Race Recap: 2012 Really Chilly Road Races

Well, the first race of the season is behind me now, and I can breathe a sigh of relief and find contentment in the results I posted this past weekend.In my race preview I laid out my goals, and in the very last sentence said I hoped I could squeak in under 17:00.  Well, I did!  I ran 16:57 for the distance, and finished 5th overall, behind 3 of my club mates!

The weather was amazing. Calm skies, a gorgeous sun and bone dry roads. Everything was lining up perfectly.

The horn sounded at 9:45 sharp and the runners were off. Right off the start I found myself with my fellow training partners, and not many else around me. By the half km mark I was joined by a few other ambitious fellows who would later on fall off the pace we had set early in the race. By the 1km split I was feeling great, and saw that my watch read 3:19 for that split. All was well, as I continued to forge on down Dundas St, into the residential area between Dundas and Florence.

The 2nd km was also a breeze, and the slight uphill, and tight turns in the residential area resulted in a 3:23 split, still well within reason. My 3rd km was yet again, a 3:19, but as I worked my 4th I could feel my legs starting to tie up a bit, and the head wind did not do anything to help my case. I trudged down Florence street towards the Agriplex, and I clocked my slowest km at 3:25. The final km of the course has a harsh turnaround, an up and down (the only REAL hill of the entire course) and we finish in the Agriplex to the roaring applause of the crowd.  I finished strongly, with a 3:21 for the 5th km, but it turns out my Garmin's km splits didn't match the course's, so there is an extra 6-7 seconds to my final time that I wasn't expecting. Ah well!

All in all, I'm very satisfied with this kind of result so early in the year. I'm full of confidence, and I'm clearly fit. It's time to keep putting in the work, and trust the work. It's that simple.

Here are my splits according to Garmin

Full results are here:

http://www.chiptimeresults.com/resultsreader.php?y=2012&r=rcreallychillyS.htm

Race Preview: 2012 Really Chilly Road Race

Well, it seems I've been so caught up in doing the daily work that my first race of the year crept up on me without me noticing. This coming Sunday I'll be racing the 5km road race at the annual Really Chilly Road Races in London (Ontario). I raced in the 10km edition last year, but frankly, I don't know why I did. I dislike racing anything longer than 5km, so this year I'm doing the logical thing: racing 5km.  Also, I had a very unpleasant experience in the 10km last winter, feel free to read all about it (including graphic evidence in the post) in my race recap from 2011. Quoted from my race recap last year:

I'm pretty sure that from now on, if there is a 5km option to a race, I'm opting for it. Screw these painful 10km road races, at least when they are XC races the scenery is enjoyable.

So, it's now 2012 and I'm geared up for this weekend's race.  I'll be bringing out some new racing flats, the New Balance RC152, and with the confidence I've built up since the new year, I'm hoping for a solid outing come Sunday. So now it's time to play the goal game...

B Goal

So, my B goal is to clock a sub 17:10. I cranked out a 17:10 last April, as my first 5km of the year, and I'm confident that I am as fit if not fitter at this stage of the year.

Goal Time: Sub 17:10 (3:26/km)

A Goal

My A Goal is to crack 16:50, and this depends entirely on how I respond to the pace required to accomplish this goal. 16:50 is approaching my seasonal best of last year, and I remember just how much I had to dig for that one. Am I fit enough this early in the season to repeat that effort? Will the weather cooperate? Who knows....but I know how to find out.

Goal Time: Sub 16:50(3:22/km)

So, in order to succeed at these goals, I need a game plan. I've decided that the first 2km will be a touch conservative, at 3:24/km - 3:26/km pace and the 3rd km will be a few second faster. Then I'll have to gauge how I am feeling, and that will tell me how I should attack the last 2 km. If all goes well, I'm hoping to dip below 3:20/km in the last 2 km, and squeak in below 17:00!

Somebody That I Used To Know...

That's right. My first running update with a song title! Am I finally cool in the blogosphere? I've always found it really weird to title a blog post with the name of a song, especially when your readers simply can't make the connection. Can someone explain?

Regardless, since my last update, my running has been going better with each day. My MCL is slowly settling down, and other than a tightness when I wake up, I'm feeling great throughout the day and my runs. My volume is slowly returning, and I returned back to proper workouts this past Thursday with an indoor track workout of 150s and 200s.

I leave you today with a music video that has had quite an impact on me lately, I can't stop watching it. Enjoy!

Running Log 2012: Week #01

Wow, it's been ages since I've done one of these. I figured I had some great training and races while I logged each week's running details, so here I am again, hoping this helps me out.

