ENDURrun Stage 7: The Marathon

On the way to stage 7 yesterday morning, someone on the radio mentioned a heat advisory. What perfect weather for a marathon!

I already knew this was a "no pressure" marathon for me, which felt great.

I was going into the final stage in 6th place for the week, so top three was not a possibility unless something bad happened to those ahead of me, which I'm happy to report did not happen.

Earlier in the week, it looked as though I had a chance to beat my time from last year, but the slip 'n' slide that was Chicopee made that disappear. The only way I could get a personal best ENDURrun week would be to run a 3:22 marathon, a PR by 10 minutes. That would be an extremely tall order on a perfect weather day after a nice taper, let alone on a day with a heat advisory after already running 120km in the week leading up to the race. So since that was out of the question, I knew I could run a nice comfortable marathon, enjoy the day, and survive.

The start of the race was more conservative than I have ever seen it. I was happy that people looked like they were going to be smart out there. It was not the day to be reckless. Not that recklessness usually gets you anywhere... but a fast start often happens.

I was initially in a bit of a pack, which started to thin out after the first couple of kilometers. I then ran with Lumi for a while, up to maybe 5 or 6 k, and then ran the rest of the marathon with Joanne. It was great to have someone to run with. I truly enjoyed having company the whole time.

About 1km from the finish, telling the photographer (Jeff Wemp) that I was glad to see that he was still in the shade.. apparently I talk with my hands.

After we finished the seventh and final stage, I ran to my car to get the beverages for Joanne and myself that I had mentioned and promised earlier in the run, and then hung out with all of the other ultimates, guests, relay team members, family members, friends, volunteers, and the race director. What a great group of people to spend time with on a sunny Sunday morning and afternoon!

The week went by quickly, as it always does, and now it's unfortunately time to get back to regular life. I know many people are already planning for next year's ENDURrun. For me... I first need to focus on making sure my toe/foot heals properly, then get back at it and hopefully run a strong fall marathon.

Thanks to everyone in the ENDURrun community, both near and far. Although each year it is a little different and some years have more positive aspects than others, the positives ALWAYS outweigh any negatives that there might be. This week truly is a highlight of each year for me; I love summer camp for runners!

Bright Sunshiny Day

I can see clearly now, but the rain hasn’t gone too far away. Rumour has it (or the weather forecast) that rain is coming again this weekend.

I took today off because my sister, niece, and nephew were coming to visit. It was fantastic weather today and I got to get out for a wonderful afternoon run.

I took to the trail today and saw many people out cycling, walking, blading, and running. It took me a while to remember that it’s currently March break, which explained all of the people with their kids out at the park.

I got to wear some of my spring running clothes today, which was also very nice. I’m glad to not have to layer these days.

All in all it was an enjoyable run. Now I should get back to hangin’ out with the fam.

Today’s Run:
Distance: 11.3 km
Weather: 17 C, Wind SW 22km/h

Mild Late Winter Days

It was another wonderfully sunny day today. Since I was planning on doing a nice 10 mile run today and it has been above zero for a number of days in a row now, I decided to take to a local paved trail that goes through town. I ran through one park on my way to the trail and saw lots and lots of people out and about, walking, inline skating, and playing with their kids in the playground.

Once I set foot on the trail, I saw many more people. Dozens of people out for walks, riding bikes, and other fellow runners. My plan was to stay on the trail until I arrived at another park about 5 km up. I came across one section that indicated it was “closed” but I saw others coming out of this closed section, so I decided to continue. 50m or so down this section of trail it started to be less user friendly. It was snow, slush, and water covered.

I made my way to the second park, where I saw many more people once again running, cycling, skating, and playing. I encountered some more snow and slush, and also mud. There were a few muddy sections in my run today, but nothing too crazy.

For my route home, I decided to stick to the streets: the nice dry streets. The streets also contained many people out for the nice, sunny afternoon.

I love these extra mild late winter days. There’s still no guarantee that we’re out of the woods for snowfalls as it’s only March, but these mild, sunny days really bring a lot of people out to enjoy the outdoors. It’s always nice to see.

Today’s Run:
Distance: 16.5 km
Weather: +6 C, wind W 19 km/h