Trail Running

Oakville, Milton and Hamilton are a few of the best places to trail run. I have a few different routes I usually do to stay away from wind, cars and to be totally honest people seeing me. I always get asked when I run and I tell them hit the trails and you will find me! My shoes get a bit muddy but I stay injury free and field with energy. A study I read one time in Runners World explained that running on the road around cars and inhaling C02 decreases performances by 10% on the given day. After that article I always hit the trails.

As Runners World Puts it..My RAVE TRAILS

NEYAGAWA TRAIL: Take Dundas and head south on Neyagawa Road in Oakville. Park at the baseball diamond and head across the street into the trail. It is a 8.5 KM loop taking the East to West bank trail. There are 2 major downhills and uphills and rollers all along the run. It gets a bit confusing so focus on the signs when you are doing this loop. If I have a hilly run to do or focusing on strength this is the way to go. I also can leave bottles on the side of trail so I don't have to carry them.

DOG PARK Oakville: Take Dundas to Eighth Line and head South until you see the Dog Park on your left hand side across from the church. It is a 9.5km loop, which is my run I use to train for Boston. It is 5km downhill then 4.5km slightly uphill with usually a headwind the whole way back! I usually do 3 and a bit laps when I got to my peak training. Route: Head from Dog Park across street to church. Take trail left across Glenashton and start heading south. Cross over Upper Middle Rd and head down the big hill. Once you come out along the flood line head East over Eighth Line and follow the pipe line until you enter a trail on your right. Take it up until you shoot across Upper Middle Again and head up Grand Blvd. Keep heading North on Grand, which becomes North Ridge and make a left onto another pipe line, which will take you back to the dog park!

16 MILE CREEK TRAIL: Take Dundas, West just before you cross over the bridge and see Appleby Line you want to park next to the School Bus Depot. The entrance looks like a driveway but when you get in you make a hard left and the run is amazing. Not the best footing but so much fun to run in the mood. I usually do an out and back 12km run.

HILTON FALLS: Little Trick is to enter from the road up Sixth Line Hill...you didn't hear that from me;) Once in the loop is a 9.5km Loop along the Beaver Dam Trail. It is good to do once but I find doing 2 loops puts a lot of strain on my ankles and last thing I need is to roll and ankle. Also during the summer there is a lot of walkers and bugs!!

DUNDAS VALLEY: Located off Roaussex Rd up the Mountain. Take the 403 through Hamilton on your way to Ancaster. This is a great trail for MTB and running. You can find many Kenyan runners and McMaster cross country runners out in these trails. Very Similar to Neyagawa so think twice before making the drive out!

Enjoy the season!

Saucony Kinvara

Today I got word that I will be receiving the new Saucony Kinvara shoes. I am super excited to get them on my feet and ready to go fast at the Boston Marathon this Monday!

Here is what Jessica said about the shoe!

All my athletes but one are trying them out and likely racing in them. They're a lightweight trainer, but absolutely great for race day still. To give you a good example, I've had one of the athletes who's competing at Boston, wear them at the U.S. national 1/2 marathon a few weeks ago, and he loved them. He used to be in the Type A3 for race day, but they were just too minimal for him at these distances. The Kinvara was perfect balance of lightweight, cushioning and speed. The men's Kinvara weighs in at 7.7oz, a training shoe typically weighs around 11.5oz, and our lightest racing flat (Type A3) is 6.7oz. You can do the math, but you're looking at a lot of extra cush for the Kinvara.

We've coined the phrase "minimalism meets maximum performance"

Just over a week to go!

Around the Bay Pics

Krista makes the pictures look good..haha Saucony What!

2010 Race Schedule

I have finally figured out my 2010 race schedule. For most of you who don't know the WTC came out with a plan to increase the drug testing in the Ironman and Ironman 70.3 races all over the world. I will have to admit going to a race and watching some of these athletes drop a 1:11 half marathon off the bike is very impressive, but we will never know if it was them or something helping them. These tests will put all the comments to rest because each athlete will be tested when getting their Professional Membership to the WTC. The upside to the card is you can race any Ironman or 70.3 around the world with no hassles at all. Just give them a call and you are in. The downside is it costs 750 US. This being said, I decided to focus on the great events in Canada and within driving distance in the states.

The races in Canada, to be honest are the best around. There a few race directors who really care about athletes and the safety of the sport and are not just looking for a fast buck. If you are a beginner or advance triathlete I would look to 1) Trisport Canada 2) Multisport Canada and 3) Esprit Triathlon in Montreal. If you are looking to go abroad then there is a great series called Rev3tri, where Heather has put out some pretty cool prizes for pros and age groupers!

