We are back, still alive although a bit more tired today than we were last Friday.
Our (Ken and I) trip began Friday afternoon in Totenham Ontario at 5:00 pm. I picked up Ken at the local grocery store and after a quick Tim Horton's stop we were on the 400 series of highways heading for Buffalo and eventually Florahome Florida. There isn't much to say about the drive except that after we drove for a couple of hours and stopped for gas just outside of St. Catherines we got lost getting back onto the highway heading for the bridge to the USA, pretty funny when you get lost in your own backyard. This set up what was truly a great ride down to Florida. I guess all you need to know is we made is safely and we were still friends when we got there :)
We drove all night long and took turns taking naps in a reclyined passanger seat and between songs and downloaded pod casts from Trail Runner Nation we managed to sleep 4 or 5 hours each, just enough to keep the car moving forward. We arrived at our motel in Florahome on Friday afternoon at 1:00 pm and after another short nap we afternoon attended the pre-race meeting, picked up the swag bag and then Ken got back into the car like a trooper and returned to Jacksonville to pick up Michelle at the airport.
Race morning: Up at 5:30 for the typical pre-race breakfast. I even took a Tim Horton's tea bag with me as to not mess up the usual Tim's large tea and a cinamon raisan bagel. Once breakfast was over and we found our way down County Road 100 to the race start line, 6:45 and I was ready to go.
Race start, 7:00 am. It was about 18 degrees at race start and the humidity was pretty high. Michelle and Ken got my drop bag ready for the far end of the course and with the threat of rain I was just hoping we'd get the first 10 or 12 miles in before the rain started. Luckily this was the case and as a matter of fact shortly after the race start the sky cleared, the temperature rose to about 28 degrees and the humidity remained at about 90 percent.
My first 50 miles went very well. I had a plan to get it done in or around 9:45 in order to keep my goal of finishing under 22 hours alive. I reached the 50 mile turn around in 9:35 and felt very good and truly ready to knock the socks of the course over the nexst 50 miles. More on the second half later.
As I ran along the straight out and back 12.5 mile loop I learned a lot of things about Ultra's in Florida, hopefully no one takes offence to this but here is what i discovered: for the most part anyone running in the southern states would rather put their head down and not say a word to you as they pass you going the other way. Of course there are a few exceptions to this rule but not many. I was some what dissapointed in the level of hospitality of the other runners during the event. I even have a funny story about one of the runners I came across at the 67.5 mile mark. It goes a bit like this:
It was night time by the time I reached the turn around for the third time. I had been following a head light from a distance for some time and although I was closing the gap it wasn't happening very quickly. Once I crossed a wood railway tressil approx. 1 mile from the turn around I decided to run as much as I could and attempt to catch the light ahead of me before the turn around. Looking for any small victory I thought this was a good goal and 200 yards over the next mile seemed attainable. I got a drink at the aid station and didn't stop knowing I'd be back at the aid station in 3 miles, so I set out after the head lighte ahead of me.
I met my goal and right at the turn around I caught up to the gentleman ( I use that term carefully). Having only gained 200 yards on this person over the last 8 or 9 miles I had no intent on passing or pushing forward, instead thinking this is someone I could run with until I meet Ken in just 12.5 more miles. After a quick introduction I found out his name was Mike and he was from the state of Indianapolis. I asked him how he was feeling and his reply wasn't unexpected, "feeling a little tired and sore and we have to do this one more f__ckin time". My reply was simple, "we can do this man!" Well imagine my surprise when his reply in a cold sharp voice was, "WHAT IS THIS WE SHIT?" I quickly rephrased my comment, "you can do it." After that I decided it was time to walk and I'd let Mike go on ahead of me, I guess I wasn't feeling the love.
Time for something else I've learned about Ultra's outside of Ontario. Don't count on food, they just may not have any. The aid station folks were ok, not bad but not great, the food selection however, a bit less than I had expected. There was a good supply of pretzels, chips, M&M's, salt tablets, Tylenol, oranges, and peanut butter and jamb sandwiches, however not much more than that. I guess I am used to some of our events around here where you can get a piece of pizza, slice of lasanga, chili etc. They gave out two gels at the race meeting but there were no gels on the tables at the aid stations and the water in Florida.....well it does have a lot of swamp land, need I say more?
Ok, back to the race, from mile 67.5 to 70 went pretty well for me, I was getting tired but still on pace to complete my race in just under 22 hours. Going into aid station no. 2 I had decided had a few minutes to sit down and rest before making my way back to the start finish and my last loop. What a great surprise, Ken had decided to meet me there and do the lasat 30 miles with me. This was a huge boost for me, I sat for about 2 minutes and I was ready to go. Soon after leaving the aid station I told Ken about the food and how hungry I was. He turned around and headed back to the aid station to tell Michelle to go back into town and get me pizza. By the time we returned to the start finish, Michelle had arrived with three pieces of pizza (not even after 75 miles do I like mushrooms and onions on my pizza). I ate one of the pieces, got some HEED and a salt pill at 11:30 at night and I was confident that 22 hours was within my reach.
