It's funny how things work out sometimes...last season I ran myself into the ground throughout the XC season, in an attempt to grab an All-Canadian (top 14) spot at the CIS Champs and came up just 3 spots short, in 17th. This season, I had a 3 week forced vacation in the middle of the season and arrived at CIS feeling lucky to be able to run at all....and then somehow ended up finishing 13th. Wild!
I must admit, I was as shocked as you are. I was in good spirits before the race as I was truly just happy to be there. I was going to help the team out as best as I could and call it a day. The course was hilly and muddy, and the only way to run this race was to run it smart: slow from the start and pick off people as they come back to me. So that's what I did, and off the gun I found myself miles back from the lead pack - must have been 90th or higher. From there I just cruised...short, fast strides up hills and then letting myself just roll down the otherside, moving forward from pack to pack, keeping myself engaged with the fans (much love for those who came out to cheer us on!) with an eye on the guys ahead of me. It was a 4 lap course, and while I don't know each lap-time, I must have sped up each time around. I think that many people underestimated the difficulty of this course and took it out too hard. By running smart and easing into the race, I made up for what I lacked in fitness - while everyone else was backpedalling in the latter stages, I was still feeling fresh, hungry and confident enough to chase them down. It should be noted that this race plan has been a constant for my entire XC career, it just always seems to escape me when the gun goes off...finally I managed to give it a try!
My performance was matched by several great performances from the rest of the team....good enough to finish 5th (our best performance in 3 years) and only about 20 points from a bronze medal. I certainly was proud to have shared a box (on the starting line) and slogged through the mud with those boys that day. As there are only two of us from this team leaving this year...I think there are good things to come for these boys, maybe some more AC spots.
Anyway, to finish off: big thanks to family and friends who came out to support us, to the athletic therapy team and trainers that helped with my rehab, to Kev for his patience until I finally followed the race plan, and to the Queen's men's and women's teams for a sick weekend!
Run Happy. Be Easy.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
CIS X-Country 2010
Two items on the menu tonight: 1) My trip out to Victoria and 2) the 2010 CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) XC Championships.
1) Victoria - As of my last post, Kev and I were on our way to Victoria to attend a middle distance symposium hosted by Athletics Canada and the National Athletics Centre. As we were paying our own way out there, we were a little worried about value for money, however, it ended up being quite worthwhile. The symposium was about injury prevention and involved a morning session of "movement preparation" and an afternoon session learning a Functional Movement Screen. The Movement Prep consisted of a series of movements and techniques that an athlete would do before a workout to ensure that the body is ready to work hard. It involved stretches and drills to improve mobility and stability, especially in the core region (the area from shoulders to hips. Core stability is essential for efficiency, power generation, and decreasing injury potential. It just so happens that this is exactly what I have to work on to fix my knee, so it came at just the right time.
In the afternoon we learnt how to do a Functional Movement Screen (FMS). This is a sort of test that allows coaches, trainers. physios etc to determine how where weaknesses and imbalances may be present in an athlete. It consists of 7 fundamental movements that can reflect the underlying potential for injury in athletes from almost any sport. As the athlete performs each movement the assessor looks for certain criteria that indicate if the athlete is able to do the movement properly or even at all. The movement is scored on a scale of 0-3, with 0 being unable to do it at all, and 3 being a flawless execution. I somehow ended up being volunteered to be the test dummy for the symposium, so I went through the screen while the other participants learnt how to assess properly and pointed out my flaws in the process. I ended up with a score of 2 for each movement, for a total of 14 out of 21 possible points. As it turns out, 14 puts me at a fairly high risk of injury. I guess I could have told them that having just been carrying an injury for the past 3 weeks!
What the FMS does for us though, is allow Kevin to assess me on a regular basis to see what areas I need to work on. Having learnt the Movement Prep in the morning, as well as corrective techniques shown to us in the afternoon session, we have a fairly good idea of how to progess from here.
The next day involved an outline of the middle distance program for the next year. It pretty much involves everyone going down to Pheonix Arizona for the winter and spring before racing in Europe in the summer. I'll explain more about it on another post.
One of the best parts about the trip, however, was getting to know the other runners who were there. On the men's side of things, there was quite a good showing from some of the best middle distance runners in Canada. I was mixing in with Commonwealth medalists and Olympians, and seeing how they were living and training as well as other up-and-comers like myself and saw how they were making plans for their futures in running. A great group of guys all-round and hopefully training partners and team-mates in days to come.
2) 2010 CIS X-Country Championships - I'm currently in a swanky hotel in Sherbrooke, Quebec, just over 16 hours out from running my first steps in anger in almost 4 weeks. With much help, I have rehabbed this knee fairly successfully and believe that I will be able to put in a decent effort in tomorrow. While I won't be at my best, I think I will certainly be able to help the team out.
We checked out the course today and it's going to be a doozy to say the least....its a golf course, but to say its hilly and muddy would be an understatement. It may be the most difficult XC course I have seen. Bring it on baby! .....stay close to your computer for race results. If you would like to view some pre-race prognostications, check out slandersandspeculations.blogspot.com/.
Anyway, that's all for now folks. Off to bed....big day tomorrow!
Run Happy. Be Easy.
1) Victoria - As of my last post, Kev and I were on our way to Victoria to attend a middle distance symposium hosted by Athletics Canada and the National Athletics Centre. As we were paying our own way out there, we were a little worried about value for money, however, it ended up being quite worthwhile. The symposium was about injury prevention and involved a morning session of "movement preparation" and an afternoon session learning a Functional Movement Screen. The Movement Prep consisted of a series of movements and techniques that an athlete would do before a workout to ensure that the body is ready to work hard. It involved stretches and drills to improve mobility and stability, especially in the core region (the area from shoulders to hips. Core stability is essential for efficiency, power generation, and decreasing injury potential. It just so happens that this is exactly what I have to work on to fix my knee, so it came at just the right time.
In the afternoon we learnt how to do a Functional Movement Screen (FMS). This is a sort of test that allows coaches, trainers. physios etc to determine how where weaknesses and imbalances may be present in an athlete. It consists of 7 fundamental movements that can reflect the underlying potential for injury in athletes from almost any sport. As the athlete performs each movement the assessor looks for certain criteria that indicate if the athlete is able to do the movement properly or even at all. The movement is scored on a scale of 0-3, with 0 being unable to do it at all, and 3 being a flawless execution. I somehow ended up being volunteered to be the test dummy for the symposium, so I went through the screen while the other participants learnt how to assess properly and pointed out my flaws in the process. I ended up with a score of 2 for each movement, for a total of 14 out of 21 possible points. As it turns out, 14 puts me at a fairly high risk of injury. I guess I could have told them that having just been carrying an injury for the past 3 weeks!
What the FMS does for us though, is allow Kevin to assess me on a regular basis to see what areas I need to work on. Having learnt the Movement Prep in the morning, as well as corrective techniques shown to us in the afternoon session, we have a fairly good idea of how to progess from here.
The next day involved an outline of the middle distance program for the next year. It pretty much involves everyone going down to Pheonix Arizona for the winter and spring before racing in Europe in the summer. I'll explain more about it on another post.
One of the best parts about the trip, however, was getting to know the other runners who were there. On the men's side of things, there was quite a good showing from some of the best middle distance runners in Canada. I was mixing in with Commonwealth medalists and Olympians, and seeing how they were living and training as well as other up-and-comers like myself and saw how they were making plans for their futures in running. A great group of guys all-round and hopefully training partners and team-mates in days to come.
2) 2010 CIS X-Country Championships - I'm currently in a swanky hotel in Sherbrooke, Quebec, just over 16 hours out from running my first steps in anger in almost 4 weeks. With much help, I have rehabbed this knee fairly successfully and believe that I will be able to put in a decent effort in tomorrow. While I won't be at my best, I think I will certainly be able to help the team out.
We checked out the course today and it's going to be a doozy to say the least....its a golf course, but to say its hilly and muddy would be an understatement. It may be the most difficult XC course I have seen. Bring it on baby! .....stay close to your computer for race results. If you would like to view some pre-race prognostications, check out slandersandspeculations.blogspot.com/.
Anyway, that's all for now folks. Off to bed....big day tomorrow!
Run Happy. Be Easy.
Friday, November 5, 2010
BC Bound!
Quick update: heading to Victoria, BC today for the weekend to attend a symposium at the National Athletics Centre as well as meet and greet some of the Athletics Canada middle distance coaches. Kevin and I were invited in order to discuss my future as an athlete at the national and international level. Someone up top seems to think I have some potential down the line and are interested in developing a relationship between myself, Kevin and the National Athletics Centre. Quite excited and will keep you posted!
Sorry for the delayed notice, I have known for a couple of weeks, but just didn't think to blog about it!
As an additonal update: I ran for 14 minutes last night with ZERO pain and I stopped only as a precaution. Big thumbs up to all of the physios and trainers who have worked with me....we seem to be doing something right! Let's hope this recovery curve is indeed exponential and that I'll be ready to race at CIS next weekend!
Run Happy. Be Easy.
Sorry for the delayed notice, I have known for a couple of weeks, but just didn't think to blog about it!
As an additonal update: I ran for 14 minutes last night with ZERO pain and I stopped only as a precaution. Big thumbs up to all of the physios and trainers who have worked with me....we seem to be doing something right! Let's hope this recovery curve is indeed exponential and that I'll be ready to race at CIS next weekend!
Run Happy. Be Easy.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
7 Minutes in heaven is better than 3 minutes in heaven...
On Saturday I headed out to the track on campus to test out my knee. I was able to run for 7 minutes pain-free, after which I managed 3 more minutes during which a little tightness became a sharp pain at which point I stopped.
But boy oh boy! You should have seen me for those first 7 minutes! I had smile on me like a fox in a hen-house! That 7 minutes was more than double what I had been able to do only a few days before, so it was a good indication that the physio and I were doing the right stuff, rehab wise. It was by far the best 7 minutes of my week!
Fast forward to 10 minutes ago. I was looking in the mirror and contemplating what a tough go I have had, and how I might end up not racing again this season. I imagined myself giving my sister a pep talk before her race at CIS in a few weekends' time. I will say something along the lines of: "We're not getting paid for this, so no matter what happens out there or how you finish, make sure that you are having fun."
Then I flashed back (sorry for all of the time-traveling!) to about 4 weeks ago (before Queen's Open) I was stressed out with my workload and the effort I was putting into my running seemed to be detracting from the effort I was able to put into my academics and the rest of my life. I no longer appreciated it and I was certainly wasn't having fun doing it.
Boom! All of a sudden I made the connection. I dropped my feeling of "woe is me" like high school french and I'm now a new man! This injury made those 7 minutes of heaven possible and has allowed me to remember why it is that I run. Because I flippin love to! I'm not sure why it has taken an injury to make me remember, but now I have a new sense of urgency to fix myself up. I trust that this new-found sense of optimism and general good-will towards mankind will, perhaps, speed up the recovery process. And if not, the pitter-patter of lightly treading feet will sound ever so much the more melodic when I do finally get back to running!
Run happy. Be easy.
But boy oh boy! You should have seen me for those first 7 minutes! I had smile on me like a fox in a hen-house! That 7 minutes was more than double what I had been able to do only a few days before, so it was a good indication that the physio and I were doing the right stuff, rehab wise. It was by far the best 7 minutes of my week!
Fast forward to 10 minutes ago. I was looking in the mirror and contemplating what a tough go I have had, and how I might end up not racing again this season. I imagined myself giving my sister a pep talk before her race at CIS in a few weekends' time. I will say something along the lines of: "We're not getting paid for this, so no matter what happens out there or how you finish, make sure that you are having fun."
Then I flashed back (sorry for all of the time-traveling!) to about 4 weeks ago (before Queen's Open) I was stressed out with my workload and the effort I was putting into my running seemed to be detracting from the effort I was able to put into my academics and the rest of my life. I no longer appreciated it and I was certainly wasn't having fun doing it.
Boom! All of a sudden I made the connection. I dropped my feeling of "woe is me" like high school french and I'm now a new man! This injury made those 7 minutes of heaven possible and has allowed me to remember why it is that I run. Because I flippin love to! I'm not sure why it has taken an injury to make me remember, but now I have a new sense of urgency to fix myself up. I trust that this new-found sense of optimism and general good-will towards mankind will, perhaps, speed up the recovery process. And if not, the pitter-patter of lightly treading feet will sound ever so much the more melodic when I do finally get back to running!
Run happy. Be easy.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
So what have I learned?
Ok ok, I'm injured and I haven't run in about 10 days. There. I said it. And I'm not running OUA's either.
This post has been a long time in coming, but I have held back for a few reasons. First, school has been flipping hectic and I really couldn't justify a half hour of blogging when I could use that time for studying. And second, to put the words "I'm injured" into print really seems to make them more of a reality.
So what happened? We'll I guess my rumble with the Rwandan took a bigger toll on me than I thought. The day after the race I went out for an easy 10miler and with about 2 miles left, my right knee started bugging me. A sharp pain on the inside of my knee cap which made me stop every half mile and walk for a bit. The next day I couldn't run at all, and that's how its been since then. Turns out that I have patella femoral syndrome, which essentially means that my knee cap is not sliding correctly in its groove when I flex and extend my knee. Something is pulling out of place and it is grinding on my femor. So what is the cause and why did it seemingly spring out of nowhere?
We don't know and we don't know. The physio can't see any glaring issues with my posture, flexibility, range of motion at certain joints: it may just be the accumulation of several small factors. And the race may just have been a little too much of a strain that pushed everything over the edge.
So this past week and a half, I have been rehabbing as much as I can: stretching, core strength work, cycling, and 2 different physios. I haven't felt any improvements yet, but as I keep being told, the process make take some time - there are no magic bullets!
So what have I learned? 1) Patience (self explanatory) 2) That I really miss running! 3) That the body is a delicate system in which the smallest inbalance can have drastic effects. 4) The importance of complete body care: including the aspects of strength and conditioning that runners tend to neglect. 5) Perhaps I'm not ready to take on the Africans (yet).
Anyway, I'm going to keep up with the rehab and will hopefully be back soon. I'm going to have to miss OUAs but will try to get back for CIS and nationals. I guess the injury game is all part of the running; you pound around for long enough and something eventually gives. All you can do it head back to the drawing board!
That's all for now folks. Will keep you updated as my progress improves. I can't guarantee the regularity of my posts, but there will be definately be one when I can finally run again so watch out!
Be Easy.
This post has been a long time in coming, but I have held back for a few reasons. First, school has been flipping hectic and I really couldn't justify a half hour of blogging when I could use that time for studying. And second, to put the words "I'm injured" into print really seems to make them more of a reality.
So what happened? We'll I guess my rumble with the Rwandan took a bigger toll on me than I thought. The day after the race I went out for an easy 10miler and with about 2 miles left, my right knee started bugging me. A sharp pain on the inside of my knee cap which made me stop every half mile and walk for a bit. The next day I couldn't run at all, and that's how its been since then. Turns out that I have patella femoral syndrome, which essentially means that my knee cap is not sliding correctly in its groove when I flex and extend my knee. Something is pulling out of place and it is grinding on my femor. So what is the cause and why did it seemingly spring out of nowhere?
We don't know and we don't know. The physio can't see any glaring issues with my posture, flexibility, range of motion at certain joints: it may just be the accumulation of several small factors. And the race may just have been a little too much of a strain that pushed everything over the edge.
So this past week and a half, I have been rehabbing as much as I can: stretching, core strength work, cycling, and 2 different physios. I haven't felt any improvements yet, but as I keep being told, the process make take some time - there are no magic bullets!
So what have I learned? 1) Patience (self explanatory) 2) That I really miss running! 3) That the body is a delicate system in which the smallest inbalance can have drastic effects. 4) The importance of complete body care: including the aspects of strength and conditioning that runners tend to neglect. 5) Perhaps I'm not ready to take on the Africans (yet).
Anyway, I'm going to keep up with the rehab and will hopefully be back soon. I'm going to have to miss OUAs but will try to get back for CIS and nationals. I guess the injury game is all part of the running; you pound around for long enough and something eventually gives. All you can do it head back to the drawing board!
That's all for now folks. Will keep you updated as my progress improves. I can't guarantee the regularity of my posts, but there will be definately be one when I can finally run again so watch out!
Be Easy.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Chris Solinsky, Watch Out!
....there is another fat white guy making moves in the 10k!
For those who may not know, Chris Solinsky is an American runner who is the US national record holder in the 10k and this year became the 1st white guy to break 27mins for 10k. At 6'3" and 165lbs, he is pretty big for a runner - especially as he is true distance guy.
While it may come as a surprise to my non-running friends, I myself have been noted as a rather hefty guy on the running circuit. My broad chest, fat thighs and cankles (hybrid calf and ankle) make me stick out on the starting line. And so, given my performane yesterday at the Queen's Open, the title of "Fastest Fattest White Guy" might be up for grabs. I ran a sizzling 29:39 for the 4 laps of the Fort Henry XC course. Despite this blistering time, which reduced my previous personal best time by 2 minutes and 38 seconds, I only managed to come 2nd, behind a young fellow from Rwanda. The conditions were perfect, sunny with a some blustery winds, and surface that was firm yet spongey from the previous day's rain.
