Day One

-7deg. 30mins. New Salomon Speedcross. Lungs and throat cooked. Back on the horse.

#cccccold

W/E August 25, 2013 - Edmonton Marathon - 5th

Mon - 55min:  Feeling stiff and tired today so just went for an easy run in the new trail shoes.

Tues - 30min: Tired again, taking it easy.

Wed - 60min w/ 2xHill (93, 96): Legs feeling better

Thurs - 30min 

Fri - off

Sat - off

Sun - 42.2km: (2:42:35) 5th place.

Well unfortunately the Edmonton Marathon did not go as well as I hoped. I was feeling pretty good going in but things never really started clicking in the race. I expected to be able to grind out a 2:35 given that I was able to overcome some adversity to run a 2:42 in Kamloops. In this race I didn't have any particularly acute problems but felt generally sore as the race went on. Of course you expect a marathon to be bring about a certain amount of soreness or pain but I was feeling unusually sore and in strange places. I would attribute most of it to having done 100% of my running on dirt roads and trails but I didn't feel this 'pounded-out legs' feel when I did Kamloops a few weeks go. At any rate, my left shoulder and arms in general got really sore and tired, my inside left shin was aching, both my knees were aching and towards the end my left patella was very sore. This was all soreness that was abnormal. So my only guess is that a combination of the pavement/asphalt surface and the terrible condition of the roads in Edmonton accounts for this. ANYWAY, thats marathoning, you can always count on ups and downs. In particular, racing in Edmonton is always hit or miss for me, I have run some great races there like my 2nd place Canadian half-marathon championships, one of my best races in my career; and my horrendous near last-place finish at World half-marathon championships, one of my worst races ever; I have dropped out; and I have won there. 

Next up:  I am in Toronto now visiting my tsétse (younger sister) but will probably go for a jog tomorrow and try and get the legs moving a bit next week. I have committed to doing a 10k, yes a 10k in East Vancouver for an organization I used to work for in a new Canada running series race called....East Van 10k.  Its going to be brutal, I don't even remember how to run hard for 10k, so it should be interesting. I can't even pick a goal for it.

W/E August 18, 2013 - Bread and Butter

Mon - 4x2xHill (93, 96, 93, 94, 93, 96, 96, 94)  Good hill workout but don't seem to be able to squeeze any more speed/power out of the legs)

Tues - 63min + 1 set leg lifts: little tired from yesterday but legs feeling strong too. Got run off by that same dozen horses. Little unnerving!

Wed - 93mins: good run, short break to let a herd of rounded-up escaped cows walk by.

Thurs - Off: was going to do another hill workout today but felt really tired.

Fri - 4xhill, 3xhill, 2xhill (93, 93, 93, 95, 90, 91, 93, 92, 92): Longest sets, most reps, fastest average time this year. Awesome workout.

Sat - 60min: Good easy run, way too much driving the last couple days.

Sun - 62min: feeling a bit tired and stiff in the legs.

Total: 6h38m

Originally I had hoped to do the second hill workout on thursday so I could do one last long run this sunday but it just didnt work out. I had a fairly busy week, energy levels were low and I spent too much time driving places.  Nevertheless my first hill workout of the week turned out well doing 8 total reps for the first time this year and then on friday I had an excellent hill workout doing sets of 4, 3 and 2, all at an average pace more than 1 second faster than Monday. All-in-all I am feeling fairly fit and have shed 3 pounds; still 6-7 pounds over my training weight but its coming off slowly.  I'm going to do a longish run tomorrow of 2hrs with some marathon pace effort to get the legs moving then maybe do 2-3 hill reps wednesday. I have lots to do this week but i'll back right off on the recovery days. Thursday i'm going to drive halfway to edmonton and camp out then the rest of the way friday to break up the driving and save the legs.  Things are going well.

A recent campout looking south. A land of valleys: Arrowstone Creek running into Cache Creek running into Bonaparte River running into the Thompson River.

W/E August 11, 2013

Mon - 58min easy

Tues - 85mins: Mission Creek Greenway in Kelowna, just like old times, but 100mi/wk less...

Wed - 78mins: feeling pretty good, some bounce in my legs again today

Thu - Off, unplanned but necessary

Fri - 3x2xHill (97, 94, 93, 97, 93, 92), Left foot sore, started on wed, not sure what the issue is.

Sat - 30min: hot, tired, dehydrated and hungry. Partly b/c of a long week but no excuse for not eating enough.