The next 8 or 9 miles seemed to go as I would have expected, I ran a bit, I walked a bit, I was feeling tired but not overwhelmed, aid station no. 2 was behind us and all I had to do was make aid station no. 3, turn around and go back. Pretty Easy.....NOT. For the first time in my very short Ultra career, I hit the wall. Now I can finally say I know what Bonking is. It hit, it hit hard and it wasn't pretty. We passed the aid station and after eating the pizza, drinking the tomato soup, 2 packages of sport beans, a salt pill I was convinced that I could sleep while I walked and when I say walk, I mean one step frontwards and one step sideways then one step to correct the path I was on. I would say that from mile 9 to mile 10 probably took 1 hour. This is were a great pacer really helps. Ken turned to me and said, Scotty, if we go this slow breaking 24 hours will be in jepoardy. I'm not sure he could have been any more clear but I could take you back to the exact place he said that to me and I remember waking up and thinking that that is not an option. The light came back on and it was only 10 miles to the finish and I was making it in under 24 hours come hell or high water. Maybe a bad saying in the state of Florida.
Once I was a bit more awake I told Ken about our friend "WHAT IS THIS WE SHIT", that guy. Needless to say Ken nicknamed him Nintendo. We started running again and guess who the first person we caught on the way back in, Nintendo. That pass felt pretty good and I'm thinking this is were the second pack of sport beans kicked in. The last 10 miles went extremely well and we covered the last 4 miles in 50 minutes to get to the finish in 22 hours, 29 minutes and 30 seconds. A personal best by 47 minutes.
I now have 2 buckles in 2012, its a long way from the goal but it's one step at a time and I'm looking forward to New Jersey in March. Thanks again to both of you for reading this, makes me smile that someone actually take the time to complain about spelling, grammer and my mindless banter. Thank you for reading this.
More a bit later on our trip home, the weather we encountered and a few details about our shopping trip, my training and all other good things running.
Congratulations to my friends still keeping the Febuary Challenge alive and well, what a great inspiration. Keep up the good work.
12 in 12, 12 buckles, 1 goal.
Friday, 24 February 2012
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Ready, Set....Go, I mean drive to Florida, then Go
Good Afternoon:
Well it's Tuesday February 14th, Happy Valentines Day everyone. I hope you have someone special to share you day with.
I am getting excited and ready to leave on Thursday afternoon for the Iron Horse 100 in Florahome Florida. It will be a world win trip for sure. Ken and I will be leaving on Thursday after work and it will be a non stop trip in order to make it there for the mandatory meeting Friday night at 6:00 and a pasta dinner. Then to bed early on Friday night and up and ready for a 7:00 am race start. According to the weather networks it looks like a low of 9 degrees and a high of 16 degrees with a 30% chance of rain on Saturday and Sunday so I think I"m ready for a wet race. That's ok with me, it will be 16 degrees, aka, shorts and a t shirt :)
This past month has been a good training month but hasn't come without its small victories and defeats. I took 6 days off after Beast and felt pretty sluggish during my first two recovery runs. It wasn't until late in the first run that after each of my previous 5 - 100 milers and 2 - 24 hour events, I generally took almost a month and even 3 months once after a 100 miler so no wonder 6 days felt a little odd. I set a training goal of between 160 and 180 kms of training in the three weeks leading up to Florahome. I think as of today I"m at 160 so short term goal reached and we'll see how this sets me up on Saturday. The small defeat was signing up for the February Challenge on Facebook. My month got off to a good start but only took 11 days to come to a crashing hault. More on that next.
I posted on Facebook that my Challenge came to a end after a visit to the hospital. Here is why I felt rather foolish during my 6 hour visit to the hospital with some chest pain:
My company participates in a variety of different staff events throughout the year, these activities range from golf, baseball, curling, skiing etc. and this month we decided to play hockey at a rink in Guelph near our office. Twenty Two of our staff suited up in what was a great one hour of shinny hockey that made everyone's cheeks sore from laughing at great goals, good moves and even a few awkward falls, trips and the occasional water bottle spray. Needless to say, on the return trip to Barrie I started to feel some chest pain and by the time I got to highway 9 and the 400 I was rather uncomfortable and feeling a bit nervous. I decided to go into Newmarket to Southlake Hospital to get this looked at. After being treated like a king and moved to the front of the line I felt much better once i was lying on a bed and relaxed. So I laid there for 6 hours, took three tylenol because they made me and then two childrens aspirins (they made me take those too but they were chewables and I must admit, tasted like candy). At the end of the day and 6 hours of testing turns out I'm just old and pulling a few muscles in my chest trying to keep up to a bunch of 25 year olds who play hockey a few times a week isn't such a good idea. So the rest of this week, rest, daily visits to the chripractor and a heating pad to try to get all the muscles relaxed before spending 22 hours in a car and hopefully 22 hours running a 100 miler in Florida....did i mention 16 degrees yet?
My goal for this weekend, see if I can break the 23 hour barrier. By all accounts the course looks pretty flat and with temperatures warmer than we are having now and hopefully no snow we'll see how it goes.
Thanks again (to both of you) for reading this mindless banter. I look forward to putting together another short video for my web site when we get back and updating my blog page as well.
Special thanks to Michelle for her exceptional orgainizational skills and taking care of everything else so I only have to worry about running, thanks to Ken for coming along, putting up with me on the trails and not pushing to hard, not to mention driving 22 hours with me.
Until next week my friends, happy trails.
Well it's Tuesday February 14th, Happy Valentines Day everyone. I hope you have someone special to share you day with.