Given that there isn't going to be any championship races on this course this year, the field was not as large or deep as it has been in the past, so right from the gun I found myself out at the front with two African dudes. We ran as a trio for about a lap, until one dropped back and it was just the two of us. I was pretty comfy at the halfway point and was really thinking that I might be able to grab the "W". Then the third lap came and the death grimace crept onto my face as my companion began to stretch me out and pull away from me. I was able to maintain the 5-yard gap between us but by the 4th lap it was too much for me and he eventually put 19 seconds on my by the finish. Results can be found at www.runningbydesign.ca/quxc2010.html.
Also worthy of note is my sister Steph....who also placed 2nd in the women's race with quite an impressive run. She has made a big turn-around since last year and is now running to her potential. It'll be exciting to see what she can do in a few weeks time at OUA's and CIS!
Anyway, that's about it for me. Did an easy 10miles this afternoon.....and I mean really easy. The loop that took me 55mins last time, took about 70mins this time. It was the longest and most borning run of my life, but probably very necessary to give my legs a chance to recover.
And one more thing...I should probably confess: the course this year at Queen's Open was 100-150m short per loop. So you can probably add on between 1:30-1:45 to my time. Still not a bad effort though, and would still have been a new PB over 10k. But I guess Solinsky can keep his crown....for now.
Be Easy!
For those who may not know, Chris Solinsky is an American runner who is the US national record holder in the 10k and this year became the 1st white guy to break 27mins for 10k. At 6'3" and 165lbs, he is pretty big for a runner - especially as he is true distance guy.
While it may come as a surprise to my non-running friends, I myself have been noted as a rather hefty guy on the running circuit. My broad chest, fat thighs and cankles (hybrid calf and ankle) make me stick out on the starting line. And so, given my performane yesterday at the Queen's Open, the title of "Fastest Fattest White Guy" might be up for grabs. I ran a sizzling 29:39 for the 4 laps of the Fort Henry XC course. Despite this blistering time, which reduced my previous personal best time by 2 minutes and 38 seconds, I only managed to come 2nd, behind a young fellow from Rwanda. The conditions were perfect, sunny with a some blustery winds, and surface that was firm yet spongey from the previous day's rain.
Given that there isn't going to be any championship races on this course this year, the field was not as large or deep as it has been in the past, so right from the gun I found myself out at the front with two African dudes. We ran as a trio for about a lap, until one dropped back and it was just the two of us. I was pretty comfy at the halfway point and was really thinking that I might be able to grab the "W". Then the third lap came and the death grimace crept onto my face as my companion began to stretch me out and pull away from me. I was able to maintain the 5-yard gap between us but by the 4th lap it was too much for me and he eventually put 19 seconds on my by the finish. Results can be found at www.runningbydesign.ca/quxc2010.html.
Also worthy of note is my sister Steph....who also placed 2nd in the women's race with quite an impressive run. She has made a big turn-around since last year and is now running to her potential. It'll be exciting to see what she can do in a few weeks time at OUA's and CIS!
Anyway, that's about it for me. Did an easy 10miles this afternoon.....and I mean really easy. The loop that took me 55mins last time, took about 70mins this time. It was the longest and most borning run of my life, but probably very necessary to give my legs a chance to recover.
And one more thing...I should probably confess: the course this year at Queen's Open was 100-150m short per loop. So you can probably add on between 1:30-1:45 to my time. Still not a bad effort though, and would still have been a new PB over 10k. But I guess Solinsky can keep his crown....for now.
Be Easy!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Gavin Cosgrove for Catholic Trustee! Election Day is Mon, Oct 25th!
A good friend of mine, Gavin Cosgrove is running in the upcoming Kingston municipal elections for the position of Catholic Trustee. Gavin is a native Kingstonian and attended Holy Cross high school, before attending Manhatten College (on a running scholarship) in the NY and then law school in New Brunswick. He is now working in Kingston as a lawyer.
How do I know him and how does this fit in with my running blog? Well, when I was in Gr 10 at Holy Cross, he was in town and came out to train with me through the XC and track seasons. He was a big factor in my success that year. Since then he has been incredibly supportive of my running and in helping me generate community support for my various training and racing endeavours. I have been helping out a little with his campaign and decided that a shameless plug on my blog would not go amiss!
Check him out at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Gavin-Cosgrove-for-Catholic-Trustee/153319284708397. He's an upstanding character and will do very well for the community. Voting starts this weekend and information can be found at http://www.kingstonelectors.ca/index.php.
Cheers!
How do I know him and how does this fit in with my running blog? Well, when I was in Gr 10 at Holy Cross, he was in town and came out to train with me through the XC and track seasons. He was a big factor in my success that year. Since then he has been incredibly supportive of my running and in helping me generate community support for my various training and racing endeavours. I have been helping out a little with his campaign and decided that a shameless plug on my blog would not go amiss!
Check him out at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Gavin-Cosgrove-for-Catholic-Trustee/153319284708397. He's an upstanding character and will do very well for the community. Voting starts this weekend and information can be found at http://www.kingstonelectors.ca/index.php.
Cheers!
Queen's Open - Oct 16th at Fort Henry
Sorry for my recent neglect in posting friends....things have been fairly hectic this past week. However, tomorrow, being the Queen's Open (and my season-opening race) compells me to narrate how I feel as I prepare to unleash the competitive angst that I have pent up over that last 7 weeks of training.
Well, "unleash" might not be the right word for it: the focus of this race is going to be my finish, ie the last 2km of the race. Over the first 8km I shall just cruise...obviously still in contention so that my push over the last 2km is effective, but certainly won't be pushing the pace. Hopefully, I can keep my head from succumbing to race day adrenaline, and can just be easy.
And how has this past week been? Better than last week. Earlier last week I struggled with some shin and calf issues. The muscle on the front of my left shin (Tibialis Anterior) and my upper left calf (Grastrocnemius) were tight and would constantly throb. Sometimes, when transitioning from a run to a walk, my left leg would feel like it was about to crumple under me. Not good. However, I have discovered this week that wearing a smaller shoe (ie less material in the sole, especially under the heel) has almost eliminated this problem. I am now almost exclusively wearing a type of shoe known as a "racing flat" which is a very minimalist shoe. I suspect that the additional material under the heel was changing my running style, causing me to strike more on my heel and less on my forefoot, which is biomechanically preferable. This was causing excessive contraction and shock up the tibialis anterior. Now, with less shoe, I am back to running more on my forefoot and the shin pain has cleared up. Unfortunately, this is causing my calf muscles to work a little harder and now they are tighter than usual. This isn't too much of an issue though, as with time and stretching they will adapt.
And training itself? Well, I won't be hitting 70miles this week as I haven't been doing any morning runs, but I have thrown in some good workouts and 80min runs are now no longer massive shock to my system. I'll probably get another 70miler in next week, but with the quality miles and how good I seem to be feeling these days, I don't think that anything more than that will be necessary.
Anyway, I'll let you know how this race goes. Check back this weekend for a post-race interview with myself.
Better yet, if you're in town, come and watch yourself! Naturally, the Queen's Open is in Kingston and will be held on the top of Fort Henry hill. The women race at 11:00am and the men at 11:45am. Dress for all types of weather, because the race is known for attracting bad weather to itself!
Be Easy!
Well, "unleash" might not be the right word for it: the focus of this race is going to be my finish, ie the last 2km of the race. Over the first 8km I shall just cruise...obviously still in contention so that my push over the last 2km is effective, but certainly won't be pushing the pace. Hopefully, I can keep my head from succumbing to race day adrenaline, and can just be easy.
And how has this past week been? Better than last week. Earlier last week I struggled with some shin and calf issues. The muscle on the front of my left shin (Tibialis Anterior) and my upper left calf (Grastrocnemius) were tight and would constantly throb. Sometimes, when transitioning from a run to a walk, my left leg would feel like it was about to crumple under me. Not good. However, I have discovered this week that wearing a smaller shoe (ie less material in the sole, especially under the heel) has almost eliminated this problem. I am now almost exclusively wearing a type of shoe known as a "racing flat" which is a very minimalist shoe. I suspect that the additional material under the heel was changing my running style, causing me to strike more on my heel and less on my forefoot, which is biomechanically preferable. This was causing excessive contraction and shock up the tibialis anterior. Now, with less shoe, I am back to running more on my forefoot and the shin pain has cleared up. Unfortunately, this is causing my calf muscles to work a little harder and now they are tighter than usual. This isn't too much of an issue though, as with time and stretching they will adapt.
And training itself? Well, I won't be hitting 70miles this week as I haven't been doing any morning runs, but I have thrown in some good workouts and 80min runs are now no longer massive shock to my system. I'll probably get another 70miler in next week, but with the quality miles and how good I seem to be feeling these days, I don't think that anything more than that will be necessary.
Anyway, I'll let you know how this race goes. Check back this weekend for a post-race interview with myself.
Better yet, if you're in town, come and watch yourself! Naturally, the Queen's Open is in Kingston and will be held on the top of Fort Henry hill. The women race at 11:00am and the men at 11:45am. Dress for all types of weather, because the race is known for attracting bad weather to itself!
Be Easy!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
70+ Baby!
There we have it people....a new all-time weekly mileage record: 71.5 miles. I was hovering under 10miles a day on average this week until my long run today. I just got back in from an 80min run around town. Just nice and cruzy, real easy at the start but picked it up by the end for something around 13miles. The website mapmyrun.com tried to tell me that it was a 15mile run, but I don't believe it - the pace wasn't that quick and I prefer to undercount than overcount anyway. In the case that it was actually 15miles, I have those extra two miles in the bag, unbeknownst even to me, the benefits of which I have no doubt will make themselves apparent at 9.5km mark at nationals to the chagrin of my competitors! (its like having secret weapons!...muhahaha)
Anyway, while Kev does want me increasing my mileage, he did tell me that "mileage logs don't win races, so just chill and make sure you're enjoying it". Sage advice, but I'm still pretty pumped to see those numbers all the same!
And what else do I have to talk about? Well, this week I had an interesting workout....better than the first one I did (see Hard Workout and Hot Yoga) but completely different than anything I have done before. Kev had me do a fartlek (Swedish term for "speedplay" and entailing a combination of alternating fast and easy paced running). Starting at the Start line at the XC course, I would pick a point between 300-800m away on the course in my mind and run to it. Once I reach it, I stop (both myself and my watch) and jog back along the course until about halfway rested, turn around and jog towards my stop point. Then I would pick another point and run towards it at race pace, starting from where I stopped on my previous interval. So overall, the only time I was gaining any new ground over the course I was running at race pace or faster. Comprendes-tu? I did 3 laps of the course like this. The point was to get my body used to running the course at race pace. I improve my "muscle memory" so my body knows what to do when a real race starts.
Anyway, thats all for now. In the past few days I have been getting wind of people reading my blog who I had no idea had even heard about it. This is most appreciated folks! I hope you are enjoying it as much as one can possibly enjoy reading about running! Thanks!
Be Easy.
Anyway, while Kev does want me increasing my mileage, he did tell me that "mileage logs don't win races, so just chill and make sure you're enjoying it". Sage advice, but I'm still pretty pumped to see those numbers all the same!
And what else do I have to talk about? Well, this week I had an interesting workout....better than the first one I did (see Hard Workout and Hot Yoga) but completely different than anything I have done before. Kev had me do a fartlek (Swedish term for "speedplay" and entailing a combination of alternating fast and easy paced running). Starting at the Start line at the XC course, I would pick a point between 300-800m away on the course in my mind and run to it. Once I reach it, I stop (both myself and my watch) and jog back along the course until about halfway rested, turn around and jog towards my stop point. Then I would pick another point and run towards it at race pace, starting from where I stopped on my previous interval. So overall, the only time I was gaining any new ground over the course I was running at race pace or faster. Comprendes-tu? I did 3 laps of the course like this. The point was to get my body used to running the course at race pace. I improve my "muscle memory" so my body knows what to do when a real race starts.
Anyway, thats all for now. In the past few days I have been getting wind of people reading my blog who I had no idea had even heard about it. This is most appreciated folks! I hope you are enjoying it as much as one can possibly enjoy reading about running! Thanks!
Be Easy.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Hard Workout and Hot Yoga
Well the workout that we all got so excited for turned out to be a little anti-climactic. I ran over to the XC course at Fort Henry with the boys and when I arrived, the coach split the men's team into 4 different groups based on whether they had raced on not on the weekend before and if they would race this coming weekend. I got put into the group who had not raced and were not going to race and was given a workout of 3 sets of 6mins-1min-2mins, at tempo, steady, and race pace respectively. With all of the top guys in the other groups, I went off alone, wondering what tempo and race pace was. Tempo pace is probably 10-20secs per km slower than race pace but somehow I found it difficult to find the right pace. It's tough when you haven't raced in a while and you run by feel most of the time. Consequently I went off too fast and then struggled in the last set. However, that wasn't my main beef with the workout. At the start of the workout, I got so caught up with trying to figure out what pace to run that I forgot the reason why I was there: to workout with the boys. It was only in the middle of the workout when I saw the boys in a pack up ahead that I realized "I can run on my own whenever I like, but I should be up with them right now". Next time, whatever the workout is, or what group I am supposed to be in I will make sure I'm running with the boys.
Anyway, it was still good to get the workout in and I got a little of the sense that I am on the right track in terms of my training. However, running, especially XC, is mostly about relativity and how you fare against others. Not only would have working out with the boys vanquished the "lonliness of the long distance runner" for a bit, but would have been a good indicator of my fitness.
So that was Tuesday - on Wednesday I did a steady run on the course. Afterwards I went to Hot Yoga with some friends of mine. I know yoga is good to develop core strength and flexibility so I figured that it couldn't help but be good for my running, especially when my current issues are due to a lack of the aforementioned strength and flexibility. Now, while it certainly wasn't the easiest hour I have ever spent in a sauna, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I quickly went from merely glistening with sweat to iceberg in Egypt as I contorted my body: opening up my hips in one direction, shoulders in another, and pointing 3 limbs in different directions and balancing on the other. Now, its too early to tell what effect it has had on me, but not only did I work hard but it made me focus on controlling my breathing (something every runner should be proficient at). As an additional bonus, I left feeling somehow refreshed, rather than wrung out! I bought a $30, 2 week unlimited attendance pass, so I will go a few more times to at least get my money's worth. I'll keep you posted!
Long and easy day today, then progression workout tomorrow.
Be cool.
Anyway, it was still good to get the workout in and I got a little of the sense that I am on the right track in terms of my training. However, running, especially XC, is mostly about relativity and how you fare against others. Not only would have working out with the boys vanquished the "lonliness of the long distance runner" for a bit, but would have been a good indicator of my fitness.
So that was Tuesday - on Wednesday I did a steady run on the course. Afterwards I went to Hot Yoga with some friends of mine. I know yoga is good to develop core strength and flexibility so I figured that it couldn't help but be good for my running, especially when my current issues are due to a lack of the aforementioned strength and flexibility. Now, while it certainly wasn't the easiest hour I have ever spent in a sauna, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I quickly went from merely glistening with sweat to iceberg in Egypt as I contorted my body: opening up my hips in one direction, shoulders in another, and pointing 3 limbs in different directions and balancing on the other. Now, its too early to tell what effect it has had on me, but not only did I work hard but it made me focus on controlling my breathing (something every runner should be proficient at). As an additional bonus, I left feeling somehow refreshed, rather than wrung out! I bought a $30, 2 week unlimited attendance pass, so I will go a few more times to at least get my money's worth. I'll keep you posted!
Long and easy day today, then progression workout tomorrow.
Be cool.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Get excited!
Just a little something to whet your appetite: I have a workout tomorrow! Does that get you excited or what?
I have been training apart from the Queen's XC team for the past few weeks, mostly on my own or with Kev, sometimes with Dylan and occasionally part of a run with the Queen's boys. It is mainly a function of the fact that they are racing and doing workouts and I am just building miles so our training schedules have been different. However, Kev has decided that I should jump into one of their workouts tomorrow and see how it goes- should be fun!
In other news, I just got home from my workout at KBM. Did some balance and core work....I'm now fantastic on the Bosu Ball (half sphere of jello on a plate, remember?) until I am asked to lift one leg.
That's all for now folks.
Be Easy.
I have been training apart from the Queen's XC team for the past few weeks, mostly on my own or with Kev, sometimes with Dylan and occasionally part of a run with the Queen's boys. It is mainly a function of the fact that they are racing and doing workouts and I am just building miles so our training schedules have been different. However, Kev has decided that I should jump into one of their workouts tomorrow and see how it goes- should be fun!
In other news, I just got home from my workout at KBM. Did some balance and core work....I'm now fantastic on the Bosu Ball (half sphere of jello on a plate, remember?) until I am asked to lift one leg.
That's all for now folks.
