile race after sunset, every runner getting a glow stick. 3 weeks to prepare, no problem making it to my 2015 finale. A week later, course marshal at the Last Chance Half Marathon. I'm an excitable volunteer. 

Man With A Plan

After that, I have a long plan drawn up to take down my half marathon PB at the end of May next year. 2 weeks off, a gradual return, patient base build, then the fine tuning in February. I've already started (evil chuckle). 

Harvest Half Marathon

Pastel Shades

My annual walk to the Tech Shop a week prior to the Harvest Half Marathon to pick up my race package: A pleasant showcase of the beauty of autumnal days in Calgary. 

Rich shades of yellow, red, brown and green. 

Crisp blue skies make these colours pop out all the more. 

Foxy trees in weather that is usually cool in the mornings, pleasantly warming up though the day. 

Hazy Shade Of Winter

Except race day. That was a winter tasting menu of high winds and sleet. 

With another half marathon planned for 15 days later, I decided to make it a long hard tempo. Knowing Calgary, October 18 could either be more of the same or I get heat stroke. 

Shorts might have seemed like a crazy decision, though I wasn't alone. I didn't want my legs to get heavy with water. 

A-Chang asked if I was ok with what I was wearing. Once we get started, no problem, I said. 

Down Roads Paved with Star Volunteers 

As we started, my foot took a big slip on the timing mat. 

I pushed quite hard at the beginning towards the hill at km 2 to get the circulation going and my core temp up. 

A nice golf course overlooking Fish Creek Park that no-one but deer seemed to use is being redeveloped. It brought mud onto the road and made 2 metal plates very slippery. A huge thank you to the volunteers who pointed out all the tricky spots. Poor weather makes it doubly hard, so much respect to such badassery. 

Most years, I fling myself down the first hill once in Fish Creek Park. This year I did a kind of rapid tip-toeing, like a drunken ballerina. 

The first bridge being wooden, was slippery as the snow didn't melt on it. Once more, a volunteer gave a warning beforehand. 

Bottled 

I had had a coughing fit for over a kilometre when I dropped one of my bottles. An extra reminder to make it a long hard tempo rather than a hard race. 

After the halfway point, the course opened up with less protection from the side winds. I tried to acknowledge most of the volunteers, I felt bad for them having to be static while being blown around and pelted with sleet. 

Hi 5s & Hills

Just before Sikome Hill, a dog walker hi-fived me..

..and I pointed out a car with a window open. Perhaps that Jetta's a TDI. 

Time on the hill to ham it up for the camera. 

The whoosh of the head wind at the top was no joke. 

Cruise Control 

As I passed police cars old and new, I told myself to "bring it home, gently." 

I'll have whatever the Lululemon cheer squad was having, at least once. Enthusiasm keeps you warm. 

After the race had settled down, I'd only been overtaken twice. I accelerated gently in the final k to maintain position. 

I mimed putting up an umbrella as I rounded the final turn.

A Chang was at a good vantage point to get a glamour shot. 

1:34:17, and 15th place.  

The most hostile weather of my 7 Harvest Halves, though not my slowest one. 

It turns out I was pacing myself to stay just ahead of the battle for winning lady, hugging it out afterward. 

Drying Sheets

I gave a summary on camera in the warm dry gym, but it was muffled by the waterproof case. Probably something about the weather. 

Wet and windy races tend to make for slow times, but good stories. I'm never stuck for something to say about running, but when a race plays the weather card, it's almost impossible to stop. 

Almost, except when there's coffee. While I prefer it dry and sunny, I'll admit that part of me rejoices at defying the weather. 

Here Comes the Sun? A day either side, it was more like this. A run outside one's comfort zone, however, is always a great thing. 

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Confidence and doubt

Harvesting Energy

With the Harvest Half Marathon on the horizon, including package pick-up a week early, I'm getting a mixture of signals.

It's always a little hard for me to read them and answer the same question: what shape am I in? 

Even harder to answer: When will my bum not hurt when I get off the exercise bike? Good cross-training even so.  

Warm conditions here and there for a few runs: I have to remind myself that it's why  this or that run was a little tougher. 

Then there are other days that turn cold and help towards a good workout. Yet, a few jitters creep in - what's that random ache?

 

Last Long One

I fuelled up well before the key long run, 3 weeks prior to race day. 

25k at 4:25 pace was scheduled, I added in 2 hills for extra bite. 

I kept exactly on pace, except on the gradient. All year, I've attempted to improve my posture. Elbows in, to stop cross-body arm swing; squat down an extra couple of centimetres to get greater power output for the effort put in. 

Hell Fire

Another, slightly bizarre hiccup came from a fire drill at work. 30 floors down and constant right turns seemed to tweak my inner-left thigh. How to avoid this in the future? Either close your office door and hide under your desk, or don't be first out the door and embrace the traffic jam on the stairs. 