I am getting excited and ready to leave on Thursday afternoon for the Iron Horse 100 in Florahome Florida. It will be a world win trip for sure. Ken and I will be leaving on Thursday after work and it will be a non stop trip in order to make it there for the mandatory meeting Friday night at 6:00 and a pasta dinner. Then to bed early on Friday night and up and ready for a 7:00 am race start. According to the weather networks it looks like a low of 9 degrees and a high of 16 degrees with a 30% chance of rain on Saturday and Sunday so I think I"m ready for a wet race. That's ok with me, it will be 16 degrees, aka, shorts and a t shirt :)
This past month has been a good training month but hasn't come without its small victories and defeats. I took 6 days off after Beast and felt pretty sluggish during my first two recovery runs. It wasn't until late in the first run that after each of my previous 5 - 100 milers and 2 - 24 hour events, I generally took almost a month and even 3 months once after a 100 miler so no wonder 6 days felt a little odd. I set a training goal of between 160 and 180 kms of training in the three weeks leading up to Florahome. I think as of today I"m at 160 so short term goal reached and we'll see how this sets me up on Saturday. The small defeat was signing up for the February Challenge on Facebook. My month got off to a good start but only took 11 days to come to a crashing hault. More on that next.
I posted on Facebook that my Challenge came to a end after a visit to the hospital. Here is why I felt rather foolish during my 6 hour visit to the hospital with some chest pain:
My company participates in a variety of different staff events throughout the year, these activities range from golf, baseball, curling, skiing etc. and this month we decided to play hockey at a rink in Guelph near our office. Twenty Two of our staff suited up in what was a great one hour of shinny hockey that made everyone's cheeks sore from laughing at great goals, good moves and even a few awkward falls, trips and the occasional water bottle spray. Needless to say, on the return trip to Barrie I started to feel some chest pain and by the time I got to highway 9 and the 400 I was rather uncomfortable and feeling a bit nervous. I decided to go into Newmarket to Southlake Hospital to get this looked at. After being treated like a king and moved to the front of the line I felt much better once i was lying on a bed and relaxed. So I laid there for 6 hours, took three tylenol because they made me and then two childrens aspirins (they made me take those too but they were chewables and I must admit, tasted like candy). At the end of the day and 6 hours of testing turns out I'm just old and pulling a few muscles in my chest trying to keep up to a bunch of 25 year olds who play hockey a few times a week isn't such a good idea. So the rest of this week, rest, daily visits to the chripractor and a heating pad to try to get all the muscles relaxed before spending 22 hours in a car and hopefully 22 hours running a 100 miler in Florida....did i mention 16 degrees yet?
My goal for this weekend, see if I can break the 23 hour barrier. By all accounts the course looks pretty flat and with temperatures warmer than we are having now and hopefully no snow we'll see how it goes.
Thanks again (to both of you) for reading this mindless banter. I look forward to putting together another short video for my web site when we get back and updating my blog page as well.
Special thanks to Michelle for her exceptional orgainizational skills and taking care of everything else so I only have to worry about running, thanks to Ken for coming along, putting up with me on the trails and not pushing to hard, not to mention driving 22 hours with me.
Until next week my friends, happy trails.
Saturday, 28 January 2012
The Beast Follow Up - moving forward
Beast of Burden: 1 of 12 Race Update
Well its been a week since the first step in 12 in 12 has been completed and I would have to say that is went about as well as I could have expected, so here is how it went:
So the race started on Saturday January 21st 2012 and it got off to a great start. The sky was blue and without a cloud. The temperature was -4 degrees and there was very little wind, and with an inch or two of fresh snow we couldn't have asked for better conditions.
I started out the race with Mary Lou and we quickly came up with a plan to run our first 25 in 4:30 and our first 50 around 11:00 and Mare made me a promise not to wait for me, looking back, I'm glad she kept that promise. At mile 37.5 I had to make some clothes changes and Mare was out of Middle Port in just a few minutes and I spent a few extra minutes there and spent the next 18 hours chasing her. More on that a bit later.
I wore my new Salomon XT gortex wings and my go to socks, a pair of Merino Wool Ice Breakers but as luck would have it, for the first time my socks bunched under my right foot and toes and I could feel a couple of blisters coming on, this would mean at mile 50 I would need to take a few more minutes to make a shoe and sock change. I got to the turn around at 10:30 and was pleased with my pace over the last 12.5 miles. I'd banked enough time to make my sock and shoe change and not put myself behind schedule.
I struggled a fair bit over the next 12.5 miles and began to wonder if I'd done enough training to complete the 100 miles. I remember going through this exact feeling with the other 100's I've done so I started singing and just trying to focus on each of the bridges along the route.
The weather stayed great for the entire day, once the sun went down and the temperature remained somewhat steady there were very few clouds and even a bunch of stars, it was going to be a good night.
At each turn around I continued to see all of the familiar faces, first Mary Lou and Ken then Maryka and Charlotte, it is so much of a relieve seeing people you know and hearing all of the good things that go with participating in an Ultra. As usual Michelle was at each of the aid stations making sure I had the stuff I needed at each turn and getting my gear and food ready for the next time I came into an aid station, what a big help and boost that was. Michelle got my shoes and socks changed in record time at mile 50 and I was in and out of the station in a time that would have made Ken proud. I also have to thank Stephane, Kinga, Chris and Jocelyn, four more Canadians who made their way to Lockport to pace and volunteer at the race and at each aid station always polite and ready to lend a hand to help in any way they could, you guys all did a great job, thank you all very much for the support, encouragement and assistance. Great Job.
