As I'm returning from the BolderBoulder 10k International team challenge, and I'm stuck in LaGuardia for the night due to weather problems, I think I will use this spare time to blog about and reflect about my trip. The International team challenge was 10 teams from 7 different countries, with the U.S. also having a Colorado team and 2 military teams. Each team consisted of 3 members. Our team definitely had a tough task ahead of us, but I guess the nice thing about being part of a smaller country with not very much depth in road racing is that young runners like me who have personal bests 1-2 minutes slower than many of the runners from other countries have the opportunity to run at an event like this and get some experience in a world class international field. I was looking forward to the trip and traveling to a place I've never been before, but I knew that I would need a heck of a race to just finish out of the bottom third of the field. Making things even more difficult was that we were running at over 5000ft, which is high enough to have a significant effect on your performance, and I don't think too many other runners besides my two other teammates Adam Hortian and Kevin Friesen came straight from sea level. I though maybe the UK team would have the same problem, but it turns out that all three of them were training at altitude, and thus much better acclimatized than us. Not to mention their team consisted of guys with track pb's of 13:24 5k sub 28 10k, and 28:30 10k (plus national cross country champion). And they ended up being third last place team! So at the start of the race, part of me was nervous about how much faster most of these runners were than me, but part of me said "this is a world class field, lets see how long you can hold on to the pack, and forget about that altitude thing...its probably like 90% mental anyways right?" I lasted about 3k with the lead pack. The next few km I was running with a few others who had fallen from the lead pack, including a guy from Peru whose name was John Lennon! The last half of the race was when I was really starting to feel the combination of altitude, heat, and the fact that I probably went out too hard considering those two things. Luckily it was downhill/flat from 6.5k to 9k, but the last mile was uphill. Last mile 5:33...ouch! Looking back at the results there was a few guys from the Air Force team that took it out much more conservatively and blew by me in the second half of the race, so maybe if I ran with them I would have run a bit faster, but I am not too regretful for going out the pace I did. Sometimes you just gotta go for it! Despite finishing 4th to last, beating only one guy that wasn't my teammate, I can take some positives from the experience and have confidence going into my next big race in Vancouver. For instance, even many of the runners 10-40 seconds ahead of me were 28:20-29:20 10k track runners and 1:03-1:04 half marathoners. It's hard to judge what my performance is equivalent to on sea level, but if I did a statistical analysis on how far ahead of all the runners were and what their personal bests are, I would probably come up with a confidence interval for my predicted time at sea level that is consistent with what I have done on the roads recently. I talked to the one guy not on our team that was behind me, and he came straight from sea level as well, so we weren't the only ones. It turns out he also is shooting for a sub 1:05 half in the near future. I'm looking forward to running a half marathon at sea level in 4 weeks from now, since I know I'm in shape crush my current PB of 1:06 (or a bit under 1:06 if you count my estimated 21.1 split in my 30k). I looked at the elite start list, and it looks to be a solid front pack of 4 for me to try to hang on to. Coolsaet, Kangogo, Watson, and 2012 CIS cross country champion Kelly Wiebe are all confirmed, and all will be tough to beat. So although I will be in tough to finish 'in the money', the race looks to provide a great opportunity to run a PB.
So, overall I will consider this weekend a success, except for being stuck at the airport right now. It was a good time, an opportunity to travel and see a new place, and considering the circumstances, my race wasn't that bad, despite feeling really rough that last half of the race. Different races serve different purposes. Sometimes you race to run a fast or a personal best. Sometimes you race to go for the win. This race was definitely neither. For me, what I wanted to get out of this race was to see how I react to adverse conditions, and try to be competitive against better runners than me despite those conditions. For a future marathoner like myself, dealing with adversity is going to be important. I think I'm fairly good at running in less than ideal conditions compared to other competitors, but perhaps if I had even a few weeks of altitude training prior to this race, I may have beaten some great runners. If I do it another year I'll be sure to do some altitude training leading up to this race!
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
Sunday, 12 May 2013
Blog #10 Spring Races
Time to blog again. I ran a few races in the past few weeks, and I also have my next two major races planned out. 3 weeks ago was Toronto Yonge Street 10k. This was the race where I was injured in last year after running a pretty strong race. Thankfully I didn't suffer the same fate this year. The elite field was very similar to last year, the main difference was Eric Gillis instead of Reid Coolsaet. I knew he and Kip Kangogo would be tough to beat, so I made it my goal to be top 3. I almost did, finishing a few seconds behind Sami Jibril, winner of the Harry Spring run off a few weeks earlier. I was okay with that result. Interestingly, in my last 3 road races that I also ran last year, I was a few seconds off my time from last year, but despite that I finished exactly one place higher in each of those races. Of course I'd rather be running faster than last year, but it's nice to get a little more prize money. I'm not too worried about the hardly statistically significant slower times. I feel as though my training is going well. Last week I decided to run a track 10k in London. It turned out to be more of a tough tempo run though. I think it was a combination of a high mileage week and the Speed River speedy manure fundraiser involving some manual labour and being out in the sun the previous two days that wasn't exactly the best preparation for a race. So I wasn't exactly peaking for it, but I would've liked to look a bit more competitive than I was. I felt flat within the first few km's of the race, and struggled to just barely get under 31 minutes. (2012 ATB first 30k was 30:45 to put that into some perspective) I won't worry too much though. Having one bad race in between some solid consistent racing and workouts doesn't concern me too much. I still have confidence heading into my next races.
