Suntrust National Half Marathon & Monument Avenue 10k

 Hello all,

    Long time no see, eh!  I felt the need to write about my experiences in the past week and present as they have been memorable. Shall I start with the National Suntrust Half Marathon in Washington, D.C.? When scheduling to run this race a few months ago,  I set in my mind that a course such as this would be challenging with its many uphills,downhills, and tight turns. I felt the benefit of running in Washington was that it would make the Canadian Half Championships course feel like a pancake a few weeks later.  Last year I finished 4th and hope to improve upon that finish this year.

The field included last years champion and course record holder Mark Fruin(in 1:05low), Gurrmessa Mergessa (1:03 half), and several other Ethiopian runner from the Washington area.  Knowing this course would not produce a blistering time, I focused mainly on staying with the leaders. I was hoping that the leaders would stay in a group as long as possible, but it split up a mile into the race with 3 Ethiopian runners pushing the pace, and Fruin beside me with a few others. I decided to not play it conservatively and chase after the Ethiopian runners up ahead and risk hitting the wall a bit early. The move paid off and by 4 miles I was on my own and chasing the leader Gurmessa Mergessa. The hills seemed to unfaze me, and I felt strong. Despite closing the gap to 9 seconds I could not catch Gurmessa. I came in as the runner-up (2nd place) in a time of 1:07.25. This was right around my goal time for the race, and the placing exceeded my expectations.

This finish, and the mental toughness I had at all times during the race leads me to believe 1:05 is in grasps on a flatter faster course in Montreal on April 18th.  The course took its toll on my body though, and I have needed everyday possible to recover from the tight turns, up hills, and downhills, before racing the Monument Avenue 10k tomorrow morning.

Washington Suntrust National Half Marathon splits

first 10km: 32:01  last 10km: 31:53     Average: 31:57/10km pace   15:58/5km pace  = 1:07.25

http://www.coolrunning.com/results/11/dc/Mar26_SunTru_set5.shtml

Race Coverage: Video

http://www.wusa9.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=858350573001#/WUSA%2DNews/National+Marathon%3A+Supporters+Speak/46371336001/45927990001/858350573001

Monument avenue 10k

If you havent heard of this race, kindly remove your hands from your ears, and remove your body from the cave your living in haha…jokes…but in all seriousness (very serious face on)…there are 42,000 runners in the race and it takes place on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia. It is also very competitive with the Likes of Abdi Abdirahman, Dan Browne, Alene Reta, etc etc having run the race. The winner is usually in the time frame of 28 mid and the course has hosted the USA Championships.

With such as astonishing amount of elites, I can say I was honoured and shocked when elite athlete co-ordinator and late great runner Thom Suddeth asked me to join Ethiopian runner Abiyot Endale in speaking at Echo lake Elementary school at an assembly about running. I jumped on the opportunity, and this morning we spoke to the school about running. It went well, and the experience was wonderful.

The race is at 8:30am tomorrow, and I seek to improve upon my 2010 Canadian 10k Championships personal best of 30:36. Surely, I will update my readers on the result.

National Suntrust Half Marathon

Echo Lake Elementary School

Just after speaking at Echo Lake

Watch ekiden relays live!!!

Watch Ekiden Live at this link:

http://japanrunningnews.blogspot.com/

Ekiden Update 3: Videos

Ekiden Update 2

 It is 838am in Japan and we just finished breakfest. I slept from 10pm to 3am this morning. I couldnt get back to bed after that. The 14 hour time change is a force to be reckoned with. I am not getting stressed about the lack of sleep or jetlag though. Instead, I am getting focused on the big team ping pong tournament we are having this afternoon. It will be a great way to get our minds off tomorrows race. Speaking of which; here is our team and how the legs are looking.

                                                                           2010 Ekiden Course Topography

Leg 1:  Matt Brunsting 5km (a fast downhill leg) This leg will be instense as it is very fast, and Craig Mottram is running this leg.

