a moment, something restless

weekly summary: reality check

2011-05-16T22:57:00.000-07:00

I only ran twice last week, and did the BCMC once (trail up grouse mountain, about an hour to hike up). That's pretty bad considering that I want to have higher mileage this month. On Wednesday I was going to run but my sore leg was protesting loudly so I thought I'd give it a rest day. Then on Thursday and Friday I was sabotaged by work and exhaustion. Saturday was the hike and Sunday I just ran 5 miles paved.

I really need to get in some miles (in particular, a couple more good long runs) if I want to run the ultra in June. So I'm going to try to pump it up a bit more this week. Hopefully this week won't be as crazy as last...

My leg is still sore and I still don't know why, so I am just backing off when the pain increases and running when it's ok to do so. I will just have to play it by ear for the next few weeks I guess. :/

weekly summary

2011-05-08T20:44:00.000-07:00

So glad to be back on the trails again!

Two test runs of 5 miles each (Tuesday and Thursday). Both felt fine. Leg has been a bit sore since I started running again, but it is manageable and isn't getting worse with each run. Saturday I did 5 miles paved (stupid pavement). Today was 19 miles, trails, with the puppy. He was very bad today... being a jerk to the other dogs, and he even knocked a lady over while he was trying to chase her dog. I had to leash him in several areas because he just wasn't listening. What a character. The run was good though... I felt really tired physically but mentally I felt great, and I love how lush and green the rainforest is becoming at this time of year. Legs are a bit sore... that was my first long run since my 50k a month ago.

Things are looking promising for the ultra on June 18. :)

Not as broken as I thought

2011-05-04T09:16:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I wrote that I had a stress fracture. I hadn't had it diagnosed, but was in a fair amount of pain and the sensations and symptoms were just like the two previous fractures I've had, so I was 99% sure that's what it was.

But by the end of week 2, I was having doubts. There was virtually no pain in week two... just a bit of aching if I'd walked a lot in a day. I thought to myself, "either this is the fastest-healing fracture ever or it isn't actually a fracture."

So yesterday I went in to see a doctor and asked for an x-ray. For those who aren't familiar, a stress fracture won't show on an x-ray when it is fresh. It only will show up once it starts to heal, and then the new bone deposits will show on the x-ray. Since it had been two weeks, it should have been showing.

But when I looked at the x-ray, I saw nothing. The x-ray tech also saw nothing, but of course said that we have to wait for the official word from the doctor. Translation in ultra-runner language: go for a test run and see how it feels.

So that's what I did. :)

I did a 5 mile trail run (some gravel, some dirt, some technical) and my leg felt fine. There are a couple of sore spots still, but not in the bone and not on the site that I thought was fractured; it appears to just be muscle/tissue. Last night after the run it was a bit sore, but today feels really good (about 90%). I'm going to rest it today and then do another test run tomorrow.

I am soooo happy not to have to be off for 6-8 weeks!

And the universe seems to be working in my favour, because the 50-miler I wanted to do in May has been bumped back to June 18 due to excessive snow on the trails. This means I can still do it (assuming all goes well with my leg) and in fact it gives me more time for long runs that I would have originally had. Good news, right?! :)

Broken... again.

2011-04-23T22:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I have a stress fracture. I haven't had it diagnosed officially, but I don't need to since this is my THIRD time through this in the past 5 years.

Not too concerned about taking some time off since I don't have any imminent races. What I am concerned about is the ease with which I seem to acquire fractures. I wasn't increasing my mileage (in fact, April was much lighter than March). It wasn't from my race. I wasn't overdoing anything, and I wasn't doing anything stupid. So where did this come from? Am I more susceptible than average? Do I have low bone density? Is something else going on?

I have no idea, so I plan to go get some tests done next week. Might as well get everything checked out just in case... bone density, vitamin D, and anything else that might be relevant...

And I guess for awhile I will be walking and cycling instead of running. :(

weekly summary

2011-04-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

I only ran twice last week. I felt exhausted and unmotivated all week. Add to that the fact that I am now thinking I might not make it to White River this year... the trip was just too expensive last year and I can run local races for much cheaper. I haven't decided 100% yet but I'm leaning towards no. :( That leaves me with no goal race, so I'm going to need to decide on one if I want to maintain motivation.

Anyway, 2 runs for a grand total of 10.3 miles.

Weight: 136.6 (that seems like a drop but it's within regular fluctuation range for me so we'll see what it does next week).

Feature Friday

2011-04-15T17:12:00.001-07:00

I'm tickled and honoured to be the subject of "Feature Friday" on my cousin's blog. Check it out! :)

Randoms

2011-04-12T21:22:00.000-07:00

Day 3, and my quads are STILL trashed. Ran tonight... it was supposed to be "gentle" and "easy" but one girl in our group didn't have anyone to run with so I went with her and ended up doing a tougher route at a faster pace than I should have. oops. My legs are NOT happy with me (neither were my lungs, on the switchback...). I guess I'm not quite recovered... in spite of having had four naps in the first two days after Diez. lol That race wiped me out. But... maybe I'll run it again next year. ;)

Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to White River in July. I love that race so much and can't wait to run it again. I'm hoping to take an hour off of my time this year. We'll see though. That might be a little over-ambitious.

In other news, I need to lose a few pounds. And I think that putting it out publicly for the world to see might help motivate me. The problem is simply that I eat too much junk. I eat based on how I feel each day, and what I'm craving, and what I'm in the mood for. Last year prior to training for White River I was 142lb, and then lost 7lb in training so I was 135 for WR. Then over the fall/winter I gained/lost here and there, and currently I am at 138. So that is still lower than a year ago, but I would love to get down to 130 for WR. Heaven knows I do enough walking and running to burn it off... the problem is my eating habits! So for the next while I'll be adding my current weight to my weekly summaries... maybe that will help keep me accountable...? ugh. Goodbye home baking. :(

And, finally, I was perusing my ultrasignup stats today. I love their rating system (for those unfamiliar, it compares my time with the winning women's time of each race... then averages out all my rankings to give me an overall ranking). What I've noticed is that my performance doesn't seem to depend on my training. My rankings all fall within a 5% range, and I don't generally do better when I train harder. hm. Maybe there is not enough data (I really only have a few races on there... and the site is missing my first 50k from 2007). Or maybe that is just my ability and I'm not sure how to break out of that rut... if running more miles doesn't do it, then what would? I mean, I'll never be *fast* but it would be nice if I could at least see improvement.

anyway, that's enough navel-gazing for one night. Onward! :)

Diez Vista 50k Race Report

2011-04-09T19:46:00.000-07:00

Today was the 15th annual Diez Vista 50k, held at Sasamat Lake. Since it was my first year running it, they decided to add an extra 1000 feet of climbing on an already tough course (ok, they didn't do it for me but because of construction and flooding going on). I knew it was going to be a tough course by the elevation profile:

What I didn't know was how difficult the actual trails would be, apart from the elevation. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

After about 3 hours of sleep, I woke up this morning with a sore throat and sniffles. Hoped it would be nothing. We started at 7:30am. I knew that the toughest climb was in the first 5 miles (see profile above ;) so I was prepped for that. But whether I'm coming down with a cold or there is some other factor at play, I felt completely winded all day. I always lose my breath on the tough climbs, but today was especially bad. My heart rate was too high and I couldn't get my breath, even on easier sections. This made the steep climbs really tough, and I kept having to pause and catch my breath. It slowed me down a lot over the course of the day. :(

Aside from being winded, I felt physically and mentally fine today.

The first big climb takes you up 1600 feet over 8km, but it starts out gentle and gets progressively steeper (and more technical) as you go. After the first aid station, it was straight up, and many people passed me on this climb as I was constantly stopping to get my breath. I actually felt dizzy a few times and wondered if I should continue, but I figured the climb couldn't last forever and then I'd be fine. ;)

Here are some of the Vistas along the way:

After the major climb, there is a long, technical downhill to the second aid station. This was my favourite part of the race. I love technical downhills, and I was still fresh enough to really enjoy it. The trails in this section are rough, narrow, and in some places barely there. It was just me and the earth, boulders, trees, and water. A trail runner's nirvana is that feeling of being connected to the earth. And this might sound hokey to some, but I also felt more connected to my aboriginal roots than I think I ever have. Loved this section.

As I arrived at the second aid station, this sign made me smile:

I confess that the next section is a bit hazy in my memory. There were some gravel sections, some dirt sections, some ups and downs, but nothing particularly memorable. I don't remember the third aid station at all, but I remember the 4th for two reasons: I stopped to use the outhouse there (first time I've ever had to pee during an ultra) and it was the start of the second-largest climb, on an out-and-back. This climb started with a big switchback but then became gentler for awhile before coming out of the soft happy trails and onto a really rocky, awful powerline-trail-type-road-thing. It was brutal... mentally more than physically. Throughout the race there had been a number of loose-rock sections that were tough to run (think creek bed rocky) but this was the mother of them all. I was really glad when we crested the top of this climb because I knew that any climbs after that would be smaller. Down to the 5th aid station, where I finally got some Coke (I didn't see any before then...) and wanted to take the bottle with me! It was so yummy. The other bonus to this aid station was that it was at 37km, so when we turned around to go back along the powerline again, it felt like we were on the home stretch.

Coming down to the last aid station at 44km, I was hurting... even the downhill hurt at this point. I knew that we were getting close, and I thought all the climbing was over. Then a lady who was passing me said that there was another climb. At first I thought she was joking; she wasn't. There was a huge hill after the aid station (it felt enormous, but was actually small compared to the others!). Then I lost heart a bit, and I started to get grouchy and whiny. I couldn't believe how long it was taking and how much I was hurting, and how annoyingly rocky the trail was. I walked most of the last few km back.

Arriving at the finishing chute, I was walking. The announcer said that they weren't going to cheer unless I ran into the finish, so I did! It hurt. But there was apple crisp waiting for me at the finish, so that was worth it.

I clocked in at 8:54ish. I never dreamed it would take me that long, or that the course was that tough (I think my breathing issues made a big difference too). That's a full hour slower than my previous slowest time, and I'm much better trained now than I was for the previous one.

Now please pass the icecream and ibuprofen. :)

Weekly Summary

2011-03-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

I took a light week... Monday and Tuesday were just yoga and rest. Wednesday was 4 miles, in anticipation of a long run on Friday (which I mentioned in the previous post). Today was 9.8 miles with my Sunday morning running group. So altogether only 3 runs, for 34.8 miles. That is better than last week, and felt better too. I'm going to try to do some more yoga this week, and taper a bit for the race coming up on the 9th. *Hopefully* I can feel 100% by race day!! It will help that I have some time off of work this week and can rest up. :)

Finally, a decent run :)

2011-03-25T18:23:00.000-07:00

After taking a few rest/yoga days this week and quitting my stressful job, I wanted to attempt a long run today. Diez Vista 50k is in two weeks and I hadn't had a decent long run yet this month. I had no idea how I would feel today and wasn't excited about the weather, so I decided to keep it easy... I stuck to pavement, gravel, and easy dirt trails, nothing technical or difficult, and with no specific distance in mind.

