My buddy Tom has started teaching a Strength and Conditioning class at the new Cocoon Athletics facility in Vancouver. 

The class looks like a solid workout with a focus on functional and explosive movements incorporating techniques with bodyweight, kettlebells, kickboxing, heavy ropes and more.

Having trained with Tom previously I know that this class will challenge everyone from the beginner to even the fittest individuals.  Tom is a class act and really knows his stuff.

Check out the class below and if your in Vancouver check out Cocoon Athletics @ Main and Broadway.

Earlier on in the year I posted out a few race goals for 2010.  Now, with training going full swing, and 2 races coming up I need to put back out the importance of each race in relation to the other. 

Listed below on importance are my first 1/2 year goals:

A Goal: Miwok 100km (Sub 11 hours) – On track
B Goal: Chuckanut 50km (Sub 5 hours) – On track
C Goal: Dirty Duo (top 3 relay finish) – Not likely, but this race will be a ton of fun.

Stay tuned for the Dirty Duo race report this time next week…

Seek the Peak V3.0

A couple of weeks ago, I faced a bit of a delimma. 

My training goals and my race goals clashed on the last weekend of February and in order to get in the time I needed on my Saturday run, it looked like I may have had to miss out on a unique opportunity to run in the World Snowshoe Classic which also doubled as the National Championships. 

The race was open to anyone, and I thought it would be neat to partake in such an event during the 2010 Olympic games in Vancouver.  Pondering my options on a walk into work one sunny morning, my plan came to me as I spied Grouse mountain in the horizon as I paced through the West End. 

Last summer I had used the run from my apartment in English Bay in a couple of variations in order to get in some longer runs with a decent elevation gain and on remembering these runs my plan for Seek the Peak v3.0 was born.

My intention, to run to the top of Grouse Mountain, race in the Snowshoe Championships and then run home. 

 This is how it all went down…

Packed

While I had been planning this in my head for a little over a week, I actually left all the strategic planning to the last minute and only figured out the race start time on Friday night before the race.  From previous runs I have figured it would probably take me around 2 hours to get up to the top and with a 12pm race start, I figured that a 9am departure would be plenty.  I packed my winter running gear in my pack, strapped on my snowshoes and rain jacket, filled a bottle a set off at an easy pace. 

The run thought the park, over the bridge and up the Cap Pacific trail was simple enough, I never thought I would be rushed for time so just took it at a relaxed pace, stopped to fuel every 45 minutes or so and wasn’t too panicked when I go to the registration a bit behind schedule.  The process of registration actually took a bit longer than I expected (I hate filling out forms and waiting in lines) and by the time I had my race number and a handful of sharkies, I was a bit behind where I wanted to be and actually contemplated taking the gondola up to ensure I made the start line.

The start line is up there somewhere ...

Quickly I reminded myself that this run wasn’t so much about the race, but more of the expedition of getting myself to the start line on my own two feet.  I stuffed my race number in my pocket and took off along the Baden Powell, in search of the BCMC, which was my original plan.  However being pressed for time, I decided to hit up the grind for my ascent to the start line at the top of Grouse. 

Now the only thing I can remember about the grind is the thought that kept running through my head … “this is probably not your brightest idea..”  it was all I could repeat to myself step after step.  I was feeling a bit rushed, and I know my HR was maxing out as I honestly thought I might just miss the start of the race at 12pm.  So I put my head down, uttered my misery mantra over and over in my head, and blasted to the top.  I made it up by 11.30am, plenty of time to refuel, find friends, put on my pants and get to the start line.

World class athletes ... and me

By the time all the athletes had gathered in the starting shoot, national champs in the front and recreational runners tucked in behind I was actually feeling quite rested and ready to get going again.  If anything I had probably had a little too much rest as I was itching to get going as the RD Marc Campbell went over the course explaining the route. 

With the race underway, I spent the first few hundred meters running with friends Ray and Matt, but quickly backed off their pace as we entered the first single track loop, happy to work a little less and try to enjoy the run without the lung burn of racing hard right from the start.  The first loop put us back thought the starting shoot and then off for the climb up Dam Mountain. 

