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8K 1:01:04

Welcome back. My first real run after the Manitoba Half Marathon.
Felt good to be on the roads again. At 5:00 AM the sun is starting to rise so this was a beautiful time to run. Nice and cool, too.
I kept the pace light. My target HR zone was 60-70% and I averaged 70% on the run.

Favourite Quote

Currently my favourite motivational quote is:

The pain of discipline is less than the pain of regret.

Listen

Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts.
Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts.
Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me...
Anything can happen, child.
Anything can be.

-Shel Silverstein

How long does it take to recover?

Quads are still sore. Everything else good.

My quads (Quadriceps femoris, according to the diagram) are sore mostly because I didn't cool down properly after the half-marathon. Mind you the next day I was running with my the 5k group that I'm instructing, so that probably didn't help.

I've taken Tuesday off. I'll take Wednesday off as well and run Thursday and Saturday. We'll see how that works out.

Race Report - Manitoba Marathon

Race Day

The start was huge. The thousands of people packed into the road ahead of us made for an impressive sight. As the mob moved forward everyone gave a little cheer as they passed the starting line. Between the chirping of the timing chips and everyone starting their watches, it was like passing through a wall of beeps.
In the beginning I focused on not going out too fast, as I knew that would determine my success in this event. We started with a pack of seven runners, but Fatima's pace was lower than our 2:30 group, so we lost track of her fairly quickly.
We were a pod of six runners in that crowd. Carla, Roberta, Fran, Tracy, Deidre and I stuck together like glue for most of the race.
The view over most of the trek was great, especially Crescent Park. I enjoyed seeing the signs the spectators had put out cheering on the runners.
We ran tight and we ran quick and we had fun. We talked and laughed and admired the scenery. I took advantage of every water and gatorade station, every sponge, every ice tray. I waved at every spectator that clapped and said thanks to those who yelled their encouragement.
Tracy had to stop for a bathroom break and despite our encouraging her to "catch up with us later", we would not see her again until the end of the race.
Carla, Fran, Deidre, Roberta and I ran on. As we approached the Elm Park Foot Bridge we realized our pace was too slow to get our 2:30 time. From there until the end of the race, Carla and Fran slowly and steadily pulled farther ahead as they chased their goal time. We had them in sight until we reached the Fort Garry Bridge, after that we didn't see them again until after we finished.
Now I was running with Deidre and Roberta. Taking note of the dwindling KMs, Deidre and I dedicated ourselves to really giving it for the last two kilometers. Then Roberta faded back.
In the end, Deidre and I ran in together. We were so close we finished in 2:37:06 and 2:37:08 (Deidre has the faster time).
Past the finish line we met up with the rest of group and stuck around to see Ronny, Tracy and Roberta finish. We had our finisher medals and we were in line for oranges, bagels, water, bananas, and popsicles!

After I got home I showered, napped, and changed into my MM T-shirt. I wore my medal for the rest of the day.

Snapshots from this half-marathon: The feeling of standing at the start of my first Manitoba Half-Marathon. Waiting anxiously for my co-runners to find a washroom and get back to the group before the race started. The woman in the blue dress that we had to beat. The cold-water sponges. The wall of trees in Crescent Park. The people in lawnchairs with coffee sitting in the rain to cheer us on. The sign at mile 3 that said "Go, Auntie, Go". The view from the Elm Park Foot Bridge. The legendary guy-dispensing-beer. The cloudy, overcast, rainy day and all the experienced runners saying "it wasn't this nice last year!" The woman in a wheelchair who cheered us on along River Road. Seeing my parents cheering as I turned onto the access road that leads to the stadium. The feeling of crossing the finish line uninjured, fresh, and strong.

That's me in the grey shirt and red hat

2:37:08

This is it.

Last year, on Father's Day 2005, I was attending church with my wife, mom and 1-month old daughter. Ther sermon was about endurance, and the pastor naturally enough tied it in with the marathon race being run that same morning in Winnipeg. He asked the congregation (at the 11:00 service) if anyone had complete the marathon and then come to church. At least two people in the congregation put up their hands. I was moved by the pastors overall sermon that day, and particularily intrigued by the idea of the physical endurance involved in running a marathon.

Later that day, while at brunch with my family, my mom mentioned that she had run the Manitoba Marathon when she was in her thirties. I was surprised to hear this. Up until now I had not known my mom ever had an interest in running.

You have to understand where I was in order to understand the significance of the rest of this. I was severly un-athletic. I was overweight and unfit. I was 32 years old and my last half-serious attempt at anything sports-related had been in junior high school.

Nonetheless, if my mom could do it, I could try. "I'm going to run the Marathon." I said. "I think if I have a whole year to train, I can do it." Normally I am the kind of person who starts projects and has a difficult time seeing them through to completion. As it turned out, that wasn't the case this time.

The very next day I started a gradual run/walk program designed by Jeff Galloway. It started with walking for five minutes and running for one. Running for one minute straight is hard. It was hard, but it wasn't impossible. I pushed on.

My ability and confidence slowly began to increase. At first I was happy simply coming home alive after every run. Then, over time, I discovered that I was running because I enjoyed it. With the joy, came the addiction. I completed my 1st 5k race in September 2005. I completed my 2nd 5k in December in less than 30 minutes. I complete a 7k event on January 1st and then I took the 10k clinic at the Running Room. Since then I have run a relay race and a 10k race.

In March I started training for the Manitoba Half-Marathon with the Running Room clinic. While the official training schedule was 16 weeks long, the reality is that I have been training for this event since I stepped out the door in my ratty old sneakers and ran that first minute on June 20 2005.

June 19 2006. The Manitoba Marathon. With all event combined, a total of 12,715 registered runners. I was registered to the the Half-Marathon with 3,655 other runners.
The weather was cloudy, rainy, +17c with 20km wind. The crowd of runner was huge.
Our training group started out as a tight pod of six runners. Carla, Deidre, Tracy, Fran, Roberta and me. My training partner and friend since I met her in the 10k clinic is Tracy Morgan. We had to leave her behind at the second set of portapotties.

We ran tight and we ran quick and we had fun. We talked and laughed and admired the scenery. We took advantage of every water and gatorade station, every sponge, every ice tray. We waved at every spectator that clapped and said thanks to those who yelled their encouragement.

In the end, Carla and Fran had taken too much of a lead for us to see them finish. Roberta fell behind in the last two KM. Deidre and I ran in synch through the finish to complete in 2:37:08.

Am I happy with my time? Of course I am. It's officially my personal best Half-Marathon time. I didn't finish the race hurt or exhausted. I had energy to spare and had a lot of fun while I was out there.

Here's my admission: In that final kilometer, I was sincerely considering turning around and going back. Going back to the start of km 21 and running it again. I didn't want the race to end.

That was YEAR ONE: From chronic couch potato to half-marathoner with a finish time of 2:37:08.

The rest of the blog will be al about year two...