It's almost race time...

In a little over two weeks, I'll be heading to Baltimore to run in my fourth the Baltimore half-marathon. My training is progressing well and I only have two long runs before I can give my legs some much needed rest. The race comes at a good time as my running coach designed a training schedule so that team peaked for a race in Ottawa last weekend. I just have to continue the program for another week and I'm set to go. As the time draws near, I'm starting to get excited. As well, I'm looking forward to seeing Jason and Emily and catching up with them.

Baltimore Race Weekend Approaches...

In a couple of weeks, I’ll be heading down to Baltimore to run in my fifth Baltimore half-marathon. It is a race that I look forward to each year as it comes at the end of my summer and fall training season and it’s how I like to conclude my racing year. There are a variety of things that I like about the race course, running around Patterson Park near the start of the race, the Lake Clifton pump house at the midpoint of the course, doing a loop around Lake Montebello and finally the finale, of running through the gates of Camden Yards towards the finish line. My workouts are getting longer, tougher and more intense as I prepare for the race. I’ve heard it rumoured that Baltimore races are for the strong runner and not necessarily the speed. I’m at the point where I still have a couple of more long runs but very soon I’ll reach a point where I can start checking them off the list and it will be time to give my legs a chance to recover for the big day.

Lindy500 -- Baltimore

In a week's time I'll be heading to Baltimore. Charm City Swing has organized a weekend which showcases some of the premiere Lindy Hop swing dance instructors in the US. Lindy500 will have three nights of live bands and two days of intensive swing dance lessons focusing on the Lindy Hop and Charleston swing dance moves. I'm excited to be able to head to Baltimore as I will be able to learn more Lindy Hop, spend some time with Jason and Emily, hike Old Rag, possibly help Jason on a home renovation project and hopefully much more.

A quick trip to Washington and Baltimore

It was been a little while since I blogged last and I wanted to capture my thoughts on a recent adventure. Last week, I was at the SAS Global Forum conference in National Harbor/Oxon Hill, Maryland. The conference was held at the new Gaylord conference centre which offered an amazing very of the Potomac River. The conference talks were good and I learned about many of the new software products that will be released later this year. I opted to stay in Oxon Hill giving me ready access to Safeway and Starbucks but at the expense of brief commute to the conference centre in the morning. I enjoyed the twice daily walks and was happy to see a flocks of deer, geese on the pond, and bamboo trees growing next to the road. I was able to find a couple of geocaches hidden along a bike path which I did a workout on a couple of days later. The bus trip to Georgetown took us by many famous sites and I would like to vacation in Washington, DC in the future.

On Wednesday, I started my journey north to Baltimore a little earlier than expected. The airport shuttle was suppose to pick me up at 7:15 am but met me at 6:30 am. I was packed by this point but skipped breakfast to save some time. Jason and I had arranged to meet at 10:00 am and I was at the airport for 7:30 am. Ouch! What to do? I had often wondered what it was like to take the light rail from the airport. For $1.60 the light rail will take you from the airport to downtown. I got off at the convention center where they were having an Emergency Medical Technician conference and they had a van whose side was a flat screen display running commercials for the LifePak 15 debrillator and heart rate monitor. Jason met me and we headed back to the Daily Grind in Fells Point. The jolt of coffee felt good. We headed back to Jason's place for lunch. It was the first time I had seen his place finished and he and Emily have down an awesome job. It looked really good. It was bright and warm. After lunch Jason gave me some help with my Macbook which was really great. He pointed out some vulnerability which scared me but we were able to fix them quickly. One of things I really liked is he showed me how to link iCal to Google Calendar to the calendar in my iPhone. This rocked. Thanks Jason. Jason, Emily and I head north to the Druid Hill park area for a dinner at restaurant that looked like a converted warehouse. The location and the meal were great. I can't remember the name of the place but I would highly recommend it.

On Thursday, we headed north to REI where I bought a smaller version of the REI Muir Wood jacket. I had bought the XL earlier this year but found it too large but it would better fit my father. We spent much of afternoon hiking along the Gunpowder in area west of where we have hiked before. We did a circular loop with help of a GPS and Google maps in the iPhone. Afterwards we headed up to EarthTreks for some bouldering. Before heading out to dinner we stopped by the Teavana store and I loaded up on some new teas. We had dinner at PF Chang's before heading back down to Canton. On Friday morning, I headed back to Ottawa. Thanks, Jason for this brief adventure and I hope we can do a couple of more adventures this year.