Unpredictable Performances

When I set a 5k PB at the Stampede Road Race in July, it was the first time I had felt pretty confident at the startline of getting one. 

However, I have little idea how the Harvest Half is going to turn out. Last year, my legs felt lifeless from the very beginning. At 2013's race, I had nothing left after Sikome Hill at 17.5k. 

And yet in 2012, I wonder what went right when I beat my previous PB by over a minute, finishing with a powerful 10k-pace final kilometre. 7th place in 1:26:48. 

Famous Last Prediction 

I'll force myself to make a prediction: I should finish in 1:27-28. The hardest thing of all to predict is what I'll have left in the final 3.5km after that hill. If there's a surprise in store, I'd love to engage Ludicrous Speed and get a PB. Even better would be to get the AG placing I've long wanted, but it all depends on the right surprises at the right time. 

But, in amongst the swirl of questions and doubts, it's still a beautiful running world. 

Holiday, birthday race, touch of retro

Touching Tarmac

England, where the traffic is sometimes vintage, 

and the animals are sometimes traffic. 

It was good to get away to the UK, especially for a race on Dad's 70th birthday.

First to Marlow, and cross training. Down the hill, sample beer and cider at the local brewery, back uphill again. 

First run took me along Dad's regular sunday short route. Much of it is along single track road which cars, cyclists and runners all share. Having been out of country for a while made me tentative around most of the corners.

For the end of the run, there was a Strava segment, the "Marlow Bottom Mile", which went past my old school. 10k race pace past the 10k mark was good preparation. I posted 3rd on the segment too. 

Torquay Time

200+ miles away is Torquay, where Dad lived until he was 10. 

All 7 of us including my brother Colin, wife Julie and son Ethan shared a Victorian house for a week. All the weirdness you could hope for in a 150 year old structure, including horse stable style bathroom doors. 

It's all hills. 

Also, mood lighting in the house to contemplate the 10k race to come 2 days later at 6pm. 

Planes & Caves

Meanwhile, there were planes to watch at Dawlish beach. 

This included the quite incredible Vulcan, 

a Cold War era bomber on one of its final ever flights, maybe with Doctor Strangelove at the controls.

A Spitfire added more Rule Britannia. 

Got stalactites? Kent Cavern caves was a 2 minute walk from the house, a good way to keep out of the rain on race morning. 

A long history of discovery and archeology, sure to give Indiana Jones the willies if the lights went out. 

Family Race Day

Brother Colin, Dad and me did the Torbay 10k. It was Dad's 70th birthday, and for the race at 6pm, the sun came out. 

It rained for most of the week, so it was perfect timing. 

Less than perfect was the race organization, not exactly describing the start location, package pick-up on race day only, lack of road closures for most of the course and bottleneck startline. 

Still, it was race day, and always at my happiest. 

The race went along the beach, up and downhill, 2 laps of Paignton Green, then back halfway to the start and finish on top of a hill. 

In hindsight I should've started further forward. The inside lane had cars and vans parked in it, and other runners joining from the sides. 

It was 2 lanes each way, and runners only got their 2 lanes to themselves for the first k. 

I was still making my way through the crowd when I passed Mum and A-Chang. 

Colin followed. 

Then Dad, nearly missing the photographers, though this is a great air shot. 

The hilly section was a series of short and sharp undulations. I almost missed Ethan and Julie as I passed them just before the first one at 2k. 

No longer having use of the road, I followed the lead of the guy in front squeezing between a wall and signpost for a 90 degree corner. 

Wow, a museum condition Cortina! The most surprising thing I saw in the race. (Brits-only joke) 

The course then joined Paignton Green for 2 laps. Beach huts, mini-golf and a pier. Trumping all that for quintessential Englishness, however, was the waft of fish & chips with vinegar drifting over the beach. God Save The Queen.

I looked for Dad and Colin on the second lap, though didn't spot them. 

Also on the lookout for rogue pedestrians, a lady/ lemming with pushchair tried to cross right in front of me. Somehow I kept my language clean, merely announcing "Bad decision!" 

The return leg brought a long uphill grind for the second last kilometre. The slowest part of my race, I wouldn't be getting a second sub-40. A little annoying, as without gradient and traffic, 4 minutes and under per k had not been too difficult.

I was still passing people at the end, at near 5k race pace. The last guy I passed said, "What? Oh, alright."

In my GB top and the day after Mo Farah got the first of his 2 golds at the World Athletics Championships, a Mobot was in order. 

My finishing time was 40:31, 48th out of 606, and 10th out of 50 in my age group. 

