10k

The 2016 Vancouver Sun Run 10k: Racing as Training /  by Jonas Caruana

I love the Vancouver Sun Run because it's just, so, Vancouver: 43,000-somethin'-odd runners (this year), we take over West Georgia Street, the course is lined with supporters, and the race is accessible to everyone from wheelchair racers, to pro runners (the winner ran it in 28:52!), to families walking it with strollers. It's an incredible excuse to get out with the city and be a part of an awesome, decades-old tradition – this was the 32nd instalment of the annual run, held on Sunday, April 17th, 2016.

Intention

Race Day Protocol – kit check: New Balance 1500v2 shoes. Garmin Forerunner 630 watch with HRM-Run strap. Lululemon 5" Surge Shorts. Asics New York Marathon gloves. Oakley Jawbone sunnies. iPod Nano: the square one (the best Apple ever made!)

In the context of my annual race schedule, this was a 'C' priority race meaning it's just another workout on the plan for the week: its purpose was racing-as-training, not to run my fastest 10k (although that'd be nice!). I knew it was going to be a hard one as the plan was to go for it and try to break 40mins, whilst not losing sight of the fact that the intention of doing this event – aside from getting a hard workout and being a part of a special Vancouver event – was to practice race day protocol.

Race Day Protocol = all the things you do in the 12-24 hours before arriving at a start line. It includes: preparing all my kit the night before. Preparing what I would eat for breakfast. Setting the alarms. Getting up, eating, showering, doing physio exercises, mobilizing the body, putting my kit on. In that order. Paying attention to all the details. Getting into the right headspace, and staying there. This gets challenged when you get on a bus heading downtown and it's full of other runners with lots of nervous energy. I hopped on a bus, looked around at all the other runners, and that was when I felt my heartrate rise and nervousness level increase. It's good to expose yourself to that frequently because the more you do it, you become less sensitive to it, and the more relaxed you can be heading to the start line. And even then, breathe. Control the response. Remember, it's your race. Racing as training is a great way to practice your Race Day Protocol and make progress on the mental side of your race preparation and execution.

Mood boosters

When I know I'm going to show up to a start line feeling less than optimal physically (heavy legs, tired, etc) anything that can help boost how I feel mentally or physically is worth considering. In this case, I wore some dope new socks (definitely won the sock game on Sunday, if I may say so) and put together a race kit that looked wicked. Dressing for success is as true for sport as it is for any other area of life. I gave the legs a fresh shave (again: Athlete mindset. Be ready for action). I also knew that I didn't want to be 'in my head' so decided to listen to music on the run (something I don't do in most events), made a hard-hitting playlist beat-matched to a running cadence of about 180 steps per minute, so I would just lock onto the beat and move my legs to that.

The Race

A 10k is pretty much a red-line effort the whole way for me and that was the plan, plain and simple: stay out of trouble early on (there are so many people to dodge!); then get to – and play with – threshold and push it to the finish line. It's a mostly flat course with just a few inclines involved in getting onto (and over) the bridges. So pretty easy to find and hold a rhythm, and to power through the tough spots.

I had a running buddy – Chad Clark – and we knew we'd use each other as pacers for the first bit and then see how it went: we were both clear that if either of us was feeling good and wanted to go for it – they would go for it!

I felt steady and strong the whole race through – but when I got into the final kilometre, I had no kick in me. Chad lit the jets with about 2km to go and I tried to lift to keep him in sight, but the legs just weren't having it. The pace crept up in the final 500m, but that was due to the downhill of the Cambie bridge offramp, not a surge in leg power!

 Here's a screengrab of the data from the race (from Strava):

Overall

Official chip time: 40:50. Not my fastest 10k, but a damn hard workout and a race day well executed. Mission accomplished!

 

Links:

The 2014 Vancouver Sun Run 10k: 30 Years Running /  by Jonas Caruana

Today was the Vancouver Sun Run, the second race on my schedule for the year. It’s one of the largest races in North America – in this, its 30th year, over 45,000 people attended. The Sun Run has been a race I’ve wanted to do ever since I first visited Vancouver back in 2011. I’d seen all these signs and made a mental note to one day, come back and race it. Today was that day!

2014 Sun Run Course Map

It’s a downtown course with enough elevation to keep things interesting (including one special kicker up Hornby before hooking onto the bridge).

And today was a great day for it: somewhat overcast, cool, and the rain stayed at bay for the most part.

The sheer size of the event lends to the sense of occasion: the six-lanes wide, arterial West Georgia Street is converted into a half-dozen runner corrals that stretch over five city blocks. Each corral is colour coded and giant balloon arches float above helping runners find where they should be.

Whoever sang “Oh Canada” had the voice of an angel. There’s something about a national anthem that rouses people. You hear voices you’d never expect, and a different look comes over people’s faces. I like to think those looks are mostly of pride and gratitude. That’s what I feel in those moments (and Canada’s not even my birth country). Because it’s not lost on me that a lot of people gave a lot so that I could show up today on this cool Vancouver morning to chase down a fast time. There’s something special about that shared moment - the energy shifts somehow and you feel a sense of resonance. You feel connected to thousands of people you don’t even know. I always get a little emotional in those moments - I feel grateful for every start line and the connection it enables between me and all those people who also showed up to do their best. I’m grateful to participate with them.