I'm kind of excited because I'm going to travel a bit for my next 2 races. The last week of May, I will be racing Bolder Boulder 10k in Colorado. Canada is sending a team of 3 guys and 3 girls. This is the race I had to drop out of last year because of injury, so I really wanted to do this race this year. It seems like a great race, and since its over 5000 ft altitude, times are irrelevant. I kind of like the idea of not worrying about a PB, but just going out there and racing. I plan to convince my self that altitude doesn't affect me as much as it does for most people, and I should place pretty well. I was considering with my coach about the possibility of running Ottawa marathon, but after thinking about it for quite a while, and praying about it, I decided that it would be best to wait until the fall for a marathon, and do a proper build up for it over the summer. This Colorado race will be a valuable experience for me to race against some international competition. After Boulder, I'll have 4 weeks until my next race in Vancouver, where I'll be running a half marathon. Then I'll probably take a down week or two, and start building up for a marathon debut, which will likely be Toronto Waterfront Marathon. I'm excited to see what God has in store for me the rest of the year, and thankful that I am injury free. It's been a fairly decent spring so far. Not to mention, the Leafs made the playoffs! Last time that happened I don't think I hit puberty yet!
I'm kind of excited because I'm going to travel a bit for my next 2 races. The last week of May, I will be racing Bolder Boulder 10k in Colorado. Canada is sending a team of 3 guys and 3 girls. This is the race I had to drop out of last year because of injury, so I really wanted to do this race this year. It seems like a great race, and since its over 5000 ft altitude, times are irrelevant. I kind of like the idea of not worrying about a PB, but just going out there and racing. I plan to convince my self that altitude doesn't affect me as much as it does for most people, and I should place pretty well. I was considering with my coach about the possibility of running Ottawa marathon, but after thinking about it for quite a while, and praying about it, I decided that it would be best to wait until the fall for a marathon, and do a proper build up for it over the summer. This Colorado race will be a valuable experience for me to race against some international competition. After Boulder, I'll have 4 weeks until my next race in Vancouver, where I'll be running a half marathon. Then I'll probably take a down week or two, and start building up for a marathon debut, which will likely be Toronto Waterfront Marathon. I'm excited to see what God has in store for me the rest of the year, and thankful that I am injury free. It's been a fairly decent spring so far. Not to mention, the Leafs made the playoffs! Last time that happened I don't think I hit puberty yet!
Monday, 25 March 2013
Blog #9 Around the Bay 30k 2013
Well...yesterday was one of the most memorable of my running career so far, and definitely my biggest win! God is good! This was an important race, and my first in 3 months, so it has definitely been something that I have been keying on, and praying for a good result. I try not to put too much unneeded pressure on myself heading into a race, but for a few reasons, I was really praying for a good result in this one. Firstly it's the first race of the spring, and I find that the first race of the season really sets the tone for the next couple of races, especially for confidence. Secondly, I have been blessed this year with some support of shoes, gear, and powerbar products, as well as other benefits, thanks to Speed River and New Balance, so I really want to make it show that I am worth that investment. Nevertheless, I made an effort to not put too much pressure on myself, after all, God is in control, and he has a reason for providing me with the opportunity to be here in Guelph and train with Speed River. I have to constantly remind myself to trust in God regardless of my results. Also, I have the prayer support of my family as well as AIA (Athletes in Action), a Christian athletes group on campus that I have been involved with this semester. I am very thankful for that support
Now to get on with how the race played out. I was expecting a slower pace than last year, since it didn't look like there was any clear favorite in the race who was going to try to push the pace and drop everyone from the gun. I was right on that assumption, and actually ended up leading or co-leading most of the first half of the race. I felt relatively decent and in control for the first 20k, and my 5k splits slowed down at a linear rate from approximately 15:30 to 16:00. (This linear regression is much preferred compared to an exponential or quadratic rate of slow down which sometimes happens) I made occasional glances behind me once we passed the half way mark, and it appeared as if there was a pack of about 5 of us still. Even though the money is not the main reason why I run, it is still always refreshing when there is x prize money spots and x or fewer people in the lead pack, and naturally, it's a bit nerve racking when there are x money spots and x+1 in the lead pack. But anyways, at 20k, I was feeling okay, but I was definitely feeling sore in my calves. They were feeling a bit tight before the race, so this was not surprising. I'm pretty sure I heard one of the Kenyan runners mention something about 'mzungu', which I remember in Reid Coolsaet's blog about his trip to Kenya means 'white guy'. You got to do something to distract yourself from the pain, so I spent the next few km trying to think what it is they were saying. 'Let's drop the white guy'? 