Be Easy.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
The Daily Grind
So last week I went to the physio clinic, Kingston Body Management (KBM) for my baseline testing. I'm searching for the correct word to describe the tests and "kinematic" keeps coming to mind. So....they ran a series of kinematic tests, that is, they had me do different movements (bending, stretching, twisting, pushing and pulling against a force etc) and noted my range of motion, how key joints reacted....basically making sure that my body was working in sync. They also had me walk and run and looked to see how angles and the lines of my body worked and if, again, everything was working together properly. What they found was interesting: my upper body is slightly weak, my left shoulder pops up a little higher than the right, I have a slight scoliosis (curvature of the spine....my mum's going to have a field day with this one - she's always on about my bad posture!), my left heel and knee lifts a bit higher as I run, my left arm flicks across my body as it swings through, and my balance is off. It sounds like I'm not fit for much does it, nevermind launching an assault on Michael Phelps' individual medal record at the Olympics in 2 years time?!
Anyway, first off, this gives a testament to the ability of the body to perform at high intensities even when things are slightly off. Secondly, some of these things may be innate idiosyncrasies (always wanted to use that word...hopefully I used it proper!) that really cannot be flushed out, or to do so would hamper my running. Finally, those things that are out of whack can be easily corrected with a little work. This work includes proper stretching of muscles that I didn't believe could be stretched, medicine ball exercises (med balls are basketball sized but much heavier and used for core strength) and balance work on a Bosu ball, a fitness tool that looks like a bowl of jelly sat on a plate. Clearly, I was pretty stoked to have my flaws pointed out, but glad that they have some solutions too! I'm looking forward to becoming a flawless athlete in the near future! ;)
While this extra work is going on, running is carrying on full steam. Yesterday Kev had me throw in a few hill repetitions in the middle of my steady run. Short sprints up steep hills are great for building leg power and while the 10k XC races do not demand such power, as a miler it is important that I cultivate all aspects of my fitness throughout the year. It was a nice change from the daily grind.
However, one can't escape that grind for long, and today was back to more of the same. I ran out to a 2.5km grass loop around the Kingston psychiatric hospital and did 4 loops, each one slightly faster than the last. It was mostly on my own, although Kev did stick with as much as he could, which was most helpful. But the quads were fried and the grass was bumpy and slow beneath my feet. The world seemed to be turning away from me. The wind played its part in my agony too, despite the fact that I was running in a fairly circular loop; one would think it would act equally as friend as well as foe. However, I can only recall its negative effects. Metaphorical musing: Perhaps this just another example of the human condition: taking for granted the positives and accentuating the negatives. You never do appreciate what you have until it is gone.
On that note, its time for me to hit the books! Night all!
Be Easy.
Ps. Check out the moon tonight: it is what is known as the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is the full moon that is closest to the Autumn Equinox and it is so named because farmers traditionally took advantage of the additional light to bring in their crops. Today also happens to be the date of the Autumn Equinox, and apparently it is rare for these events to fall on the same date. My math tells me the next time it will occur is in 2029. FYI: the Autumn Equinox is when the sun crosses the equator from North to South (as the nothern hemisphere tilts further away from the sun, resulting in winter) At noon on this date, the sun rises due east, sets due west and at noon is directly above the Equator. The axis of the Earth is perpendicular to the imaginary line connecting it to the sun. Wild.
Anyway, first off, this gives a testament to the ability of the body to perform at high intensities even when things are slightly off. Secondly, some of these things may be innate idiosyncrasies (always wanted to use that word...hopefully I used it proper!) that really cannot be flushed out, or to do so would hamper my running. Finally, those things that are out of whack can be easily corrected with a little work. This work includes proper stretching of muscles that I didn't believe could be stretched, medicine ball exercises (med balls are basketball sized but much heavier and used for core strength) and balance work on a Bosu ball, a fitness tool that looks like a bowl of jelly sat on a plate. Clearly, I was pretty stoked to have my flaws pointed out, but glad that they have some solutions too! I'm looking forward to becoming a flawless athlete in the near future! ;)
While this extra work is going on, running is carrying on full steam. Yesterday Kev had me throw in a few hill repetitions in the middle of my steady run. Short sprints up steep hills are great for building leg power and while the 10k XC races do not demand such power, as a miler it is important that I cultivate all aspects of my fitness throughout the year. It was a nice change from the daily grind.
However, one can't escape that grind for long, and today was back to more of the same. I ran out to a 2.5km grass loop around the Kingston psychiatric hospital and did 4 loops, each one slightly faster than the last. It was mostly on my own, although Kev did stick with as much as he could, which was most helpful. But the quads were fried and the grass was bumpy and slow beneath my feet. The world seemed to be turning away from me. The wind played its part in my agony too, despite the fact that I was running in a fairly circular loop; one would think it would act equally as friend as well as foe. However, I can only recall its negative effects. Metaphorical musing: Perhaps this just another example of the human condition: taking for granted the positives and accentuating the negatives. You never do appreciate what you have until it is gone.
On that note, its time for me to hit the books! Night all!
Be Easy.
Ps. Check out the moon tonight: it is what is known as the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is the full moon that is closest to the Autumn Equinox and it is so named because farmers traditionally took advantage of the additional light to bring in their crops. Today also happens to be the date of the Autumn Equinox, and apparently it is rare for these events to fall on the same date. My math tells me the next time it will occur is in 2029. FYI: the Autumn Equinox is when the sun crosses the equator from North to South (as the nothern hemisphere tilts further away from the sun, resulting in winter) At noon on this date, the sun rises due east, sets due west and at noon is directly above the Equator. The axis of the Earth is perpendicular to the imaginary line connecting it to the sun. Wild.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Big Miles! (for me anyway!)
Big week this week folks: hit 67 miles or about 108km, and those numbers are only going to get bigger in the weeks to come. I rounded the week off with a run with Dylan Wykes, one of Canada's up-and-coming marathoners and a Kingston native. He represented Canada in marathon at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin and placed 33rd. Plus, he's a chill guy with plently of wisdom to impart....so besides enjoying his company, I'm trying to absorb as much as I can about life as a truely elite athlete. Even though our race distances are different (I'm looking at 10k's while he is looking at 42k's) some of the training does match up, to a certain point. Today was a long day for both myself and him. We went out to Lemoine's Point (a conservation area in Kingston's west end) and did an hour steady (about 6min/mile) following which we upped the pace for a bit. This is where we began to differ: we started off at about 5:30/mile pace and dropped it down to about 5:20 and I hung in for about 15mins, somewhere just shy of 3 miles. 75mins is enough for me at this point but Dylan continued, to do a total of 6miles, bringing the pace down to about 5:05/mile and a time of about 32mins of up-pace work. He was getting after it to be sure.
As I look to next week: I am taking the day off from running tomorrow, having put in 15 days and 137 miles without a rest day. I am also going into Kingston Body Management, a physio and health clinic, to get some baseline testing done. KBM have offered to act as my one stop shop for all of my fitness, injury and recovery needs. They have trainers, kinesiologists, physio's, masseurs and more at this place and are willing to help me out. First they are going to do some general health and fitness testing to see if I have any weaknesses and imbalances that they can correct. However unlikely it may seem to you that those words, "weakness" and "imbalance" should apply to me, I am having continued hamstring and lower back issues, as well as some aches in my shins and neck...all of which are most likely linked to something I am doing wrong with my running. They will also look at my running biomechanics and see how things look there. Corrections will most likely focus on strengthening certain muscle groups, so there will be some exercises and weights involved. (Nothing of the bulk-building stuff; just low weight, high repetitions to improve muscular endurance) I'm looking forward to working with the guys and girls at KBM and hopefully good things will result! Interesting note: the main physio there, a fellow named Carson, has connections to Matt Tegenkamp, one of the top 5k guys in the USA. Pretty cool.
Anyway, thats all for now folks! Cheerio!
Be Easy.
As I look to next week: I am taking the day off from running tomorrow, having put in 15 days and 137 miles without a rest day. I am also going into Kingston Body Management, a physio and health clinic, to get some baseline testing done. KBM have offered to act as my one stop shop for all of my fitness, injury and recovery needs. They have trainers, kinesiologists, physio's, masseurs and more at this place and are willing to help me out. First they are going to do some general health and fitness testing to see if I have any weaknesses and imbalances that they can correct. However unlikely it may seem to you that those words, "weakness" and "imbalance" should apply to me, I am having continued hamstring and lower back issues, as well as some aches in my shins and neck...all of which are most likely linked to something I am doing wrong with my running. They will also look at my running biomechanics and see how things look there. Corrections will most likely focus on strengthening certain muscle groups, so there will be some exercises and weights involved. (Nothing of the bulk-building stuff; just low weight, high repetitions to improve muscular endurance) I'm looking forward to working with the guys and girls at KBM and hopefully good things will result! Interesting note: the main physio there, a fellow named Carson, has connections to Matt Tegenkamp, one of the top 5k guys in the USA. Pretty cool.
Anyway, thats all for now folks! Cheerio!
Be Easy.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Find your tennis ball!
If there is any single piece of advice that I can pass on to runners of all shapes, sizes and speeds is to run happy. A long slog on a cold rainy day is not exactly a self-portrait of fun, so whatever the environment, workout, or weather, try to find something in that run that makes you happy.
My run today started off inauspiciously enough: I had an Queen's athlete meeting and then headed off to the XC course at Fort Henry with the men's XC team. It was their off-day so it was a pretty easy pace for me but I stuck it out until we got there and did a lap of the course with them too. I then did 2 more laps on my own at a slightly faster pace. Nothing special about this right? Wait for it. On my way home I passed a tennis ball sitting along the roadside. It was a nice one: bright and fuzzy and I couldn't pass it up. I grabbed it and continued running, now bouncing the ball off the pavement and catching it mid-stride. For some reason, this gave me the most unexpected happiness and as I bounced along I found my pace picking up. I was absolutely flying and all the while bouncing this ball! I finished my run feeling like the proverbial fat kid with a smartie: happy but hungry for more!
Now, I'm not advocating bouncing a tennis ball everytime you go for a run. I most likely won't take one out with me the next time I go. But the way I see it is this: you can be stonefaced and get down to the business of training with intent and get results, in the short-term . But for long term success and enjoyment, look for opportunities during your training to make yourself happy. Seize those opportunities as they pop up or create them yourself. Or both! Smile and wave at the fans as they cheer you along, chat with your competitors at the start, finish and even in the pack, joke with your teammates. During the summer, Kev used to bring a football to practice for us to kick around. Many coaches would advise against it, but training on my own, Kev knew that I needed something to mix it up with.
Today running became fun again for me and I now have a little spark to keep my training going for a while. But I will also strive to keep refreshing my running with more fun stuff, whatever that turns out to be. It might be another tennis ball or it might be something else!
Find your own tennis ball in your own running or whatever it is that you do.
Stay fresh, stay fun and run happy!
Be easy.
My run today started off inauspiciously enough: I had an Queen's athlete meeting and then headed off to the XC course at Fort Henry with the men's XC team. It was their off-day so it was a pretty easy pace for me but I stuck it out until we got there and did a lap of the course with them too. I then did 2 more laps on my own at a slightly faster pace. Nothing special about this right? Wait for it. On my way home I passed a tennis ball sitting along the roadside. It was a nice one: bright and fuzzy and I couldn't pass it up. I grabbed it and continued running, now bouncing the ball off the pavement and catching it mid-stride. For some reason, this gave me the most unexpected happiness and as I bounced along I found my pace picking up. I was absolutely flying and all the while bouncing this ball! I finished my run feeling like the proverbial fat kid with a smartie: happy but hungry for more!
Now, I'm not advocating bouncing a tennis ball everytime you go for a run. I most likely won't take one out with me the next time I go. But the way I see it is this: you can be stonefaced and get down to the business of training with intent and get results, in the short-term . But for long term success and enjoyment, look for opportunities during your training to make yourself happy. Seize those opportunities as they pop up or create them yourself. Or both! Smile and wave at the fans as they cheer you along, chat with your competitors at the start, finish and even in the pack, joke with your teammates. During the summer, Kev used to bring a football to practice for us to kick around. Many coaches would advise against it, but training on my own, Kev knew that I needed something to mix it up with.
Today running became fun again for me and I now have a little spark to keep my training going for a while. But I will also strive to keep refreshing my running with more fun stuff, whatever that turns out to be. It might be another tennis ball or it might be something else!
Find your own tennis ball in your own running or whatever it is that you do.
Stay fresh, stay fun and run happy!
Be easy.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
So long fair summer!
As you may remember, I spoke of some hamstring trouble that I had in late July. Despite taking 2 weeks off, I am still feeling a little something in that area and really want to figure it out before I get too deep into the season and the stress of training and racing puts it over the edge again.
So, in order to remedy this, I have done two things. The first thing I did was to go for a massage. This was done over at Kingston Body Management (a health and physio clinic in town, more on them in later a blog) by a fellow named Todd who had worked with the Queen's XC team a few years back. He also did some work on my back and neck, both of which have been giving me some trouble and may indeed be contributing to my hamstring issue. These kinds of massages are not enjoyable experiences, in fact my hammy felt worse afterwards than it had done before. However, I was still able to get out for an hour run later than day and I think it will help my recovery in the long run. Better had do anyway!
The second thing I did was to email a doctoral student named Sivan in a Biomechanics lab here at Queen's. This is part of my intent to take a more scientific approach to my running. From a friend, I had heard about his study looking into the relationship between knee injuries and thigh muscle strength. The muscles in the thigh can be divided into several groups, although the two groups that this study focussed on were the quadriceps (front/ventral side of the leg which straighten the leg) and the hamstrings (the back/dorsal side of the leg which pull the foot towards one's bum). The hamstrings and quadriceps are antagonistic to each other (ie as one contracts, the other relaxes) and it is important that they correctly together. I hoped that the study would be able to determine if I had any inbalances between the muscle groups, both in the same leg and across different legs. Although my results wouldn't be useful to the study, the doctoral student was kind enough to accomodate my request and used me to teach some other students how to the machines and technology used in the study worked. The protocol of the study called for me to be strapped into a chair with one of my feet attached to a machine. Starting with my knee bent at 90 degrees I was to extend my leg to 180 degrees and then and contract it back to its original position, as fast as I could. I had to do this 40 times on each leg at maximal effort. The machine would measure the force output of both my quadriceps and my hamstring during their respective contractions. It was an exhausting protocol and after 40 repetitions my heart was hammering and my entire leg was dead. They allowed me some respite to let my heart settle before strapping in my opposite leg into the machine and performing another 40 reps.
The results are still being evaluated by Sivan, but from an inital glance at the results it seems that my left quad is significantly weaker than my right quad. My hamstrings (despite the injury to the left) are very comparable. This is interesting as I would have presumed that the left hamstring would have been the weak factor. It seems that the weakness in the left quad may be causing the hamstring to overcompensate resulting in injury. However, we shall evaluate the results when they are complete and I shall let you know what we think.
Big props to Sivan for putting in the time to help me out though!
Thats all for now. Hit just over 60miles this week and more to come next week. School starts tomorrow as well. Its been a long but pleasent summer, very enjoyable and fruitful, but the nerd inside of me is excited to get back to some more intellectual pursuits!
Be Easy.
So, in order to remedy this, I have done two things. The first thing I did was to go for a massage. This was done over at Kingston Body Management (a health and physio clinic in town, more on them in later a blog) by a fellow named Todd who had worked with the Queen's XC team a few years back. He also did some work on my back and neck, both of which have been giving me some trouble and may indeed be contributing to my hamstring issue. These kinds of massages are not enjoyable experiences, in fact my hammy felt worse afterwards than it had done before. However, I was still able to get out for an hour run later than day and I think it will help my recovery in the long run. Better had do anyway!
The second thing I did was to email a doctoral student named Sivan in a Biomechanics lab here at Queen's. This is part of my intent to take a more scientific approach to my running. From a friend, I had heard about his study looking into the relationship between knee injuries and thigh muscle strength. The muscles in the thigh can be divided into several groups, although the two groups that this study focussed on were the quadriceps (front/ventral side of the leg which straighten the leg) and the hamstrings (the back/dorsal side of the leg which pull the foot towards one's bum). The hamstrings and quadriceps are antagonistic to each other (ie as one contracts, the other relaxes) and it is important that they correctly together. I hoped that the study would be able to determine if I had any inbalances between the muscle groups, both in the same leg and across different legs. Although my results wouldn't be useful to the study, the doctoral student was kind enough to accomodate my request and used me to teach some other students how to the machines and technology used in the study worked. The protocol of the study called for me to be strapped into a chair with one of my feet attached to a machine. Starting with my knee bent at 90 degrees I was to extend my leg to 180 degrees and then and contract it back to its original position, as fast as I could. I had to do this 40 times on each leg at maximal effort. The machine would measure the force output of both my quadriceps and my hamstring during their respective contractions. It was an exhausting protocol and after 40 repetitions my heart was hammering and my entire leg was dead. They allowed me some respite to let my heart settle before strapping in my opposite leg into the machine and performing another 40 reps.
