The Toronto Runner

Beyond The Boston Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 23:11:00 +0000

Kicking Into The Hill Training

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Fri, 09 May 2008 00:54:00 +0000

Why Toronto Needs Less Marathons

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Sat, 03 May 2008 16:20:00 +0000

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Back To Training

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Thu, 01 May 2008 02:47:00 +0000

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Boston

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 23:28:00 +0000

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Boston, Here I Come!

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:52:00 +0000

Last training run done. Felt good. I'm ready. Bring it.

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Easy Treadmill 5km

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:32:00 +0000

Today's run was all about getting used to marathon pace. Simple and easy. Less than a week to go!

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Silly Speed Workout

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:43:00 +0000

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13k - Yorkville/Forest Hill/Mount Pleasant Loop

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:16:00 +0000

A simple loop with only one significant hill climb, which is near the beginning.

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TTC Info: This run starts and finishes near St. George, Bay and Museum stations, and passes by the St. Clair and Eglinton stations.

One Last Hill Run

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:48:00 +0000

One last hill run today. Why? Because I'm pretty apprehensive about the hills I have to run soon. Not at Boston - I think I'm as well prepared for that as I can be - but at the Cabot Trail Relay.

I'm uploading the elevation profile of the leg I'm running. That's a 6.2km-long climb at the beginning, climbing about 1000 feet. Yikes.

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17k - Mount Pleasant Hill Repeats

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:48:00 +0000

An intense but extremely simple hill run - up and down one road.

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TTC Info: This run doesn't pass by any subway stations, but it does start and end about 1km east of Davisville station.

25k - Davisville Village/Riverdale/Don Valley/Rosedale Loop

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:19:00 +0000

A combination of two routes - a point-to-point 9km run from Davisville Village to Bloor and Avenue, and a 16km loop from Bloor and Avenue, up the Don Valley and back via Rosedale.

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TTC Info: This run starts and finishes near both Bay and St. George subway stations, and passes by the Rosedale station.

Training Update: Sick

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 16:08:00 +0000

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Victory... or Disaster...?

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:08:00 +0000

Just finished my last long run - 35km - before the Boston Marathon (on April 21). Feels great, but have a worrying pain in my right achilles tendon/lower calf. Hope it's nothing serious.

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36k - Bloor-Thornhill Loop

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:07:00 +0000

What more is there to say? A rectangular route from downtown Toronto to it's northern border with Thornhill. Occasional hills, including a significant climb late-on.

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TTC Info: This run passes the Davisville, St. Clair, Summerhill, Rosedale, Yonge/Bloor, Bay, Spadina, St. George, Bathurst, Finch, Sheppard, York Mills, Lawrence and Eglinton Stations.

No Intervals - Just a Solid Run

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:46:00 +0000

Tonight's run with the Runners' Shop group used a route we did last October (http://tinyurl.com/2jwg4m) so no map for today (and, yes, I consider the route repetition ok as it was with the group).

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Slow, Steady Treadmill Run

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 02:20:00 +0000

I hit the treadmill again for tonight's 15km recovery run.

Nothing groundbreaking; for once I was able to stay on the treadmill for the entire run instead of being kicked off after 30 minutes.

I finished the 15km (around 9.4 miles) in 1:09:34 - about 4:37 per km. Very comfortable pace, although because I was on a treadmill with no breeze I felt a lot hotter than usual.

Tomorrow I have my last interval workout - 15km with 8 x 3 minute intervals. I'm not sure how that will go, as I can still feel my calf muscle after last week's intervals. I may find myself just running at a steady pace while the rest of my running group does the intervals.

Fingers crossed - now is not the time to get injured.

Auction!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 03:04:00 +0000

If you've followed this site recently you may know that I have been working towards an auction to raise money to support cancer research.

Well, we did it! Keith Burtis' custom-designed and -made ornament is complete, Tommy Vallier's coding wizardry is done and it's time for the auction.

Bidding will open 9am EDT on March 25 will end 9pm EDT on March 27. All of the proceeds will benefit the Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research at the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation.

Bid on the ornament, or read on for details of the item itself.

Be sure to keep checking back in to make sure no-one has outbid you!

