Trail Running

When I don’t want to be racing the clock I’ve taken to running the trails in Jackson Park or in behind Fleming College.  Not the wide, flat gravel trails, but the twisty turny thin and muddy-ish dirt trails that go directly through the woods.

I went out and did this yesterday with only the idea that I was going to run for about 46 minutes.  That is as long as it took me to run 10K last summer on the roads.  I put my phone in my pocket so that the GPS and the map my run app could track me.  So I had the benefit of not racing the clock for a certain time and distance, but I was able to know that distance and time when the run was over anyways.

It turns out that I ran 7.88K and that took 46:25.  I look at those number and a couple of the other trail runs I have done so far this year and now I don’t find it so surprising that the Mudnewton last year took me over an hour to run 10K.  On the road that would be slow by my standards.  In the woods though, strides are shorter, and I am not travelling in a straight (or very close to straight) lines.  I am going up and down with the trail, constantly changing directions and going up and down sharp inclines and declines.

There is so much to like about trail running, like the freedom from having to beat my time and the views around me.  Oh and my new trail running shoes are really good, once I tied them up properly.  This element really is where running is enjoyable.

The Avengers

It should be no surprise to anyone that has been following along here for a while that I have seen The Avengers (twice).  I even convinced my wife to go and she thought it was good.  And since I saw it I knew that it would end up here on the blog, but what form would the post take.  I’m not really into writing movie reviews, you all can form your own opinion about things like this suffice to say that you should go see it.  I have never read a single Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America or Avengers comic yet I have seen all of those movies (except The Incredible Hulk).  Marvel did a fantastic job of giving these films a common world right from the start in Iron Man and it really made it all come together brilliantly.

Worlds Finest

This is the comic title the features Batman and Superman working together as a team.  I have several of the graphic novels that carry this title and usually they are great.  Putting the Big Blue Boy Scout and The Dark Knight together is something that always intrigues me because as characters they are so far apart.  The first ‘team up’ movie I ever owned carried the same title and I still think it’s great because up until the third act the two of them so not get along, and it’s always fun to see heroes fight (another great part about the Avengers!).

 

Justice League of America

If DC comics was to put out a movie akin to The Avengers, this is what the title would be most likely.  The problem for them is that so far they have laid absolutely none of the ground work to making that film happen to this point.  Yes Batman Begins and The Dark Knight were amazing movies and really captured the whole Batman feeling but they are in their own little universe over here.  There is no mention or hint to the greater DC universe at all and with The Dark Knight Rises set 8 years after and it being the closing chapter of a trilogy I doubt that is about to change.  There has also been a Green Lantern movie, which I thought was pretty good, but again there is no mention of anything else DC Universe wise.  They even say that Abin Sur is the first alien life form earth has encountered which would mean no one has heard of Superman yet in that movie, which with a new Superman movie coming out next year is not all that of a horrible of a thing.  I think this type of movie could be great and The Avengers has proven it has.  But clearly DC has to start getting some single character but linked on a greater scale movies put out.

I like Iron Man and Thor and The Hulk and all that but I’d much rather see Superman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman do their thing all together on the big screen.

Another 5K Race

I went out to Lakefield this morning to run in another 5K race.  The goal this time, on a route I had never run before, was simply to leave it all on the course.  I was determined to not have any ‘That was great, but…’ comments when it was over.  In that aspect and others it was an absolute success.

I showed up at around 7:30am because I thought the start time was 8:15.  Turns out the start was at 8:45.  I got my race kit and wandered around for a bit trying to keep warm as it was a bit chilly, especially when not in the sun.  During my wanderings I spotted my friend Jenna and her daughter that were also racing.  We chatted a bit and shared our hopes for finish times.

Race time was approaching and I edged my way up toward the front of the corral, the race began and I had to manoeuvre my way out of the crowd.  It took a bit of a sprint to do so, but it was worth the effort, especially since by the time I was able to separate a bit the route was on the sidewalk over the bridge.

It turns out a local triathlon training club was using this race as part of their training and I was following one of their girls for a lot of the way.  She was pretty quick, but I stuck nearby as she was running at a pace that kept me pushing myself for more.  The route was fairly flat only two rises over the whole course as we crossed the bridge each way.  By the time we had run down to the point and back I was one the girl’s heels and closing the gap.

At the 4K mark we were about to cross the bridge on the way back again and I over took her, and then another racer as well.  I rounded the last corner and knew she was just behind me so I picked up the pace a bit more.  When there was about 400 metres to go she just passed me far enough that I could see her in my peripheral vision.  I stepped it up again and so did she.  Over the last 200 metres we were both in a full out sprint.  We crossed the line neck and neck and as soon as it was over I patted her on the back and told her awesome job.  Once she had recovered a bit more of her breath she offered me a low five and told me the same.

According to the official time sheet we were a second apart, but I think it only rounded to the nearest second because it was super close, she just had the edge by a step though.  It was a great push to the end and the result was fantastic.

I finished with a time of 21:20.  In this race that was good enough for 4th in my age group.  I take that in stride this time though as the guy that was 3rd was 25 seconds ahead of me and the #1 place was a guy in my age that finished in like 17:30!!!  The 2nd place guy in my age was also under 20 minutes.  When you are Batman, and you are racing against Barry Allen and Wally West (two of the people that have been The Flash) that come 1 & 2, 4th place is none too shabby.  I was the 9th male and the 12th racer overall.

So far I have been in just  three races, in each one I have been in the top 10 males.  In each of the ones divided by age group I have been 4th.  Pretty good considering I just started running last July.

Summer running me is not as ridiculous as winter running me

Racing Saturday

Late Sunday night I was looking at the running room's list of races and noticed there was one in Lakefield this coming weekend.  While I didn't think that a regular road race was as exciting as the adventure race I did last year I did enjoy it and since it was cheap I signed up.

The course is along the river road so it will be a just mildly sloping route and I hope to be able to use the race situation to get a new best time for a 5k distance.  This time, unlike the race a few weeks ago I have not run the course at all.  That means that I will not be able to strategize myself out of a medal, waiting for a certain point to go fast.

I'm aiming for a best 5k time period. Which means push to the limits of what I can do, I will not make the mistake of the last race.  When I get to that last dash for the finish line, it will be with the last drops of energy I have that I cross the line.

I do not want to write another 'I'm satisfied, but...' style of blog post. If I give all I have for the whole race and do not just try to push my way into a medal spot at the end, I'll have no choice but to be happy with the event.