The results are still being evaluated by Sivan, but from an inital glance at the results it seems that my left quad is significantly weaker than my right quad. My hamstrings (despite the injury to the left) are very comparable. This is interesting as I would have presumed that the left hamstring would have been the weak factor. It seems that the weakness in the left quad may be causing the hamstring to overcompensate resulting in injury. However, we shall evaluate the results when they are complete and I shall let you know what we think.
Big props to Sivan for putting in the time to help me out though!
Thats all for now. Hit just over 60miles this week and more to come next week. School starts tomorrow as well. Its been a long but pleasent summer, very enjoyable and fruitful, but the nerd inside of me is excited to get back to some more intellectual pursuits!
Be Easy.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Live Like a Clock
So we're back into the XC season and so far, not so good. I seem to have forgotten how the long miles sap the strength out of one's legs. I shouldn't really complain as a) it has only been just over a week b) i only put in 50 miles last week and c) complaining now will set the stage for a lousy season down the road! Be that as it may, today's run was capped at 6.5miles instead of 8 because I was just not ready for the hills and billowing wind on top of Fort Henry hill (the site of the Queen's XC course).
The plan for this season: become an aerobic monster and work my way up to become comfortable at 80miles per week. How shall we do that? Long steady miles. And in that short sentance lies the problem. Coming off the track season, I am very comfortable and happy with the idea of short, sharp, fast efforts. I am struggling to run slow enough at the start of a run to be able to hold on for 60-70mins. I settle into a comfortable, abet too fast a pace, and then find myself gasping at 50mins. I need to chill in the first 20-30mins and then gradually increase the pace until the end.
Another means of increasing my miles is through morning runs. I did 2 last week and did 1 today, aiming for 3 this week. These are just 20min efforts; approximately 3 miles at an easy pace. Its quite easy to go steady in the morning because I feel terrible anyway from just waking up and having no food in the belly. As those who know me may correctly surmise, I am not a happy runner in the mornings! I am also planning to add strides and plyometrics (jumping bounding) to my morning runs which are intended to help improve my form and add strength.
As advice to help me overcome these early season blues, Kev has told me to "live like a clock", a quote borrowed from Jumbo Elliot, the coach of the Irish mid-distance legend Eamonn Coghlan. I take this to mean that I am to shape my life in a way that I can develop consistency in my training. This is the only way that I will get the miles in that I need to and be able to fit a productive life around my training. As a side note, Bruce Denton said this same quote to Quenton Cassidy in the fictional yet authoritative running bible that is Once a Runner. Therefore, this must be a legitimate gem of wisdom.
Be Easy.
The plan for this season: become an aerobic monster and work my way up to become comfortable at 80miles per week. How shall we do that? Long steady miles. And in that short sentance lies the problem. Coming off the track season, I am very comfortable and happy with the idea of short, sharp, fast efforts. I am struggling to run slow enough at the start of a run to be able to hold on for 60-70mins. I settle into a comfortable, abet too fast a pace, and then find myself gasping at 50mins. I need to chill in the first 20-30mins and then gradually increase the pace until the end.
Another means of increasing my miles is through morning runs. I did 2 last week and did 1 today, aiming for 3 this week. These are just 20min efforts; approximately 3 miles at an easy pace. Its quite easy to go steady in the morning because I feel terrible anyway from just waking up and having no food in the belly. As those who know me may correctly surmise, I am not a happy runner in the mornings! I am also planning to add strides and plyometrics (jumping bounding) to my morning runs which are intended to help improve my form and add strength.
As advice to help me overcome these early season blues, Kev has told me to "live like a clock", a quote borrowed from Jumbo Elliot, the coach of the Irish mid-distance legend Eamonn Coghlan. I take this to mean that I am to shape my life in a way that I can develop consistency in my training. This is the only way that I will get the miles in that I need to and be able to fit a productive life around my training. As a side note, Bruce Denton said this same quote to Quenton Cassidy in the fictional yet authoritative running bible that is Once a Runner. Therefore, this must be a legitimate gem of wisdom.
Be Easy.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
I'm back at it.....it's a long one this time!
Welcome back! I hope that in these last 2 weeks you have managed to find activities that have been able to fill the blank void created by my lack of blog entries. Thank you for returning to the site every so often to check if anything has been added – your perseverance has now been rewarded!
I jest, however, you may indeed be wondering what I have been upto for the past few weeks. Resting. With one exception, which I shall shortly address, I did not run a step since my cooldown following the 1500m at the provincial champs. The rest was good, and I enjoyed it, however, a funny thing happened to my body as the days passed. I became injured. It seemed that as the rest progressed old injuries that I had suffered in days gone by resurfaced. My hamstring began to ache as I sat at my desk, my shin got sore as I watched movies, my left hip feels locked, and my heel (site of an Achilles problem) became too sore to walk on. Absolutely incredible, and ridiculous at the same time. I began to itch to get back running before anything worse befell me. And, following my first run yesterday….I feel completely fine. Apparently my body was rebelling against the lack of exertion.
The one thing that I did do in the past 2 weeks, the exception that I alluded to above, was a VO2 Max test. This is a measurement of the maximum amount of oxygen that your body can extract from the air as you run at progressively increasing speeds and/or elevation on a treadmill. The result is given as either an absolute value measured in L of O2/minute or as a relative value measured in mL of O2/kg body mass/minute. The relative value means the amount of oxygen used by a kg of muscle per minute. The more O2 you can use the better you can break down glucose into a usable energy form that the body can use. Therefore, the higher your VO2, the better your aerobic fitness is. However, it is not the only indicator of fitness and cannot stand alone as a predictor of something as multifaceted as race performance. There are several factors that contribute one’s VO2 including strength and efficiency of the heart (to pump oxygenated blood around the body), the efficiency of the gas exchange in the lungs (swapping CO2 for O2), the gas exchange at the site of the muscle, the network of minute blood vessels that supply the muscles, and the amount of enzymes and cellular bodies inside the muscle cells themselves that help to process the oxygen. All of these things have a genetic component (ie some people have a naturally superior aerobic capacity), yet these can all be increased (up to a certain point by) endurance training. Due to such factors as increased muscle mass, bigger lungs, and bigger hearts, at comparable age and fitness levels, men will have a higher VO2 than women. The range can be from 20mL/kg/min in a sedentary person to 96ml/kg/min, which is the highest Vo2 ever, recorded in a male Swedish cross-country skier.
The testing process can be best explained as I describe my own test. I started running on the treadmill at 9miles/hr and 0% elevation for 3 minutes. At 3:00 the elevation increased to 5% and from then on increased by 2% every 2 minutes. Speed would remain constant until 15:00 when the elevation would hit 15% and the speed would be increased by 0.2mi/hr every minute. I am pretty sure that is what would happen, however, I only made it to 15:00 when I had to stop due to exhaustion. One’s VO2 increases as the test progresses and it is necessary to run to exhaustion in order to ensure one hits their max. My VO2 peaked at 5.2ml/min or 74.5ml/kg/min at 12:00. This is a very satisfactory number, however, there were other aspects of the test that I was more pleased with. For 4mins, between 9:30 and 13:30 I held an average VO2 of 71.3ml/kg/min. This is very close to my max, indicating that I was running close to my max aerobic capacity for 4 minutes – essentially the time within which I would run a mile. From 13:30 to the end of the test I had a lower VO2, but still managed to keep the pace for that remaining 1:30. With this decreased aerobic efficiency I was relying on anaerobic mechanisms of creating energy – the method used when sprinting. This may be a physiological indicator of why I am able to kick at the end of a 1500m to good effect.
However, this is as far I am willing to look into my results. I am happy with 74.5 but what does it mean? If that is my genetic max, then what more can I do? Besides more training the only way to increase my VO2 would be to lose weight (thereby decreasing my relative value, but not my absolute value) but I’m not willing to go that route. Racing and training are comprised of complex physiological and psychological components that go beyond the factors involved in the VO2 test. It’s interesting to know, but unless I can test myself every week and tailor my training to improving it, a costly and futile effort, then it really has no tangible value for me. That being said, I probably will get retested at the end of the XC season to see how it has changed!
Did that all make sense? Nod once if yes.
Anyway, I do have more to write I believe I have taken up enough of your time for this particular occasion. Plus, I am off shortly for my second run of the day. I put in an easy 3 miles this morning and will do another 8 or so with Kevin and another friend of mine, Clay. I am going to take this week and next running easy, gradually increasing my mileage. I might try to peak at 80miles/week this season but will probably average 60. However, that is some time away. One run at a time!
Be Easy.
I jest, however, you may indeed be wondering what I have been upto for the past few weeks. Resting. With one exception, which I shall shortly address, I did not run a step since my cooldown following the 1500m at the provincial champs. The rest was good, and I enjoyed it, however, a funny thing happened to my body as the days passed. I became injured. It seemed that as the rest progressed old injuries that I had suffered in days gone by resurfaced. My hamstring began to ache as I sat at my desk, my shin got sore as I watched movies, my left hip feels locked, and my heel (site of an Achilles problem) became too sore to walk on. Absolutely incredible, and ridiculous at the same time. I began to itch to get back running before anything worse befell me. And, following my first run yesterday….I feel completely fine. Apparently my body was rebelling against the lack of exertion.
The one thing that I did do in the past 2 weeks, the exception that I alluded to above, was a VO2 Max test. This is a measurement of the maximum amount of oxygen that your body can extract from the air as you run at progressively increasing speeds and/or elevation on a treadmill. The result is given as either an absolute value measured in L of O2/minute or as a relative value measured in mL of O2/kg body mass/minute. The relative value means the amount of oxygen used by a kg of muscle per minute. The more O2 you can use the better you can break down glucose into a usable energy form that the body can use. Therefore, the higher your VO2, the better your aerobic fitness is. However, it is not the only indicator of fitness and cannot stand alone as a predictor of something as multifaceted as race performance. There are several factors that contribute one’s VO2 including strength and efficiency of the heart (to pump oxygenated blood around the body), the efficiency of the gas exchange in the lungs (swapping CO2 for O2), the gas exchange at the site of the muscle, the network of minute blood vessels that supply the muscles, and the amount of enzymes and cellular bodies inside the muscle cells themselves that help to process the oxygen. All of these things have a genetic component (ie some people have a naturally superior aerobic capacity), yet these can all be increased (up to a certain point by) endurance training. Due to such factors as increased muscle mass, bigger lungs, and bigger hearts, at comparable age and fitness levels, men will have a higher VO2 than women. The range can be from 20mL/kg/min in a sedentary person to 96ml/kg/min, which is the highest Vo2 ever, recorded in a male Swedish cross-country skier.
The testing process can be best explained as I describe my own test. I started running on the treadmill at 9miles/hr and 0% elevation for 3 minutes. At 3:00 the elevation increased to 5% and from then on increased by 2% every 2 minutes. Speed would remain constant until 15:00 when the elevation would hit 15% and the speed would be increased by 0.2mi/hr every minute. I am pretty sure that is what would happen, however, I only made it to 15:00 when I had to stop due to exhaustion. One’s VO2 increases as the test progresses and it is necessary to run to exhaustion in order to ensure one hits their max. My VO2 peaked at 5.2ml/min or 74.5ml/kg/min at 12:00. This is a very satisfactory number, however, there were other aspects of the test that I was more pleased with. For 4mins, between 9:30 and 13:30 I held an average VO2 of 71.3ml/kg/min. This is very close to my max, indicating that I was running close to my max aerobic capacity for 4 minutes – essentially the time within which I would run a mile. From 13:30 to the end of the test I had a lower VO2, but still managed to keep the pace for that remaining 1:30. With this decreased aerobic efficiency I was relying on anaerobic mechanisms of creating energy – the method used when sprinting. This may be a physiological indicator of why I am able to kick at the end of a 1500m to good effect.
However, this is as far I am willing to look into my results. I am happy with 74.5 but what does it mean? If that is my genetic max, then what more can I do? Besides more training the only way to increase my VO2 would be to lose weight (thereby decreasing my relative value, but not my absolute value) but I’m not willing to go that route. Racing and training are comprised of complex physiological and psychological components that go beyond the factors involved in the VO2 test. It’s interesting to know, but unless I can test myself every week and tailor my training to improving it, a costly and futile effort, then it really has no tangible value for me. That being said, I probably will get retested at the end of the XC season to see how it has changed!
Did that all make sense? Nod once if yes.
Anyway, I do have more to write I believe I have taken up enough of your time for this particular occasion. Plus, I am off shortly for my second run of the day. I put in an easy 3 miles this morning and will do another 8 or so with Kevin and another friend of mine, Clay. I am going to take this week and next running easy, gradually increasing my mileage. I might try to peak at 80miles/week this season but will probably average 60. However, that is some time away. One run at a time!
Be Easy.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
A Review
And, rounding the bend into the home stretch, he steps into lane two and runs the remaining 100m of his season faster than his competitors to grab gold in the Athletics Ontario 1500m championships.
Thus ended my 2010 track season. I ran 3:49.97 to win the 1500m, a race that in which I maintained 3rd position as the leaders shuffled around until the last 200m when I moved into 2nd and then into 1st with 80m left. It was a relatively easy race - a rather large departure from the trainwreak that was the 800m the previous afternoon. I had warmed up, legs feeling fantastic and ready to go. I settled into 3rd off the gun and maintained that for the first lap in about 54 seconds. From there things went downhill. At 500m my legs went flat and my form disintergrated. 4th place flew by me and the leaders gapped me. At 100m to go, 5 and 6 pulled level with me but I knew who these athletes were.... I knew I couldnt let them take me and I fought them off to the line. I ran 1:54.8 - 4 seconds off both my pb and the winner.
Thus when I toed the line the next day for the 1500m, I was preparing for a similar race as the 800m and was determined that I would run myself into the ground in order to get a result. However, I was pleased to find out that my legs felt strong and the race started off slow...playing right into my hands and culminating with the finish described above.
And now for a (dare I say it myself?) well-deserved break. Looking back, training for my summer season began 4 days after the CIS Championships in March and since then I have logged over 850 miles and raced 14 times. I have criss-crossed the country for a total of 13309m and approximately 42 minutes and 20 seconds of racing. That's a heck of a lot, especially for someone who has never put together such a long summer season before.
And what have I taken away from this season? How have I changed and what lessons have I learnt?
- Never give up! If I can get within 100m of the finish line, no matter how badly I feel, there is always something left in the tank to kick.
- The art of recovery. Both mentally and physically, I have discovered ways of making sure that I return my next race or training session ready to face the challenge. There are no secrets - just taking good care of your body (eg eating and sleeping right) and having a positive attitude make a world of difference.
- Racing Maturity. While the wisdom of my tactics are often debated, I am getting better at making decisions while in the pack. Timing and location are essential to set oneself up for success. My main strategy is to react to developments in the pack; with further training and growth I hope to be strong enough to take control of races myself.
- No time for heroes. In training, no single Hurculean effort determines one's success. It is more so the everyday, regular efforts that culminate over weeks and months. In races, the objective is to win - to be at the front of the pack only when it counts: at the finish line. Bolting at the gun to try to lead start to finish is rarely an effective strategy.
- I have so much to learn. This pretty much sums itself up!
- Base Camp II. That's where I am at now. I still have far to go before I reach the summit of this mountain. But I think it's possible. Time will tell!
Thats all for now. I'm taking two weeks off from running and then will dive into the XC season. I will continue to blog (perhaps not as regularly during my sabbatical) about the life of a EMIP. Thanks for following me this season and look out for more to come!
Be Easy.
Thus ended my 2010 track season. I ran 3:49.97 to win the 1500m, a race that in which I maintained 3rd position as the leaders shuffled around until the last 200m when I moved into 2nd and then into 1st with 80m left. It was a relatively easy race - a rather large departure from the trainwreak that was the 800m the previous afternoon. I had warmed up, legs feeling fantastic and ready to go. I settled into 3rd off the gun and maintained that for the first lap in about 54 seconds. From there things went downhill. At 500m my legs went flat and my form disintergrated. 4th place flew by me and the leaders gapped me. At 100m to go, 5 and 6 pulled level with me but I knew who these athletes were.... I knew I couldnt let them take me and I fought them off to the line. I ran 1:54.8 - 4 seconds off both my pb and the winner.
Thus when I toed the line the next day for the 1500m, I was preparing for a similar race as the 800m and was determined that I would run myself into the ground in order to get a result. However, I was pleased to find out that my legs felt strong and the race started off slow...playing right into my hands and culminating with the finish described above.
And now for a (dare I say it myself?) well-deserved break. Looking back, training for my summer season began 4 days after the CIS Championships in March and since then I have logged over 850 miles and raced 14 times. I have criss-crossed the country for a total of 13309m and approximately 42 minutes and 20 seconds of racing. That's a heck of a lot, especially for someone who has never put together such a long summer season before.
And what have I taken away from this season? How have I changed and what lessons have I learnt?
- Never give up! If I can get within 100m of the finish line, no matter how badly I feel, there is always something left in the tank to kick.
- The art of recovery. Both mentally and physically, I have discovered ways of making sure that I return my next race or training session ready to face the challenge. There are no secrets - just taking good care of your body (eg eating and sleeping right) and having a positive attitude make a world of difference.
