New Info Box on my Site >>>

I received a few emails lately regarding my weekly training schedule. I am more than happy to give you the basics of my day-to-day workouts so I am adding a text box to the right side of my blog to show how my week should break down.

I am given a program once a week from Tyler and try to stick to it as much as possible. As I have other responsibilities, I sometimes have to switch things around but usually find the time to get each element included during the corresponding seven day period.

click here for Tyler's web site to check out his programs

Ideally, I would like to stick to the original layout as it is created with speed days, rest days, easy days, long days, etc. in a particular order to get the most out of my body. If I am forced to switch things around, I must get creative with the schedule but, with experience, I am usually able to re-arrange the week to make it flow smoothly so I do not place conflicting workouts close together. This can kill the performance of future workouts so I have to be careful not to tax my body too many workouts in consecutive order.

I also train with friends on occasion so I have to flex the schedule here and there to allow for some of these training opportunities. I will usually go with the flow with friends and then check out my schedule to see what workout the run or ride resembled the most and then cross it off the "To Do" list for the week.

If you have any further questions about my training, please send me an email at larrybradleytoronto(at)yahoo.ca

Spring into Motion 5km Road Race and 1km Kids Fun Run

Here is a great local event brought to you by Brad and his Crew at Feet in Motion.

Spring into Motion 5k Road Race and 1k Kids Fun Run (Sunday April 17, 2011)

Gellert Community Centre - 8th Line, Georgetown.

**Pre- registered racers can pick up race kit the morning of, beginning at 7:30am
**Race day registration begins at 7:30am.
**Race day entree fees are $30 for the 5km Road Race and $15 for the 1km Kids fun Run. Remember all proceeds go to Canadian Tire Jumpstart.
**Kids 1km Fun Run begins at 8:45am and the route stays on the Gellert paved paths. Kids get a bib number, finishing medal and……….ice cream compliments of Get the Scoop!
**The adult 5K road run begins at 9:00am sharp.

Race will go on rain or shine…..(wish for shine!)

The 8th Annual Spring Into Motion 5Km Race will take place on Sunday April 17, 2011 at the Gellert Community Centre.

Contact Feet In Motion for further details.
Georgetown’s Running Store

Contact #: (905) 877-3201
Address : 72 Main St S, Georgetown, ON , L7G 3G3

http://feetinmotion.ca/blog.html/

Email: fim @ spectranet. ca

Product Review - Clif Shot Energy Gel

I have not posted too many product reviews of late as I seem to purchase the same items over and over again. The items I have found to work for me a few years ago seem to do the trick for me several years later.

After doing some reading, and shopping around, I noticed the Clif Shot Energy Gels were close to 25% cheaper than my usual Power Gel products. If you add up the number of gels I consume over the course of a season, this could make a small, but favourable, difference in my multisport budget so I was curious to test them out. If they work for Macca, they must be good, right?

Well, after going through half a box of two of my usual flavours (Strawberry and Vanilla), I must say I am left disappointed.

I have found the flavours to be rather weak and not as enjoyable as the same Power Gel options. I see that Clif tries to sell itself on Organic ingredients (90% Organic) but to be honest, that is not a selling feature for me. If I do not dedicate myself to an organic lifestyle on an everyday basis, than I am not going to worry too much about the organic nature of my tiny intake of gels.

I also found the consistency of the gel to be much thicker and tougher to get out of the packet than Power Gel. When you are fighting to get the product out of the package, it takes focus away from the task at hand. Once again, Power Gel comes out on top in the head to head battle for gel preference when it comes to this important quality.

As for performance, I did not recognize an extra boost in effort from the Clif Shot over my experiences with Power Gel. It seemed to keep me just as energized as Power Gel but nothing more that would make me want to change brands.

Overall, the lack of taste and the extra effort required to get all the product from the package cannot make up for the cost savings. When you are in need of a quick fix during a race, or in training, you need something to look forward to from your nutritional choices. For me, I like the taste of Power Gel and look forward to that little, sugary reward during a longer effort.

Remember, this is just my opinion and my taste buds could be much different than yours. I would love to hear what you have to say regarding this topic.

Note - I have also compared Gu Gel to Power Gel and they were relatively similar. I found the Gu a touch thicker but was able to get the gel out in respectable time. The Gu flavours I tested tasted well so that was not an issue. Where Gu (especially the Roctane) lost me as a consumer is in their pricing.

Getting it Done!