I met a bunch of great people at the event and as always Sam and his team did a great job putting on the race, providing support and good food at the aid stations, from hot dogs, popcorn and pizza at each station to hot chicken broth, they kept us fueled and ready to go.
During the race I didn't wear my watch so out on the course I wasn't aware of the time of day or my time during the race, this turned out to be a good thing and I continued to get to the aid stations before my scheduled time and I found that sitting at the start and the turn around for just 5 minutes to enjoy a piece of pizza and something warm to drink served as a good plan as the first hour of each leg seemed to go very well and I'm confident this was time well spent. I know Ken will be disappointing I spent time at an aid station but to try to make up for it my stop in Gasport (middle aid station) was only a few seconds at best, usually to pick up a gel, occasionally a cup of chicken broth and then back to the trail.
The race ended for me at 23:16, a personal best for me and a boost of confidence heading to Florahome, Florida next month for the second leg of my 12 in 12.
Here are some other notes from the weekend:
Mare finished the race and was the first woman and her time was about 22:40. Way to go Mare, great job!
Michelle and Ken did a great job, thank you both for everything you guys did to help me get through the first leg.
It was great to see Diane and Henri in Lockport for a few minutes, thanks to both of you for driving all that way to see some of your ultra buddies.
A very special thank you to Saul and Ashley at Artik Promotions for the generous donation of technical shirts with the 12 in 12 logo, they look great and I can't wait to start wearing them.
I also learned on the way to Lockport on Friday evening that I have been selected as one of the Running Free ambassadors for 2012, more on this in another blog, it deserves one of its own. Thank you to the folks at Running Free, Barrie. I will do my best to represent your store and brand as best I can.
The gentleman at the border going back to Canada was pretty funny, I guess he hasn't seen anyone crazy enough to run a 100 miles in one day, made entry back to Canada pretty easy. Thanks sir.
The last thing, its Saturday, one week later and it's time to get back on the road or trail in preparation for leg no. 2. The goal is to run 180 - 200 kms in the next 14 days then take five days off before we head to Florida.
I will update this page at least once more before we go and let you know how its going.
Thanks to all of you for reading this......both of you.....hahaha. Have a great day, keep smiling and happy trails.
Scott
Well its been a week since the first step in 12 in 12 has been completed and I would have to say that is went about as well as I could have expected, so here is how it went:
So the race started on Saturday January 21st 2012 and it got off to a great start. The sky was blue and without a cloud. The temperature was -4 degrees and there was very little wind, and with an inch or two of fresh snow we couldn't have asked for better conditions.
I started out the race with Mary Lou and we quickly came up with a plan to run our first 25 in 4:30 and our first 50 around 11:00 and Mare made me a promise not to wait for me, looking back, I'm glad she kept that promise. At mile 37.5 I had to make some clothes changes and Mare was out of Middle Port in just a few minutes and I spent a few extra minutes there and spent the next 18 hours chasing her. More on that a bit later.
I wore my new Salomon XT gortex wings and my go to socks, a pair of Merino Wool Ice Breakers but as luck would have it, for the first time my socks bunched under my right foot and toes and I could feel a couple of blisters coming on, this would mean at mile 50 I would need to take a few more minutes to make a shoe and sock change. I got to the turn around at 10:30 and was pleased with my pace over the last 12.5 miles. I'd banked enough time to make my sock and shoe change and not put myself behind schedule.
I struggled a fair bit over the next 12.5 miles and began to wonder if I'd done enough training to complete the 100 miles. I remember going through this exact feeling with the other 100's I've done so I started singing and just trying to focus on each of the bridges along the route.
The weather stayed great for the entire day, once the sun went down and the temperature remained somewhat steady there were very few clouds and even a bunch of stars, it was going to be a good night.
At each turn around I continued to see all of the familiar faces, first Mary Lou and Ken then Maryka and Charlotte, it is so much of a relieve seeing people you know and hearing all of the good things that go with participating in an Ultra. As usual Michelle was at each of the aid stations making sure I had the stuff I needed at each turn and getting my gear and food ready for the next time I came into an aid station, what a big help and boost that was. Michelle got my shoes and socks changed in record time at mile 50 and I was in and out of the station in a time that would have made Ken proud. I also have to thank Stephane, Kinga, Chris and Jocelyn, four more Canadians who made their way to Lockport to pace and volunteer at the race and at each aid station always polite and ready to lend a hand to help in any way they could, you guys all did a great job, thank you all very much for the support, encouragement and assistance. Great Job.
I met a bunch of great people at the event and as always Sam and his team did a great job putting on the race, providing support and good food at the aid stations, from hot dogs, popcorn and pizza at each station to hot chicken broth, they kept us fueled and ready to go.
During the race I didn't wear my watch so out on the course I wasn't aware of the time of day or my time during the race, this turned out to be a good thing and I continued to get to the aid stations before my scheduled time and I found that sitting at the start and the turn around for just 5 minutes to enjoy a piece of pizza and something warm to drink served as a good plan as the first hour of each leg seemed to go very well and I'm confident this was time well spent. I know Ken will be disappointing I spent time at an aid station but to try to make up for it my stop in Gasport (middle aid station) was only a few seconds at best, usually to pick up a gel, occasionally a cup of chicken broth and then back to the trail.