Around mile 4 I started feeling like the backs of my legs were wetter than the front (it was misting a bit of rain, but nothing major). After a few minutes it was pretty obvious that my backside was getting soaked, so I stopped and checked my pack: sure enough, my hydration bladder had sprung a leak and was dumping water all down the back of me. Lovely. I was able to ration the water long enough to finish the run, but now I have to pick up a new bladder before my race!

Anyway, I felt better today than I have in weeks, and I ended up finishing out around 21 miles. I say "around" because my garmin was being pernicious today and kept shorting me on distance (in one particular 5km stretch it lost a whole km!) so I have to estimate my distance based on my knowledge of the route. I'm counting 21.

So glad to be feeling better. :) And now my work schedule is changing so my stress/busy-ness levels will be greatly reduced, which should also help. :)

Weekly Summary: ugh

2011-03-21T14:50:00.000-07:00

It was a terrible week. I don't know what's wrong with me... nothing has changed for my running, but all my runs feel awful lately, and I didn't get nearly the mileage I'd planned last week. I've been getting pains from my ankles up through my shins to the knees, and my legs just feel dead. But my shoes haven't changed, and my mileage is neither unusually high nor unusually low... so I don't know what's going on. Hopefully it resolves itself. Yesterday I was getting the "rest or get injured" message so I will take another light week and then see how I feel.

In the meantime, I've registered for the Diez Vista 50k on April 9, so I really hope I am feeling refreshed by then! I haven't had a run longer than 15 miles in about a month... so I will be running for fun and to complete (technically it's just a supported training run for White River anyway!).

Anyway, last week:
Tuesday - 5 miles night trail run
Thursday - 5 miles paved, with the puppy
Saturday - 8 miles. This was supposed to be a long trail run but I bombed it :(
Sunday - 9.3 miles. I was going to try to make up some of the bombed long run... didn't happen

Total: 27.3 measly miles. what is wrong with me?!

In other news, tonight I'm going to a Yoga for Runners class. I don't know if it will be an ongoing thing or not, but maybe it will help my legs feel better?

Time for Running!

2011-03-18T13:41:00.000-07:00

As of April 1, I am trading my two-job-working-six-or-seven-days-per-week arrangement for a 3 day work week. Sweet. Basically, I'm quitting one job and going full time at the other. But it's a condensed work week, giving me four days each week completely off! I'm pretty excited about this... I will have to rearrange my running schedule but overall I should be able to get in more miles, and better quality runs, while still making time for the other important things in life. And one of the great bonuses is that my dog will come to work with me (he already does sometimes, but now he can come every day!).

The only hitch is that my work week ends on Saturday morning... and most ultras are on Saturdays! But I will work that out as I go, either by taking vacation days or leaving work early those mornings. I don't run a lot of races anyway, so it shouldn't be too much of an issue.

It will be interesting to see how my training changes now that I will have more time, and also won't be working awake overnights anymore. Last summer when I was training for White River I really felt the effect of the overnights, especially when I would do a really long run and then not get to go to bed until the next day (I guess that would be good 100 training! lol). More sleep should help in recovery.

With that said, I haven't had a long run in a few weeks, so tomorrow I'm planning to get in a good 20-22 miles. Followed by my second-last awake overnight.

Weekly Summary :)

2011-03-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

Good week. My legs felt better than they had the previous couple of weeks. Also, all week I was following Scott McMurtrey doing the Atacama Desert Crossing in Chile. It was very inspiring and kept me running positive. :)

Tuesday - 5 miles night trail run, followed by sushi. This was our last true night trail run of the season, since the time change is taking away our darkness! We will still continue the runs though.
Wednesday - 5 miles with the puppy, paved, followed by my 29th blood donation :)
Friday - 5 miles, paved
Saturday - 15 miles: 8 by myself, 7 with a group, and cake afterwards (mmmmm cake!). This was my best feeling run in weeks, which was a surprise given that it was only 3 days after donating blood.
Sunday - 10.2 miles, half by myself and half with my Sunday morning running peeps. :)

Total: 40.2 miles. My goal was 40 so that is good!

Goal for the coming week is 45, with a 22 mile long run.

Weekly Summary

2011-03-06T18:22:00.000-08:00

This was the second week in a row where my legs felt sluggish and tired. I don't know why... my mileage hasn't been high enough lately to be having that effect. Hopefully this week will get better.

Tuesday - 5 miles in the slushy, sloppy snow.
Thursday - 5 miles paved, with the puppy
Friday - 5 miles paved
Sunday - 15 miles paved

Total: 30 miles, and too much pavement!

Today I tried on the new New Balance Minimus trail shoe. I'm *almost* sold on it, but not quite... in a few weeks I'll go try it on again and see how I feel about it. I did run in them on the in-store treadmill and I loved how it felt, but a couple of spots on the shoe seemed off or too snug, even after going up half a size. We'll see. Definitely check them out though if you are looking for an awesome minimalist trail shoe!

A Little Less Sparkle

2011-03-02T17:51:00.000-08:00

My first memory of my Grandpa Henry was a story: they said when he was young, he was so strong that he could lift an entire car.

As an adult he raised horses, which were sometimes used for old westerns being filmed in his home state of Montana. Ronald Reagan himself rode my Grandpa's own horse in one of his movies.

When a youngster in his family needed a home, Grandpa Henry gave him one, raising him as his own.

When Grandpa got older, he sometimes had a hard time attaching all of our names to the right person at the right time. Once he was trying to get my name out and it came out "Howard" instead. My family has called me Howard as a nickname since. He always said I should "find a Mennonite to marry," because he thought Mennonite boys were honest, hard-working, and good.

When he told a joke, he would do it so subtly that we almost missed it. Upon realizing that he'd said something funny, we'd look over to see his head down, shoulders shaking in silent laughter.

When he said he would not live to see another Christmas, we all rushed to Montana to visit, in case it was our last chance. He was probably just messing with us: he lived to see two more Christmases.

But as it turns out, that was in fact the last time I saw him. Grandpa Henry passed away early this morning while we slept. In my mom's words, "The world is losing a little bit of sparkle today."

Rest in peace, Grandpa. We love and miss you.

Building Character?

2011-03-01T20:25:00.000-08:00

As I've mentioned, I have a regular Tuesday night trail running group. It has been really fun, but is usually my toughest run of the week because I am always the slowest person and am constantly trying to keep up! This is good for me (I think).

Tonight there were just three of us; the rest were probably smarter to stay away, as conditions were terrible. We've had quite a bit of snow over the past few days, combined with warming/freezing temperatures and some rain. It's a slushy, slippery, mucky mess out on the trails right now. As a result, we decided to do an "easy" route tonight. That is, it's an easy route under normal conditions. Tonight it was pretty tough!

The boys were gracious enough to wait for me while I slipped and slid through the snow at a snail's pace. When I was feeling slow and tired, I just reminded myself that even though I'm the slowest person in the group, I'm still among the "hardcore", because I was out running through mucky snow in the middle of the night--on purpose!! lol (hardcore... or stupid? You decide!)

I wanted to take a photo for posterity's sake... That little circle of light is from my cheapo headlamp! :)

Weekly Summary

2011-02-27T12:13:00.000-08:00

Light week, I only ran 3 times:
Tuesday - 5.5 miles night trail run in a small layer of fresh snow
Friday - 14.4 miles trail run. Icy sections slowed me down and made me sore. But overall I was happy with my pace.
Saturday - 8.3 miles road. heavy and lethargic.

Total: 27.2 miles

I don't know why, but every time I take a light week like this, my legs feel more tired and sluggish. But it must do the trick because I always feel better the following week.

I'm glad that I didn't plan to run today... about 4 inches of fresh, greasy snow has fallen since yesterday.

Chuckanut 2011

2011-02-24T12:47:00.000-08:00

I'm not registered for Chuckanut this year (wanted to, couldn't commit on registration day!). But given that I have some friends running and that there is going to be an all-star line-up at the front, I am thinking about going down for the day, just to spectate and cheer. That is assuming that my new passport arrives in time (it should).

Is anyone else going just for the show? Any locals want to make the trip with me? :)

Weekly Summary

2011-02-20T14:36:00.000-08:00

It was a good week--tired, and my runs were slow, but I was happy to get in the miles that I did, and to surpass my goal for the week.

Tuesday - 5.2 miles, night trail run, very fun.
Thursday - 5 miles, paved, wherein the puppy attempted to jump into traffic
Friday - 20.7 miles, trails, with the puppy. I felt exhausted from the start of this run, and considered cutting it short. But when I didn't feel any worse in the second hour than I had in the first, I figured I should keep going. I'm glad I finished out the distance, however slow and difficult it may have been. :)
Sunday - 12 miles, paved. Lovely run along the seawall; bright sun, blue ocean, white mountains. But the wind was chilly and finishing *into* the wind zapped the last of my energy for the week.

Total: 42.9 miles, which is my biggest week in months. It's still not huge, so I'm not sure why my legs have felt so tired lately. This week I'll drop back just a bit, to 30 miles.

a few of my favourite things

2011-02-18T15:27:00.000-08:00

While I like cheesy musicals as much as the next person, I can't say that I enjoyed having "a few of my favourite things" stuck in my head for several hours during my long run today. But I think I'll make the best of it, and do a post on a few of my favourite things! :)

My La Sportiva Shoes
Anyone who has made the mistake of asking me about trail shoes has been subjected to a discourse on the superiority of Sportiva shoes. I've been a loyal Sportiva fan since my first pair of Pikes Peak shoes in 2006, and I've never worn another brand of trail shoes. Let me just tell you about my Raptors. Thanks to Sportiva specializing in climbing shoes, they have the best traction of any trail shoe. Ever. They also have these awesome toe guards at the front which protect my toes from anything our rugged trails can throw at me. And my toes never touch the front, even on a steep downhill, because my foot actually stays put in the shoe, no matter the terrain. This means no black toenails (ok, I got ONE at white river but that's because I smashed it on a rock--there are some stupid moves that even toe guards can't prevent!). Have I mentioned that the Raptors come in pretty colours? I never worry about rough, technical terrain when I'm wearing these shoes.

My Nathan Hydration pack
Best $100 I've ever invested. There's not much else to say, except that I don't do a long run or ultra without it. It's incredibly comfortable (you don't even know you're wearing it). It doesn't bounce or chafe; it fits onto your body like a glove. I've used it for hiking and mountain biking as well.

