What was your most memorable training run?

[Dstew]

I was reminiscing and thought of one my very first long runs. It was 2004 and I was going to run the Calgary marathon that back then was held in July. My winter training was a treadmill and a 200 meter track with my focus on breaking the 20 minute barrier in a 5 K race. As a side note I tried and failed in March and then succeeded in May and June. So as you can imagine, a lot of speed work but not a lot of endurance training. The marathon was to be one and done, something to check off the bucket list and so did not believe I needed a training program. Golf was still my main hobby and so the long runs were fit in when I could not get a tee time. The distance was around 29 K and that was because I would run from my house, around the Glenmore Reservoir and then back home. Those 3 or 4 runs, no log or journal so only a guess, nearly killed me. Late May I conclude I have no idea what I am doing and so go to the Runner's World marathon forum. I was informed that my peak mileage might barely suffice so a good start but I needed to run at least double that They also provided other tidbits such to run a marathon meant one could not even walk through the aid stations and it was better to be dragged off the course and put into the medical tent then to walk. This advise did not seem all that helpful but I was arrogant enough to buy into the no walk break mentality or so I thought I was. So on went back onto the net, read the various expert coaches and decided to follow Galloway's advice to run 40 K but you would not catch this cowboy Gallowalking. Four weeks to the race, this long run was now or never and so I head out the door. Thunderstorms were predicted for later in the day but I would be finished long before then.

So I am steady but at least slow and manageable pace for around 15 k. I am running up the Nose Creek pathway system and over my left shoulder I see wrath of god type black clouds. I continued on as noted, could not reschedule and the storm might hold off. The next thing I know, the heavens have opened up and I am getting drenched. Fools go where angels fear to tread and so I could on. I am going to hit 20 K no matter what. My glasses are fogging up, the watch is wet and hard to read. At one point I am on an exposed ridge and ducking as that will make the lighting now dancing around me miss me. I have to put one arm up to shield me from the small hail that then followed but I made it to 20 K. Stop, pat myself on the back and start home.

This is not a fast moving storm and the cats and dogs deluge is not letting up. It was here I learned the value of run/ walk method. The path goes under a number of roads and so I would sprint between bridges to at least have some temporary relief from the rain. Eventually the bridges were no more but I would stop and take a quick rest under a tree or whatever shelter was around. At 30 K I would normally be into a zombie shuffle but I was at 20 miles and still able to run or at least a reasonable facsimile to running.

I make it home but realize I have promised to make a very nice supper. I know that if I stop then, I was not going to be able to move for some hours and so now continue to walk to the grocery store and in the rain. I pick up the items I need and several other shoppers are staring as I stand at the check out line as little puddles form wherever I am standing. The clerk was less then impressed when the $20 bill I produce was much a liquid as a solid. Walk home, nice shower, 4 ice packs and some motrin and knew that if I could survive that, the marathon would be a piece of cake.

[jharbeck]

Ha! That's a nice one. It reminds me of a much smaller version of the same I did one summer day. I saw the black clouds approaching but I didn't see any lightning so I thought, ha, so prob. I don't mind getting wet while running. I went out and I could see the wall of rain approaching. It was great. I ran right into it and was soaked in a second. People were looking at me like I was crazy. The problem, though, was that there was lightning, and it was getting closer. As I was running past a park, I saw a flash and, in well under a second, heard the bang. So I turned around and ran home, hoping the street lights and buildings would draw the lightning. When I came in I was like Niagara. I think I got my wife to take a picture, it was so good.

A more memorable training run in one sense was my last long run before the one marathon I've done so far. I live near the foot of Yonge Street in Toronto. I ran down to the lake, turned and ran up to Steeles Avenue (the northern boundary of the city), turned and ran back down to where I started. 35 km, I think? Something like that. I ran out of sports beverage in my Camelbak and so I stopped into a convenience store to buy some Gatorade. They had two sizes: a larger without a drink top, and a smaller with a drink top. The smaller cost more. But I was in running-for-three-hours-already brain, and I thought, I don't need all the liquid in the larger one. So I bought the smaller one for more and poured it into the Camelbak! I'm sure the store owner thought there was something wrong with me.

I've run the loop around Glenmore, BTW! I ran the Stampede Half Marathon a couple of years ago when I was back visiting my family. I'm from the Bow Valley and my brother lived in Garrison Woods. I was doing great until this one huge hill back up at around 17 km. After that my feet were burning.

[Mark.AU]

Great topic.

Back in the fall of 2010 I was in very good shape. I'd made my goal of a <5 HIM in September, and was doing a crash 1-month training program for the NYC Marathon in early November. The plan for this particular run (given me by my de facto coach at the time, Jeff Seeley) was 32k with a 5k warm up, then straight into 1hr @ 5:15/k and then immediately into another hour @ 4:45/k. Finally, whatever was left would be a cool down at easy pace, whatever that might be.

I didn't think I could do it; I'd never done a run like it before.

After the first 5k warm up, the first interval was smooth and quite easy. I actually had to keep checking my pace was it was creeping a little too quick all the time. About 50min into it I ran past a couple of young teens walking their dogs. One of the dogs lept at me as I went by, running its claws down the outside of my left thigh and snapping at me. I let the owner know what I thought of his dog handling skills and his dog but ran on without stopping. The adrenalin surge after that made the next couple of km real easy though! My leg was sore for a while but I didn't stop to see what the damage was. The first hour ended up a bit quick, covering 11.7k @ 5:11/k

The jump to 4:45/k was noticeable and made just a touch harder because I was heading home into the wind. My HR was creeping up but for the first 45min of the interval I was doing well and holding steady at a little under target pace. The final 15min though, oy man that was hard! I wasn't exactly holding on for dear life, but the effort required to stay on pace was significant. The hour came around and I nailed it right on pace covering 12.6k @ 4:45/k.

