Running in Hawai'i!

We were on Oahu two weeks ago for vacation and since I couldn't bike, I decided to run more that I have been lately in order to maintain fitness. As, it get hot pretty quickly over there, I had to get-up and run around 5:30am ... which is early, but not that early for me, although I was on vacation. Oh well, maintaining fitness first, right?

We were staying in the Ko'Olina area (which have a bazillion fancy resort) which, while very nice (and fancy) doesn't really lend too well for running. Sure, there's a nice walk-way right in front of the resorts on which to run, but it's kinda short, so if you want to do anything longer than 5k, you either have to do that run several times or venture out onto the ... highway. I ended-up doing both.

In total, I ran 5 times during the week, finishing on our last day there by an 18km run, which I could have easily push to 21km. I regret not doing that as it will have been my first (unofficial) half-marathon in Hawai'i. Oh well, next time maybe?

Early season injury? #2

So, I ran yesterday late afternoon (with the wife) an easy 8k, my second this week, and unfortunately the hip/groin pain is back ... :( Definitely not as stingy as before the break, but nevertheless there. I suppose I should go see my family doctor to get refereed to a sport physician ... :(

Spring is here!

Hullo! I'm back ... Okay well, I didn't really left but there wasn't much to report since last November. Here's a brief TL;DR of what happened until today:

• As the weather got crappier I had to wind down my usual cycling commute to work (and week-end rides)
• I increased my running to compensate, running to and from work at least once a week (at one point, my total odometer for the week was 70km, I had run to/from work twice that week)
• Since winter was kind of mild this year, I resumed commuting to work on my bicycle early February (that is a good month earlier than usual)
• In March, I restarted cycling longer distance on the week-end (and/or on the way to work)

During the off-season, my weight went up a little (+1.5kg), but it's back down to my race weight (55kg) since last week :)

This year, I was planning (if you recall) to enter two Duathlon in my area (Vancouver, BC), but I kinda dropped the ball and missed the first one and won't be in town at the time of the second one :( So no racing for me this year ... Which isn't that much of a bummer really, considering both events had ridiculously small distances. I wish Duathlons were as popular as Triathlons and had longer distances ...

My goal for 2013 is to do a couple of century rides (mile ones, so +160km) as well as maybe a half-marathon in the fall and I'm participating to this year Vancouver Sun Run (late April), but it's only a 10k so not much of an endurance challenge ...

Double runs, double trouble?

Last week, I ran to work and then back home twice (Monday & Friday). That's the first time that I did such a repeat twice within the same week ... I also ran Tuesday (8km), Wednesday (10km) and Thursday (8km). I took the week-end off (crappy weather helped) since that was a total milage of 62 kilometers for the week. Since the weather is declining and that the cycling season is now in its twiligt, I have been trying to ramp-up my running by doing such repeats. I'm not sure I can do it more than a couple of time per week without risking some sort of injury ... In fact, after a ran yesterday (on top of my usual commute by bicycle), I started to feel pain in my left lower calf (Achilles tendon?) ... So I'm taking it easy for the next few days. #fail

The Victoria Marathon

I have been procrastinating on this post for a week now and I'm not too sure why ... Maybe it's because I don't really want to move on, especially now that Autumn is now unleashing the full force of his wetness on us. Anyway ...

I ran the Victoria Marathon last Sunday in 3:22:07 (chip time), which turns out to be not to bad. This is only my second Marathon (first one was 9 years ago in Paris) and possibly my last one. Why? Mainly because training for one takes too much time away from cycling. I'm an aspiring duathlete, after all ;-) However, as soon as I was done with this one, I was kind of pondering on registering for some more ... So, who knows, I may do the Edge 2 Edge one which is located in a very scenic part of Vancouver Island. In any case, I'll definitely do some Half-Marathons.

So ... I got up Sunday morning at 5:30am (my usual wake-up time on week days) and had my usual long run breakfast (bagel + peanut butter + banana + chia seeds) and also drank 0.5l of water in which I had disolved a Nuun tablet. At 6:45am, 2hrs before the start of the race, I had half a cup of (strong) coffee. I could have waited some more as to have the full effect of caffeine at the start of the ace, but I wanted to make sure I will not have to stop during the race to pee (this had been an issue during my first Marathon). At 8:30, my father-in-law dropped us near the starting line and after a short line-up for the porta potty we were all ready for the start at 8:45. The weather was pretty good with a nice empty blue sky, however it was a little chilly, so since my running outfit was pretty minimal, I wore a plastic bag to keep myself a little warmer. That is something I have picked-up from racing in Europe which isn't as popular in Canada.