Race Mantras

I had three ‘mantras’ for today:

  1. I am ready to hurt
  2. I run my own race
  3. I am injury free

And goal times:

  • Under 40mins = good outcome
  • Under 39 = great outcome
  • ‘Dream time’ = 38:30

The first mantra was about leaving the house ready to go where I knew I’d need to go mentally in the latter half of the race when I knew I’d be suffering. It was also a learning from the B&O 5k I raced in Toronto last year where I set a tough time goal but didn’t leave the house willing to hurt as much as I’d need to to achieve it. I got that right today and declared my willingness to dig into the hurt locker from the moment I swung my feet out of bed this morning. My good friend and triathlete buddy Juliet Korver sent me a message that was right on point:

The second mantra was a reminder to stick to the plan and run my race and no-one else’s. This isn’t revolutionary thinking but time after time, I’ve told myself this before the race, the gun goes off and it’s like my lizard brain takes over and the plan goes out the window. All the sudden I’m trying to keep up with this or that guy who’s up ahead or running past me. So today was yet another exercise in the never ending practice of learning to run my own race... "Stick to the plan, man."

Running my own race is also about ownership: everything that happens today is 100% mine. Everything I did do, and did not do. I can’t explain away poor performances with “Oh, I tried to keep up with this one guy and that just blew me out for the last part of the race”. As if trying to keep up with someone were in some way, an admirable strategy for running a race and a fair reason for not doing as well as you’d hoped. Running my own race is thinking that also calms me down at the start line - because now it doesn’t matter what everyone else does: all that matters for my race is me, my goals, and my plan to achieve them. Then the execution, and the outcomes. With that kind of ownership you really set yourself up to learn from each race and improve for the next one.

The third mantra was about staying checked in to my body throughout the race. As things start to really hurt I can sometimes focus too much on handling the hurt in my head and forget about how I’m placing my feet, relaxing my shoulders, leaning forward and just scanning my body and reminding myself “we’re good”. I’d also had a week of the 'tweaks’. My right knee had this weird tweak to it, my left hip felt tight and kept mini-cramping, my right shoulder had an annoying click to it. Sometimes you can over focus on those little niggling things and make them into something they’re not. This mantra reminded me to stay checked-in to my body, and if I did that, I knew I’d have the best chance of an injury free day. 

So how’d it go?

A few pacing reminders

A few pacing reminders

Well, the 1st km was about getting the heart rate going and finding my legs. Don’t go crazy, don’t get held up in traffic. That all happened.

Kilometres 2-5 were about staying strong and steady, and not burning too many matches. That mostly happened, though I might have still gone a little too hard for this point of the race. 

Kilometre 6: deal with the Hornby climb and Burrard Bridge. Basically, run it strong but not so strong that it causes unnecessary lactate build-up. Check. Pain level is climbing. Also somewhere around here my heart rate strap started acting up. I’d just come up an incline and my watch said I was at 109, and I knew that couldn’t be right. While I don’t hang off the HR numbers, I use them as a sense check for how I’m feeling vs. where my body’s at.

Kilometres 7-9: now we’re hurting pretty good. My lungs and torso felt strained. I go to some not great places mentally. I actually considered stepping off the gas significantly to catch a break. My version of “The Blerch” – what my favourite funny cartoonist The Oatmeal calls it - was saying all sorts of unhelpful stuff around being unprepared, under-rested, etc. Thankfully, this was also that part of the race that I’d decided I was willing to hurt through so you just push on. I did not enjoy it. 

Last km: Paaain! Time to lift – and get that last km split back down under 4 mins. I’m stoked to see that finish line; my whole body is well past the red line. I’m toast.

Results:

Final times: chip time 40:32, 10k time on Strava 39:49. For me, knowing I can run 10k in under 40 at this point in the season is what I care about – so I go off Strava time and consider my ‘good’ time goal as having been achieved. Clearly I have work to do on hitting that ‘dream time’ – there is speed work in the near future…

Thank-you Strava!

Thank-you Strava!

And goals 2 and 3? Check and check. I didn’t pace off anyone else. I noticed people passing and said to myself “that’s ok”. Checked-in with my own pace and carried on. And I was constantly scanning my body and separating the good hurt from the bad hurt – of which there was none. 

Post-race. Glad to be done.

Post-race. Glad to be done.

As for the race itself, it was well organized in that they got all the basics right (chip timing, corralling of competitors, gear check and pick-up, course signage and marshalling) but no points for surprise and delight. Email communications could have been better (more clear and concise); they ran out of my size of competitor shirt (but, being plain cotton and not exactly awesome it wasn’t anything to feel miffed about missing out on). At $50 for entry into one of North America’s biggest 10k races, I felt like it was good value and I’d definitely do it again. 

The next race is a big one: my first solo triathlon; the Olympic distance at the Subaru Shawnigan Lake Triathlon.

Onwards.