- Racing Maturity. While the wisdom of my tactics are often debated, I am getting better at making decisions while in the pack. Timing and location are essential to set oneself up for success. My main strategy is to react to developments in the pack; with further training and growth I hope to be strong enough to take control of races myself.
- No time for heroes. In training, no single Hurculean effort determines one's success. It is more so the everyday, regular efforts that culminate over weeks and months. In races, the objective is to win - to be at the front of the pack only when it counts: at the finish line. Bolting at the gun to try to lead start to finish is rarely an effective strategy.
- I have so much to learn. This pretty much sums itself up!
- Base Camp II. That's where I am at now. I still have far to go before I reach the summit of this mountain. But I think it's possible. Time will tell!
Thats all for now. I'm taking two weeks off from running and then will dive into the XC season. I will continue to blog (perhaps not as regularly during my sabbatical) about the life of a EMIP. Thanks for following me this season and look out for more to come!
Be Easy.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
One Last Hurrah!
Tomorrow (Friday) I journey off to compete in the Athletics' Ontario provincial championships. This journey will require a 5:30am wake up, drive to Ottawa and then catch a 6 hour bus with the Ottawa Lions track club to Sudbury (of all places) where the championships are being hosted by Laurentian University. I race the 800m on Saturday afternoon, followed by the 1500m on Sunday morning and then will return on the bus with the Lions to make it back to Ottawa by about 10pm for a Ktown return around midnight.
Why do I make this trek to get in a few races at the end of what has been a very long season (now at 10 races since May)? Well, mes amis, there are a few reasons - in no particular order:
1) Money - while this trip is costing me a packet for travel and accommodation for around 5.5 mins of racing (and less if I'm good!), my appearance at the meet helps qualify me for Quest for Gold money, which is Ontario's system of funding elite athletes. I have run fast enough times and placed well at Nationals to help my cause, and now an appearance at these championships is all that is left, not to secure the funding, but to put me on the list. This money (don't ask how much you nosey parker cos I'm not telling even if I did know!) will help go toward training and racing expenses in the coming XC season in the fall as well as track seasons in the winter and summer of '11.
2) Mix and Mingle - I need to continue to rub shoulders with not only the athletes that I compete against, but also officials and coaches who may be able to help me with my journey. There is plently out there about training and racing that I don't know and need to find out. I need to find out how to create an environment around me that is conducive to positive development. I need to know how aspiring Olympians live and train, and there are coaches out there who have seen, helped or done it themselves.
3) Unfinished business - I have not yet broken 1:50 for 800m nor do I believe that I have run as fast as I can in the 1500m. These are things I would like to do this season. One or both of these things may or may not happen but we won't know until we try.
4) Supporting local athletics - I think it is important that athletes of all calibre go to their provincial and (especially) nationals championships. It improves the quality of the competition, gives them exposure, and inspires the younger generation who can see them in the flesh. Not saying that I am doing any of those 3 things, but one day I might and until then I should do my part and at least add another body to the starting line!
Another thing that I think is important is that I go to bed now. Goodnight and I will blog again on my return home.
Be Easy.
Why do I make this trek to get in a few races at the end of what has been a very long season (now at 10 races since May)? Well, mes amis, there are a few reasons - in no particular order:
1) Money - while this trip is costing me a packet for travel and accommodation for around 5.5 mins of racing (and less if I'm good!), my appearance at the meet helps qualify me for Quest for Gold money, which is Ontario's system of funding elite athletes. I have run fast enough times and placed well at Nationals to help my cause, and now an appearance at these championships is all that is left, not to secure the funding, but to put me on the list. This money (don't ask how much you nosey parker cos I'm not telling even if I did know!) will help go toward training and racing expenses in the coming XC season in the fall as well as track seasons in the winter and summer of '11.
2) Mix and Mingle - I need to continue to rub shoulders with not only the athletes that I compete against, but also officials and coaches who may be able to help me with my journey. There is plently out there about training and racing that I don't know and need to find out. I need to find out how to create an environment around me that is conducive to positive development. I need to know how aspiring Olympians live and train, and there are coaches out there who have seen, helped or done it themselves.
3) Unfinished business - I have not yet broken 1:50 for 800m nor do I believe that I have run as fast as I can in the 1500m. These are things I would like to do this season. One or both of these things may or may not happen but we won't know until we try.
4) Supporting local athletics - I think it is important that athletes of all calibre go to their provincial and (especially) nationals championships. It improves the quality of the competition, gives them exposure, and inspires the younger generation who can see them in the flesh. Not saying that I am doing any of those 3 things, but one day I might and until then I should do my part and at least add another body to the starting line!
Another thing that I think is important is that I go to bed now. Goodnight and I will blog again on my return home.
Be Easy.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Honey I'm Home!!
Back in Kingston now after a very nice holiday in England. I spent a week in the Lake District, and area in the north of England, walking and sampling local brews from pubs. We did a lot of walking (the British term for hiking) over hill and dale, through bog land and sheep poo to reach the highest peaks in England (just under 1000m) and admire the very interesting interior aspects of an ever-present cloud.
Seeing as we would cover approx 8 miles on our daily walk lasting between 4-6 hours, I took the week off from running. I did get in 3 runs, each just 40 mins easy for about 6 miles....just to keep myself ticking over for this coming weekend and also to give my sister some moral support on her own runs.
This coming weekend in the final event of the 2010 summer track season: the Athletics Ontario Championships. These are hosted by Laurentian University in Sudbury, which is proving to be a rather difficult place for me to get to. There is a bus that I can get up there, but no bus that leaves at a reasonable time from Sudbury....unless I want to stay an extra night. If anyone knows anyone who is heading up for the event....please get in touch with me!
I'm not sure what Kev has planned for me to prep for this event, but will most likely be some light workouts on the track to sharpen up. He likes to keep me guessing but I'll see him tonight and will find out then. He mentioned that taking a week off like I did will only be helpful for me: i won't lose any fitness and it will rest my hamstring and legs....so I might surprise myself on the weekend. Fingers crossed!
In other news...I have added an extra page to this blog. You will find it below the monstrosity of the picture of me (note to self: downsize it!), and it is entitled: Videos. For your viewing ease and pleasure I have complied videos (or links)of all of my races that I have been able to find on the internet. Enjoy!
That's all for now. It's lunchtime. Speak soon!
Be Easy.
Seeing as we would cover approx 8 miles on our daily walk lasting between 4-6 hours, I took the week off from running. I did get in 3 runs, each just 40 mins easy for about 6 miles....just to keep myself ticking over for this coming weekend and also to give my sister some moral support on her own runs.
This coming weekend in the final event of the 2010 summer track season: the Athletics Ontario Championships. These are hosted by Laurentian University in Sudbury, which is proving to be a rather difficult place for me to get to. There is a bus that I can get up there, but no bus that leaves at a reasonable time from Sudbury....unless I want to stay an extra night. If anyone knows anyone who is heading up for the event....please get in touch with me!
I'm not sure what Kev has planned for me to prep for this event, but will most likely be some light workouts on the track to sharpen up. He likes to keep me guessing but I'll see him tonight and will find out then. He mentioned that taking a week off like I did will only be helpful for me: i won't lose any fitness and it will rest my hamstring and legs....so I might surprise myself on the weekend. Fingers crossed!
In other news...I have added an extra page to this blog. You will find it below the monstrosity of the picture of me (note to self: downsize it!), and it is entitled: Videos. For your viewing ease and pleasure I have complied videos (or links)of all of my races that I have been able to find on the internet. Enjoy!
That's all for now. It's lunchtime. Speak soon!
Be Easy.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Done and done...for now
Here I am sat in the departure lounge and waiting to board a flight to England, so this is going to be short and sweet and not very well edited.
My first appearance in the finals of the Canadian National T&F Champs has come and gone. For those who didn't catch it on the tele live, you can find it at this link: http://queenstrack.com/sites/default/files/Hulse_1500m_Nationals_2010.m4v
My take on the race: I am happy with the place but would have liked to have done better. I think I raced it tactically well and made the right moves to get myself into good positions as the race progressed. However, I am unhappy with how I was unable to respond when the front 3 got going. I just wasn't fast enough today. As I entered the home stretch I knew that there wasn't any more racing to be done: I was neither going to gain or lose a position. I had to settle for 4th and that seems to be the most disappointing part. The move that I should have made to stay connected happened (or didn't happen) with 300m to go. Looking back I can't remember how it went down or what I was thinking at the time. These things happen so quickly.
Anyway, all that being said, if someone had told me at the start of the season that I would be 4th at Nationals, I think I would have laughed. However, now I have had a taste of this level of racing I find myself hungry for more. Looking back at the season I am happy: I have run good times and raced well against good opposition and I think I have established myself as an up-and-comer on the track scene. My training has been solid and Kev and I have laid a good foundation for the future.
And oh what a future it will be! This ain't the end folks so stay posted! I have the Ontario Provincial Champs in August and then an XC season in the fall.
Flight is boarding now.....see you cats on the flip-flop!
Be Easy.
My first appearance in the finals of the Canadian National T&F Champs has come and gone. For those who didn't catch it on the tele live, you can find it at this link: http://queenstrack.com/sites/default/files/Hulse_1500m_Nationals_2010.m4v
My take on the race: I am happy with the place but would have liked to have done better. I think I raced it tactically well and made the right moves to get myself into good positions as the race progressed. However, I am unhappy with how I was unable to respond when the front 3 got going. I just wasn't fast enough today. As I entered the home stretch I knew that there wasn't any more racing to be done: I was neither going to gain or lose a position. I had to settle for 4th and that seems to be the most disappointing part. The move that I should have made to stay connected happened (or didn't happen) with 300m to go. Looking back I can't remember how it went down or what I was thinking at the time. These things happen so quickly.
Anyway, all that being said, if someone had told me at the start of the season that I would be 4th at Nationals, I think I would have laughed. However, now I have had a taste of this level of racing I find myself hungry for more. Looking back at the season I am happy: I have run good times and raced well against good opposition and I think I have established myself as an up-and-comer on the track scene. My training has been solid and Kev and I have laid a good foundation for the future.
And oh what a future it will be! This ain't the end folks so stay posted! I have the Ontario Provincial Champs in August and then an XC season in the fall.
Flight is boarding now.....see you cats on the flip-flop!
Be Easy.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Pre-Race
So. Here I am. Thursday night, the night before the 1500m heats. You must be thinking: "Goodness gracious, he must be so nervous. What must be going through his head right now?" The answer: not much. (May not be a surprice to many of you!) My mind does occasionally wander to my hamstring and how it will fare, or stray to my knee cap which I bashed against a wall today, and even flicks to images of me in a pack at various stages of the race (often pulling away!), but mostly I am calm. I think I am anyway. I have had my bouts of nervousness in the past few days and I am sure that it will come in fits and spurts tomorrow, but I think I am dealing with it alright.
One race at a time. Heats. And then Finals.
I am in the second heat tomorrow, which means that I have the luxury of observing the times that my competitors in the first heat run. From there we will know how fast we have to run to ensure our qualification. In races such as these the top 4 runners in each heat will qualify automatically and then the next 4 fastest times (from either heat) advance to the final. Potentially, if the first race is slow, the second will run faster to make sure, so only 4 runners from the 1st heat will advance and 8 will go from the 2nd heat. That's a little bit of an extreme example but I think you get the picture. However, racing can be unpredictable so we'll just play it as it unfolds. Yet I have a quiet confidence that if I run as I can and have practiced, things will turn out just fine.
I think that this is all I will blog tonight. I need to get to bed by 11 so I can be up in time to leave for Toronto at 8am. I still need to make my lunch for tomorrow and finish packing my bags too. I need to make sure that I have every accoutrement (including all lucky items) necessary make the racing a success.
By the way, I believe that CBC is broadcasting the races. Maybe not live and maybe not the heats, but the finals should be on there for sure. Or stay tuned to this blog. I will try to keep it current after the race.
So to conclude: your thoughts and prayers are most appreciated at this time. Thanks for supporting me over this season and I hope to do you all proud this weekend!
Be Easy.
One race at a time. Heats. And then Finals.
I am in the second heat tomorrow, which means that I have the luxury of observing the times that my competitors in the first heat run. From there we will know how fast we have to run to ensure our qualification. In races such as these the top 4 runners in each heat will qualify automatically and then the next 4 fastest times (from either heat) advance to the final. Potentially, if the first race is slow, the second will run faster to make sure, so only 4 runners from the 1st heat will advance and 8 will go from the 2nd heat. That's a little bit of an extreme example but I think you get the picture. However, racing can be unpredictable so we'll just play it as it unfolds. Yet I have a quiet confidence that if I run as I can and have practiced, things will turn out just fine.
I think that this is all I will blog tonight. I need to get to bed by 11 so I can be up in time to leave for Toronto at 8am. I still need to make my lunch for tomorrow and finish packing my bags too. I need to make sure that I have every accoutrement (including all lucky items) necessary make the racing a success.
By the way, I believe that CBC is broadcasting the races. Maybe not live and maybe not the heats, but the finals should be on there for sure. Or stay tuned to this blog. I will try to keep it current after the race.
So to conclude: your thoughts and prayers are most appreciated at this time. Thanks for supporting me over this season and I hope to do you all proud this weekend!
Be Easy.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Can't think of a title - but it was my birthday yesterday!
Well hello again everyone! I do apologize for my lack of posting in the last few days. I hope that you are all still avid followers and have not drifted off to more dependable pastimes!
And why is it that I hope that you are still keeping tabs on me? Because the culmination of my efforts, the climax of this running folktale, the grand finale of this season is impending. The Canadian Track and Field National Championships are looming my friends, and I for one am excited. At the University of Toronto's Varsity Stadium at the hour of 2:40pm on Friday, July 30th, the Men's 1500m will get underway. 3 and 3/4 laps of the track will skim the cream off the top of that initial pool of athletes who will then progress to the 1500m Finals that will take place at that same venue on Saturday when the clock strikes 5:05pm.
Recap.
What: Men's 1500m
Where: Varsity Stadium on Bloor St, Toronto
Heats: Friday July 30th @ 2:40pm
Finals: Saturday July 31st @ 5:05pm
More Info - http://www.athletics.ca/
Be there. Or be square.
And now for a summary of the last few days that have led into these last few days before Nationals:
My last post spoke of a 1000m race in Ottawa as a last tune up before nationals and I was in the midst of deciding whether or not to go depending on how my hamstring was. Well, I went up and ran solo for 2:26.32 and a victory by a sizable margin. The time isn't fantastic and I really could have done that on my own in Ktown but we were hoping to get a race or at least a rabbit for the first 600m. Alas it was not to be and I did it on my own from the gun. I was satisfied with the race, mainly because my hamstring was good, both during the race and afterwards. It is still not quite perfect but in the days following the race I have laid down some good workouts so it is my belief that I will be alright for the races at the weekend.
To help speed my recovery, I have been getting massages from a fellow named Curtis at Active Health Kingston. This is in no way a relaxing or enjoyable experience as he seems to have a knack for using his elbows to separate my individual muscle fibres from each other. However, I do believe he is good at what he does and I think it is speeding things along.
In other news, I have some thanking to do:
Al Cantlay at Runner's Choice in Kingston has generously donated some money to my cause. His store is my prefered venue for all things running related and I have been a satisfied customer of his for many years. I will be doing some work for some running clinics that he puts on later in the year. His store can be found at 260 Princess St, Kingston or online at http://www.runnerschoicekingston.com/.
Rita-Sue and Curt, who were track and field coaches at Queen's for the last 37 years and are still dedicated alumni, for their generous donation to my training and racing funds. Curt helped to coach me in my first and second year at Queen's and it was a brief conversation with him after practice one night that helped me realize that I might have a shot at success!
Arnold Tse at Mizuno Canada for a recent package of shoes and spikes. Perfect timing as my old Wave Precision's are on their last legs. When for a run in new version of the Wave Precision's tonight. Like bouncing on little clouds!
And I think that's about it for now. Thank you all for following along and having the patience to return to this blog and check for new entries and then go on and read what I have written!
Be Easy.
Ps. Guess what I found in my vege patch the other day. A potato. Nice, sizable, and looking like it would go nicely baked with a little cheese. Except for the fact that it had some nibbles in. And it had been dug up from MY row of taters! Not sure what it dug it up, but I had thought my fencing was secure. The little blighter didn't even have the manners to eat the whole thing. I'm going to have to demonstrate a little radical environmentalism to protect my plants!
And why is it that I hope that you are still keeping tabs on me? Because the culmination of my efforts, the climax of this running folktale, the grand finale of this season is impending. The Canadian Track and Field National Championships are looming my friends, and I for one am excited. At the University of Toronto's Varsity Stadium at the hour of 2:40pm on Friday, July 30th, the Men's 1500m will get underway. 3 and 3/4 laps of the track will skim the cream off the top of that initial pool of athletes who will then progress to the 1500m Finals that will take place at that same venue on Saturday when the clock strikes 5:05pm.
Recap.