'Hey look, another white guy'? Maybe. (Lionel Sanders had made a move to the front at around this point) The next 5k was definitely slowest portion of the race though. (~16:30) This was probably done more out of precaution than necessity, since there's a pretty decent hill of about 500m length around the 26k mark. I was glad nobody tried to push the pace during this 20-26k stretch, because I sure didn't want to. The nice thing about the uphill is there is a decent downhill stretch going into it, so it allows your legs to recover a bit. I tried to take a bit of a lead going up the hill, and at this point, I'm quite sure it was just between me and Josephat Ongeri, my most familiar road racing opponent since hitting the road racing scene in 2011. After the hill is a relieving feeling, but I've still got to remember, there's still 3.5k left! I could here my coach Dave Scott Thomas encouraging me on the home stretch, and I could here Josephat making a pretty good effort to catch me. With about 2k left, Josephat made his move and put a bit of a gap on me. At one point, it looked as if I might have to settle for 2nd, but I told my self to stay mentally tough and close the last km with all that I had left regardless of what he did. As we approached Copps Coliseum, I saw he looked fatigued, so it was my time to make a move without looking back. Heading into the stadium I heard someone say I had a 20m lead, At this point I was about 90% sure of the win, and then into the stadium with a roaring crowd and my parents there at this finish was definitely an awesome experience! It's always exciting when a long race like that comes down to the final km! Both this year's and last year's Around the Bay road races were extremely memorable for me. Last year's time was actually 40 seconds faster, but this year being able to win the race was an even huger boost. I had a feeling if I could put up a performance similar to what I did last year, there was a decent probability of winning. Thank God he gave me the ability to run a similar performance! After all, a few months ago I was dealing with some foot pain and was unsure if I would be able to compete in March yet. Thankfully I was able to get in shape pretty fast. Another example of God's provision! There's something special about winning Around the Bay and being part of its history, since it's the oldest road race in North America. It's such an awesome and unique event.
A strong race for, Lanni Marchant who won the women's race in record time, that was an impressive performance! Also some solid results in World Cross Country championships in Poland, Mohammed Ahmed, who I trained with back in high school, leading the way for Canada in 22nd place.
Toronto Yonge Street 10k is what I plan to race next, and that's in 4 weeks. This week will be mostly recovery/easy mileage, and then hopefully I'll continue with some good training in the next few weeks after that, and hopefully have a solid injury free race in that downhill race. I would like to get in a half marathon at one point after that, and possibly a 10k on the track, but I haven't really committed to anything past TSY10k yet. A marathon debut in the fall is a possibility if things go well.
Now to get on with how the race played out. I was expecting a slower pace than last year, since it didn't look like there was any clear favorite in the race who was going to try to push the pace and drop everyone from the gun. I was right on that assumption, and actually ended up leading or co-leading most of the first half of the race. I felt relatively decent and in control for the first 20k, and my 5k splits slowed down at a linear rate from approximately 15:30 to 16:00. (This linear regression is much preferred compared to an exponential or quadratic rate of slow down which sometimes happens) I made occasional glances behind me once we passed the half way mark, and it appeared as if there was a pack of about 5 of us still. Even though the money is not the main reason why I run, it is still always refreshing when there is x prize money spots and x or fewer people in the lead pack, and naturally, it's a bit nerve racking when there are x money spots and x+1 in the lead pack. But anyways, at 20k, I was feeling okay, but I was definitely feeling sore in my calves. They were feeling a bit tight before the race, so this was not surprising. I'm pretty sure I heard one of the Kenyan runners mention something about 'mzungu', which I remember in Reid Coolsaet's blog about his trip to Kenya means 'white guy'. You got to do something to distract yourself from the pain, so I spent the next few km trying to think what it is they were saying. 'Let's drop the white guy'? 'Hey look, another white guy'? Maybe. (Lionel Sanders had made a move to the front at around this point) The next 5k was definitely slowest portion of the race though. (~16:30) This was probably done more out of precaution than necessity, since there's a pretty decent hill of about 500m length around the 26k mark. I was glad nobody tried to push the pace during this 20-26k stretch, because I sure didn't want to. The nice thing about the uphill is there is a decent downhill stretch going into it, so it allows your legs to recover a bit. I tried to take a bit of a lead going up the hill, and at this point, I'm quite sure it was just between me and Josephat Ongeri, my most familiar road racing opponent since hitting the road racing scene in 2011. After the hill is a relieving feeling, but I've still got to remember, there's still 3.5k left! I could here my coach Dave Scott Thomas encouraging me on the home stretch, and I could here Josephat making a pretty good effort to catch me. With about 2k left, Josephat made his move and put a bit of a gap on me. At one point, it looked as if I might have to settle for 2nd, but I told my self to stay mentally tough and close the last km with all that I had left regardless of what he did. As we approached Copps Coliseum, I saw he looked fatigued, so it was my time to make a move without looking back. Heading into the stadium I heard someone say I had a 20m lead, At this point I was about 90% sure of the win, and then into the stadium with a roaring crowd and my parents there at this finish was definitely an awesome experience! It's always exciting when a long race like that comes down to the final km! Both this year's and last year's Around the Bay road races were extremely memorable for me. Last year's time was actually 40 seconds faster, but this year being able to win the race was an even huger boost. I had a feeling if I could put up a performance similar to what I did last year, there was a decent probability of winning. Thank God he gave me the ability to run a similar performance! After all, a few months ago I was dealing with some foot pain and was unsure if I would be able to compete in March yet. Thankfully I was able to get in shape pretty fast. Another example of God's provision! There's something special about winning Around the Bay and being part of its history, since it's the oldest road race in North America. It's such an awesome and unique event.