The initial climb is very gradual, on a wide open track and I just put my head down, and dug in for this climb before the track narrowed to single and began to wind thought the mountains, climbing steadily all the way up to Dam.  I started to hurt through this climb and was reduced to a hike, remanence of my hike up grouse still very present in my heavy legs. 

woooot!

The peak of Dam was rewarding, and I paused at the top momentarily to appreciate the climb and to try and ease the cramps that had hit my quads before I was game to use them on the flowing steep descents that followed.  Once I was ready to get going, I was able to stride it out down some of the rolling sections all the way out to Thunder bird ridge.  After a bit more climbing and a few tumbles on the way down, I got to the turn around point really ready to get over the finish line.

I was getting tired, and my footing was unsure and that in turn made for some unpleasant tumbles in the rolling fresh single track.  It wasn’t long before I was pretty wet, and resorting to sliding down some of the steeper descents.  The final few km’s were all downhill and that gave me a chance to really open up the legs and get some good speed going, and the run into the finishing chute was welcomed by my tired legs.

Finish.

I was happy to be done the race,  my legs were bagged, I was soaked and pretty cold and why I still had every intention of running back home, I didn’t think twice when Ray offered me a lift.  I defrosted my hands by the fireplace inside the chalet, had an internal argument with myself about how I was getting home and resigned to the fact that my happy place right now was in a warm shower followed by a nice refreshing beer. 

I took the ride home. 

I was just shy of 4 hours running, having only covered 24Km, with a total elevation gain of over 2,220 meters and while I didn’t complete what I had set out to achieve by missing the return run, I still had a great day out in the mountains and had fun in attempting a crazy idea.

Climbing ...

My Gear
Shoes – Salamon XA Pro 3D Ultra GTX
Socks – Drymax trail running
Shorts – Adidas run
Pants – Luluemon outdoor sport pants
Base – Helly Hanson Dry
Shirt – Luluemon run
Jacket – Salamon Clima Pro
Snowshoes – Atlas RUN
Pack – Gregory Diablo
Hydration – Nathan Quickdraw elite
Fuel – Accelerade

I’m a bit late in posting this one but need to stay true to my commitment of getting my workouts written down and up on the blog. 

Its interesting to note, that in my mind last week was probably a bit on the thin side for training, but looking back at my notes I’m happy to see that it was a solid effort and I didn’t really miss a beat, considering all the Olympic madness going on right now.

A couple of standout days as well, with Mondays Method Naturalle style workout in the Vibrams and then a sweet long run to SFU on Saturday.

Monday 
Methode Naturalle – took the VFF’s out to the trails in Stanley park and ripped of some pull ups on the jungle gym near second beach, ran through to thrid beach and performed a set of 5 beach sprints on the nicely groomed sand then hit the trails up to prospect point, back to the gym at 2nd and then home – no watch, no HRM, no shoes.

Tuesday
Zone 3 - Lacte threshold workout 5 sets of 3X3 (8.4mph low, 8.9mph high)

Wednesday
AM Zone 5 – Speed work 4 sets of (2 mins @ 11mph with 4 recovery  @ 4mph) 
PM Circiut training.

Thursday
Was fortunate enough to witness Australian snowboarder Torah Bright win an Olympic gold medal in the women’s halfpipe.  I was also fortunate enough to get myself on TV in New Zealand, Australia and Canada waving the boxing kangaroo flag!

The Poduim - Aussie Gold!

Friday
Strength training – chest and shoulders.

Saturday
Sweet long run from downtown Vancouver out to SFU, round the university and back to the city.   Hozumi was kind enough to take me out on this route, mostly paved for a total of 40km.  We were out for about 3 hours and 45 minutes.   The pace was easy, zone 1ish, and my knee felt pretty good.  It was also a good chance to pick Hoz’s brain a little bit as he ran Miwok last year but sadly missed the lottery this year.

