Peter's Team Diabetes Triathlon (and formerly Marathon) Blog

This feels to have been a very long week. It's been very busy at work and my stupid cold continues to linger. Managed to get out and run for 40 minutes last night. Today is a rest day.

This weekend marks the end of September and it's also "Run For The Cure Weekend". The UNB team for this event has swelled to over 200 members and they have raised over $20,000. My administrative assistant, Niki, has been one of the driving forces in the effort. She is a real dynamo and deserves a great deal of credit for all that she has done.

Last night when I got home from work I decided that in spite of my lingering cold I would get out and do at least a short run. I was aiming for 20-30 minutes. It was a nice warm evening so great to be out. I'm sure that some in the neighbourhood must've thought I was a 2-pack-a-day smoker as I trotted by coughing up a storm. In the end the route I chose took 25 minutes and in that time I managed to work up a good sweat.

After work tonight I'll be aiming to do a 45 minute run and by Saturday, hopefully, I'll be back to full health and able to jump back into my training schedule.

Ever since I finished the long run on Saturday morning I have been feeling crappy as a result of a cold. I skipped my recovery run on Sunday, my hill training on Tuesday and today's 60 minute easy run. I am really hoping that I'll be feeling better tomorrow so that I can get back into my training schedule. I'm not really worried about the impact that this layoff will have on my preparations for New York. Most of the "hay is already in the barn" as they say (meaning that my fitness level is already pretty well established) and a bit of extra rest is generally good for the body. Nevertheless, psychologically it's important to me to feel that I'm on the mend as I approach the final 3 weeks of tough training. Hard to believe, but that's all that remains, followed by a couple of weeks of "taper" and then it's time for the show to begin.

Finished off Week 15 with two good runs. On THursday I did a 60 minute "steady state" run and was able to exceed the pace that Coach Mike had targeted. I know he wants me to be careful about going "too fast" (note: this is a relative term since my "fast" is barely a shuffle for many runners!!). That said, it feels really good to complete a workout, do the calculations and have it revealed that the pace was even better than the goal.

Today, Saturday, was my second 220 minute LSD - that's 3 hours and 30 minutes for those of you playing along at home!! Plan was to do the run at 11:00 minutes/mile with a 400m sprint every 20 minutes. I wasn't feeling great - tired and a bit of a cold - when I hit the road at 7 a.m. and it was pretty chilly (5c) with a threat of rain. Fortunately the rain held off and within 20 or 30 minutes I was into a good rhythm that I was able to sustain the whole time. End result was 32km (20 miles) at 10:59 minutes/mile.

Tomorrow is a short recovery run and then a well deserved rest day on Monday which will be the start of training week 16. Only 6 weeks till marathon day as of tomorrow morning.

Once again today I was up before the break of dawn and hit the streets at 6 a.m for a 60 minute easy run. Within 10 minutes of leaving my house I was crossing the Westmoreland Street bridge and by the 20 minute point I was in the heart of downtown. I thought to myself that it's pretty cool to live in a spot where in a mere 20 minutes of running time you can be downtown or if you head in a different direction you can be out in the country alongside a historically important river like the Saint John or in a wilderness area alongside a small river like the Nashwaak. Always important to count your blessings and calling Fredericton home is certainly one of mine.

Received my 8th installment in my training schedule to cover weeks 15 and 16 in my preparations for New York. Yesterday was the usual - a rest day!! Today I had a 60 minute easy pace run to do so got up at 5:15 a.m. and hit the street at 6 to get it done before work. Run went really well so feeling energized and ready to face the day!

Today was the annual Terry Fox run across Canada and around the world. I make a point of taking part to honour a true Canadian hero. It was absolutely beautiful here in Fredericton and there was a good crowd of all ages participating. I ran the 10k course in just under 57 minutes which was the pace goal that Coach Mike had established for me.

For the past two years I have had the pleasure of serving as Chair of our region's United Way campaign. As is their tradition, a caricature of me was done. Although I'm not sure that the facial likeness is all that great, they sure picked up on a number of my traits. They've pictured me in a fedora (my attempt to revive a classic trend) and UNB hockey jersey (Go V-Reds!!) with my guitar and wearing running shoes, heading for NY. How great is that!!

The thermometer shows that the campaign raised more than $1 million during both years that I ws Chair. The people of Fredericton, Oromocto and region are truly generous.

This morning I did my first training session of Week 14. I was a little concerned that after a great run on Saturday that I would have a tough time today. Happy to write that this was not the case. Plan was to do a warmup, then some 50m sprints and then 5 x 1200m repeats. Target time was 6:30 per 1200m. I managed to do all 5 in less than 6:30 and felt really strong throughout. I am by no means fast but I can really sense how doing this "speed work" is heloping my form and how it helps me to keep up a more consistent pace on the longer runs.

Wow! Had a great run today. Goal was to do the first hour at 11:00/mile but it turns out I was roughly 10:40. Second hour the goal was 10:30 but I averaged 10:15. Third hour was the toughest. Goal was 10:15. Managed to achieve 9:54 but I could feel myself fading at around the 2:40 mark.

By the end of the run I was certainly happy to be finished but I'm thrilled that I've met the latest test. I am really pleased with this performance. I expect Coach Mike will tell me I need to be careful about not pushing to hard.

Eight weeks till New York!!!!

Had two good days of training this week following the tough hills session on Tuesday. Wednesday was a 30 minute recovery run and yesterday was a 60 minute run at "steady state" pace, wround 10:30 minutes/mile. I was a little concerned about my ability to judge that pace so I mapped out a route and took note of where the mile markers were. I went out a little too fast - around 9:30/mile - but was able to slow down on the return trip. Overall, my pace was just under 10:00/mile.

Rest day today and then a big test on Saturday - a 3 hour "progressive run" with the target pace increasing each hour.

Today I did my third session of hill training. First time (in PEI) was a novelty. Second time (last week) was a challenge. Third time (today at noon hour) was a chore. I managed to do all 6 repetitions but I'm not thrilled with my performance, which was very inconsistent. At least I got it done though. Light run tomorrow and then a 10k to do on Thursday.

It's been a pretty quiet long weekend. Saturday I was feeling lazy almost all day so I didn't get out for my run until late in the afternoon. Although I wasn't looking forward to doing it, by the time I was out and moving it felt good. I did 90 minutes at easy pace. Yesterday (Sunday) I left my run until even later and didn;'t get going until 9 p.m. It was just a short 30 minute run so no big problem.

Got my new training schedule from Coach Mike via email today. This week I have another dose of hill training and then on the weekend I have a 3 hour run to do with the pace increasing each hour. This is known as a "progressive run". I hope I will be up to the challenge!

Oh my goodness. The Labour Day weekend is at hand. Where did the summer go? On the upside, I suppose I should be pleased that the marathon start is growing ever closer.

It's been a busy couple of days. Yesterday I was to be out of town so I did my run at 6 am. It was chilly out but very pleasant and the 40 minute run felt great. Today is a rest day and then Saturday/Sunday I'll be doing 90 minute runs.