What: Men's 1500m
Where: Varsity Stadium on Bloor St, Toronto
Heats: Friday July 30th @ 2:40pm
Finals: Saturday July 31st @ 5:05pm
More Info - http://www.athletics.ca/
Be there. Or be square.
And now for a summary of the last few days that have led into these last few days before Nationals:
My last post spoke of a 1000m race in Ottawa as a last tune up before nationals and I was in the midst of deciding whether or not to go depending on how my hamstring was. Well, I went up and ran solo for 2:26.32 and a victory by a sizable margin. The time isn't fantastic and I really could have done that on my own in Ktown but we were hoping to get a race or at least a rabbit for the first 600m. Alas it was not to be and I did it on my own from the gun. I was satisfied with the race, mainly because my hamstring was good, both during the race and afterwards. It is still not quite perfect but in the days following the race I have laid down some good workouts so it is my belief that I will be alright for the races at the weekend.
To help speed my recovery, I have been getting massages from a fellow named Curtis at Active Health Kingston. This is in no way a relaxing or enjoyable experience as he seems to have a knack for using his elbows to separate my individual muscle fibres from each other. However, I do believe he is good at what he does and I think it is speeding things along.
In other news, I have some thanking to do:
Al Cantlay at Runner's Choice in Kingston has generously donated some money to my cause. His store is my prefered venue for all things running related and I have been a satisfied customer of his for many years. I will be doing some work for some running clinics that he puts on later in the year. His store can be found at 260 Princess St, Kingston or online at http://www.runnerschoicekingston.com/.
Rita-Sue and Curt, who were track and field coaches at Queen's for the last 37 years and are still dedicated alumni, for their generous donation to my training and racing funds. Curt helped to coach me in my first and second year at Queen's and it was a brief conversation with him after practice one night that helped me realize that I might have a shot at success!
Arnold Tse at Mizuno Canada for a recent package of shoes and spikes. Perfect timing as my old Wave Precision's are on their last legs. When for a run in new version of the Wave Precision's tonight. Like bouncing on little clouds!
And I think that's about it for now. Thank you all for following along and having the patience to return to this blog and check for new entries and then go on and read what I have written!
Be Easy.
Ps. Guess what I found in my vege patch the other day. A potato. Nice, sizable, and looking like it would go nicely baked with a little cheese. Except for the fact that it had some nibbles in. And it had been dug up from MY row of taters! Not sure what it dug it up, but I had thought my fencing was secure. The little blighter didn't even have the manners to eat the whole thing. I'm going to have to demonstrate a little radical environmentalism to protect my plants!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Small Blessings
Well friends, I apologize for leaving you waiting for so long between blogs. I did write one yesterday, but the ancient computer (circa 2006) that I was using somehow deleted it as I was just finishing up. Muchos frustration!
The blog-that-was went something like this:
Well, it has been over a week now since I returned from out West, and it has been a bit of a mixed bag. On my last Sunday in Vancouver, I climbed the Chief (a mountain north of the city) with some friends and on our descent we decided to run down. While exhilarating, it took a heavy toll on my legs as absorbing the shock of impact required my quadriceps to do a lot of work. Even a refreshing swim in a waterfall pool on the way down couldn’t assuage the agony that my quads felt the next few days! Thus, my first few days back home were spent wondering if I would ever be able run again. Fortunately, by Wednesday I was able to do a workout: ripping off some fast 400s, 300s and 200s. Unfortunately, those fast intervals caused a reoccurrence of the hamstring issue that was bothering me before Vancouver. And so began the start of the old injury fandango – trying to train, but doing so in a way that would not strain the injury any more. It’s a very difficult tightrope to walk at the best of times. These last few days have consisted of modifying workouts – tweaking them in time, distance, intensity or mode. The hamstring has been fine while running, but will be achy afterwards or intermittently throughout the day. Thus it is very hard to discern if there is a problem and thus to know what to do: train or not to train? That is the question. I have a tune-up 1000m race in Ottawa on Wednesday, which I would really like to get in, so I really hope it clears up! At the time of writing, it feels pretty good, even though I did do a light workout last night. As the wisemen say: the hay is in the barn now – ie there is not much fitness I can lose or gain in these next weeks before Nationals…I just have to stay healthy. Fingers crossed please!
However, at times when my running is driving me crazy like this, I seek solace in the fact that my vegetable garden is growing well. It really took off in the week I was away in Vancouver. My squash are spreading, my tomatoes are taking over, and my potatoes are primed to pop out of the ground. Unfortunately, my parsnips are puny, but I don’t like them anyway. Hopefully, the squirrels and my resident groundhog allow them time to bear fruit but I have faith. Small blessings friends. Small blessings!
Be Easy.
The blog-that-was went something like this:
Well, it has been over a week now since I returned from out West, and it has been a bit of a mixed bag. On my last Sunday in Vancouver, I climbed the Chief (a mountain north of the city) with some friends and on our descent we decided to run down. While exhilarating, it took a heavy toll on my legs as absorbing the shock of impact required my quadriceps to do a lot of work. Even a refreshing swim in a waterfall pool on the way down couldn’t assuage the agony that my quads felt the next few days! Thus, my first few days back home were spent wondering if I would ever be able run again. Fortunately, by Wednesday I was able to do a workout: ripping off some fast 400s, 300s and 200s. Unfortunately, those fast intervals caused a reoccurrence of the hamstring issue that was bothering me before Vancouver. And so began the start of the old injury fandango – trying to train, but doing so in a way that would not strain the injury any more. It’s a very difficult tightrope to walk at the best of times. These last few days have consisted of modifying workouts – tweaking them in time, distance, intensity or mode. The hamstring has been fine while running, but will be achy afterwards or intermittently throughout the day. Thus it is very hard to discern if there is a problem and thus to know what to do: train or not to train? That is the question. I have a tune-up 1000m race in Ottawa on Wednesday, which I would really like to get in, so I really hope it clears up! At the time of writing, it feels pretty good, even though I did do a light workout last night. As the wisemen say: the hay is in the barn now – ie there is not much fitness I can lose or gain in these next weeks before Nationals…I just have to stay healthy. Fingers crossed please!
However, at times when my running is driving me crazy like this, I seek solace in the fact that my vegetable garden is growing well. It really took off in the week I was away in Vancouver. My squash are spreading, my tomatoes are taking over, and my potatoes are primed to pop out of the ground. Unfortunately, my parsnips are puny, but I don’t like them anyway. Hopefully, the squirrels and my resident groundhog allow them time to bear fruit but I have faith. Small blessings friends. Small blessings!
Be Easy.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Thanks - that was fun!
Back at home now and thinking about to what a great trip I had and all of those people who helped make it a success for me.
First up: my accommodators. Big thanks to Zoe and Em for letting me stay at their place, keeping me entertained, showing me how to find my way around the city and generally helping me to have a great time! Thanks also to Jairus Streight, my buddy out in UVic who also put me up for a couple nights, zipped me around town on his scooter (think Dumb and Dumber!) for a late-night post-race beer and dinner, and gave me some good pointers on recovery including post-race fuels and the direction to the ocean for an ice bath.
Second: my fans. To Em, Zoe, Mik, Aaron, Jairus, Duke and Brett for making it out to watch my races - in some cases braving heavy traffic and wild backseat drivers for a couple of minutes of racing!
Third: to those following along from a distance. Whether via facebook, text, or this blog, thanks all for keeping tabs on my adventures and cheering me on. I could feel the love from across the country and it was a big help!
Finally and most importantly: to my support staff, my family and coach. For the planning, resources and time put into helping me along the way.
And now, you ask, what is next? Well, the big show: the Canadian National Track and Field Championships, takes place on July 28-31st in Toronto and that is pretty much what this season has been gearing up for. Right now, I have the same feeling about Nationals that I did going into this past series: bring it on! This may change as the event draws near but I am looking forward to meeting all the big boys again and getting a taste of championship racing. So for these next two weeks, Kevin will have me sharpening up in preparation for some tactical races with blistering finishes.
Will keep you posted.
Be easy.
First up: my accommodators. Big thanks to Zoe and Em for letting me stay at their place, keeping me entertained, showing me how to find my way around the city and generally helping me to have a great time! Thanks also to Jairus Streight, my buddy out in UVic who also put me up for a couple nights, zipped me around town on his scooter (think Dumb and Dumber!) for a late-night post-race beer and dinner, and gave me some good pointers on recovery including post-race fuels and the direction to the ocean for an ice bath.
Second: my fans. To Em, Zoe, Mik, Aaron, Jairus, Duke and Brett for making it out to watch my races - in some cases braving heavy traffic and wild backseat drivers for a couple of minutes of racing!
Third: to those following along from a distance. Whether via facebook, text, or this blog, thanks all for keeping tabs on my adventures and cheering me on. I could feel the love from across the country and it was a big help!
Finally and most importantly: to my support staff, my family and coach. For the planning, resources and time put into helping me along the way.
And now, you ask, what is next? Well, the big show: the Canadian National Track and Field Championships, takes place on July 28-31st in Toronto and that is pretty much what this season has been gearing up for. Right now, I have the same feeling about Nationals that I did going into this past series: bring it on! This may change as the event draws near but I am looking forward to meeting all the big boys again and getting a taste of championship racing. So for these next two weeks, Kevin will have me sharpening up in preparation for some tactical races with blistering finishes.
Will keep you posted.
Be easy.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Kajaks International Track Classic - 1st (4th overall) - 1:51.99
This race was a little hard to get up for as I felt like I had already accomplished my goals for the series, it wasn't a very big meet, and as I wasn't even in the fast section, it was unlikely I was going to be able to run fast. Yet when I found I had to pay a $25 race entry fee (pretty steep for less than 2mins of pain!) I decided I might as well make this worth my while and have a good one.
As mentioned I was not in the fastest section (heats are created based on the time you submit when you register for the race) but was placed in the 3rd heat of the 800m. This was far from ideal, however, luckly there were a few scratches in the heats ahead of me and I was bumped up into the second heat. The race went out and I found myself in last place. However the pack was tightly bunched, and I found myself chopping my stride as we rounded 200m. We went through 400m in 54-55s and while still in last, I felt rather comfortable. Down the back stretch I surged to 3rd but as I was being shielded nicely from the wind by a hulking Kiwi fellow, I decided to bid my time and sit in as we rounded the turn. Off the bend I made my move and charged down the back stretch towards the line. Unusually, I was conscious of what the race announcer was saying and he seemed quite exicted with my finishing kick. This surprised me as I myself was experiencing a bit of a speed wobble and wondering why I wasn't being challenged, but I had done enough and held them off for a half second victory.
The time of 1:51.99 would have put me 4th overall, including the International section, but things could have been different if I was in that section. The time was nothing special, but I was happy with how I raced and it was nice to get a win.
And that was that. My West Coast racing adventure was over. The week had been a long one and as much as I enjoy racing, it is nice to be done and have a break for a little while. My next exploits will be in Toronto at the end of July at Nationals but between now and then I will put in another training block for a little fine tuning.
However, before all of that, I have a day left out West. Today was a lazy day at the beach and tomorrow I will climb the Chief, a mountain north of Vancouver, with some friends. But that's tomorrow; right now, I might go and have a taste of Granville Island Brewary's finest amber ale.
Be easy.
As mentioned I was not in the fastest section (heats are created based on the time you submit when you register for the race) but was placed in the 3rd heat of the 800m. This was far from ideal, however, luckly there were a few scratches in the heats ahead of me and I was bumped up into the second heat. The race went out and I found myself in last place. However the pack was tightly bunched, and I found myself chopping my stride as we rounded 200m. We went through 400m in 54-55s and while still in last, I felt rather comfortable. Down the back stretch I surged to 3rd but as I was being shielded nicely from the wind by a hulking Kiwi fellow, I decided to bid my time and sit in as we rounded the turn. Off the bend I made my move and charged down the back stretch towards the line. Unusually, I was conscious of what the race announcer was saying and he seemed quite exicted with my finishing kick. This surprised me as I myself was experiencing a bit of a speed wobble and wondering why I wasn't being challenged, but I had done enough and held them off for a half second victory.
The time of 1:51.99 would have put me 4th overall, including the International section, but things could have been different if I was in that section. The time was nothing special, but I was happy with how I raced and it was nice to get a win.
And that was that. My West Coast racing adventure was over. The week had been a long one and as much as I enjoy racing, it is nice to be done and have a break for a little while. My next exploits will be in Toronto at the end of July at Nationals but between now and then I will put in another training block for a little fine tuning.
However, before all of that, I have a day left out West. Today was a lazy day at the beach and tomorrow I will climb the Chief, a mountain north of Vancouver, with some friends. But that's tomorrow; right now, I might go and have a taste of Granville Island Brewary's finest amber ale.
Be easy.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Victoria Interational Classic 1500m - 3rd - 3:42.63
I must first apologize for the tardiness of this post but yesterday was a hectic day and I didn't get round to it.
Secondly, and most importantly, thank you to all those who have been wishing me well and sending their congratulations. I can feel the support over here and it is great to know that people are following along with my racing.
And now for the race report:
This race had a completely different dynamic to it than Monday's 1500m did. To start I was a fair bit more nervous, feeling that I would have to replicate or improve my placing or time from the Harry Jerome. My legs also didn't feel as fresh - my hamstrings were tight, a factor that preyed on my mind through the day. However, by race time I was fairly buoyant: I knew had prepared as best I could during the day and my Ipod pump-up playlist had done its job well.
From the gun a pack of 6 jumped out into the lead and put a gap of 2 seconds on me by 400m. I knew they were going out pretty fast, too fast for me, thus my decision to hang back was a good one, yet I had a sinking feeling as I knew how much work it would take to reel them back in. I was heading the chase pack and no one seemed likely to bridge the gap for me, so I knew it would a tough go. This gap maintained itself, possibly expanding by a second as we went through 800m (the leaders in 1:55-56 and myself in 1:58-59) and even though it was just a smidge faster than Monday's race, it was uncomfortable to say the least. Rounding the bend with 600m to go, all I could think was "bare down and grind" and I started to raise the tempo. One of the rabbits had stepped off by now and another runner had come back to me, so tackling the lead pack didn't look as daunting. With a lap to go at 2:43-44 there was still a gap but I knew I could pick off at least one or more. Down the back stretch we went, and with a final effort over 200m I pulled myself into 3rd place and shook off fellows who had been breathing down my neck for the previous 1400m. My kick finish was not as dramatic as Monday's, rather, it was a more drawn out, protracted effort, and I while I was coming back on the front two, on this day third was the best that I really could have hoped for.
Crossing the finish line and even before the results were posted I knew I had pb'd as this was the first time I had been close enough to the line to see 3:39 on the race clock as I charged down the home stretch. Yet I felt absolutely drained, both physically and mentally. My hamstrings were aching enough to drop off and the 200m walk to my bag and water was an effort in itself. Compared to my elation after Monday's race I felt strangely despondant and 'blah' and while seeing my name and time come on the big screen had a cheering effect on me, for some reason it took some time for me to realize the significance of my race. Looking at the race now, while happy with the time, I most pleased that I had to (and was able to) work hard over the middle of the race to reconnect myself to the leaders. Alot mid-race strength has come from the tempo work that Kev and I have put in over the past 4 weeks.
Unfortunately, I can't find the race video to post and alas, there is no interview for you to try to interpret! I'll finish this blog for now and will recap the rest of my last 2 days later!
Be easy.
Secondly, and most importantly, thank you to all those who have been wishing me well and sending their congratulations. I can feel the support over here and it is great to know that people are following along with my racing.
And now for the race report:
This race had a completely different dynamic to it than Monday's 1500m did. To start I was a fair bit more nervous, feeling that I would have to replicate or improve my placing or time from the Harry Jerome. My legs also didn't feel as fresh - my hamstrings were tight, a factor that preyed on my mind through the day. However, by race time I was fairly buoyant: I knew had prepared as best I could during the day and my Ipod pump-up playlist had done its job well.
From the gun a pack of 6 jumped out into the lead and put a gap of 2 seconds on me by 400m. I knew they were going out pretty fast, too fast for me, thus my decision to hang back was a good one, yet I had a sinking feeling as I knew how much work it would take to reel them back in. I was heading the chase pack and no one seemed likely to bridge the gap for me, so I knew it would a tough go. This gap maintained itself, possibly expanding by a second as we went through 800m (the leaders in 1:55-56 and myself in 1:58-59) and even though it was just a smidge faster than Monday's race, it was uncomfortable to say the least. Rounding the bend with 600m to go, all I could think was "bare down and grind" and I started to raise the tempo. One of the rabbits had stepped off by now and another runner had come back to me, so tackling the lead pack didn't look as daunting. With a lap to go at 2:43-44 there was still a gap but I knew I could pick off at least one or more. Down the back stretch we went, and with a final effort over 200m I pulled myself into 3rd place and shook off fellows who had been breathing down my neck for the previous 1400m. My kick finish was not as dramatic as Monday's, rather, it was a more drawn out, protracted effort, and I while I was coming back on the front two, on this day third was the best that I really could have hoped for.
