Brock Armstrong – Fitness & Movement Coach
I do what I can for the people.
First of all, for clarity sake, a Sprint Triathlon is Swim 750m, Bike 20km, Run 5km. The is only one triathlon that is shorter than a Sprint and it is call Try-a-Tri (Swim 375m, Bike 10km, Run 2.5km). I have done 4 Sprint distance races now but this is the first one in open water and the first one since I started taking triathlon seriously. I have to admit, I had higher hopes for myself.
Continue reading “Guelph Lake Triathlon Weekend”
My official finishing time at the Toronto Goodlife Fitness Half Marathon on Sunday May 6, 2012 was 01:34:21.
That puts me 34/281 in my category (male 40 to 44) and 158/2091 in my gender (male). This is my second best half marathon finishing time; behind the same race from May 2011 (1:31:35) and a just ahead of the “Run for the Grapes” from Sept 2011 (1:34:32). So, no PR… but it was a sunny day, a good race and if nothing else, it was very good practice for 21.1kms I will be running at the end of the Ironman 70.3 I am training for.
I know exactly why I didn’t PR – I make a rookie mistake (the mistake I try to drill into the heads of all the runners I coach) – I went out too fast.
My goal was to run 4:20-ish for the first half and then pick up to 4:10-ish in the second half. A decent negative split. Instead, I don’t know why, my first KM was 3:55. Then 4:15 (better) and then 3:56 (worse). Around then we ran up the longest and steepest hill on the entire course and my heart rate hit Zone 5. I knew I would blow up if I didn’t get my heart rate down so I backed right off for half of the hill and consequently did a 4:51 km. I managed to get my pace back under control but I couldn’t get my heart rate back into Zone 3 and my time payed the price. The rest of the race I clung to a 4:25/km pace.
Dinner
Breakfast
Race
So, I guess when I get right down to it, I am a little disappointed but not too terribly. It was a good race and I did better than I thought I was going to as I passed the 5km mark. All in all it was a decent day and I feel like I am finally getting tougher and a little better at entering and staying in the “pain cave”.
Yesterday marked the beginning of two things:
Ellie has watched me, cheered me, ignored me, put up with me, and consoled me… but now – after her 0:51:34.4 finish – I think she might be hooked. She’s already signed up for a half marathon at the end of May in Ottawa and there is talk of an autumn marathon as well… but we’ll take it one race at a time.
On my side, yesterday was a good day too. I finished in 0:42:13.7, which is not too far off my current 10k PB of 0:41:28. I would have loved to have set a new PB yesterday but I wasn’t really set up for that. This is not an A Race, it’s not even a B Race. It’s just a fun thing to do on a Sunday in late April. There was no tapering or even a break in my Ironman training, as you will read…
I got up, not too early, had a cup of black coffee and 4 Extreme Endurance and did an unfed “Skills & Force” bike workout for 2 hours. I spent about 10-15 minutes stretching out really well after and then took an ice bath. I slathered my legs and shoulders with Magnesium Oil and then, once I was dressed and warm-ish, I ate a big bowl of “Power Oatmeal” with a packet of 7Systems. Ellie and I ran some errands and hung out for the rest of the day. For dinner, I BBQed a small sirloin steak and Ellie made a Sweet Potato and Green Bean salad. We ate a decent amount but didn’t get carried away. I had some Dark Chocolate and Blueberries for dessert. Yum! We went to bed pretty early after I popped 4 more Extreme Endurance and I slept…. terribly! Oh well.
I woke up at 5:50am (my normal weekday alarm) and had a big glass of water with 4 Extreme Endurance and a black cup of coffee (which got things going nicely). I got into my race clothes and drank a Living Fuel SuperGreens smoothie with a banana and a packet of 7Systems. This breakfast is what got me through the Goofy marathons so I plan to stick with it until something better comes along. At about 7:00am we made our way (by bus) to the start line. We milled about trying to stay warm and relaxed for about an hour before it was time to get in our corrals. About 5 minutes before the gun went off I ate a Caffeinated Gu Roctane.