Sun - 80min: good easy hot run in Kamloops

Total: 6h26m

As predicted this week was super busy and tired me out. Fortunately I am not coming down with a cold. My legs felt good today, albeit a bit tired. I have decided not to do a long run this weekend and opt to put in a few hill workouts to get some speed and strength. Will plan for one next weekend.

W/E August 4, 2013

Mon - Off

Tues - Off, still very sore.

Wed - Off, back at er tomorrow.

Thu - 20mins jog, legs feeling pretty good.

Fri - Off - unscheduled

Sat - 55min - feeling a bit tired, long day yesterday

Sun - 30mins easy

Total - 1h45

Really easy recovery week. I was fairly busy and not getting a lot of sleep this week so recovery was a little slow. Feeling ok now though and will get back at it this week, however a few very long days ahead. I will have to be careful not to catch a cold.

W/E July 28, 2013 - Kamloops Marathon 2:42 - 1st - Tough Day

Mon - 30m: sore feet and tired body from Saturday, still. Otherwise body feels ok.

Tues - 30min: still fairly sore and tired.

Wed - 45+min: 2xHill (87, 91), coming around. Realizing how tiring everything last week was.

Thurs - 60min: nice easy run

Fri - Off:  Compulsory day before the day before race day, off day.

Sat - Off: Not-so-compulsory day before race day off.

Sun - 42.2km in 2h42min and change for the W. Tough day. Race report forthcoming.

Well, it certainly wasn't very fast but a satisfying win nevertheless. For whatever reason my guts were really acting up today so it made for a rough day out there.  Off the gun Hans Aaybe headed out pretty quick as per usual so I didn't think to much of it and had assumed he was running the half marathon. I ran with Rick Brewster, also doing  the half marathon for about 10k till he mentioned Hans was doing the full marathon. Although my legs weren't feeling fantastic at that point I had to start thinking about how I was going to manage to win this thing. I continued to run with Rick for a while until we made it around The Dunes golf course out Westsyde then picked it up. Unfortunately this was short lived and around 19k my guts exploded and I needed to make a pit-stop asap. There were just houses around so I had to slow right down and hope to make it to the next port-a-john at about 20k or so, so Rick and the other two guys passed me and Hans would get further and further away (although at this point I had seen Hans was not going any faster than us; I was able to see him on the long straights).  Anyway, things got really bad and I found some bushes. Once I got back on the road I got around the corner and sure enough there were port-a-johns...SO, feeling better I put the hammer down and started reeling those other guys in which was no easy task. for about 10k I pushed it pretty hard eventually seeing them in the distance, then closer, and closer. Fortunately Hans had slowed and the other two guys were bringing him in as well. Once I reached the crest of the bridge crossing the Thompson River I was able to see all three of them within about 250m.  At this point I figured there was a good chance I had the race in the bag because I was feeling OK, and it is very unlikely that in the last 15k of a race they would be able to pick up their pace much. With this in mind I eased up a bit and slowly reeled each one in and passed them, Hans being the last, not long before the turnaround.  From here I was feeling happy with my accomplishment of coming from way behind and just tried to enjoy the rest of the race. Unfortunately at about 35k my guts started aching again so I stopped drinking any water or eating any gels, which didn't help energy-wise but kept my guts intact. As things got tough I just concentrated on my form and driving forward, cruising home in a not so fast time but a good solid effort. No complaints here. Defended my title on Secwepemc land, righteous.

I was also making a political statement. I am 100% against the proposed AJAX mine just outside of Kamloops. The main complaint from many Kamloops residents is centred around air quality however between this mine and the existing New Gold mine enormous amount of water will be pulled out of Kamloops lake (Thomson River system) putting pressure on already struggling salmon populations. Additionally, there will be a huge, highly toxic tailings facility as there is with mining operations which will last indefinitely. Tailings facilities are far from fool proof and subject to leeching and breaching due to unpredictable environmental events over the next hundred-odd years, with the only place to go but downhill into the Thompson watershed which drains into the Fraser River.  This is an unacceptable level of risk to future generations of human and non-human life.

W/E July 21, 2013 - Sasquatch

Mon - 1h55m:  Good run up Back Valley Rd. Backpack & 2 gels, loosing my taste for Cliff Shots.

Tues - 1h42min:  Good morning run up into Arrrowstone, 64up, 38 down. Bumped into a dozen horses on the range. Magnificent.

Wed - 55+: 3x2xHill (93, 95, 93, 94, 92, 93) off jog down and walk down. Pushed myself out the door sore and tired but managed a solid workout. Things seem to be coming around.

Thurs - 30min: one degree for every minute. Good recovery day, long meeting day sitting on my butt.

Fri - 60m:  nice easy run, definitely feeling the training effect from the hill-work.