Crossing the finish line and even before the results were posted I knew I had pb'd as this was the first time I had been close enough to the line to see 3:39 on the race clock as I charged down the home stretch. Yet I felt absolutely drained, both physically and mentally. My hamstrings were aching enough to drop off and the 200m walk to my bag and water was an effort in itself. Compared to my elation after Monday's race I felt strangely despondant and 'blah' and while seeing my name and time come on the big screen had a cheering effect on me, for some reason it took some time for me to realize the significance of my race. Looking at the race now, while happy with the time, I most pleased that I had to (and was able to) work hard over the middle of the race to reconnect myself to the leaders. Alot mid-race strength has come from the tempo work that Kev and I have put in over the past 4 weeks.
Unfortunately, I can't find the race video to post and alas, there is no interview for you to try to interpret! I'll finish this blog for now and will recap the rest of my last 2 days later!
Be easy.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Pre-race
I know you were all worried about me, so you will be happy to hear that I arrived safely at my friend Jarius's house in Victoria last night. I left Zoe and Em's house in Vancouver at 3pm and arrived at Jairus's at almost 9pm. Approx 6 hours of travelling! I took 4 buses, one train, a ferry, and a minivan belonging to a nice elderly German couple. People were very friendly with help with directions along the way and breaking loonies for me, and in total the trip only cost me $14.65. My assessment of the public transit in BC: good value for money. (You know my opinion is valid because I spent a summer sweeping floors/being a carpenter at Bombardier.)
Anyway, I am here in Victoria and from what I have seen, it looks to be a very nice place. So far today I have watched the Spain-Germany game, gone for lunch, a little LSATing, and soon off to the stadium to pick up my race registration package.
And how am I feeling for this race? A little more nervous than the last one but I like to think (and tell myself) that I am just warming up. We'll see what happens.
Be easy.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Harry Jerome 1500m - 2nd - 3:43.25
I was relaxed all day - keeping busy with some physics homework, a few emails and figuring out my way to the stadium. I met some friends of mine at the track when I got there and chatted with them and then went on my warm-up. Almost got lost on my warmup in the park but luckily ran into a friend also on his warmup and he pointed me the right direction. I was thinking: "Heck, I should be really nervous right now but I am too busy enjoying myself" I couldn't help myself: I was at this international calibre track meet with the big names and upandcomers in Canadian athletics, in a beautiful stadium with 100ft evergreens towering over the track on one side and a mountainous vista on the other, and as one of the last seeds in my race, feeling like I have nothing to lose. Then, 2 minutes before my race I hear the women's 1500m results over the loud speaker - 4:10.01 for Douma-Hussar. Then my world fell apart and I thought "what if I run 4:10 and stagger across the finish line dead last?" I could feel my heart rate jump and my breathing quicken. I had barely enough time to collect myself before we were called to the line and BANG.
I find myself in the lead, about 2 yards behind the rabbit. I'm not known for my starts but there I was leading the international field and not having the slightest sense of where the rest of the pack was behind me. Not wanting to be the sacrificial lamb I held a comfortable pace - fast enough to allow for a decent time, but slow enough to try to entice the others to pass me and do a little work themselves. At 700m they did pass me and by 900m I was in 6th position. That first 700m I had been telling myself to retain focus once I get passed and jump on the train as it passes by. At 400m I felt power in my legs and at 200m I knew there was a chance. I started to make a move outside on the bend but the guys in front were doing the same...so I jumped on the very inside of lane one, an unorthodox move as it holds the risk of being boxed in - but a classic go-to move in my books. The 5 ahead of me were strung out across the lanes so I picked my gap and made a smooth and relaxed surge down the homestretch..... that's good coaching. And that's the race in a nutshell.
Post race I was absolutely elated. Boggled that I had just come 2nd, yet slightly disappointed not to have run faster, and thinking that somehow I might have been able to win it if I had thought about it earlier. I then had an interview with Flotrack....I can barely understand myself. Is that how I always sound? I think I made a reference to splitting the sea like Moses.
Following the garbled interview I had a nice cooldown in the woods (didn't get lost this time), a chat with some friends who had come out to watch as well as some fellow runners, a pit stop at Subway, and then a cab ride home with a very interesting South African driver who also happens to be a professional stuntman (legitimate - we Googled him). A delicious trifle and a couple episodes of The Office topped off the night.
Big thanks to Emily who came to watch (as well as for making the trifle) as well as Mik, a friend of mine from Australia and who is now living in Van, and her boyfriend Aaron (nice to meet you) who also made the trip to watch the spectacle.
Today is a recovery day. I had a nice sleep in, and then got up and went for an easy 15min shakeout. I have to catch the ferry to Victoria this afternoon, which will involve a 1.5 hour trek across town consisting of bussing, training and walking to get to the ferry terminal. I'm just a small town boy. Wish me luck. Will be staying with a friend of mine in Vic and then I race tomorrow evening. Stay posted and thanks for all of your support!!
Be easy.
I find myself in the lead, about 2 yards behind the rabbit. I'm not known for my starts but there I was leading the international field and not having the slightest sense of where the rest of the pack was behind me. Not wanting to be the sacrificial lamb I held a comfortable pace - fast enough to allow for a decent time, but slow enough to try to entice the others to pass me and do a little work themselves. At 700m they did pass me and by 900m I was in 6th position. That first 700m I had been telling myself to retain focus once I get passed and jump on the train as it passes by. At 400m I felt power in my legs and at 200m I knew there was a chance. I started to make a move outside on the bend but the guys in front were doing the same...so I jumped on the very inside of lane one, an unorthodox move as it holds the risk of being boxed in - but a classic go-to move in my books. The 5 ahead of me were strung out across the lanes so I picked my gap and made a smooth and relaxed surge down the homestretch..... that's good coaching. And that's the race in a nutshell.
Track and Field Videos on Flotrack
Post race I was absolutely elated. Boggled that I had just come 2nd, yet slightly disappointed not to have run faster, and thinking that somehow I might have been able to win it if I had thought about it earlier. I then had an interview with Flotrack....I can barely understand myself. Is that how I always sound? I think I made a reference to splitting the sea like Moses.
Track and Field Videos on Flotrack
Following the garbled interview I had a nice cooldown in the woods (didn't get lost this time), a chat with some friends who had come out to watch as well as some fellow runners, a pit stop at Subway, and then a cab ride home with a very interesting South African driver who also happens to be a professional stuntman (legitimate - we Googled him). A delicious trifle and a couple episodes of The Office topped off the night.
Big thanks to Emily who came to watch (as well as for making the trifle) as well as Mik, a friend of mine from Australia and who is now living in Van, and her boyfriend Aaron (nice to meet you) who also made the trip to watch the spectacle.
Today is a recovery day. I had a nice sleep in, and then got up and went for an easy 15min shakeout. I have to catch the ferry to Victoria this afternoon, which will involve a 1.5 hour trek across town consisting of bussing, training and walking to get to the ferry terminal. I'm just a small town boy. Wish me luck. Will be staying with a friend of mine in Vic and then I race tomorrow evening. Stay posted and thanks for all of your support!!
Be easy.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
One day out.
For some reason, Lady Inspiration seems to to witholding herself from me and the words for this blog are not coming very fluently to me. I can only hope that she is saving herself for tomorrow night at the Harry Jerome Classic as I round the bend with 200m to go. Thus, for now, I shall state the facts of what is going on over here as I prepare for tomorrow's endeavour.
Saturday - I arrived in Vancouver and was greeted at the airport by 3 friends of mine from Queen's: Emily, Em and Zoe. I shall be staying with Em and Zoe for the next week and am awfully glad of their company and hospitality. As independent as I am, I should not like to spend a week in a big city more or less on my own. It is always great to see them and they will make the week so much more enjoyable. Muchos gracis amigos!
Upon arriving in Van, I went out for a run and did a couple 200s on a gravel track near the house. They were about race pace and intended to wake my legs up from the flight and remind them of what they will be doing on race day. For some reason, I felt a little wonky....and I am not sure why, however, I do often feel a little off before races. Hypersensitive?
Be that as it may, I am feeling confident for my race tomorrow. My latest training block coupled with the depth of the field give me no choice but to run fast. The nerves haven't hit me yet (although that may have been them on Thursday freaking me out about my hamstring) but I imagine they will hit me tomorrow at some point. When they do, I shall deal with them -let them wash over me, give them 5 mins, and then dispose of them. A friend once told me, "nerves are like a rocking chair: they give you something to do but they don't get you anywhere."
Today I toured around Vancouver in the morning with Em, checking out the shops and markets at Granville Island, then did a little grocery shopping, and went to see a band called Hey Ocean with Zoe and Emily. A relaxing day - perfect for keeping my mind off the race, although having the car towed for being parked in the wrong place was drag. Also got in an easy run...just a half hour to loosen up the legs with Em in the Pacific Spirit Park and then a few fast strides (approx 100m efforts at 75-90% speed).
And that's about it for the past 2 days. I shall run mid-afternoon tomorrow to shake out the legs and then I race at 8pm. The meet, The Harry Jerome Track Classic, is at Swanguard Stadium in Burnaby and somehow Kev has worked his cunning magic and got me into the International section in the 1500m. Flip, I'm excited bru!
Goodnight and Be Easy.
Note - this blog has taken me almost 2 hours to write. I deleted it twice (accidentally) and took a break to shave in the middle of it. Hence the mention of Lady Inspiration at the top. Hope it makes sense!
Saturday - I arrived in Vancouver and was greeted at the airport by 3 friends of mine from Queen's: Emily, Em and Zoe. I shall be staying with Em and Zoe for the next week and am awfully glad of their company and hospitality. As independent as I am, I should not like to spend a week in a big city more or less on my own. It is always great to see them and they will make the week so much more enjoyable. Muchos gracis amigos!
Upon arriving in Van, I went out for a run and did a couple 200s on a gravel track near the house. They were about race pace and intended to wake my legs up from the flight and remind them of what they will be doing on race day. For some reason, I felt a little wonky....and I am not sure why, however, I do often feel a little off before races. Hypersensitive?
Be that as it may, I am feeling confident for my race tomorrow. My latest training block coupled with the depth of the field give me no choice but to run fast. The nerves haven't hit me yet (although that may have been them on Thursday freaking me out about my hamstring) but I imagine they will hit me tomorrow at some point. When they do, I shall deal with them -let them wash over me, give them 5 mins, and then dispose of them. A friend once told me, "nerves are like a rocking chair: they give you something to do but they don't get you anywhere."
Today I toured around Vancouver in the morning with Em, checking out the shops and markets at Granville Island, then did a little grocery shopping, and went to see a band called Hey Ocean with Zoe and Emily. A relaxing day - perfect for keeping my mind off the race, although having the car towed for being parked in the wrong place was drag. Also got in an easy run...just a half hour to loosen up the legs with Em in the Pacific Spirit Park and then a few fast strides (approx 100m efforts at 75-90% speed).
And that's about it for the past 2 days. I shall run mid-afternoon tomorrow to shake out the legs and then I race at 8pm. The meet, The Harry Jerome Track Classic, is at Swanguard Stadium in Burnaby and somehow Kev has worked his cunning magic and got me into the International section in the 1500m. Flip, I'm excited bru!
Goodnight and Be Easy.
Note - this blog has taken me almost 2 hours to write. I deleted it twice (accidentally) and took a break to shave in the middle of it. Hence the mention of Lady Inspiration at the top. Hope it makes sense!
Friday, July 2, 2010
Nervous, neurotic or necessary?
Each Canada Day, the Kingston running community holds the Limestone Mile, a nice little mile race that loops around a few blocks of downtown Kingston, finishing up infront of city hall. I was due to run in this race, but pulled out half an hour before. The reason was that my hamstring was feeling a little suspect and, 4 days before I race on the west coast in the PacifiCanada Track and Field Series, I did not want to damage it any further.
Now, this hamstring was sore from a workout a earlier in the week in which I had dropped some 200s faster than I ever have before. Coupled with the fact that I have been working on opening up my stride while going fast, I have been working my legs a little harder than usual. So despite an easy day the day before, my hamstring was a little achy on the morning of the race. Such a feeling as this is always difficult to diagnose as easy running does not cause any noticable pain, but you fear to go faster in case of something pulling suddenly. Runners (as I am often told), are a little neurotic in that all they think of when they are running is how they are feeling physically (and sometimes mentally). Thus, they can be a little hypersensitive and tend to always find something wrong with themselves. There is also the suggestion that such a feeling of an oncoming injury and the fear to push it may stem from nerves, especially those which may come during the advent of such races as I will be in next week. "Feeling injured" may be an defense mechanism: to provide a suitable excuse if things don't go well or it may be a coping mechanism: to take one's mind off the job ahead. Both of these suggestions do have merit, and I can understand how such ideas may come about. (I must note that the runner's lot is a mental struggle: bearing the loneliness of many solitary miles, balancing between "training and straining" during workouts, the releasing of months' worth of excitement and energy into a few minutes of a race, and finally the reduction of oneself to a few numerical digits on a results sheet for all to see and compare.) However, I have also come to believe that at such levels of training and racing, one is constantly skirting a fine line between top performance and the oblivion of injury. Maybe riding this edge is necessary to be at peak fitness. Perhaps I have been flirting with this edge a little too close in recent days but maybe it bodes well for next week? (Or maybe this is just another mental ploy to convince myself that everything will be alright!)
In any case, I ran today...I did a fartlek (a swedish term for "speed play") which involves changes of pace throughout a medium-long run. The hamstring felt fine and continues to feel alright a few hours later as I write this blog. Hopefully the day off I took yesterday and a little prayer was enough to see this issue through! Knock on wood!
As for this race series next week....I shall blog about it tomorrow as this one is becoming a little long! In short: I fly to Vancouver tomorrow, race a 1500m on Monday and Wednesday and then an 800m on Friday. The races are packed out the hizzang (a colloquial term used by hip youngsters meaning: "really full") with elite milers from around the world - providing me with my first taste of the milieu that I intend on becoming most comfortable in!
I would be remiss (and certainly in for a couple well placed punches) if I did not mention that at the Limestone Mile my sister came 2nd in the women's race and my mother came 5th overall (and first in her age group). While some of us were agonizing over the nerves, neurotics and necessity of a possible injury (and then blogging all about it), others were out there getting the job done!
Ciao for now!
Be easy.
Now, this hamstring was sore from a workout a earlier in the week in which I had dropped some 200s faster than I ever have before. Coupled with the fact that I have been working on opening up my stride while going fast, I have been working my legs a little harder than usual. So despite an easy day the day before, my hamstring was a little achy on the morning of the race. Such a feeling as this is always difficult to diagnose as easy running does not cause any noticable pain, but you fear to go faster in case of something pulling suddenly. Runners (as I am often told), are a little neurotic in that all they think of when they are running is how they are feeling physically (and sometimes mentally). Thus, they can be a little hypersensitive and tend to always find something wrong with themselves. There is also the suggestion that such a feeling of an oncoming injury and the fear to push it may stem from nerves, especially those which may come during the advent of such races as I will be in next week. "Feeling injured" may be an defense mechanism: to provide a suitable excuse if things don't go well or it may be a coping mechanism: to take one's mind off the job ahead. Both of these suggestions do have merit, and I can understand how such ideas may come about. (I must note that the runner's lot is a mental struggle: bearing the loneliness of many solitary miles, balancing between "training and straining" during workouts, the releasing of months' worth of excitement and energy into a few minutes of a race, and finally the reduction of oneself to a few numerical digits on a results sheet for all to see and compare.) However, I have also come to believe that at such levels of training and racing, one is constantly skirting a fine line between top performance and the oblivion of injury. Maybe riding this edge is necessary to be at peak fitness. Perhaps I have been flirting with this edge a little too close in recent days but maybe it bodes well for next week? (Or maybe this is just another mental ploy to convince myself that everything will be alright!)
In any case, I ran today...I did a fartlek (a swedish term for "speed play") which involves changes of pace throughout a medium-long run. The hamstring felt fine and continues to feel alright a few hours later as I write this blog. Hopefully the day off I took yesterday and a little prayer was enough to see this issue through! Knock on wood!
As for this race series next week....I shall blog about it tomorrow as this one is becoming a little long! In short: I fly to Vancouver tomorrow, race a 1500m on Monday and Wednesday and then an 800m on Friday. The races are packed out the hizzang (a colloquial term used by hip youngsters meaning: "really full") with elite milers from around the world - providing me with my first taste of the milieu that I intend on becoming most comfortable in!
I would be remiss (and certainly in for a couple well placed punches) if I did not mention that at the Limestone Mile my sister came 2nd in the women's race and my mother came 5th overall (and first in her age group). While some of us were agonizing over the nerves, neurotics and necessity of a possible injury (and then blogging all about it), others were out there getting the job done!
Ciao for now!
Be easy.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Big Thanks!
Just a quick note to express my appreciation to some folks who have recently helped me out:
Gavin Cosgrove who has made a donation on behalf of Bergeron and Clifford, a personal injury law firm here in Kingston (www.bergeronclifford.com). Gavin has been helping me with my running for many years, starting in my Gr 10 year when he trained with me and most recently helping me approach businesses and groups in the community who might be able to help me out.
