Time to Train for a Half Marathon?

So here's my confession: I've never entered a race. Neither running nor bicycle. Never. I haven't raced in a competitive event since elementary school track meets. I have registered for a couple, but something has always come up and I have never been able to actually do the race.

Now, part of that is that I have always run for me and for no other reason. With tools like Strava at my disposal, I have a continuous measurement on my performance. So I have felt little need for a sanctioned race to know what my personal bests (PBs) are.

But lately I feel really compelled to enter one. Partly because, as I get older, I worry that I will miss my chance to compete. I think I am still at a point where I could race and finish near the middle of the pack. And I am in solid physical condition and so, able to do so.

So, I am going to commit to entering a race. My initial thought here is to enter a 10 km race this fall and aim for a half marathon next spring (2018). Plenty of time for me to prepare as I feel like I am already in the necessary condition for a 10 km race.

I will post any actual race registrations here. Initially looking at the 10 km at the Fall Classic Run in November. Thankfully there are tools available like the Canadian Race Guide for me to scour and plan.

Route: Arbutus Greenway

Earlier this year, the City of Vancouver opened the current, temporary path along the Arbutus Greenway. The current path is a paved mixed-use trail built along an old rail line that runs nearly the same distance as the Cypress Bike Route from Milton St (off of Granville St near the Arthur Laing Bridge) to Burrard St just north of W 6th Ave (click HERE to read my review of the Cypress Bike Route).

Lane markings along Arbutus Greenway

Because this is a dedicated off-the-road mixed-use pathway, it is much easier to navigate than other on-the-road or shared bike routes. The path is well marked with lots of signage. Further, because it used to be a rail line, there are not nearly as many street crossings compared to other bike routes. That said though, the crossings that are there are big and hairy. And for the most part, because the Arbutus Greenway is still being built (the current state is considered temporary infrastructure while the final design is finalized), the crossings do not yet have the required curb drops, signage, or even crossing lights. At some of the crossings, the path even reroutes to the intersections along West Blvd.

Which brings up an important point here: the current state is temporary. The City of Vancouver is still working on the final design. Fortunately, the temporary path is paved all the way along. And some of the intersection crossings, such as at SW Marine Drive, W Broadway, W 12th, and W 49th are already being improved.

The path is also clearly marked (both on the pavement and with signage) to indicate one side (the west side) as a two-way bicycle path and the other side (the east side) as a two-way pedestrian path. For many areas along the route, the bicycle and pedestrian sides are separated by a dirt trench with wild flowers. This adds a safe amount of separation and, during the spring and summer anyway, provides a welcome burst of colour.

Another perk is that the Arbutus Greenway runs along an old rail line; therefore, the grade is minimal (i.e. it's not nearly as steep as the Cypress or Ontario bike routes). This means that for the less-fitness-capable, such as elderly or kids, this route is much easier to ride.

The Arbutus Greenway is also far more safe to ride (or run or walk for that matter). It runs nearly 20 metres from the roads on either side, and is often lined with community gardens, shrubs, or trees to create further separation between the path and the roads that border it. The result is a relaxed ride that is far more comfortable.

Wild flowers planted along Arbutus Greenway

But there are definitely a few things the City needs to do to make the route safer. One is to make it more clear at each of the roads crossings (predominantly from W 16th through W 6th and at W 64th) who has the right-of-way. At several crossings along this section where the cross-street/motorists have stop signs, drivers still tap their brakes and roll right through. So use caution when crossing at these intersections, even when the Arbutus Greenway has right-of-way. I feel like it is only a matter of time before someone on a bicycle riding through at normal speed gets hit by a careless motorist that failed to stop and recognize the priority of the crossing Arbutus Greenway.

View of the north shore mountains from the Arbutus Greenway

One suggestion I have made to the City of Vancouver is to change the colour of the path, similar to the approach often used in Holland and Denmark. The best way to illustrate this is in a recent tweet from Chris Bruntlett at modacity: click HERE view the tweet. 

Bench along Arbutus Greenway

One other downside (which is really also a massive positive) is that the Arbutus Greenway is already incredibly popular. Even in the early morning hours, there are many folks out enjoy the path. Whether it is people out for a morning walk, or walking and riding their kids to school, the path is busy. During the afternoon commute, you do have to be a bit cautious. Some folks can get distracted and walk onto the bicycle side without noticing. Occasionally dog owners will led the dog out too far and get dart across to the other side of the path. More leisurely bicycle riders, including parents with small kids, can take up the bulk of the path width. So if you like to ride fast, be prepared to have to slow down to navigate around the masses from time-to-time.

Overall, the Arbutus Greenway is amazing. It is a massive step forward in the north-south bicycle infrastructure in the City of Vancouver. It is scenic, with some great vistas to stop and admire the view and sit on one of the benches provided. It has the potential to be a great family-friendly piece of the city's bicycle network and provides a mostly safe, relaxed route for bicycle commuters.