2008 Baltimore half-marathon

Short version – finishing time 1:34
60 second improvement of 2007
pace per mile 7:10
pace per km 4:27,
position 142/6245

Long version –

This past weekend I headed down to Maryland for my forth Baltimore half-marathon. My friend Jason met me at the airport and we headed over to the race expo to pick up my race kit. Registration was well organized and was able to get my gear quickly. One innovation this year is that they had disposable timing chips that look like a loop of tape. He headed back to Jason's place and had a pasta/BBQ dinner with his girlfriend. I came dressed for Ottawa weather and very quickly had to start peeling off the layers. Mid-evening, I checked into a nearby hotel as I would have to start race preparations early. I awoke at 5:30 AM and started my feeding. Over the next little while, I ate half-a-box of Vector cereal. I caught the 7:00 AM hotel shuttle over to the race start and was able to watch the start of the marathon. For the next while, I chilled before eating a Clif bar at about an hour before my start. After multiple bathroom breaks I did a long warmup along the edge of the Inner Harbor. I was seeded in the first corral and had a great start. It would take me a while before I finally reached my race pace. The first four miles are a gradual uphill reaching the steepest part at the six mile mark. Along the way I enjoyed running along Patterson Park, and Clifton Park. One of the highlights of the race is running around Lake Montebello. Your start at the south-east corner and come out at the south-west corner having knocked off two miles. We next headed over to John Hopkins University at which point we start the downhill section of the course. My energy was starting to wane a bit so I pushed back a gel. I was pleased as my mile pace was a consistent 7:10 despite the rolling hills. The final hill takes you over the very colourful the MLK (Martin-Luther-King) parkway. The hill comes at a bad time as you still have three miles left to run. I finished off my gel and appreciated the sugar surge and caffeine jolt (15 mg). Ever so gradually the view of Camden Yards (home of the Orioles) became closer and closer. At this point, I pulled away from a pack of runners that I had been working off as they detoured to a water stop. I increased the pace a bit and imagined that I was doing my last 2.5 km/1.553 mile interval along the Rideau Canal. I was in a fair amount of discomfort but knew that I still had more left in the tank. I was really pleased to find that I had finished the race a minute faster than last year.

Swing dancing--Solomon Doulglas Swingtet

The Ottawa swing dancing scene will have a special guest on Friday night the Solomon Douglas swingtet. I bought my ticket a couple of weeks ago as when we have a live band the tickets always sell out. I wasn't too sure who these performers were so I decided to check out their website and found a really useful and helpful nugget. It is a play list of songs that Solomon uses for teaching the Lindy Hop. It was a sweet find.

I had an incredible past couple of days in Baltimore swing dancing and taking in dancing workshop at John Hopkins University. Charm City Swing(CCS) organized the event had a beginner/intermediate tract as well as an advanced. I took the beginner tract and was able to develop a basic grounding in the lindy hop which I can now start building on. I really liked the depth that the instructors took to making sure we understood the basics. For example, at the end of the first triple step your body should be at a 90 degree angle from where you started the move, and at the end the first step it should be 135 degrees relative to your starting position and the final triple step is completed 180 degrees from where you started the move. It is details like this that allowed me to visualize and remember where my body needs to be at a certain point in time. The dancing weekend closed out with an hour long blues dancing lessons which was a lot of fun and quite intimate. I learned an enormous amount about swing dancing and how I can improve on the main things I already know. I would like to thank Jason and all the folks at CCS and the many local and imported teachers for a great weekend.

I'm in the midst of drafting a blog of the weekend and will post it later in the week.

To cold for the pigeons to fly...

The past couple of days I've been working in downtown Ottawa allowing me to see things I normally wouldn't notice. This morning it was a crisp -21C/-5F and sunny. As I was getting off the bus, I noticed something about a gaggles of pigeons. It was to cold for them to fly. They were all perched next to a exhaust heating duct from a nearby parking garage. They were extremely reluctant to move. I was bundled up in winter clothing but less than I have been in the past. My REI down jacket allowed me to drop a layer of clothing, my Polar fleece 300 jacket which I normally wear as a base layer. In its place, I'm wearing a Polar fleece 200 weight vest. On top, I wear a Mountain hardware toque and on my hands I wear a Mountain hardware primaloft gloves. Tomorrow, I head south to warmer weather and hopefully little or no snow.