North Shore trails
Check out the latest Trail Runner mag for an article on the amazing place I get to run every week. Beautiful rainforest green, water, mud, rocks, roots, snow, elevation change, spectacular views, endless trails where my dog is free to run off-leash and which we share with a healthy mountain bike community. Add in a climate that allows us to run outside year-round, and it's basically a trail runner's dream.

Running trails at night!
I only started night trail running a couple of months ago, and now have a regular weekly group with which I run. I had no idea that running trails at night would be so much fun! It takes more focus than daytime running, especially on technical trails, and I'm the slowest person in the group; this means that my weekly night runs are both a physical and a mental workout. I love it.

My trail doggy
Yep, he's a PITA sometimes (cf. yesterday's post!) but I love having my Sammy along on trail runs with me, especially the long, lonely ones! I love his enthusiasm, that he jumps into every body of water he passes, and the way he sprawls out on the floor when we get home.

Dr. Oetker's Pizza (post-run)
Seriously, if you haven't tried these, you need to. The pizzas are plate-sized and I have no problem scarfing one down after a long run. The flavour is great. 880 calories per pizza.

Post-long-run showers and naps
I don't think I need to elaborate. It's nap time. :)

Doggy Roadkill (almost)

2011-02-17T09:37:00.000-08:00

For those who don't know the history, my dog, Sammy, is a rescue. He was 1.5 years old when I brought him home from the shelter, and I was entirely oblivious to the major challenges he was bringing with him. The first year was a LOT of work--blood, sweat, and tears, and it took him 9 months just to relax. That was 4 years ago, and over that time I've been able to get his behaviour from 0% to about 80-90%, and work through his various issues.

One of those issues is other dogs, and leash aggression towards them. He's improved, especially with smaller dogs since they aren't usually as much of a threat to him. But he will lunge at other dogs while on a leash. As a result, my reflexes with the leash have greatly improved. But they are still no match for the reflexes of an impulsive border collie cross.

So when we run roads, we use a 4 foot leash so that I can keep control. We run on the sidewalk, facing traffic, and Sammy runs on my left. This way I am between him and the traffic, and he can sniff the bushes and things on his left. Most of the time, he runs along very well.

This morning we were running on a rather narrow stretch of sidewalk, next to a narrow stretch of road, so the cars were quite close to us. Morning rush hour. We were cruising along at an easy pace, when suddenly a van went past us with a dog in it, and the dog was barking at Sammy as the van passed. My reflexes being slower than his, I did not react quickly enough to prevent Sammy from jumping across my path and directly onto the side of the van. His front feet made contact with the moving vehicle before I yanked him back onto the sidewalk and gave him a thorough tongue-lashing. Scared me half to death. And I'm sure the car *behind* the van was probably the most shaken, since Sammy had essentially jumped in front of it; luckily it wasn't moving quickly.

While the exercise is of course good for him, sometimes running with Sammy is stressful... defeating the purpose of the run for me.

But we're safely home now. :)

What Really Causes Runner's High

2011-02-16T19:25:00.001-08:00

My favourite part is where they say that running and desserts produce the same response. mmmmm dessert. What Really Causes Runner's High

Weekly Summary

2011-02-13T18:29:00.000-08:00

Tuesday - 5.3 mile night trail run
Wednesday - 6 miles, paved, with the puppy
Thursday - 6.2 miles, paved, with the puppy
Sunday - 18.5 miles, paved

Total: 36 miles

Chocolate consumed: far, far too much. I'm pretty sure I've gained 10lb in the past week. Ok, I know I haven't since I weigh myself daily, but it's amazing how the way we eat can make us *feel* like we're gaining. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day so I will be buying myself chocolate simply on principle... then I'm going to try to get back on track with my eating.

My goal this week is 40 miles... should be manageable since my work schedule is more forgiving this week than it usually is. Onward.

Can't. Stop. Eating. Chocolate.

2011-02-09T14:43:00.000-08:00

I have no excuse except possibly hormones.

I can't stop eating chocolate this week. It's bad. So far today I've had a hot chocolate, a boston cream donut (which has chocolate icing on top), and an aero bar. A large one. Yesterday it was m&ms. Monday it was the chocolate lovers belgian waffle at a waffle place on Robson. Saturday and Sunday it was the Peanut Butter Rolo icecream.

My mileage is not currently high enough to support this excessive calorie consumption.

Must run more miles.

(Can I blame February blahs?)

Weekly Summary

2011-02-06T14:52:00.000-08:00

Good week!

Monday - 3.1 miles with the puppy, paved
Tuesday - 5.6 miles, night trail run
Thursday - 3.1 miles with the puppy, paved
Friday - 18 miles, trail, with the puppy
Sunday - 6.2 miles, paved

Total: 36 miles

Awesome Long Run!

2011-02-04T14:47:00.000-08:00

I hadn't done a proper long run since December 3, so it was high time I hit the trails for a few hours!

This morning I headed out with the puppy, and my legs were feeling pretty bagged from the start. There was a part of me that considered bailing early, but fortunately that did not last too long. I ended up having a really fun run... it included everything from groomed, easy trails to some highly technical ones, shoe-sucking mud, ice and snow, stream crossings, and tons of rocks and roots. The slowest part was the ice... it was covered in water and lasted about a mile. The rest was great!

18 miles done, and it felt good. Now the trail puppy and I are getting ready to have a little snooze. :)

Billowing Snow and Spiralling Eagles

2011-01-30T22:35:00.000-08:00

I went snowshoeing today, for the first time ever! It was a gorgeous day for it, sunny and warm. Great workout, about 3.5 hours (including stops for photos and food). Starting at the Cypress Mountain parking area, we followed the trail to Black Mountain and Eagle Bluffs. The views were spectacular, and we were lucky to see a family of four bald eagles. It was one of those days when I was so thankful to live where I do, and for my health and the privilege of doing things like this (oh wait, that's every day! :).

Here are a few photos:

Here we're overlooking Vancouver, with Mount Baker in the background:

And my weekly summary:
Monday - 7 miles, roads
Tuesday - 6.4 miles, night trail run
Saturday - 9.5 miles, groomed trails
Sunday - 3.5 hours of snowshoeing! :)

My mileage has been pretty low for the last couple of weeks. I'm hoping to do better this week, but life is crazy busy these days, so we'll see how it goes.

Speaking of Water

2011-01-16T14:18:00.000-08:00

This morning I ran about 20k, 12 by myself and 8 with my Sunday morning running peeps. :)

This is where we ran this morning:

The other direction looks on to Stanley Park and the Lionsgate Bridge. On a clear day, Mount Baker is large in the distance:

Weekly Summary
Tuesday - 5.3 miles with my night trail run group. One injury (not me!).
Wednesday - 3.1 miles with the puppy, followed by my 28th blood donation. I was very happy to see that my heart rate and blood pressure were those of an ultra runner. :)
Friday - 15 miles, paved.
Sunday - 12.5 miles, paved.

Total: 35.9 miles

and the streams are all swollen with winter

2011-01-14T18:01:00.000-08:00

"Winter" as I knew it growing up was a vastly different beast from what we have here in paradise. I remember one Christmas break in high school when temperatures plunged to -54C. It was so cold that my poor little 1980 Chevette simply could not warm up, and we had to scrape the ice off the windows--from the inside--while we drove; otherwise visibility would have been impossible. I remember massive mounds of snow, so big that we would tunnel through them and build forts. I remember months on end of darkness, cold, ice, blizzards, and ice fog.

Then I moved here.

And here, January looks like this:

Ok, that picture is from a year ago, but we have had days like that this year too! Mostly, though, winter in North Vancouver means water. Lots and lots of water. Water pouring from the sky, water oversaturating the grass, water streaming down the sides of the mountains. A few weeks ago I was driving the Sea to Sky highway with someone and we were both amazed at how many dozens of waterfalls had appeared on the side of the highway.

Today's run was similar. On days when I want some distance but am too tired (or lazy) to run trails, I hit the Seymour Valley Trailway. It's paved, undulating, traffic-free, and gorgeous. On a rainy day like today, it looks like this:

And today, there were dozens of new little waterfalls lining the trailway, and making for a very enjoyable run:

Some people complain about the rain here... I like to remind them that the rain gives us the rainforest... and this wouldn't be paradise without that! :)

(15 miles done!)

Weekly Summary :)

2011-01-09T17:18:00.000-08:00

After eating too much and running too little in December, I feel like I'm getting back on track a bit this week.

Tuesday - Night trail run, group, 4.5 miles
Friday - 10 miles, trails, with the puppy (actually it was only 60% trails, 40% roads)
Saturday - 13.5 miles, but the middle part was a 9km hike with 900m elevation gain (went up Lynn Peak). Great workout, and I think I should make this a more regular part of my training!
Sunday - 10k with the puppy, paved

Total: 34.2 miles

Good week! :) Still have to shed the christmas weight though...

Weekly Summary and 2010 Review

2011-01-02T13:03:00.000-08:00

Four runs this week, nothing long:
Monday - 4.5 miles, trails, with a friend
Tuesday - 6.2 miles, paved
Saturday - 10 miles, paved
Sunday - 4.4 miles, paved, with two new acquaintances
Total - 25.1 miles

2010 Summary
January - 26.2 miles, just starting again after two injuries and losing all my fitness
February - 68 miles, starting to get my groove back. An ultrarunning friend plants the idea in my head to run White River in July. My first thought: "you're insane, I can't go from 0 to 50 that quickly!". My second thought: "well, maybe I could..."
March - 110 miles, testing out the body to see if I could safely jack up my mileage without getting re-injured. All goes well.
April - 170 miles, my highest month to that point.
May - 160 miles (holding instead of increasing). My first 100k week ever.
June - 187 miles, finding the balance between too much and not enough. More 100k weeks, first time past 300km in a month, first 50k training run outside of a race.
July - 176 miles, 50 of which were in my race. :) I peaked at the beginning of July with a 111km week.
August - 114 miles, recovering and resting when I wanted.
September - 105 miles, same strategy as August, with a few long runs to prep for the marathon.
October - 100.4 miles, including improving my marathon pb by 14 minutes.
November - 134.8 miles, starting to ramp up again for spring ultras. 10k pb.
December - 92.2 miles, slacking a bit with Christmas!

Overall it was a great year, and looking back to where I was one year ago, I am VERY happy with what I accomplished. As I said in a previous post, my focus will come off of running in 2011, so I'm not sure how it will end up, but I'll try to at least keep up my base mileage and run a few good trail races. :)

Hello 2011!!

2011-01-01T17:48:00.000-08:00

For awhile I had big ultra plans for 2011. I definitely want(ed) to do some 50ks, at least one more 50-miler (preferably a couple!), and heck, maybe even a 100.