Loop of SFU

Sunday
Recovery (read: hungover and then drunk again).
I had an easy 2 hours scheduled, but indulged in the Olympics on Saturday night, I flagged the run and then caught the Canada USA hockey game with friends in the afternoon, beers flowed, and much fun was had despite the result of the game.

Notes:
Olympics are fun !!!

Its coming… the 3rd installment of my seek the peak series!!!

This time round, something new, creative and a little bit loopy… can I pull it off…? 

Check back in a little over a week for the details.

The real highlights of last week were not in my athletic pursuits rather the festivites happening in downtown Vancouver, with the first few days of the 2010 Winter Olympic games.  I decided to throw myself into the frey wholeheartedly and the only running over the weekend was from the bar to the porta potty.

Here are a few highlights snapped along the way:

Olympic flame at English Bay

Opening Ceremony Party - go NZ!

German Fan Fest

Friends @ German Fan Fest

Lunch

When at German Fan Fest ...

Canada!

High five!

Livecity Yaletown

Vancouver is absolutely buzzing right now and its going to be pretty hard to remain focussed on anything other than the Olympics, expecially living and working in the heart of it all. 

I’m off to the womens halfpipe medals on Thursday and get to see Canada vs USA in the mens curling on Monday.  Tuesday will see me with about 20 close friends at the Molson Canadian Hockey House, watching some games and then catching Sam Roberts in the evening.

Still to check out is the Irish House, Heinekin House, all the mens hockey games … and the other 101 random fun and free things to do in this special city!  Loving it!

Photo Credit goes to Stacey Harman / Becca Twa.

Anyone that knows me knows that I have a big heart and more often than not wear it proudly on my sleeve. It is in that vain that I feel its probably appropriate to share my heart on here… well… my heart rate training that is.

Recently I have been focused on heart rate training for a few reasons:

1. It works.
2. Time and conditions make it easy.
3. I have a specific goal I am preparing for.
4. Better training benefit for less stress on the body.

Below ill share a few visual representations of my HR training over the standard Zone 1, Zone 3 and Zone 5 training zones. 

Zone 1 – Aerobic Zone – Goal HR = 155-170

Zone 1 - Treadmill - Controlled Environment

Comparative to a run of the same length (approx 2 hours).

Zone 1 - Trail - Uncontrolled Environment

Points of interest:  Controlled environment allows for consistent pacing in which it is possible to hold ones heart rate at whatever the desired number with little room for fluctuations.  A trail run, while infinitely more fun maintains a similar average HR over the time but jumps around due to terrain and is harder to monitor and maintain a specific range.

Zone 3 - Lactate - Controlled envirnment

Points of interest: This workout is done in stages, 10 minute warm up then 5 sets of 3 minutes at lower end 3 minutes of higher end of my tested Zone 3.  This workout primarily teaches my body how to train removal of lactic acid produced from the high leg turnover.  Working at the high end provides the “filling sink” effect and toggling down to the lower end provides the “draining sink” effect.  HR fluctuations looks to be minimal through the spectrum of speeds in training zone 3.

Zone 5 – Aerobic Interval Training 

Zone 5 - Aerobic Intervals - Controlled Environment

Points of interest:  This workout is focused around my top speed, with a stint of 3 minutes at full tit, and then a full 6 minutes recovery at my lowest speed.  this is repeated for as many times as I can hold good form though the maximum effort.  HR spikes indicate high levels of intense work followed by a long recovery.

A final thought:

While these style of workouts are designed to maximize training time and ultimately make me a faster runner, I do think they have a place in my training program but should only be a small percentage of it. They are convienant when pressed for time, or when the weather is crap, but come March, it will be very hard to get me on a treadmill. 

If someone asked me the question, ‘will this make you faster than the next guy?’ my answer simply be… who cares?

Certainly not me. For every single person that I beat in a race there are dozens, hundreds maybe thousands(?) at any given race that are faster than me.

I train not to be faster than the next guy but to be the fastest that I can possibly be with the amount of time and resources I have for training. I set myself realistic and achievable goals related mostly to fun and gnarly race courses with a lofty time target that requites me to train my ass off and then race my heart out to get there.