A strong race for, Lanni Marchant who won the women's race in record time, that was an impressive performance! Also some solid results in World Cross Country championships in Poland, Mohammed Ahmed, who I trained with back in high school, leading the way for Canada in 22nd place.
Toronto Yonge Street 10k is what I plan to race next, and that's in 4 weeks. This week will be mostly recovery/easy mileage, and then hopefully I'll continue with some good training in the next few weeks after that, and hopefully have a solid injury free race in that downhill race. I would like to get in a half marathon at one point after that, and possibly a 10k on the track, but I haven't really committed to anything past TSY10k yet. A marathon debut in the fall is a possibility if things go well.
Sunday, 3 March 2013
Blog #8 January injury struggles, visit to Campbell, and getting ready for spring races
It's been a while since I have blogged, and well...that's because its been a while since I've raced, and not too much exciting has happened since then. In my last post, I mentioned how I recently ran boxing day 10 miler, but was feeling a bit sore and needed to take a few days off. It turned out being a few weeks, as I had a strange pain on the top of my foot that wouldn't go away. When I thought it was healed, I started running again, but after a few days, the pain started to creep back again, so I had to go back to the elliptical. Then a few days it would get better, so I started running again, but then the after a few days of running, the same pain again! Very frustrating. I was getting very anxious to get some mileage and quality training in, since it was late January, and only two months until Around the Bay, which I really wanted to do again At that time, it was looking like I would need to see a quick improvement in my foot really soon if that was going to happen. I prayed about it, asking for healing if it is His will, and wisdom and the right perspective if I were to go through yet another setback. It was around that time when my physiotherapist suggested I get some orthotics to put in between my toes in order to help me toe off properly. Thank God, they seemed to make a big difference! In the next few weeks I was able to build up my mileage from 60-80-90-100, and started to get some tempo workouts in. It's kind of funny, even a mathematically minded runner like me will run past my house for a quick out and back at the end of my long run with the erroneous belief that 100 mile week is SO much better than a 99 mile week.
But anyways, after the 100 mile week, I was 5 weeks away from the 30k, and heading to North Carolina since we had the week off for reading week. My 3 reasons for going there in no particular order:
1) I still have former teammates that I'm pretty good friends with back in Campbell University, who are still on the team now.
2) I have a flight voucher from last altitude camp trip because I gave up my seat on an overnight flight for a day flight the next day. Got to sleep in a free hotel, and got meal money along with the voucher instead of having to try to sleep on the plane that night! What a deal! Anyways, that voucher expires in the summer, so I might as well use it now
3) I'm sick of this weather. It's not that I hate the cold. I'm known for under dressing in cold weather, and cold weather (to a certain extent) doesn't bother me that much. What I hate is trying to run on snow and ice. It makes it difficult to get quality training in, and increases the risk of injury. Last winter was unusually mild, but this winter I missed the NC weather a bit more. It was nice to get away for that for a week. It was even shirts off weather for my long run! Very nice!
Anyways, the trip there was a nice relaxing break. A bit nostalgic, but I'm a bit of a nostalgic person, so it's all right. I even got to go as a volunteer at their Big South Conference meet that weekend. It turns out some freshman guy who was signed up to volunteer decided to bail out a few days before the trip. Lucky me! I got to take his place! and his hotel room! and his meal money! I felt like I was on the team again! I definitely enjoyed watching some of my former teammates compete. Their new coach has them running really well. It was nice seeing people I hadn't seen in a while. It could be the last time I visit down there, but who knows.
So now I have three weeks until the 30k, and I also plan on doing Yonge Street 10k which is 4 weeks after ATB. (hopefully without messing my back like last year) It's time to start getting mentally prepared for that 30k, as Lord willing I won't have any major injury issues in the next few weeks and I will be able to approach the start line with confidence like last year. I'm not going to put any pressure on myself to duplicate or improve on last year's performance, all though that would be really nice if I could. I haven't really looked at what the competition will be like this year, but I've decided not to worry about that until race day. I should be able to run with the front pack, unless somebody goes out really aggressively, in which case it may be wise to drop back a bit. But whatever the weather, and whatever the competition, I'll trust the Lord to give me strength and wisdom that I need.
But anyways, after the 100 mile week, I was 5 weeks away from the 30k, and heading to North Carolina since we had the week off for reading week. My 3 reasons for going there in no particular order:
1) I still have former teammates that I'm pretty good friends with back in Campbell University, who are still on the team now.
