Thursday, September 2, 2010

I swear I have been trying to get to this blog and update some training but after a day of facing a computer screen at work, book-ended by substantial runs/training sessions, I don’t fancy the idea of getting back on the machine to type. I have a moment now to throw down an entry but it will be quick and dirty. 

I am really enjoying the training and haven’t had any major set-backs with the increase of volume which I am thankful for. The biggest hurdle really is balancing the recovery required with  the more substantial weeks of running. Ideally, I should be taking a nap or at least lying down for an hour or two every day but with a job, that’s not been possible. So, I find myself trying to catch up on rest on the weekends and any time I can get and feeling only mildly virtuous that I have at least iced my legs after work!

My workouts have gone very well. Every week I am gaining more confidence although I have no clue how all these workouts are really going to add up. I find marathon training funny as most of my main workouts are about running long enough at a steady pace to tire myself out and then going straight into marathon goal pace. I haven’t really run 3:45 pace on frisky legs…I understand why it’s done that way. I remember when running just 50′ at marathon pace seemed impossible. Now I am running at that pace for longer on tired legs and it’s fairly comfortable!  I can see how easy it would be on fresh, race-day legs, to fly off the start-line  like an idiot running 10″ /km faster than you should. I will remember these workouts and how hard it will be to hold pace after 90+ minutes of running come race day. I won’t be a fool.

I have been very fortunate to have Lucy join me on a lot of my workouts which has been a great help. She and I are a good match and we have had some great runs. Matt was a HUGE help on a big tempo run a couple of weekends ago. He even placed water bottles ahead of time along Lochside so I could stay hydrated and practice taking gels on the run-thanks so much Matt! The wo he set out that day was a biggie with 45′ at a steady clip of around 4:20/km pace right into 60′ at marathon (3:44/km). This felt very smooth and I was in control. I was then to go right into 15′ at half-marathon pace which started off just fine. I was holding pace for about 8-10′ but then it suddenly it got hard and my hamstring started to cramp so I pulled off with a few minutes left, gave my leg a quick massage and then finished off with the planned 15′ at a steady pace. I was ok with the bail on the last few minutes of the half-marathon effort. It was a big run off a big week and I generally felt really good and smooth. I noticed a big improvement in the 60′ at marathon pace from the week before in terms of effort so I knew the fitness is going in the right direction. I had a bit of a worry though when I ran the Edmonton Half-marathon last weekend. It seems that even just 1000m above sea-level makes me feel like crap. My easy run the day before the race had my HR beating 10 beats higher than normal, the warm-up for the race was the same and the race itself had me breathing as though I was at the end of a 5km race rather than the first few kilometers running 3:40s! This is the very same feeling I had in Calgary running a race there a couple of years ago. I knew what was up though and as much as I wanted to pull the plug, I decided to use the race as a mental workout and tried to hold marathon pace (which was half-marathon effort that day!!). Most of the other top women finishers too ran 2-3′ off their predicted time. Wow, I am sounding like I am making excuses for a mediocre time…well here’s another one: me, Lisa and a couple guys who were with us, veered off course in the last km! haha! Twits. Otherwise, the race was great. Brian Torrance did a wonderful job organizing the race and treated us all really well. Kat and I were roomies and, as is usual with us, we had a quite few laughs and enjoyed hanging out in the hotel with nothing to do! LUXURY!! All of my runs and workouts since the race have felt very good so I am convinced it was the altitude and bad air quality from the forest fires that were to blame…or I just ran like poo. Whatever, keep moving, nothing to see here.

Sunday I was in Vancouver doing another Mindful Strides workshop with Kat. We did a 2:40 progression run in the morning and I felt terrific! Kat too had a great pretty fun. The workshop went really well and we had a great turn-out but woah, were we bagged afterwards.

Yesterday was a really good. Lucy, Magali and I ran 10 x 1km at the lakes. We used the stretch between the 7km and 8km markers. Lance came along to keep us in line and suggested we run an interval every 5′ since we were aiming for 3:25-3:30/km:

3:37-3:32-3:32-3:30-3:30-3:31-3:30-3:28-3:31-3:29. Not bad on tired legs. Lucy was so great pulling me through the last two reps when I was starting to flail. I admit, there was some porno breathing in the last 2 minutes.

I was to have one more monster tempo run this Saturdaywhich Matt was going to pace me on but my hamstring has tightened up so we decidedI would wait until Sunday or Monday to do it.

