mmm...perogi

Seriously depleted. I'm not sure if I mentioned it earlier but I bought and old 10 speed bike from a pawn shop a few weeks ago, the front derailer(sp?) doesn't work so it is actually a 5 speed. So I have been riding around quite a bit. It is awesome. Even though it is a beater I can still get it going faster than a lot of people on their $1500 road bikes. The problem is that, as I tend to do with new things I am kind of over doing it, yesterday I rode from the westend all the way to SFU, went to class, bummed around, bussed to Coquitlam, did a short workout with Steve, then rode 30 odd km back to the westend. All this and I didn't really eat much that day, mainly because my guts are very particular and I didn't want to have to stop in the middle of the workout. So anyway, I was super depleted and dead by the end of the day, but it was great. I have always enjoyed going hard till you are tired then just continuing on, you know, when you get to that place where you just lock into an effort level and go, and don't realize how tired you are until you actually stop and it comes like a tidal wave. So anyway, that was my day yesterday and I didn't really replace the lost fuel as much as I should have and dragged my ass through the 10mile jog today after 5 straight hours of class. Now it is time to rest up for sunday's race.

By taking a mental survey of who is around and racing these days it seems unlikely that there will be much competition at the half this weekend, but that is also what I thought last fall when I went out for the half marathon that is part of the Royal Victoria Marathon, and sure enough Jim Finlayson and Jason Warick came out of the woodwork. I haven't talked to anyone but Jim does this race nearly every year so I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see him there, Todd Howard either, and David Jackson ran the Vancouver Half a couple of weeks ago so maybe he will come out. I think these guys are around the same fitness level as I am so it would be nice if they toed the line. I don't really have any expectations for this race since training has been pretty rough the last several weeks, and I dont really know what the course is like so I am just going to go out and run it hard and smart, trying not to get in over my head. It is also the first of a string of races i'll be doing; the remainder of the Timex series. Richard and I have decided on some shorter stuff which should be fun, if you call racing back to back to back to back fun! Luckily they are all local and the last one is in Kelowna where I haven't been in ages so that will be nice. Ok I feel like I am rambling here, so i'll post back with a race report and review of the new ST racers I recieved in the mail today!

Its like that...and thats the way it is

Well, I am still sick, the end is in sight but my 30min run today was utterly exhausting. With two weeks to go until the Ottawa Marathon it was decision making time yesterday. The marathon portion of training started off well when we did the 10miles medium, 10miles tempo, 2 miles easy, although the groin problems had already begun, but from there thing really just went off the rails. The groin did not heal and I started to get the breathing issues I had last year. I was willing to put up with this however, because I was still able to train well with the groin soreness, and I had seen the pharmacist and doctor and they concluded that it was not directly allergies causing my breathing problems but a return of some asthma problems I had as a child, which could again be helped by using ventalin. So I started working on getting the documentation and all that to submit to CCES. So in the meantime I missed a few workouts, but then I got sick and missed a few more workouts, and I am still sick. In sum, I have virtually missed 75% of the marathon specific portion of my training and so we have come to the conclusion that it isn't a reasonable expectation to put a good marathon together.

It certainly is unfortunate that I won't be able to go and compete at a high level in the marathon but unlike last year the dissapointment is not devastating. One of my major goals was to maintain a balance this spring between school, running and interpersonal relationships and i've done quite well I think. I may not be able to run a marathon but I have returned to a high level of fitness, i've achieved a 3.15 gpa this year, put a good effort into work, and maintained and developed relationships well. There is certainly a lot of improvement to be made of course. Another great conclusion of this marathon build is that I have moved from a mental space where I was seriously considering retiring from competitive running to wanting to continue, find new challenges and goals, and enjoy everything running has to offer from hard training to fun 'adventure runs,' road races to trail runs, and everything in between.

I'll post back soon after some planning and goal setting, but for now I am hoping to do the Oak Bay Half-Marathon in Victoria on May 24th. I may not be in marathon shape but i'll be rested and ready for a good half!

Vancouver Half - DNS

Fuck around. Bit of a tough morning here, an hour before the start of a race I am supposed to do, and feeling like shit. I woke up yesterday with a chest cold and was hopeful that race morning it wouldn't be much worse. At least I try to be optimistic. I woke up with fire in my throat and phlegm in my chest. At first I decided that I would still go to the race and start, do the first 5k and drop out, thinking somehow I owe it to the race organizers to at least start(what with the pre-race media stuff) but in the end I figure I won't be missed, and really my better judgement says to just stay home and sit this one out, and I would be willing to put money down that Richard would agree. I have a long standing policy not to run with a chest cold and today is not going to be an exception.

So what does this say for Ottawa? Well frankly, for now, nothing, but it is certainly a kick in the nuts after a dropping out of the second most important workout last sunday, and in general not feeling great. I decided earlier in the week that I was tired of feeling beat up, mentally and physically, from the workouts. Like they were bringing out any little pains and imbalances and making them big and hard to run efficiently and fluidly. So I just ran some easy/medium runs tuesday through friday with some decent volume and started feeling better towards the end of the week. The struggles continue.

....Sun Run

.....continued from last post....

