Kelowna Marathon and LOFT

[Dstew]

LOFT - lack of f**king training. Or a more positive spin is an 8 week taper.

31 rounds of golf, a 50 K race and three 5 Peaks Trial Running races with 2 wins and a 3rd in my age group and 2nd overall for the age group series would seem to suggest that the Kelowna race was either the icing on top of a good year or a insane or stupid redundancy. I am not really sure where I stand on this point.

Fly into Kelowna on Friday and I have thrown out my back that morning. With a lot of business travel and doing about double to the amount of work that I am suppose to plus golf and running, I am exhausted. There are two options: Rush to a golf course and maybe grab a quick hot dog or do the sensible thing suggested by my wife and take it easy. I go the Harvest golf and enjoy a very healthy lunch. Hit a large bucket of balls and glad I stopped there as the legs and back have started to complain. Go to bib pickup and wine for the thanksgiving dinner I am invited to. Boston Pizza for an early supper and by 9:30 pm, I am fast asleep. Up at 9:00 am so one would say I had been running on fumes. Pick up breakfast for race day as that does not open until 7:00 am. Play a nice fast round of golf and only got rained on for 5 holes. I actually was 1 over during the rain and then my mind started to drift but ended nicely. Boston Pizza again and was asleep by 10:00 pm. A good nights sleep and everything worked out for me.

Around 7 degrees. sun and no wind at the race start. My 23- 27 K runs with lots of hills in Calgary were in the 6 minute per kilometer mark and so I thought the very flat Kelowna course and lower to sea level, I might find endurance from a miracle and so the plan was to start slow but keep the 4:15 pace bunny in sight for as long as possible. If I felt good, could catch up but if it was that there, drop back. The pace seems really fast and I find out from someone who talked to the bunny that he is going out in a 5:45 pace and the idea is to bank time for a slow finish. So much for the plan but there is a pleasant running buddy to talk to but by the 4th K, my body is starting to give me warning signs to slow down.

The course is flat and fast with some light industrial areas, residential and some nice lake views. I made a deal with myself that I would run a comfortable hard half marathon and see where I was from there. I did not really look at the watch until I hit the half way mark and it was 2:10. The problem is that included a too fast first 4 K and a decision was to be made: I have golf tomorrow, a business meeting the day after and a flight back home and so do I continue to push hard to get to a completely meaningless 4:20 or slow down and save the body. The low back despite being heat pack and tape is acting up but tolerable. Do increase the pace just to see and the left ankle starts to act up. That has done that a few times recently and is brand new but I thought of possible stress fracture so backed off and then see how I feel at 10 K. I felt good but the ankle would talk every time I picked up the pace. With 5 K to go, faster then 4:30, the even number syndrome kicked in and so the pace was dictated by that.

There was this really annoying runner who ended everything sentence with "eh" - a pet peeve of mine. He would say, "hey buddy, are you going to make it". I had let him go ahead of me but I caught up to him with around 3 K to go. I take a break at the aid station and then decide my final time is not all the important but beating numb nuts was. So I pushed hard and decided to catch one more guy just for fun and finished gun around 4:28 and chip 4:27.

A nice post race massage and then hot tub, pool and repeat with pain killers and Volateran and I am feeling really good. So good that I will probably walk tomorrow when I play the Harvest as that is likely my last round of the year?

Marathon 9 is in the books. I always forget how damn hard they are until I hit the 25th K mark or so and then I have to ask myself, why do I do them. I have no logical or rational answer as it seems I "need" to do them. Time goals are no longer that important. I have been able to put the ego to the side and make sure I am not ripping my body apart. Not sure about the destination marathon but I will run some more in the future, not in 2015. That is do a bucket list of trail races of the 22 - 29 K length and see how that goes. I am very happy I ran and pleased with all the results at all levels. And when I consider the training that I did with my last 30 + K run August 3, I have to be thrilled. Now off to Turkey dinner with friends.

[grimskot]

Sounds like you ran a smart race. If your body holds up to walking the golf course tomorrow, then you'll have your answer. And there's nothing quite like having enough left to pick someone off right at the end. Congrats!

[Hammie]

I think we followed the same training plan! Congrats on marathon #9.

[Dstew]

I think we followed the same training plan! Congrats on marathon #9.

Yup and essentially the same results. I just got luckier with the running weather. It also sounds like we both had a good year but will need a well bit of a break next year. I have to add your year was more impressive so well done.

[Robinandamelia]

Way to get it done, congrats on #9

[Jwolf]

Way to get it done, congrats on #9

+1!

Thanks for the report- glad you had a nice weekend overall.

[Dstew]

Way to get it done, congrats on #9

+1!

Thanks for the report- glad you had a nice weekend overall.

It sounds as if your weekend was a grand success as well.

During my hot tub workout, the 6 person whirlpool had 10 people at one time, most who had run the marathon. The group went from 3:38 to finish and the person most proud of their accomplishment probably had the slowest time. She ran it to honor two friends who were with her that had been running buddies. One was ready to run her first half marathon and was fighting cancer. The other, a women in her 40s who was training to run a 10 K race who had a stroke. It sure put into perspective comments I would be guilty of making such as it is "JUST" a half marathon or I ran a "SLOW" 4:27 marathon. It is therefore great to have weekends to remind oneself as to what a privilege it is run a race of any distance and in any time.

[Jwolf]

Way to get it done, congrats on #9

+1!

Thanks for the report- glad you had a nice weekend overall.

It sounds as if your weekend was a grand success as well.

During my hot tub workout, the 6 person whirlpool had 10 people at one time, most who had run the marathon. The group went from 3:38 to finish and the person most proud of their accomplishment probably had the slowest time. She ran it to honor two friends who were with her that had been running buddies. One was ready to run her first half marathon and was fighting cancer. The other, a women in her 40s who was training to run a 10 K race who had a stroke. It sure put into perspective comments I would be guilty of making such as it is "JUST" a half marathon or I ran a "SLOW" 4:27 marathon. It is therefore great to have weekends to remind oneself as to what a privilege it is run a race of any distance and in any time.

I was very inspired by so many of the runners around me on Sunday- many wearing shirts or signs saying who they were honoring, where they started running, and why they were there. On the out-and-backs I was equally inspired by those running faster ahead of of me and those behind. I also saw people struggling on the side of the course with cramps or injuries, and hoped they could pull through-- remembering so clearly what that has felt like in other races. Running IS a privilege and a joy, and I remember that more and more now.

[Ken B]

Congratulations on you 9th marathon! I often feel about the same as you in the latter parts of marathons. But I sign up for more anyway!!