Last weekend (April 9) I lined up to compete in the newly named Race Roster Spring Run off 8km, formally the Harry's Spring Run off. Post-Achilles 5km, the 4 weeks of training leading up to race day could not have possibly gone any better. I was carrying zero injuries, and my stride felt completely free during workouts. Free to surge as I pleased, and for the first time in ages it seemed, I was able to just walk out the door and start running without having to get myself mentally psyched up to push through any injury and the accompanying pain. As I mentioned previously I've been following a plan by the world's best running coach, Jack Daniels, who has coached numerous Olympians and national class runners. The only minor alteratation I made on the program would be on occasion pushing the Thurs workout to a Friday (Good Friday) so I could prepare better, and one other case where I changed the date of a workout to accommodate for weather. Over the 4 weeks my training looked like this:
March 14 - March 20: 142 km Running (over 6 days, 1 day off); 290km Cycling (over 5 days), 9 km swim (over 2 days); 3 hours strength training
Key Run Workouts that week: Tues: 6x5min at I pace (3:12/km);
Thurs: 25 min T pace (3:21/km) then 4 x 200m at R pace (33 seconds);
Sat: 60min M pace (3:30/km)
March 21 - March 27: 152 km Running (over 7 days), 290 km Cycling (over 7 days); 3 hours strength training
Key Run Workouts that week: Tues: 2x10min (T/I pace) on 1 minute recovery followed by 10k easy, then 2x10min (T/I pace) same recovery -- pace was between 3:12/km-3:16/km (total of 40minutes at T pace);
Friday: 30 min M pace straight into 5 minutes T pace straight back into 30 min M pace --> ended up with 12 miles in 1:06 flat which is 3:25/km for 19.4 km and 1 more mile for 1:11 half marathon on my own in ice storm
March 28 - April 3: 133 km Running (7 days, 1 just 10k shakeout), 380km cycling (over 7 days), 3 hours strength
Key Run Workouts that week: Tues: Track Session: 2 sets of 1,2,3,2,1 min R pace intervals on 1 min recovery, 5 minutes between sets pace ranged from 2:48/km to slowest of 2:58/km
Friday: 20 min T pace, 10 min T pace, 5 min T pace (averaged 3:18/km for 10.66 km) 5 minute recovery between intervals
April 4 - April 10: 140 km Running (7 days, 1 just a shakeout, 1 race), 170 km Cycling (4 days Recovery week in base plan, last week before enter build phase), 3 hours strength, 5 km swim
Key Run Workouts that week: Mon: 30 minute M pace straight into 20 minutes T pace --> overall 15 km in 50 minutes which is 3:20 per kilometre continued on is 1:10 half marathon (route including 8 turn arounds since only a 2 mile stretch where there wasn't any ice on road and that would put it into 1:09 high range)
Thurs: Pre-Race Workout: 2-2-3-2-4-2-3-2-2-2 minutes on 30 seconds recovery overall 7.64 km in 24:00 (3:08/km)
Saturday: Race Day
Was feeling very confident that I would be able to lay down a good race given the weeks of great workouts leading into race day. Unfortunately the weather wasn't exactly cooperating, and combined with the hilly nature of the course in high-park, I knew I would need a more a cross-country directed mindset on race day, where time was irrelevant, and it would just be all about placing and effort. There was a strong north wind making the -4 degree air temperature feel -14. Damn cold for my split shorts and singlet. I had never been in high park before, and about 1 km into my warmup realized it was very hilly. There would be only 1 stretch along the course which would be close to flat for about 800 m, and up and down and twisting around for the rest of the course, with two bigger hills at the 3km and then the final 8 km where the race featured a #killthehill challenge - They put a timing mat at the bottom of the hill and the finish was right at the top of the hill, and whoever went up the hill the fastest would get an additional prize. This race always gets a stacked field and this year was no different with approximately 25 elite male runners, including myself.
During my warm-up I ran into Paul Rochus, another great runner who has competed on McMaster's Cross Country and track teams for the last few years, and who teamed up with me this fall to do our long runs together. While the rest of the team would go do there long runs going up and down hill after hill and scampering around rocks, roots, and trees, Paul and I preferred our long runs to be at a little faster of a pace and all about locking into a pace and into a rhythm, so we would keep our long runs on the rail trail and pump out more distance in less time. Paul also recently joined the Skechers Performance team, and debuted in the half marathon at the Chilly Half this March with a sizzling 1:09:40.