And as much as I'd love to still do all of those things, I have recently realized that some other areas of my life need my focus for awhile--not the least of these is my career (or, if you will, my current lack of a career). I love ultra running, but I have to admit that it takes up a lot of time, energy, and money--all things that are in short supply for me these days.

So with that in mind, 2011 will NOT be the year of the ultra for me. I still want to run a few, but my mileage probably isn't going to get too high, and the races will only happen insofar as they don't interfere with the rest of life. And yet I'm not sad about that, because I am excited about what I'm going to do in the other areas. :)

Now I don't know what my race schedule is going to look like! I will probably stick to races that are local (to save time and money) and just run what works each month.

Still, I'd love to hit 1500 miles this year, which I narrowly missed in 2010. That means 125/month average. So I started with a 10 mile New Years Day run to kick things off. :)

Because We Are Runners

2010-12-29T17:54:00.000-08:00

This is too good not to share:

Because We Are Runners

Lose Yourself

2010-12-11T21:39:00.000-08:00

It was a bit of a rough week. I've been feeling rather run-down and tired; I think I'm fighting the 3000 viruses that have been going around lately. Work was frustrating, I didn't feel like running, haven't been sleeping well, possibly hormonally imbalanced, and feeling insecure/uncertain about some things.

All of that resulted in two crappy runs, Tuesday and Friday.

This morning I went to pick up my new road shoes from the post office. I knew I was over-tired when a friendly stranger stopped me to meet my dog, and something the stranger said made me turn away and start crying. Came home and attempted to take a nap, but couldn't sleep, so I eventually got up, put on my new running shoes, and forced myself out the door in the hopes that a run would help me feel better. While putting my hair up into a ponytail, I caught my own eye in the mirror, and what I saw there surprised me. There was a spark of independence and confidence in my own eyes that I certainly hadn't been feeling. I realized that somewhere in the past few days I'd lost sight of myself.

As I started my run, I remembered Powderface42, in 2007. This was the race that nearly conquered me. I remember wanting nothing more than to sit down by the trail and cry, or sleep, or both. I remember feeling burned out after, and that weeks later I could not face a hill in a run; I was mentally and physically broken by that race. But I had finished it, and that had changed me. From then on, the phrase "If I could do that, I can do anything" echoed in my heart and mind, changing the way I thought about myself, and about whatever challenges life threw me. It gave me the confidence to go on and do more ultras, to make big life changes, and take chances that would previously have seen me paralyzed with fear. Running in general, and trail/ultra running in particular, has made me a better, stronger person, who is not afraid of challenge and uncertainty. I know who I am and what I'm made of.

My thoughts continued on as I ran today, to my various ultras, running friends, injuries, celebration, fear and overcoming. I thought of RunningMania, and how the community there has been with me every step of the way.

As I ran out of town and into the forest, the light started to dim and there was a gentle fog in the valley. Part of me wanted to just keep running into the descending darkness and mist, but I eventually turned around and came out of the forest just as it was getting dusky. 12 miles done, harder and faster than I thought I had energy for; clarity was gained. I'm still sleep-deprived and uncertain, but I know who I am and what I'm made of, and I know that in the end it will all be ok.

This is why I love running. You can lose yourself and find yourself all in 12 short miles, gaining perspective, hope, clarity, and confidence in the process. There is no better therapy, and all it cost me was $80 for a new pair of shoes.

Week Summary
Tuesday - 4 miles with the puppy
Friday - 10 miles
Saturday - 12 miles

Total: 26 miles (cut-back week)

Week Summary

2010-12-05T16:19:00.000-08:00

It was a good week! I once again skipped a short run, so I'm missing 4 miles from the plan, but I'm ok with that!

Monday - 4 miles with the puppy
Wednesday - 8 miles, including conquering my hill!
Friday - 20 miles, trails, with the puppy. While it was tough, I'm feeling stronger than I felt in the spring on the same route. :)
Saturday - 2 hours of playing in the snow on a mountain, hiking up and running/sliding down
Sunday - 8 miles... feeling pretty trashed from Friday/Saturday, but it was ok!

Total: 40 miles

Yeah Baby!

2010-12-01T21:34:00.000-08:00

Moving here in 2009 was one of the best moves I could have made in regards to my running. Not only do I have endless trails to explore, with all levels of difficulty, but living at the base of three mountains means that no run is ever flat. Yes, sometimes I complain about that, but it has certainly made me a stronger runner!

There is one giant hill in particular that I have longed to conquer since I moved here. It's a mile long and quite steep. With my injury last year and the resulting loss of fitness, I had to start over again this year from scratch. I've only attempted this hill a handful of times, but it has become for me a measure of my fitness. I could never seem to run up more than 2/3 of it without taking walk breaks.

Over the past few months I hadn't attempted it at all, but my strength and fitness were increasing through my long trail runs, higher mileage, and speed work. So tonight I thought I would tackle it again and see where I'm at.

As I was approaching the hill, I remembered what a friend said to me before my 10k last week: "You won't die, run hard." Good to keep that in mind.

The journey up this hill is punctuated by distinctive white fire hydrants. There are six hydrants altogether, and I've always measured my progress by how many sections I could run. I started slowly, focused on keeping my breathing as easy and steady as possible, and headed up. Passing the first hydrant, I thought, "I don't think I'm even going to make it to the second." But I kept going, and before I knew it was passing the second. Ok, breathe, focus, keep a steady pace. Suddenly there was the third hydrant, and then the fourth. When I reached the fifth, I knew I was going all the way to the top without walking, even though I was breathing hard and my legs were burning. The last section is the easiest, since you crest the hill and it levels off a bit.

I passed the sixth hydrant, giving it a little victory tap as I ran by it, and cruised on down the other side of the hill, taking in an awesome view of the Vancouver skyline sparkling in the distance. Victory!!

I think I am more excited about running all the way up this hill than I was about my 10k pb last week. This calls for champagne!! :)

Week Summary

2010-11-27T19:38:00.000-08:00

It was a good week. I skipped one run (Wednesday) but it was only 4 miles so I'm not worried about it.

Monday - 4 miles with the puppy
Tuesday - 6.2 miles
Friday - 18 miles, part with the puppy and part without. I decided to run paved instead of trails because I was feeling lazy... but that backfired! It was really slushy, slippery, and muddy, and a very tough slog! I had no traction going up hills, and by the end I was pretty wiped!
Saturday - 9 miles with the puppy. Less slush today but still tough!

Total: 37.2 miles

Week Summary and Race Report

2010-11-21T20:06:00.000-08:00

Fall Classic 10k

I'll keep this short and sweet. :)

This is the race I pb'ed last year on the day my aunt passed away, so I guess I will always associate it with that, and will likely run it every year in memory of her. It also makes a great yearly fitness test for me.

I was pretty sure I could beat my old pb (56:27) because I am in much better shape this year (that is, I'm not injured!). But I wasn't sure how much I could take off. I decided to go for 8:50 miles, which would get me in under 56 minutes. These were my mile splits:
8:44
8:47
8:31
8:49
8:59
8:57
2:20

Final time (by garmin) was 55:10, so I am very happy with that!!

I do think I could have pushed a bit harder. At the 5k mark I was at 27 minutes (so on target for 54) but I slowed down in the second half. Had I pushed harder I could have been under 55. My muscles and lungs were doing fine but my tummy was starting to revolt and I didn't want to throw up so I slowed down because of that. Otherwise... it could have been faster. Next time. ;)

Week Summary
Tuesday - track workout. I did 4x400m (1:49-1:53) and 1 mile at 10k race pace. 6.2 miles altogether.
Wednesday - 5.7 miles along the seawall with a friend. Great run.
Friday - 4 miles easy with the puppy.
Sunday - 10k race and pb!

Total: 22 miles, a light week because of the race. Back to ultra training!

Getting Ready for Race Day!

2010-11-16T22:40:00.000-08:00

I don't run short races very often, so it's kind of fun to be prepping for a 10k this weekend. I'm pretty sure I can pb, as I've got way more fitness than I did a year ago and have been working on speedwork at the track. I'd like to take a minute off of last year's time (56:27).

In the spirit of pumping myself up for the race, I've made a playlist that is 56 minutes long... if I am not finished the race by the time the last song finishes, I will have missed my goal. Every one of these songs is guaranteed to keep my feet moving fast. Here's my list:

Christina Aguilera - Fighter
Dashboard Confessional - Vindicated
Eminem - Lose Yourself
Fallout Boys - Dance Dance
Hot Hot Heat - Let Me In
Hot Hot Heat - 5 Times Out of 100
The Killers - Sweet Talk
Mika - Grace Kelly
My Chemical Romance - The Sharpest Lives
Panic! at the Disco - The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage
Panic! at the Disco - But it's Better if You Do
Pink - Raise Your Glass
Silverchair - Straight Lines
The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name
The Ting Tings - Shut Up and Let Me Go

can't wait! :)

November 15: Dedication

2010-11-15T10:04:00.000-08:00

Today marks the one year anniversary of the passing of my Aunty Janine. She took her last breaths early in the morning, surrounded by family (including her three daughters), after having spent three months and her 45th birthday in intensive care. The three months had been a roller coaster of emotions, while a sudden and mysterious illness wreaked havoc with her body and our hopes for her recovery.

I was on the bus when my mom called me to tell me that Janine had passed, heading out to run the Fall Classic 10k. Running had already taken on a new meaning for me; I had thought of my aunt during every run, thankful for each step and praying that she would recover. After her legs were amputated, I had stood in front of the Terry Fox statue in Victoria and thought about her. Running also served as an outlet for the feelings of frustration and helplessness, as I was feeling so far away from my family, alone out here on the other side of the mountains. So on November 15, just hours after my aunt's passing, my mom told me to run the race for Janine. And I did. I shut off my brain and ran hard. Every time I wanted to slow down, I thought of my aunt and pushed harder. I ended up with a personal best time, and dedicated the race to her.

I will be running the same race again in a few days, and once again will dedicate it to the memory of Janine. I promise to run my hardest. And I promise never to take my life, health, or running for granted.

Week Summary

2010-11-14T16:12:00.000-08:00

Monday
3k straight up on the Grouse Grind, with a new Grind pb (55:58), followed by a run down old mountain highway to Lynn Valley Road. Total 10.5 miles, and I was quite happy with it.

Wednesday
4 miles with the puppy.

Friday
10 miles, trails, with a very badly behaved puppy. This wasn't a good run.

Sunday
8 miles, road, no puppy, and a much better run!

Total: 32.5 miles (plan was 32 so close enough!).

The week upcoming will be quite a bit lighter since I am racing a 10k next Sunday. So I'll keep my runs short and fast this week. :)

Week Summary

2010-11-06T16:25:00.000-07:00

The first week back on a schedule went really well!