Over the summer, Kat and I managed to sprinkle in a few more Mindful Strides workshops sponsored kindly by Lululemon. These have been great fun! I have met so many wonderful people and we hope once the marathon is over, we can gear up for another series in the fall. Stay tuned!

Cover Girl!

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Training is coming along very nicely so far. I have run a few big workouts on top of more volume over the past few weeks and am still feeling very good and am definitely getting fitter by the week. The key workouts have gone really well. I have been icing almost every day and resting as much as possible. I did my first big marathon pace wo a couple weekends ago: 60′ @ steady effort right into 60′ @ marathon. This was run along the Lochside trail, so a flat course with a mix of gravel and road. I practiced the art of taking in water and gels without gagging.  I averaged 4:23/km heading out to the ferry from Lochside/McKenzie for the first hour and 3:48/km for the second hour heading back. The first 20′ of the marathon portion did not feel so good but once I got past the initial shock, I was rolling along and finished strong. The next Saturday I was lucky to have Keith join me. This time I had just 60′ at marathon but with a much larger week in my legs both in intensity and volume and it felt extremely smooth averaging 3:44/km.  I was very pleased with this session and was grateful for Keith’s pacing.

Lucy joined me yesterday for a 30′ tempo @ half marathon effort around the undulating Lochside loop yesterday morning. The effort felt easy at 3:39/km. This workout was short and sweet only becuase I have a monster session tomorrow! Kat is here for the weekend. We have a Mindful Strides workshop tomorrow afternoon which will great fun!  The one we did in Vancouver a couple of weeks ago was a blast! I am trying to download pics but it’s not working for me and I can’t be bothered to fight with it tonight.

My shorter workout days right now include a second shake-out run in the afternoon. Non-workout days have been doubles with strides after my second afternoon run. My longest run is now at 2:30 and a second run is now at 2 hours. I logged a 100 mile week last week and am holding up really well! I just have no time to blog! Sorry Alias Basil but at least I am still here. Where did you go??

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

No, I didn’t get swallowed up by a bear. The busy-ness of catching up at work,  logging more miles since my holiday on top of the Mindful Strides workshops and life in general has taken up any extra time I have for blogging . I have some great pics from our hiking/camping trip and will post a few later. We saw some amazing scenery and the trails we got to explore took us through majestic ancient forests and had us climbing up to mountain peaks where we were rewarded with breath-taking vistas. My heart soared and the trip just wasn’t long enough. We also shared a lot of laughs mostly at Squintch’sexpense, which also made the trip so memorable. Unfortunately I got sick enough at the start of the trip to warrant me getting a prescription for antibiotics. I was determined not to let it ruin my trip. The temporary loss of my voice for several days gave Squintch the very evident joy of razzing me with no fear of retaliation. Pan-Pan, you missed a good trip.

Training has ramped up these past couple of weeks.  Jon got scooped up by Triathlon Canada and is training Simon and the gang, getting them prepared for 2012. It’s a big commitment so his time is minimal now for training help so Matt has kindly agreed to help me with the marathon schedule and I have been very fortunate to have Lucy Smith volunteer to run as many workouts as she can fit in. Slaw also rounded up some help from Keith who is keen to do a few longer tempo runs. I am looking forward to  the new challenge of bigger training weeks (gulp!) now that I have some training buddies!

I have logged some good mileage with solid workouts since I have been back from my trip. Here are the key wos for now:  The first was a 5 x 5′ (90″) session at 10km effort two Saturdays ago which was tough as it was my first substantial wo. I averaged 3:35/km for the loop at Layritz. The following Tuesday I ran 50′ at marathon pace around the Cedar Hill loop. I was pleased with the consistency of  the three loops; not an easy thing to do on that hilly course. They were all done in 14′ flat, give or take a couple of seconds.  Thursday’s 45′ at marathon wasn’t as stellar at all. I was still recovering from both Tuesday’s session and the the 90′ run the night before so my legs just weren’t there BUT I had a solid run at Saturday’s session which made up for it: 6 x 5′ @ half effort (1′) (Layritz loop). Ian’s allergies were bugging him so he paced me on this wo which was done in the heat-thanks Ian! I worked my way down nicely: 3:45-3:39-3:38-3:37-3:34-3:36. Good running considering the shorter rests and with my legs not at their perkiest. I did a 30′ easy shake out run later that day. I had a great 2 hour run the next day with Kat. I was in Vancouver to do a Mindful Strides workshop so I helped pace her on most of her progression run. 45′ @ 5:00/km, 30′ @ 4:15, 30′ @ 4:00 and then I did 7-8 minutes at 3:50 with a few minutes after that of easy running. This run felt just fine as we cruised around the trails in Stanley Park. The workshop in the afternoon was challenging to say the least after a long run! It was very successful; we had 15 participants!

