Two Loops! 1:20:57

Sunday, September 30, 2007

I had a relaxing morning this morning. I got to sleep in and caught a bit of Coronation Street while drinking my coffee and eating my fave breakfast of flax seed toast with almond butter and honey. It was perfect! Matty and I went to the lakes in the late morning and I got to run two loops! It was my first time since the spring. My legs weren’t sore at all from yesterday’s race but I was feeling kind of droopy from all the traveling. The first loop felt very good in 41:37. The second loop was equally comfortable until we had about 3km to go. I stayed as relaxed as possible and tried to just keep the pace steady. I was sucking air a bit in the last km or so but I was pretty happy to see i finshed the second loop in 39:20 doing the long route as usual! Sweet! I think I am a bit fitter than I thought I was... or I'm just having a good week...who knows. I will run the RVM 8km next Sunday, training through it and aim for BCs at the end of October. I just have to be careful now not to push myself too hard. I am feeling good and want to stay that way. I have to really make sure I rest a lot and recover well between hard runs. I have regiestered for the Houston Half Marathon which is in January and will really shoot for that as big goal race.

What a crazy weekend of great running around the world! Gebrsalassies’ new marathon WR in Berlin, Canada’s Carmen Douma-Housar’s win in the 5th Avenue Mile in NY and Kara Goucher who won the Great North Run in her half-marathon début with an impressive time of 1:06:57! Holy Crap! This is so inspiring!

Willamette Invitational

Friday/Saturday, September 28/29, 2007

It was a shaky start to the weekend when I accidentally slept in Friday morning (actually I hadn’t slept all night…just happened to look over at the alarm) so we nearly missed the 7am ferry. I rolled over and looked at the alarm at 5:45am, the time that I was actually supposed to be at Matty’s to pick him up. Luckily my bag was all packed so I basically dressed and got my butt over there as fast as I could…what a shocking way to start the day.

The road-trip to Salem was fun at first. We stopped off in Seattle and hit a couple of great running stores there. Missy here took too much time trying stuff on (there was just too much great stuff!) and we ended up hitting brutal traffic just after the Washington/Oregon border. It was a looong, slow drive for about 90 minutes but eventually it cleared and we made it to Salem in one piece. We grabbed a bite then I crashed big time the second we got to our room. We were both fried from the drive but luckily had a good night’s sleep.

The race was just a few blocks away from where we were staying so we got there the next morning in plenty of time to pick up our race packages. There were division races already going on as we walked to the registration table. Seeing the HUGE numbers of young runners running past us was a bit intimidating. I said to Matty “What have you dragged me to? I am going to get slaughtered!” I was a bit terrified but Matty assured me that I would be fine. His race started about 40 minutes before mine so I did my warm-up while watching and cheering him on. Both the men’s and women’s courses were really confusing. I had 3 loops of 1 mile, all of which were slightly different and Matty had to run 8km that I think had 4 or 5 different loops. We didn’t get to run the course so we had NO idea where we were going trying instead to make sense of a map that didn’t help us much.

While I was doing my strides, I felt pretty overwhelmed at how many women were running but excited at the same time. The starting line stretched all across this large, grassy field and it was packed! I had no idea where my fitness was so I was just going to run hard and see what would happen. The race started off really quickly as cross races always do but it settled into a nice rhythm after about 400m or so. I found myself in the front pack right away and then got myself tucked right in behind the leader. About halfway into the race, a group of three or four women passed me and I found myself at the back of this lead pack. I refused to give up and I hung on to the back end. As we finished off the second loop there was a short, steep down-hill where I made my move and passed the lot and suddenly found myself in the lead! That lasted oh, about 30 seconds. I thought we still had another large loop like the one previous so I wimped out and let a girl pass me and take the lead. I thought we had a good 6 minutes of running left and was going to wait until we were about 2-3 minutes to the finish before giving that final push but instead of looping around the field one last time, we veered left and cut immediately into the track. The race finished there with just a 300m sprint to the finish. It was too late to catch her with the 20 meter lead she had on me. Damn! Another lesson learned in that race. I will never let anyone pass me that easily so close to the finish…arg! Oh well, I was still really happy with the race despite that bad tactical error at the end. My legs felt good although I feel I really need to get on the track soon and work on some turn-over. The cedar-chip trails at Cedar Hill are too soft and forgiving and I am not staying light on my feet and getting enough turn-over. Matty agreed that it was time to do this too. Another big thank you to Matty for choosing this race to get me started, and getting me back into decent shape so quickly!  After a short, ten minute cool-down we sped off so we could get back to Vancouver in time to catch the last ferry to Victoria. It was a loooong day. I got in at midnight, took a long, hot shower and fell into a deep sleep.

Willamette Invitational Results: http://www.willamette.edu/athletics/bsn/live/xc/

No idea why I am listed as coming in first...there must have been a screw-up.

Speedy at Beacon Hill 1:13:41

Thursday, September 27, 2007

We were back at Beacon Hill tonight. Thankfully, LeRoo met me there and did the WO with me. It was another fast-paced one with longer breaks so it was all about being as speedy as possible. 4 x 3 minutes with 3 mins rest on the cross route. These felt very good tonight despite feeling kind of droopy during the warm-up. The strides felt good so this gave me some hope that the WO would go well. The IRR guys were doing a 25 minute out and back…great to see Syl out! Matty and I leave for Salem early tomorrow morning. I may have to be sent home by ambulance after the race on Saturday…it’s going to hurt!

Easy Trail Run 46:44

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

I ran with Boob, Deby Alan and Mark tonight at a really relaxed pace around the Saanich trails. They were all pooped from their WO the night before at the lakes. I felt fresh but kept the pace very easy and then did 5 x pose drills and strides. No weights for me this week.