Race Day! Despite the lacklustre week or so I was excited to lace up the T5s and hit the pavement for a quick 10k. I was prepared for disaster since my breathing had been so poor the previous few days but hoped the low pressure system and morning would help. Richard had said that this would be more of a "workman's race"(term coined by Bruce Deacon) meaning that we are training for a marathon here and we cant expect anything special, just a good hard race effort. Obviously as an athlete we hope that something special DOES in fact happen and you run really well! Not the case! In actuality I was happy with the race. I didn't feel good for any of it, in hindsight my legs did feel stale, and my breathing was only a bit of a problem(I had to breathe harder than I normaly would but it wasnt a restricting factor in performance I don't think, much like last year). That said, I didn't feel BAD either, and put in a strong mental and physical effort which I am happy about. I am also pleased that I was able to be very disciplined during the race, I new my groin and hip flexors were a problem and in a few point in the race I had the chance to really go full throttle and I held back knowing the fight was in Ottawa and risking injury here would be foolish. Unfortunately I didn't get to have fun like last year in the Sun Run and Times Colonist where I had a great kick and ran like a wild animal, that was fun! So, all in all, it turned out to be a "workman's race" who knew, Richard was right...again. Running sub 31 in these conditions is just fine with me, hopefully this summer I can get in 10k and try to break 30, I know its there somewhere.

DONE....for two weeks

The most brutal semester is over! What a few months it has been, the worst schedule, and trying to run hard while doing it. In general it was not that much fun, I am seriously tired out, which is probably why I have spent so much time in bed the last few days. It really is a relief. Even though I am starting 3 more classes on May 5th, my schedule is WORLDS better. I only have class on tuesday, wednesday and thursday morning, thats right, 4 day weekends! So awesome!

Running. Its been a trying couple of weeks, things were going really well but the wheels kind of came off two saturdays ago when we did a 3 x 3mile workout, it was solid(15:36, 15:16, 15:23) but it was more or less the straw that broke the camels back as far as my physical and mental energy could go with exams coming up, and it made my groin issues that much more sore.

I have been fighting a groin problem for a while now and, as expected, it is taking a while to heal, I am able to still do the sessions but there is an extra dose of caution associated with everything which is getting annoying, right when I want to be hitting it hard, I have to be extra careful(maybe that is a good thing). After that workout I did a hilly 20+miler on monday which I have since decided aggravated it a bit more, I reacted by doing some strength exercises to aid the healing. Ooops, went a little too hard and strained my hip flexors. I didn't really think it was an issue till the wednesday workout at the track where I had trouble getting around it at 3min/k pace(I also couldnt breathe!) So needless to say the allergy season is upon us, which only compounded the problem.

Last year was the first year I had allergy problems and I was in denial for most of it, and it really hurt my training and racing, mentally and physically. So, when I did the session on wednesday then went for a one mile jog(then quit) on thursday, and couldnt breathe, I was depressed to say the least. I decided I wasnt going to run for two days since I needed to summon all the mental energy I had for my exams on thursday and friday. I figured it wouldnt hurt to take a physical break too, even if it left me a bit stale for the race, i really needed a regroup.

Sun Run.....maybe i'll continue this in a new post.....

Row, Row, Row your boat....

Into the grind. Well now that school is over, well, since last week actually, but now that classes are over I feel like my focus has really come to full capacity for running and we are into the critical few weeks leading up to Ottawa. It is really important to keep this focus because training is hard and the volume is up, so any lapse in focus could mean injury or sickness or both. The reminders and cautions from Richard are invaluable and I am trying to make sure our communication is as transparent as possible. Right now everything is basically going as well as it could, despite the groin issues. They seem to be subsiding with the addition of some exercises and light stretching, and luckily I had to make very little, if any, concessions in training because of it.

I am starting to feel like a marathoner again.

The reason I say this is not because of the fatigue of the training but the mindset that comes from it. How to explain....ok here's an example. On wednesday night we did a 8 x mile workout(longest interval workout i've ever done) for a 14mile session altogether, which was really quite tiring. Then on thursday, while tired and sore, I headed out and did a 15mile run and despite being sore and tired my body decided it wanted to get moving on the return portion of the run. It is this type of run that tells me i'm a marathoner again, when you are tired and sore and your legs still want to roll. It is a great feeling! I really feel like I am on track, not on a high, but on track.

aargh!

So frustrating when you hope things will just go away...and then they don't...and then they get worse. I suppose it has been a couple of weeks now that I have a little bit of soreness/tightness in the left side of my groin. I can't really put my finger on exactly when it happened but I think it was racing up a flight of stairs to the skytrain the afternoon post-long run 2 or 3 mondays ago. I figured it would just go away with a bit of stretching but it seems to get a bit better then i'll do a hard workout and it will be bad again. I went in to see my massag therapist on thursday and got some work on it but by the workout this morning it was actually tighter than before. After the 10mile tempo(52:31) portion of the workout I stopped to change shoes and it really tightened up and has been tight and sore the rest of the day. I suppose it should be expected after a 22mile session but I am getting quite worried. I have only had a groin strain once before, and it was a lot worse actually, when I was playing hockey way back as a kid. Unfortunately now I am 13 years older and don't heal as fast and cant just skip out on practice for a week or two. So I guess the plan is light stretching and to start doing some strength exercises and hopefully that will be the ticket to heal it up. I am kind of kicking myself for not doing my regular strength sessions to prevent injuries, which I usually do on a semi regular basis. I am certain this would have been prevented. Oh well, thats how it goes, hopefully I won't miss any training over it.

Other than that the session was pretty much exactly what was planned so I am really happy with it. I didn't kill myself, and didn't feel great to begin with so to execute the workout is something to be pleased about. Just gotta keep on rollin.