I train not to race again the next guy, but to race against myself and for the love of running and racing… unless of course I’m racing against Coo. Then I run for the win, but only by 1 second.

Robson Square - Vancouver, BC

With the City getting into full on Olympic mode my training in the next few weeks is sure to be broken and scattered, so I’m glad to have this one tucked under my belt. 

My solid week at it looked a lot like this:

Monday
AM Yoga
PM  Strength Training: 5 WG PU, 10 BW Dips, 20 Renegade rows – 30lbs dumbells X 5 Sets

Tuesday
Rest
Physio IMS – EMS

Wednesday
Zone 3 - 15 minute warm up then 4 sets of 3 minutes @8.4(low) 3 minutes @8.9(high)
Stretching

Thursday
Zone 5 -  3 minutes @ 10mph with 6 minutes recovery @ 6mph – 4 sets, 10 mins warm up and 10 cool down.
Stretching

Friday
Strength Training: 5 WG PU, 10 BW Dips, 20 Renegade rows – 30lbs dumbells X 5 Sets

Saturday
Trail run @ UBC!!  a little over 2 hours.

Sunday
Zone 1 – Treadmill – 1.5 hours @ 7.9Mph – HR ~163bpm
Motivation:  A race across the Sky - Leadville Trail 100 MTB bike film from the 2009 Race where Lance won in a CR riding the last 7 miles on a flat rear tire.  Machine.  Legend.  Man with a plan.

Notes
1. Poison – 1 pint Granville Islande Winter Ale and 1 Corona.
2. Knee still prone to flare ups, but generally day to day feeling alot better.
3. Brilliant run outside on Saturday, felt strong and good to run with Tania, Katie, Ray and Jeremy.
4. Sundays recovery run, was HARD.  Very unmotivated, misery loves company and I wouldnt have done it if Katie didnt show up to run as well so cheers.

Got in about 5 hours total running this week, all in my Zone 1 training zone or ‘aerobic’ training zone.  The goal in this zone is to average my HR 155bmp min and 170bmp max.  For most Zone 1 workouts require a conscious slow effort, for my profile however it means I need to work harder that I usually would on a LSD run.  Actually its like this accross all my training zones – work harder = run faster – not really rocket science…

This is how it all went down.

Monday
AM Yoga
PM Zone 1 - Treadmill  – 1 hour @ 7.8Mph - HR  ~160bpm

Tuesday
Rest
Foam Roller Session / Massage

Wednesday
Strength Training: 5 WG PU, 10 BW Dips, 20 Renegade rows – 30lbs dumbells X 5 Sets
30 Minutes Pilates
Foam Roller Session / Massage

Thursday
Physio IMS – EMS

Friday
Strength Training: 5 WG PU, 10 BW Dips, 20 Renegade rows – 30lbs dumbells X 5 Sets

Saturday
Zone 1 – Treadmill – 2.5 hours @ 7.9Mph – HR ~166bpm

Sunday
Zone 1 – Treadmill – 1.5 hours @ 7.9Mph – HR ~163bpm

Notes
1. Poison – can’t seem to avoid the booze at all lately, 1 Granville Island Winter Ale, 2 glasses Red.
2. Felt like throwing up during pilates class, left after 30 minutes and resigned that pilates is for chicks.
3. Knee rehab is coming along nicely, love IMS and EMS, stretching and rolling.  Managing inflamation with ice is also helping.  All good habits to get into regardless of injury level.
4. Could have used Katies company on the treadmill this weekend.  Womens tennis and endurance planet podcasts had to substitute.
5. I miss running trails – need to get out there next weekend and run free.

The major focus for my training this week was physical therapy.  I really want to try and clear up this problem with my knee before the training volume starts to increase, so I dropped all but the necessary workouts this week.

Still a lot on the go.

