Phred

I wear sweats. Running tights are better though as they flop less.

Too cold to run today. we had three of four nice days and today it's -15C (5F) Who said spring has sprung? Not here

Just coming back to this thread and the forum after an absence from it. Good job on all the stories. I like running stories as the tend to be about new beginnings, or return visits... I ran 5K (3.1 miles) today at lunch. Was one of very few outdoor runs this winter. It's been a long and very cold winter... I am very excited for the warmer days.

You don't really need a track. Its certainly helpful, but not necessary. All you need is something to track distance and time. Evenly spaced street lights, or around the block or whatever. I used to use a parking lot that I figured was about 400m. The trick is something consistent. Try doing something like this: Run at your normal pace (or a bit slower) for say 1mile. Do the middle 1.5 miles alternating 400 m fast and 400 m recovery(3 of each should give you 1.5 miles). The fast should be faster than regular pace(but not so fast as you can't do 400m maintaining pace), and the recovery should be slower. Recovery is to get heart rate back to reasonable pace. You could even start your recovery with a walk, (50m or so) and gradually jog for the rest. Then a nice easy 1 mile. Don't over do it. I promise that your speed will improve.

Awesome Work Justin!! And others on here of course! I did my first triathlon of the year this past weekend, and ended up pretty happy. The swim was in a pool, which is quite a bit different than open water. My event times were: 500M swim - 10:32 Transition 1 - 6:33 - (including a 600-700 meter run from the pool to the bikes...) 36KM bike - 1h 08 minutes Transition 2 - 1:20 5KM run - 23:35 My total time was about 1hour 50 minutes. I am especially happy with my 5k run time as my legs were like jello. I am disappointed in my swim, not of the time, but as I had to stop and rest at a wall. I am still struggling with pacing while I swim, and in a pool it's a bit more troublesome. They start people every 10-15seconds, and seed you based on a time you think you can swim 500M in. So you are always acutely aware that there is someone right behind you. Getting passed in the pool is unnerving, so I try to keep my speed up, and tend to start too fast.

Yeah, that 0 indexing of a list is a bugger sometimes too (which is basically what you are saying with 0-127 or 1-128). Many programming languages, have lists (arrays - or whatever) that start with the first element being at index 0 (so the nth element is at position n-1). What's even more 'awesome' in when some datatypes are indexed starting at 0, and some are indexed starting at 1. Copying between them, or working on them together, is just pure bliss.

That's not right, but binary is confusing. 10 in binary is 2 in decimal. 11 in binary is 3. 1 in binary is 1 in dec. You are confused as to what the 1s and 0s mean.... 1 means on for that digit 0 means off for it ... 2^4 2^3 2^2 2^1 2^0 but the 1 means include that digit, and the 0 means -don't-. So for 10, the only digit turned on is 2^1 ; which is 2. I have seen it expanded like: 0010 in bin = 0*(2^3) + 0*(2^2) + 1*(2^1) + 0*(2^0) = 0 + 0 + 2 + 0 = 2 another example. 10011 in binary is 1*(2^4) + 0*(2^3) + 0*(2^2) + 1*(2^1) + 1*(2^0) = 16 + 2 + 1 = 19.

I'll play

wow!! Fast time. Congrats to her

Hey all, just a quick update. I did the Ottawa half marathon last week, and ran 1:44:21, and am super happy. I could have gone faster, but it was nice to finish in relative comfort, and have my legs heal quickly. Part of the reason I eased up on the race pace is that I have registered for a few different types of races this year. On May 18th I did a VERY short triathlon. It's called a try-a-tri, and intended for people who have never done a triathlon before. I probably should have gone up a distance level, as I finished 2nd overall out of 250 people. Anyway, it did the trick, and I am very interested in doing more. I have one (a longer one) coming up next week. I am also going to do a spartan sprint race the following week. Basically a 5k race for idiots that want to climb walls, run up ski hills, and crawl through mud, and lift cinder blocks, and throw spears, etc... while they run 5k . Happy running all...

I did a 21K (about 13miles) training run on saturday, and it went very well. It got hot, so I was very happy when the wind picked up.

thanks e-keys. This time last year I was doing 5k almost 2 minutes faster (21:21) so I have some work to do. It was a long tough winter....

Good for you man. This winter running was tough for me. I did some treadmill, but not enough. I got back at it, and am making steady progress. My last 5k (3.1miles) outdoor run was 23 mins, and I am starting to stay out longer on my long runs too.

Very scary... I am shocked and saddened.

Re: Ed Whitlock. I didn't realize that people outside of Canada knew who he was. Amazing talent. He's awesome and and huge inspiration. Very well known around here, I would LOVE to be able to be doing those speeds now, let alone at his age.

Good for you Eric!!! 1:43 is a fantastic time.

