CheapRunnerMike's Race Recaps - Boston 2016 and a Bunch of Triathlons

You are an awesome reminder that it is okay to both have fun and totally CRUSH IT at the same time. I'm in awe that you won your first ever 50k! WHAT? Awesome!
 


Mike, great job as usual. I don't drink so I would never try the alcohol during a race. I don't think I would even if I drank. But, I could SO go for some peanut M&M's during a race. I love them so much and it would be the only time I don't feel guilty eating them.

I would love to try a 50K at some point. You are already in pain at the end of a marathon anyway, what's another 10K.

I love reading your reports. It shows what can be accomplished with the right training and hard work. I'm not saying nobody else works hard on the running thread, obviously, but you have given me something to shoot for. I'll never be as fast as you but I know I have much more in me than I have been showing the last year or so. So thank you!
 
Mike, great job as usual. I don't drink so I would never try the alcohol during a race. I don't think I would even if I drank. But, I could SO go for some peanut M&M's during a race. I love them so much and it would be the only time I don't feel guilty eating them.

I would love to try a 50K at some point. You are already in pain at the end of a marathon anyway, what's another 10K.

I love reading your reports. It shows what can be accomplished with the right training and hard work. I'm not saying nobody else works hard on the running thread, obviously, but you have given me something to shoot for. I'll never be as fast as you but I know I have much more in me than I have been showing the last year or so. So thank you!

Thanks Scott, looking forward to seeing what's in store for you once you're back out there!

I fully endorse the beer as fuel strategy. It's good for hashing and the only way to survive a Beer Mile. :)

The benefits just keep on coming...

 


Great job Mike!! I love that you still had fun with the margaritas and limbo too! Trail races are so much fun! Amazing job!
 
Awesome job Mike!...I've enjoyed your race recaps going back to (I think) the 2015 WDW Marathon when you went sub 3. Thanks as always for sharing.
 
Do you only update this with recaps of races? I guess the weather hasnt exactly been ideal for races up north lately so that would make sense... Looking forward to the next race report!
 
Do you only update this with recaps of races? I guess the weather hasnt exactly been ideal for races up north lately so that would make sense... Looking forward to the next race report!
Ya I guess I only really do race recaps...I just think the rest of my training is pretty boring. We usually have one or two races a month up here during the winter months but I just haven't bothered with them the last couple of years. I need to take some time off from racing to just enjoy running for what it is :)
 
2017 Around the Bay Recap

Race report! My first race of the season was this past weekend in Hamilton, the Around the Bay 30K Road Race…oldest road race in North America, this being the 123rd anniversary. This would be my third time doing the race.

I had signed up to take the bus down with the New Balance group, who provide bib pickup as well as the bus to and from the race for only $30…the only way I will ever do this race! Michelle, my Mum and I caught the bus at 5:30am Sunday and we were pulling into Hamilton shortly after 7:00. The race didn’t start until 9:30 so we had a bit of time to relax and enjoy the warmth (and toilets) of First Ontario Centre while we waited. Once the race start was near we all headed off to our corrals to begin the race. I ran into a few familiar faces I hadn’t seen since last season and said my hellos to Zindine, Brad and Luke. I was at the start line with Brad and Luke but knew that their opening pace would be a bit rich for me as I had wanted to hold back a bit at the start. The horn (a train horn since CN was the presenting sponsor) signaled the start of the race and we were off.

The Out (1K-10K, 4:00/km)
The first 10K of the race was through the Hamilton downtown and then out into a more industrial area as we headed towards Lake Ontario. There was a pretty stiff headwind all through this section and that knocked my pace down a wee bit. I was moving along well but just wasn’t able to find a good group to tuck in with to hide from the wind…everyone that I came up on was going a little too slow for my liking. I made sure to not push too hard in the wind and tried to hold the pace around 4:00/km. I came through the first 5K in 20:03 and began to run side by side with another guy and we held a similar pace through to nearly the 20K mark. We were holding our own on the flat sections and every overpass we came to we bounded pass other runners. Looking good for the hills on the back half, which I knew I needed to save the legs for. We hit the highway offramp and looped around to the 10K mark in 40:03 to begin the next stretch of the race.