The race ended for me at 23:16, a personal best for me and a boost of confidence heading to Florahome, Florida next month for the second leg of my 12 in 12.
Here are some other notes from the weekend:
Mare finished the race and was the first woman and her time was about 22:40. Way to go Mare, great job!
Michelle and Ken did a great job, thank you both for everything you guys did to help me get through the first leg.
It was great to see Diane and Henri in Lockport for a few minutes, thanks to both of you for driving all that way to see some of your ultra buddies.
A very special thank you to Saul and Ashley at Artik Promotions for the generous donation of technical shirts with the 12 in 12 logo, they look great and I can't wait to start wearing them.
I also learned on the way to Lockport on Friday evening that I have been selected as one of the Running Free ambassadors for 2012, more on this in another blog, it deserves one of its own. Thank you to the folks at Running Free, Barrie. I will do my best to represent your store and brand as best I can.
The gentleman at the border going back to Canada was pretty funny, I guess he hasn't seen anyone crazy enough to run a 100 miles in one day, made entry back to Canada pretty easy. Thanks sir.
The last thing, its Saturday, one week later and it's time to get back on the road or trail in preparation for leg no. 2. The goal is to run 180 - 200 kms in the next 14 days then take five days off before we head to Florida.
I will update this page at least once more before we go and let you know how its going.
Thanks to all of you for reading this......both of you.....hahaha. Have a great day, keep smiling and happy trails.
Scott
Thursday, 19 January 2012
long overdue, hopefully worth the wait - 12in12 begins in 40 hours
Hello All:
Well this is long overdue and I have to make time to update my blog on a more regular basis. Lots has happened since November 24th, that's for sure. I'll ty to keep this short and somewhat to the point but here is a snap shot of all the good the bad and the ugly since the end of November.
First of all, my first trip to Las Vegas was in the first week of December and my good fellow ultra man Pat and I participated in the Las Vegas Rock and Roll Marathon. I've never done a marathon before and I was excited to learn that 44,000 other people would be participating in the half and full marathon events. Little did i know that 40,000 were in the half and I would be sandwiched somewhere in the middle of that pack once i completed my first half. Luckily I had no experience with this and thought it to be somewhat normal, all i was there for was to run, enjoy the lights, colors and people of Las Vegas. I finished my first marathon (24.6 miles) to those who I've told my story, to all others....read on, and I got to the finish line (the 26.2 mile one) in 3:54:30, pretty happy with my first attempt and special thank you to two Oakville ladies, Christine and Erin (sure hope i got that right). You two helped me through the middle of the race and Erin pulled me from 25 miles to 26.2.
Ok so here is my 24.6 marathon distance story: the first 23.9 miles went very well and I was extremely pleased with my progress and timing along the way. When i got to the 24 mile sign along the strip in Vegas i somehow convinced myself that a marathon was 24.6 miles long, my watch said around 3:32 and i was very excited that all i had to do was another 600 yards in 7 or 8 minutes and my first marathon would be in the books and i'd have met my goal and exceeded it by 20 minutes. Pretty damn good and pretty easy I thought so I started to sprint, put my ipod onto one of my favorite songs and took off like a rocket. Needless to say, it was a really long and tiring 600 yards and imagine my dissapointment as i approached the 25 mile sign. It wasn't until this point it dawned on me that a road marathon was 26.2 miles and not 24.6 miles and the 100 or so people i passed from 24 to 25 were surely confused about my new found energy and speed. Well i ran a sub 8 minute mile from 24 to 25 but had little or no gas left to finish the final 1.2 miles (a full marathon distance as luck would have it).
This is were Erin from Oakville comes in. At the 25 mile sign she caught me and asked me how it was going, I was pretty tired and even thought about walking the final stretch of the race. Thankfully Erin wouldn't let that happen and 10 or 12 minutes later we were entering the finishing corral and my first marathon (and most likely my last) was completed in under 4 hours. Goal reached, off the bucket list.
My training since Vegas has been going pretty well. Of course I've taken some time off that i shouldn't have, I've shorten runs I shouldn't have but i've added miles on some days and ran on the days I've felt great, hopefully it all comes out in the wash. I made a plan to run 3 times during the week and at least one long run on weekends, do date that has gone as planned. With Beast (1 of 12) just a day and a half away of course there are tons of questions. What am i doing? Am I ready? Should I have taken this week off? Why am i tired? Do i have everything packed? I'm going to MEC after i finish writing this tonight, what do I need there? Why am i going there again? Can't Saturday just get here already? Geeezzzzzz
Two weekends ago I participated in Run 4R Kids at York University. This is a short 230 metre indoor traack event adn this year was 6 hours in length. I learned a lot that day as well. First and foremost, runners are the most amazing group of people on our planet. What a great bunch of people, always supportive and so cool to see people who knew my name and I didn't know there's but it was so great to finally meet them and put a face to a name. It was great to meet Steve for the first time, talked on Facebook a few times, shared information but first time we actually introduced oursleves. Felt really good to run along side of Jack for 5 or 6 laps until I could no longer keep up. Of course Michelle did an amazing job that day and I was more happy about her passing her goal and doing such a great job. Mare, what can we say about you, you're a machine girl, it's always a pleasure seeing how strong you are. I hope the first 50 miles this weekend I have enough gas in the tank to keep you company. Don't forget our deal though, no waiting on me... Pinky Swear!