Since I wore my bulky Garmin GPS device, I was able to map the whole race on Strava:

After the start, the wife and I stayed together for the first 2 kilometers or so. The idea is to ramp-up slowly and to avoid succumbing to the excitement and over do it so early in the race (a classic mistake). At the 3rd kilometer, feeling pretty good I accelerated and maintained a pretty good race pace (as fast at 4:11/km) up to kilometer 30 where, un-surprisingly, the quads on both of my thighs started to ach rather painfully. During the 28 kilometers I ran at an higher pace than usual, I was well aware of the risk I was taking. I was feeling pretty good and decided that this was a good time to see what I was capable off. During my first Marathon back in 2003, I had taking it so easy (and finished it in a very un-glorious time of 4h15) that I had enough energy left at the end to sprint the last kilometer. I just didn't want to do the same thing this time around ...

With both my thighs becoming painfully sore, I had to choice by slow down my pace to 5:09/km and up to 5:41/km during the 41st kilometer. I probably could have stopped and walked a bit (like many other runners did), but this isn't something that I have ever done during a race, and I wasn't going to do that. When people started passing me, which had not happened until I had to slow down, I definitely started to feel like an idiot ... :( Anyhow, I was happy to reach the finish line within the time I have set for my goal.

Nutrition wise, I had taken with me 3 dates to be consumed in case of emergency, but the occasion never came up as I relied, rather heavily, on the race provided energy gels. This wasn't my original plan, but as went for most of the race on a higher pace than usual, I though that I may run myself into the infamous wall. So, I gobbled-up as much as gels as I could snatch from the volunteers handing them out. I probably had 3 or 4 of them and drunk at most water stations (mainly energy drinks). As the result, I didn't feel out of stamina during the whole race.

Before the race, I was expecting my knees and calfs to cause me some pains, but I barely felt them during the race which was pretty cool. Overall, I'm not dissatisfying with my performance, just a bit disappointed at myself for not having the judgement to lower my pace to something that I could have maintained up to the finish line.

Lesson learned, I suppose ...

1/3 Marathon before The Marathon

This morning we did our last long run before next sunday Marathon. I didn't push myself much as at this point I'm mainly focusing in not getting injured right before the race :P

The run to & back work experiment #2

Ran to and from work today as a second experiment with an average pace bellow 5:00/km. The weather was kind of crappy on the way back, which was kinda lame. However, I better get used to liking running in the rain if I'm going to do that more often during Fall and Winter.

I'm taking tomorrow off and then Sunday, we're scheduled for our last long run (14km) before the Marathon next week-end.

Busy Monday #4

Yesterday was in all probability (considering we're already in the late part of September) the last of my Busy Mondays for the season. Which can of sucks, but as the weather is already changing and that the Marathon is now in less than 2 weeks, I'll won't get another opportunity to go for a longer ride until mid October ... At which time most days will be rainy (that's what you get for living in Vancouver).

Anyhow, because I'm trying to not stress my body too much for the next 2 weeks, I only went for a 80k ride to start my day:

With an average of 31.7kph, I didn't exactly ride easy, but I didn't push hard either ... Anyhow, after riding home (9km), we went for a run for which I felt a bit under-fueled (as usual ... when will I learn?) and we clocked with an average pace of 5:13 ...

My calf compression bands were in the wash (bad scheduling!) so I ran without them, for the first time in months. It felt a little weird and I could swear that I could feel my calf's muscle bouncing around a bit as I ran ... My right calf definitely felt sorer than usual after the run :-\

Run to Stanley Park (21K)

Saturday we ran our last long run in preparation for the Victoria's Marathon which is now in less than 2 weeks. I had follow my now usual feeding routine on the morning (bagel + espresso), but since we didn't correctly carbo-load the two nights before, I wasn't really feeling all that up to running an half-marathon that morning. However, I started feeling more energetic after 10 minutes or so and we completed the distance in 01:45:46 with an average pace (05:01/km) at the one I'm aiming for the marathon.

Here's the run's details on Strava:

Just like for our previous long run, I refrained from eating anything during the run, and relied on my now usual energy drink (tea + maltodextrin) to keep my blood's sugar level from diving. 

I was planning to go for a 120km bike ride this morning (Sunday), but the wife reminded me that the last time I didn't take a day break between a long run and a long ride, I injured my calf. So as a mesure of precaution since we're now within 2 weeks of the Marathon, I took the day off .. :(

Being "The Flash" ... for once

I surprisingly had one of my fastest (if not the) 8 km run yesterday with an average pace of 4:24/km ... I said it was surprisingly since it looks like I'm at the onset of a Bronchitis (which I get most of the time I catch a flu). Anyhow, my left thigh was still a little painful, but once I got warmed-up it didn't bother me. I could have run a little faster actually, but my co-worker (with whom I have been running frequently for the past 7 years) couldn't keep-up and started falling back.

Clearly, there's no way I could maintain that pace for a marathon ...