I dropped down to easy pace thinking I would be running over 6min/k but found I was comfortable back at 5:20/k, my standard easy/long run pace (at the time) and I could have easily gone on past the roughly 2.5k it took to get home. The final result for the run was 32k in 2h43 @ 5:04/k.

I'd never done a run like it before, or since, and reading this now blows me away.

[Robinandamelia]

One of my most memorable training runs was actually up in Ottawa. I was running with Andrew (lives there), from downtown along the water. It might have been an 18 mile run but can't remember for sure...it was a long one. It was so hot.....unbearably hot. We actually stopped at one of the beaches to get in the water. Took off the shoes and electronics, then into the water to cool off. We also ran out of water to drink and had to actually bum water off of a lady who was picknicing (no money on us to buy any). Talk about an ill-equiped run, but definitely memorable. Almost sounds like we were running through the desert instead of a major city

Running a close second is the 4 hour run I did about 3 weeks ago in the brutal winter conditions this year....

[eme]

It was on a military base in Strasburg, Germany.

The base was in a wooded area and they had a fantastic dirt trail winding through the forest around the perimeter of the base. It was just such a fantastic place to run, definitely one of my top places so far. I even wiped out on a tree root, but I could not stop smiling since I enjoyed the place so much.

[Ken B]

I was training with a group of five ladies for our first running of the DisneyWorld Marathon. It was late December and our scheduled long run was 32 km. K-W area was hit with a winter storm. I was the only one of the group to show up at the Waterloo RR. It was -28 Celsius with a wind chill of -38 Celsius. Police were advising people to stay at home. I finished the entire 32 km, often running down the middle of main streets in the tracks of the few vehicles who had been out. The local paper had a photographer out taking photos of the storm and he took my photo. It wasn't printed in the paper ( I was nosed out of that honour by a guy riding a bicycle ). Here is the photo.

[Joe Dwarf]

In 2011 I was staying in a hotel in Burnaby for the Canadian Kendo Championships. I was scheduled that weekend to do a 3 hour run as part of training for my first marathon, and I was determined to do it despite it being a very busy weekend and being away from home. It was memorable for a number of reasons. First, it was the first run of that length I had ever done so I wasn't sure how it was going to pan out. Secondly, I ran into a number of my kendo friends who were used to seeing me in a way different outfit. I had a lot of comments on my running shorts and singlet. Last, it was an absolutely glorious sunny day, and my route took me along the Central Valley Greenway and into Stanley Park. As I was running along the seawall on a gorgeous clear summer morning, I spent a good part of it wondering just what the hell I was doing living in Saskatoon...

Anyways, I ran some 32 km with no trouble at all - being 500 m lower sure helped - and also got a laugh out of my non-running friend who just couldn't get over how long I'd run that morning and how I could possibly be up for lunch and whatever other activities we did that day.

[Dstew]

H

I've run the loop around Glenmore, BTW! I ran the Stampede Half Marathon a couple of years ago when I was back visiting my family. I'm from the Bow Valley and my brother lived in Garrison Woods. I was doing great until this one huge hill back up at around 17 km. After that my feet were burning.

Weird small world - just moved from Garrison Woods last year. Had been in Erlton at the time of the above story. Never run the Stampede races as either still recovering or getting ready.

Did remind of the most dangerous run. I was about 10 K from one of the very few public out door 400 meter tracks in Calgary. Home from work, supper and one of those over 30 degree days, high humidity but no thunderstorms. Got on my bike, up a large hill and then did the 10 X 800 Yasso repeats. No water. I vaguely recall stopping about half way home to get a Gatorade but have no recollection of how I got home. The next day I work someone asked me if I had been drinking as I was slurring my words and staggering around. I said I was not but went on to tell him about my training. I obviously had some mild form of heat stroke/ exhaustion combined with dehydration so I suppose it was memorable that on a bike I somehow managed to make it home in one piece. Best night of sleep ever.

[Dstew]

I was training with a group of five ladies for our first running of the DisneyWorld Marathon. It was late December and our scheduled long run was 32 km. K-W area was hit with a winter storm. I was the only one of the group to show up at the Waterloo RR. It was -28 Celsius with a wind chill of -38 Celsius. Police were advising people to stay at home. I finished the entire 32 km, often running down the middle of main streets in the tracks of the few vehicles who had been out. The local paper had a photographer out taking photos of the storm and he took my photo. It wasn't printed in the paper ( I was nosed out of that honour by a guy riding a bicycle ). Here is the photo.

I did a 10 K run on those sort of conditions. Took me about 20 minutes to get all of the layers on. I wear glasses and they completely fogged up. Could not see a thing. I am alone, on the bike path and just hoping I do not run over the ridge and down an embankment to the river. I hear a weird noise coming up behind me and it a guy on a bike. Great day he says in passing, the path to ourselves he says as he leaves me behind. To this day I have to laugh at myself because the first thought that came into my head was what sort of a moron would be riding his bike on a day that this. Then it hit me. The same sort of moron who would be running in a day like this.

Now that I think about it, another similar run. Stir crazy, I tell my wife I need to escape and will be back in 30 minutes. With the layers and so much snow I was by myself, at night but it was very peaceful and serene. I was in a Zen like state and so at the 15 minute turn around, I thought 15 more minutes. That eventually turned into an hour. My oneness with the universe was short lived as my wife was ready to call the police and hospitals as I told her 30 minutes and I was at least 2 hours. A night, - 40, she was convinced I was lying and dying on some dark and little used path and all they would find is a nice bump covered in snow the next day.


That is a great photo and they could have at least let you share with the bicyclist. 32 K in those conditions, I salute you.