Leg 2: Malindi Elmore 5km (flat and fast)

Leg 3: Derek Nakluski 10km (flat and fast)

Leg 4: Carmen Douma-Hassar 5km (flat and fast)

Leg 5: Adam Hortian 10km (flat w/ hills from about 8-10km)

Leg 6: Lanni Marchant 7.5km (by far the hilliest leg! all uphill!)

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5km on track Natasha Wodak and Scott Simpson

* Check back later for videos

Ekiden 2010 Updates

I can’t get no….satisfaction

“There is nothing more satisfying than peaking at just the right time”. “Not to early and not too late”. Although this sounds like a statement ridden with sexual innuendo, it actually holds true to racing and training. Perhaps another statement commonly used by runners that may relate to what I am about to discuss is ” an injury can often serve as a blessing”. 

Well, at the beginning of this fall season I encountered an injury in my knee, an injury to which I wrote about on this very blog. It was an injury that delayed my training for 4-5 weeks, and yet, the injury could have been worse. What this meant was that I had a late start to base training and building endurance for this season. In the past, I had begun base training in August, but, as the end of November approached I would often be on the decline mentally and physically. This is where “an injury can become a blessing.”  Now, I find myself in mid November and coming off my first race win of the year at the Casablanca 8k. The cherry on top of this victory is that I am also feeling quite strong before departing for Japan this week.

Although the delayed start to my training this season has kept me motivated at this point in time, I would be a dirty liar if I didn’t admit that it takes a little extra effort  at this point in the season to stay focused. I am assuming that this is something many runners can relate to. You have put in the weeks of hard training, eating healthy, sleeping well, and then November comes and nothing sounds better  than a beer, a Big Mac, and staying up late.

Well, because I don’t like to bring up a problem without offering a solution I think there are a few ways to stay motivated for those final training weeks before the big races. My first suggestion is to keep your mileage somewhat similar to what you have been doing. Yes, there are benefits to tapering, but do you really want to gamble on a big taper? If you mess up your taper you could be left feeling stiff and lethargic. I have been running a consistent 90-95 bones (miles) each week so I may over the course of the next couple weeks drop to 75-80. I also suggest that you consider watching some running videos, hangout with other people who are pumped to race and then catch the pre race fever haha. Things can get intense before big races…but don’t forget to laugh, smile, and relax.

Well those are my half-assed solutions….Hortian out!

UPDATE: Mike delmonte has been added to my blogroll (he is in England!)

Inspiration

Casablanca Classic 8km (Preview)

November 13th (less than 2 weeks from now) the Casablanca Classic 8k will be held in Grimsby, Ontario. I would recommend this race to anyone looking for a flat course, good competition, and a well-organized event. In the past 2 years I have come to rely on race director Jerry Frieson’s Subaru Series to try to blast off some quick efforts.

This year’s race will offer a truly exciting display with one of Canada’s best “ever” distance runners Reid Coolsaet, previous Series Champion Joesphat Ongari, and current series leader Derek Nakluski. These competitors are just a  few among many elites racing at this year’s event.

Not to be over shadowed by the big names at this years event, I will also be racing and looking to disappoint the competition.  

Race Website

http://www.instride.ca/

Last years results

http://www.sportstats.ca/display-results.php?lang=eng&racecode=44488

2009 RACE VIDEO

Halloween Haunting 10km

On October 31st I raced at the Halloween haunting 10km in London, Ontario. The Halloween Haunting is one of several races that make up the London Runners Choice Honda Series. The race came at a point in my season where I really felt I needed to compete. I wanted to be 100% sure that when I enter into some bigger races in the upcoming weeks that no rust remain. Knowing that the course record was only 30:25 by Ryan Mackenzie, who to my knowledge has run 13:30 for 5k, I didn’t expect a blazing time from the running gods on a rolling Springbank course. 

What the race did offer though was some excellent competition from the Canadian 10km Champion Rob Watson, Scotiabank Half Marathon and Niagara Half Marathon Champion Dagim Yesthela, fellow Saucony teammate Cleve Thorson, and a few other Guelph based lads. Anyways; I certainly did knock off some rust with an opening km of 2:56.  3km into the race I was running with Rob Watson and Dagim Yesthela. We ran a split of 8:54. At 5km, Watson had moved well aheadof the competition and I was stuck in no mans land. This was the case from 4km to 10km, which may be a good explanation for a slower 2nd half on my part.