Sat - 4h34m: about 35miles. Deadman's Creek and back. 30 degrees at the end. Last 90mins or so was excruciating, walked for at least 15mins of it. Legs and feet beat to death.

Sun - Off: busy day and tired

Total - 10h36m

Happy with this week of training. I managed to squeeze out a good hill workout on tired legs and really toughed it out on my long run saturday. The legs have really come around and despite some tightness in my left hip on the long run which worked itself out (I think) the body is holding up really well with a 85+ mile week, which is more than i've done in quite a while. I'll do half a hill workout on tuesday, take it easy for the remainder of the week and hopefully have a good one next sunday. It was a big week in general with work, running, schoolwork, canning for the first time and spending a couple of nights out. 

Last night I had a bit of a scare staying upper hat creek way with a distressed cow or bull walking up to my tent at 330am. I woke up thinking I had awoken because I was a bit cold so I zipped up my sleeping bag, but then heard a large animal outside my tent. I had no clue what it was but could sense its size, so I froze until it left. Oddly enough prior to my waking the passenger side door of my truck opened enough to make the interior light go on. So anyway the animal walked off and started making this really distressed breathing noise like it was giving birth. Of course not knowing the sound I lay in the dark thinking of the worst case scenario that its a wounded animal. Anyway once it gets a little further away it starts making a weird ungulate barking kind of noise, so I knew it wasn't a big injured bear and back to sleep I went after closing my truck door.  In the morning I checked out the tracks and walked up the road and sure enough there were a bunch of cows in the other side of a fence, so could be it was a big bull on my side. I was definitely happy to see the tracks since there was no explanation for my truck door and with the mysterious sounds the only other conclusion would have been...sasquatch.

Earlier this week I stayed the night out on the north side of Kamloops Lake. It was a gorgeous spot and had the company of 30 head of Sweláps (Big Horn Sheep).

Speqpeq7úwí ell sxúsem (Saskatoon berries and Soapberry juice concentrate)

W/E July 14, 2013

Mon - 55min touring around south shore of TsKlelus

Tues - 64min: incidentally getting heat training in. 28deg by the low-balling Weather Channel App

Wed - 50+min: 23up, 5xHill (90, 99, 93, 88, 89), 20dn, full rest w/ tailwind so not sweltering and easier mentally for a first hill workout in a while.

Thu - Off, sore and tired

Fri - 60min: flat quick run at Loon Lake, cold up there!

Sat - Off, long day off berry picking and medicine gathering, didn't fit in a run

Sun - 10mins: took all morning to get out the door and had nothing once i got started
Total - 3h59m

Not sure what happend this week. It started off well but unravelled. I have been super tired lately and unsure why. Will make a conscious effort to eat and sleep more this week. Legs feel good but just no energy.  

W/E July 7, 2013

Mon - Off

Tues - 30mins: HOT, 21 deg @ 7 AM, need to get up earlier

Wed - 1h57m:  29deg --> 22deg, excellent run scouting out some berry picking grounds

Thu - 55m: flat run but tired from last night's run, a cool 15deg.

Fri - 79m good run but super dehydrated

Sat - Off

Sun - 30mins

Total - 5h11m

Well I'm fairly happy with the week all things considered. It was rather warm this week; usually around 20degrees by 7am. I also travelled to Vancouver for a meeting on friday so was gone a couple of nights which never helps with the sleep and scheduling. The body feels somewhat tired but no aches of concern. With 5+ hours of running this week I hope to double that in the coming week which shouldn't be too difficult if I dont take any days off and do my planned 3.5-4h run on the weekend. I will also reinstate a weekly hill repeat workout, reluctantly. What I aim to do is get a bulletproof schedule down so I can remain consistent, which has been my biggest issue for a while now. I am getting in shape for the Kamloops marathon in 3 weeks, and will do my yearly trip out to Edmonton in august for the marathon there. I hope to maintain consistency throughout and potentially do some marathon specific preparation for Victoria and throw down a fast time. I've been out seeing some gorgeous sights lateley and being a bit strategic in my running routes to scout out harvesting sites and bumping into fields of wildflowers.