Monday
Physical therapy: Yoga
Strength training:  5 x strict inside grip pullups, 10 x 40lb alternating dumbbell curls. 8 sets in 15 minutes

Tuesday
Zone 3 workout on treadmill.  15 minute warm up then 4 sets of 3 minutes @8.4(low) 3 minutes @8.9(high)

Wednesday
Strength training: 200 pushups in 9:00, standing dumbbell military press 40lbs 5 sets of 10.
Physical therapy: 20 minute foam roller session
Planning/Motivation: Training zones and planning @ Peak Performance.

Thursday
Zone 5 workout on the treadmill.  3 minutes @ 10mph with 6 minutes recovery @ 6mph – 3 sets, 10 mins warm up and cool down.

Friday
Physical Therapy:  Physio at City Sports.  Acupuncture (IMS) and electrical stimulation session.

Saturday
Zone 1 workout on the treadmill.  2 hours @ 7.8mph – HR average 163

Sunday
A few lazy laps of Circuit 8 on the mountain bike – just for fun.

Notes
1. Poison – 3 x Granville Island Winter ale, glass or two of red.
2. Treadmill – felt like a bit of a lab rat, but wanted to get all key workouts in this week with a minimum of added stress to my knee.  Felt pretty strong on all workouts and eventually found my happy place on Saturday morning after an hour of boredom thanks to the Australian open.
3. Acupuncture in my quad hurts, but distracts from knee pain, so I guess ill call that a success.  Had good response to this weeks physical therapy and will probably take the same approach to training this week to help in the healing process.  Foam rolling and stretching need to take as high as an importance as all the other stuff.
4. Had a solid meeting with Mike at Peak performance to discuss recent lab results.  Looks like I can make some significant improvement over the year if I can get healthy and strong – always fun to discuss the science behind training.
5.  I love riding my bike and working on basic skills on the technical Nth Shore trails.  Wasn’t really that into it on Sunday as I didn’t want to push the quad and knee too much in an unpredictable environment, but always have fun out on the bikes with McG.

aye aye aye captain.

I’ve decided to have a go at keeping a somewhat accurate log of my Miwok training.

At first I was just going to throw the distance/time of my long runs into my outlook calendar, but after thinking about it more, there really is a whole lot more involved with my preparation than simply just building mileage for my first 100k run.

I have a pretty busy schedule with a mix of run specific workouts, strength training, active recovery and all important rest.  Each week I’ll throw a recap with some highlights up onto the blog, specific workouts, learning’s, aches and pains, and notes on what is working and what isn’t.

This week in training…

Monday
Strength training:  21-15-9 reps of 40lb dumbbell squat press and burpees for time: 11:13
Motivation: Trans Rockies info night at NSA

Tuesday
AM: Boxing class
PM: Zone 3 workout on treadmill.  15 minute warm up then 3 sets of 3 minutes @8.4(low) 3 minutes @8.9(high)

Wednesday
Rest

Thursday
AM: Boxing class
PM: LGRR track workout – 10X400 with 300m hard 100m recovery

Friday
Strength training:  200 pushups in 9:08, standing dumbbell military press 40lbs 5 sets of 10.

Saturday
Rest

Sunday
Long run 2 hours 15 minutes.

Notes

1. Poison – 6 x stubbies of Rickards White, 1 x shot absinthe, 1 x shot tequila
2. Body – right knee tendinitis a bit niggly at the beginning of long run Sunday, then periodically through out specifically on downhills.  Need to be more proactive in treatment, with yoga and massage and proper post workout stretching.  Will avoid squats until it starts to feel better.
3. Fuel – Long run fuel of 1 bottle Accelerade fruit punch flavour, 3 x Accelerade chocolate gels.
4. Overall – a good training week with all key workouts complete.  Couldn’t plan a Saturday morning run due to work commitments which allowed me to play a bit with friends on Friday night, finding the perfect balance for the week.

People are lazy. Not you specifically but as a whole the majority of people are lazy.

I usually like to stay away from broad generalizations like this but a quick jaunt on the skytain today illustrated this statement as crowds of people pushed passed me and squeezed themselves onto a packed escalator while the stair case aligned next to it remained empty.