2) I have a flight voucher from last altitude camp trip because I gave up my seat on an overnight flight for a day flight the next day. Got to sleep in a free hotel, and got meal money along with the voucher instead of having to try to sleep on the plane that night! What a deal! Anyways, that voucher expires in the summer, so I might as well use it now
3) I'm sick of this weather. It's not that I hate the cold. I'm known for under dressing in cold weather, and cold weather (to a certain extent) doesn't bother me that much. What I hate is trying to run on snow and ice. It makes it difficult to get quality training in, and increases the risk of injury. Last winter was unusually mild, but this winter I missed the NC weather a bit more. It was nice to get away for that for a week. It was even shirts off weather for my long run! Very nice!
Anyways, the trip there was a nice relaxing break. A bit nostalgic, but I'm a bit of a nostalgic person, so it's all right. I even got to go as a volunteer at their Big South Conference meet that weekend. It turns out some freshman guy who was signed up to volunteer decided to bail out a few days before the trip. Lucky me! I got to take his place! and his hotel room! and his meal money! I felt like I was on the team again! I definitely enjoyed watching some of my former teammates compete. Their new coach has them running really well. It was nice seeing people I hadn't seen in a while. It could be the last time I visit down there, but who knows.
So now I have three weeks until the 30k, and I also plan on doing Yonge Street 10k which is 4 weeks after ATB. (hopefully without messing my back like last year) It's time to start getting mentally prepared for that 30k, as Lord willing I won't have any major injury issues in the next few weeks and I will be able to approach the start line with confidence like last year. I'm not going to put any pressure on myself to duplicate or improve on last year's performance, all though that would be really nice if I could. I haven't really looked at what the competition will be like this year, but I've decided not to worry about that until race day. I should be able to run with the front pack, unless somebody goes out really aggressively, in which case it may be wise to drop back a bit. But whatever the weather, and whatever the competition, I'll trust the Lord to give me strength and wisdom that I need.
Friday, 28 December 2012
Blog #7 Boxing Day 10 miler
It has been a while since my last post, mainly because it has been a while since my last race. The last 7 weeks or so have just been building up the mileage and fitness, with the main focus is to stay healthy for the spring. There are very few opportunities in the winter months to actually test where I am at and get into a competitive road race, so it made a lot of sense to jump in the one nearby opportunity there is over the Christmas break, which is the Boxing Day 10 miler in Hamilton. I didn't really know what to expect since I haven't raced in a while. Some workouts in the past few weeks have indicated I am in pretty good shape, while other times, not so much. My goal was to get top 3 and improve from the time I ran last year. When I saw the weather forecast of 40km/h winds and -12 windchill, my goal was simply get top 3 and not care about time. At first I was unhappy about the forecast, but after thinking about it, I convinced myself that the adverse conditions would play to my advantage.
My competition in the race would be a few people from Athletics Toronto and a few of the usual Hamilton/Toronto area Kenyans. So I figured there would be a decent pack to run with, and nobody who was way better than everyone else who would try to run away with it from the gun. I was right, and I was thankful for that. The pace was conservative, first 5 miles were just over 25:30. That is what I wanted, since last year we went out a bit faster, and I had no idea there was a pretty decent hill between mile 7 and 8. This year I made sure I factored that in. By the time we got to the hill, I was confident I had enough left in the tank to handle it quite well. After the hill, it was a pack of 3 of us, and some of the runners who I expected to be out in front had fallen back. One of the runners was Lucas McAneney, a runner who actually competed in the same small NCAA D1 conference as me (Atlantic Sun) for a brief time when I was a freshman and he was a senior. The other I found out after the race was Peter Corrigan, a solid 1500m runner. He and Lucas put a small gap on me with just over a mile to go, and although I was able to pass Lucas on the final mile, I didn't have enough time to run down Corrigan. Maybe if it was a half marathon...but I was still fairly happy with my 2nd place result. I haven't had too many road races that were that close. It turned out that despite the tough conditions, I was pretty close to last year's time.
This race is a good confidence boost as I start to think about what my racing plans are for the spring. There are questions I need to answer for myself in the next few months such as whether or not I will run a marathon this spring or this fall and whether or not I run Around the Bay this year. Ultimately I shouldn't worry too much about what decision to make, because God is in control, and I trust him to guide me in the path he wants me to go next. For now, I am taking a few days of recovery to heal from some minor aches and pains I've had over the last few weeks so I can continue with training this winter injury free.
My competition in the race would be a few people from Athletics Toronto and a few of the usual Hamilton/Toronto area Kenyans. So I figured there would be a decent pack to run with, and nobody who was way better than everyone else who would try to run away with it from the gun. I was right, and I was thankful for that. The pace was conservative, first 5 miles were just over 25:30. That is what I wanted, since last year we went out a bit faster, and I had no idea there was a pretty decent hill between mile 7 and 8. This year I made sure I factored that in. By the time we got to the hill, I was confident I had enough left in the tank to handle it quite well. After the hill, it was a pack of 3 of us, and some of the runners who I expected to be out in front had fallen back. One of the runners was Lucas McAneney, a runner who actually competed in the same small NCAA D1 conference as me (Atlantic Sun) for a brief time when I was a freshman and he was a senior. The other I found out after the race was Peter Corrigan, a solid 1500m runner. He and Lucas put a small gap on me with just over a mile to go, and although I was able to pass Lucas on the final mile, I didn't have enough time to run down Corrigan. Maybe if it was a half marathon...but I was still fairly happy with my 2nd place result. I haven't had too many road races that were that close. It turned out that despite the tough conditions, I was pretty close to last year's time.
