WEEK 22 ✕ BARRIE WATERFRONT HALF-MARATHON RECAP
Race Report - Barrie Half
This was my very first time in Barrie for anything actually. I had no prior knowledge of this course other than looking it up on the main website and observing other people's runs in the "activity search" segment in Strava for elevation map. In terms of expectations, it was at a minimal considering it was raining cats and dogs outside and that I have not done a road half-marathon since the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon back in 2015. I knew that based on my recent races that I would be capable to run in the lower spectrum of the 01:35:00 to 01:42:00 range.
My day started off at 4:45 am and was immediately out the door after downing my yogurt and banana combination. I knew that driving from Markham to Barrie will take approximately an hour and a couple of minutes (thanks Waze!), so finished things off with a large Timmies double double, knowing that the morning nature's call will be due by the time I arrive. Took care of business followed by packet pickup. The route of the race is shaped like a horseshoe with the starting line beginning at the dead centre. First off, it was heading southward where there was a good mix of asphalt roads and mixed soil like texture in some areas. After going to the far end, there is a return loop to go back to the start line area but bypassing it and heading northwards instead. This time around, the surface is more so of a sand and gravel mixture and turn around again once you reach the end point. It was thoroughly soggy although this was to be expected right from the get-go. This time around, I was mindful of my running posture but wasn't necessarily trying to completely alter the way I normally run. At my race pace, it was significantly easier to really have my legs push off the ground in a cyclical motion. Also, it was easier to also have my back position forward-facing as if I was about to hit the ground face first. That workshop from The Runner's Academy definitely paid off indeed. At the end of it all, I managed to shed off a wholesome ~16 minutes off from my last half record registered in October 2015. 01:31:36 and to my delight, I didn't lose any gear this time around. It just sets the tone that with continuous drive to improve, harder to reach goals are no longer out of reach and are actually plausible if I put the work in. Going to take this upcoming week easy, we'll see how it goes! - Cheers, M.W.
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Week 21 RecapThis week has been a continuation of last's weeks ongoing, too-busy to do anything kind of week. I saw it coming and I saw it as excuses towards not managing my time wisely to make do with my typical running mileage per week. As a result, I banked all my long runs and long distances at the beginning of the week in accordance to the week's weather patterns. I knew that I can shift my rest days towards the end of the week with multiple days of rain ahead. Glad I did that. Speaking of weather and seasonal changes, I will gradually be shifting my running times either super early morning (before the temperature and humidity skyrockets) or during sunset periods (when it is not in sweltering heat and peak UV) I recall trying to tough it out last summer when trying to do 15+ km only to retreat in defeat by hiding out at a gas station. WEEKLY FEATURE HIGHLIGHT Last Sunday, I was fortunate enough the catch the opportunity of enrolling a running workshop by Lululemon Toronto in partnership with The Runner's Academy. Today, I went down to the Lululemon Toronto store at Queen St West and boy did I learn a lot. Now the second half of the equation is to apply the key takeaways from today's session: - Run in a "marching"-like motion, similar to a piston with the foot landing pushing the ground away (as physically demonstrated by using a rubber resistance band) - The march is essentially analogically parallel to the A-skip exercise - Leg crossovers (which is left and right legs criss-crossing with each other from one step to the next) is actually bad for you, gap within the legs should be slightly spread out - Think of your body and your legs as the hardware, and the mental and the brain functions as the software. Sometimes it is the hardware that requires tuning up or vice versa. With these acquired knowledge in mind, I intend to hold myself accountable by adding them to my stretches when training at the gym - such as the march like motion as well as being more mindful of leg gaps and not crossing over. This upcoming week is a taper week, leading up to the Barrie Half Marathon for this upcoming Sunday! Cheers, M.W. Week 19 ✕ Sporting Life 10K Toronto RecapI had the great pleasure once again to represent Team Running Free at this year's Sporting Life 10K along side with my avid weekend warrior group of friends. Aside from the Scotiabank Waterfront race in mid-October, this particular race down Yonge Street is my favourite perennial measuring stick of the progress that I have made from a year-to-year basis. I have become increasingly prepared and well equipped for each of these runs as each year passes and these kind of morning rituals are extremely helpful leading up to the even more important races. Case and point: the Barrie Half-Marathon that is coming up in two weeks time. However, I was not completely prepared. I had finished a late night shift from my casual part-time work the day prior. I also left the house without my almighty important GPS watch in the morning. Systemically, I turn to plan B which is using my iPhone to track the running data for this race. The first five kilometres was nothing but a straight downhill down on Yonge Street. Without thinking too much, I bolted out of the start line with speed and let the gravity take care of the rest. The flaw is that by manually engaging start on the Strava phone app, I lose concentration and placed my phone into my shorts pocket with the zipper 1/4 zipped up. Bad move. Just briefly after crossing Yonge and Eglinton, my Bluetooth wireless earbuds lose connection and my music was gone. "Oh it's just a bad connection" - so I thought. Kept pushing the power button and volume buttons; no reaction. Thats when unnecessary adrenaline rush kicked in with guilt. "Should I keep going? Or turn back?" That notion