Tuning In To Your Body

I was intrigued while listening to Lanni Marchant's interview on the IRun Show after her Canadian Record breaking run in Toronto last weekend. She spoke of surging from her training mate Krista Duchene at 30/32KM. They both had a great interview about beating the 28 year old Canadian marathon record. (Lanni's Interview)

As I resonate about my racing experiences, I recollect those late surges, fast starts, and blow ups. 

I'm able to think about all of those questions that must pass through a runners mind when they're toeing the line contemplating their plan. What finish time is too slow or fast? How fast do I start? How do I break the race down?

Besides the many uncontrollable things about a race. (I.e. stomach, cramping, ceasing, weather, etc.) There are a lot of things that are completely in your control. Like pace, training, nutrition, mental fortitude among other things. 

Every runner comes into a race with a plan, be it big or small. It could be "I just want to finish" or “I want to achieve a personal best." I think the number one thing that determines how this plan will unravel is how well that runner knows their body. This comes through training, and tuning in. When I enter a race I'm on the “I want to achieve a personal best" most occasions. I'm the guy who can't just run, and I usually go all out. I think this is part of being 1 of 6 brothers while growing up, I'm inherently competitive. 

In my experience, if I've done the hard work. Be it, speed, tempo, long runs, and I like to include some hills in there. I've only got to worry about tuning in. It allows me to understand where the limits are. I can begin a race and push for a couple of km above race pace, then settle in. From there I can hang around race pace and gauge how my body feels in terms of maybe dropping the hammer the last few kilometers, or staying with the runner that just passed me to see if I can re-pass them later in the game. That's why it's so important to learn your limits. It will allow you to know when you may have a little more or the opposite, when you just can't do it. It will be the difference between a mediocre race, a blow up, or a PB.  

KEYS to mental Tuning: 

1) Training You only get better the more you work at it! I like speed and pace work to mock racing. 

2) Blow up Workout/Race It sucks, worst possible thing. I've been in races where I had to grit out the last 20 even 30KM after blowing up... it's debilitating. The amount you learn from it invaluable. You'll get much better at understanding where you're at physically, and at gritting it out those last few. You'll know how far you can push, because you've been to the bottom.   

3) Time More experiences, the more races, the more pace workouts, all in good time.

4) Right Side of the Bed Some days are better than others. I think everyone can have a sh*tty day. From NHL players to Haile Gebrselassie to you and me my friend.  

Here's to you and tuning in! 

D  

How I Feel about Setting the Pace: 9Run Run 2013

Photo courtesy of Brian Lafleur

The Stittsville 1/2 marathon is a smaller race, but its home. It's a run I really enjoy because it's local, it's friendly, and it supports some great causes. (Emergency services in Ottawa-Ambulance, Fire, Police), DIFD, SolesforSouls, and Stittsville Food Bank. The course can be challenging: it's hilly, and the gravel trail on the stretch to the finish can be ominous for some roadrunners. But I love running through familiar sites/training grounds, seeing the beautiful fall colours, and once again experiencing what amazing Volunteers are all about.

It's hard setting the pace in a race. An amazing feeling, but there's a lot of guessing involved. Because of course you feel this pressure of being in first because you've taken it upon yourself to jump in front; it's a heavy responsibility. It's heavy because if you reach a point of getting passed while in first, it can really deflate you. In Haliburton (50miler) I was running scared, truly afraid I would lose it. Today, I went to my comfortable 1/2 pace, and prayed that I could hold it and no one else could. Though if someone had been leading me and I kept a similar pace, it might have given me the extra gumption to chase after them.

As the race begins, I make small chat with a fellow racer as we speed ahead of the rest of the group. I'm not really sure what my game plan is until we're about 5KM in and I hit my stride. I'm rolling at about 3:40-3:45/km, and I've thought it might be achievable for the remainder of the run. This course is tricky though based on the lengthy stretch of three major hills on Flewellyn. So...you might be in the realm of 3:45/km for the entirety of the run, but unless you can maintain that on the hills, you're average pace won't represent your effort.