Lindy Hop -- Swing Dance

At the start of the year I set out a couple of goals that I wanted to achieve in 2008. I am making good progress on many of the goals. One of them is to dance the Lindy Hop. Over the past couple of weeks, I have been taking Lindy Hop lessons at the UOttawa which are taught by a couple of students. These lessons have been a lead up to the Lindy Hop weekend in Baltimore at the end of the month. Charm City Swing is having a Lindy Hop marathon weekend of 20 hours of lessons and three night of dancing to a live band. I view dancing the Lindy Hop like a journey as the number of the dance moves is broad and it will take a little while to become total comfortable with basic footwork(RS(1-2) TS(3&4)-S(5)-S(6)-TS(7&8). I want to thank Jason for suggesting that I come to Baltimore for the Lindy weekend. It has been a relief to find that many of the dance moves in West Coast swing can be translated over to Lindy Hop with a little variation.

Lindy Hop

In less than a month, I hope to achieve one of my New Year's resolutions which is to dance the Lindy Hop. I've been spending the last little while watching teaching videos on Youtube, but watching is the same as actually doing the moves. The basic steps are a little different, as you do a rock-step/triple-step/step/step/triple-step all on an eight count. My swing dancing current does a rock-step/step-hold/step-hold on a six-count. Charm City swing in Baltimore is having a lindy hop workshop weekend at the end of February. As well, one of my favorite jazz band, The Boilermakers will be in Baltimore for one of the nights which will be great. I'll be heading down to take in the workshop as well as to spend some time chilling.

Workout tonight -- 30 minute warmup/7x400 m hills/ 10 minute warmdown

2007 Baltimore half-marathon

Short Version

1:35:23 on a hilly course
Improved my time by 101 seconds over 2006 race
Place 150/5044

Long Version

A little over a week ago I ran in my third Baltimore half-marathon and came away very pleased with my race. I improved my personal-best for the course by 101 seconds and finished in 150th place out of 5044 finishers. In the weeks leading up to race day I was unsure about my fitness level so I went into the race not knowing where I would finish. I flew down to Baltimore on Friday morning and Jason met me at the airport. We went over to the race expo and I picked up my race package. At the expo they had a cool exhibit for horseradish cheese (http://www.cabotcheese.com/f1.php?left=menu-ourproducts.html&right=/ourproducts.html) which had a mild taste. I headed back to the hotel to unpack and to lay out my racing gear for the morning. Later in the day, Jason, Emily and I went out for a carbo-loading meal at an Indian restaurant where I ate a humongous plate of rice. After the meal we went up to John Hopkins University to take in some swing dancing. I danced less than I would have like but I didn't want to stress the legs for the big race the next morning.

I was up early on Saturday at 5:30 am. I wanted to have my breakfast fully digested by race time. It took the form of a couple of bowls of Vector cereal, a handful of bananas and some strong tea. The original plan was to do my warmup run (5km/3.1 miles) starting from the hotel and ending at the start line. At the last minute, I changed my mind as the hotel was offering a shuttle that would take you close to the start line. This was a relief. I caught the 7:00 am shuttle and quickly located the bag-check area. I spent a little while chilling before I headed over to watch the start of the marathon(a) (b). Along the way I spotted Larry-the-lighthouse who was going to run the race as a lighthouse. Once the marathoners were on their way I headed back to bag-area and munched on a Clif bar. The spurt of energy would ensure that I was fully fueled for the race. At this point time seemed to speed up as soon it was forty-five minutes before race time. I ditched my sweats and warmed up over to the start. I waded through 4700 runners before I found an opening near the first corral. At 10:45 am the siren sounded and we were off with 13.1 miles to go. The course heads south slightly before heading in a westerly direction for a couple of miles. At around the three mile mark a familiar site came into view Patterson Park. We ran down one side of the park along the bottom and the up the hill on the other side. At this point the marathoners met up with the half-marathoners. A distinguishing feature of the marathoners was a "FULL" sticker on their singlets. As we ran further and further away from the harbor we gained elevation eventually reaching one of my favourite parts of the course, Clifton Park. Clifton Park is the former estate of John Hopkins and has an eight-sided gazebo [Clifton Gate House (1887) ] (http://www.baltimorecity.gov/government/recnparks/popups/parks/clifton_park.htm) which is a relay point for the marathon.

