Category Archives: Sport

Marathon Dress Rehearsals


Posted by Patrick Okens

Last Sunday I ran the last 14k of the Toronto Marathon course, and today I did the first two-thirds of the Mississauga Marathon course, both at race pace.

I will be running Toronto on May 5th but both races go on that day, with start lines a mere 25k apart. But that’s another story.

It is fun to do your big races in exotic locations – my last marathon was in Las Vegas, starting down the strip with a stampede of Elvises. But if you’re looking to run a Boston-qualifying time like I am, and think it will be tight, it’s probably best to find a fast course close to home that you can get to know. Toronto, with a net 105m drop and a flat last half, does that for me.

Pre-running part of your race course at race pace has three main advantages:

Pacing: what is the impact of long, fast downhills early in the race, when you should be saving energy for later? Run it and find out! Mississauga’s course profile is similar to Toronto’s and I found those quick stretches not as taxing as I had feared. So if I’m running an equivalent pace early in the race I will be confident it’s sustainable.

Confidence-Building: I suppose there’s always a risk that a long race-pace session can backfire, and that you can be demoralized by failing to meet your expected goal. But if that’s the case I’d rather know and adjust (if necessary) rather than have an unpleasant surprise on race day. And in fact, if your training has been consistent, you should be on track. Today I finished a good two minutes ahead of target pace, and most importantly, with plenty of fight left for the last third of the marathon. This is very different from the Around the Bay 30k three weeks ago, which I finished with nothing left to offer. Now I feel ready!

Visualization: I have run the flat out-and-back 14k between Ontario Place and the Humber River, and that lakefront landscape will be playing through my mind constantly until race day. I imagine myself hanging in through the toughest part (heading away from the finish line), then turning back for the last 7k, grabbing a last gel, and defending the time advantage I’ve worked to build.

And finishing ahead of my goal pace with a smile.

 

 


My Body on Marathon


Posted by Patrick Okens

The needle on the scale shudders, then settles on 145lbs. I stare down. I’m surprised to be this light, but I shouldn’t be.

This post is about losing. Not in the competitive sense, but in the physical. For me, running has meant dropping a few pounds and a few toenails. How I deal with both in the coming weeks will affect my performance as I prepare for the big race in early May.

You don’t have to be a genius to know that if you expend more calories than you consume, your weight will drop. I’m in the middle of the biggest run training weeks of my life – over 90k. I’m also down about 5-10lbs from my usual weight. Although I’ve trained hard at other sports (triathlon and rowing), I haven’t shed the weight as easily as I am now. I suspect this has to do with the comparatively few muscles needed for running.

So pick an adjective: lean, wiry, slim, skinny, scrawny. Sure I feel bonier – especially around the knees – but I also feel quick and efficient at running, which is the point of training.  It’s not exactly a beach body, but I’ll do the Baywatch look some other time. That said, I’m not keen to drop more weight – I have had a tendency to get sick more easily when underweight. So extra helpings are now in vogue.

At ground level, it’s uglier. My “index” toenails have turned back, and the dead nails on my big toes are awaiting their replacements growing underneath. Long runs are to blame. Slam your foot into asphalt or concrete 15,000+ times over three hours and the capillaries in your toes will start to burst. Fluid will accumulate under the nail and the gruesome “liftoff” process begins. It hurts, and I have been relieving the fluid pressure with a flame-sterilized needle slid under the dead nail (revolting but not painful). The biggest danger with nail damage is that it is causing me to change my stride which could lead to other injuries. I have a bit of that right now and so I’m backing off on distance and am cross-training with a bike.

So keeping the weight loss reasonable and preventing injury is the battle plan two months out. I’ll save the martyrdom for race day.