Route: Cypress Bike Route

Up until a the Arbutus Greenway opened earlier this year, I used the Cypress Bike Route as part of my regular bicycle commute to and from work. I was a huge fan of the route, which runs along a traffic-calmed corridor on residential streets.

The route begins at Milton St and runs on SW Marine Dr (off of Granville St near the Arthur Laing Bridge). From there, it goes along Cornish to 68th, over to Adera and up to 64th. From there, it turns onto 64th until East Blvd, then up East Blvd which eventually turns into Angus Dr. The route then stays on Angus for a long time, which is nice because that first southern bit is a lot of zig-zagging for those coming from Richmond or south of 68th. At Matthews (just north of King Edward), the route then cuts over to Cypress St, which the route then follows all the way to Cornwall, for easy access onto the Burrard St Bridge.

The route runs along residential streets with a lot of roundabouts and, at most of the major road crossings, there are barriers to prevent cars from going straight through. The result is a bike route along residential streets, with minimal cars. Because they've made it difficult for cars to go more than a few blocks along the route, there aren't many of them. Not driving anyway, but there are many parked along both sides of the street throughout the route.

One negative is there is a substantial climb to this route and some sections are rather steep. The steep parts are usually only about 100 metres at a time though and then level off a bit. So it is entirely manageable, but definitely requires using some higher gears. This comment will seem trivial to younger, fit, or able-minded folks. However, for those older or less able, these hills may be significant. Queue the e-bike discussion.

My favourite part of this route though is the big, old trees that cover the street. These are most dense at the mid and northern end of the route, but are present all along. It truly is beautiful in spring and summer with the foliage providing complete coverage overhead. Provides good shade from the hot sun as well. I thought it might shield some of the rain but I'm not so sure about that - in my 20 km ride, I get pretty soaked regardless. It does make the early morning commutes quite dark as well, so make sure you have a good set of lights if you're riding before sunrise or after sunset.

Overall, the Cypress Bike Route is great if you're comfortable riding sharrows (sharing the road with cars) on a fairly quiet residential street, don't mind waiting at a few busy crossings, and enjoy lots of foliage and big houses for scenery.

However, with the new Arbutus Greenway only a couple of blocks west, I do question the future viability of maintaining the Cypress Bike Route. Read my review of the Arbutus Greenway HERE.

Back Into the Running Game

It's been a while since I posted anything about running. And there is a reason for that: I haven't been running.

Towards the end of 2015, I had largely lost interest in running. Partly because I had completed what I set out to do - become a competent runner and train myself to complete a 10 km in less than an hour. But the other part, which is hugely significant, is that I kept pushing myself to the point that I had to take a step back and let myself heal. Unfortunately, I avoided exercise through my teenage years and early twenties. So my body has some catching up to do. As a result, the muscles around my knees were growing in such an uneven rate that they were putting a ton of pressure on my knee caps. It was painful. I tried a number of stretches and targeted exercises but, ultimately, it just wore me out. So I decided to take a hiatus from running.

In that time, I focused mostly on riding my bike. I tried to commute to and from work (my commute is 20 km each way) as often as possible. With such a long ride, and two kids to pick up on the way home, that was a significant commitment. The convenient part is that it fit my workout into the time I'd spend commuting anyway. With a demanding career and young family at home, this was an ideal solution for the time being.

But here I am, nearly a year and a half later. Towards the end of spring this year, I found myself craving the run. So I started running again. At first, just once a week and without any particular goal in mind - just running for the pure joy of running. Then I slowly increased to twice a week. Now I am running regularly twice a week, occasionally even three times. And I have no set goal or training plan yet, except to be comfortable running either a 5 km or 10 km race. I have a couple of races that I'd like to do before the end of the year and I want to be able to slot myself in at a moments notice.

Another perk to running is that I have a fairly demanding travel schedule for work at the moment. Awfully difficult to bring my bike with me on an airplane everywhere I go, so I force myself to bring along my running gear so that I can fit in a run no matter what city I happen to be in.

Another reason that I have reinvigorated my love of running stems from the fact that, because I am so comfortable riding my bike, it doesn't get my heart rate up to where I want it for proper cardio training. As I get older, I realize that I need to have some higher-intensity workouts than my regular bicycle commute affords me. I am still riding my bike to and from work as often as I can fit it into my schedule, which is usually two or three times per week, depending on my travel schedule. And for everything in between, I go for a run.

And this casual approach has paid off. While I can't get any where near my personal best 5 km time  of 22:34 - got a 24:11 the other day - I hit a new personal best 10 km time just this morning: 49:54! (I know that screenshot shows a different time - didn't stop it right the second I crossed the 10 km). Pretty pleased with myself at the moment - it's an exhilarating feeling.