After running 100KM on October 5th (14 days ago) I was experiencing a lot of fatigue. Not in the legs, just in general. It made me nervous for this one, but it was a good nervous. I know it helped lift my strength. As I hit my 3:45 pace, I was able to maintain and gap out the runners behind me. I was thankful for the 100K at this point, because mentally the struggles that I went through on October 5th were much harder than those that one experiences in a 1/2 marathon. It made the fight a lot easier than normal.

As I hit the turn around, I start to get slightly fatigued, but I keep my head up and follow the wheelchair rider in front of me. He's been my inspiration all morning. I know that if I consider him "the guy to catch" it will keep my legs moving at proper speed. I pretended he was the leader; it worked quite well for the majority of the run.

As I exit the gravel pathway with less than a 1KM to go I see my Mom. She's down from Scotland to visit me. She's jumping up and down in the crowd screaming. "That's my son! It's my son, he's in 1st! Go Dusty!!!!" I'm blushing and embarrassed. "That's my Mom everyone!" I yell, as I speed ahead towards the finish line.

I've made it. I feel great. It was a beautiful day once again to run, and the last race of my training schedule. From Around the Bay > Boston Marathon > Ottawa Marathon > I2P 52KM Trail Run > Haliburton 50 Miler > 100KM Sears Great Canadian Run > 9Run Run 1/2 Marathon, I've finally finished... AND after 4 years of trying, I've managed to grab 1st place on my hometown run. That was on the bucket list. As a friend from GGT once said (Corey Turnbull) "It's all about who shows up on race day" I do think I got lucky today to win a 1/2 marathon with a 1:20:28. Most are won sub 1:20. I'll take it, I'm proud of it. But I still have a ton of things to learn and work on, and I love that. One thing that has got me through this season undoubtedly is my mental fortitude. Now to work harder on the physical strength to come back next season and maintain the improvements.

It was also so great to have amazing fans at the race today. My wife, son, and Mom filled me with endless strength and inspiration. Gotta love it!! 

Here's to you and setting the pace!

D

Sears Great Canadian Run: Good Guys Tri 100K and $100,000 for Kid's Cancer

The Start of the day. We're all looking great at this point. 

As all 23 of us arrive at the gates of Chateau Montebello, we've finally made it, we're finally there. We take a moment to stop, embrace and collect ourselves together for one last time before we cross the real finish line in 800 meters. What a day, a beautiful day that encompassed a suitcase of emotions, and the epitome of strength and unity. 

Checkpoints (Brief idea of how our day played out timeline wise, it was about 7:30pm I think to end the run. Approximately 13 hours! )

	Checkpoint Number	Total Distance	Distance From Previous Checkpoint	Time To Run Checkpoint	ETA	Estimated  Time of    Departure
	Start	0km	0km	0:00	7:00am	7:00am
	Checkpoint 1	4.5km	4.5km	0:27	7:27am	7:35am
	Checkpoint 2	15.7km	11.2km	1:08	8:43am	8:51am
	Checkpoint 3	17.4km	1.7km	0:10	9:01am	9:09am
	Checkpoint 4	29km	11.6km	1:10	10:19am	10:27am
	Checkpoint 5	30.4km	1.4km	0:08	10:35am	10:43am
	Checkpoint 6	40.2km	9.8km	0:48	11:31am	11:39am
	Checkpoint 7	45km	4.8km	0:29	12:08pm	12:16pm
	Checkpoint 8	55.2km	10.2km	1:00	1:16pm	1:24pm
	Checkpoint 9	60.7km	5.5km	0:33	1:57pm	2:05pm
	Checkpoint 10	66.9km	6.2km	0:37	2:42pm	2:50pm
	Checkpoint 11	73.9km	7km	0:45	3:35pm	3:43pm
	Checkpoint 12	81.8km	7.9km	0:48	4:31pm	4:39pm
	Checkpoint 13	86.5km	4.7km	0:30	5:09pm	5:17pm
	Checkpoint 14	90.8km	4.3km	0:25	5:42pm	5:50pm
	Checkpoint 15	93.3km	2.5km	0:15	6:05pm	6:13pm
	Checkpoint 16	95.3km	2km	0:15	6:30pm	6:38pm
	Finish	96.1km	0.8km	0:07	6:45pm

Get Things Started in Here

My alarm stuns me awake at 4am. I go through the motions of the wake up call, and get dressed in all of my pre-prepared clothes, and eat my pre-prepard bowl of oatmeal. It's robotic at this point, and after a short 4 hours of intermittent rest, I'm satisfied that I'm good 2 go. It's time for the big show. 