As with most multisport athletes, my January is busy getting back to hard work after a few months of lighter base building. Sure, we are still building on that base but, when you have spring goals in mind, coach makes sure the speed is coming back as well.

I love these speed sessions as they scare the pants off you before the workout but you feel such an amazing rush when you get through that last rep. I may not get as animated as Tiger (with the fist pump) but you will often see a mini-pump when I count down those final 5 seconds.

Today, I had the old 6 x 1k treat...and I made sure to make it count. With the cold, windy conditions, and frozen Garmin (yes, again!), I opted for the comforts of the gym and my friend Mr. Tready. I laid down 6 solid efforts at 3:29/km pace (3 x 1 degree and 3 x 0 degree slope), probably looking like a dofus running that speed but I was so focused it didn't matter one bit.

This workout came after two solid weeks of run build up where Ty has me hitting some great splits and I can tell this is going to be a great season if I can stay with the plan. Right now, I look forward to the pay off and the training is something I really enjoy so I hope I can keep positive and pull down my PB's as a result.

With the training hours getting longer, I have to resort back to night workouts to get everything in. Because, I need to stay alert for these sessions, I cannot drift off when the kids are winding down any longer so I have been doing even more Twitter and Facebook reading. My BB is hooked up to these and are quick hits while I watch to make sure the little ones settle down during their last cartoons. A few weeks ago, Steve Fleck put out the call for some questions and I threw one his way for his blog. He grabbed my question and has posted his answers at the link below.

http://stevefleck.blogspot.com/

Another call for questions I answered of late was from Canadian Cyclist, Christian Meier. I didn't expect to get a Twitter mention, especially, in VeloNation so that was pretty neat.

http://www.velonation.com/Blogs/Christian-Meier/ID/120/Fielding-questions-from-the-Twitterati.aspx

Have a great week!
larry

Post Easter Update

Well, it has been a few weeks between blog updates. Mainly because I really have not had a heck of a lot of interesting news. I have been working a lot, hanging out with family and keeping up my training during the opportunities that pop up.

To start, I missed the Around the Bay 30k road race. When a race forces me to sign up extra early, I often forget the dates so many weeks ago, when my wife mentioned that she had a work related getaway, the weekend she stated didn't seem too important. The week before the race we discussed our upcoming plans and realized we had a conflict. I am not too SMRT.

As I was no longer going to run that race, I decided it was time to get serious about the bike. Since I was running so much during training (in order to break 2 hours at ATB), I was afraid I was going to be very far behind last year in terms of bike fitness. Thankfully, the speed is still there but I really have to work on maintaining the effort on the medium (40k to 60k) distances. Thanks to the great weather we have had in the Mississauga area, I have been able to abandon the trainer and experience the preferred resistance of the roads.

This is key for me as I never quite trust the resistance settings on the trainer or life cycles at the gym. Until you add the wind and hills, it just seems to be too much of a guessing game. In the past week the wind has really picked up and added some extra leg zapping gusts. In previous years, I would have been upset, thinking the wind was ruining my ride. Now, I have learned to use this element to push hard and battle to add even more blocks to my bike fitness.

Yesterday, for example, I wanted to gets some hill work in on the bike but only had a small window of time to ride. As the wind was blowing up a storm from the west, I decided to grind it out with a massive effort towards Milton. This 20k stretch is very flat but with the force of the wind I could use this road close to my home to work on some tough resistance training. I knew the ride back would be a piece of cake so I put in a very big push for the entire first half and my legs were cooking by the time I reached the halfway mark.

I then took a quick water break and then turned around with the aid of the wind. I did not totally relax. I am always trying to see just how fast the wind can take me so I hamered a solid ride home as well. Too add some extra miles, I zoomed around the Erin Mills portion of town and ended up with a nice 50k tester before heading home for supper.

With the triathlon season less than two month away, I really need to sit down and hammer out a strong plan as I have been free training on top of my run program I was working on. I know the basics of the plan but I need to get organized and stick to it, although, the flexible approach right now is not too bad as there have been gains and I am not lacking the effort in my sessions. The biggest component would be to add some more rest, if anything.

In an attempt to become more of a morning person...

If anyone is interested in an early Monday morning (say 6:00am) track session or short ride, please let me know. I need the motivation of another person to make sure I get out of bed. Right now, Monday (up until race season) is my best day as I do not have to get the kids ready for day care. If it is another day of the week, I would have to make sure to be home by 7:00am (sorry for the boring details).

Talk soon,
Larry

Is spring coming?