Ok so more details for this week with all my runs. I think last week I got up to about 135km: Monday I ran easy-steady on undulating trails for 75′ in the morning and 30′ easy on the flat on the UVic trails with Dave after work with 6 x 80m strides on the grass. Yesterday I met Lucy at the Lakes and we did a strong wo together: 4 x 10′ at half effort (2:30′). We ran this very evenly and had a great time . Lucy is a smooth little machine and a joy to run beside! I did a 30′ easy shake out run after work. Every week I am feeling fitter. It’s early days yet but I am feeling physically strong so a good start!

Thursday June 24, 2010

The weather is looking very promising for our trip. Two more sleeps and we’ll be in Osoyoos for the start of our adventure! It’s looking good for the area around Nelson too so we should be ok.  I bought a tent last weekend so I’m all set…ok have to buy some food (chocolate)…but that will get done tomorrow afternoon and will pack tomorrow night! Will blog about training when I get back. See you in a week – have a great Canada Day everyone!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

The weekend was pretty well devoted to the Mindful Strides workshop. We had a nice group to work with and the weather couldn’t have been better, although Kat and I both got a bit too much sun to the point where my hair is now  a few shades lighter. Next time we will be wearing more sun screen and a hat! There was no doubt we were both exhausted by Sunday afternoon. Saturday was not too tiring as we both had a day off from training but Sunday morning we got up at 5:30am (!!!) to start our long run at 6:30 with Kirsten. We did the hilly trails around Royal Roads which was great fun. We got in a quick shower and then back at the track for day two of the workshop. I really enjoyed doing the workshop and got a real kick seeing the improvement in every one’s form and how quickly they caught on to the drills. It was a very satisfying weekend!

Monday I needed some recovery so I had two runs of just 45′  on trails joining Matt on his evening run around CH – it was windy and cold!! Tuesday was a fast workout: 10 x 30″ @ mile effort (1′).  The wo felt really smooth especially with the Pose drills back in my legs. I followed it by 20′ of plyometrics. I am up to three full sets  and am strong enough now that they take nothing out of me.  Wednesday I got in another double on trails and felt pretty frisky on both runs with 6 x 80m strides on grass with full recovery after my second run. I did my strength/core circuit after dinner.

Today I did a really beautiful trail run of 90′ starting at the lakes and looping around Killarney Lake with Ian. It took me about 30′ to warm-up but once we got going, we were cruising along easily. I have a day off from training tomorrow but will be taken on a 90′ ride in the morning – hope a scenic route is on tap and not a killer ride haha! It’s always nice to get on my bike and will be good to do something different.

The tougher training is going to begin very soon so in anticipation, I have booked in massage with Kim every other week starting next week as I am sure I am going to need help with recovery. I am so lucky and grateful she can fit me in!! I have a massage booked for the week after my hiking trip…good timing! Nothing like sleeping on a thin mat in a tent night after night for a week after hiking all day,  to do a number on your body. We have been finalizing some details for the trip and it’s coming together nicely. I am counting the days until we go!

 This is an email from one of Janna’s cousins who is one of the gang joining us and who looked into current details about hiking in the Kookanee area:

“There are still snowmobiles going out and last weekend there were some people air lifted out do to injuries from a avalanche as a example of how much snow there is at the moment!! It is leaving fast though with the rain and warm weather! The hut up Kokanee is amazing, you should look into it, it would probably require to book in advance if you could even get in at all”.

God Almighty.

So it likes like Janna and I will pick Dave up at the airport in Vancouver on Saturday night and drive as far as Hope to get a head start on the trip. We’ll hit Osoyoos first, hang out on the beach a bit there (camp site has been booked!)  then we’ll do Valhalla Park and head to Nelson way on Canada Day and then hike  the Kookanee Glacier Park/Slocan Lake at the end of the trip. We hope that by doing Valhalla Park first and allowing an extra few days for the snow to melt will prevent the possibility of having to be air-lifted out…then there are the grizzly bears to deal with. I may get some faster running in on the trip after all.

