November 2, 2008

Bright sunny skies and a brisk east wind greeted half and marathon participants at the starting line this year in Hamilton's 2nd annual 'Road to Hope' event. And while the wind was nasty at times, we'll gladly take these conditions for a November run in Ontario any day.

The marathon course was totally changed this year with about half of the distance run in the flat to rolling scenic farm country around Dundas. The commencement of the 2nd half treated runners to a 5k decline down the escarpment on the new Red Hill Valley Parkway. And this year it was 'Down Only'. (Last year we had to turn around and retrace those steps). The course then continued to the Hamilton Harbour bridge where it turned back unto a lakeside paved path for the remaining 6k to the finish in Conferation Park. The wind was especially brutal on that section but overall the course was very good and a major improvement over last year. Given optimum conditions this would be a very fast course.

We had seven Rocks!! and friends in Hamilton with 5 in the marathon and 2 in the 1/2. Congratulations to all with special salutes to Ken Stubbings and Gene Jochen for successfully finishing 6 marathons in 6 weeks with strength to spare, Lynn Stubbings for her personal best in the half and Brent Walker for his P.B. in the marathon. Results here.       A few photos here

 

Ken writes:

Well, the 6 marathons in 6 weeks are complete. And I proved the cartoon wrong. This year’s Hamilton Marathon was almost as challenging as last year’s. The organizers changed the course. Running past last year’s 5km incline ending brought back a bad feeling. The windy day made a tough run. The last 5km ran along the lake with a very big wind effect. The scenery however made the run enjoyable.

Lynn did a PB this race. She took 6 minutes off her Toronto International Marathon time. This fall she crushed her dreaded 2:30 wall for a half marathon. This was her race indeed.

I had no idea how my race would unfold. Gene and I started the same way as the previous 5 runs. We shook hands. We said, “Let’s do it”. And he lined up just in front of me. Now I am ahead 9 minutes on our dinner bet (slowest overall time buys dinner). I have to stay close enough to keep that 9-minute spread. For the first 26 km I was at the most 300 meters behind Gene. Then I caught up to him. I said, “Come on lets get this finished.” We ran together to the 37km mark. He told me to go if I still had energy. I wanted to try to get sub 3 hours. I pushed on with Gene right on my heels. We fed off each other’s energy to the very end. We hit the mat at the same time. (Chip time said I finished one second ahead). The race (and 6 in 6) ended exactly how I wanted; both runners at the same time for a good photo finish. Our friendly dinner bet brought to light a few things. We both train in a similar fashion, except he is an ultra-marathoner so his endurance level is better. We both had good and bad races, which can happen to anyone. Anything can happen on race day no matter how good your training. On average our finish times were very close. Chance had it that I had a good day when he had a bad day, thus I came out ahead in the end. No matter what the end results, it was quite a rush during the events and definitely at the Hamilton finish.

As always it was great seeing the Rocks. Some did not like my start line fashion statement but what the heck eh! Thanks to the editors of our comic strip for keep us amused. And Lise Perdue, this will not be a yearly event. But it was a blast one-time trial. Two on the same weekend might be cool though!

Take care everyone. Below is some information people have asked me.

Ken

 

Ken’s 6 in 6 training where recovery crosses tapering = recapery

Monday walk 4 km to loosen up

Tuesday 7 km easy run to get things moving

Wednesday 10 km faster easy run to get things moving faster

Thursday 4km walk

Friday and Saturday are off for recovery

Stretch after each workout

Massage the muscles with “the stick”

Hit the hot tub every day for 10 minutes

A visit to the chiropractor helped keep the alignment straight

Maintain food intake, extra vitamins and protein to speed recovery and maintain immune system

Do some cross training (weight lifting, swimming) to burn excess calories.

 

Information on 6 in 6 marathoning:

Why do it? Because it is there to do and it is good to set personal goals.
You can run / race multiple marathons in a row if you watch recovery time
It helps if you are a little nuts to keep the humour in it
It takes $$ to do it
It is not the racing that tires me out. It is the traveling to/from the race.
The last week of any marathon-training program will not make you faster. It is the previous weeks of homework that count. Running hard the last week of a taper is risk of injury. (Some textbook programs do speed work the last week).
The only thing guaranteed is the distance you will have to run. Train for it. Everything else can change on race day.
Recovery, recovery, recovery. Race day excitement will take care of speed
Including the marathon, I ran/walked 67km per week which was about 20 km less per week than for my normal training program.
My muscle stiffness seemed to lessen after each week.
My initial theory of losing 5 minutes finish time each per race did not hold true
I gained 4 lbs over the 6 week.
I had one 3-day head cold. (Which I may have caught anyway without the marathons).

Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina played host to Set-up Events inaugural Beach2Battleship Half and Full Iron Distance Events on Saturday, November 1, 2008. The events sold out in 3 short weeks when it was first announced about a year ago. Sudbury was represented by myself, my wife Melanie and Mike Coughlin. Mike and David Bialkowski from Parry Sound Trysport planned and organized the trip over a year ago. David and his team of Nacho Average Triathletes travelled in style in a rental RV. It was quite a sight to see them at the athletes meeting in their team shirts and sombreros.

We woke early race day morning to single digit temperatures with highs expected to reach 23 Celsius by mid-afternoon. We caught the shuttle to T1 at Wrightsville Beach on the shores of Cape Fear. From T1, another shuttle took us to the swim start. The race start time was simple, when the sun rose, the horn would go. Approximately 400 Iron Distance triathletes stood anxiously waiting in the cool temperatures waiting for sunrise. The swim was a point to point channel swim with the water temperatures around 17-18 C, with an incoming tide. The horn sounded shortly after 7am and we were off.

The swim times were fast as Mike exited the water in 50:39 and I got out at 1:02:07. The 300 yard run to transition was long and cold. Many athletes struggled to keep warm as they grabbed their change bag and dressed for the start of the bike. The chill in the air forced many riders to put on the leg and arm warmers. As the day progressed the temperatures rose into the mid-teens. At the bike special needs station most riders chose to stop and remove their cold weather gear and prepare for the final 90km ride to the Battleship North Carolina stationed at Wilmington.

Meanwhile, while the full distance athletes were on the bike course, the half-iron distance athletes were preparing to enter the water at 8:30am. Melanie Muise-Fessenden exited the water in 31:13 and in 18th place in the female division. Melanie hopped on the bike and blew the competition away with a 2:39:02 bike putting her 1st place heading out on the run. Melanie posted the 2nd fastest 2 marathon run with a 1:38:15 winning the female division by over 9 minutes with a final time and personal best 4:53:56. Overall she was 13th out of the near 500 competitors. An amazing race Melanie. Your friends and family are proud of you!

Back on the bike course another Sudbury athlete was ripping it up. Mike was tearing up the 180km flat and fast course posting a 5:01:59 bike time and putting him into position to finish in the top 5. A 3:21:47 personal best marathon run placed Mike 2nd overall in the full distance with a finishing time of 9:21:09. It was an amazing day for Mike who had his girlfriend Celeste, his mom and Aunt Helen there to see him cross the finish line. It was a tonne of fun to spend a few days with Mike watching him prepare for this race. His attention to detail and knowledge of the sport paid off for him as finishing 2nd was an outstanding accomplishment. Way to go Mike!!

As for myself, I was enjoying the bike course and taking the opportunity to talk to riders from across the USA and the around the world. I was pleased to get my bike in 6:05:18 and head out onto the run course at a race time of 7 hours 22 minutes, giving me a good chance of breaking my goal time of under 12 hours.

The run course wasn't exactly flat. Three major bridges that crossed the Cape Fear River kept runners honest as they were strategically placed at miles 1, 2, 12, 13, 14 and 24. The majority of the run was through the suburbs and park areas of Wilmington with plenty of aid stations and support. At mile 25, I knew I would finish and had a chance to run a sub-4 hour marathon. With a final kick I finished off the run in 3:58:46 giving me a final time of 11:19:18. I had no idea where I placed in the race until the results were posted the next day. For my first iron distance race it was very satisfying. I ended up 75th overall out of 397 and 8th in my age group. I had the fastest marathon time in my age group, so all those spring marathons paid off! Congratulations to David and his team of Nacho Average Triathletes who all finished their first half or full iron distance triathlons. Well done guys!! A special thank you to all those who have helped me train and prepare for this race. To Mike and David for organizing the trip and believing in me that I could not only finish but do well. Thank you to all my friends at the Running Room, Sudbury Rocks and the Nickle City Triathlon Club. Thanks to, Mike Hay for his coaching and support throughout my year of training. To Vince and Brent for improving my running, so when I hit the pavement it felt like home, thank you! Thank you to Laura and Drew Anderson for motivating me to train on those lousy days when staying in bed was an option. Thanks to Bob Jeffrey who took me out on those long bike rides and helped my confidence on the bike. And above all, thank you to my wife and life partner Melanie for flying in from Edmonton taking a break from her PhD to be there to watch me finish my first iron-distance race. I am so proud of you!!!! Continue to live your dreams.

The first Beach2Battleship Race was an outstanding event in a beautiful location. It is well suited for a triathlete who wants to set a PB or finish their first half or full iron-distance race. Registration for 2009 begins on December 1. Good luck!

Results Here

Walden Cross Country Fitness Club's

5th Annual Run Under the Lights

The 5th Annual Run Under the Lights 3k and 6k Trail Runs went off under excellent conditions with the weather clear and unseasonably warm. For the sum of $5 or $2 for under 14 athletes you get to run a timed event in an unusual setting. The Club has a 3k lighted loop on one of their ski trails and they use this section for the Run Under the Lights. When all have crossed the finish line there are draw prizes for the young folk. All in all, just a great event.

Results Here