This week was a roller coaster ride. I've been dealing with knee pain since mid December of last year and it came to a point this week where I couldn't go more than 1km without wanting to saw my legs off. So I did what anyone would, and should do, I called a physiotherapist. As always, the fine folks at CBI Health took me in a flash, and I was scheduled on Friday to see Rob Wingert. I cannot recommend Rob enough. Give CBI a call and ask for Rob, he'll fix you up in no time. Since then I've managed to run 2km, 5km and then today, a whopping 10km nearly pain free.  So it looks like I'll be 100% healthy before long!

I'm itching to do my first workout of the new year, here's hoping that happens this week.

My 2012 Running Goals

Gotta run before we die!!

Well, 2012 has kicked off and before we know it I'll be writing down my 2013 running goals. Why is it that time just seems to stream by faster and faster as you age?

So last year saw me put in some solid kills week after week, and I finished the year with an average of 68.6km/week and nearly 3600km for the entire year. I'm rather satisfied with these numbers, especially since my first 6 months of last year were a little rocky as I adjusted to the volume and intensity. I predict that should not be as pronounced this year, but as I write this I am currently sidelined with a mild MCL sprain. Seems like January is the month for injuries.

I also posted some great results on the track (well, one great result) and some fine efforts on the road. In order of awesomeness:

1. My Epic return to the 1500m on the track, with a blazing 4:21!
2. My 10km lifetime PB of 34:54 late last fall.
3. My 5km road win in Sudbury, covering a rolling 5km in 16:48!

Last year's work has set me up very well for this year, even though I can't shake the feeling that my current MCL sprain is setting me back some. In order of importance to me, here are my goals for the year:

1. Stay Healthy and Injury Free!
1. Core/General Strengthening 3x weekly
2. Stretch/Roll/Massage 3x weekly
2. Run an average of 75-80km/week, for a yearly total of 4000km
1. High Weeks of 110km
2. Low Weeks of 75km
3. Race as much as I can physically handle, and fit into my schedule
1. 1-2 times per month after April
4. Dip below the following times:
1. 1500m:   C - 4:20,    B - 4:15,    A - 4:10
2. 5000m:   C - 16:48,  B - 16:30,  A - 16:00
3. 10000m: C - 34:54,  B - 34:30,  A - 34:00
5. Find my ideal racing weight, more on this later!

And there you have it folks. I'll be chasing these goals throughout the year and my blog posts will certainly build up around these goals and I'll be sure to keep you in the loop. I hope you've also got 

Version 5 of my Core Strengthening Routine for Runners

It's 2012 folks. It's January. It's prime New Year's resolution season and if you included running in your goals for the year, you might want to include some general strengthening as well. This is my 5th version of this routine and I've removed one exercise and added another. As always, I update the routine whenever I get injured, and well it's that time of the year again isn't it. I hope you enjoy using the routine and let me know if anything isn't clear.

• 3 x (15 ball squats. Stand feet apart about 8-10", clench pillow or ball between knees. Squeeze while squatting.) vastis medialis/adductor activated
• 2 x (40 single leg hikes. Laying on stomach, prop hips up with foam roller, bring foot close to butt, raise foot to the sky while concentrating on activating the gluteus maximus. Repeat for both legs) gluteus maximus activated
• 2 x (40 single leg lifts. Place back against wall, bend lower leg at 90 degrees and place foot firmly against wall. Point toes of top leg towards ceiling and raise leg along the wall.) gluteus medius activated
• 2 x (15 static lunges, alternate forward leg) nearly all leg muscles, emphasis on adductors, quads, hamstrings 
• 2 x (60 second planks for: chest up, chest down, left arm down, right arm down) abs, obliques, adductors, hamstrings
• 3 x (15 declined situps, with 4lb medicine ball on chest) upper/mid abs activated
• 3 x (15 declined leg raises) lower abs activated
• 3 x (15 straight leg deadlifts, 50lb barbell) posterior chain activated (back, hamstrings, glutes)
• 3 x (20 pushups, push up bars) chest/biceps/triceps activated
• 2 x (10 ups, 10 downs. Come up on one foot, shift weight to other leg, drop down on that leg, shift weight to other leg, come up. You are essentially drawing a square with your body by shifting your weight from leg to leg in the up and down motion of the calf raises. Alternate for both legs) soleus activated 
• 3 x (30 toe pulls. Sitting on a smooth floor, place a towel in front of you on the ground, and simply pull the towel towards you by using your toes. Alternate for both feet). General activation of key foot muscles
• 2 x (10 hip rotators. Standing on all fours, take the right leg, swing your leg back and knee out and bring the leg forward and bring your knee back beneath your hip. This swing/rotate action should be done forward and backwards for each leg.)