Money for Nothing

So today's Yaletown Grand Prix was an interesting affair where I ran like a complete muppet and yet still walked away with $125, which I feel is rather undeserved. Since pressing the 'autofill' button on itunes last week my ipod shuffle has had Dire Strait's Money for Nothing on it. With an amazing guitar riff and lyrics it seems rather pertinent to how I feel.



The whole race set up was pretty incredible, the 900m of closed roads around the district made for some cool racing, although the cyclists made it look better than the runners did. The cat one riders were tanking it! Having all of it just one block away from home was especially fun and it really was just a case of walking out of the front day to get to the start line.

I made a class 'a' error right from the start. I saw a young guy warming up in Asics kit and thought it was probably Ryan McKenzie so when the announcers didn't call him up I thought the race was open and I stood a chance of going for the win. Little did I know that my lack of knowledge of Canadian distance runners would cause me a lot of grief as both Richard Mosley, a sub-30 10k runner and legendary marathoner Steve Osaduik were on the start line. I should have picked up on Steve's name but I was listening for 'Ryan McKenzie' and had turned my brain off to anything else.

Me centre, with Richard in blue on the right and Steve in yellow on the left

I stuck in behind Richard and Steve for the opening of the five laps and felt pretty good, however I knew I was never going to be able to live with them as we headed out on lap two. We got a nice gap on fourth and I dropped off hoping to hold a decent pace to stay ahead of the pack, however the damage had been done and running solo was a real effort, especially with a headwind on the longest stretch of the course.

Lap two was decent but unspectacular as the guys started to disappear and I started to feel I was being caught on lap three. Come lap four I was overtaken by Tom Michie from Kelowna who had paced his effort a lot better than me. He drew alongside heading up the short hill at Davie and I couldn't hold on to the back of him when we got to the flat. By then I was already rocking and rolling so I backed off to ensure I didn't completely blow up and lose fourth. Lap five felt better as I knew I couldn't be caught and I managed a final kick off the last bend, but by then Tom was well up the road.

Getting dropped on lap two by Steve (left) and Richard (right)

Although I pocketed $125 I don't really feel like I've earnt it. I'm more disappointed with the ridiculous naivity which cost me third place. No disresepct to Tom, but I know deep down that I really should have done a lot better, but come the day he ran a much better race, paced the course to perfection and showed me a clean pair of heels, so full credit to him, he delivered and I didn't.

Secondly the prize money seemed too much for what I actually ran. Richard and Steve deserved their $400 and $200 respectively as they're great runners... but $125 for finishing fourth with a poor performance? You've got to be having a laugh. It's the same amount as the guy who finished fifth in the pro bike race, and that was 65 minutes of flat out wheel to wheel racing where the pack had a sprint finish... and he would have been a top cyclist riding for a team. There were even national champions and tour riders in there, crazy!

All in all a great first Canada Day, which incidentally marks my 100th day in Vancouver, and a super event atmosphere, but probably the worst race I've endured since Northampton Birmingham League back in December of last year with this feeling of guilt that I don't deserve a penny.

Signed, sealed and delivered

Well I said my target for tonight was 15:45, and I hit 15:42 at the Longest Day 5k, so how's that for prediction accuracy?

Me (4th in 5k), Ian (9th in 5k), Brad (1st in 10k) and Jay (3rd in 5k)

It was pretty much textbook stuff, exactly as planned. The opening downhill kilometre was quick, and I started conservatively, tucking in behind Mike and Phil from VFAC and Ian from Lionsgate for the opening 500m. I realised we were effectively in a pack sitting in sixth position so I made my move coming off the downhill and into the uphill second kilometre. I managed to get a gap on the bunch and noone came with me, and I quickly reeled in the guy in fifth who had gone off too hard.

I tried to keep my pace on the inclines consistent and strong, focussing on technique and efficiency rather than effort. It worked well and once I was on the flat again I was able to open my stride and get back into a nice rhythm. I visualised Ryan Hall striding out up in Big Bear Lake, California, just wanting to praise God with every turnover of his legs - tonight's run was about using the abilities I believe the Lord has given me rather than trying to run well for personal gain.

This video, Ryan Hall: Passion for the Run, has really inspired me.


Slowly I started to track down Graeme, a 70min half marathoner who clocked 2:31 for the Calgary Marathon just two weeks ago and ran a 32:40 10k last weekend. Going through 3km in 9:18 I managed to latch onto the back of him and made my move on the slight incline back to the main drag. With his incredible strength and stamina I was worried he would manage to cling onto the back, but thankfully for me it was decisive.

The final kilometre was a nice run in to the finish, striding out on the slight downhill gradient, then raising the tempo 400m from the line. Running up onto the grass was tough, but I still felt pretty good and so to finish with 15:42 is very pleasing. Hopefully on a flatter, faster course I can get down to 15:30. Now I've got to decide what to spend my $75 prize money on. Suggestions please.