This race is a good confidence boost as I start to think about what my racing plans are for the spring. There are questions I need to answer for myself in the next few months such as whether or not I will run a marathon this spring or this fall and whether or not I run Around the Bay this year. Ultimately I shouldn't worry too much about what decision to make, because God is in control, and I trust him to guide me in the path he wants me to go next. For now, I am taking a few days of recovery to heal from some minor aches and pains I've had over the last few weeks so I can continue with training this winter injury free.
Saturday, 3 November 2012
Blog # 6 Trying to stay positive after another injury
So I had another untimely injury a few weeks ago. Not as untimely and not as serious as my setback last April, but still quite untimely nonetheless. I felt as if my training was going well, as I had some pretty solid workouts that gave me confidence that I was capable of finally breaking out with a solid race this season. Niagara Falls half marathon would be a good place to go for that, but unfortunately, I was feeling some pain in the upper quad/groin that was worrying me. Despite that, my workouts were going well, so I convinced myself to try to run through it, and I could take some time off after the half marathon. I almost made it. One week before my focus race, I decided to jump in the Vic Matthews open, Guelph's home meet. I'm not sure exactly what or when exactly something went wrong, but something didn't feel right. But I was in a racing state of my mind, and I'm not that good at distinguishing normal racing pain from something more serious, so I just pushed through it. Going up hills was particularly more difficult than usual, and I was getting owned each time going up the big hill at the end of each loop. As a strength runner, usually hills are a strong point for me, so I wasn't sure what was wrong with me. I finished the race really disappointed, getting beat by people who had no business beating me...800m/1500m specialists who shouldn't be near me were blowing by me at the end. On the cool down, I felt something not quite right on the outside of the knee, so I shortened the cool down, went home, and rested it up for the weekend hoping that would be enough. I figured I would just lower the mileage this week and get ready to redeem myself the next week, since I was confident my training indicated much much better than that race. So I attempted a light tempo workout that Monday. I felt a little pain on the warm up, but I figured I had to at least try to run through it. That worked for about 5 minutes or so into the tempo, and then I started to realize that this isn't the type of pain I should be running through. It turns out I messed up something with my IT band where it connects below the knee. So whenever I bent my knee it really hurt. Attempting the tempo definitely made it worse, because the next 10 days, any attempt of running was basically impossible, and going up and down stairs really sucked. but after that, things started to heal up quickly. So I can be thankful that the injury only lasted 2 weeks, but I'm still obviously bummed out that I wasn't able to get in a half marathon this fall. After all the hard training I did since coming to Guelph, so far I have nothing to show for it. I guess that's where patience comes in.
As cliche as it may sound, I really have two options. I can be extremely negative, or I can stay positive and look at the bigger picture. Since I'm human, sometimes I have a tendency to get angry at God and frustrated, because ever since that magical race I had at Around the Bay, it seems like has nothing has gone right for me this year. Injury....fighting hard to get back from injury...finally feeling like I'm getting into the same form I was before that injury....and then injured again. "WHY? Why, oh God, would you give me this awesome opportunity to run in Guelph, the running capital of Canada, with all these amazing athletes, and then allow me to get injured like this? Why do you give me this taste of success only to rip it away from me!?" Yeah...I feel like that is what the devil is tempting me to think like, and question God like I would now what's best for me. I think the devil also made the 3rd place guy at Niagara Falls half marathon (last money spot) run really slow so as to really frustrate me as to the prize money I could've won. But I've tried to be mature and have a better attitude about this minor setback though. I think this injury was simply an overuse injury. Whenever I increase my mileage and/or intensity at too fast of a rate, the chances of injury become much higher. I know that from previous experience and I experienced it again. In previous cases, it was increase of mileage, but in this case, I think just the amount of quality tempo work that they do and some of the long interval workouts were a lot more volume than I was used to, not to mention I was working really hard to keep up with some of the best in the country. I was starting to get excited as I thought I was getting used to the training here at Speed River, but I guess my body said otherwise. I guess its another learning experience. As I get back into things, I should be a little more wise about my training along with working hard and striving to be the best I possibly can be. Perhaps I should not focus so much on getting x amount of miles each week, because sometimes it may be more beneficial to take a day off once every few weeks, especially if I'm not feeling 100%.