Monday - 4 miles easy, paved, with the puppy.

Tuesday - 6 miles, 3 of which were at LT pace (at the track).

Wednesday - 4.8 miles with a friend - my second night trail run. Very fun!

Friday - 16 miles, trails, with the puppy. A good mix of technical and non-technical, and a good run. I felt tired in the first half and much better in the second.

Saturday - 8.2 miles, paved, easy pace. A few sore spots from yesterday, but nothing too bad. The hills burned a bit!

Total: 39 miles.

One of the things I want to work on over this winter is climbing. I am pretty weak on the hills (especially steep ones), and my lungs tend to give out faster than my legs. Of course, the only way to get stronger on the climbs is to do more of them, so that is the plan!

One Up, One Down

2010-11-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

Time to start training again! After three months of running whatever I felt, I'm back on a schedule as of today. But it's a slacker-friendly schedule. Five runs per week, with most of the mileage happening on the back-to-back long runs on the weekend. This means the weeknight runs are short (nice during the winter!). It's also one-up-one-down, meaning that every other week is a cut-back week. This allows for a long, gradual build, and I've found in the past that that pattern works well for me. I am looking forward to this!

I love that I'm not starting from zero this time, and I am excited to see what improvements I can make in 2011.

This week's plan:
Monday - 4 miles
Tuesday - 6 miles
Wednesday - 4 miles
Friday - 16 miles
Saturday - 8 miles

1200

2010-10-26T19:25:00.000-07:00

Today's run brought me past an important milestone. For five years I've had a goal of 1200 miles for the year (averaging 100 per month). It's not a huge amount, but for various reasons I've never been able to hit it; my previous highest year was 2006, with 1041 miles.

But today I hit 1200 miles for 2010! And there are still two months left in the year. Considering that on January 1 I was still injured and starting from zero, I am pretty happy about this!

With that said, today's run sucked. I would have bailed early had I not been looking for that 1200 mark. I've been feeling rather drained lately and hadn't run since last Wednesday. Hopefully will be feeling better soon (physically and mentally!). Next week I start back on a training schedule; I can't say that I'm really excited about that, but I am excited about my spring races so I need to get in gear. Three months of slacking is enough! :)

In other news, I ran my first night trail run last week. It was really fun, just a short run with a few other people, to get the feel of the trails at night. It wasn't as difficult as I expected it to be (I joked to a friend that hills are easier in the dark because you can't see them!). I want to do more night trail running through the winter.

"Recovery" Week

2010-10-17T15:02:00.000-07:00

I felt pretty good after last week's marathon, so even though I only ran three times, I didn't go out of my way to take it easy.

Wednesday
First post-marathon run, and I didn't want to miss another weekly LT workout (since I'd missed the week before due to "taper"), so I did a short one: 1 mile warm-up, 2 miles at LT, 1 mile cool-down. It felt good, though there was still a tiny bit of fatigue from the marathon.

Friday
14 miles on the trails with the puppy! This felt great. My legs still felt a bit tired, particularly on the climbs, but overall I was really happy to be out there and had lots of fun romping in the forest with Sammy. He is always energetic, but I recently switched his food to a higher-quality, fish-based, grain-free food and now his energy is boundless! Even at the end of the run he was bouncing around all over the place. This is good, but I'm going to have to work harder now to wear him out!

Sunday
Today was 10 miles, paved, at marathon pace (I didn't plan to go that pace; that's just what felt good!). It felt really great, and really strong. It started to hurt at the end, but not until the last km, so no worries! :)

Total 28 miles, which is just fine for the week after the marathon. :)

I don't really have a plan for the rest of October, except to do some more LT/V02max workouts and just kick back a bit more until November, when Chuckanut training will start!

Victoria Marathon

2010-10-11T16:03:00.000-07:00

It had been over three years since my last road marathon, and my old pb (4:56:20) was looking pretty soft, so I thought Victoria would be a good place to make a new pb! After all my hard training for White River, though, I slacked quite a bit in August and September, so I wasn't sure how well I would do in the marathon.

Arrived in Victoria on Saturday morning, after having met up with some friends on the ferry. I was met by my mom's cousin, with whom I was staying for the weekend. She was awesome, driving me everywhere I needed to go (including a tour of the course), and getting me to the race, cheering, and taking photos. I felt like I was being waited on hand and foot all weekend, which was nice. :)

Race morning I saw a few friends at the start line and wished them luck. I looked for my friend Mary since we were predicting similar times, but didn't see her until we were on the course. I ran with Mary's group for a bit in the first half (on and off, since they were doing walk breaks and I wasn't, so there was some leap-frogging).

I was exactly on pace throughout the first half, crossing the half mat at 2:17:41. And I felt great. The course is really nice, sometimes along the water and sometimes through pretty neighbourhoods. There was lots of crowd support the entire way, which was really helpful. It's very flat, just the odd small hill here or there. The weather was good, except for the wind when we were facing certain directions. And was really fun to see all the elites and leaders and some of my friends coming back in the out-back sections.

At 26km I thought, "only 10 miles left... and I have done 10 mile MP runs on tired legs, so I can do this no problem." I felt great through 30k, crossing the 30k mat at 3:15:11. But it wasn't too long after that that I started slowing down. All of my joints were aching (first time since 2007 that I've run that distance on hard pavement!) and I started losing time and taking walk breaks--until then I had only walked through aid stations. Kept plugging on, running as much as I could and accepting that I wouldn't make 4:35 but would still have a nice pb. :)

The last stretch along Dallas was the toughest because we were tired, had to go up a gentle but long hill, and had the wind blowing right into us. And the last 5k was a bit of a slog, but I was able to pick it up just a bit towards the end.

Chip time 4:42:10, which was not my goal but still a 14 minute pb. So I am happy with that!

Great race; I definitely recommend it.

Feeling pretty good today! Just tired, with a few sore spots, but overall not bad. :)

Next up: Fall Classic 10k in six weeks.

ps: they had SPRINKLE DONUTS at the finish. And not regular donuts... you know those little sugar/cake donuts? These were like that, but bigger and with sprinkles! this should be required at EVERY race.

Tapering, slacker style!

2010-10-05T16:35:00.000-07:00

A number of times over the past week or two, various people have asked me, "aren't you supposed to be tapering?". My usual response is, "Tapers are for people who actually train." The truth is that my mileage lately has been too low to deserve a proper pre-marathon taper (105 miles in September?!) so I've kinda been winging it. I attempted my last long run on Thursday and totally bombed it... barely got 15 miles out of the planned 20. Then on both Saturday and Sunday I did the Grouse Grind (neither was planned). Monday was a 15k run with a friend from out of town. That leaves me 5 days to "taper". I guess it'll be more of a rest week instead.

I'm not worried about the distance; what I'm unsure of is whether I can maintain my planned pace over the distance. My goal is 4:35, which is not unreasonable, but given my low mileage I have no idea what will happen. There is only one way to find out! :)

I will start on pace for 4:35 and then see how I feel in the second half. Even if I fade in the second half, I should still PB (old best is 4:56 so there's lots of wiggle room!).

There will be online tracking at www.raceheadquarters.com (Bib #2470) if anyone would like to follow! Race starts at 9am PST.

the pros show us what ultra running is all about

2010-09-27T15:19:00.000-07:00

Scott Dunlap's account of this past weekend's Flagline 50k documents how much class and spirit the guys at the front of the ultra running community really have. I don't know any other sport like this.

Sounds like a great race, too... I will have to keep it in mind for next fall!

Catching up

2010-09-26T14:54:00.001-07:00

I guess it's been two weeks since my last post! That's mainly because one of those weeks involved NO running at all. Unlike the previous rest week, this one was unintentional, but I guess I needed it. My jobs lately have been leaving me feeling pretty swamped and tired!

Even so, last Sunday I got out for an awesome hike with some friends; we did all three peaks of the Stawamus Chief, about 7 miles total. It can be done in 3-4 hours but we took 5 because we really took our time with photos and enjoying the day. It was great! :)

View from the second peak:

That brings us to the past week.

Tuesday
5km, relaxed, with the puppy. I needed to stretch out my legs, which were quite sore from the hike!

Wednesday
Track work - mile repeats, like last time.
8:55
8:56
8:55
8:52
Including warm-up, cool-down, and recovery laps, 8 miles total.

Friday
This started with a group hike up Larsen trail (one of the many trails that goes up Grouse Mountain). It's about 4km to the top, and we took our time to accommodate the group. From there I ran down the gravel road to mountain highway, then home for a total of 13.5 miles. It was the first time I'd run the length of that gravel road, and it was much longer than I had thought! This loop would be an awesome training run for White River. ;)

Sunday
Meant to do a long run today but I was feeling pretty trashed so I opted instead for 10 miles at marathon pace, which gave me 1:44-ish. My legs felt really tired, but the run went well.

Total of 34.5 miles for the week... no great amount but I'm happy with the quality.

Milestone

2010-09-12T19:59:00.000-07:00

This was a good running week! I am glad that I took the previous week off. And as of today, 2010 is officially my biggest mileage year ever! (peanuts to some of you, but I'm currently sitting at 1051 miles--1692km--for the year... and it's only September!)

Wednesday
Mile repeats at the track. 4 repeats plus warm-up, cool-down, and recovery laps gave me 8 miles.

Friday
12 mile trail run with the puppy. One bear spotted (just a baby but mama was nearby, as verified by a walker I spoke with a few minutes later). I added in an extra steep switchback in the interests of not being lazy!

Sunday
20 mile long run, paved. It started out rough, with shin splints, side stitches, and general exhaustion. I wanted to turn around at the 1 mile mark... and the 2 mile mark... and the 3 mile mark... but I pressed through and by the 5th mile started to feel a lot better. Ended up with a great negative split and several miles done at marathon pace. 3:42 overall, which I'm quite happy with.

Total: 40 miles. Only three runs, but they were all high-quality and I'm feeling good. :)

Here is a pic from my long run today... it was pouring the entire time, but really pretty and peaceful in the valley:

One Week

2010-09-08T20:54:00.001-07:00

Well my two weeks of planned downtime turned into one. I needed a run tonight so I went and did my track workout (mile repeats, woohoo!). 8 miles total, first run of September. I'm glad I took the week off, but I was going antsy and wasn't going to make it to two anyway! :) I guess that's a good thing. I won't jump into high mileage though; I think I will just run what I feel until Victoria.