Once past Clifton Park we ran on uncharted territory. For the past three years the bike path around Lake Montebello has been closed for construction. This year they re-introduced the mile-long loop back into the race course. This was another highlight of the race. The race does a 360 degree loop of the lake. I really enjoyed this part of the race. The next part of the course would take us along the edge of the John Hopkins University campus. I was getting close to the ten mile where my energy levels start to wane. I sucked on a caffeinated-Clif gel which gave me a surge of energy allowing me to surge by a large number of suffering participants. The final three miles are all downhill with exception of one hill that takes you over a multi-coloured bridge. Last year, this was the point where I was really suffering. This year I was able to run over the bridge with a fair amount of gusto. I did a couple of long surges over the next couple of miles. The goal was to get to the finish as quickly as possible before I ran out of energy. The final mile was fast and painful. It was also a fun mile as you run through the gates of Camden Yards, the home of the Orioles. The finish line was a welcome site. It would take me a couple hours to learn from the web that I had improved my time by 101 seconds over 2006. My third Baltimore half-marathon was a great success and I am looking forward to my forth in 2008.

Bouldering and climbing

Over the past couple of days, I have climbed twice and bouldered once. My first climbing attempt was made in Rocks State Park which about an hour's drive north of Baltimore. Jason, Dave, Emily and I arrived at the climbing site mid-afternoon which allowed each of us to get in at least one climb. There was a bit of excitement on the way to the area as Dave's water bottle went ajar and formed a leak in the bottom but was still usable. Before we could start climbing Jason climbed up to adjust the location of the top rope. (p1, p2, p3) Once the rope was in place, Emily was the first to climb. Jason gave the climb a 5.6 rating. Dave was the next to climb. As the sun was starting to set, I attempted to climb the rock face but got stuck at an outcrop which I couldn't climb over. The rock face will have to wait until next time.

On Tuesday night we went over to EarthTreks and I completed my first bouldering problem which was the "intro" problem. I tried a slightly more advanced "red" problem and nearly finished it. But since I failed to touch the final mount with both hands the climb was invalid. I spent the remainder of my bouldering working on the beginner problem trying to pause between each stage. Later in the evening, I top-rope climbed four/five problems that got successively more challenging. Having readily available chalk and my new climbing shoes were a great help in climbing a couple of 5.4 and 5.5s (I think).

Two more days..and one more run...Sugarstomp

Tonight, I will do my final run before my Baltimore half-marathon (13.1 miles) on Saturday. It should be a fun and low pressure workout as there is very little I can do to improve my fitness before the race. All of my training for the past couple of months have been focused towards running well in my third Baltimore race. Once the race is behind me I'm going to head over to the climbing gym on Thursday night and start doing some bouldering problems. The climbing should strengthen my core. I would have gone to the climbing gym sooner but didn't want to run the risk of injuring my legs.

One swing dance tune that I like is the Sugar foot stomp. I have in one my ipod performed by a couple of artists but still looking for a version performed by Bert Firman. There is a really good youtube video of Burt's orchestra playing the tune. I think that it is the best version of the stomp that I have ever listened too.

100th post, Columbus Day, 1 week to go

This is my 100th blog post in blogger. A quick thanks to Jason for suggesting that I give blogger another try as a blogging tool. I'm blogging at my parent's place near Niagara Falls celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. Today, G, my dad and I went geocaching before we headed over to my sister's place the large family Thanksgiving dinner. I'll post pictures of the weekend when I am back in Ottawa. I am really looking forward to next weekend as I'll be heading to Baltimore to run in my third Baltimore half-marathon and to help Jason renovate his new house.

Another good workout...

The weather in Ottawa has been unseasonable warm during the day we are still get high 70s which is great for training. The warm conditions are good preparation for the half-marathon. Tonight's workout along the canal took the form of a four mile warmup and 3x 2 miles on 30 seconds rest. Afterwards, we did 8 x 1 minute hard running followed by 1 minute of recovery jogging. My legs feel warm and fuzzy which means they have had a good workout. Race day: 10 days away and counting.