There is a specific bible verse that I came to mind as I was going through this injury, and it comes in 2 Corinthians 12:9 when Paul asks the Lord to take this thorn in his flesh away, but God says "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness". I certainly prayed to God to take way this thorn on the outside of my knee before the race on that weekend. But it's like God said "My grace is sufficient for you" like he did for Paul -- it is definitely true for me too. God was graceful enough to let me to have a mysterious breakthrough first year of post collegiate running free of injury last year. Based on my circumstances outside of running last year, I don't know what I would've done if I had injury trouble last year. I really believe the Lord was watching out for me, and he knew I needed that success at that time. It also gives me hope for the future, because I know that had I not had that success, I likely would not have been drawn to train in Guelph because I wouldn't have felt fast enough. For that reason, I feel like God has a reason why he drew me to Guelph right now, but the precise reason, and whether I am here long term is something I don't know, but I'm sure God will reveal that to me in his good timing. God was faithful to me before, and it helps me trust that he will be faithful again. At least this time around, I am in a Master's program that I actually have a chance of completing, as I'm not completely over my head. So, it's enough to keep me busy so that I don't go insane if I get injured. The second part -- "my power is perfected in weakness" -- also has some implication for me. The injury reminds me that by my own strength their is so much uncertainty and limitations no matter how hard I try. It's a reminder that God is in control, and sometimes he uses hardships to build our character. If everything came easy with no bumps in the road, we wouldn't appreciate the successes as much.
Well, I had a taste of that success last year when I made my first National team. I had a taste of that success at Around the Bay. I've set the bar higher for myself with those performances under my belt, and I'm in the right place to develop my God given talent of running to its fullest here in Guelph. It's unfortunate my first stint of training here had to end with an injury, but that taste of success I was blessed with last year has me thirsting for more, and eager to get back into things next spring and excited for what God might have in store for me. Intuitively, if I have the God given ability to run as well as I did without a coach, eventually, the training here under Dave Scott-Thomas who apparently knows what he is doing based on the number of world class athletes he has, should lead to significant improvement from what I did last year. How much improvement and how long it will take, I don't know, but I'm eager to find out. I realize that two weeks is not a horrendous setback, and I have a lot of time to build up and hopefully do something significant this spring. The key for me I think is to realize that these few months are really an adjustment season for me. I shouldn't expect instant improvements, since it takes time to reap the benefit of a new training plan. So...if I think about it...I really do have reason to stay positive about the future despite this setback. But regardless of what happens next, its important to realize that God's plan is better than my plan.
As cliche as it may sound, I really have two options. I can be extremely negative, or I can stay positive and look at the bigger picture. Since I'm human, sometimes I have a tendency to get angry at God and frustrated, because ever since that magical race I had at Around the Bay, it seems like has nothing has gone right for me this year. Injury....fighting hard to get back from injury...finally feeling like I'm getting into the same form I was before that injury....and then injured again. "WHY? Why, oh God, would you give me this awesome opportunity to run in Guelph, the running capital of Canada, with all these amazing athletes, and then allow me to get injured like this? Why do you give me this taste of success only to rip it away from me!?" Yeah...I feel like that is what the devil is tempting me to think like, and question God like I would now what's best for me. I think the devil also made the 3rd place guy at Niagara Falls half marathon (last money spot) run really slow so as to really frustrate me as to the prize money I could've won. But I've tried to be mature and have a better attitude about this minor setback though. I think this injury was simply an overuse injury. Whenever I increase my mileage and/or intensity at too fast of a rate, the chances of injury become much higher. I know that from previous experience and I experienced it again. In previous cases, it was increase of mileage, but in this case, I think just the amount of quality tempo work that they do and some of the long interval workouts were a lot more volume than I was used to, not to mention I was working really hard to keep up with some of the best in the country. I was starting to get excited as I thought I was getting used to the training here at Speed River, but I guess my body said otherwise. I guess its another learning experience. As I get back into things, I should be a little more wise about my training along with working hard and striving to be the best I possibly can be. Perhaps I should not focus so much on getting x amount of miles each week, because sometimes it may be more beneficial to take a day off once every few weeks, especially if I'm not feeling 100%.
There is a specific bible verse that I came to mind as I was going through this injury, and it comes in 2 Corinthians 12:9 when Paul asks the Lord to take this thorn in his flesh away, but God says "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness". I certainly prayed to God to take way this thorn on the outside of my knee before the race on that weekend. But it's like God said "My grace is sufficient for you" like he did for Paul -- it is definitely true for me too. God was graceful enough to let me to have a mysterious breakthrough first year of post collegiate running free of injury last year. Based on my circumstances outside of running last year, I don't know what I would've done if I had injury trouble last year. I really believe the Lord was watching out for me, and he knew I needed that success at that time. It also gives me hope for the future, because I know that had I not had that success, I likely would not have been drawn to train in Guelph because I wouldn't have felt fast enough. For that reason, I feel like God has a reason why he drew me to Guelph right now, but the precise reason, and whether I am here long term is something I don't know, but I'm sure God will reveal that to me in his good timing. God was faithful to me before, and it helps me trust that he will be faithful again. At least this time around, I am in a Master's program that I actually have a chance of completing, as I'm not completely over my head. So, it's enough to keep me busy so that I don't go insane if I get injured. The second part -- "my power is perfected in weakness" -- also has some implication for me. The injury reminds me that by my own strength their is so much uncertainty and limitations no matter how hard I try. It's a reminder that God is in control, and sometimes he uses hardships to build our character. If everything came easy with no bumps in the road, we wouldn't appreciate the successes as much.