2014 Race Schedule: The Year of the Triathlon! /  by Jonas Caruana

Ragnar Relay Niagara, Ontario: one of my favourite races in 2013!

So this is the year of the triathlon. I’ve talked about making myself into a triathlete for the longest time. I’ve always loved the bike, and have become a respectable runner, but put me in a pool and I’m out for the count after 50m. This is the year that changes!

Structuring a Race Schedule

I followed the race planning ideas in Joe Friel’s “Triathlete’s Training Bible”, which basically says your races fall into three categories: ‘C’ races are done for experience, as hard workouts, as tests of progress, or simply, for fun. You train through these races and don’t ‘peak’ or rest up for them.

‘B’ races aren’t as important as ‘A’ races; you won’t build to a peak for them but you might plan to rest up for a few days beforehand. I like to think of ‘B’ races as preparing you in some specific way for your ‘A’ races.

‘A’ races are what you plan your season’s training around - they are the races most important to you in the year.

Priorities; Trade-offs and Getting Real

What made scheduling this year tough was letting go of two races that I was really attached to doing: Ironman Canada in Whistler, and a lead-up race for it, the Oliver Half. I was attached because most of my fellow triathletes were gunning for this one-two combo, and I thought it would be a ton of fun to share those specific race experiences together. That said, two big considerations were front and centre for me: race readiness and financial priorities.

First, I was concerned about my ability to get race ready for an Ironman distance swim by mid-year. I was starting from zero competency in the pool, and, having struggled with trying to acquire that skill previously, I wasn’t certain that I was going to be able to pull something magic out of the bag and be ready on time. There’s a time to be ambitious and set stretch goals, and there’s a time to get real. After a couple of starter sessions in the pool, I got very real about how much work would be required.

Second, the financial commitment of Ironman is significant, and adds up to a lot more than just the $700 registration for your ‘A’ race, by the time you factor in everything involved with getting ready for it and getting to it.

And third, I approach my races as opportunities to compete - not just participate. That’s a personal choice born out of a motivation to test my own physical limits and compare them to peers: so showing up and just getting through an event isn’t something I’m up for. When I show up, I show up to race.

So all that considered, I came around to letting go of IM Canada and the Oliver Half, and opened up to other possibilities - which turned out to be awesome.

Here’s how my race season is shaping up….

The Races

April 12: MEC 10k; ‘C’ priority. Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) has a race series that’s relatively new and really well done: they’re organized, chip-timed, and best of all, $15 a pop. Athletes talk a lot about the importance of race-day experience so I’m doing a couple of the MEC events as training races. I wanted to ‘break the seal’ on my race season early in the year, get back into the race-day mindset and this 10k was a low-stakes, easy way to do it. Also, getting that first start line under your belt early only helps build the sense of urgency and resolve around your training plan for your ‘A’ race – you’re really in it now.

April 27: Sun Run 10k; ‘C’ priority. The Vancouver Sun Run is one of the largest races in North America and this is its 30th year. I’ve wanted to run this race ever since I first visited Vancouver back in 2011 and this year is the year! See my race report here.

May 25: Subaru Shawnigan Lake Triathlon, Olympic distance; ‘B’ priority. my first solo triathlon, this is where I will go through all the motions of a full triathlon for the first time. I’m excited! People in Vancouver rave about Shawnigan Lake and I’m told the course – which is in and around the lake – is beautiful. Stoked!

June 8: MEC Half-Marathon; ‘B’ priority. Another training race, my goals for this race won’t be around speed so much as good form, comfort and confidence over half-marathon distance. Because next time, it will be after having swam 2k and ridden 90. Five weeks later will be…

July 13: Subaru Vancouver Triathlon, Half-Ironman distance; ‘A’ priority. This is the big one! What I’m structuring my training around for the first half of the year. It’s on the home turf and the course is very spectator friendly. This is going to be a wicked summer race!

September 6: RBC Granfondo Whistler; ‘B’ priority. For me this falls into the must-do-as-a-Vancouverite category. It’s an opportunity ride the Sea to Sky highway all the way up to Whistler, taking in the views with a couple thousand other cyclists. YES!

November 2: New York Marathon; ‘A’ priority. This one was a surprise. I was originally planning on doing the Malibu Marathon this year as my first ever marathon – my friend Blue Benadum puts on this race and I couldn’t imagine a better event for my first marathon. But at the beginning of the year, another friend – Sam Sykes – says “I’ve got an entry to the New York Marathon this year. Why don’t you throw your name in the lottery and maybe we could run it together?”. And the next thing I knew, I’d won a spot in the TCS New York City Marathon. New York baby!

I’ll post updates here if anything changes - it’s highly likely I might pick up another race or two!

UPDATE: I didn’t do the MEC Half-Marathon on June 8. I’d just come back from some travels, felt I was in good shape preparations-wise for the half-Iron on July 13, and decided I needed rest more than half-marathon race practice.

UPDATE: Added a race. September 1: Stanley Park Triathlon, Olympic distance; ‘B’ priority. This one’s for fun: home turf, on the ol’ stompin’ ground. YESSS!