Friday, June 11, 2010

I did a very solid hill workout on Tuesday:15 x 30″ Mount Doug hills. My rests were all about 75″ and I felt pretty strong. Wednesday I got in a double; one hilly run (4:44/km) with Kirsten before work and a flat run after work followed by a great massage. Thursday I ran a hilly 90′ (4:36/km) on some trails and felt very good.

Kat arrived this morning. We have our workshop all day tomorrow and Sunday so we did a wo at the lakes this morning. I did 10 x 60″ (2′) on the back stretch of the trail while she did a bigger wo for her upcoming half-marathon. I averaged 3:10/km pace without much stress. We followed this with some plyos. The highlight was spotting a large baby owl sitting on a very low tree branch just a few metres from one of the trails. It was so incredible! He (or she?) just stared at us as curious about us as we were of him! What a gorgeous creature! 

We met Matt for a bite of dinner down at the harbour dock on Wharf at Red Fish Blue Fish. It was such a warm night…at last! It looks like the weather is going to hold for our workshops (whew!).

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

The last couple of weeks I’ve been focusing my training on aerobic running and getting back into the full sets of my strength/core and plyometric routines. Without the stress of any major workouts or volume it’s a good time to build my strength back up which should help me in the coming months when the training gets tougher. I’ve also been doing a good amount of drills and fast strides to get some speed, form and turn-over back. I’m starting to feel consistently frisky and strong again. The wos last week included a really strong progression run with my bud Kirsten: 15′ @ 4:30, 15″@ 4:15, 15′@ 4:00, 15 @3:45, 15′ easy on a rolling route and a  8 x 2′   wo just for some turn-over. I’m up to running 90′ total on my double days twice/week and 105′ for my long run with a second medium long run of 90′. I am trying get in some decent hilly runs to add to the strength focus of this phase. Thelow-ish volume will stay much the same until the end of the month and then the fun begins with tempo runs and marathon simulation runs that will build in length throughout the summer.

Before it all gets really going, I have planned a week-long hike with some friends in June/July. It looks like Kookanee Glacier Park will be a go!!

This weekend Katherine and I are doing our first Mindful Strides workshop which we are both very excited about. I have been wanting to get a workshop series going for some time . In a nutshell, the workshop is to help runners improve their form and to learn a healthy stretching /yoga routine that will enhance a running program. I know how much my running changed and improved when I was given the tools on how run with awareness and was able to perceive good use (and let go of bad habits). The extensive work I did learning the Pose Method and the Alexander Method was invaluable to me and is the foundation (in terms of avoiding injury) that has allowed me to run consistently which is key to improvement and more importantly, staying in the sport. If you haven’t yet signed up, it’s not too late! Katherine is a very experienced yoga instructor who specializes in practices and stretches specifically geared for runners; equally important for injury prevention and body awareness. She will be leading the first half of the course and will be closing with yoga poses on both days so you will leave feeling refreshed and excited about what you have learned!

Thanks to genius web designer Matt Clout, we have launched our web site for our Mindful Strides workshop series! 

Katherine Moore and I have a great weekend lined up June 12th and 13th in Victoria. If you are interested in learning how to improve your running form to avoid injuries and want to learn the best yoga stretches and poses for runners, sign up! See our web site for all the details!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

The training up until now have been easy to steady runs of 45-60 minutes a day and wos won’t be too intense for a while so nothing too exciting to report. Jon is gradually easing me back into the volume and I have been taking this “vacation” time to build back some overall strength and have even done some cycling. I have been adding a handful of strides after every other run for turn-over and plyometric sessions but other than that, the past week has been about cruisy runs. I am starting to feel strong again. I did my first 90′ run in weeks and it felt very good and I am definitely getting the spring back into my step. I am excited to have Kirsten Sweetland as my workout buddy over the summer. She is very sweet and we are going to make a good training partners!

Having the extra time the last couple of weeks has allowed me to reconnect with friends that I haven’t had the time or energy to see when training is in high gear. It has been nice to get out and catch up.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

My first run on Monday felt far from smooth but I didn’t care. It just felt great to be back out on the trails. Matt and I planned to meet after work and as he ran towards me, I skipped and hopped up and down like an idiot to show my joy. He nearly turned and ran the other way. Yesterday felt marginally better. Aerobically I feel fine but I my stride feels heavy and stiff. It will take a good week before I get my legs back. I’ve been doing my strength/core routine since last week and will add plyos back in as soon as I feel my legs feel ready for some dynamic work. I had to switch my scheduled day off to today. Good timing as the weather wasn’t great. I’m hoping it clears up by the weekend!