Well, we have had a little bit of every thing weather wise of late. Some snow, some sun, some mild temps and some cool temps. It was only 8 days ago that I saw so many riders out enjoying clear roads and plus 6 degree temps in our area. I had so many things on the go that week that I needed to focus on family so I passed on a long ride with the guys. Hoping last weekend would turn out similar, I was disappointed when all the snow came down leading into the weekend and spoiling the clean roads and ruining my riding plans. Oh well, it looks like we are in for some spring like weather here shortly.

Putting in all the training and seeing the run results (on the web) coming along has me itching to race. I am signed up for the Around the Bay road race at the end of the month but I would really love to get in a 5k run to see where I sit these days. I feel ahead of last yeat right now on my run and even on my bike, which is very nice considering I am also making time to swim. This is dipping into my time allotment and something I did not have to schedule in the past but I am really starting to enjoy the learning process involved.

I have talked about my running and swimming in the past few weeks but I am just starting to see some cycling comparisons. It may not be on the actual roads but between the trainer and the life cycle, it is looking like my sprint distance conditioning is a little further along at this point of the off-season. I am pushing more power on the life cycle (still have not built a budget for a power metre on my real wheels) in very comparable test year over year so it is now time to start building the length of the rides with sustained power. With a nice base in place, I am starting to get confident that my triathlon cycling speed will increase this season.

Well, time to get out and run. Sorry nothing too exciting to write about but just wanted to put a little pen to paper this week.

PS - I will miss Poni's class! He may have not been the greatest Leaf but nice guys like number 23 made work so much easier back in the day.  Good luck Poni!

An Early February Update

Well, nothing too exciting happening in the cool, winter months this off-season around Mississauga. Work has been much busier of late so I have dedicated much more effort there. Also, my better half has been swamped with her job so I have tried to give her more time to concentrate on her work. Add hockey duties to the weekends and some longer training usually saved for Saturdays and Sundays has suffered but that is the balance act required when you are doing triathlon for the love of sport.

To keep things positive, since most aspects of my life are in that state these days, I thought I would quickly post a little list of my recent happenings...

- finally had a nice enough day to take my daughter skating (not too cold but cool enough to have ice outside).
- I have finally cut my diet cola intake in half. I used to drink the stuff exclusively. Added water and some tea (no additives) to the mix.
- I had some nice feedback from my swim coach last week. It is slowly coming but makes a lot more sense these days. I know what I want to do in the pool so it is just a matter of getting the body to do it.
- Syd Trefiak hooked me up with a great pair of Sable goggles which has improved my experiences at the pool. Thanks Syd!
- I have officially hit another level in my running. I looked at my training stats from last year at this time and I am consistently running the same effort around 30 to 40 seconds/km quicker in training. I am confident that I can go faster!
- We are only 52 days (or so) away from the Around the Bay 30k road race. Time to switch over from base training and start to get a little more specific for this distance if I want to go under 2 hours. Was 2:05 last year but a touch heavier and was concentrating on my marathon class.
- I will move into the second season of the 35 to 39 Age Group this week. Still in the lower half of this AG. HAHA
- With the help of my friends and teammates (FMCT), I am starting to enjoy the sport more for the social aspects and not just the competition. I will still try to do my best in each race (you still need to try in the event when you pay as much as we do to race) but missing a training element, or day, is not the end of the world.
- I have read some really good blogs of late so thank you to the others writing great pieces for me to read.
- I have had some amazing chats with some of the guys in the hockey industry about cycling. They even brought me back a wicked tee shirt from Lance's bike shop while they were between games in Texas.
- Using the weights in a smarter fashion this year and not putting on too much extra weight that I carried last spring into the season. I may have been a lot stronger (able to lift and push more pounds) but I was too bulky and heavy. Last year was my first time in the gym to train for multisports and I was watching the other guys and trying to do more than them.
-Just trying to improve one day at a time...I still have 40 more years of this sport to perfect it.

Keep in touch!
Larry

Building it up brick by brick.

Lately, it has been tough to slide in two workouts per day due to a number of things going on right now. Nothing bad, just a lot of real work and family stuff that needs to be priority.

That being said, I have gone back to a recommendation from a brief conversation I had with a very highly ranked Ironman. I asked him what should I really focus on to run better off the bike.

He said that I needed to lay down more than just one brick workout per week, if I wanted to be a solid runner off the bike. He also mentioned that even a 5 to 10 minute race pace run right after a cycling session can be helpful so it doesn't always need to be a full run in the brick. This can be a long enough effort to get the legs use to coming off the bike in a tri of du situation.