Jay was always up the road from me, although his race was a solo affair, caught between me and the leaders who ran 14:22 and 14:27 respectively - highly impressive. VFAC were towards the fore throughout the 5k with Phil and Mike right behind along with Ian.

Ooh err missus, check out those socks!

Brad stormed the 10k, running with another two guys for the first 4k before making his move and pulling clear. On a relatively undulating course his 34mins is very solid and he should go well in the Scotiabank Half Marathon in a couple of weeks! I'm not sure about his compression socks/number belt/lycra shorts under split shorts attire though, haha.

Smash ups!

Thankfully my injury has slackened off and the peroneus has relaxed, albeit not completely. Therefore tomorrow evening's 5k is on like Donkey Kong. I cycled back home via Brockton Oval this evening and dropped in a mile in bare foot on the grass followed by 6 x 100m strides and it felt fine, so I'm ready to rip it up.

British NCAA runner Luke Cragg coined the phrase 'smash ups' to describe how he wants to attack a race, and I'm borrowing it for tomorrow. I want this 5k to be the result of the hard work I've put in. The thousands of miles I ran between September and March and the subsequent speed work I've been doing in Vancouver.

I want to take this race apart, I want to build into it, run the opening kilometre controlled, enjoying the downhill, then work hard on the uphill and the second kilometre before letting the legs open up through kilometres three and four on the flat. Kilometre five is going to hurt like hell, I know it will, I want it to. I want to feel the pain of pushing myself to the limit. I want to taste the lactic acid rising up from my legs into my mouth. I want to run that final kilometre completely balls out, on the wire. I want to run it how Luke Cragg would run it - smashing it up.

Target time: 15:45

The Trials and Tribulations of Beaver Lake

Thursday's are workouts in Stanley Park and last night was the hottest one yet. As temperatures soared up in the thirties for most of the day I was keen to get under the bows of the trees and down lakeside where it was cooler as soon as possible.

Given the fact I have to run over four miles just to get to Brockton Oval to meet the guys I sometimes feel like I've done too much before we even get going on the rough stuff, and last night was no exception. With 6.5 miles showing on the Garmin I had already worked up quite a sweat before John informed us of the 1k, 2k, 2k, 1k interval session around Beaver Lake. With the predicted times of "2:55" and "6:10" given to Brad and I, it was evident that it was going to be pretty solid.


Beaver Lake in Stanley Park - 1km perimeter

Starting at aggregated time intervals Brad, Jay and I soon found ourselves ploughing through the dust storm spewed up from the runners in front as we caught them on the relatively narrow gravel path. Somehow Brad can always muster a shout of "on your left", which is very unnerving for someone fighting for breath as I always seem to be when I try and keep up with the king of the heel flicks - he really does have a great running style. We managed to navigate our way through with Jay crossing the kilo in 2:53 with Brad and I in 2:57. First one down and I felt sore: legs burning, lungs coughing and with the breathing rate of an asthmatic in Beijing rush hour.

The 2km rep was pretty decent, with Brad putting distance into me in the final quarter as he went with Jay's increase in pace. A rounded up 6:09 was bang on what the coach ordered, but I knew a repeat in the next rep would be out of the question. Sure enough Brad ran away from me early on and a 6:18 was clocked in the diary; not too bad but not great either.

Trying to recover in the lead up to the final rep is tough to do when all you can think about is the pain and suffering it's going to cause. For some reason I got pretty nervous, although in reality I knew it wasn't that much of a big deal. I have a habit of slapping my outer quads, breathing deeply and getting agitated when I get anxious and I was certainly feeling the heat. Dehydration was starting to work against me and I felt very parched so I was keen to get it over with and back to the carpark.

With the mass start I was very concious of the guys just behind as Brad latched straight on to the back of Jay and disappeared into the distance. All alone I could hear the pounding feet on the gravel, the sound of deep exhales in my ears and the all to familiar feeling of instinctive primeval 'fight or flight' adrenaline rushing into my system. I wasn't going to let myself get caught, not today! Turning for home into the cooler air I surged for the line, closing the gap on Brad, but nowhere near fast enough to get on even terms - a bang on 3:00 for the kilometre was a just reward and welcome closure.

Once back at Brockton I spent a good minute at the water fountain, surprising myself at how much I could drink without feeling nauseous. I jogged back to the city with Jay who has been buzzing about his impending trip to the fabled Prefontaine Classic in Eugene this weekend. Jealousy isn't quite the word I'm looking for... envy might just suffice, haha.

All in all it was good to get the session done and have a rest day to follow. I have pushed some decent mileage this week, considering the time of year; and coupled with the 16 mile round cycle commute each day my legs have welcomed the rest. Hopefully that workout around Beaver Lake has give my muscles something to think about for next week's Longest Day 5k race at UBC. Time will tell!

Read Jay's summation of the workout, 'Ode to Beaver Lake'.
Read Brad's blog regarding the session, 'VFAC Thursday 1, 2, 2, 1'.