4 Month Sit-Rep

819 km down, 1198 km to go.
$505 raised, $1,512 remains.
Donate: https://www.gifttool.com/athon/MyFundraisingPage?ID=1466&AID=1695&PID=602510&Preview=Y 

Photo credit: Peter Stokes http://www.peterstokes.net/

I'm a third of the way into my challenge, and have a handful of miles in the bank - which hopefully means a lighter month or two after the May marathon. 

The fund-raising has been a bit harder but I'm hoping to raise my profile around the Ottawa Race Weekend, which started with a Twitter chat last week hosted by #RunOTTchat #2017in2017.

Kingston Race Recap

The week had been hot and sunny, until day 2 of the Limestone Race Weekend in Kingston, which arrived with gusts of wind and rain showers. The worst of the weather was just as the 5km and Half-Marathon races got underway.

Historic Kingston was a superb distraction from the weather, and the 5km loop took us east for a tour of the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC).

The rain stopped by the time we got back to city hall and past the 5km finish, with the Half-Marathoners continuing west.  The course was a mix of (open) roads and river-side trail, past the (closed) Kingston Penitentiary and out to 'Front Rd'.  The winds after the turnaround point felt particularly strong, but the rain held off until I finished.

With some rolling hills and variable footing, it's not really a place to shoot for a Personal Best.  My plan was to run at a Target Marathon Pace of 4:44 mins per km, with an estimated finish time of 1 hr 40.

There were just under 200 finishers in the half, and I finished 42nd overall, and 8th in my category. I felt strong at the start, and although I hadn't anticipated the hills, I stayed just above my target pace to finish with an official time of 1 hr 36 mins.

Official race photos were taken by Peter Stokes: http://www.peterstokes.net/

Full results on SportStats https://www.sportstats.ca/display-results.xhtml?raceid=42738

More races booked

Spring is finally here; the snow has just about gone.

My Easter long run was 35 km and will be one of the longest runs before the Marathon at the end of May.  Today I also passed the 700 km mark, with lots more to come.

I'm currently registered for the following events (titles are hyperlinked):

• 30 Apr: Limestone Race Weekend Half-Marathon (Kingston, ON)
• 28 May: Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon (Ottawa, ON) 
• 06 Aug: MEC 50 km 'Race Four' Trail Run (Gatineau, QC)
• 17 Sept: Army Run - Commander's Challenge (Ottawa, ON)
• 22 Oct: Marine Corps Marathon (Washington D.C.)

They add up to over 180km of race distance between now and the end of October, plus another couple I have my eye on!

These are all for a great cause, and I'm grateful to be able to run all of them for a great charity.  You can help me help Start2Finish here:
https://www.gifttool.com/athon/MyFundraisingPage?ID=1466&AID=1695&PID=602510&Preview=Y

 

3 Month Sit-Rep

544 km down, 1473 km to go.
$405 raised, $1,612 to target.
Donate: https://www.gifttool.com/athon/MyFundraisingPage?ID=1466&AID=1695&PID=602510&Preview=Y 

A quarter of 2017 has already passed (wish someone would let Mother Nature know) and I'm just over 26% into the mileage. 

Thank you to all the amazing people who have helped support me already.

Training for Ottawa is going well, and all of the April long runs will be around 30 km.

After my first Winterman in February, in March I raced at another event for the first time (Around the Bay), and this month I have signed up for my first trip to the Kingston Limestone Race Weekend (Half-Marathon) on Sunday 30 April.

#2017in2017

Around The Bay

Sunday 26 March was the 123rd edition of Around the Bay, the oldest road race in North America (founded in 1894). My goal was to run at a target marathon pace of 4:44 mins per km, to finish around 2 hrs 22 mins.
 
Lots of runners travel down from the Ottawa area to participate in this famous event, and I was with a group of friends from my local Running Room.  Many had raced here before but for a number of us it was the first time.
 
To mark Canada’s 150th birthday this year, a huge flag was passed over the runners waiting at the start line, which was a nice moment before the horn blew and we were off.

I started just ahead of the 2 hr 20 ‘pace bunny’ and aimed to stay ahead of him as long as possible. The last part of the course includes some hills so I knew it would be a good idea to build a time buffer if I wanted to stay on target. 
 
For this event I wrote an additional message to wear on the back of my shirt, to raise awareness of my goal, and the charity.  I was pleased that a number of runners asked me about the challenge because of the sign and I was able to tell them about Start2Finish and the Pathway of Hope. I think it’s the first time that I’ve ever had conversations whilst racing!



Weather at the start

The forecast had been for light rain but after some overnight and early drizzle the morning was grey and windy. The headwinds were particularly strong for the first 15 km as we weaved through the industrial heart of Hamilton.  Crossing the Canal lift bridge I was impressed by the size of the waves on Lake Ontario.

The course has a number of features and traditions, the most talked about being ‘Heartbreak Hill’ (Valley Inn Road) which was part of the course again this year after roadworks for the past two events.
The last third of the race covers a number of rolling hills, and by itself the Valley Inn Road isn’t very daunting – but after 26km at race pace it was a tough climb that I only just managed to keep running up, and the pace bunny passed me on the way to the top.

The headwinds picked up again on the York Boulevard bridge, and I was starting to feel a pain in my right knee so I took a walk break to try and stretch a bit and reduce the ache.  Then I encountered another of the Around the Bay traditions: Tim the Grim Reaper, greeting runners at around 28 km. His words of ‘encouragement’ spurred me on towards the finish.
 
I needed another walk break at the 29 km marker as the pain in my knee became more persistent.  As I struggled here a passing runner gave me a real boost with some positive words, and I picked up the pace for the stadium finish in the FirstOntario Centre: 2 hrs 21 mins.


FirstOntario Centre (pre-race)

Pathway of Hope

This week I had the privilege of joining Coach Steve and the volunteer team with around 25 students at a Running & Reading Club in Ottawa.  The 32-week program is the second step on the Start2Finish 'Pathway of Hope'.

The session has two parts.  The first hour included a high-energy warm up plus strength drills, followed by some fun and games.

After learning about the word of the day (Excellence) we spent the second hour in smaller groups reading books.

It was a fantastic opportunity to see Start2Finish in action and find out a bit more about how the funds are used.  Hats off to the volunteers, including the junior coaches, who take the time every week to help all of these children improve their literacy and fitness levels.  The enthusiasm levels were impressive - and the kids are excited and motivated for their 5km race in May. 

I'm looking forward to carrying some of that zeal with me to Hamilton on Sunday for my run Around the Bay!

You can help more kids do more running and more reading here: https://www.gifttool.com/athon/MyFundraisingPage?ID=1466&AID=1695&PID=602510&Preview=Y

March Madness

08:30 Sunday (long run time)

Ok, enough is enough...
it's time to move on.
This weather is getting repetitive.

The clock's have sprung forward,
but Spring is definitely lagging behind.

And today more snow. 10-20cm due to fall on Ottawa, which will make for slippery conditions for a few days.

Temperatures have been freezing since the start of March. 

We have had some brutal wind-chill,
which was especially unpleasant for Sunday's long steady run.

On a brighter note there are great things happening this month:

• Surpassed the $300 mark in fundraising;
• Already run over 400km this year;
• Next week I have been invited to participate in a Start2Finish 'Running & Reading Club' in Ottawa; and
• On 26 March I'll be running at the oldest road race in North America: Around the Bay in Hamilton.