Houston, We Have Lift Off

This weekend is a big one in the world of North American marathoning – all eyes will be on Houston. The city is hosting the American Olympic trial marathon on Saturday and then the regular Houston marathon on Sunday. The regular marathon will be important to Canadians in general because Simon Bairu is making his attempt at the Canadian Olympic standard – and it’ll be important to Nova Scotians in particular because a handful of our best runners will be there. I hope the website will offer live splits like Boston and New York do; there are lots of athletes to track.

I can’t say I’m heavily invested in the outcome of the American trials, but I do love the drama of the event. In Canada, we don’t have the depth to stage a trials – last fall’s Toronto Waterfront Marathon was as close as it gets for us, and we did qualify two guys for the big show. For Americans, however, it’s a winner takes all approach: everyone who runs 2:19 or better is invited to trials, and the top three on the day book their tickets to London. It doesn’t matter if you ran the fastest time last season or whatever, you have to show up at trials and get it done. This is what champions do – they find a way in the big races. The Olympic event itself is no different – you have one shot, so those who can make the best of it are the ones who should get the chance to represent their country.

I don’t know much about the folks lining up in the trials. For sure, Ryan Hall has to be the favourite. He’s pretty consistent at the 2:07 level and rocked Boston with a 2:04. He should walk away with it... but this is the marathon. Anything could happen.

You know who he's pointing at...

My favourite for the race is Meb Keflezighi. He’s an Olympic silver medalist and a New York Marathon champion – but he’s had a bit of a rough go of it in terms of getting respect and sponsorships. You’d think bringing home the first men’s marathon medal for America since Frank Shorter’s silver in Montreal in 76 would ensure fame and fortune. But it wasn’t so. The problem is he was born in Eritrea and talks with an accent. Never mind that he immigrated when he was a kid and was a product of American coaching, some Americans just don’t think he’s American enough. As a result, endorsements have passed him by. None of the big shoe companies want him. Apparently, he had to run New York this year just to make some cash. Not cool. So I’m cheering for Meb.

For Canadians, making the Olympic squad is a little different. Athletics Canada sets the standard – you run it – and then they may or may not take you. For us, it’s decided in the board room not on the roads – in true Canadian bureaucratic style. The interesting thing about the Canadian standard is that it’s always much more challenging than the Olympic one. Being fiscally conservative, we figure that if we’re going to invest cash in an athlete (coaches are different; we always send more than enough coaches!), he or she can’t be just some run-of-the-mill Olympian – the athlete must demonstrate a fighting chance at relevance. For the marathon, this means running 2:11:29 or better. The Olympic “A” standard for London is 2:15.

Whether you’re for or against setting a big standard, we finally have guys who are gunning for it. Reid Coolsaet and Eric Gillis did it in Toronto, and now everyone expects Bairu, who pulled out of Toronto and walked off the course in New York, to do it. He certainly has the pedigree – but as every marathoner knows, it all has to come together on the day. If he can pull off a good one, he’s got a chance to become the first Canadian to run under 2:10. Very exciting.

Nova Scotians will be watching some of their best road racers in Houston as well. Greg and Mora – called the fastest married marathon couple in Canada by Canadian Running Magazine – will be strutting their stuff. Greg will be looking to best his 2:27 PB and Mora will be looking to go under 3:00, I imagine. My friend Leah, who carries the torch as the province’s fastest female marathoner while Denise battles back from the blood clots in her lungs, has got a great shot at 2:55 in my opinion. She seems fit and ready to go. Caroline and Rob will be cruising through the half marathon and should post enviable times. There are others going, but I don’t recall everyone – I’ll post results after it’s all over and done with. Best of luck to all Bluenosers who are making the trip down to Texas. Let’s hope the crappy weather doesn’t play havoc with your flights!!

Yesterday's storm. Guh.

Happy New Year!

10 days late with that. Guh. I’m glad my inconsistency in posting to this blog hasn’t crept into my training!

After missing a few runs over the holidays (I opted to spend the time with my family instead of on the icy roads of Ottawa – it was lovely), I’ve been back at with a vengeance here in Dartmouth: I logged 114k in my first week of 2012, including a 32k-er on Sunday with Alex. That’s heavy mileage for me, but it’s feeling good. And the week included two threshold workouts (6-minute mile stuff), so I’m not just grinding garbage miles – there’s some quality in there as well. I just hope I don’t do anything stupid and wreck myself! It’s still a long way to Toronto.

The winter here has been very kind to runners. Normally, snow and ice would have me off the trails and roads and onto the dreadmill by now, but December’s snow has disappeared – dissolved in rain and plus temperatures – and January has brought only a dusting so far (although it’s snowing as I write this!). I can’t remember ever running on clear trails in Shubie in January – but I’ll take it. As always, the north Atlantic giveth and it taketh away, so I’m not expecting these glorious conditions to last – I’ll just enjoy them while I can.

I should tie up a loose end from last year. In my last entry about my year-long virtual run across Canada, I was partway through Manitoba. So where did I end up? 

After a grand total of 4182.5k of dragging my sorry corpse across space and through time, I’m a stone’s throw from the Saskatchewan border! Crap. If I hadn’t dumped those runs in Ottawa, I would’ve run clear across 5 provinces for the year. But no. I’m stuck in Kirkella, Manitoba, a town that, when you google it, comes up on the website GhostTownsCanada.ca. I think this is the gods telling me that choosing to spend time with family instead of running is a very bad idea.

Kirkella, MB -- little hamlet on the prairie

Oh well. If only I’d listened to my brother and chosen to go through Ottawa instead of Kingston and Toronto – if I’d gone the northern route, I would’ve ended up past Regina! How much more impressive that would’ve been! (I wish there was a font for sarcasm – or at least an emoticon – sigh)

I’ll have to think about a new goal for this year’s mileage. Suggestions?

Anyway... here’s hoping that 2012 is a great year – and that the end o’ the world-ers are as wrong as usual!