The Across (11K-20K, 3:54/km)
As we crossed the 10K timing mat we were also turning out of the wind…it was still there to be sure but it was a much more manageable crosswind. This is the section of the race where I knew I could bank some time, yet being careful to keep enough in reserve for the hills. I found a group to run with this time and stuck right on the heels of a woman that was absolutely dialed in to her pace. We cruised along at around a 3:55/km pace and it was feeling relatively easy after the headwind on the first 10K. There was another woman a little bit up the road from us and I commented to my new running buddy that she was reeling her in…she just chuckled. We were certainly closing though and it wasn’t long before we passed her, and good for her too as she ended up placing as the 10th overall female. We came across the lift bridge and made the turn towards the neighbourhood hills and began the swaybacks with the wind assisting us for the first time all day…

The Hills (21K-27K, 3:56/km)
This section is the meat of the course, where the rubber really hits the road. It starts out easy enough with some gentle rollers and builds up to a few really tough hills and ends with the Valley Inn Road Hill, the signature climb of the course which was returning after a 2 year hiatus due to construction. The hills in this section quite simply will make or break your race. I managed to hold my pace steady through the first couple of rollers and then I saw a familiar sight up ahead. There was Luke, chugging up a hill. I came up behind him and made a lame joke about using the force, then proceeded on my way. Luke was using this as a training run for Boston in 3 weeks, it is a really great pre-Boston course as there are plenty of similarities. Up on the next hill I recognized another runner ahead. This time I was pretty sure I knew who it was because of their form and I was right…it was Trevor, the young kid that I ran almost my entire Ironman Mont Tremblant run leg with, along with his mom on the bike beside him. I pulled up beside him and said, “Fancy seeing you here.” He just looked at me funny and said, “Do I know you?”, to which I just replied “Tremblant”. “Mike!” he shouted, “Hey Mom, it’s Mike from Mont Tremblant!”. He was pretty stoked and I think it was a nice little boost for him to see a friendly face out there at a tough point in the race. Again I was off though, bounding up the hills and on to the final big Valley Inn hill. I used the big downhill approaching it as much as I could and then proceeded to chug my way up the other side. Head down, lean forward, pump the arms. I chewed the final hill up and spit it out at the top. I could hear some heavy breathing from someone that was right on my heels the whole way and once I crested the top I just stuck my fist out for a fist bump and it was my female running buddy from earlier…she crushed the hill too. In fact she nailed it so well that she took off once we were at the top and left me in her dust as she flew towards the finish. Beast.



The Back (28K-30K, 3:53/km)

The final 3K stretch after the hills back to the finish is all downhill, so you can really hammer it home. Unfortunately the wind had other ideas on this day…yup, the headwind was back. I knew how close I was though and I pushed the pace with everything I had left in my legs…I was now chasing a sub-2 hour run which would net me a gold medal. I ignored my screaming quads and kept the pace rich, passing people all the way back to First Ontario Centre. As we neared the finish there were cheers from the spectators and we made the turn into the arena to the finish. I crossed with a bit of time to spare for the gold, official time 1:58:25.



Brad and a couple of his buddies had just crossed the line and both Trevor and Luke were in just shortly after me, so we all congratulated each other and got some pictures together. Then I was off to the bus to get changed and have a couple of beers before Michelle and my Mum finished their races. I cheered on some runners and saw the ladies cross the line and then before long we were back on the bus heading home to London.

Oh, one other cool thing…on the way to the race there was a clipboard passed around the bus for people to guess their finishing times. Michelle decided that she would guess my time and went with 1:59:16, only 9 seconds off of my actual time. Turns out I was closest to my guess and I won a $25 New Balance gift card! Sweet!
 
I found one more of your marathonfoto's

10%2BBeast.jpg


Cause you are a BEAST!!!
 
2017 Forest City Road Race Half Marathon Recap

This past weekend marked the 35th running of the Forest City Road Races, the premier running race in Southwestern Ontario and my hometown race. I ran in the half marathon in 2013, 2014 and 2015 and took last year off to volunteer at the race. I was back to run again on Sunday morning.

The forecast had been calling for rain in the days leading up to the race but the rain passed through overnight. It was still cool and overcast, with plenty of wind, but conditions were pretty favourable for racing. We arrived at Victoria Park around 7:30 with the race set to begin at 8:00. I met up with a few friends and passed some time before getting a nice easy jog in around the park to warm up. After that I stripped out of my warm gear and checked my bag before walking to the start line. I was going to be running with my buddy Spencer who was racing his first half. We were both looking to run sub-1:25 and hopefully closer to 1:22 so we decided to work together as long as we could.


Start to Western University (1K-5K, 19:12, 3:50/km)

After singing the National Anthem the gun went and we were off like a shot. Spencer and I were solidly holding 4th & 5th place, with 1 through 3 gapping us quickly. Chris Balestrini was out running, so I was pretty sure who would be winning today…the guy is a beast and has won this race every year I have run it. He was pretty much out of sight about 500m in. Spencer and I were cruising though and clipped off the first couple of kilometres at a really good pace to establish ourselves before settling in around 3:55/km. We were chatting away and holding our pace steady, although Spencer would point out that I really liked to pull hard at every intersection we came to. I couldn’t help it, I was fired up…especially when a pickup truck with a trailer pulled into our lane to attempt a right-hand turn just as we were about to come through the intersection. Thankfully the police officer at the intersection put a stop to the guy. We continued our run up Western Road, climbing the hill to the university.