A friend of mine was the 40 minute Pace Bunny so I started with him but lost him in the shuffle in the first km. I could see Pete, off and on, for the rest of the race but I wasn’t able to catch him. By 2km in I could feel the bike workout from the day before and started to seriously doubt my ability to PR but I pushed those thoughts down and kept pushing forward. Head high, shoulders down, lean towards the finish line. My 1km splits show my fatigue setting in: 1k 4:00, 2k 4:07, 3k 4:07, 4k 3:59, 5k 4:08, 6k 4:09, 7k 4:25, 8k 4:26, 9k 4:35, 10k 4:09. The 3:59 at 4k was due to a serious downhill… I wish I could take more credit for it but it was the hill not me. When I passed the 9km marker I remember doing the math and realized I wasn’t go to PB and so I backed off a little… which oddly resulted in my picking my pace back up to 4:09/km. Interesting lesson there – pushing harder doesn’t always mean you are running faster. You can take a peek at my full Garmin report if you like.
I crossed the finish line, grabbed my medal and headed back out towards the 9k marker so I could run that last 750m (or so) with Ellie. We had a good run together down the chute. She was cruising and looking good. She even managed to give one of the official photographers a thumbs-up as we passed together (me grinning like a proud fool beside her, I am sure). We crossed the finish line together and, while I was trying to hug her, she spotted Jim Cuddy of the band Blue Rodeo doubled over by the finish line. I turned around just in time to witness him blowing a serious snot-rocket. Ha! We grabbed some water, cookies and a banana, picked up our checked bags to get our warm clothes (it was still pretty darn cold and breezy down by the lake) and grabbed a bus back home. No ice bath this time but plenty of foam rolling ensued. I decided to skip my swim workout (sorry, Coach Ben) in favour of watching the Bruins vs. the Capitals.
We went to a place called Bestellen for dinner and drinks. We shared:
We also spotted Chris Murphy from the band Sloan while we ate – that is two 90s Canadian Rock Icon sightings in one day! Then we headed back home for more foam rolling and Stanley Cup Playoff hockey (the Bruins hung in there but the Canucks are gone).
Next up – the Toronto Goodlife Fitness Half Marathon on May 6th and then the Ironman 70.3 Syracuse on June 24th!
It’s done. All of it. Not only my 2011 Race Season but the longest race I have ever done – Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge, 63.3 km over two days (21.1 on Saturday and 42.2 on Sunday). I can’t help but feel a little melancholy. This is the first time in months… maybe more than a year… that I don’t have a race planned, scheduled and paid for. Weird feeling but more on that another time. First – The Goofy!
We arrived in Orlando on Thursday morning (we being Team in Training “Canadian Flex”) and headed to the hotel. Everything went smoothly (once my weekend of gastrointestinal issues were resolved) and we settled in nicely.
Friday, during the day, I pushed my dad around in a wheelchair at Epcot… not exactly what I had in mind for a pre-race activity – UG! Then at 5pm, we had our usual Inspiration (pasta) Dinner with many guest speakers who not only pulled at our heart strings but also encouraged us to set the bar incredibly low – this is something I have an issue with. Team In Training needs to shake off it’s attitude of being a bunch of slow-pokes… but that is for another blog.
I ate sparingly and went to bed early (9:30pm) since we had to be up at 2:45am to leave for the start line at 3:30am to race at 5:30am. Yuck!
Fuel:
Coach Ben said: Stay in mid to high Zone 3 up to the 10K mark, then slowly build to low to mid Zone 4 for next 5K. For final 5K, go to pain cave and run HARD! Remember, you’ll be tapping a totally different energy system for the marathon, so you can afford to go hard for the half.
Runner Brock did: I pretty much nailed the Heart Rate Zones. I started off a little high but got it back under Control. I was able run harder and faster at the end of the race than I ever have been able to before. It was a GREAT feeling. I was 15 minutes slower than my PB for a half marathon (set in May 2011) which explains some of the gas left in the tank.
* Finished in 1:46:50
Ate and drank well immediately after the race, had a decent lunch and 1 can of sweet potatoes with a small simple pizza for dinner. Focused on hydration and simple food. Alternated between the hot tub and the pool a few times and foam rolled in the evening.
Fuel:
Coach Ben said: Begin in Zone 2. Sounds boring, but your goal is to hold that aerobic pace with a high cadence and relaxed form all the way up to mile 13. At that point, you may notice some “cardiac creep” and a slow rise in heart rate up into Zone 3. That is normal and you should hold yourself in Zone 3 but out of Zone 4 until 20 mile mark. At 20 mile mark, your goal is to “drain your body” for next 10K. It will hurt, but you know that already. Push up into Zone 4, and for last 2 miles, lay it all on the line and go hard as possible.