I went through 5km in 15:04 and finished the race in 2nd place in 30:41 just 16secs off Mckenzies course record. 30:41 was also the 3rd fastest time ran on this Springbank course. Watson smashed the course record in a disgusting final time of 29:47. I am looking forward to the Casablanca 8km where I can finally see a quick time on paper worthy of my current fitness level.

* The womans race was also very competitive and Lauren King’s course record was beat by Lanni Marchant. Congrats to Stephaney Fay on her season best time of 39:46. Looking forward to reading the new blog (on my blog roll)

Race Results: http://www.chiptimeresults.com/resultsreader.php?y=2010&r=rchalloweenL.htm

Previous Race Results: http://www.runnerschoice.on.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=35&Itemid=60

Race Pictures: http://berdan.ca/races

Fall training: Weekly mileage,workouts,races,etc

I am now finishing up my 11th week of training. I believe I can train hard and consistently for about 15-18 weeks before I start to discover either mental/physical fatigue or both. This training period has been one of my most consistent with no roadblocks stopping me from getting out the door for my training runs or workouts. Below are my weekly mileage #’s and some of the workouts I have done and plan on doing in the upcoming weeks.

week 1: 47 miles (No Workouts)

Week 2: 54 miles (No Workouts)

week 3: 68 miles (Workout & Long run) * 5km tempo (hilly & windy route) 16:15. Long run easy 14 miles.

week 4: 75 miles (2 Workouts & Long run) * 6km tempo 20:37. Hill session 10 total AVG 62 sec. Jog down recovery. Long run 14m

week 5: 85 miles (2 workouts & Long run) * 8km tempo 26:20 (same route). Hill session 13 total AVG 59. jog down rec.Long run 16m

week 6: 88 miles (2 workouts & Long run) *very hilly 3by3km 9:11,9:11,9:01. 4 min rec. Hill session:10 hills 97-98.Long run 16m

week 7: 90 miles (1 workout 1 race & long run)* 30:57 2nd pl. Hilly course. Stratford 10km. 6sec off course record. 21 sec improvement on last years time. Workout: 2by2.2km in 6:53&6:43 and 2by 1.1km 3:21&3:16. recovery 2:30. Hilly Waterloo park road loop. 16m long run.

week 8: 93 miles (2 workout & long run) 3,6,9,6,3min at columbia lake. 3min recovery. wrkt 2: 3 by 15min each one faster. 4 min recovery. Long run 15m.

week 9: 90 miles (1 workout 1 race & long run) bectal park loops.Fast! 2:37,5:20,2:37,5:13. 2:30 recovery. Race: Canadian 10km Champs. 5th Canadian in 30:57. Hilly course…again. Felt very tired and stiff during race. Long run 17.5miles.

week 10: 98 miles (2 workout & long run) workout: 11 by 1100m loops waterloo park. 30 second recovery. Avg 3:19 1100m. Tough workout today! Workout 2: 12km tempo (same hilly route) 39:32. Avg 3:17km. fastest km 3:13. through 1okm 32:58. alone. Long run 17miles.

week 11: On pace for 90-95miles

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Not included above is…..

* after 2 off day runs during the week I like to incorporate 4-8 400′s at 10km pace w/ 30 sec recovery just for turn over.

* I also do easy strides after all my long runs.

* I have never been a huge fan of stretching, but try to do light stretching after my runs when my muscles are fully functioning to avoid strains of any kind.

upcoming race….Casablanca 8km. The race will have runners such as w/ Reid Coolseat, Derek Nakluski and Joesphat Ongeri….and yours truly who will be out to spoil their day

Marilyn Arsenault blog post

Wishing my Saucony teammate Marilyn Arsenault a speedy recovery;

http://trainharder.com/blogs/divamar/2010/10/05/curve-ball/comment-page-1/#comment-1200