Testing, Testing

2 things: One, I've purchased a Heart Rate Monitor, a really cool one that has a fancy little gadget you attach to your shoe that can tell how far you've run. Without GPS! This is great because those GPS wristwatches are big enough to watch the NHL playoffs on. This one has a normal-sized watch to go with the gadget, and of course the Heart Rate Monitor itself which is a strap you put around your chest. Why did I buy a HRM? Well, all the cool kids have them, for one thing. And for another thing, you can't get tested for your Lactate Threshold without one. Which brings me to number two: I booked a Lactate Threshold test for this thursday.

"What is a LT test"? you say. Without consulting any books or websites I'll try to describe this off the top of my head. When you exercise your muscles produce as a by-product of said exercise, lactic acid. At low intensities, this LA is removed from the muscles by the body's own cleanup crew. At higher intensities however, the rate of LA production outstrips the body's ability to remove it and it builds up in the muscles, causing cramps and fatigue. The LT test determines where this point is for you, the aspiring athlete, and it's all based on heart rate. So once you know where your threshold is you can tailor your workouts so that you remain (just) under it, by monitoring your heart rate with your new Heart Rate Monitor. You see how this all ties in together? In essence your body gets used to operating at the highest effort level possible without creating excess lactic acid. You go faster with less pain, you get more efficient, and your breath smells minty fresh all the time. It's a miracle, really.

I have to decide by thursday whether to have the test while running or cycling. Nigel Gray, elite triathlete and coach (who will be administering the test) says that I should choose the event that I need to improve most in...

Shoes News You Lose

Just a short note regarding the importance of proper equipment. When I purchased my latest pair of Sauconys I noted that the design of the tongue had changed. They do this all the time, for some reason - every year some little thing has been altered so that the shoe I wear now bears little resemblance to the shoe I wore 5 years ago. Why shoe manufacturers do this is beyond me. Runners buy shoes for fit and performance, not looks, so build a good shoe and leave it be. But no.

So although I did not like the new design much I bought the shoes anyway because overall the Sauconys have been good to my feet lo these past 5-6 years of running. The short tongue was irksome but not a factor in comfort or anything so I didn't worry about it. However, once I got into the 30-35k range last sunday I started noticing some numbness in my feet. It got worse. Then it got ugly and I was forced to walk. I couldn't figure out why this was happening at the time, but later I realized it was the shoes! The short tongue was cutting off my circulation just enough to give me grief on the long runs, which I had not done up to that point.

This is not to excuse my sluggish performance or lay blame where it does not belong - I undertrained for the event and I paid a price for that. But I do think that the shoes were a factor, if only near the end of the day.

Race Report: Toronto Marathon 2005

You've probably heard about marathoners hitting 'the wall' at around the 20 mile mark. I've heard that too, but didn't really experience it last time. Some discomfort for sure, but nothing like the world o' hurt I've heard described.

Well, this year... I didn't so much hit the wall as the wall hit me. Repeatedly. It's not fatique - if anyone tells you they got tired on a marathon then they tried to take it too quickly. An event of this distance is usually run at a pace that never puts your body into an anaerobic state. The heart rate generally stays in a comfortable zone and you burn energy at a more or less steady pace. What happens though is that, for me at least, the mechanical systems start to break down. At about Km 34 or 35 what had been a dull pain in my knees became much sharper, and I was forced to do more walking than I would have had I properly prepared for this race. Final time (by my watch) was 3:57:something. Under four hours, which saved me from the ignominy of a 4 plus time, but only just. A big shout-out to Sonja from Ottawa; we helped each other over the last 2-3 km. Sometimes all you need is some encouragement and the knowledge that someone else is hurting as badly as you are.

So, was the experiment a success? I would say yes. I now know that I can complete a marathon under far from ideal conditions, physically. Running 42.2km on nothing but 'base' and 2 long runs in the 2 weeks before the race was not something I would recommend, though. However, I expect to be in some kind of similar condition next July after the swim and the bike, so having this in the back of my mind should help.