Also if you would like to race and help out against cancer then check out 1) Joe's Team and 2) Half full tri in MD, which helps fights against Cancer in Teenagers. Both are great event that I am excited to help out with.

So after all said and done here is my 2010 race schedule:

APRIL 19th - Boston Marathon

MAY 24th - Victoria Duathlon (Trisport)

JUNE 6th - Rev 3 Tri 70.3 in CT
JUNE 27th - Welland 70.3 (Multisport)

JULY 10th - Joe's Team Sprint in Muskoka
JULY 25th - Muskoka Chase (Trisport)

AUG 8th - Bracebridge 70.3 (Multisport)

SEPT 11th - Esprit 70.3 (Montreal)

OCT 3rd - Half Full Tri 70.3 in MD

Around The Bay Race Report

Before I start I have to give some serious shout outs to a few athletes. Evan, Simon, Mike, Kyle, Mitch, Brian, Mark and Krista had a great race. It was a great field of runners and glad I could be a part of it!

This was my first time doing Around the Bay 30km race. I usually split the 15km Relay with a client and have some fun but because of Boston I had to get a long run in...so why not a race, it's what we do! We had perfect weather with a slight headwind for the first 15km, nothing crazy just enough to make you tuck in behind the bigger guy;) Thanks Roger for the draft! My plan was to go out steady and descend.....and so here is what happened!!

Gun went off and I got excited. I feel into a nice pace, and of course hitting the first km it was 3:32, not 4:10. So I went with it. I figured I was feeling good and if I keep a consistent pace and don't over do it I should be alright. The group finally settled down and we were running around 3:50 per km. This was my marathon pace so I went with it. Because we went out a bit quick when we hit the 10 mile marker we were spot on 60min. This is about the time I got smart...yes everyone smart.

Krista and Roger put a slight surge after getting water and I let them go. I hit 3:50 again and they must have hit a 3:43 km on that 17km split. Later finding out Krista's GPS wasn't working that great and it said she was running slow, where really us old school watch people had the right time...mmmm This is when I put it in cruise control. I felt awesome, the hills felt easy and I was right on pace. I had 3 gels by the 24km point and the legs were still strong as ever. I hit the top of heart break hill and just kept banging off 3:50 per km until I hit Copps. Finishing time 1:56:45. AVG 3:50 per km.

So I woke up this morning feeling fresh and headed to the pool. The legs felt worked but not overdone. I was able to put down a solid 3km swim followed by a cruise 10km run. Legs feel great confidence is up and most importantly I had a ton of fun out there. It was great watching everyone run on such a great day!

Zersenay Tadese 58:23 WR in Lisbon

On March 21st the new Half Marathon Record was set. Check out the video very impressive

Around the Bay Race Plan

The past couple weeks have been a real debate on how I was going to race Around the Bay.

A little background on the race. It is the oldest road race in North America, yes older then the Boston Marathon. It is a 30km route that takes you 15km down hill then into the North Shore for 15km, which is all up and down hills. Many people say it is ideal training for the Boston Marathon and with 4 weeks to go fits right into the game plan of training for a marathon. NOT

Around the Bay races like a marathon. It breaks you in such a way that there is no chance for a solid recovery before the Boston Marathon. My coach, Gord Dickson has won the Bay many times and was pretty up front with me in his thoughts. I have big goals for Boston so beating myself up before it is not the best game plan. So, this is what we decided on.

I am in the front of the pack, so it will be good to go out controlled and not over do it. It will be mentally tough because I know I can run with the guys but I have to hold back! 15km is slightly down hill so I will be cruising around 4:10 per km and looking to come in around 1:03 at the half way point. Mentally I will be raring to go so I am then going to drop down to Marathon race pace, which will be 3:50 to 3:53 per km for 10km. This will put me around 1:44 in time and with 5km to go I am going to pick it up and go for the 2 hour. Not too worried about going sub 2 hour it is more a game plan to see if I can stick with it.

This race is going to be a great confidence booster if I stick to the game plan. I am not looking to crush it just prepare myself for the excitement of Boston and not going out to hard like most people do!

Excited to see everyone out there, and train safe...I will be the one with the new Bright yellow fast twitch shoes from Saucony on. Also keep an eye out for Krista Duchene who is also with Saucony. She is killing it right now and excited to see big things from her this weekend!