To get some workouts in from all three sporting elements the last week, I have had to go back to this philosophy and put in a few more bricks than usual as the night seems to be the only available training time. This is not a bad thing as I really enjoy the brick workout. I was not riding the bike as much as I should have been due to the running races and the weather in December so it is good to find the motivation to ride, even on the trainer. Now I just have to increase the attention span to go past that 1 hour ride barrier. 

As for the runs off the bike, they have been the best runs after a bike session since I started multisport training. I usually put down a 10k run after the bike workout and they have been very strong with decent form (I have never been a pretty runner to watch) so I am very happy with the progress since the fall when I seemed to have found the next gear. Luckily, there are many more gears to find so I just need to keep up the running and wait for the track sessions to begin.

Hope everyone else is enjoying the start to 2010!

Talk soon,
Larry

Working out of Calgary for a few days...

Work has sent me off to Calgary for a few days so I am trying to make use of the facilities here at the hotel. Thankfully, the weather is a lot warmer out here than back in Mississauga so I should be able to run confortably outside a few times.

For the indoor workouts, the gym is not too bad and pretty much what you expect to get in most places these days but the pool was a disappointment as it is set up more for families. It has a big winding slide and a splash pad. The pool is not too big and it is very oddly shaped so not useful for completing any laps. Booo.

I do need to get some real work done while I am in town so I guess the swimming will have to wait until I geet back to the GTA.

Take care,
Larry

Swim Update

The one question I get more than any other these days is, "How is the swimming coming along?"

Well, to be totally honest, it has been a lot tougher than expected. Sure I can now swim for longer periods of time which is pretty neat as I was barely making it through 25m of freestyle in Aug/Sep 2009. I am now confident enough to make it through an Olympic distance swim without having to pull out the breast stroke. The problem is that swimming is so technical and I am wasting so much energy trying to go at an average pace.

Last night, I had a poor practice due to a lack of energy (the 30 minute tempo run that ended 4 minutes before the swim did not help, bad idea) and dehydration so I ended up exiting the water a little early to avoid being sick. The one good thing that came from this was that I was able to watch a few of the better swimmers with Hans and we picked out key elements in their stroke that I should work towards.


Coach Hans has been very good at pointing out a lot of my flaws and I really appreciate all the suggestions and tips he gives me at our Thursday night swims. Now I really need to get these pointers to work in my stroke. It is going to take time as there are so many areas of concentration for me to improve on and you can only do so many things in one session.

The good thing is that I know I can do it as my starting point was so aweful and I have managed to get to my current comfort level in the water, which is a minor win to me. I am going to stay positive and continue to work towards my secret goals in the water. Milton will be my first test in 2010 and I do not want to be one of the last athletes pulling into transition for my Age Group.

If I use my run and cycling work ethic, anything is within my reach.

Talk soon,
Larry

2010 is Now!

It's January in Mississauga and it is darn cold. Add the winds we have experienced of late, and it is even worse. The last three nights of running have required several layers and even two toques the other night.

It was to the point where I considered running with the wind and taking a bus back home after my run to avoid training head on into the blustering chill out of the north. After thinking through the plan, I figured that was cheating (plus I am too cheap to waste money on bus fare) so I did not go along with the devil on my shoulder. I know that this is character building time so I sure hope it pays off come the spring.

On a resolution note for the new year, I stayed away from banning my mouth from treats as I knew that would be very short lived. Instead, I have set my goal in 2010 to becoming a morning trainer. This will be a tough change from all the late night hours I put in on the roads but will give me some better options when the mornings become brighter. It is also a piece of mind thing with my family as they think training at night is a little risky. 

From past experiments with running in the AM, I have lacked the energy to reach my usual training paces. I tried to change that by eating and than running but that led to cramps. Anyone have any suggestions to get me up to my regular energy outputs in the morning? On the bike, I am able to consume before or during the workout without the same issues so I am not too worried about losing any intensity for this part of my training.

Other than that, it has been great to spend a lot of time with my family over the past few weeks. The usual colds and other little illnesses have kept us inside most of the holidays but we have had a lot of fun playing with all the cool new toys Santa placed under the tree. Mini hockey is my favourite and it sure beats the make shift doorways I used to use as nets when I was a wee lad.

I wish everyone a happy and healthy new year!

Larry

Gearing up for the Holidays.

I finally pulled myself up off the couch and got outside for some excercise. It has been a very lazy week for me with far too many calories to count so I had to do something today.