Runner Brock did: It was hard to keep my hear rate that low – I felt good and I wanted to get moving! I did my best to stay in control no matter how many people passed my slow moving ass. Around 20km I saw Theresa and we ran a chatted a bit and I picked up my pace by accident. A few seconds (not even minutes) after Theresa left me (for a bathroom break), a TNT Coach from Chicago started running with me and I continued to maintain that quicker pace. After he dropped off, I took a break, got my heart rate back down and started in again… but I never really got back to low zone 3. No problem though – I had plenty left in the tank for a fast finish and felt great through Epcot, down the chute and across the finish line. I was 40 minutes slower than my PB for a Full Marathon (set in November 2011) which once again explains my ability to push harder at the end.
* Finished in 4:11:22
In hindsight, it was easier than I expected it to be… not to say that it was easy… but I could have pushed more and dug deeper – BUT – having nothing to compare this race to (I’ve never even done an ultra) it was probably a good idea to err on the side of caution.
I had an unofficial goal (that I dreamed up during the race) of trying to finish both races under a combined time of 6 hours. I managed to squeeze under by 3 minutes! I’m pretty proud of that but I really don’t have anything to compare it to so… yay?
Managed to go to the Magic Kingdom in the afternoon and ride some rides with Franny! I was tired and stiff but didn’t feel as bad as I did in Chicago after only running a marathon. Miraculous!
Am I glad I did the Goofy? Yes. Would I do it again? Maybe… probably not… certainly not in Disney. That place is freaky (people were more interested in taking pictures with princesses than running the race) and not for me. That is all I will say. I am however extremely proud that I managed to raise $5350.00 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Huzzah!
What’s next? I don’t know yet. Triathlon for sure and probably a 70.3 distance but I need to get my own coaching season straight, figure out when we are taking our big vacation and shake off this melancholy feeling I have going on right now – I will race again, I just don’t know when.
Ladies and gents: I have a new Full Marathon PB (personal best, also known as a PR or Personal Record) of 3:31:48. That is nearly 20 minutes faster than my previous PB which was set in New York City last November. I am happy. It’s not a Boston Qualifying time but it is 20 minutes closer to one and that is good enough for now.
The morning and the race both went incredibly smoothly. I got up at 4:45am and ate some rice, quinoa and sweet potato with a big cup of coffee. I tried to have more Beet Juice but I couldn’t stomach it. So, I got dressed, made sure I had everything I needed, woke up Ellie and we headed out to pick up our ZipCar to drive to Hamilton. Smooth as could be – we got there in no time, picked up my race bib and t-shirt and headed off to the start line. Plenty of time to use the washroom (a couple times), took my pre-race Roctane and we were off!
The race itself was pretty uneventful – just the way I like it! Quiet, rural and relaxed. I even put in one headphone and listened to some CBC’s Spark, Ben Greenfield Fitness and NPR’s Science Friday while I ran. It was just like a training run except that I downed a GU every 30 minutes (alternating Roctane and regular GU) and gulped water that was given to me by adolescents in paper cups at every aid station.
At kilometre 34 I started to have some issues. My feet were getting really sore. More so than I have ever experienced… but I kept going. No biggie.
It wasn’t until the last 3km that I really started to feel it. I ended up alternating running and walking in 200m increments. The only thing I regret is not sticking with the 3:30 pacer when he passed me… but in the end, I just don’t have that kind of tolerance for pain in me. It’s something I am realizing about myself. I am willing to put up with a certain amount of discomfort but as soon as the pain/fatigue exceeds that – I back off. Which means I will always race slower than my training potential… but I am ok with that. After all, this is a hobby. No one is paying me. No one is counting on me. Which is something I forgot in Chicago and it really ruined what should have been a fun race.
I crossed the finish line in Hamilton, high fived Bob (one of the photographers I know from iRun) and headed straight for Ellie. I believe the first word out of my mouth was “OUCH” followed by a little bit of celebratory swearing. Then I calmed down and realized I had beat my buddy Terry’s time in the Portland Marathon a month ago. That pleased me – greatly!
After some food, relaxing and limping around, Ellie and I got back in our ZipCar and drove back to Toronto. My legs and back growing ever tighter as we drove. A warm bath in Sweet Birch Oil helped loosen me up when I got home… so did the Flying Monkey “Hoptical Illusion” beer. Yum!
