Electricity comes from other planets
A good day at the office as I won the Niagara Falls half marathon in 1:03:11. Five weeks until Fukuoka marathon.
The wind was coming from the West at 20km/hr, there was no rain and the sun was popping out… a good day (and a great day compared to OUA XC championships the day before). You can tell from the map below that, with a wind out of the West, you get a cross wind most of the time. The conditions on the course were nice but the wind was a little tough in the last 4-5km.
Scenic and flat course:
Had there been a wind out of the South I would have been aiming to run 62:30 and had there been a stiff wind from the North-West I may have ignored the watch altogether. Given the conditions, I set out to break 63:00. I really wanted to break 63:15 because that’s the fastest I’ve run in a marathon build-up.
I went out hard and by one mile (4:42) I was alone. I went through 10 miles (they only had mile markers on the course) in 47:47 (on pace for 62:42). After that I was getting tired and I let the wind get the better of me and lost almost 30 seconds in the last 3.1 miles. A little irritating but that will keep me hungry over the next five weeks.
It was a good run for me in the build-up. I felt very much in control and got a good amount below marathon pace. I ran 180km (111mi) last week so I came down for the race but still a decent week.
If anyone out there has my bag from the start line (#4444) that would be awesome to see that again.
Found a downside to the NB Beacon jacket: it’s hard to hide in the trees to take a pee before the race.
Test run in the new singlet – thumbs up! (photo from Charles Prange)
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FLOAT ON 
Fantastic run and a great write up as always. Very accurate description of the conditions. It was great seeing you there, Reid! As for the pee, I had a black shirt and did not care 🙂
nb runner from the 70s 80s 2.20.31 best of luck in marathon 2 more long runs at aslow pace all mental now dean
Congrats Reid! Great to see you back on top with the 10km and half marathon wins! Always inspirational, especially after coming back from the collar bone injury. You continue to keep me striving for more from my own running!
Ryan
Amazing come back! So inspiring to see this and hope the next five weeks go well. You always seem to have such control and good strategies in races, whatever the final result. Can’t wait to see how this thrilling build up will go!
No matter how hard I understand the title this time, it is interesting (but not related) to mention how the Ison comet actually above us has affected mars planet running by it at the beginning of the month. This greatly anticipated comet (some astronomers said comet of the century, if not of the history, it all depends if it burn completely while running it’s marathon around the sun) seems definitely to be charged. Could we say comet “Ions”?
Indeed, many astronomers have noted a certain interaction with Mars and that Mars gained a coma after Ison passage (youtube has plenty of video).
Anyhow if the comet reveal itself has being one of a kind during its sun encounter, we should be able to see it naked eyes even during day (maybe brighter than the moon) and about time for Fukuoka marathon.
That being said, maybe it’s time to get your power balance bracelet out of the garbage and finally gain all the strength and power this stupid piece of silicone is suppose to provide so you get the power of the comet during your 42 :-Þ
Have a good “electric” build up!
I’m not sure what that was all about but I appreciate it!
The title was in commemoration of the passing of Lou Reed. ‘Electricity comes from other planets’ is a lyric from one of my favorite VU songs.
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lol sorry for the confusion. I am a french Qcer and wrote this down in a hurry during my lunch break. As I was writing I realized it would take three times longer to put down my ideas in a proper and intelligible way using English as my secondary language. And that was not possible. Totally missed the Loo Reed reference… (*^_^*)
Hey Reid,
Good run.
Sorry to hear about your bag. We don’t have it but we did get your mail…
88 James St West Guelph has a parcel with your name from athletic canada and some sort of letter for you.
Have a good day from the students of U of G!