Looking back, I had been in PB shape, but gradient and crowding from rather wanting race organization had prevented it. I managed a 10k stretch in 40:06, according to Strava. The middle 5k took just 19:36. I covered 10.09k by my watch, which in the case of this race I find quite believable.  

Still, all that is a very distant 2nd place to enjoying a shared family race. I wandered back down from the finish line to wait for the others. 

Colin came in at 56:30, I waved him through as I was waiting for Dad.

I heard Ethan joined him for the finish, contributing to a few traffic flow problems. 

Just 2 minutes later Dad appeared, and I joined him for the finish. 

Crossing in 58:37 to the sounds of Happy Birthday, he made it look like he was going to do a celebratory swan dive off the nearby cliff. 

I was almost given a second medal. Dad was 3rd in his AG, a fine debut for his 70s. 

Pub dinner: I had fish & chips, because..

Dad blew out his candles to top off a fine day. Both of us took up running after (indirect) advice from doctors. When I suggested this race to celebrate his 70th, he took all of 5 seconds to agree.

So English 

Next day we went full English. 

A steam train ride to Dartmouth featured in the Agatha Christie Poirot mystery "ABC Murders" to start. 

A castle my brother couldn't find, 

across the bay, 

and great Cornish Pasties. 

Train back, 

then Devon Cream Tea. 

Recovery & Discovery 

First run since the race. 

Colin's primarily a cyclist, and was heading out for a serious pedal. 

Lesson learned: pathways and trails can vary more than roads from how they look on a map. Still, a nice dead end to a red clay beach which had seen a landslide. 

Mystery statue at the top of a cliff, no idea who she is, though clearly means something to someone. 

Nice views, though blustery weather. 

How did mud smears get that high? 

Origins 

In heavy rain, we got to see Dad's first home.

Agatha Christie was born and grew up in Torquay, many of her stories based in and inspired by the area. 

Selfie supreme. 

Zoooo 

Paignton zoo in the afternoon, animal magic. 

The fabulous Tucan.

Gorilla snoozing in a pose I might give a try. 

Coatis. 

Surreal English scene. 

Baboons: blow dried. 

Genteel goat that was happy to meet A-Chang. 

My favourite, the Red Panda, just before disappearing up a tree. 

Visitors can get close to Lemurs. 

Metal beasts later on, the Red Arrows. A-Chang wondered why Brits like to stand around watching them while getting a face full of rain. 

It was also Ethan's 10th: zoo, planes and pizza. 

Finished the day passing through the world's creepiest car park entrance. 

Hills, Hills, Hills

Torquay is all about gradient. 

First hill on my thursday tempo saw Colin pedal past, shortly before Dad ran past. 

Down to Babbacombe beach. 

Motivational poster shot: Persistence? Curiosity? Map accuracy? 

From the beach was a hill so steep that even if you're able to run rather than walk, gravity pulls you backwards you when both feet come off the ground.  

A big loop along the coast after the beach, then childish laugh at sign. 

So English, Again

When thinking of England, how many have the following in mind: 

This is all in the village of Cockington. Wipe that smirk off. 

A-Chang was delighted with fresh seafood at Rockfish. I had Red Gurnard which I'd never even heard of. I think it's so named because it looks like it's pulling a face. 

Cormorants and jet skis.

A-Chang's first whelks, official approval.  

An old classic on the drive back to Marlow, I managed to find the one angle of Stonehenge that's not full of tourists. 

Mooo River

22km at 4:25 pace for my weekend long run, back in Marlow. I had a route planned with parts I both did and didn't know. 

It took me down to the Thames, and a series of fields divided by pedestrian gates. 

Getting through my 2nd or 3rd gate, the next field was full of cows. 

Uh... run through the middle, or around them? I picked a path and they seemed to catch on. 

Over Marlow Bridge, thanks van. 

A wrong turn into Bisham Abbey, above, then 2k later I managed to miss the bridge I'd been looking for. A bio-break later, I turned around and crossed it, followed the path back to Marlow, completing the half marathon distance in 1:42. 

Other home bases

Other encounters included being marked by one of my brother's cats, 

and picking blackberries for Mum to make a crumble. 

For the first time since 1985, I watched a Southampton home match (an EPL game, for those over the pond). 

Saint Mary's Stadium opened in 2002, but I was seeing it for the first time. Not really A-Chang's thing, so she played cribbage on her phone (she won). 

A 3-0 win!

We dropped in on more family on the way home, great to catch up. 

Marlow Bottom Mile

For my last trick, I decided to attack the Strava course record for the Marlow Bottom Mile. 

It can clearly be seen above. 

Keeping it at 5k finishing speed, I was lucky there were no cars at the side junctions I had to cross. 

Yay, by 18 seconds. With the segment slightly longer than an exact mile, Strava said I did that distance in 5:47, just one second slower than my PB set at a track. 

Good to end on a golden finale.