Other stuff: Weather: crap. Windy, cold, grey, almost as miserable as last year. All that was missing was rain/sleet/snow. The T-shirt: the worst t-shirt ever. EVER. I've gotten some ugly shirts in the past but this was by far the worst. Post-race food: again, as last year, disappointing. Plain bagels, a juice box, some tired-looking bananas and an orange. WTF? How about some nice hot tea, race organizers? Nothing fancy, eating a meal after a marathon is not an option, but today's offerings were just a disgrace.

That's it for this year. I'm off for a few days of complete rest, then we'll see what the plan is after that.

All Systems Go

It looks as though I'm about as ready for next week's Toronto Marathon as I can be, so the Full Forty Two (Point Two) it shall be.

A second 25k run on saturday felt good, even better than last week, so I think I can survive the full distance without significant a) damage b) humiliation. As for projected time, er... four-ish? It all depends, really. I plan on walking most of the aid stations so a Boston qualifying time is - wait, sorry, laughing too hard here - okay four hours. Let's leave it at that.

My friend and 3 time IronMan 'M' has tried to give me an out, pointing out (quite correctly) that I don't HAVE to do this race as prep for IMLP. It won't really matter one way or the other, mileage-wise. True, oh wise one, very true. But I would rather have 3 marathons in my back pocket before IMLP than 2. Ya feel me, bro? It's just a mental edge thing, which might come in handy when I'm suffering like a dog on the back half of the marathon next July.

Just as an aside for casual readers, Boston qualifying time for my age group is around 3:20:00. That's fast. About 15-20 minutes faster than my time for last year. Not gonna happen this year, fo sho.

TC XC OK

Running a 5k Cross Country the day after my longest run of the year could have turned out worse than it did - pretty much zero leg stiffness from the long run meant the XC race was free from physical complaints, and just the fact that I had an excuse to dog it made for a pretty relaxed run. I should use that tactic more often; I started out slow just to be sure there was no pressure to finish near the front (not that I would have - there are always a pack of speed geeks at these XC events) then just sort of cruised past everyone in the back half of the pack. Then passed a few more just for the heck of it. Too bad the course was mis-measured, I would like to have seen my 5k time. As it was, a 19:20 for that effort was a clear indication that the course was well short of 5k. Someone said 4.2 so that may be more accurate.

Something I've noticed is that the more I run the easier it gets. Well duh. I'll bet nobody has figured that one out before, eh? Maybe if I run every day... (sound of hand slapping forehead). It's all so obvious now! All these years of half-arsed training runs and too much couch-surfing in the winter have actually made it harder to run, not easier. Who would have thought?

Go Long and Prosper

So today was my 25k run leading up to the marathon on the 16th. A perfect day, temperature in the low teens (celsius) and bright sun. B. was going golfing at Dentonia with her friends and the plan was for me to swing by the course at the end of my run to pick up the car. It worked out perfectly - almost exactly 25k. An almost complete circuit of East York, too - around the Don Valley to Cherry Beach, across the bike path to the spit, then up to Lakeshore Blvd and over to Coxwell, north to Gerrard, east to Victoria Park and finally north to the VP subway station where the golf course is. 5 more km would have had me back home again, actually.

I felt ok for whole run, so that's a good sign. Knee pain was kind of lurking in the background but never became a problem, I think largely because my pace was... casual. 2.5 hours to run 25k is pretty slow, around the 6 minute per kilometre mark. Whoa, that's really slow. But that was with more than the usual number of stops and included a longish stop at a variety store to refill the water. Why do I always get behind someone buying a fistful of lottery tickets? That killed about 10 minutes, I swear. So actual runnng pace may have been not quite that slow.

However, if I was to run that pace on the day, my time would be... 4 hours 15 minutes. I'm pretty sure there are no variety stores along the route though, so I might be ok there. A sub 4 looks in reach, barring any meltdowns in the final 15-20k.

That was my longest run of the year by about 10k, a large jump up and not recommended, so I'll know tomorrow if I've done any damage. The Taylor Creek 5k Cross Country run is at 1pm so any stiffness or soreness will make itself apparent pretty quickly. Again, not looking to set any PB times tomorrow, but once the gun goes on a 5k it's hard to hold back. I'm usually in the 21-22 minute range on these XC races so we'll see.