Friday, November 28, 2008

Feel like the weather...

The rain is really coming down out there, and has been all day, not helping the motivation to run or study thats for sure. I headed out for an easy 10miles this morning as I did mon, tues, wed, but today I had a net gain of 6-8lbs! I actually didn't weigh myself before my run but afterward, with shoes in hand I weighed in at 162lbs. It was actually a pretty decent run other than feeling heavy in the last part of it, and being frozen from my elbows down. I came to a couple of important conclusions at the end of my run too: 1) don't tie your house key in your laces if your hands are going to be too cold to untie them and 2) take the front door key because the lock on the back door is too hard if your hands are too cold to turn the key. Luckily I was able to get in my place this time but any colder and I would have been in trouble. This week I have been struggling a bit with my lower right leg, the mild injury that had gone away in october but was awakened with the rediculously hilly 10k the other weekend. I am not too concerned about it, its just an annoyance that will have to be dealt with. Tomorrow I have an 8k in Stanley Park scheduled which I think i'll be doing by myself since Steve, Richard, and Dylan are off to nationals, it should be pretty relaxed as tempo runs are my forte. Sunday will be my first long run in a very long time, I haven't quite decided on the route i'll do, i'm thinking up to SFU and back though will be good, nice and relaxed. I opted to only do the one workout this week because I was very sore from last saturday's workout and the sore lower leg, however I should wind up with about 65-70miles this week which is a substantial increase in and of itself, so one workout is probably a safe plan.

I am not sure what my problem is lately, but I have had a really hard time studying consistently, maybe I have overtrained my brain! This semester has been a massive shock it I am sure, forcing so much knowledge acquisition. Luckily I have studied a lot so I don't need to cram for finals, just brush up and do practice problems. I am still a little bit concerned about the overall sense of somewhat lower motivation in general. I think part of the problem is my atrocious diet, not so much that I have been eating foods that are bad for me, just not eating enough food in general, but foods that are not packed with nutrients. Although I am completely sick of reading, I am going to take my Chris Charmicheal book home for Xmas and get back into eating well like I did last spring. I know it will make a huge difference in energy levels and probably my ability to study as well. This holiday break is much anticipated and will be the perfect prelude to the build up to the 'first half', Ottawa, upper division courseload, and some other goals I have in the spring, like becoming more involved in my community again, and putting some more focus into work, now that I am settled into the swing of school. Despite my current state, my general feeling is that I have 'settled in', I am feeling more like myself in that the massive transition I was experiencing in the summer has officially passed and I am getting into a new long term groove, which, thankfully, has running competitively involved in it.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Ok, so here we go.

Took a week off as the break between seasons if you will. It has been a really great fall season for running. I really didn't train much, doing some solid workouts but my volume was extraordinarily low (74.5, 78.5, 18.5, 29.5, 62, 53.5, 43, 26, 26.5, 29), with a half marathon of 1:08:50, 13.08k race of 42:08, and a 10k of 34:38, all first place in strong efforts. I really enjoyed running this fall, more than I have in a couple years. I put no pressure on myself, taking days off when I didn't have time to run because of school, or if I didn't feel like it. I focused on developing hill strength and speed which again was a lot of fun. I feel like I have renewed my love and enjoyment of running which was very much needed after a summer where I was questioning whether I would continue running competitively. As life tends to go with me, everything has worked out well and this renewal came at the best time possible. Looking forward, I am ready to start training consistently again and set some goals for the winter and spring. Once I know my class schedule I will hopefully plan my training with Richard and train smarter and more consistently than I have before, and realize some of my potential that I haven't in the past. For the time being I am going to start with a steady diet of 10mi runs in the morning on non workout days and 90min - 120min long runs. 2009 is looking very promising and exciting!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Ow, Ow, Ow

Oh Man, what a brutal course. I figured I wasn't going to be racing, or even training a whole lot over the next couple of week so I didn't think there was any sense in holding back in this race. So even though there were some really steep downhills I just rolled down them and pounded the crap out of my legs, and boy am I feeling it today. I can walk properly but its not easy by any means. I actually went out pretty relaxed in the race letting Jason Louttit take the lead but less than a K in i was out front and we headed up the long one mile first hill, he passed me a gain but at the crest of the hill I took to the front and that was it till the end. I ran fairly even but hard through the first 5k then grinded out the rest of the run. It was extremely hilly and always turning, so it was completely impossible to get any kind of rythm. I just pumped the arms and lifted the knees an by 7k I was keeping a close eye on Jason and another guy just so I could make sure I had the race in hand. It was so tough that I couldnt be bothered to try and run a fast time or anything, I was suffering so I just ran for the win. There really isnt a whole lot else to say about it, the race was brutal, I was happy to win but I am paying for it in spades. Thanks to Nick and Mark for putting on a great event though, i'm not so sure i'll be back to do it again but you never know!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Livin' on the Edge