Moccasin Rehab

True to form I have not been blogging because I have not been running much. One month ago I headed out for a 4hr/50k run on the highway. I knew it would be very hard but I was prepared for it to be, mentally. What wasn't prepared were my peroneous muscles of my right leg. These are the two muscles running down the outside of your lower leg with tendons wrapping behind the knob on the outside of your ankle then attaching on or near the first metatarsal of your little toe (i'm pretty sure about this). Anyway, they are the muscles which 'twist' your foot. what happened was that the muscles of my legs were not conditioned enough to handle the camber of the road for that distance. There were likely other factors which came into play but this is the main cause. In any event I was injured. Because I headed out east immediately afterward for a week I did not deal with it, then was super busy when I got back. So I didn't get it treated for a while, and its not an injury that you can just ignore. In fact, I have had this exact injury before. In 2007 I did the Toronto Waterfront Marathon and with about 2 miles to go you reach a stretch of asphalt that is very worn and rough which was feeling really hard on my feet so looking to my left I saw a freshly paved gutter. I decided to run in the gutter which was nice and smooth but quite cambered. After the race my peroneous muscles tightened up to the extreme and I actually had a hard time walking. So, I am familiar with the injury and realized I just needed to get it worked on by a massage therapist.
I am new to this area running injury wise so I had to hunt around for a good RMT, my first stop was unsuccessful, then last week I found a good one. The first few days it didn't seem like he had solved my problem but after some self massage and extremely painful rolling on my nalgene bottle I am mostly back to normal. A crucial element has been keeping it loose and used by going for walks in my moccasins. What the moccasins allow for is stretch out and use the whole foot, most importantly the little toe. I have gone for 4 - 50+min runs in the last 5 days and feel no tightness today so I think i've got it licked.
So what to do about the Vancouver marathon in 4.5 weeks. Obviously still do it! I have been in this position before with JUST enough time to get into good shape for a race IF everything goes perfectly! So, we'll see how it goes, hill reps, long-tempo runs and lots of sleep. The one-cycle marathon prep looks like: tempo run - 2 days easy - hill repeat workout - 2 days easy - repeat. This will end with 5 days recovery before the race leaving, if everything goes to plan, 5 tempos and 4 hill rep workouts. Additionally, I am doing some strength work to maintain form in the late stages. Here we go!

Prayer Run

Today I was gifted with a profound experience i'd like to share.

In 2006 I joined a group of youth who had organized a relay run to start in Vancouver BC, and end in Anchorage AK. This run was named as a Prayer Run for World Peace. An eagle staff carrying such prayers would be run the length of this relay to end in Eklutna a Native community just outside of Anchorage. Each day of the run we would begin and end with ceremony. It was a very powerful run and changed how I would carry my body across the land as a runner, forever.

Today started out as just about any other day slowly getting my bearings and like everyday I smudged and prayed. Unlike most days however I knew I would be going for a long run which would likely be painful, being that it would be twice as long as any run i've done in the last several months. When I plan for a run like this, knowing I will suffer for much of it the prayers of that day always include asking that the suffering I choose for myself will take away from the suffering of so many others who suffer without choice. Also, as I wipe my legs down with an eagle feather carrying the smoke from the medicines; I carry a prayer to the eagles̓ spirit to watch over and provide strength for the people. As this is something that has always been done for me. And so I went for my run up the Bonaparte River, then up Hat Creek until I hit 90 mins, already feeling sore and tired, then turned around running back. And so the hurt began, every step on the pavement one step further than i've run in months. When things get really hard and I feel like walking I recite this prayer again, because the persistent pain in my legs and lower back and even arms is by choice. Trudging along my steps getting shorter, and arms driving me forward more than my legs it seems, I reach my cut off point allowing me a few minutes to walk home. A good run, very hard and very sore but satisfied. Then as I make my way home I look up, and sure enough there are 10 eagles soaring over the valley.

Righteous, nor any other word I know can begin to describe the power of living in a place your ancestors lived for thousands of generations. I have been here for 8 months only, yet I can already feel that my spirit is home. xwexwéyt.s ḱwesélkten

The Runner's Relationship

Sometimes it is a bit frustrating, maybe that isnt the right word, nevertheless, sometimes I wish my artistic abilities were more developed. Tonight I went for a short run and it was extraordinarily beautiful. It was pitch dark and foggy so the light cast from my headlamp gave that strange blurriness of vision you get from the particles of moisture in the air, then you also have the moisture of your breath mixing with the fog all of this obstructing the view of the passing snow and yellowed grass reaching out from beneath the snow. Reaching well above the 3 or 4 inches of snow is the sagbrush of the low valley toughing it out through the winter. Unlike most bushes and trees the leafy sagebrush manages to hold onto many of its leaves so far, so the moisture in the air, like the rain other times of the year, brings out the scent of sage. Every breath cleansing the body. The sound of snow underfoot and my breathing is all you can hear in the silence until I reached my turnaround point just above the thick low lying fog. Then stopping, it's complete silence, stars above and whisps of higher fog drifting by. It is magnificent.