Maryka, easily the most consitent runner of all times. You are amazing. Cathy, wow! each week on Daily Mile you log more miles than i do, you do the spin classes etc. Which one of us is training for a 100 miler? I completed 58.8 kms in 6 hours, I went witih a goal of 53.6 so I was happy to get past the goal but based on how good i felt for the first two hours I was a bit dissapointed in how the 3rd and 4th hours went for me, it was a big wall and really slowed me down.
Of course Run 4R Kids is all about my friend Scott. What an amazing story he is and certainly serves as an inspiration to me and when i get some pictures posted on the web site it should be no suprise to anyone that any shots of Scotty G and I together we have a huge grin on our face or we are laughing out of control. How can you not love being around a guy that always makes you feel that happy? Congraulations Scotty another great event and it is always great to see you.
I would also like to thank a huge group of people. Michelle for all of your understading and putting up with this crazy schedule, Ken for pacing and helping at Run 4R Kids, Maryka, Jodi. Mare and Cathy for listening to me in Palgrave during our training runs, I know i talk to much. Thanks for putting up with all of that. To Diane (Dirty Di) for the great job on my web site and not being made every time I make a change (daily by the way) and to Artek Promotions for the over the top generosity on the donation of http://www.12in12.ca/ technical shirts for the events this coming year.
Well 12in12 starts in 40 hours. I'm excited, I'm nervous but most of all i'm thankful for all my family, my friends and all of the well wishes I have received over the past few months. I can't wait to share this with all of those who are interested in hearing about it and thank you all in advance for listening and putting up with me.
Thanks Mich, this is something I could have even started without you....xoxox
I promise to write next week about Beast of Burden. Buckle number one!
Well this is long overdue and I have to make time to update my blog on a more regular basis. Lots has happened since November 24th, that's for sure. I'll ty to keep this short and somewhat to the point but here is a snap shot of all the good the bad and the ugly since the end of November.
First of all, my first trip to Las Vegas was in the first week of December and my good fellow ultra man Pat and I participated in the Las Vegas Rock and Roll Marathon. I've never done a marathon before and I was excited to learn that 44,000 other people would be participating in the half and full marathon events. Little did i know that 40,000 were in the half and I would be sandwiched somewhere in the middle of that pack once i completed my first half. Luckily I had no experience with this and thought it to be somewhat normal, all i was there for was to run, enjoy the lights, colors and people of Las Vegas. I finished my first marathon (24.6 miles) to those who I've told my story, to all others....read on, and I got to the finish line (the 26.2 mile one) in 3:54:30, pretty happy with my first attempt and special thank you to two Oakville ladies, Christine and Erin (sure hope i got that right). You two helped me through the middle of the race and Erin pulled me from 25 miles to 26.2.
Ok so here is my 24.6 marathon distance story: the first 23.9 miles went very well and I was extremely pleased with my progress and timing along the way. When i got to the 24 mile sign along the strip in Vegas i somehow convinced myself that a marathon was 24.6 miles long, my watch said around 3:32 and i was very excited that all i had to do was another 600 yards in 7 or 8 minutes and my first marathon would be in the books and i'd have met my goal and exceeded it by 20 minutes. Pretty damn good and pretty easy I thought so I started to sprint, put my ipod onto one of my favorite songs and took off like a rocket. Needless to say, it was a really long and tiring 600 yards and imagine my dissapointment as i approached the 25 mile sign. It wasn't until this point it dawned on me that a road marathon was 26.2 miles and not 24.6 miles and the 100 or so people i passed from 24 to 25 were surely confused about my new found energy and speed. Well i ran a sub 8 minute mile from 24 to 25 but had little or no gas left to finish the final 1.2 miles (a full marathon distance as luck would have it).
This is were Erin from Oakville comes in. At the 25 mile sign she caught me and asked me how it was going, I was pretty tired and even thought about walking the final stretch of the race. Thankfully Erin wouldn't let that happen and 10 or 12 minutes later we were entering the finishing corral and my first marathon (and most likely my last) was completed in under 4 hours. Goal reached, off the bucket list.
My training since Vegas has been going pretty well. Of course I've taken some time off that i shouldn't have, I've shorten runs I shouldn't have but i've added miles on some days and ran on the days I've felt great, hopefully it all comes out in the wash. I made a plan to run 3 times during the week and at least one long run on weekends, do date that has gone as planned. With Beast (1 of 12) just a day and a half away of course there are tons of questions. What am i doing? Am I ready? Should I have taken this week off? Why am i tired? Do i have everything packed? I'm going to MEC after i finish writing this tonight, what do I need there? Why am i going there again? Can't Saturday just get here already? Geeezzzzzz
Two weekends ago I participated in Run 4R Kids at York University. This is a short 230 metre indoor traack event adn this year was 6 hours in length. I learned a lot that day as well. First and foremost, runners are the most amazing group of people on our planet. What a great bunch of people, always supportive and so cool to see people who knew my name and I didn't know there's but it was so great to finally meet them and put a face to a name. It was great to meet Steve for the first time, talked on Facebook a few times, shared information but first time we actually introduced oursleves. Felt really good to run along side of Jack for 5 or 6 laps until I could no longer keep up. Of course Michelle did an amazing job that day and I was more happy about her passing her goal and doing such a great job. Mare, what can we say about you, you're a machine girl, it's always a pleasure seeing how strong you are. I hope the first 50 miles this weekend I have enough gas in the tank to keep you company. Don't forget our deal though, no waiting on me... Pinky Swear!