Now I have some time to concentrate on getting my new Team in Training ducklings up and running before I head off to Disney World for the Goofy in January. As soon as I am recovered, I must start doing more back to back long runs in preparation for that. I’ll back off on the speed work and increase the mileage… but I will save that for another blog post.
The race was 10 days ago. It has nearly taken me that long to get over the disappointment.
Needless to say, the race did not go as I had hoped. I finished in 3:57:52 and I was aiming for 3:15 or better. I finished in the top 25% of the 35,670 runners who completed the race but it is still a far cry from what I set out to do that sunny, warm, exciting day in Chicago.
It all went wrong around 20k. Until then I was cruising along at my predetermined pace of 4:35 to 4:45 min/km. Then the weak legs started – just a little jelly in the knees – I pressed through. Then the side stitch started – I pushed through that too. Then I decided to take a porta-potty break (the bottleneck of people trying to get into their corrals before the race started delayed me so much that I didn’t get to pee before the race started)… and that was my biggest mistake. I never really recovered after that. The side stitch turned into full-on stomach cramps, my right hamstring locked up and I started to get a pain in my ankle. I don’t think the aches and pains wouldn’t have bothered me if I didn’t also have stabbing stomach cramps.
I walked for a long time and watched all the people in Corral B (my corral) disappear into the distance… and even some of Corral C. I was disheartened, emotional and hurting; that certainly did not help my situation. My mind went to negative-land and never came back. *Note to self: get a book on sport psychology.
Somewhere around 37km I started gulping Gatorade and water at every aid station and that seemed to help enough that I was able to start running again but by this time the sun was beating down on us and runners were dropping like flies. It didn’t seem that hot out… but it was also pretty humid and the direct sun on our heads was certainly an issue. I think the temperature topped out at 26°C.
Here’s what I ate the day before the race (mostly to remind myself what not to do):
The morning of the race I had:
I think the cocochia was a mistake – too much coconut to drop in my belly before the race. I felt uncomfortable after eating it.
During the race:
This plan sort of fell apart around 25k when the stomach issues got too bad to eat anything. After that I relied on Gatorade from Aid Stations and water water water (in my belly and on my head) from then on.
Mistakes:
So that is that. I am bummed, to say the least, but there are more races to run and lots of time to qualify for Boston (the next registration window isn’t until September 2012). I will live to run another day.
I had a pretty good 10k race in Montreal today. I held back a little more than I could have / should have but I am pleased. I got into a sprinting match with another dude in the last 400m. I have to admit that it was fun. I was right on his heels and he knew it. As soon as we crossed the finish line he turned around and high-fived me. It was kinda cool. Dude, if you are reading this, thanks! I often feel like I am not competitive enough for this sport but that little bit of excitement made me think otherwise.
My chip time was 42:22 and I placed 8th (out of 233) in my Category (males 40-49), 53rd (out of 1959) in my Gender and 58th (out of 5411) Overall.
This morning I got up at 5:45am so I would have plenty of time to wake up and get myself to the race.
For breakfast I ate:
At about 7:00am I took the subway to the starting area, checked my bag and wandered around, gently warming up and using the porta-potties a couple times.
15 minutes before the start I had 1 Gu Roctane (cherry lime flavour) with a couple gulps of water.
5 minutes before the start I took my place at the very front of the 40-50 minute area. As it turns out I could have been in the 30-40 minute area – a lot of folks don’t seem to know their pace very well.
I followed the Coaches directions and started off slower (4:20-ish) and tried to speed up with every km. This is what I ended up doing:
1km 4:24
2km 4:16
3km 4:20
4km 4:13
5km 4:14
6km 4:10
7km 4:16
8km 4:18
9km 4:07
10km 3:54
I slowed myself down a little around 7km because I was afraid I would burn out and not be able to push at the finish – I probably didn’t need to slow down.
The full Garmin report is here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/116932973
It was a fun race. At no point did I feel like I needed to walk and the negative voices in my head (mostly) stayed away. I have never passed so many people in a race before and it was pretty darn good feeling.
When I got back to the hotel I took a shower, had a protein shake and 3 fish oil capsules. Later I took 7Systems and later still I took 4 more Extreme Endurance. I also had a couple celebratory beers and a big bowl of poutine – I am in Montreal, I kind of had to! Vive le Québec!