of uncertainty essentially carried on throughout the remainder of the race. I went to the conclusion that I may as well run faster to the finish line so that I can find out what to do next when finished. That's when I realized I was at the 7K mark, I think where the second water station is? The speed was constant with not as many obstruction while the elevation is now flat. And soon enough, I managed to push my way into the finish line - of course not knowing my official race time and not so much of satisfaction had things gone the way they were supposed to be. The next steps were asking strangers and my buddies with iPhones to borrow their phone and use "Find My Phone" app. At first, my heart sank as the first two locations tracked of my phone was gradually shifted southbound. "Fuck, somebody must've stolen it for sure" - so I thought. That's when I decided to remotely set it into Lost Mode and call my phone soon after to test my luck. To my delight, that person picked up the phone and responded. "We have your phone and meet us down at Princess Gate!" Major sigh of relief but still angsty. Let my main group momentarily to go to the specific area where the person said to meet. Alas, there was the person, a wife and husband with their kids, stroller and all. "My husband tried to get you but you were too fast to catch up!" she exclaimed. I guess that's where I might have gotten too carried away when I was running downhill. My takeaway: always activate your iCloud / Google account so that you can remotely locate your phone. If you have a valid iCloud account, simply login to "Find my Phone" app whereas for Android users, login your Google credentials to the official "Android Device Manager" app. After the scary episode, I looked up my results on sportstats.ca and looks like a new PB and slashing 2 minutes from last year. My takeaway: always activate your iCloud / Google account so that you can remotely locate your phone. If you have a valid iCloud account, simply login to "Find my Phone" app whereas for Android users, login your Google credentials to the official "Android Device Manager" app. After the scary episode, I looked up my results on sportstats.ca and looks like a new PB and slashing 2 minutes from last year. Week 18 RecapFirst and foremost, I would like to congratulate everyone that participated in either the GoodLife Marathon or the Mississauga Marathon despite the chilly weather and the crappy soggy weather leading up to the event. You guys demonstrated that humbleness and respecting the tough nature of long distance grinds regardless of physicality or various personal day-to-day hardships. I still vividly recall completing my very first marathon last year at the GoodLife Marathon and I consider it as one of my proudest achievements to date.
This is simply what drives me to run. Your personal progress and feel-good achievements? Nobody can take it away from you especially since something like this requires long-term commitment and focus. Those looking for instant gratification, overnight success, or success by monetary trade-offs can look elsewhere. Speaking of which, this week's bad weather really tested my ability to manage my time wisely for my weekly running distance quota. I swapped my long run to mid-week rather than my typical Saturday morning, as I also take on a casual part-time job for the City of Markham. I closely observed the radar maps on the Weather Network website to find that window of opportunity to steal a run in while it briefly stayed dry. By the end of Sunday, I am glad to still accumulated an overall mileage of 67.8 km. This upcoming week, I will be easing the mileage a bit in anticipation of the signature Sporting Life 10K. I know, it is technically a 'fun run' but when you have all these downhills for you to sprint down, it be a waste to not properly prep for pacing. Next upcoming race: Barrie Half-Marathon Cheers, M.W. Week 14 RecapMore nicer weather days = more runs, more April showers = run just as much while planning around it within the week I managed to keep the same amount of average running distance of 63km per week plus a little bit more. I either rested or simply hit the gym with some mild upper body workout as well as some dreadmill sessions in the days where weather simply sucked. The longer distance runs were evenly distributed throughout the week so that I can thoroughly enjoy the Race Roster Spring Run Off 8k run on the Saturday. Rather than racing compared to two years ago, I had the pleasure this time around to pace my friend and kickstart her year in running on a strong note. (Congrats again Janice! Hopefully this will keep the running momentum going!) Perhaps I should also make visits to High Park more often in the next couple of months to train the uphill in anticipation of my very first ultra 50K this upcoming July as well... Race Roster Spring Run-Off 2017
If you are looking for a relatively short race with lots of hills and beautiful scenery, then this is for you! I observed that there were some elite runners that was using this race as simulation for steep hill preps for Boston Marathon (based from Instagram). Meanwhile for the rest of us regular civilians, this race presents a formidable challenge to simply #killthehill at the final stretch of the race. Essentially the route of the run-off is multiple loops around High Park. What separates this from other races is that this is one of many races organized by the great folks at Canada Running Series. This run off, as well as their other races, is well-organized, has lots of volunteers (for packet pick-up, bag check, and water stations), and has great after-finishing activities. Will I do it again next year and the year after? Chances are... yes and with a desire to hit a personal best from 2015. What's NextI officially registered for the North Face Endurance Challenge 2017. The only difference from last to this is an extra 29km within the mountains from Half Marathon distance to a full blown ultra 50k. This would definitely be one of the highlights of this year next to the Niagara Falls International Marathon in October. You can expect a whole lot more weekly updates mentioning training in anticipation for this big trail race ahead in July.
That's it for now! Cheers, - M.W. |
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