Still trying to figure out a race plan for 2011. I want a spring 50-miler but there aren't many nearby options. I might do Chuckanut 50k in March and then Mt. Si 50 mile in April. Aside from that I'm not sure... I'm looking for tougher 50k/50 mile races as training runs for CCC. Tenderfoot may be an option in May, but given the major trouble they had this year, I'm a little wary of running it until they work out the kinks. We'll see! Meanwhile, I'll keep looking and pondering. :)

Pre-emptive downtime

2010-09-01T18:10:00.000-07:00

After reading and pondering the feedback from my previous post, I've decided to in fact take a couple of weeks completely off of running. The OCD side of me is not happy with this (what about my monthly and yearly mileage totals?! lol), but I think it's for the best! I'd rather rest now by choice than keep pushing and end up injured or burned out.

I still plan to run Victoria, but without expectations or pressure.

And then I will decide on an ultra plan for 2011!

Thank you to those of you who gave feedback; I definitely appreciate it!

Heart's Not In It

2010-08-30T13:25:00.000-07:00

It's been a long year... lots of miles. By the end of this week 2010 will officially be my highest mileage year ever--and there are still 4 months left. It's been great and I have enjoyed it, but I'm feeling a little tired these days.

Registering for the Victoria marathon had a double purpose. First, a bunch of my friends are doing it and it has been on my list of "to-do" marathons for quite some time. Second, I thought it would be a good way to keep myself from slacking too much after White River. I have a tendency to lose momentum after a big goal race and just fall off the wagon, so I wanted to avoid that.

As a result, I've moved right into marathon training. It took a few weeks to get my mileage back up to a reasonable level, but this week I should hit 50+ miles. And I feel fine, but my heart isn't in it. Part of me wishes I hadn't committed to Victoria. Part of me is considering just doing the half-marathon, but I'll decide that later if I don't feel up to the full in a few weeks.

With that said, I am planning to take some "down" time after this race. It will probably be for the rest of October and November, where I reduce my running and rest up a bit, and catch up on other things (November is also nanowrimo month!).

For those who have done a planned down-time like that, how much did you reduce your running? What did the weeks look like? How do you prevent yourself from losing all of your fitness and endurance? Did you follow a schedule or just run when you felt like it? I'm interested in finding out what others do... if I go into it with NO plan, then I will fall off the wagon. I want to at least maintain a decent base so that I can move into ultra training again in the new year! :)

Inspiration

2010-08-24T13:44:00.000-07:00

Two of my favourite ultra runners have had spectacular DNFs this year. While these guys are inspiring at all times, I find their DNF stories to be the most inspiring of all. On top of the fascinating psychology and physiology of what happens, their amazing attitudes and thoughtfulness are what strike me most. So I'd like to share:
Anton Krupicka's Leadville 100 report here.
Gary Robbins' Miwok 100km report here.

Anyone can DNF... it takes a great deal of character to do so with the grace and honesty that these two display. If I as a runner can pick up anything from them, I hope it's their mindset.

(though a bit of their speed would be nice too. ;)

Ultra runners

2010-08-23T13:30:00.000-07:00

Found this on the web and thought it was cool:

"It makes no sense in a world of space ships and supercomputers to run vast distances on foot. There is no money in it and no fame, frequently not even the approval of peers. But as poets, apostles and philosophers have insisted from the dawn of time, there is more to life than logic and common sense. The ultra runners know this instinctively. And they know something else that is lost on the sedentary. They understand, perhaps better than anyone, that the doors to the spirit will swing open with physical effort. In running such long and taxing distances they answer a call from the deepest realms of their being -- a call that asks who they are." -- David Blaikie

Cascade Crest 100

2010-08-18T16:34:00.000-07:00

I've always said that I had no desire to do a 100-miler. Who wants to run all night? Who wants to be out there for 24-30 hours, usually running loops around a 6-10 mile course? Why do that to yourself?

Friends said, "wait until after your first 50-miler... you will change your mind." I thought they were wrong; but if running has taught me anything, it's "never say never."

Finishing my first 50 and having an amazing experience brought the idea of 100 into the realm of "possible", but I still did not have any real desire to run one, and thought, "maybe in a couple of years."

But the fates decreed that while in this malleable mindset--still wearing the post-ultra glow, looking for a new goal, open to new possibilities--I should discover a race that could finally make me want to run 100 miles. No short, repetitive loops for me. How about a full-on adventure, one single, challenging, beautiful 100 mile loop in Washington's Cascade mountains?

Take White River and multiply it by two... then add a bit more elevation change, and you have Cascade Crest. There is a 25% dnf rate, but there is also a generous cut-off time (32 hours). I have a year to train.

I also have no freaking clue how to train for 100, so I've been looking at training plans online. The first-timer plans all seem to peak at around 70-75 miles per week. My White River training peaked at 69 miles, so that is very similar. The difference is that the 100 plans distribute the miles differently, putting more emphasis on back-to-back long runs and less emphasis on the shorter weekly runs.

Registration is in February, so I have some time to figure it all out and see what kind of shape I will be in for spring. But the reward would be worth the effort:

Changing Gears!

2010-08-15T20:37:00.001-07:00

After two weeks of rest and light running, it's time to change gears again and start getting ready for Victoria Marathon!

My run today was strong... best run since White River, which tells me that I'm on the right track. The past two weeks were kind of weird, in that the first week I just felt sore, but the second week I felt fatigued. My runs themselves have been fine, but there was that underlying fatigue that slowed me down and made me wonder if I needed more time. However, that seems to be gone today so I am taking that as a green light!

In order to transition back into higher mileage a little more gently, I'm aiming for 4 runs this week, and then will bump up to 5 next week. I'm adding one speed workout per week and I will also be doing my long runs on the road (but will still try to get in some trail runs because I love them so much!).

While I am looking forward to Victoria, I find myself yearning for a new ultra goal. I need to figure out a new goal race soon!

One Week Later

2010-08-08T16:29:00.000-07:00

My mind is still on those trails. I want to do White River again. If I could do it next month I would, but I will have to wait until July 2011! All week I have been pondering goal races for 2011 and am still undecided; there are several that I would like to do but they all involve travel, so I will eventually have to narrow down the list. If anyone has favourites that I should consider (specifically, more 50-milers) then let me know! If I keep my training up through the winter, work on strength and work on hills and maybe even work on speed, I could have a great year next year!

In the meantime, I've just registered for the Victoria Marathon in October. It's been on my list for several years, as I hear it's a great race. I haven't run a road marathon since 2007, and my pb is just waiting to be knocked down (it should go down fairly easily, I think). It will also keep me motivated so that I don't slack too much now in "recovery".

Speaking of recovery, I'm doing well. I've only run three times since the race but those runs have felt good. There are no specific issues, just some fatigue left over, and my quads are still not happy when I do even gentle down-hills. I only have one purple toe from the race (the one I slammed on a rock). Overall, I'm quite happy! Will keep the running easy and light for at least another week though.

Here are the official race photos, by Glenn Tachiyama. First is the ridge leading to Corral Pass, with Mt. Rainier in the background:

This is the last bit of a struggle up to Sun Top; my smile here is forced!

White River 50 Race Report

2010-08-01T09:15:00.001-07:00

Rather than copy it here, I'll just link to the report on RM:
http://www.runningmania.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=39325

It was an amazing day, and I absolutely loved this race! What a great first 50!

Taper Thoughts, week 3

2010-07-26T10:41:00.001-07:00

Aside from barely running last week, this taper has been pretty uneventful. I'm calm and ready, just waiting for race day to arrive! I expected a lot more taper madness than this.

This week's focus is on rest, hydration, and nutrition.

Yesterday's run was a slog. This concerned me because I expected to feel energized and refreshed by now. In the past two weeks I've only run about 70km. So why did my legs feel so dead yesterday?

I sent a note to another runner whose opinions I respect (and who has a lot more experience and knowledge than I do!). Among other things, he said:

First understand that how you feel is 100% normal and not a sign something is wrong. Get lots of sleep this week, eat properly and trust your training. IMO the three week standard taper DOES allow you to run good races, almost as good as the very best taper, the problem is how it leaves you feeling. Toward the end of the week put your feet up as much as possible, until then you can run lightly: short, quickish fun stuff (favorite short trail run?). Your legs are there, they are just puzzled: they'll know what to do race morning!

Relax your mind a bit, and the body follows better too.

Good advice... and good to know that I'm not abnormal!

So here I sit with a giant bottle of water, trusting that my legs will know what to do on race morning!

In other news, I've lost about 7lb since February. Hopefully I can keep it off after the race, which I think is a good possibility since I plan to jump straight into marathon training!

Let's get this show on the road! :)

Random Taper Thoughts, Week 2

2010-07-19T13:44:00.001-07:00

I always say that tapering is my favourite part of training... only because I get extra rest days (and I'm a slacker so I like rest days!). But really, it's not very fun. Cue mystery pains and issues, second-guessing my readiness, second-guessing the taper itself (why did I take 3 weeks?!), worrying about gaining weight, and obsessing about the race.

In the first week of taper I'd planned 45 miles and only did 32, but I'm ok with that because I still feel like I need a bit more rest. Yesterday's run was brutal; I felt exhausted, and everything hurt. That was only 10 miles.

I'm doing ok with the no junkfood thing, though I have cheated twice (so far it's the weekends that do me in!). I figure it's still a lot less than I normally have, so it's an improvement!

Then I read blogs of people like Anton Krupicka and I realize how much of a poser I really am! lol

From now until race day I don't really have a mileage plan, except I think I'll try to run every other day, and keep the distances short (nothing longer than 10 miles).

Oh, and I'm getting really excited about the race! I wish it could be this weekend instead of next weekend!

(Is it too early to start looking at weather forecasts?!)

Grandmothers of Endurance

2010-07-14T18:23:00.000-07:00

This is incredible! I hope I am still running ultras when I'm 77.

Courage and Light

2010-07-12T14:46:00.000-07:00

Check out this ultra edition of Marathon Talk, a UK program. It includes a great interview with Scott Jurek and some helpful information and tips.

Immediately after listening to this, I of course had ultra running on my mind. A coworker brought up a cheesy quote that she had received in an email--something about finding courage and light in your heart. Another coworker pondered, "how does courage lead to finding light?"

I said, "I know!"

"How?" she asked.

"You have to run an ultra to get it," was my response. She is a runner who has said she will "never" run an ultra (never say never!), and last week we had been talking about the appeal of ultras and why I want to run them. So she laughed when she heard this answer. But for me this is really what ultra running is all about, that complex web of things that happen in an ultra: battling pain and fatigue, continuing on no matter what, discovering things about yourself that you did not realize before, finding your greatest physical and mental highs and lows (often within minutes of each other!), and then finally overcoming the course--and in the process, yourself--and then going on to do it all over again.

Obviously there are other ways in which courage is related to light, but this is the most potent for me at the moment, given that I'm tapering! lol In fact, the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that courage and light are inseparable. But maybe that's just me. :)

At One with my Raptors

2010-07-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

Well, that's it... my last big run before White River!