At 10:15 we were off, and the race got out crazy fast. For the second race in a row I was kind of sleeping at the wheel so to speak, and slow to react to the leaders moving out very quickly. I took way too long to recognize the situation and I knew given the conditions it would be paramount that I get into a pack. We turned up the hill at the 1km point and I was in a group that I knew I had to get out of soon. So despite turning now back into the strong N wind, after a lot of thought in such a short period of time saw Paul's way up ahead and decided I needed to try to split this long gap solo to them. I cut to the outside from behind my pack and surged up. I calculated in my head that based on the size of the gap this would be about a 7-10 minute long effort to get up to them so I made sure not to completely go into the red early in the long effort. Fortunately about after a couple minutes 2 of the runners from the group fell back and I picked them up and used them for some assistance for then next 2 minutes. After the hill at 3km was hurting a bit, but by 4km I had narrowed the gap to 9 seconds and just kept repeating over and over in my head that I would catch Paul's group. I kept repeated over and over that with each stride I was gaining and would eventually get them. At 5km I got another one of the runners who had fallen off, and at that point it was only Paul and Matt Loiselle (a 1:04 half marathoner, and 2:16 marathoner) left up ahead. Right after the 5km point there was an incredibly steep twisting downhill, no more than about 30 m long, which I did not see until I got within a stride of it, thanks to a big tree at the top of it. It took me by surprise and entered the steep drop at about 2:50/km and almost fell head over heels, and I had to brake very hard in a hurry. Thankfully there were no cameras/recorders there since I actually swore pretty loudly when I braked really hard. But continued on, and now there was a decently flat stretch near the bottom of the park. I had past Matt soon after the descent, and Paul was next in my sights. One runner in front of Paul, pulled out of the race, and now I figured I must actually be in a decent placing. From 15:30 into the race until 18:00 my pace didn't drop below 3:04/km and could feel I was putting myself back into a decent time. Was now less than a few seconds back from Paul and heard at 7km we we in 7th and 8th. My goal heading into the race was top-10. Leading up to the #killthehill hill I put approximately a 15 second long (not very long I know) surge in and made a clean pass on Paul. Shouted a word of encouragement to me teammate as we made our way onto the base of the hill. Powered up it but was trying to save the slightest amount of energy, because I had thought that at the top there would be a plateau and then a couple hundred meters to the finish line. I figured with Paul close behind me that final couple hundred meters would be a grind sprint to the finish with a guy who has much more track and cross country experience than myself, so I tried to conserve a little energy for that effort. Unfortunately, this is why it pays to see a course in person before-hand because right at the top of the hill lay the finish line. While I crossed still in the lead over Paul, was marginally disappointed since had I known the finish came up so soon I would've given a much harder effort on the hill. Regardless, it was a fantastic race, and result, finishing 7th overall in such a powerhouse field, finishing on this course and with the cold and wind in 25:55 (which on a flat course I would think is in the 25:20-30 range (in fact the grade adjusted pace on strava puts it at 25:28)), and also managed to nab first in my age category for a nice shiny gold medal. What I was most pleased with was how I battled. After missing the boat on the first kilometre to get into the fast group, I could have easily coasted with the second group and run 27 or something, like I did last year after missing the lead group at Around the Bay 5km. But I didn't, I said to myself, I didn't come here to coast, and even if this is going to take a huge solo effort to get up to the first group I'll try my best, and battled and battled for the better part of 5.5km solo to finally make it up to the group and then go on to finish ahead of them. Was very pumped, and figured given my current fitness level, and beating runners who have run 1:09 half marathons, and 1:04 half marathons, that come May 1st in Mississauga I would dismantle my pb of 1:11:03.
