And so it begins

-14 plus wind. 60mins run. Into the rising sun.  I've been trying to get started for weeks now but have been struggling to get out and run in the dark. The sun is now rising close to 7am, which makes this easier. 13 weeks till Vancouver marathon starts monday, so it is good timing.

The way the last couple of years have gone i've come to accept that I am too busy with gatherings and subsistence gathering in the summer and hunting in the fall to really train properly for a marathon in those season. So I am taking this winter and early spring as an opportunity to run a fast marathon. Although I am still very busy, it is a different kind of busy. When you are busy doing things that are dependent on the weather and growing season your schedule is dictated by those things; the warmth of the sun, amounts of rain, coldness of air, mating seasons, and optimal times of day to hunt, among other things. You must schedule around them. In the winter season time is spent in preparation, and doing other work that is mainly indoors, in a controlled environment with artificial light, which makes scheduling more flexible. So, that's the rationale.  This also helps with the motivation; it is the one chance I have in the year to get a good solid amount of training in and run a fast marathon. I will still run the Kamloops Marathon and attempt to defend my title, however it will be off maintenance of the fitness I develop for Vancouver and a few focused and specific workouts. Here we go.

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.