Not really up for running in the cold for some reason (I used to enjoy it a lot more before I started to get comfortable with the treadmill at the gym) these days so I topped up the air in the cross bike and hit the roads for a medium distance ride.

The roads were actually in pretty good shape and I was happy to get out during the day to enjoy the sun. I bundled up nicely as it was a touch chilly with a cool wind out of the north. I headed down 9th line to Oakville and then across Lakeshore to visit Gears Bike Shop. I needed to replace some cleats from one of my other rides so this seemed to be a good opportunity to get it done.

As my cross bike has my cleats that match my mtb shoes, I could not use my botties designed for my road shoes. This was the only part of me that ended up getting cold. Man did they get cold! I was probably right on the edge of frost bite (flashbacks to skating on the pond as a kid) as they took a long time to thaw and to get the feeling back into them .Guess I will have to splurge for some another set of booties!

Other than the cold feet, it really did feel good to get on the bike outside. I ended up with 46k under my wheels and a decent workout on my legs and heart. Nothing too major as I am going to hold off until January 1st before I get back to some sort of structure.

Yesterday, we ended up being in the same spot as the torch run so we parked our car and got out to cheer the folks on as they passed by the Square One shopping mall. It was a cool experience that I did not plan on viewing but I am very happy that we had the chance, now that we saw it live.

Now I have to get ready for my last minute shopping marathon. I am one of those day before X-Mas shoppers and enjoy the challenge of finding something neat for my family members under the gun. Some traditions I just love to keep, especially when I see others cracking as the big day nears. HAHA

2010 Tentative Schedule

I have attempted to map out my season for 2010, based on what I know so far. Once again, I am disappointed that OAT and Triathlon Canada have not posted the provincial or national championship locations at this point.
I am not sure why they cannot be more organized on this matter, especially in Ontario, as Trisport and Multisport have had their calendars set for a little while now (the usual race holders for such events).

(UPDATE - I RECEIVED A VERY THOUGHTFUL MESSAGE FROM RACE DIRECTOR, RANDY SPARROW, TO INFORM ME ABOUT THE CANADIAN TRIATHLON CHAMPIONSHIPS IN KELOWNA, BC ON AUGUST 22, 2010. THIS IS A PART OF THE PUSHOR MITCHELL KELOWNA APPLE TRIATHLON WEEKEND (WHICH LOOKS TO BE AN AMAZING EVENT WHEN I CHECKED OUT THE WEB SITE!).



PLEASE VISIT http://www.appletriathlon.com/ TO GET ALL THE DETAILS!


THANK YOU RANDY! now if only OAT and Triathlon Canada could get their site updated...)


They must know that most of us are trying to set up our training calendars before January. I have had to make some major overhauls in the past few years to re-shuffle events to make the Provincial or National championship races fit. With some races (mostly the destination ones) selling out, we have to make early commitments to ensure spots so I can only cross my fingers that they will select dates away from the destination race I am about to sign up for.

The provincial du championship is a race I have competed in during each of my multisport years and I look forward to the event to see if I am making progress and to test my abilities against the best field of the year. It would be a severe burn if I sign up for one of the 70.3 races now (so that I don't miss their cut off) and then OAT goes and selects a date for the Du Championship within weeks of the 70.3.

2010 Schedule

*Around the Bay - 30k Road Race
*Victoria's Du - May 24 (a yearly tradition!)
*Milton Sprint Tri - June 6 (my first Tri on the Subaru series!)
*Guelph Lakes Olympic Tri - June 20 (first attempt at this swim distance)
*Muskoka Long Course Tri - July 25 (my favourite race location)
*Timberman 70.3 - Aug 22 (85% convinced but must reg very soon)
*Guelph Lakes II - Sept 4 (tri or du??)

2010 Maybe List

*Peterborough Half Iron - July 4 (depends on swim progress)
*Niagara Sprint Tri - Aug 8 (depends when/where Ont. Du Championship?)
*Lakeside Sprint Tri - Sept 19 (depends on weather)

Rolling with the Mill

Today I had my most feared running workout planned but I had to wait until later in the night due to other committments. Most of the time hitting the road would not be a big deal but I do not like running the track in the dark for some reason, plus it was cold. Instead of venturing into the near freezing night, I headed to the gym to use the treadmill to complete my 5 x 2k workout.

The one aspect that make this tougher on the mill is the darn imperial measurements on the machine. I had to revisit math class before I went just to make sure I picked the proper MPH rate to hit my target of 3:30/km pace.