Run to Stanley Park (30k)

Saturday run to our now usual long distance target went pretty well. This time around, I didn't forgot to drink my espresso two hours before we got going, however I followed the tips from Allen Lim, and decided to not take any food during the run itself and only rely on my usual energy drink (minus the Chia seeds) just to keep my blood sugar level elevated (and replace my electrolytes).

Since the infamous wall lives around the 30km mark for most people, I was curious to see if I will run into it (didn't ran into it last time I ran a marathon either) ... And, It wasn't the case as I feel pretty energetic all the way (with an average pace of 5:10/km). Obviously the 2 days of moderate carbo-loading plus a bagel (with peanut butter, chia seeds and one banana) 3 hours before the start of the run was enough to fuel me throughout the run. As a measure of precaution, I did carry a bunch of dates ...

Two days prior to the run, I started feeling one of these weird pains at the top of my left calf, not unlike other pains I have felt recently on my calfs. So I wore my compression bands (on both calfs) as prevention most of the two days and, of course, during the run (as usual). In the end, I didn't feel any calf pains during the run (nor after), just some mild knee pains. However, starting yesterday afternoon (so 24 hours after the run) my left thigh started being painful (rectus femoris?) when at ease. I cycled to work this morning and didn't feel anything special. Anyhow, I'm supposed to run this late afternoon so I'll see how it goes ...

Overall, I have to say that since I started wearing compression bands on my calfs when running, my calf pains have pretty much vanished. I know there's a lot of debate on the effectiveness of them, but it appears to be working for me ... or that's just a coincidence.

Here's the run details on Strava:

Busy busy Monday

A few weeks ago I started trying to do one long ride (+80km) per week. Since we're in priority training for a Marathon in October, I used to have to alternate between a long run on the week-end or a long ride. But then one day I realized that on the week that follows a long run, I could just do my long ride on my way to work ... Sure I get to work a little bit late that day, but that's no biggie ;-) No sure why I didn't think about doing that earlier in the season (or in the previous years).

Here's this morning commute:

It's a pretty flat route, perfect for working and improving my speed and spending as much time as possible in aero position (ouch!). The Iona part (which is on the side of the Vancouver's Airport and appears to be a pretty nice park BTW) is a pretty popular segment on Strava among the local cyclists. The leader of the leader-board has a an average speed of 50kph ... Gasp! 

At the end of the work day, I had to go home (which is a usual 9k) and then we went running. We were planning on doing a 10k today, but the wife wasn't up to it, so we only did a 8k:

Considering I had already depleted by glycogen stores earlier that day (I did consume a little bit of food during the day), I felt pretty good until the last kilometre or so even with a bee sting on my right hand. Seems I should try to stay clear of bushes at that time of the year ...

Run to Stanley Park (26k)

Since we had timed our run to minimize the chance of (literately) running into the Lululemond organized half-marathon down-town, by the time we got to where we may meet the event, they had already cleared the trail. It's only as we got closer and closer to Stanley Park that we started to notice here and there on the floor spent energy gels :) Anyhow, our run went well. I was afraid I'll get that mysterious calf pain I have been experiencing for a few weeks, but it wasn't really the case (I did feel it on my left calf for a bit around the 9k mark). I was wearing compression bands on both legs, just in case ...

As I couldn't find Honey at home when preparing my energy drink this morning, I used Maple Syrup instead. It doesn't have a glycemic index as high as Honey, but definitely higher than Agave Syrup. I was a little worry the drink (which is a cold tea) may taste a little weird, but it wasn't the case and it was actually a lot less sweeter than with Agave Syrup.

After the run, we took the little guy to the outdoor swimming pool at Second Beach. Cooling the legs in the pool was kinda nice, however, since the pool is right on the seawall, it's windy and kinda cold so we didn't stay too long.

Carbo-loading & Energy bars!

So we just carbo-loaded some with a pretty yummy Kale/Lentils/Pasta soup (with Tofurkey sausage) made by da wife. I think she's planning to post the recipe online so I'll link to it when she's done so. She also made some "Larabars" for tomorrow run. It's a different recipe than the one from last week. I'll see to get the recipe as well ;)

Speaking of carbo-loading ...

The wife and I (and the kid in his running stroller) are doing another long run tomorrow (part of our Marathon training). I'm pretty excited about it since it will be the first time in 9 years than I will have gone above the distance of 21k (the last time was at the Paris Marathon back in 2003). To prepare for that run (25k), we only ran twice this past week (11k each time) and I have been taking it a little bit easier on my commuting rides.

Following my post from last night, I realized that my homemade energy drink wasn't actually what I needed during a long run (or ride) since I have to reload some glycogen as fast as possible and that Agave Syrup has a low Glycemic Index (bummer). I may have to switch back to Honey until I can get some Maltodextrin which seems to be a favorite of many endurance athletes.

Fashion victim?