Western to Old North (6K-10K, 19:59, 4:00/km)

We turned into Western and into the teeth of the wind…it was stiff. We kept the effort up but the pace dipped a touch once we headed into Gibbons Park. I could tell that Spencer was fighting it just a little bit at this point as his breathing was getting harder so I told him to tuck in behind me and I would take on the wind for him as best as I could. I slowed just a touch to let him try and get his heart rate and breathing back in line. It seemed to help as we were able to get back on our pace just in time for the London Pacers water station (always one of the best water stations for FCRR!). I knew that we had the big climb of the race coming up though…we were about to exit the park up St James hill, a 20m incline over just 800m.


We turned up the hill and started our climb. Spencer’s heart rate spiked again and he had to slow it right down. He told me to keep going and he’d catch back up, but I knew the last thing he needed was to take a breath just to put in a surge to catch me so I slowed down to stay with him. He got going again but it wasn’t long before the problem came right back. All of a sudden I could hear another set of footsteps right behind us as the pack behind us closed the gap. We were at 9K and if I wanted to hold my position I knew I had to let Spencer go. I took off just before the pack caught me and didn’t look back…I didn’t need to look because I could hear them right on my heels.

Old North to Western (11K-15K, 19:06, 3:49/km)

I really started to pick up the pace after leaving Spencer, knowing that there was a pack trying to run me down. I was able to enjoy the run through the beautiful Old North neighbourhood and took in the cheers from the spectators out supporting us as well as the delightful strains of the bagpipes…I had a big Scottish grin across my face as soon as I saw the piper ahead. I continued weaving my way through the streets of Old North and soon came to the corner of Waterloo and Victoria, which happened to be where Michelle was volunteering as a course marshal. As soon as I turned onto Waterloo I could hear her screaming from the other end of the street…”Come on Michael! Woo Hoooooo!!!!” I run up towards her and attempted (and failed) to grab one of the licorices she was handing out. She informed me that there were three guys right behind me and probably said something like run faster. I got hustling and picked it up a tad, dropping my pace down to the 3:40’s, despite running into the wind. Soon enough I was making the turn north on Adelaide and then west onto the long Windermere stretch, which is a little climb followed by a big descent, and with the wind finally at my back!


Western to Gibbons (16K-20K, 19:03, 3:49/km)

As I made the turn off of Windermere and onto Richmond I decided to allow myself a quick peek behind me. I could see back around the corner nearly 500m before the Windermere Mount blocked my view and there was nobody. I was entirely clear of the pack that had been chasing me. Obviously there was no one that I could see ahead of me either, as those three bunnies took off right from the start and I hadn’t seen a trace of them since around 5K. I was all alone, just me and that stiff stiff wind in my face. I was really wishing I still had Spencer with me at this point (or anyone, really) as it would have been nice having someone to work with against that headwind. I just tried to make myself small and powered through it though, pumping my arms and legs as hard as I could. Back into the university I turned and quickly back onto the path through Gibbons. Really fighting that wind but still feeling good and strong. I was working hard but never really struggling. I passed the Pacers water station a second time and continued up towards St James hill where I kept straight instead of turning as I began to head back to downtown and the finish line. I crossed under the Oxford Street bridge and one of the volunteers cheered me on, telling me that there was no one in sight. I took a left out of the park onto Ann Street and then back into a brutal headwind for the homestretch on Talbot.


Talbot to Victoria Park Finish (20K-21.1K, 3:43/km)

It was actually a really nice boost to come up out of the park and onto Talbot, despite the wind and the final climb, because I was hooking up with the tail end of the 5K race…there were actually other runners! I felt like the climb and the wind had knocked me well off my pace, but I looked down at my watch and saw that I was still cruising in the 3:40’s. I shouted out encouragement to the 5K runners as I went past them and cheered them into their finish line. I headed up Central Ave and made the final victory loop around Victoria Park, finishing up strong with a big kick down Dufferin into the finish chute. The commentators saw me coming in my Team Sheri shirt and shouted, “Here comes Mike Cooke, the Tye Dyed Streak!” Across the finish with a time of 1:22:13…4th place overall, 1st in my age group and even a 2 second PR!

It ended up being a great day of racing as I had a whole bunch of friends setting new PR’s and a number of them even running their first races at these distances. Thanks to all the folks at Forest City Road Races for putting on yet another great race, they really have this race thing figured out after 35 years! Also a big thank you to all of the awesome volunteers (my lovely wife included) who braved some pretty nasty spectating/volunteering weather to support us all out on the course. Really appreciate you all being there. Cheers, and thanks for reading!
 

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