Now, it’s human nature to always follow the path of least resistance (and in this case perhaps the pack theory is to blame as well), but it seems a shame that so few of the population choose to challenge themselves with life’s little things like taking the stairs or carrying the grocery basket.

I think in most cases it  really boils down to perception.  Stairs are hard, baskets are heavy, it all sounds like work.  Well thats where the fun theory comes in and asks the question “Do people change their perception of work or effort if the activity becomes fun?”

I think the video below holds the answer.

Well the year 2010 has arrived, and much to my disappointment the common car still fails to hover, x ray glasses haven’t hit the shelves and my apartment is not yet fully voice activated.  Fear not, technologies aside, the arrival of this year brings many great opportunities for all that choose to seize them.

I was reading the trainharder blog today and noticed the ‘New Years Resolutions Challenge‘ and while I try to steer away from the term resolution, anyone who has been reading this for a while knows that I love to set goals, and live for reaching them.

Pano’s challenge was the first opportunity I have had to actually type out the ideas that I have had swirling in my head for the last few weeks.  I’ll cut and paste below:

- Top 3 finish for Dirty Duo relay team
- Sub 5 hour Chuckanut 50k
- Sub 11 hour Miwok 100k
- Complete Transrockies Run
- Top 3 finish in coed couple category for either MOMAR adventure race.

Now, while this all seemed achievable in my mind, it was only when I put it on paper that I realised the magnitude of the tasks ahead.  Briefly an element of doubt started to enter, but upon revision, I do honestly believe that checking these 5 boxes will be a well earned achievement provided I put in the training required to get there.

It is a stretch, but there is no glory in the easy route, and as three of these goals include other people, It will be necessary to foster the team spirit, and I welcome that into my year for 2010.

My last thought on the above is – ‘tall order – better get on it’ and with that I welcome back in the full working weeks ahead to provide some solid structure around a training plan that I really need to get started on today, not tomorrow.

So there it is, its out there and its on the blog… it is real.  And now its your turn, time to throw down and become accountable, set some goals and then go out there and get them!

As sad as it is as that the year draws to a close, it brings about a time for reflection.  A time where I can look back and admire what I have managed to do in the past 12 months and perhaps think a little about how I want to spend the next 12.

It gives me time to appreciate how fortunate I am in my life to be able to really live it how I choose to, restricted only by my own self imposed boundaries and self limiting beliefs that I am learning how to control.

When I started out this blog about a year ago, I was a total newie to the whole ‘endurance’ scene and I used this as an accountability tool more than anything else.  The last year has seen this blog develop and become my voice as a member of the running community in Vancouver. It has allowed me to share my goals, and document my experiences along the way. As I glance back it is easy to see that have been many.

My highlights are summarised below:

Trail Running:
1st 50km – Chuckanut.  Finished under 5 hours and 30 minutes.
1st 50 Mile – STORMY.  Finished under 9 hours.
5 Peaks Trail Running Series – Finished Series 3rd overall in Age Group.
Nike Womens Half Marathon – Pace bunny for 2 hours.  Ran barefoot. Finished 1:59.

Bike/Boat:
1st 60km Adventure Race – MOMAR Cumberland – 4th Coed Couple
1st Kayak race – Big Chop – 2nd Coed Couple in class
Obtained Cycling BC, Cat 5 men racing licence
Competed in the Escape Velocity Tuesday Night World Champ Criterium
250Km Cycling Gran Fondo on Vancouver Island

Travel:
Los Angeles
Chicago X3
Seattle
Belize
Bahamas – Nassau
Turks & Caicos
San Francisco
Las Vegas

Personal Development:
BCRPA Certified Personal Trainer
PADI Certified Diver

For me 2010 will be all about going bigger.

I plan to run further, 100km, 100M and 250km(staged) races.

I plan to work harder, launching my ‘pricey trains’ brand and helping others achieve their fitness goals.

And I plan to have fun, competing with friends and sharing in life’s experiences along the way.

Happy Holidays to all and thanks for stopping by and sharing these highlights with me along the way.