Well, I had a taste of that success last year when I made my first National team. I had a taste of that success at Around the Bay. I've set the bar higher for myself with those performances under my belt, and I'm in the right place to develop my God given talent of running to its fullest here in Guelph. It's unfortunate my first stint of training here had to end with an injury, but that taste of success I was blessed with last year has me thirsting for more, and eager to get back into things next spring and excited for what God might have in store for me. Intuitively, if I have the God given ability to run as well as I did without a coach, eventually, the training here under Dave Scott-Thomas who apparently knows what he is doing based on the number of world class athletes he has, should lead to significant improvement from what I did last year. How much improvement and how long it will take, I don't know, but I'm eager to find out. I realize that two weeks is not a horrendous setback, and I have a lot of time to build up and hopefully do something significant this spring. The key for me I think is to realize that these few months are really an adjustment season for me. I shouldn't expect instant improvements, since it takes time to reap the benefit of a new training plan. So...if I think about it...I really do have reason to stay positive about the future despite this setback. But regardless of what happens next, its important to realize that God's plan is better than my plan.
Sunday, 23 September 2012
Blog #5 A new start in guelph
This month and this fall marks the beginning of a long awaited fresh start in Guelph. An opportunity God has given me to continue doing what I love, and attempt a masters degree in math/stats at the same time. I feel like running competitively and pursuing a masters degree is a good balance, that way if one goes wrong I still hopefully have the other to lean back on. It could be busy at times, but being busy is better than having nothing to do, like when I was injured this spring. Man that was depressing. Naturally, it is a bit overwhelming adapting to the new environment, meeting so many new people between training with Speed River and my masters program, but it is definitely a good thing. Unlike at Waterloo last year, I feel like I belong here, and that I made the right decision to make Guelph the next stage in my life. Whether I am here for a year or two or long term I am not sure, but I trust that God will lead me with those decisions. But I am much more convicted this year that this is the best place for me where I am at in my life right now.
I have an extremely fast group of people to train with here at Guelph, and that is something that is new for me. I like it. For the time being, I realize that many workouts I will get dropped on the later intervals, because the people that drop me are much more accomplished runners than I am. Olympians, CIS champions, World Championship/World Juniors participants are in that group. It is all part of a process/adjustment for me. I have confidence that eventually I will get to that level if I train like they do. I like how the coach Dave Scott Thomas stresses tempo runs/intervals (~half marathon pace). We do some sort of tempo work twice a week. I am not used to doing tempos that frequently, but running them with other people is much easier than running them by yourself. All of the sudden 5:10 miles don't feel so hard anymore. We had a crazy workout last week that consisted of 4 miles at 5k pace on the cross country course with a 20 minute tempo in between the first and second mile interval, and 5 min recovery between each mile. I averaged 4:44 and the top guys were under 4:40 for the last few.
This weekend was national championship 10k road race/Oasis Zoo Run in Toronto. A good chance to see where I stack up and see if the hard training has paid off yet. I had an average race, placing as the 7th Canadian. It was wet, and tough course, so times are irrelevant, but perhaps the Coolsaet differential statistic more relevant in this case for measuring my performance. I was 50 seconds behind Coolsaet. I was 35 seconds behind him in April when I was in the best shape of my life and right before my injury. So if I go by that statistic, I am relatively close to where I was at that time. It wasn't a great race, but I can take some confidence from it, and hopefully I can run a fast half marathon next month. I am thinking Niagara Falls Half as my next race, but I need to hear from the elite coordinator that I emailed but not heard anything from yet. It would be ideal for me since its close and typically has guys running in the 1:05-1:06 range which is what I am aiming for.
I have an extremely fast group of people to train with here at Guelph, and that is something that is new for me. I like it. For the time being, I realize that many workouts I will get dropped on the later intervals, because the people that drop me are much more accomplished runners than I am. Olympians, CIS champions, World Championship/World Juniors participants are in that group. It is all part of a process/adjustment for me. I have confidence that eventually I will get to that level if I train like they do. I like how the coach Dave Scott Thomas stresses tempo runs/intervals (~half marathon pace). We do some sort of tempo work twice a week. I am not used to doing tempos that frequently, but running them with other people is much easier than running them by yourself. All of the sudden 5:10 miles don't feel so hard anymore. We had a crazy workout last week that consisted of 4 miles at 5k pace on the cross country course with a 20 minute tempo in between the first and second mile interval, and 5 min recovery between each mile. I averaged 4:44 and the top guys were under 4:40 for the last few.
This weekend was national championship 10k road race/Oasis Zoo Run in Toronto. A good chance to see where I stack up and see if the hard training has paid off yet. I had an average race, placing as the 7th Canadian. It was wet, and tough course, so times are irrelevant, but perhaps the Coolsaet differential statistic more relevant in this case for measuring my performance. I was 50 seconds behind Coolsaet. I was 35 seconds behind him in April when I was in the best shape of my life and right before my injury. So if I go by that statistic, I am relatively close to where I was at that time. It wasn't a great race, but I can take some confidence from it, and hopefully I can run a fast half marathon next month. I am thinking Niagara Falls Half as my next race, but I need to hear from the elite coordinator that I emailed but not heard anything from yet. It would be ideal for me since its close and typically has guys running in the 1:05-1:06 range which is what I am aiming for.
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