I did the Army run 1/2 Marathon in Ottawa two weeks ago. Here is my story: My 1/2marathon PB is about 1:40, but I haven't been focusing on the super long or the super fast runs as of late. So I decided to setup for a slower pace. I though 1:50 would work, and went and found the 1:50 pace bunny (A pace bunny is a person tasked with running the distance at a specific time. Follow your bunny for your desired time). At this specific race, there were two bunnies for 1 hour 50 mins. One that runs continuous, and one that alternates between running and walking (run for 10min, walk for 1min). Being a steadyish runner, I went continuous. At the start of the race (9000 people) it took us almost 2 mins to even cross the start line. We all get micro chips, so that two mins is counted in our chip time. What it means is that now we are targeting 1:52 by our watch. The first 7 km were good, but by of 7 km in my knee started to bother me. Then I got a cramp. Kind of cry-baby-itis runner 'excuse things' as to why the pace was too hard. I hung in there, and by about 10km, my knee was ok, and the pace felt comfortable again. By about 12 or 13 km in, the two 1:50 pace bunnies were leap frogging each other. The steady guy would catch up with the other guy while he was walking, and then when the walk was done he would rocket ahead... At about 14k in I had plenty of juice, so I hitched my wagon to the other pace bunny as he shot ahead for his 10 minutes of running. Then I kept running when he stopped to walk. I finished in 1:48 (chip time), and I had a great negative split by about 2 minutes. All of those two minutes came in the last 7 KM. I have never finished a race more comfortable, and don't recall if I have ever had a negative split in a 21.1KM run. I have my last of this year in a couple of weeks, and I think I will target a little faster, but still comfortable. maybe 1:45.

Good olympic recap Dave. I am Canadian, and we had a very up and down olympics emotionally. The Women's Soccer 'bad reffing call' in the semi finals (Canada vs. US) is still being talked about daily around water coolers here. The team went on to win Bronze in spectacular fashion though scoring the winner in the 92nd minute of regulation time, or something like that... On the last day, our men's 4x100 relay got disqualified after winning bronze (for stepping on the lane line).. OUCH. The marathon was awesome exciting, the hot humid weather seemed to really spread the field out... Canada sent three people to the marathon this year, and they did very well (20th,22th,27th), and I have run in races with 2 of them, as they are localish... All three said that the humidity was brutal. Canada is seeming to finally have a Marathon presence, which is pretty new. We haven't competed in the marathon at the Olympics in a long time, and the Canadian Marathon Record was set in 1975 (2:10.09). It's about time that record gets busted open.

That is unbelievable stuff. I can't imagine being in that shape!!! I was yelling at the TV too!!! It was amazing to see the end of that race. The pace that they had at the end floored me. To run that fast and have that much energy for a sprint at the end of the event was just awesome. To watch Rupp come from out of contention to silver has me shouting. It seemed to me that if he started his sprint 10 seconds earlier, he may have caught the leader...

Thanks Man. I have no doubt that I can kill 3:58. None. That said, it's been CRAZY hot here, and humid. Nice days to have a pool, but not so much for running

Yup - Get fitted by someone who knows their s#!t. Then once you find one you like, keep buying them.

I find I can do medium length slowish runs back to back to back, no problem. But put a long run (15km or more) or a speed run in there, and I need a day rest. Give it a try B-3guy. pay attention after the first 5 days. Pay special attention to any 'new' sorenes, and don't try to go too far or too fast several days in a row yet.

Thanks Dave. I have never heard of the Jerome book. Very cool. Good for you on the track work. Good idea to drop the distance when you add the speedwork. I am planning on doing something active today. I might try a bike, or a slow jog. I haven't done anything since sunday and even though I deserve the rest, I am starting to atrophy. Thanks for the support Dave, and keep up your good work as well

I wrote a blog about the run, and my 4 year lead up to the run- my first blog on running. You can check it out if you want: http://peterontherun.blogspot.ca/2012/05/journey-to-my-first-marathon.html

Thanks Dave. It is not a matter of 'if' but WHEN I run my next marathon. I will rest as you mentioned. My legs are stiff, but I am aware that I need to give the ticker and lungs a bit of a rest. I am considering this fall in Toronto(about 4hours away), but I am unsure if I can make it due to scheduling obligations. I think I need to concentrate on my endurance a little more, slow down my long runs a little and get more longer runs in. I have been concentrating on the shorter speedier runs, and they got me to 30 km pretty cleanly, I just need to focus on the end of the race. Thanks for your concern about my running buddy. He is back home resting, and the doctor told him that he had intense heat stroke and depleted his electrolytes. He is still going to continue running, and targeting the fall marathon that I mentioned above in the fall. I am sure he is scared, as I would be too.