The next day I got up early and was super motivated to continue on this great stretch of training. Got to the pool nice and early, had a good swim and was pumped to get out and tackle a steady easy pace long run (as the program suggested). Throughout the first 10-15 km or so I was just thinking about my race, and Mississauaga coming up. Kilometers were rolling by. Until after about 75 minutes I felt something weird in my right leg. It felt like my right whole leg got really heavy, and my knee gave out 2 or 3 times. Based on where the pain in my knee was I figured it was a minor irritation, some patellar-femoral pain (runner's knee), continued to the finish of the run and actually ended up finishing quite strong. However, now and again the knee/leg would get this feeling. It's very hard to put into words but it felt like a vice going around my knee joint and making the rest of the leg below feel very heavy and like it was wanting to give out. I iced the knee afterwards however, the leg continued to hurt throughout the rest of the day, not crazy 10/10 pain, but it was definitely sore and causing my to have a very minor limp. On Monday, that limp was a whole lot worse, and decided to take the day off running. On Tuesday, the pain was definitely still there is the morning, but as the day wore on the pain improved and by the evening I felt ready to run again. I had a workout scheduled for that night, and decided I would warm-up and after about 25 minutes warmup decide if I could go on with the workout or not. After the warmup I could feel it but it was nothing crazy. It was more in my mind than anything, and didn't feel my stride was affected. The workout was 3x5min T pace on 1 min rec, then 3x3 min I pace on 2 min rec, than 3x400m R pace 400 m rec. Got through the first 3 5 minuters at 3:15/km and thought that was that, minor blip no big deal. First 3 minute at 3:08/km, second 3 minute got to 1:30 in and within a stride or two after the halfway mark of the interval stopped dead in my tracks. It felt like barbed wire wrapped tightly around my entire knee. I stopped, and tried to hobble home. Wednesday, I could barely walk, Thursday was not much better. By Sunday I felt like the worst had past and after jumping up and down in the basement here at home, I thought I was good to give it a go. I tried to be smart, and would run about 45 minutes very slowly along and would re-evaluate then and give my usual pace a go. After 45 minutes I could feel it but I guess the slow pace was never putting my leg into that same position that caused the major issues and when I ran up to my easy pace, same thing from the Tuesday night, and had to walk about 1 hour back home. Now here the bizarre thing, after the run, and the day after, and now here 2 days later it is not my knee that I feel at all, instead it feels like my tibia has a stress fracture in it. Completely baffled how a stress fracture would be able to come up so suddenly since it's like like I've being running through this at all, and why on Sunday, and Tuesday I felt such severe pain around my knee not my lower shin bone.
At this point this is seeming like a pretty severe injury, whatever it is, and Mississauga is off. Likely Ottawa Half Marathon which was my back-up incase I didn't hit my goal time in Miss. is off as well, as well as Barrie. Overall, looks like my season of racing is over. The pain is actually so bad that in the pool I'm unable to kick, which would also mean my Half-Ironman plans are off. At this point nothing is on the schedule, nothing looks remotely doable. So this long stretch of injuries just keeps seeming to continue, on a on. With past injuries I could feel them coming, and I'll admit my stubbornness helped to precipitate them. For instance in December when I stopped running due to a stress fracture, I had been dragging myself through runs for more than a month and a half at that point. With this what sucks the most is that I went from the best training and racing in my life to not being able to get up easily out of chair, go up or down the stairs, or take a pain free step, within a 1 day span. I was believing that I had turned the corner, and could finally start legitimately improving again. I can't improve by training 1 or 2 months at a time before getting injured for a month. It takes 6 weeks alone to reach a new level of fitness, but that's assuming your starting from your baseline. The last 3 years it usually takes 4 weeks before I feel I'm even at my baseline again, then I'll get a couple weeks at the most out of it to increase my fitness level before getting another injury, and having to start from ground zero again. Based on 2:34 marathon in 2013 which really seems like a lifetime ago now, I should have been already well on my way to being on the cusp of breaking 2:20 in the marathon. I was thinking this fall I would run Scotiabank again, and rock a mid 2:2x:xx, but it is actually impossible for me to even sign up for races anymore that far in advance because I'm unsure whether I'll be injured or not come race day. It really seems as though right now it's not even a question of will I get injured or not, and instead what will get injured. I'll try to update you on my status, but I won't promise it will be soon as I don't want to write blog posts about such depressing topics. I would like to someday write posts about the future, and improvements, and goals, and dreams being accomplished. Instead right now, I feel like I had this fire burning within, and it's been extinguished. I don't feel any hope and desire is left in my body or mind to go through this again. And I'll admit that while I enjoy biking, and sometimes enjoy swimming, nothing and I mean nothing in the world makes me feel how I feel out on a run. It's not like this magical thing out there from start to finish of a long run or something, of course there are times out there mid-interval where I feel my heart pounding, and breathing becoming out of control that I'm not enjoying it, but it's every now and then for a few short moments out on a run, that I feel happy and like whatever is going on in my life doesn't matter. Soon the moment will pass, but it's that feeling that I'm in search of each and every time I go out the door to run. In a way it's because it's so brief that make it that much more special. And why I'm addicted to it. It's why I don't just give up, and finally say enough is enough. Because despite the horrible lows that I've experienced due to injury over the past few years, it's that short short moment of happiness and satisfaction that makes it something I need in my life, and why I will not give up.