The Ornament

The ornament itself is approximately 9 inches tall, and the sphere is about 2.25 inches across. The sphere is made from a type of australian burl. The top & bottom finials are made of rock maple, and although they are very delicate and intricate, the tight grain of the maple keeps these strong.

The base, the upright spindle and the smaller cross spindle are all made from American Black Walnut. These pieces were turned one by one on a lathe, and made to fit snugly into one another.

Place your bid now!

The Bigger Picture

This auction is one piece of a larger fundraiser that I am holding, benefiting the Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research through the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation.

The Institute aims to become a world-leading program in breast cancer research by leveraging basic, translational and clinical research into dramatic breast cancer breakthroughs.

On April 21 I will run this year's Boston Marathon. I aim to raise $3,000 in sponsorship and donations for the institute by the time I cross the finish line.

I'm using social media to raise awareness of my fundraising and chart my progress as I train for the race. You can follow the training on this site, and you can sponsor me here.

or Bid on the ornament

Thank you.

(cross-posted from davefleet.com)

More Thoughts On Tonight's Tempo Run

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 02:54:00 +0000

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19k - Don Valley/East York/Riverdale Loop

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 02:30:00 +0000

An easy loop, much of which is through Toronto's Don Valley. One large hill climb. Can be icy in the winter.

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TTC Info: This run starts and ends near both the College and Wellesley subway stations, and passes by the Broadview and Castle Frank stations.

Initial Thoughts On A Hard Tempo Run

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:57:00 +0000

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Long Hill Run & Cancer Research Fundraiser Info

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 22:09:00 +0000

Sites mentioned in this post:

Keith Burtis - http://magicwoodworks.com/blog

Cancer Research Fundraiser - http://davefleet.com/ (see links on the right of the page)

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35k - West-End Long Hill Run

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 21:43:00 +0000

A long run through Toronto's west end, taking in as many hills as possible.

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TTC Info: This run passes the St. Clair, Summerhill, Rosedale, Old Mill, Jane, High Park, Runnymede, Keele, Dundas West, Lansdowne, Dufferin, Ossington, Christie, Bathurst, Spadina and St. George subway stations.

Boston Training - 'Week Fourteen and Fifteen' Write-Up and 'Week Sixteen' Look-Ahead

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 19:32:00 +0000

Peak training is done! The last two weeks have been insane - over 100km both weeks. Just a few big runs left before Boston now.

Running Log: Week Fourteen

Day	Scheduled Run	Actual Run
Sunday	30km steady	23km
Monday	12km recovery	14km
Tuesday	22km hilly	24km
Wednesday	12km recovery	12km
Thursday	15km with intervals	19km
Friday	Rest	Rest
Saturday	12km recovery	12km
Total	103km week	105km week

Running Log: Week Fifteen

With the snow storm hindering my running two weeks ago, this turned out to be my biggest week. I found it surprisingly easy - I guess my legs are used to this kind of mileage at this point. Thursday's run was tough as I felt I was on the edge of an injury, but having run since then I don't think it did any real damage.

Day	Scheduled Run	Actual Run
Sunday	35km steady	36km
Monday	12km recovery	12km
Tuesday	22km hilly	27km
Wednesday	10km recovery	10km
Thursday	15km with intervals	16km
Friday	Rest	Rest
Saturday	12km recovery	14km
Total	103km week	114km week

Training Program: Week Sixteen

Here it comes - the taper is on its way. I can't really count an 80km week as taper, but it gives me three rest days compared to one, which is all I've had for the last few weeks.

The runs are still intense though - the real taper isn't here yet - but it's close. I can almost taste it!

Day	Scheduled Run
Sunday	30km comfortable
Monday	Rest
Tuesday	18km comfortable/tempo
Wednesday	15km recovery
Thursday	15km with 8x3min intervals
Friday	Rest
Saturday	Rest
Total	78km week

14k - Heidelberg North Loop

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Fleet) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 18:42:00 +0000

Square loop north of Heidleberg, near Waterloo, Ontario. One large hill about 9km through the loop, followed by a steep downhill.

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TTC Info: Yeah, right.