Calgary marathon RR

Hey,

I had a great time hanging out with my buds Curtis and Cam. We missed Trevor though, hopefully next time he'll be in the grp too. Cam came out from Golden to stay at Hotel Vierling, we had a marathon pasta dinner there the night before. Then the next day I met up with them there again so we could all be dropped off by Curtis's wife. We got to the race site close to an hour before. It was chilly, maybe 3-4 degrees? The sun was starting to warm things up so that helped although it was still hard when it was time to discard the warm clothing and get over to the start area.

This is the first time I really drank coffee the morning of a race. It really helped to ummm finish ALL the pre race business. As Cam says "Clean the pipes", although it might have contributed to cramps later in the day. Cam and I ended up close in the start area, Curtis a bit further back. The first few miles I spent trying to relax, not go out too fast. Cam had bolted up ahead to get through people and I just ran on my own, although never more than 50m ahead. I wanted to be sure this was MY pace that I started at so I made no rush to run up to him, I kinda planned to run the first few miles on my own anyway. Then after that if he happens to be in the same area well then we could hook up.

Slowly the distance got cut down, I think it was about the fifth mile where I ended up right behind him, but I just stayed there. Finally he turned around and laughed, he says he knew I had to be there. ha ha so we ran side by side for the next hmmm 12 miles? During that time we ran up Shaganapi. Cam figured we ran it too hard and that it was my fault, ha ha. Then some stomach issues, but that for the most part calmed down. Through miles 13-16 we moved back and forth a bit. Somtimes it seemed Cam would pull away from me and I was sure I should let him go. Then other times he told me later that he was sure I would drop him. I guess that's the way it goes(we were less chatty by that time) sometimes you feel good, sometimes you don't.

So at about 18 miles we come up on a porta potty and Cam announces his need to stop. I thought he would make it quick so I promised him no accelerations(not like I could have anyways at that point). But that was the last I saw of him till the finish. He says he came out and I had about 200m on him. I think I felt pretty good coming up to the top of Shag. My calves were a problem though, the only real problem. They were starting to cramp. Like Ironman Canada 2009 deja vu. I made it onto memorial drive and shortly after 21 miles(I was still on pace for a sub 3:15) they really started cramping and I had to have my first walk break. Aughhh that was frustrating as I only had 5 miles to go and really the rest of me was doing pretty good. So I ran and walked the rest of the way in. I was waiting for Cam to pass me, but he took his sweet time. Then ended up catching me right on the finish line just shy of 3:20. Pretty good timing Cam. Curtis came in later, his knee had been bothering him at one point in training and that flared up in the race again. But we all finished, that's the important thing. Not a bad race, and the time is ok as this Calgary course is a toughy. I just wish I hadn't had to walk so much. I may have to take in more sodium during the race, to keep the cramps at bay. Dunno

Last long run

Well that was the last long run for this "trip". This time it just so happened that my cousin(who also runs) was in town so I bugged him to join us for a shorty. He did agree to a res. loop so we met at glenmore landing like usual for Curtis and I anyways and ran the loop. We had a good time, sorry Gord I realize the pace may have been a tad quick, and maybe the altitude? Either way he made it, hope he enjoyed the Calgary run as much as Curtis and I always do. 9.5 miles in the tank. I've done a few shorter runs this week with one day off, probably one more day off and a few extra easy runs with some accelerations to keep sharp.

I really don't know how it will go. I've always cherry picked the easier marathon courses, plus it's been awhile since I've run a stand alone marathon. All I remember is they hurt!! Yes believe it, sometimes even more than an Ironman run. Good luck to my buddies doing the race, and sorry for the ones that couldn't make it. Hope it doesn't rain too much, but if it does honestly it won't matter after 5-10k.

What will I do after the marathon? It's helpful to always keep the next goal in mind. I'm not sure I have one at this point, I do have a few things in mind. Nothing solid for this year though, I may start slowly preparing for IMC 2012. I have let the bike slip and have done ZERO swimming so it would be good to slowly bring those back. I will keep you all up to date. Cheers,

DP

Hey there

I'm still kicking too. Had a pretty good long run last weekend with Curtis. I was MIA for 5 days before that as we had a mini vacation in Vegas. It was a lot of fun, but my running has taken a step back. Hopefully I'll get the legs to come around before the marathon, and maybe loose some of that Vegas weight, ha ha. We ate lots of good food. We've had a bunch of nice days here in Calgary. We've got it lucky as we have no fires or floods to worry about like other Canadians. Cheers, happy hump day.

DP

Sup

Hey,

Had a couple good training days on the weekend. It was tough for sure, but really a good test of fitness. Saturday Curtis and I went to the track and ran a 10k time trial. We got there bright and early 8:30 did a little warm up and started out. It went pretty much as expected, I don't think it was quite race pace, but close. My schedule called for a race this weekend followed by a long run. I didn't want to pay for a race, so figured a track 10k would suffice. My time was 40:25, about 6:32 average pace? It hurt a lot!!

Sunday we got together later on. Not sure how the legs would feel and they actually weren't too bad starting out. I expected much worse, maybe it was the mango we pounded back immediately after the run on saturday. It has magical powerssssss. We ran a pretty comfy just barely under 8min mile pace for most of the run. At the end Curtis and I separated to finish on our own. The last miles were a little quicker, and finished it off really strong sub marathon pace. So that was good, but I was feeling it quite a bit from the weekend. Monday I was really sore.

Today I was talking to my mom and apparently my nephew(10 year old) who would ride with me at Christmas time. Remember you guys? here's a pic from then. https://picasaweb.google.com/106198986038535884164/Runningman?authkey=Gv1sRgCJDvsrzEz9PFGg#5423050708184126914 Anyways he's convinced he's going to run the full marathon in Manitoba. He is a good runner, he did the 2.6 mile super run last year and did well. But that's quite a jump to the 26.2 miles uh? hee hee my brother convinced him that they could run the half together. Say what now??? I'm on the phone with my mom hearing this going, "How old is he again mom??" Anyways I'm gonna have to talk to my bro even about that venture. In my opinion 13 miles is too much for a 10 year old. Made my day though, everyone wants to be someone's hero right? Cheers,

DP