Running is a mental sport and I am clearly insane!

Hi everyone, Finished Hamilton's Around the Bay (ATB)race today with a time of 3:46:36 which for 30km isn't all that bad for me. Here are the splits: 10km - 1:04:37 15 km - 1:39:30 20 km - 2:18:05 My Garmin watch died at around the 18 km point, my own fault, I plugged it into my laptop to charge and then shutoff the laptop leaving the Garmin underfed for the run. No map and heart rate information this time. The race itself was well run and the course very beautiful in places. We ran past what I will call Cemetery Row in Burlington and then down into the valley and back up into Hamilton only to be greeted, as is ARB tradition, by the Grim Reaper! Yikes! I am doing all this running partly to avoid that meeting, as inevitable as that eventually is. My family from Hamilton came out to cheer me on:

• Brothers Jamie and Scot


• Sister Jade and her girlfriend Denise


• Lorna and her boyfriend Greg

Thanks guys.

Things have been very busy and trying at work lately, all good, but stressful. Barbara, the World's Greatest Geophysicist, has been of tremendous help to me in coping with this and has really had my back. I want to dedicate the race to her. Barbara, you are the best! The song of the run is Pump It Up! by Elvis Costello and the Attractions.

And now, our counter is reset and we prep for the 29th of May, my first full marathon in Canada's capital, Ottawa.

Keep the faith, blogerettes!

Paul

Snow and hills, times 6 even!

Hi everyone,

On Wednesday we had a large snowstorm and so our running group put off six hills until this evening. Ugh!

Hill training is tough but, and this is a good thing, so is marathon training. I have to admit I was not looking forward to this evening but, you know, when it came time to do it, six hills run up, turn around, run down - repeat. The hill itself, 500 m of cruelty - again, now behind me.

Really cool thing is, and this always seems to happen, the Who song, Dig, came on part way through an upward slog. Great song with a really great beat for digging in and just getting it done. So that is our song of the run...

Next a short recovery run before Around the Bay!!

Later.

Paul

7 km recovery run through Leslieville.

Hi there

I arrived at the Running Room a little late tonight and found that my companions had left without me. That said, I know some nice 7 km routes in the neighbourhood now and thus went off on my own.

Good run and my "cold from hell" has now be diagnosed as Chronic Sinusitis, so I am on anti-biotics and hence, on the mend.

Song of the run was the Talking Heads classic Psycho Killer. Tomorrow night it is hills.

Paul

Rumours concerning my death have been greatly exagerated.

Hi everyone,

My last posting was after the Chilly 1/2 Marathon and, unfortunately, two days later I completed a recovery run but felt just awful. A new cold hit me just as the old one was finally clearly up and I could not run at all.

Anyway, I was patient, something I am not normally, and waited until today. So after a tough run of 26 km, I feel I am back and can at least attempt Around the Bay in Hamilton next week. I will not, however, be competing in Prague as I have some challenges on the business front right now and those preclude me from being out of the country for a week. Perhaps next year!

The song of the run is Criminal Mind by Larry Gowan.

Back with you on Tuesday!

Paul

Chilly 1/2 Marathon!

Hi gang,

First race of the season is behind me - a solid and steady performance of 2:33:33 for 21.1 km. While not anywhere near a personal best (2:18:22), it is not terrible for the first of a return year after taking a full year off.

Woke up around 6:30 only to have discovered a significant amount of snow on the ground. Gathered up my support team and headed out to Burlington with a protein shake and a coffee working their magic in my belly. The roads were poor and the running conditions, at least at the start, not ideal. Still, with the WGG and the boys there as my support - I was certain in the knowledge that the day would see my triumph over the evil 21.1 km in front of me.






























So, out I go and the race is going well. I hit the 8 km point on schedule and the 16 km point only a few seconds behind. At 17 km it is starting to get tough and the walking breaks are getting longer but as I approach the water station at 18 km, one of my absolutely all time favorite songs comes on the iPod - Monthy Python's Galaxy Song. I am actually learning this on my Ukulele now! Wow! I immediately think of the astronauts and cosmonauts up in orbit right now and decide that the song is for them. My energy back (with the help of gator aid and a gell), I start the run again and get to the finish line:






















So, in terms of race dedications, I have three for today - all very deserved.

1. The eSCRIBE development team. These guys pull of this kind of effort every day and I am proud of my association with them
2. My oldest son, James, who, as of 10:00 PM last night officially accepted admission into the Arts program at the University of British Columbia
3. My youngest son, Andrew, who turns 14 years old on Monday.

Well, back at the training on Tuesday - next week it is a 26km training run, sort of...

Paul

Final run before Chily!

Well folks, Sunday looms large!

Tonight we headed out on a route of my design which brought me quite close to home and then back down to the running room. 8 km and my moving pace was below 6:30 which is really good - I was below 6 for the first quarter of the run.

I am anticipating that Sunday will be tough but good and I am looking forward it.

The song of this evening is that old classic from the Let it Be album, Get Back by the Beatles.

Paul

A (not so) tough 10 km

Hi everyone,

Ran up both the Victoria Park and Kingston Road hills tonight - it was tough but not as bad as I anticipated. The song of the day really helped tonight, Keep on Working by Pete Townsend kicked in just as Kington Road hill got bad.

Tomorrow night an 8 km route which I designed for the club and Sunday is the Chily Half. Getting interesting!

Paul

7 km through Leslieville - taper run

Hi gang

Now well into the taper, just four 1/2 days to the Chily Half. Great run tonight, good pace.

Song of the run was Billy Idol's Dancing with Myself.

Back at you tomorrow.

Paul