to the edge and back

"There are as many ways to be successful as a distance runner as there are athletes. You have to develop a training schedule of your own." - Craig Virgin, champion distance runner

well, i'm lucky that my training is more consistent than my blogging. just over a week ago i finished 3rd in the edge to edge marathon, which is easily the most beautiful marathon that i have ever run. ironically, its the second time i have run the race in three years and both times i have finish 3rd over all. http://www.edgetoedgemarathon.com/halfmarathon.htm

with a lot family and friends there to cheer me on, i felt good going into the race. even though i had only committed to doing the race 6 weeks prior, i put in some serious training hours. i only was only running 3 or 4 days a week (50km max), but i was doing a lot of training in the gym. i spent most of my time at fitness world on the bike trying to build up my endurance. for 4 weeks i did 2 workouts a day, which took my body right to the edge, but with about 9 days to go before race day i cut my workouts significantly. one workout every other day for about 40min or less. on race day i was a full 7 pounds lighter than just 6 weeks earlier, but still 9 pounds heavier than in 2006 when i was at my peek.

race day was perfect. it rained the night before. the temperature was about 12C, which is cool, but not cold. i was in the secondary pack for the first part of the race with some great guys. after about 12km i broke away to run my own pace and I ran most of the rest of the race on my own.

with my brother running beside me for the last 10km and my dad making sure that i was taking in enough fluid, i was able to pass third place with less than 15oom to go and hold off a late charge from another runner.

a time of 3:11.41 is nowhere near my PR, but it feels good to know that i am well on my way to getting back to where i once was when i broke 3 hours for the first time at the victoria marathon in 2006.

the victoria marathon, like the edge to edge, is a must do west coast marathon. it is a flat and highly competitive race. victoria is a training mecca for all canadian endurance athletes. all of these factors make for a lot of fast times and PR's. http://www.royalvictoriamarathon.com/index.php

i hope to see you there, cheers...

jesse mcclinton