Well maybe not as dramatic as the Aerosmith song, but I feel like I am walking the very fine line the last couple days, of getting sick again. The aftermath of the Haney festivities. The last couple of days I have opted to only run for 30-40mins at a medium pace because my throat has been a bit sore. Not really the soreness that you get when you are about to get sick though, more like a 'got punched in the throat an hour ago' sore. Not that I have ever been punched in the throat but I recall some kind of 'blunt force trauma' to the throat at some point in my life. Either way, I have been taking it easy, sleeping and eating lots, and dropping oregano(yuck!) to lower the odds of getting sick. I hope to run well this weekend at the Bear Mountain 10k, being that it is likely my last race of the fall and it is very fitting seeing as this fall has been defined by hill running and this course is quite hilly. Richard said to treat it like a cross race with good footing, and I think he hit the nail on the head there, because not only is it hilly but it is very windy(read: wind-e).

It seems as though I have been going to victoria every other weekend this fall, which is a bit funny because I nearly moved there in the late spring early summer, it really is a nice place and I enjoy visiting. Hopefully there are as many races to go to in the spring, although it appears as though my class schedule will be less accomodating as this semester. I can't believe it, I am taking less classes but I will likely be at school monday thru friday, bah! I suppose that means I will have more time during the day to run doubles, workout, do yoga, therapy etc. So not all bad. Well i'd better get eating and head to school, I'll have a race report up saturday hopefully. Can't wait to lace up the T5s again!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Another Epic Haney

Well the race wasn't so competitive but the rest of the day got pretty rediculous. I"ll just comment on the race though. By the time the race reached my leg we were already out front by quite a distance so my motivation was mainly to win my leg so I could get the timex watch. I headed out pretty quick and really didn't feel good till about 7k (same as vic, hmmm) but was rolling pretty good on a great course of medium rolling hills. I didn't wear my watch and there are no distance markers so I had no clue what pace I was running and just ran hard assuming the leg was 13k(I didn't even check the distance before I ran!) Turns out it was 13.1 or something like that. Anywho, I felt strong and smooth and just hammered away until my guts turned and it was a sufferefest for the last 3k. I defintely shouldn't have had mexican the night before....who knew? Turned out I won my leg by 3 mins but my average pace was only 3:14/km, I guess the hills and slowing down in the last mile becuase of my guts resulted in being a bit slower than I would have thought. It was fun though, of course, unfortunately it wasn't terribly competitive and we won by 15mins, regardless it was an epic H2H as per usual, looking forward to next year! I have decided on going to Bear Mountain this weekend too, I don't have quite as much schoolwork this week as I thought, so I'll go try and bust a good 10k even if it is super hilly.

Friday, November 7, 2008

HANEY!!!!!!!!

Well its that time of the year, the unofficial peak of the year, the race everyone gears up for, the extravaganza that is the Haney to Harrison Relay Race. People come from far and wide to start in the dark and usually pouring rain to run relay style for 100k through beautiful farm land, up and down and up and down, winding, dodging dogs, trains and cars, while engaging in friendly(and sometimes not so friendly) competition. Eventually ending the day off with a party to be talked about for years.

I haven't run Haney for a few years now and I am glad to be back at it. It is a fun event and a good reason to go hammer out a 8-15k on a slow course where you don't worry about running a personal best, just about opening up a bigger gap or closing one on the competition. There is always drama and often anticipation leading up to your leg of the race so it makes for a great experience. I have been slotted for leg 6 which is, I think, 13k of up and down. I have never done that leg, Bomba usually does that one I think, so it will be nice to run where I haven't before. Hopefully the race is still reasonably close at that point, but either way I will likely go to the well on this run because I am considering staying home and not running Bear Mountain on the island next weekend. I have exams coming up and a lot riding on my first semester back at school. We will see though. Nevertheless, I am going to wear my ST Racer Flats, which are the Brooks marathon flats because I want to save my T5s and my legs on a hilly course. The ST Racers are my second favorite flat now that I have run a half marathon in my T5s, they are a great shoe and I ran in last years model for most of my workouts in TO, perfect shoe for my foot. I'll write a report on sunday hopefully!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

What now?

Hmmm, well, although I have a plan to make a plan, right now I am not feeling terribly motivated because I don't have any real concrete goals within reaching distance. I had a great run last night and a really good workout this morning, keeping up with Dylan, but with the pressure of school I am finding it hard to get excited about training and just seeming to get out there once a day. Don't get me wrong, I am still really enjoying training, but don't have much inspiration if you will, to start doubling more than is convenient. In thinking about the future, I will likely opt to only do 3 classes next semester (even though two or all three will be 4 credit courses) so that I will be able to train at a higher level for Ottawa and the spring campaign......Perhaps I am just feeling unmotivated because it is absolutely pouring rain outside at the moment.......