After completing my homework assignment, I figured that I would (and I may be wrong) have to run at 10.7 MPH for 7 minutes to get a 2km interval at the pace I needed. I don't usually crank up the machine that high so I made it work tonight.

I started off with a 15 minute warmup run with a touch of slope before ramping up the speed for my first interval. I opted to take the slope out of the speed portion of my run as I have only done this workout a few times before (on the track) with very little success.

Thankfully, I made it through all 5 reps (with 90 second breaks between 2k bursts). I was tired by the end of the workout and was very happy to see the last one hit the 7 minute mark that is for sure.

I realize this is totally different than the actual track so I am not getting super excited about finishing this workout at that speed I but I did leave the gym with a great sense of satisfaction knowing I did not give up or modify the workout to a lower speed when the time seemed to stand still during the final intervals.

More Amazing November Weather

I know my fellow Ontario residents and I were complaining all summer that we did not receive the nice, seasonal warmth we expected. Thankfully, Mother Nature has paid back our region with some incredible fall weather that has all the outdoor lovers extremely happy.

Once again, we had much milder than usual conditions this weekend which was perfect for a few long rides (as per my distance scale!) that I was able to put in as my family headed out for the weekend. I would have loved to join them but my hockey gig ran both Sat and Sun so I had to stay home.

With a little more free time available, I tried to get some of the Falcons out for a Saturday AM ride but most of them are involved with the indoor sessions with Coach Rob so I ended up pulling myself out of bed nice and early to get a head start on the day. I suited up and headed north on the bike, towards Terra Cotta. I have not put many miles on the bike since the triathlon in September so I tried to keep things comfortable to allow myself to enjoy the hills and weather.

The first half of the ride was uphill and slightly into the wind. A solid workout to the half marker, at the Inglewood General Store, so I did not feel too guilty taking a quick break to down one of their amazing butter tarts.

After that brief snack it was back in the saddle and up the hill along the north side of the Caledon Golf Course. I made this climb count as I knew the rest of the ride would be smooth sailing, mainly down the escarpement with an added bonus of the tail wind. It was very fun to fly home without too much effort.

The next morning (after attending the Leafs' game Saturday night, doing some DD duties for my old hockey buddies after the game, waking up to do some more chores around the house, etc), I had the pleasure of joining Tyler, Brian and Glenn on a great ride through Halton. I had received a message during the Leafs game from Tyler to see if I was up for a tour and I could not turn down the opportunity.

We met at Dundas and 6th Line in Oakville and followed a route he had planned for us that covered a lot of territory to the west of Milton. It was a solid mix of opening and closing flats with some nice tester hills in the middle.

Being a guest, I just wanted to follow along and let them dictate the pace although, as we were cruising down the busier roads where we could not ride in pairs, I felt a little bad not taking too many pulls. It may have been for the best as I am still getting use to riding with others and tend to kill the pace. Tyler is a horse on the bike so he did a very fine job putting us through a solid 80k fall workout. Thanks for letting me tag along fellas!!!

After getting off the bike, it was back to work and by the time I got home that night, I was exhausted and could not find the energy for a run. With the prospects of getting up for work in the morning, I decided it was best to get some rest.

I hope everyone else was able to put in some extra time in the fantastic outdoor conditions. It is now time to get ready for a 5k XC race this weekend. It is the opener for the Canadian XC Championship geared to those not quite up to racing against the nations top runners. They should be cool to watch after my run though! Mr Whitfield is confirmed to test his legs against Bairu and Coolsaet and gang. Should be fun.

Thanks for reading!
Larry

Fall Update...

With the busy season behind most of us, it is sometimes tough to keep the blog fresh. Nothing too exciting (except my little guy's 1st birthday!) these days but I will throw down as few bullet points...

-A couple great race reports to read from Clearwater from Bruce Bird (4 parts) and Syd Trefiak. Click their names to visit their sites!

-Took a week and a half off after the marathon. Now my left knee has been acting up since tweaking it on the downhill portion of the marathon. Trying to get ready, and faster, for Guelph 5k XC (Nov 28) and Egg Nog Jog (Dec 13) but have to be very careful.

-Set up my first massage appointment since switching jobs. My legs need a good treatment session. Had a nice sports clinic downtown TO but it is much too far to visit now that I work in Meadowvale.