Maryka, easily the most consitent runner of all times. You are amazing. Cathy, wow! each week on Daily Mile you log more miles than i do, you do the spin classes etc. Which one of us is training for a 100 miler? I completed 58.8 kms in 6 hours, I went witih a goal of 53.6 so I was happy to get past the goal but based on how good i felt for the first two hours I was a bit dissapointed in how the 3rd and 4th hours went for me, it was a big wall and really slowed me down.
Of course Run 4R Kids is all about my friend Scott. What an amazing story he is and certainly serves as an inspiration to me and when i get some pictures posted on the web site it should be no suprise to anyone that any shots of Scotty G and I together we have a huge grin on our face or we are laughing out of control. How can you not love being around a guy that always makes you feel that happy? Congraulations Scotty another great event and it is always great to see you.
I would also like to thank a huge group of people. Michelle for all of your understading and putting up with this crazy schedule, Ken for pacing and helping at Run 4R Kids, Maryka, Jodi. Mare and Cathy for listening to me in Palgrave during our training runs, I know i talk to much. Thanks for putting up with all of that. To Diane (Dirty Di) for the great job on my web site and not being made every time I make a change (daily by the way) and to Artek Promotions for the over the top generosity on the donation of http://www.12in12.ca/ technical shirts for the events this coming year.
Well 12in12 starts in 40 hours. I'm excited, I'm nervous but most of all i'm thankful for all my family, my friends and all of the well wishes I have received over the past few months. I can't wait to share this with all of those who are interested in hearing about it and thank you all in advance for listening and putting up with me.
Thanks Mich, this is something I could have even started without you....xoxox
I promise to write next week about Beast of Burden. Buckle number one!
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Post No. 2 - Training is underway
Well first of all I want to thank the two people who are following my page, very cool and I am honoured and want to apolgize for taking this long to enter my second post. Here is my update from over the last 10 days.
Since my last post i've been pretty busy. I participated in a hockey tournament as an on ice official in Elmvale last weekend and refeered 15 hockey games in 3 days so that meant about 20 hours on the ice Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I did fit in 8 kms on Saturday between my morning games and my afternoon games. That run felt good and the weather was fantastic. Sunday however I was just to tired and stiff to get any miles in. Monday night was a good short run and felt pretty good. I can tell the fitness level is starting to return and I'm feeling more comfortable each time out.
I bought two new pair of shoes this past week, I got a pair of Nike Lunaglide 3's as well as a pair of Salomon XT Gortex Wings. Both pair seem to be a good fit for the road and trail running.
I leave for Las Vegas on Wednesday with my friend Pat, he and I will be participating in the Rock and Roll Marathon Saturday December 3rd. I think Pat will be a really long ways ahead of me. My finish goal is to try to get over the finish line before 4:00:00. For me that would be fantastic however I'm not going to hurt myself to get there in 4 hours. I have to keep the long term goal in sight and this will be a great warm up for 2012.
I have registered and paid my entry into Beast of Burden and Iron Horse in Florida in February. Later this month I will register for New Jersey and try to stay a couple of months ahead of each event in terms of registration.
I am still looking for some small sponsors, anyone or any company who can offer small pieces of the puzzle that may be needed. I was dissapointed not to be selected for the North Face program, I was really looking forward to that and as I usually do, put the cart way before the horse. I'd even taken some time to scope out their stores and online sites to see what I would use the money on, lesson learned. I won't do that again.
After Vegas next week I will continue to run as much as I can and I've also registered for the 6 hour Run 4 R Kids event at York University in January. I think that will be my final long run before Beast on January 21st.
I will try to keep the updates coming. Thank you for reading my information and happy trails....till next time.
scott
Since my last post i've been pretty busy. I participated in a hockey tournament as an on ice official in Elmvale last weekend and refeered 15 hockey games in 3 days so that meant about 20 hours on the ice Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I did fit in 8 kms on Saturday between my morning games and my afternoon games. That run felt good and the weather was fantastic. Sunday however I was just to tired and stiff to get any miles in. Monday night was a good short run and felt pretty good. I can tell the fitness level is starting to return and I'm feeling more comfortable each time out.
I bought two new pair of shoes this past week, I got a pair of Nike Lunaglide 3's as well as a pair of Salomon XT Gortex Wings. Both pair seem to be a good fit for the road and trail running.
I leave for Las Vegas on Wednesday with my friend Pat, he and I will be participating in the Rock and Roll Marathon Saturday December 3rd. I think Pat will be a really long ways ahead of me. My finish goal is to try to get over the finish line before 4:00:00. For me that would be fantastic however I'm not going to hurt myself to get there in 4 hours. I have to keep the long term goal in sight and this will be a great warm up for 2012.
I have registered and paid my entry into Beast of Burden and Iron Horse in Florida in February. Later this month I will register for New Jersey and try to stay a couple of months ahead of each event in terms of registration.
I am still looking for some small sponsors, anyone or any company who can offer small pieces of the puzzle that may be needed. I was dissapointed not to be selected for the North Face program, I was really looking forward to that and as I usually do, put the cart way before the horse. I'd even taken some time to scope out their stores and online sites to see what I would use the money on, lesson learned. I won't do that again.