11 days to go

In eleven days, I will be in Baltimore running in my third Baltimore half-marathon. It is said that the course is for the "strong" and not necessarily the "fast" as the course is hilly. Yesterday, I went for my second last long run which was a solid 10 mile effort. On Friday, I'll run 12 miles and attempt to simulate the race conditions. This coming weekend is Columbus holiday weekend which gives me a chance to carbo-load on turkey, pumpkin pie, potatoes and gravy. I am really looking forward to the race and the couple of days afterwards. Earlier in the week, I received my race information package and today, I got a call from the race organizer wishing me the best of luck for my race which was sweet.

Boilermaker Jazz Band

When I was in Baltimore a couple of weeks ago I listened to and swing danced to the Boilermaker Jazz Band. Jason gave me a couple of there tunes to check out. Once back home I went over to iTunes to see if any of BJB's music was available and I discovered that I really like "St. Phillip Street Breakdown", "Down By the Riverside" and "Home Sweet Home." Some of these tunes I can dance to at the same time I am eager to expand my dancing repertoire.

Climbing Shoes – Five Ten – Spire

Last week, I went bouldering and climbing at Earth Treks in Timonium. As we were chilling Jason talked about how good climbing feels when you have proper climbing shoes. I was skeptical but rented a pair to see what they were like. As well, climbing in sneakers is not cool!! I was quickly convinced that how could I not be climbing in climbing shoes. I had fun trying my first bouldering problem. My climbing started out rough but got better as the session progressed. It was weird that even with a lot of chalk my hands wouldn’t stop perspiring. It could be, I hadn't climbed in a while, seeing a tall climbing wall that scared me or a low energy balance. While at MEC today I bought a pair of Five Ten Spire climbing shoes. There is a climbing gym close to where I live, Vertical Reality so I’ll head over to see if I can do more bouldering.

A week in review - Orioles and Stoli Doli's

Last week I had a really great and fun week in Baltimore. On Wednesday, I flew from Ottawa to Chicago and then to Baltimore. Jason met me at the airport and dropped me back at the hotel. After a quick shower I walked into Canton to buy some sugar, fig newtons, and pretzel goldfish at Safeway. I headed over to Starbucks to grab some tea and spent the remainder of the afternoon relaxing at the Canton harbor. I met Jason at his office and saw the Apple iPhone for the first time. Next, we headed over to Camden Yards to watch the Orioles play the LA Angels. It was not a good night for the Orioles. They committed four errors in the first 30 minutes which put them at a disadvantage for the rest of the game. We had really great seats for watching the game as well as catching fly balls. Early on in the game Jason caught a ball. We snacked on goldfish and had pulled pork and really great sauerkraut. The game went to the full nine inning and the Orioles lost 18-6. The game attendance was 15,136. On the way back to the car we took some pictures 1 2 3 4.

On Thursday morning, after a quick breakfast and we headed over to Jason's new house. We spent most of the day framing the ceiling in one of the bedrooms. Jason’s mom helped us position the 2x4s. I took a picture of a sign that Jason has leading from his basement which I took note after hitting my head on the way up. I was really happy to celebrate a special day in Baltimore with Jason.

In the evening, Em, Jason and I headed to the Capital Grille to celebrate all our birthdays which are close together. I had my first Stoli Doli which I enjoyed drinking. The fruity pineapple taste prepares you for the slight burn you get from the vodka. I heeded Jason’s advice and enjoyed it over the course of the meal.

Stoli Doli

Over the next couple of days, I will experience something that I have been curious about for a little while and that is, what does a Stoli Doli's taste like. Jason talked about them in a post a little while ago and that sort of sparked my curiosity. I'll consume the Stoli Doli on a special occasion which will make it even more memorable. I'm sure that I'll post a blog describing the experience.

Sore and tired

Tonight, I did another hard interval workout which took the form of a 25 minute warmup and then five-1000 meter intervals on 30 seconds rest. (3:53 / 4:07 / 4:01 / 4:12 / 4:06) I was happy with the workout as my times were consistent. After the intervals, I did a 20 minute cooldown run along the canal. The workout will have the effect of make me stronger for my Baltimore half-marathon which at last count is seven weeks away. In September, I am going to have to increase my running volume as I get closer to the race day. I'll start off September with a half-marathon which will give me a good benchmark for my fitness level.

The Baltimore race weekend was a lot of fun last year and I hope that I have learned my lessson about eating at the Lexington Market as the after effects of the food poisoning made for a challenging evening. I am really looking forward to race weekend and hope that we can do some of what we did last year and hopefully a little bit more as it was a lot of fun.