Happy Runners: The Chicken or The Egg?
Happy Easter everyone! Hopefully it was an enjoyable holiday for all, and I hope you all ate a few less Mini Eggs than I did; those things are so delicious. :)
Holiday seasons generally come with traditions for everyone, and the Easter season brings with it an interesting tradition for runners here locally: The Tely Teaser. Each year, on Good Friday morning, hundreds of runners head out and run the Tely 10 course as part of an unofficial event. There is even a water station setup just after the halfway point by some members of the Nautilus running club!
After completing my second Tely Teaser on Friday morning, I couldn't help but be amazed at how upbeat and happy everyone was that I had encountered along the way. This led me to contemplate the question that inspired this week's title: Do happy people naturally gravitate to running, or does running just make people happy?
I'm sure the real answer is somewhere in the middle, but either way it is something to behold. For most, an extra day off work comes with dreams of rest and relaxation. Yet when I got to Bannerman Park on Friday morning, the parking lots were full and the streets were lined with cars. After driving back to Paradise and starting the route, I proceeded to meet so many people along the way, some that I knew and some that I didn't, and the one consistent thing in all the interactions was that everyone was upbeat and happy. Not one complaint about being out on what was a bit of a cool morning, nor a comment about a missed opportunity to sleep in. Just enjoyment of the fact that we were all out doing something we love, and sharing it with so many others doing the same.
Once we reached the finish line, we took some celebratory pics, and then a group of us headed out to brunch. From start to finish it was a wonderful morning, and it was just another reminder to me of how fortunate I have been to discover an activity that brings so much positivity into my life.
The Barkley Marathons Revisited
I spent most of last week's blog discussing The Barkley Marathons, so I won't get into it too much again this week. I do want to provide some links for anyone who enjoyed last week's post and wanted some further material.
Gary Robbins 2018 Barkley Race Report - This is a great recap of Gary's experience at the 2018 Barkley Marathons
Jamil Coury's Race Report/Footage - Jamil is a Barkley veteran, and this is probably the best on course footage that has ever been made available
John Kelly's Race Footage - John is the last Barkley Finisher, in 2017. He was on-course as an unofficial checkpoint this year, and while this footage is very raw, it gives a great insight into how terrible the conditions were at times.
Weekly Summary (March 26-April 1)
Mon.: Off
Tue. (Evening): 13 min warmup, 1750m (4:00/km)/1000m (3:55/km)/800m (3:56/km)/400m (3:47/km) w/ ~3 min recovery, 7.5 min cooldown (Workout total: 9.31 km, 46:36, 5:00/km pace)
Wed. (Lunch): 6 km, 29:50, 4:58/km pace [treadmill]
Thu. (Lunch): 8.1 km, 41:16, 5:05/km pace
Fri. (Morning): 10 min warmup, 2x10 min (3:56/km) w/ 5 min recovery, cooldown to Tely finish (Workout total: 17.2 km, 1:25:57, 4:59/km pace)
Sat. (Morning): 9.4 km, 49:38, 5:16/km pace
Sun.: Off
Total: 50.03 km
A solid week of training this week.I got out for a workout with Coach Freake again Tuesday night. The plan was 1600m/1000m/800m/400m with 2-3 minute recovery between each interval. I was doing most of the intervals solo, since Dave is actually coaching a friend right now and I'm just tagging along. I misjudged the distance on the first one. So I got a bonus 175 meters of speed work there. Haha I was happy with how the workout went overall, and in particular I was pleased that I was able to increase my pace as the distances decreased, which was the goal of the workout.
Wednesday and Thursday were two easy days, and thankfully Thursday was nice enough that I could get outside. I'm hopeful that my days on the treadmill are drawing to an end for the most part for this running season.
Friday morning was the Tely Teaser, and another workout with Dave. He had his Winter clinic doing tempos of varying number and duration. Since I'm still building fitness, I elected for 2x10 minutes for myself. I managed to run both at almost the exact same pace, with an overall pace of 3:56/km for the 20 minutes, with a 5 minute active recovery in between. This SHOULD bode well for my attempt at a 20 minute 5k in 2 weeks, however the sections of the Tely we were running are net downhill, so that helps the pace. Either way, I'm happy with where my fitness is right now.
My total distance for the Teaser ended up over the 16.1km, as I ran back a little ways to help pace one of my running partners through her final speed interval. That came with the added benefit of running with another member of our club who I had never run with before, and we all had a nice chat on the way to Bannerman Park.
Saturday morning brought a nice recovery run, and a chance to catch up with another running buddy I hadn't run with in 2018. With March coming to an end, I now have 389 km year to date. I went back and checked my logs from last year, and I didn't hit that mark until June 17, 2017. Safe to say I'm a little ahead of the game this year!