Mizuno Canada, through a fellow named Arnold Tse, who has recently sent me a box of goodies which are not only functional, but very stylish. I have come in contact with Mizuno via Dylan Wykes, a national marathoner and local Kingstonian who has also been helping me out in how to develop as an athlete. I shall be wearing this gear in my upcoming races so prepare to be dazzled!
And, as usual, thank you to my coach, friends, and family who continue to support me. Especially those friends who come to watch me race even though they know they will probably miss the event itself!
Be Easy.
Gavin Cosgrove who has made a donation on behalf of Bergeron and Clifford, a personal injury law firm here in Kingston (www.bergeronclifford.com). Gavin has been helping me with my running for many years, starting in my Gr 10 year when he trained with me and most recently helping me approach businesses and groups in the community who might be able to help me out.
Mizuno Canada, through a fellow named Arnold Tse, who has recently sent me a box of goodies which are not only functional, but very stylish. I have come in contact with Mizuno via Dylan Wykes, a national marathoner and local Kingstonian who has also been helping me out in how to develop as an athlete. I shall be wearing this gear in my upcoming races so prepare to be dazzled!
And, as usual, thank you to my coach, friends, and family who continue to support me. Especially those friends who come to watch me race even though they know they will probably miss the event itself!
Be Easy.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Question: if i win a race on a newly laid track, does that mean that I hold the track record?
Went up to Ottawa yesterday afternoon for a little tune up race at the Terry Fox Stadium on their newly laid track....which while it is disappointingly not blue, is still a very nice track. (It was blue before, now it is the standard boring salmon-red colour) Kev had decided that I needed a tune up race to remind my legs of what they are supposed to do before I head out to BC at the end of the week. While I was completely in agreement, I had some reservations of how I would do as my legs felt tired after the week's work. We had not tapered (decreased training volume) prior to the race and essentially treated it as a workout. Added to this was the fact that we knew it would be a low key affair, giving me nothing to get pumped for and cause to worry if some young pup beat me. As it shook down, I didn't have too much to worry about. The meet schedule was non-existant and I didn't know how many athletes were there so I ended up warming up too soon, and having to wait around until it was my turn. There is nothing worse than the feeling of having completed your warmup and gone through your pre-race routine and then having to stretch it out until race time. You want to move around to stay loose and limber but not do anything more than is absolutely necessary, for fear of wasting energy and effort. It's a kind of limbo land - so I lay down and shut my eyes until it was time.
This little doze must have left me slightly dozy on the line because when the gun went off, I was almost engulfed by the pack....despite my being on the inside lane. Within 10m I woke up and slipped into 2nd. Kev had told me to hang out and chill and then wind things up for a fast last 150m but I think I took his words a little too seriously. We went through 200m in 29secs and then I was passed and dropped to 4th. It was alright because the runners who had passed me were moving quicker and so I followed and at 400m (through in 56-57) I was in second. Down the back stretch I stepped into lane two and made a bid for first, trying to do it as comfortably as possible. At 200m to go, I started to ease away from the pack....trying to run as smooth and relaxed as possible, working on the form that we had been practicing. It was a comfortable win, in 1:52.8, a full second ahead of 2nd. I essentially even-split the race (ie. I ran the first and second laps the same) which is a good thing to do, and while the race was not a cakewalk, I was never really pushed at any point. We did what we set out to do and I am satisified with the time and the win, but I know I will have to be sharper next week.
After the race I had a good chat with Jason Dunkerley, a visually-impaired athlete who has represented Canada at several major competitions, most recently winning bronze medals in the 800m and 1500m events at the 2008 Beijing Para-Olympics. I have met him several times at races as well as at a presentation he gave for a class I took at Queen's. He was in the 800m race with me, running 2:03 with the aide of guide runner. Jason uses a guide runner to help him navigate through the race. They have to run side by side with their arms touching and in sync for the whole race....turning corners and avoiding other athletes at high speeds! Think about walking with your eyes closed, never mind running! Pretty incredible and it takes a fair bit of training and cohesion to run effectively together. Yesterday's guide runner was Tyson Loney, who was one of the top performing rookie athletes on the XC and track teams at Queen's this past year. Jason is in the midst of trying to break 2:00 for the 800m and 4:05 for the 1500m, currently only a couple of seconds off each time. He is looking to make a push for London in 2012....he will surely qualify as he is one of the best in his events in Canada and the world, but he is looking to continue to hit personal best times on his way. Jason currently works for The Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability which is a organization that "promotes, supports and enables Canadians with disabilities to live active, healthy lives" but is looking for a way to live as a full-time athlete. He has already competed at the top levels in the world while holding down a job but for continued improvement he needs to find a way to devote more time to running. If anyone, running companies, sponsors etc, know how or could help him do this, please get in touch with him! You can look him up online via the Active Living Alliance or Athletics Canada website, or catch him in person ripping around the track in Ottawa!
Anyway that's all for today.... I will run easy today and will taper this week in prep for the races next week. We have a couple workouts ahead of us on the track: fast relaxed and comfortable to sharpen me up for some blazing times out West!
Be Easy.
This little doze must have left me slightly dozy on the line because when the gun went off, I was almost engulfed by the pack....despite my being on the inside lane. Within 10m I woke up and slipped into 2nd. Kev had told me to hang out and chill and then wind things up for a fast last 150m but I think I took his words a little too seriously. We went through 200m in 29secs and then I was passed and dropped to 4th. It was alright because the runners who had passed me were moving quicker and so I followed and at 400m (through in 56-57) I was in second. Down the back stretch I stepped into lane two and made a bid for first, trying to do it as comfortably as possible. At 200m to go, I started to ease away from the pack....trying to run as smooth and relaxed as possible, working on the form that we had been practicing. It was a comfortable win, in 1:52.8, a full second ahead of 2nd. I essentially even-split the race (ie. I ran the first and second laps the same) which is a good thing to do, and while the race was not a cakewalk, I was never really pushed at any point. We did what we set out to do and I am satisified with the time and the win, but I know I will have to be sharper next week.
After the race I had a good chat with Jason Dunkerley, a visually-impaired athlete who has represented Canada at several major competitions, most recently winning bronze medals in the 800m and 1500m events at the 2008 Beijing Para-Olympics. I have met him several times at races as well as at a presentation he gave for a class I took at Queen's. He was in the 800m race with me, running 2:03 with the aide of guide runner. Jason uses a guide runner to help him navigate through the race. They have to run side by side with their arms touching and in sync for the whole race....turning corners and avoiding other athletes at high speeds! Think about walking with your eyes closed, never mind running! Pretty incredible and it takes a fair bit of training and cohesion to run effectively together. Yesterday's guide runner was Tyson Loney, who was one of the top performing rookie athletes on the XC and track teams at Queen's this past year. Jason is in the midst of trying to break 2:00 for the 800m and 4:05 for the 1500m, currently only a couple of seconds off each time. He is looking to make a push for London in 2012....he will surely qualify as he is one of the best in his events in Canada and the world, but he is looking to continue to hit personal best times on his way. Jason currently works for The Active Living Alliance for Canadians with a Disability which is a organization that "promotes, supports and enables Canadians with disabilities to live active, healthy lives" but is looking for a way to live as a full-time athlete. He has already competed at the top levels in the world while holding down a job but for continued improvement he needs to find a way to devote more time to running. If anyone, running companies, sponsors etc, know how or could help him do this, please get in touch with him! You can look him up online via the Active Living Alliance or Athletics Canada website, or catch him in person ripping around the track in Ottawa!
Anyway that's all for today.... I will run easy today and will taper this week in prep for the races next week. We have a couple workouts ahead of us on the track: fast relaxed and comfortable to sharpen me up for some blazing times out West!
Be Easy.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The Complete Day (or: Slovenia 0, England 1)
Yesterday was what I considered to be a complete day. 8:45am - Morning run, 10 barefoot laps of Tindall Field. Boom. 5:30pm - No nonsense workout consisting of 10 x 300m with 300m jog recovery in the pouring rain. Boom. 11:30pm - just before bed, strength work involving push-ups and sit-ups. BOOM. This day of course was complimented by 3 nutritious meals, stretching, the mental stimulation of an LSAT prep test, and finally and the enjoyment of the Italian Job during dinner. This is the type of day that I would like to have every day, although rarely seem to get....it's that morning run which does me in! In a perfect day, there are a few things that I would like to add in. First - massage: my upper back has been killing me these last few days. I have been trying to self-massage with this massage contraption that I have, but it is not the best. Any out-of-work masseuses should feel free to make themselves known to me . Second - ice bath, my legs are a wee bit tired, hamstrings especially from the work I have done in the last 4 days. I have pretty much covered the entire spectrum of possible workouts - speed endurance, long and steady, short sprints, and some classic intervals. Coupled with a slight alteration in my stride to open it up a little more, my legs are le tigre. (That's a colloquial French term for tired.) Ice baths are prefect for aiding muscle recovery - I just don't have one at home that I can stand in comfortably. While I have done it before, sitting in freezing water is not enjoyable.
Today is the complete opposite of the complete day, as I will probably not do any of the running related items that were on the agenda yesterday. No morning run, no workout, and likely no strength work. It is my day off today - it has been a while since I took one and high time that I did. But I still got some cardiovascular work in, as England's nervy ending to their 1-0 win over Slovenia was more than enough to get my heart rate up. With the stress those boys put us through, I consider myself to have worked hard enough to share in the victory today.....maybe that's 2 complete days in a row?
Tomorrow, I will be back at it the grind. I'll decide whether I am going to do a morning run between 30 seconds and 5 mins after I wake up so I won't make any promises now. It will be an easy day anyway, with probably 8 miles steady in the afternoon.
Until then: Be Easy.
Today is the complete opposite of the complete day, as I will probably not do any of the running related items that were on the agenda yesterday. No morning run, no workout, and likely no strength work. It is my day off today - it has been a while since I took one and high time that I did. But I still got some cardiovascular work in, as England's nervy ending to their 1-0 win over Slovenia was more than enough to get my heart rate up. With the stress those boys put us through, I consider myself to have worked hard enough to share in the victory today.....maybe that's 2 complete days in a row?
Tomorrow, I will be back at it the grind. I'll decide whether I am going to do a morning run between 30 seconds and 5 mins after I wake up so I won't make any promises now. It will be an easy day anyway, with probably 8 miles steady in the afternoon.
Until then: Be Easy.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Superslug to Superman
Well, hello again! How are we all today?
I, personally, am in a much improved mood than I was following my last blog. On Sunday I went out to the XC course at Fort Henry and did my 70 min run. Probably the longest run I have done in the last 6 months and far from being a slow death-march, it was actually quite enjoyable! I cycled over, ripped off my shirt to let the ole washboard get some rays, plugged some Pink Floyd into my ears and off I went for 7 laps. The trick to this was that I started off slow and gradually let myself speed up. I started out at about 10mins per lap (2.5k) and worked down to just under 9mins. I found myself at 1:06:00 after 7 laps so I tacked on an extra 4mins. I considered doing a full extra lap, but alas, I still find myself a little squemish in approaching the 20k mark.....just seems a little much. Maybe next year I'll try it. And what does a person do/think about for 70mins, you might ask? Not much really. I sometimes chastise myself for not using such time to devote to deep and meaningful thoughts and sorting out issues in my life, but somehow when it comes to it I end up just looking around, thinking about running, checking the watch, singing etc etc. I have decided that this time is good to wipe the slate clean and allow my mind to relax before returning to the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Monday...today, I woke up feeling refreshed and with no apparent residue of the last few days' efforts in my legs. Today's workout was a typical sprint practice. We middle to long distance fellows always make it a point to emphasize to the sprint folk how much more and harder we work each practice than they do. Good naturedly of course, because most of the time we are a little jealous. So it was a nice change when Kev outlined the workout as just a few laps with a couple 50m and 100m sprints thrown in. Some I did in racing flats (very minimal training shoes) while others were done in my spikes - which I must point out are already beginning to split on the outside edge of the right shoe....flippin waste of money! Anyway, the point was to work on my form at my very top gear. This is important so that when I hit the homestretch at the end of a race, my legs know exactly what to do. Crossing the line today at top speed, I felt like Clark Kent in Superman Returns when he discovers he is Superman and can take a running leap from the silo in the middle of the cornfield back to the barn....I just wanted to leap in the air like that and see how far my momentum would carry me. It was absolutely exhilarating and reminds me of why I run. I didn't actually take that leap in case you were wondering, for fear of pulling something or bashing my nose into the ground, but I did think about it.
And that's about it really.....from the valley low to a mountain high in the span of two days....such drama! What more can you ask for?
I, personally, am in a much improved mood than I was following my last blog. On Sunday I went out to the XC course at Fort Henry and did my 70 min run. Probably the longest run I have done in the last 6 months and far from being a slow death-march, it was actually quite enjoyable! I cycled over, ripped off my shirt to let the ole washboard get some rays, plugged some Pink Floyd into my ears and off I went for 7 laps. The trick to this was that I started off slow and gradually let myself speed up. I started out at about 10mins per lap (2.5k) and worked down to just under 9mins. I found myself at 1:06:00 after 7 laps so I tacked on an extra 4mins. I considered doing a full extra lap, but alas, I still find myself a little squemish in approaching the 20k mark.....just seems a little much. Maybe next year I'll try it. And what does a person do/think about for 70mins, you might ask? Not much really. I sometimes chastise myself for not using such time to devote to deep and meaningful thoughts and sorting out issues in my life, but somehow when it comes to it I end up just looking around, thinking about running, checking the watch, singing etc etc. I have decided that this time is good to wipe the slate clean and allow my mind to relax before returning to the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Monday...today, I woke up feeling refreshed and with no apparent residue of the last few days' efforts in my legs. Today's workout was a typical sprint practice. We middle to long distance fellows always make it a point to emphasize to the sprint folk how much more and harder we work each practice than they do. Good naturedly of course, because most of the time we are a little jealous. So it was a nice change when Kev outlined the workout as just a few laps with a couple 50m and 100m sprints thrown in. Some I did in racing flats (very minimal training shoes) while others were done in my spikes - which I must point out are already beginning to split on the outside edge of the right shoe....flippin waste of money! Anyway, the point was to work on my form at my very top gear. This is important so that when I hit the homestretch at the end of a race, my legs know exactly what to do. Crossing the line today at top speed, I felt like Clark Kent in Superman Returns when he discovers he is Superman and can take a running leap from the silo in the middle of the cornfield back to the barn....I just wanted to leap in the air like that and see how far my momentum would carry me. It was absolutely exhilarating and reminds me of why I run. I didn't actually take that leap in case you were wondering, for fear of pulling something or bashing my nose into the ground, but I did think about it.
And that's about it really.....from the valley low to a mountain high in the span of two days....such drama! What more can you ask for?
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Mouthwatering Mango
So, apparently the combo of short and fast with plenty of rest was not such a winning combo...or pleasant combo anyway. For some reason, could be lack of sleep (maybe), stress from a hard day at work (unlikely!), or the shock from the switch to fast stuff from the last few weeks of higher and slower mileage (quite plausible), the workout last night did not go so hot. I felt heavy and as if I was muscling through the intervals. Not the light and relaxed that I wanted to feel. I did practice some slightly different styles of striding; trying to open up my stride and get more out of my arms on the accelerations and I did still put in a good effort, but it didn't just feel great.
It's times like these that I (and others) have to remind myself to believe in the stuff I was talking about last blog: that progress will come through seemingly ordinary training efforts. Such a workout - when you look at your splits (times) for the intervals and think how hard they felt, yet know that you somehow will have to string a couple of those types of efforts together in a race - can sometimes be dispairing! I know that training is not racing; there are many factors that change, both mentally and physically, when you get into a race - but one is always trying to translate training times into race times and extrapolate into the future. As in yesterday's case it can be a fruitless and depressing exercise.
Fear not though, its not all that bad: I had a delicious mango after the workout. Perfectly ripe, juicy, and cold from a day in the fridge..I would probably have done that workout over again just for a single slice of that succulent fruit! Small blessings!
It's times like these that I (and others) have to remind myself to believe in the stuff I was talking about last blog: that progress will come through seemingly ordinary training efforts. Such a workout - when you look at your splits (times) for the intervals and think how hard they felt, yet know that you somehow will have to string a couple of those types of efforts together in a race - can sometimes be dispairing! I know that training is not racing; there are many factors that change, both mentally and physically, when you get into a race - but one is always trying to translate training times into race times and extrapolate into the future. As in yesterday's case it can be a fruitless and depressing exercise.
Fear not though, its not all that bad: I had a delicious mango after the workout. Perfectly ripe, juicy, and cold from a day in the fridge..I would probably have done that workout over again just for a single slice of that succulent fruit! Small blessings!
The morning after: it continues to amaze me how the body forgives and forgets and the turmoil you have put it through... my legs feel surprisingly good today and I am planning to have a big day: 70mins easy. It will be my longest day all season, a new challenge for this EMIP!
Be Easy.
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