I headed out this morning after a solid 8-hour sleep (drug-assisted!). It was 18C at 7am when I started, and would rise to 27C by the time I was finished. I knew that was too hot for Sammy to be out all day, so I did the first 45 minutes with him and then took him home and grabbed my hydration pack, and headed out for the rest.

The run was awesome! I felt really good throughout, even to the end. The roughest part was around the 22-24 mile stretch, but then I got a second wind at around the 6 hour mark. It was still slow, but well ahead of the cut-off pace that I will need for the race. And I still had energy at the end; in fact, I felt as though I could keep going. At no point did I feel bad, and mentally I was happy and relaxed and strong.

If my race goes as well as today's run, I'm golden!

I did get a little sun-burned, but not too badly because the trails are pretty shaded.

And I finally made the 200-calories per hour goal that I've had all along.

Distance: 50km
Time: 7:31:43
Total Elevation Change: 14,700 feet
Water consumed: about 5L
Calories consumed: 1600

For the very first time, I actually feel ready.

My La Sportiva Raptors, post-run:

Last Big Week!

2010-07-05T16:04:00.001-07:00

Today is the start of my last big training week, and I am aiming for 110km. I slacked last week (not on purpose--I was sabotaged by a crazy work schedule and no sleep!) so I am ready to get back on track this week. I have Thursday and Friday off of work and the weather is supposed to be hot, so I might as well finish with a bang!

The plan:
Monday - 10 miles
Tuesday - 10 miles
Wednesday - rest
Thursday - 31 miles
Friday - 10 miles
Saturday - rest
Sunday - 7 miles

After that, taper starts (though my first taper week won't be dramatic--I'm thinking 75km). My goals for this week are to stay fueled and hydrated, and get in that last big long run in the heat!

Further Up and Further In

2010-06-29T20:52:00.000-07:00

This month has been huge for milestones. I've seen my biggest week ever, my new biggest month ever, and my first 300km month.

And I'm feeling great. In fact, I don't think I've ever felt as good about my running as I do now.

Don't get me wrong--I've had my tired and sore days. But when I think about how far I've come and what I've accomplished over the past few months, I almost feel as though the training for this race is as significant to me as the race itself.

Thinking back to January: At the beginning of the month I wasn't even running; I was still getting over my injuries. I started running again in the second half of the month, pulling in a grand total of 26 miles for the entire month.

February: Feeling a little better, starting to run more frequently. 68 miles for the month. I remember being concerned about the nagging pains, issues of compensation, lower leg problems, etc. I remember wishing I could just run again without being afraid of re-injuring myself. I just wanted running to feel good again. I was out of shape and still had some leftover problems, and didn't know how much I could safely run without overdoing it. I was frustrated. And yet it was at this time that a friend put the idea in my head that maybe I could still do White River this year. My first response was, "are you insane? That's only 4 months away and I'm barely running!" But as I walked away from that conversation, the fire was kindled, and I thought, "well... maybe I could do it..."

March: I decided to use March as a test month. Could I safely increase my mileage to a good starting point to get me on track for White River? I designed an ambitious training plan and decided that there was only one way to find out. If I crashed and burned, I would do so early enough to revise my plans for the summer. But it was worth trying. So in March I ramped up the mileage (I never liked the 10% rule anyway!). 110 miles for the month might not seem like a lot, but it was a major increase. And I had no setbacks.

April: 170 miles. Again, huge increases in a short period of time. This was my highest month ever, and I hadn't even been near that since January 2007. Confidence was building, but I knew there was still lots of time for things to go wrong.

May: holding rather than increasing. I gave my body some time to adapt to the increases. I battled through some difficult runs and worked on my mental training. My first 100k week. Constantly hungry. Feeling good. 160 miles for the month.

June: starting to get tired, and starting to feel as though I'm ready to be done. I seem to vacillate from day to day. One day I feel exhausted and cranky and I'm not sure how I'll get through to taper, and the next day I feel awesome and confident. First 50k training run (pb!). New biggest week ever. New biggest month ever. First time past 300km in a month. Trying really hard to get enough sleep and enough food and water to keep me going.

And now here I am. I feel as though I've already climbed a huge mountain, and I'm really happy about how far I've come. I want to celebrate, but I will wait until the last big week is done! (Still scared of the race though!)

Goodbye, popcorn

2010-06-29T16:25:00.000-07:00

For the past few weeks I have been hopelessly addicted to popcorn. At home I eat air-popped with butter and salt, and at work I've been eating microwave popcorn (which is unusual for me!). Must be the salt...

But today is June 29 and I just finished off my last bag of popcorn until after White River. I have decided that I need to clean up my diet for the month of July. No popcorn, no chips, no candy, no fries, no alcohol, no pastries, no chocolate bars, no slurpees, no pop (except diet). This is hard for me... I love my treats. But I want to be healthy going into this race, and I also don't want to gain weight during my taper. So this is how it will be. I will not cut out cheese and pizza, or other things which have nutritional value and are good running foods. I also need to take my multi-vitamin more often, as I suspect I might be low on iron these days.

Amazingly, I've lost 4lb since March (but unfortunately it's the 4lb that I gained over the fall/winter while injured, so I am at the same weight I was a year ago).

Weekly Summary

2010-06-27T19:30:00.001-07:00

Monday - 12 miles
Tuesday - 5 miles
Wednesday - 10 miles (trail)
Friday - 21 miles (trail)
Sunday - 16 miles

Total: 64 miles (103km)

This makes my new highest week ever, and also brings me up to 293km for the month so far; I will definitely break 300km this month for the first time!

The hip is feeling better at the end of the week than it was at the beginning, so that is a good sign. It was a little achey today during the run but not bad, and isn't bothering me at all when I'm not running. So I am encouraged!

This week coming up will be a semi-cutback week. It won't be as drastic as the last one, but light, in prep for my last big week.

Today's run was great; although I felt tired from the week, I still felt pretty strong. It was still slow, but I sped up for the last few miles and felt awesome. This gives me a bit of confidence; the bigger weeks are getting easier! But I'm still scared of the race!

Onward!

Good Reading

2010-06-27T00:50:00.001-07:00

Scott Jurek's account of breaking the US 24-hour record is well worth a read. I love his attitude!

As well, I really enjoyed this post by Scott Dunlap. It gives a bit of insight into why we do this crazy thing called ultrarunning.

This Harsh and Splendid Land

2010-06-26T01:35:00.000-07:00

This harsh and splendid land
With snow-covered rock mountains, cold-crystal streams,
Deep forests of cypress, juniper and ash
Is as much my body as what you see before you here.

(from The Warrior Song of King Gezar)

I read this tonight in "Three Cups of Tea" (trying hard to stay awake on the long overnight!). Then it reminded me of another quote I read recently, by a local artist/painter named Chili Thom. He said:

"I love living here. It's got so much diverse beauty but is also a very rugged and challenging place. From the weather-hammered shorelines of the West Coast all the way through to the jagged upheaval of the Rockies, you can learn that life is not always easy but it always goes on. You see a tiny tree clinging out of a crack on the cliffs of the Squamish Chief and it shows that life is a struggle but with perseverance you can get through anything. In nature, there are a lot of challenges you have to power through. You suffer out a storm, or a long slog up to a summit, but you are always rewarded with something beautiful: a sunrise, or a 360-degree viewpoint, or an Inukshuk on the top of a mountain."

Long Run

2010-06-25T14:56:00.001-07:00

Distance: 21 miles
Time: 5:20:24
Total elevation change: 8,800 feet
Calories consumed: 970
Tired puppies: 1

My calorie consumption almost made it to 200/hour, which has been my goal this entire training period. I have never actually hit that 200/hour mark yet, but having it as a goal helps me to force myself to eat even when I don't want to.

In the interests of listening to my body, I shortened today's run from the planned 31 miles. This means I won't make my mileage plan for the week, but I should still be able to make the monthly goal (300km).

Tried some new foods today. A friend sent me a couple of Hammer Gels to try--one banana and one chocolate. I did like them, but I found that they coated my mouth and didn't go down as smoothly as my CarbBooms and Clif Shots do. The flavours were good though! The chocolate tasted like pudding. Yum!

I also had some leftover Peanut Butter m&ms with me, which went down very well around the 20 mile mark. It helped that it was a warm day so I hardly had to chew them!

But I think my favourite new food is the Clif Shot Bloks. This was only my second time trying them and I really enjoy them. The flavour is good and they are really easy to get down. I was worried that they'd stick to my teeth or be hard to chew, but they are great!

Overall it was a good run, and I enjoyed being out there with Sammy, who is now sprawled at my feet, half asleep! My hip wasn't bad but it did ache a fair amount in the second half. I'm glad I didn't try to do the full distance.

Onward!

Re-thinking the Plan

2010-06-23T22:13:00.000-07:00

I don't think I've mentioned it on this blog yet, though most reading it will already be aware: I spent much of 2009 battling a pretty serious injury. My left hip basically seized right up, from the top of the quads all the way up into my abdomen. For months I was limping around the neighbourhood, and was off of running for awhile. I went to physio, which helped a little, but didn't find my real solution until January 2010 when I had a couple of IMS treatments (intra-muscular stimulation). That cleared it up enough that I was finally able to run without pain and start building my mileage again. Over the past 5 months it has been great, but periodically it will tighten up a bit, become sore for a few days, and then relax again. It hasn't been enough to concern me or make me back off the mileage, and goes away on its own.

But this week it has been a little more tight, and a little more sore, and it's making me nervous. It's not bad--I have been running and walking fine--but it twinges and isn't relaxing. Most likely it is reacting to my increased mileage, and the 50k I did a couple of weeks ago.

At this point in my training, the last thing I want to do is get re-injured. My risk tolerance is really low, and I really don't want to screw this up.

So I think I need to take another look at my plan for the next 2.5 weeks until taper. I had planned two more 50k runs, but I might drop this week's, and level out a bit for this week and next, just to be on the safe side. A part of me feels like that's wussing out... but I'll just remind myself that I've enough miles under my belt to finish the race; missing it because I pushed too hard would be much worse than easing off a bit right now.

Thoughts?

The Buck Stops Here

2010-06-21T21:02:00.001-07:00

I was in a foul mood all day today... frustration at work plus the regular Monday blahs (it's tough to get up for work on Monday morning when you've been working nights all weekend...). So I was grouchy all day and found myself looking forward to my run tonight and thinking that I might lengthen it past the planned 10 miles.

I set out feeling alright. Couldn't quite find a smooth stride but my legs felt well-rested (as they should since I only ran 13 miles last week!). The weather was nice and I was at the fast end of lsd pace when I came across this guy:

He was just having a snack next to the trailway, and didn't seem too concerned that I approached him for an impromptu photo op.