My ride arrives at 5am. I'm rolling with my training pal Neil Rosenthal and his parents, (Doug and Carole) who were integral in making our day happen. Along with several other volunteers. The day would never have ran as smoothly without them.(No pun intended :) We had 1 car for every 2 runners, with a total of over 30 volunteers. Drivers, gophers, sweepers, first aid & camera crew. Just amazing, and on a day like today, they were "the oil to our car." 

After we arrived at the Aviation Museum, we pulled up to our convoy of volunteer vehicles. We all helped decorate the vehicles, grabbed our amazing sponsors signs and headed in to listen to the opening ceremonies. After introducing ourselves to one another, listening to the inspiring words of the race organizers, and getting the last pieces of running equipment in order, we were on our way to a very long day! 

The Best is Yet To Come
A quick 4.5KM to our first checkpoint back to the Aviation Museum, we were all anxious to put some real miles behind us and get on our way to Montebello. At first everyone was jubilient and there were a lot of jokes. I got the feeling that everyone had a sense of  relief to shake out the nerves and banter. The first few checkpoints for me, involved getting used to the idea of what we would need  in terms of apparel and nutrition. 
After 90 minutes your stomach really starts to send those hunger pains, so it's important to fuel up. I like to maintain steady fuel from here out, I find it keeps my energy fairly balanced. At 1.5-2hrs on the legs it was a nice point in the run. We were all able to get to know each other a little bit more, and those that already knew each other were able to catch up. It was a beautiful day to run such a long distance and  I'm sure this only added to our great attitudes. Rain would have made this a lot tougher. Our little angels were really watching us and shining their light over us, and on my sun burnt freshly shaven head.  

Goals from the start to finish: (My inspiration to keep me going kept changing the more fatigue weighed on me) 
1) Watch the Leafs vs. Sens Game tonight
2) Sleep in my bed tonight
3) Eat a whopper
4) Drink a beer
5) Run the next 10KM 
6) Run the next 4KM leg
7) Stop thinking, just fall 
8) Just Finish

Everybody Hurts
It was inevitable walking into a 100K run that once the running began, pain would eventually follow at some point; especially on a road run. How does that saying go? "If you're running an ultra and you feel good, wait a while, it'll pass." Our GoodGuys Tri Team had the motto of "one team": volunteers, runners, everyone involved. What a beautiful thing this was. I can remember the time(s) where every one of my teammates was in a down moment. Everyone had their own way of dealing with it, but it was great to have support through those moments. There were stomach issues, nausea issues, fatigue issues, muscle tightness/ceasing/pain, among other things. For any muscle issues we were fortunate to have two awesome lads from Holistic Clinic loosening up any tight or restricted muscles (Troy, Isaac). I was there when they actually busted their massage table out on the side of the highway for one of us with ceasing muscles. Incredible. There was also a volunteer who's a friend to many of the team. In addition, he's an experienced ultra runner (Mike Stashin) and was able to give advice on footwear, blisters, nutrition, and provide good music and treats while driving by us on the course. 
You were never alone in your struggles and I think that was essential to many of us battling through the rough times. As soon as you're mentally deteriorated and something physically goes wrong, it's just an extra irritation. That's when your day spirals. To have people who can help revive you, is why we all crossed that finish line.  


Stop This Train 

We had about 8 minutes reserved for each checkpoint. Though when fatigue struck, that 8 minutes seemed more like 3 minutes. There just wasn't enough time to get everything ready. Perhaps it was that there was so much more to do in the latter stages of the run. These are points in a run that aside from checkpoint errands, you've got to remind yourself of other things too... "How's my salt content?" "Am I eating enough?" "When did I pee last?" "How's my fluid consumption, etc" The checkpoints are good for things like that snack you were craving, the iPod you need to lift your spirits, soft drinks, clothing changes, fresh Gatorade, etc. This was something that I hadn't experienced much, but in the end I made it work, and carried a lot of my nutrition. 