I fully appreciate the many stunning photographs my running friends post from mountain tops and their journeys to get there, but what we dont get to share are photos of this kind of magnificent scene. Which is fine, because a photo cannot capture all the sensory feedback that makes such a magnificent moment. What photos and words cannot begin to describe either is what this gives back to the runner. The power. I'm sure there are other words to describe it but today I will call it power, its a physical sensation in the body and legs particularly but it is also a gift from land, air and environment in its entirety infusing the entire being with power.

An incredible gift. But, as I see it, this is not a gift without responsibility. In so many ways the land, air, water and the plants and animals which live in absolute harmony with it, give us power, of the body, of the mind, of the heart and the spirit. By receiving this gift we are bound by a sacred relationship to use our power as humans to protect these things which cannot protect themselves.

Getting in shape

The title is meant to be a subject, not a statement. Although I have "started running," I have not yet broken the threshold of consistency. I have run a couple of times per week the last couple of weeks. For about 35 minutes. Today, was much better and I went for about 75mins I figure. I did buy a battery for my watch, but for the life of me I can't find my mini-tiny screwdriver to open it up and replace it.

The trouble has been getting out of bed at a reasonable hour in the morning. Nearly every day I set the alarm for 6. So I wake up, shut if off, lay 'awake' and all of a sudden its 8am and I have to get ready for work. I even slid my phone across the room so when the alarm went off i'd have to get up to turn it off, still no good. Its not as though i'm undersleeping either, i'm getting at least 7 hours a night, by 6, which means 8-9hrs many days (one of the reasons I have not gotten sick this winter). The next plan is to set my coffee machine timer so it starts brewing at 6am, that smell has to get me out of bed right?  Anyway, i'm not sure what the problem is, back when I was serious about running i'd roll out of bed throw my clothes on and wake up during the first 15mins of my run. i don't seem to be able to do that these days.

Getting in shape is tough, and when I look back, I've rarely been able to do it incrementally. When I try to ease-into fitness, I almost inevitably take a few days off and am starting back from square one. So what ends up happening, and this is now the plan, I just ramp it up at a relatively unsafe rate. Take today for example; I have run no more than 35mins for the last few months, and today I ran somewheres around 75mins. Next week, i'll have my watch ready to go by then, i'll ramp it up to 2hrs. When I recover from that, i'll pretty much be in-shape. That is to say i'll be able to go for 60min runs pretty easily. So that's kind of the short term plan. The medium term plan is to get the weekend long run up to several hours over the next several weeks. The longer term plan is...a secret.

-13 toughen up

http://instagr.am/p/Ub1HDnpnaj/

Hard-easy

No not alternating hard and easy segments. Incidentally on my break my watch battery died so I just ran to what would take me, while in-shape and no snow, 30 mins. It was at an easy pace but was nevertheless a hard run. Why do I let myself get so out of shape.

Anyway, it has begun and I'll run every other day because the snow will wreak havoc on the plantar and more importantly the IT. The former never a problem; the latter chronic.

Bone Idle Lazy No More

The intermittent blogger is back. I have to say though, I am very consistent in my inconsistency. When I don't blog its because I'm not running, and I don't usually write about the last race of the season. I suppose that is also consistent with the previous statement because I typically don't blog till a day or two or three after a race, and if its the last race of the season, then i'm technically not running. See the logic?

So, I did end up running the Victoria marathon although I wasn't in great shape and ran around 2:35 basically tying for 4th although I took 5th. It was a pretty tough race on account of not doing nearly enough training so I couldn't complain. Previous to that race I had hoped to do the Steve King Classic 100k race but again I had not been training that much and got a cold after the Kamloops - Edmonton marathon pair. Since Victoria, I did 2 runs, then a despicable leg at the Whistler 50mi relay. Then, nothing.

Now. Truth be told, I am still not running however I pledge to start tomorrow. Its going to be tough. Last time I trained it was around 15 degrees. Now it hasn't been above zero in a month. And i'm fat, 170lbs, thats ~16lbs over my training weight, although i'm unsure of when I was last at my "training weight." Perhaps since i'm in my 30s now I should adjust that number. NEVERTHELESS, Sunday January 6th 2013 I WILL go for a run.

Lastly, I am very busy these days but i'll try to post regularly to try and be accountable, and try to change up the backgrounds and stuff. I'm thinking maybe simpler, but with a log of some sort. Proper lastly, I sent in my elite application for the Vancouver marathon so I am 100% going to that. Nothing else on the schedule though, hopefully some sick long runs in a month or so and some cross country skiing.