-Had a little spell in the pool last Thursday and had to leave practice half way through. Second time I have not been very clear in that pool. Not sure what happened but was dizzy and nauseous for most of the night when I got home. Felt 100% the next morning. Been back in the water at another pool twice this week and felt fine (even broke 1:40 for 100m for my first time during one of the intervals, wahoo!). Hope it is not the pool in Brampton that is giving me issues as that is my big session with Hans and FMCT.

-Had a fun run with the Falcons on Sunday to tour the Egg Nog Jog course. Man, this is a tough course and will require some strategic pace changes to hit my secret goal!

-Had a fantastic email from Jeremy at Running Free sent to me the other day. My application for team status has been submitted so I will cross my fingers. I really missed their support last season, but that was my (silly) choice.

Last, but not least...

Don't forget to visit the websites of our local pros. They have all kinds of great articles and tips throughout their postings. I know it has helped me since I started to follow along. Follow the links below to visit their sites...

Tyler Lord

Jen Coombs

James Loaring




Well, that is it for this post. I hope everyone is staying motivated and healthy!

Larry

What to do Next???

Well, I must admit the marathon took a little more out of me than I expected. I knew I was going to be sore for a few days so physically I am where I anticipated. Mentally, I am ready for a break and it may be a little longer than just a few days.

I had planned to run the Ontario XC Championships with the Masters group but there were too many other commitments and I would be rushed around to make the race and then rushed to get to work after. Not an ideal race to be pre-occupied with other thoughts. After the Ontario's, was hoping to run in Guelph at the Nationals XC race at the end of November. This may also have been a poor idea based on work, costs and the post marathon rest.

The race itself is not a huge wallet crunch but the thought of paying the Ontario Masters association the membership fee for the full year to race in one or two events doesn't make sense. I contacted the association to see if the membership went for a full 12 months but, unfortunately, it is strictly January to December of the year you pay. This is because they have to pay into other associations on the members behalf so they all just keep things on a calendar basis. I totally understand and have no beef about this since they communicated this up front. I only found out about Ontario Masters a month or so ago (living in my own little world, i guess) so I could not have paid any earlier to take advantage of more races under their watch. I will be a member in 2010 for sure.

This all being said, I still would love to race at least one XC event this season and thankfully, there is a citizens 5k XC event held the same day as the Canadian Championships on the same track. It is earlier in the morning and you do not need the Masters membership for this, so it fits my needs pretty well.

After that, the Falcons have a few events they frequent in the winter. These include the Terra Cotta Egg Nog Jog and the Boxing Day 10 Miler. Hopefully, these will help me keep the weight down over the course of the holidays and set me up for a solid start to 2010.

Talk soon,
Larry

Final training run before the marathon

I am surprised at how serious I am taking this run. Usually my running races are just training efforts to gauge where my fitness is before going into a goal race on the duathlon circuit. The build up is that of any other day of training and I tend not to worry much about being truely prepared for the run.

For some reason, I am more organized and excited for this running event. My workouts have been very consistant with the program I am following and my body (feeling as strong as ever at this time of the season) has allowed me to keep up with all the quicker and longer runs I needed to incorporate into the sessions.

Tonight was my final run before taking two days off to rest up my legs for Sunday. It was only a short 6k run with 4k at a decent pace to keep the intesity in the system. It is a taper method (shorter runs with high intesity instead of my longer runs at a snails pace taper efforts of the past) I picked up in my readings that I hope translates into a solid, alert start to the run.

As they say, all the hard work is now behind me and hopefully I have trained my body to perform efficiently come the weekend. I am confident that I can hit my goal (as long as the wind expected Saturday night has faded for us!) but have to make sure that I am satisfied with that time if I amm feeling strong around 26 to 28k into the run. Do I want to leave an even better time on the road and just be satisfied hitting the target? Not usually. Problem is that it can go from great to bad in a short period of time in the marathon so there is always the chance of blow up and totally destroying all the good achieved in the first part of the race.

In a 5k or 10k race you can keep the gas down and go after that super low PB. If you burn out around the three quarter pole you can usually still jog it in for a decent time. You can also run several of these in a year and try agian. With the marathon, I feel I am good for one (at race pace) per year, at the most.

Well, we will see how things unfold and I will be back with a race report for sure early next week.

Good luck to all those running this weekend! I know a bunch of Falcons will be gliding along side you.

Thumbs Up to the Elora Cataract Trailway

Today, on a family visit to the country side near Hillsburgh, I finally set out for a run on the trail I had seen several times on my gravel road jogs. I noticed the trail entrance at a few intersections along the way and it looked very well conditioned and maintained. I did not know what it was called until I searched for the name when I arrived home tonight.

