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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)