Hurts So Good
My wife, mother-in-law and son were waiting for me at the 30KM checkpoint. I can't describe with words just how good it was to see them, it was amazing and revitalizing. My 3 month old son looked in my eyes and I felt so special, I felt how much he meant to me, and how much I would do for him, and then....just how important it was to finish. They gave me strength. I maintained that strength until about 60KM when I hit my recession. I was coming up to the check point and starting to get tired when I was signaled to the side of the road by my family again. I thought they were gone home 30KM ago, and I didn't think I'd see them again, so when they were there it hit me hard. It was such a good feeling to see them there, I started tearing up. By this point,  I was tired enough that it was tough to leave them, tough to be without them for the next 40KM ahead, just choked. The following 2.5 hours would be what I describe as my dark place. My stomach became weak, eating anything was a struggle, my muscles were exhausted, I was so drained. 4KM checkpoints began to feel like 10KM, it seemed endless.
I started to notice our team's first signs of fatigue/slumps at around 45KM. I encouraged and hungout with those at the tail end for a bit. This was great and it came to pay me back throughout my struggles later on. I can't count the number of teammates and volunteers who came to check on me, first class people. When your trying to help someone who's going through this much discomfort, you can feel helpless. Sometimes just being there beside them is best. It's tough to explain such struggles, it's as if your body says "Ok, I'm done" from there you have to maintain that mental fight until it resides. I managed to comeback to life around 74KM, it was a joke that set me back on track...so funny! I'm grateful to finally understand this battle that I had heard about so many times before. I'm glad I stuck it out. When I came back online, I was strong again, and a brand new man. What a relief! 

 Eye of the Tiger
I felt as if around 80KM we all started to hit some kind of reprieve. Not everyone was smiling, but many of us started to get over "the hill". It would seem that we were all at the point of knowing we were going to handle it, and we were going to finish it. Exhausted or not we were going to finish it. As we all headed into the last stretch, it was an incredible relief. Spirits were lifted, life was grande. Mike Stashin's music helped, and yes, he played Eye of the Tiger..or maybe it was Steve Thomas wearing no shirt and crazy green lights with a wig?  

All These Things That I've Done
I'm reminiscent of the day, it was such a blend of emotions. Between green jumpsuits, singing, making jokes, staying organized, and pushing each other past our limits, while fighting through our own personal battles. We left it there on the pavement, in our blood, sweat and tears. We were organized by two of the best guys I know in Mike Herzog and Steve Thomas of Good Guys Tri. They led our team like true leaders. I wish more of the world could emulate these lads. We really were "One Team" 

The Emotional Finish

As we enter through the gates towards the Chateau Montebello, it's so surreal. One of our teammates starts the GGT Chant..  "People ask who we are!"...."We are GGT" as the rest of us follow along, the sound of our 23 person group is powerful. Within the same breath of our final chant, it's as if our voices are being echoed by the cheers of the crowd up ahead. Shivers rush up my spine, it's so loud, I'm filled with energy. The team in unison pushes Mike and Steve to the front of our group. "let's run it in!" As we make our way through the finish line, it seems there's about 100 metres of crowd. There are people crying, and cheering and I'm overwhelmed with emotion, just completely elated. As I look around, it appears that all of my teammates are as well. We all hug each other, and congratulate one another. We're receiving hugs from crowd members. I feel so small in this big picture, but significant at the same time. What we did on October 5th and the months before was amazing, and it's things like this that push change. We raised over $100,000 for Kid's Cancer research!

I'm so proud to be a part of this group of runners, SGCR, GGT, and any change that may happen based on our efforts. Whether it's new goggles for the MRI machines in the hospital, renovations to make CHEO look more homely for their young patients, or funding for a new experimental treatment that may save a child. This all attributes to the end goal of beating cancer, saving children, and promoting positive change. Being a part of those waves is an honor.

"Leverage Your Passion for Good" -GoodGuys Tri

D



▼Shameless sponsor mentions below!!! ▼
Thank you so much guys. Big hearts, and believing. Just awesome.

Some photos in blog courtesy of sponsor. Zoom Photo. Thank you: Jim Johnston [Photographer] and Joe Elliot [Owner of ZoomPhoto]