That's it for me this week. As always, thanks for reading. Cheers!
Holiday seasons generally come with traditions for everyone, and the Easter season brings with it an interesting tradition for runners here locally: The Tely Teaser. Each year, on Good Friday morning, hundreds of runners head out and run the Tely 10 course as part of an unofficial event. There is even a water station setup just after the halfway point by some members of the Nautilus running club!
After completing my second Tely Teaser on Friday morning, I couldn't help but be amazed at how upbeat and happy everyone was that I had encountered along the way. This led me to contemplate the question that inspired this week's title: Do happy people naturally gravitate to running, or does running just make people happy?
I'm sure the real answer is somewhere in the middle, but either way it is something to behold. For most, an extra day off work comes with dreams of rest and relaxation. Yet when I got to Bannerman Park on Friday morning, the parking lots were full and the streets were lined with cars. After driving back to Paradise and starting the route, I proceeded to meet so many people along the way, some that I knew and some that I didn't, and the one consistent thing in all the interactions was that everyone was upbeat and happy. Not one complaint about being out on what was a bit of a cool morning, nor a comment about a missed opportunity to sleep in. Just enjoyment of the fact that we were all out doing something we love, and sharing it with so many others doing the same.
Once we reached the finish line, we took some celebratory pics, and then a group of us headed out to brunch. From start to finish it was a wonderful morning, and it was just another reminder to me of how fortunate I have been to discover an activity that brings so much positivity into my life.
A small portion of the PRC Crew from Friday
The Barkley Marathons Revisited
I spent most of last week's blog discussing The Barkley Marathons, so I won't get into it too much again this week. I do want to provide some links for anyone who enjoyed last week's post and wanted some further material.
Gary Robbins 2018 Barkley Race Report - This is a great recap of Gary's experience at the 2018 Barkley Marathons
Jamil Coury's Race Report/Footage - Jamil is a Barkley veteran, and this is probably the best on course footage that has ever been made available
John Kelly's Race Footage - John is the last Barkley Finisher, in 2017. He was on-course as an unofficial checkpoint this year, and while this footage is very raw, it gives a great insight into how terrible the conditions were at times.
Weekly Summary (March 26-April 1)
Mon.: Off
Tue. (Evening): 13 min warmup, 1750m (4:00/km)/1000m (3:55/km)/800m (3:56/km)/400m (3:47/km) w/ ~3 min recovery, 7.5 min cooldown (Workout total: 9.31 km, 46:36, 5:00/km pace)
Wed. (Lunch): 6 km, 29:50, 4:58/km pace [treadmill]
Thu. (Lunch): 8.1 km, 41:16, 5:05/km pace
Fri. (Morning): 10 min warmup, 2x10 min (3:56/km) w/ 5 min recovery, cooldown to Tely finish (Workout total: 17.2 km, 1:25:57, 4:59/km pace)
Sat. (Morning): 9.4 km, 49:38, 5:16/km pace
Sun.: Off
Total: 50.03 km
A solid week of training this week.I got out for a workout with Coach Freake again Tuesday night. The plan was 1600m/1000m/800m/400m with 2-3 minute recovery between each interval. I was doing most of the intervals solo, since Dave is actually coaching a friend right now and I'm just tagging along. I misjudged the distance on the first one. So I got a bonus 175 meters of speed work there. Haha I was happy with how the workout went overall, and in particular I was pleased that I was able to increase my pace as the distances decreased, which was the goal of the workout.
Wednesday and Thursday were two easy days, and thankfully Thursday was nice enough that I could get outside. I'm hopeful that my days on the treadmill are drawing to an end for the most part for this running season.
Friday morning was the Tely Teaser, and another workout with Dave. He had his Winter clinic doing tempos of varying number and duration. Since I'm still building fitness, I elected for 2x10 minutes for myself. I managed to run both at almost the exact same pace, with an overall pace of 3:56/km for the 20 minutes, with a 5 minute active recovery in between. This SHOULD bode well for my attempt at a 20 minute 5k in 2 weeks, however the sections of the Tely we were running are net downhill, so that helps the pace. Either way, I'm happy with where my fitness is right now.
My total distance for the Teaser ended up over the 16.1km, as I ran back a little ways to help pace one of my running partners through her final speed interval. That came with the added benefit of running with another member of our club who I had never run with before, and we all had a nice chat on the way to Bannerman Park.
Saturday morning brought a nice recovery run, and a chance to catch up with another running buddy I hadn't run with in 2018. With March coming to an end, I now have 389 km year to date. I went back and checked my logs from last year, and I didn't hit that mark until June 17, 2017. Safe to say I'm a little ahead of the game this year!
That's it for me this week. As always, thanks for reading. Cheers!
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