After Vegas next week I will continue to run as much as I can and I've also registered for the 6 hour Run 4 R Kids event at York University in January. I think that will be my final long run before Beast on January 21st.
I will try to keep the updates coming. Thank you for reading my information and happy trails....till next time.
scott
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
My First Blog - So the Journey Begins Now
Good Afternoon everyone:
This is my first go round at this sort of thing and i'm excited to get started. Maybe not so good at it yet, but I've got all year to get better!
My training for my 12 - 100 milers started officially this past weekend, although I had gotten out a few times in the past couple of weeks the kick off began Friday evening. It all started with a visit to the local running store to find some new shoes. I traditionally run in Brooks Cascadia's and I'm pretty sure that will always be my go to shoe however this trip I found a pair on Nike Lunaglide 3's and to my suprise a pair of Salamon XT Gortex Wings that fit me perfectly so I couln't resist the chance to add a second pair of gortex shoes to my collection for the winter 100 coming up in Lockport, Beast of Burden.
So with some new shoes and a couple of my friends telling me it was time to get my act in gear I started out Saturday afternoon with Ken on a 16 km trail run. Although the conditions were a bit muddy in spots I am happy to report the XT wings performed as expected and I am happy with the purchase so far.
Sunday I went out for a 25 km road run with Maryka and it was time to test the Nike road shoes. Luckily the shoes preformed much better than I did. They were comfortable, I was not. Sadly Maryka ended up walking a good portion of the final 5 or 6 kms with me and I truly lived up the the "Princess" tag her and Jodi have labelled me with. Trusting with a bit of luck I can shed the nickname in the not to distant future (although I doubt it).
So, off to a slow start this weekend but i had a good tempo run last nigt on an indoor track. Nothing earth shattering but a quick 5 kms to work on some foot speed and try to shake off some more of the rust that has gathered since the Scotiabank Half Marathon.
I am off to Las Vegas on November 30th and looking forward to participating in the Rock in Roll Marathon on December 3rd. This will be a great kick start to January 2012. I have also registered for Run4Kids at York University in January and I think the 6 hour event will be an excellent measuring stick for my preparation for my first 100 miler in 2012.
I want to personally thank everyone who has helped me to date with what at times seems to be a silly adventure. Every day I grow a little bit more excited about it and I'm really looking forward to it. Of course I can use all the help I can get so if you are interested in pacing, crewing or can offer any suggestions, support, running tips etc. I am listening and always grateful for your help and support.
I do have a web site now and the address is http://www.12in12.ca/ please check that out and if you can help you are welcome to email me and we will provide updates to schedules and events as often as we can.
Ok, forgot one thing. I did make my application to Western States in June. If anyone has any connections to the Race Director, you know, if it's your brothers best friends sisters boyfriend or anything like that I'd really appreciate if you put in a good word for me :)
12 buckles, 1 goal
This is my first go round at this sort of thing and i'm excited to get started. Maybe not so good at it yet, but I've got all year to get better!
My training for my 12 - 100 milers started officially this past weekend, although I had gotten out a few times in the past couple of weeks the kick off began Friday evening. It all started with a visit to the local running store to find some new shoes. I traditionally run in Brooks Cascadia's and I'm pretty sure that will always be my go to shoe however this trip I found a pair on Nike Lunaglide 3's and to my suprise a pair of Salamon XT Gortex Wings that fit me perfectly so I couln't resist the chance to add a second pair of gortex shoes to my collection for the winter 100 coming up in Lockport, Beast of Burden.
So with some new shoes and a couple of my friends telling me it was time to get my act in gear I started out Saturday afternoon with Ken on a 16 km trail run. Although the conditions were a bit muddy in spots I am happy to report the XT wings performed as expected and I am happy with the purchase so far.
Sunday I went out for a 25 km road run with Maryka and it was time to test the Nike road shoes. Luckily the shoes preformed much better than I did. They were comfortable, I was not. Sadly Maryka ended up walking a good portion of the final 5 or 6 kms with me and I truly lived up the the "Princess" tag her and Jodi have labelled me with. Trusting with a bit of luck I can shed the nickname in the not to distant future (although I doubt it).
So, off to a slow start this weekend but i had a good tempo run last nigt on an indoor track. Nothing earth shattering but a quick 5 kms to work on some foot speed and try to shake off some more of the rust that has gathered since the Scotiabank Half Marathon.
I am off to Las Vegas on November 30th and looking forward to participating in the Rock in Roll Marathon on December 3rd. This will be a great kick start to January 2012. I have also registered for Run4Kids at York University in January and I think the 6 hour event will be an excellent measuring stick for my preparation for my first 100 miler in 2012.
I want to personally thank everyone who has helped me to date with what at times seems to be a silly adventure. Every day I grow a little bit more excited about it and I'm really looking forward to it. Of course I can use all the help I can get so if you are interested in pacing, crewing or can offer any suggestions, support, running tips etc. I am listening and always grateful for your help and support.
I do have a web site now and the address is http://www.12in12.ca/ please check that out and if you can help you are welcome to email me and we will provide updates to schedules and events as often as we can.
Ok, forgot one thing. I did make my application to Western States in June. If anyone has any connections to the Race Director, you know, if it's your brothers best friends sisters boyfriend or anything like that I'd really appreciate if you put in a good word for me :)
12 buckles, 1 goal
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