That made me happier. I ended up doing 12 miles. In the last couple of miles I was hurting a bit (no idea why, since I wasn't going very fast) and I started thinking about how many miles I still have to do in the next couple of weeks, and I felt tired and ready to be finished. So I had to give myself a little pep talk; it went like this:

This is the part where you have to just put your head down, push through, and get it done. Forget about how tired you are and how much it hurts. Take one mile at a time, one day at a time, and just do it. You're almost finished. Now is not the time to wuss out.

Onward!

Sleep... or something like it

2010-06-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

This week was a cut-back week, and once again ended up being a dramatic reduction. I only ran twice, for a total of 13 miles.

I had planned to run again today, but working overnights on the weekends and days during the week appears to be catching up to me, and sleep deprivation beat out today's run.

Still trying to get enough sleep to support my mileage, but I find that it's getting harder and harder. For the first time in this training cycle, I'm dreading the upcoming week. Must try to catch a few more winks by Monday...

LT Workout at the Track

2010-06-16T20:45:00.000-07:00

tonight's LT interval workout:
2 miles warm-up
6x800, aiming for 4:35, and ending up with:
4:37
4:30
4:32
4:35
4:34
4:33

plus cool-down and recovery laps, total 7 miles.

It was good. I am still feeling last week a bit in my joints (not my muscles, fortunately!). But the cut-back week is only half over so I'm confident that I'll be 100% again by Monday. :)

A friend and I tried a new (to us) track tonight, and I didn't really like it. The only benefit is that it's the closest to home. But it's asphalt instead of rubberized and there were WAY too many people there... they weren't even running. My friend and I were the only ones running. The field was full of field hockey teams, and they had their gear spread out into the first two lanes on one side. Then there were small children playing on the track, kids riding bikes, some guy playing with his dog, and several walkers. It was not cool. I think I'll save this one for rainy days when no one else is out.

In other news, I have been processing my feelings about my upcoming race. Every time I think about it, a wave of fear washes over me. This is a huge new distance for me, and not one that I can just fake. But the wave of fear has been consistently followed by a certain peacefulness. I have trained well. In fact, I've trained harder and more consistently for this race than any other, ever. I'm still worried about the cut-off times, but overall I've come to a place of calm, knowing that I've done all I can do and now it's just maintaining and adapting until taper time. The true test will be race day, and whether I finish in time or not, the whole thing has been an awesome experience and I will have no regrets.

I also think that I have managed to find that elusive balance between too much and not enough. I feel (almost) ready, but I don't feel overtrained or overwhelmed. I'm ready for taper time but not dying for it. It's good.

Only 3.5 weeks until taper! :)

Weekly Summary

2010-06-13T18:06:00.000-07:00

Monday - 10 miles
Wednesday - 10 miles
Friday - 31 miles
Sunday - 11 miles

Total: 62 miles (100km)

Today's run was a bit sluggish. My legs were not happy about it, lol. But I wanted the 100k and this week is a cut-back week so I went for it anyway. Overall, though, I feel great considering the long run on Friday... hardly any soreness (none until I started running on it today). This cut-back week should get me all fixed up for another big one next week!

Best Long Run Ever.

2010-06-11T16:20:00.000-07:00

Well after all my whining about being tired, I took a Nytol last night and slept 8 hours solid. It's amazing what a good sleep can do for one's running!

Woke up this morning with 28 miles (45k) on the schedule, and thought, "If I feel good I'll do 50k."

Ran the first 40 minutes with Sammy, then dropped him off at home and grabbed my nathan pack and my ipod, and set out again. The beginning was a little rough but overall I felt good, and as I continued on I knew I was going to do 50k today. I kept to a MUCH easier route than last week, so it hurt a lot less. Just as pretty though... I ran through an area that I'd never seen before and that was far from other people (not a soul out there except me!), and the forest was unlike anything I'd ever seen--positively enchanting. I was running through there looking at the trees and the tiny purple flowers by the path and smiling to myself, thinking, "This is why I do this." It was lovely. I wish I were an artist (not that any picture could do it justice). I wanted to keep following that path but I was nervous about how far away I was getting, should anything go wrong... so I reluctantly turned around and headed back to civilization, then did another leg to get my distance. I felt GOOD throughout the run. I was so happy to be out there, no major pains or problems, no feeling of exhaustion or fatigue, no slowing down in the second half. When I hit the 24 mile mark I knew that I was going to have a 50k pb, and I did--finished in 6:27:50, which is an 18 minute pb.

Calories consumed: 1215
bears spotted: 0, but they were close by... I received a warning from another person that he'd just seen a cub, so the mama was probably nearby
garmins killed: 1, but fortunately it held off until after the run... I don't have my run data though!

Tired...

2010-06-10T15:37:00.000-07:00

The past two training weeks have been the hardest yet, and not just because of mileage (in fact, my mileage hasn't really increased since mid-May). My legs have felt perpetually tired and sore for over a week, even with the extra rest day that I took on Tuesday.

I take cut-back weeks religiously every third week, and during those weeks I only run 20-30k. I don't think I'm overtraining. I don't feel the mental drag that tends to come with overtraining, and mentally I feel fine--even eager for each run.

So what's going on? Is it just regular fatigue from approaching the peak of the training period? I've been increasing steadily since January, going from 0 to 100k weeks in 5 months. I'm maintaining my highest training load ever. I'm almost done. Does that explain how tired I feel these days, or is there something else?

I feel like I'm not recovering well from the runs, and that concerns me because last year at this time I said the same thing and a week later I was injured. So I want to be careful... but I also want to recognize that my mileage is high and that's going to make me tired. And I haven't been sleeping well for the past few weeks, so maybe that is part of the problem too.

For now, I'll continue doing what I'm doing, but I wanted to record all of this in case I need to revisit it later.

Tonight, bed early! Long run tomorrow. Onward!

Smackdown

2010-06-07T18:14:00.001-07:00

I spent yesterday standing near the bottom of "Ned's Atomic Dustbin", a popular downhill mountain bike course on Mt. Seymour. Let's just note from the top that this is not a trail I have ever ridden on my bike; it is far above my skill level, a very technical trail with several big drops, tight corners, steep sections, and very few soft places to land. I have a great deal of respect for everyone who finished the "Specialized Smackdown" race yesterday.

Being a course marshall was fun, if nerve-wracking. I learned that mtb races are vastly different from running races. This particular race was really short. The winner did it in 2:40ish (that's 2 minutes, 40 seconds!). But we were there all day because not only do the racers have to go down one at a time (they are timed--there is no room for passing), but also before the race even started there were 3 hours of practice runs, so each racer could run the course several times before the race. Once the race started, there was only 30 seconds between racers. It got pretty intense! Also, unlike running, they start with the slowest racers and work up to the elites. This meant that the action got faster and faster as the race went on.

The nerve-wracking part was the potential for injury. As a marshall, this made me a bit nervous. Fortunately I only had one injury at my station, and that was during the practice runs, not the race (don't worry, he was ok--just some bruised ribs). However during the race there were some other injuries, and the poor injured people had to walk down the mountain to the nearest road; I can't imagine. One girl was making her way slowly down the mountain with a broken collarbone.

Anyway, the race itself went well, and I took lots of pics, but my favourite was the exploding tree. During the practice run one of the riders missed the tight corner and went over the edge, completely demolishing a tree stump; it literally exploded before my eyes. It was spectacular! The best part is that the guy got up laughing, went back, and took the curve again (successfully this time!).

This was the tree before:

And after:

Good times! I definitely want to volunteer again next year! I should also mention that I was incredibly impressed by the elites! Not only were they crazy fast, but they took the technical parts so smoothly that it looked deceptively easy. Amazing.

Weekly Summary

2010-06-05T15:23:00.000-07:00

Monday - 10 miles trail
Tuesday - 6 miles
Wednesday - 8 miles
Friday - 25 miles trail
Saturday - 4 miles

Total: 53 miles (85k).

I had wanted 90k but those 85 were hard-earned so I'll take them! I think next week I'll stick to easier routes (especially for the long run) to give myself a bit of a break. Yesterday's run was a huge deposit to the "pain bank", that should pay off on race day.

Tomorrow is a rest day... sort of. I'm volunteering all day at the North Shore Bike Fest. I get to be a marshall for the downhill mountain bike race course, and in spite of the forecast of rain, I think it will be fun! Hopefully I can get some good photos of the bikes tearing down the mountain.

Today I booked my hotel room for WR50. Can't wait!

Tough 25

2010-06-04T17:16:00.000-07:00

Today's run was supposed to be a confidence-booster. I've been worried about my slow paces and how they are dangerously close to the cut-off paces for my goal race. It had occurred to me that running with my dog might be slowing me down--it seems like we're always stopping to pick up poop, chase squirrels, take a dip in the river, say hello to other dogs and people, leash/unleash (depending on where we are) and deal with undesirable behaviour (I apologize if my dog has ever jumped on you while on the trail!). So today I decided to run without Sammy and see if it made a difference. My hope was that a faster pace would give me more confidence for the race.

It backfired. Yes, I think I would have been faster, as I was making good time in the first part of the run. But my legs were tired from the start, and I made the mistake of picking a very difficult route. As soon as I hit technical sections, I slowed right down. Then I was exploring an area I hadn't done before, and it was down, down, down followed by up, up, up. By the half-way mark I was already hurting and slow. Then I ran out of water in the 18th mile. While I felt well mentally, my body was suffering. My 40k run ended up taking almost as long as my last 50k. Definitely my most painful run yet this year.

Oh, and I saw a bear! I was glad then that Sammy wasn't with me, since I'm not sure how he would have reacted. I came around a corner and there he was, about 30 feet away, all cute and black with big ears. He wasn't full grown, but not a baby either. We both stopped and looked at each other (me wishing I'd brought my camera!) and then he turned off the trail and down into the bush.

So, I did not get the confidence boost I was looking for. My distance and time were both exactly half of what I need on July 31. My only comfort is that this was a much tougher route than what I will encounter in the race, so hopefully that helps a little!

5 weeks until taper...

Distance: 25 miles (40k)
Time: 6:34:49
Elevation change: 15,000 feet
Calories consumed: 1025 (not enough)
Bears spotted: 1 :)

getting things started

2010-06-03T19:50:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd start a running blog! The question is whether I'll be able to keep it up longer than a few weeks, as I tend to start these things and not continue them. I'd like this to be not only a collection of my own thoughts on running and training, but also a place where I can collect some of my favourite blog posts from other authors. There is some great material out there!

Currently I am 8 weeks away from my first 50-mile trail race, and the nervous anticipation increases by the day. It was three years ago, right after my first 50k, that I first started talking about doing 50 miles. How did three years elapse without meeting that goal? Knock on wood, I'm almost there.

Happy trails!