Apparently, it is a 47km trail that was developed mainly on an old rail line. The Credit Valley and Grand River Conservation Authorities own the trail and it goes all the way from the east side of Elora to a small hamlet called Cataract, within the Forks of the Credit Provincial Park.

The portion I ran was a wide trail with a nice, fine gravel surface. I wanted to test out my XC spikes again and this trail was perfect for the run I wanted. It was mostly flat and the road and farmer's driveways are well marked and protected. That being, the gates that protect the trail are perfect for hikers, runners, cyclists (so you do not have to slow down to pass through) and they keep motor vehicles off the trail, until snow fall for snowmobiles.

I had a blast exploring the west end of Hillsburgh and want to complete the whole trail one of these days on my Cross Bike. From the section I experienced, I would highly recommend checking this little known gem out. I copied the website (that I have linked to below) for those interested and I hope you are able to enjoy this great resource just north of the GTA. I think you will be delighted by the scenic country side that winds through this portion of the province.


Elora Cataract Trailway Web Site

Meadowvale Half Marathon - Run Report

Yesterday's long run was only scheduled for 16k but I wanted to throw a curve in the mix to see how my legs would react. I had been out Saturday for a MTB ride on the trails and my legs felt absolutely dead. All the run training and the mini cold I was fighting off seemed to have zapped everything so I did not push on the bike and took the rest of the day off, athletically.

With a day of rest, I was hoping to be a lot more fresh come Sunday. When I walked outside to stretch, and link up my Garmin, the warmth of the mid afternoon sun was much hotter than I had just dressed for. I did not expect it to be that nice out so I had to replace my toque with a regular hat and thin down my glove selection. I had been out all morning with the kids at the park and it was not even close to this warm when we were playing. Even though I had switched down to a cap, thin gloves and shorts, I decided to stay with double layers up top just in case the wind and shade on the trails were a little cooler than my current position directly under the sun.

Mentally, I was really ready to throw down a solid 21.1k run at my projected marathon pace of 4:15/km so I was excited to get rolling, after a brief delay waiting for the watch to hook up. Clear blue skies and it still took 5 minutes to link??? Anyway...

For my route I had selected a single loop trail I had mapped out back when I was instructing the Running Room marathon group. The long link of hard top paths are a little known gem we have in Meadowvale as you can easily get out for a long run on these asphalt trails with very little disruption. This is key to me on my long runs as I tend to lose focus if I have to stop (for lights, traffic, etc.) near the end of these longer runs. If you are ever looking to run in Meadowvale let me know and I will send you some directions to these trails.

As for the run itself, I started out in good spirits but my body was not going quite as fast as I expected. I talked myself into being patient thinking I just needed a few kilometres to get into gear so I pushed on trying to stay near pace but it was much harder than in recent runs. Once my legs got into the rhythm the pace would come much easier and I would be able to glide at this pace, at least that is how I planned it to work.

Well, that never happened and I struggled the entire run trying to hover at my pace. After each kilometre my watch popped up the split and I kept on waiting for good news. The only good news was that I was one kilometre closer to the finish. I was looking for excuses for much of the run. Was I too hot with two layers up top? Was the wind beating me down? Was I lacking hydration or did I eat too much over the weekend? What ever it may have been, I kept my legs moving and stuck to my route as a DNF in training would be tough to swallow two weeks before the real run.

Thankfully, I had banked up a few quicker splits (but not much quicker) so by the time I reached 17k, I could relax a little more. If I did not hit 4:15 on the dot it would not be the end of the world but I knew I would be close enough so I could enjoy the final stretch of the run on a colourful fall day.

In the end, I was just barely able to keep it under 4:15/km. I really had to battle for that average pace, something I was not anticipating with my run training of late. Time now for some down time to rest up with only 13 days until the big marathon.

4:19/4:08/4:10/4:12/4:09
4:14/4:12/4:15/4:15/4:12
4:20/4:14/4:16/4:10/4:17
4:16/4:12/4:16/4:18/4:18
4:10
0:24

PS - Congrats to all those I saw in the results pages this weekend! Marko had a very fast Toronto Half Marathon. John put down a very solid Full Toronto Marathon. Paul posted a blazing 5k in Toronto. David Moore was up near the top of the Toronto Half Marathon. Jo-Jo was as quick as always in the Toronto Half Marathon. I am sure I missed someone so I am sorry but there was a lot happening this weekend!