Cross Training at Beacon Hill 1:04:28

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

It was a fast and short WO tonight at Beacon Hill with Matty and LeRoo. LeRoo opted to do some longer intervals while we did some strides and then zipped around the cross-country loop doing 10 x 60” super quick with 60” rests. Matty actually did 12 but 10 for me was enough! I think I started a bit too fast in the first couple of reps. It’s been a while since I’ve done this fast stuff so I was caught off guard! Still, it was a good WO.

Easy Run 31:41

Monday, September, 24, 2007

I had some errands to do after work downtown so I arranged to meet Matty after supper at Cedar Hill. Squintch had a yoga class to go to downtown so we grabbed a bite together before our WOs. His collar bone is still a bit sore but he thinks he’ll be able to start swimming soon, which will make him pretty happy.

It was a short and easy run for me tonight. I am sad it’s getting dark so soon now but I kind of like running in the dark…this attitude will change come February.

Long Run in Parksville 1:31:12

Sunday, September 23, 2007

LeRoo had to get up early to be at the conference, poor thing. I, on the other hand, slept in or at least stayed in bed until 9:30, made my way over to the resort café to grab a desperately needed coffee and then came back and made breakfast with stuff we bought on the way. LeRoo had a couple hours free for lunch so we headed out into the sunshine and started our long run on the beach next to the resort making our way onto some trails that we looped around, yakking the whole way. We picked it up in the last 20 minutes or so but most of the run was at a moderate pace. I had a massage booked later in the afternoon so I hung out on a lounge chair on the spa’s patio outside and read a book and relaxed. The massage was 90 minutes long, the longest massage I have ever had. The guy I had giving the treatment was into deep tissue massage and when he found out I was a runner he went to town on me. For 60 minutes I was writhing on the table while he dug deep into tight muscles. It was not exactly relaxing but he knew what he was doing. Eventually he let up and the last 30 minutes was much more enjoyable. I walked out of there in a daze.   

Juice came in 7th overall in the 10km race in St. John…not bad for a tempo run. He should do well in the RVM half.

A Weekend at a Spa!!! 1:12:52

Saturday, September 22, 2007

I was invited to do a talk first thing this morning at Frontrunners on Tapering to a running clinic that ML helps out with. I was surprised at how big the group was and great to see so many active people! I tried to cover everything I wanted to say without babbling too much. Not sure if I was successful but everyone seemed appreciative.

I went directly to the lakes afterwards and met up with Judy again along with the IRR gang for a 30 minute tempo around the lakes. After a hard week of training I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t feel super smooth. I kept the effort strong nonetheless and felt I finished strongly. LeRoo and I hooked up later in the afternoon, did some shopping and then we headed up to Parksville. She had a conference to go to at the Tigh-Na-Mara Resort so she invited me to go with her and have a girl’s weekend away. I was so excited to be going to a resort!

Easy Morning Spin 30:00

Friday, September 21, 2007

A day off from running but I did a 30 minute spin in the morning. For some reason, my blog host is down. Pan-Pan is looking into the problem. I really have to find some time to make the switch to wordpress...let's see how much longer this will take.

X-Country WO 1:21:35

Thursday, September 20, 2007

IRR changed WO venues this week. We met up at Beacon Hill so the marathon and halfers could do a 30 minute out and back along Dallas Rd. Good thing I remembered how much cooler it is near the ocean especially at this time of the year. I had to wear tights for the warm-up and it almost felt like glove weather. I have to admit though, it was nice to run in cooler temperatures. The WO for me tonight was done on the Vikes cross country race loop. The grass was not cut in some areas  so we took turns running in the long stuff. Judy thankfully showed up to run with me. We did 8 minutes (60” recovery) 2 minutes super quick x 3 sets with 3 minutes recovery between sets. We were both feeling blah especially in the first interval but perked up and had a really great spin on the route. We worked the hills hard and kept the turnover going after the hills. This one had us both sucking air at the end but it felt great.

Jude invited me out to meet up with her and John’s friends at the Fernwood Inn. It was packed in there because it was “Open Mike Night”. It was really fun although it was a terrible post-race recovery for us. Judy had me try a Longbow cider (very good…not sweet like other ciders) but becuase the meal took almost an hour to arrive we drank nearly the whole cider on empty stomachs. I had the steak and fries…excellent steak there and fries were pretty good too! It was a crisp, fall night…I love nights like that.  I got home way too late. I will pay tomorrow.

Morning Spin and Evening Boob Run 1:23:10

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

I did a 30 minute spin on the trainer again this morning. I should have had the trainer while I was injured. It’s much nicer spinning at home than in a gym.

Robert and I have both agreed it would be best to post-pone the audition. I haven’t been feeling my perky self these past couple of weeks so I think it’s better if we wait a bit. This way we’ll have more time to rehearse. Selena is away for a stint so he and I can work together in the interim.

It was a gorgeous evening to run. I met Boob at his office and we did a really nice cruise around the Saanich trails (53 mins total). My legs felt great for some reason…the spinning? Anyway, Boob was tired (thankfully!) so the pace was easy the whole way. We are going to get the group out again on Wednesday nights like last year. I did 5 poser drills/strides on the grass. These felt pretty springy and smooth.

Dinner, weights/stretching, bed.

Cedar Hill 1:24:45

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Singing this morning went a little better. I haven’t heard from my accompanist but I did set up a lesson with Selena for tomorrow. I’m still not sure if the audition will go ahead.

Judy and I met at Cedar Hill while IRR was at the lakes. She couldn’t get to their WO so I was more than happy to meet her closer to her work. This way we both got in a good WO and could run together. Also, Cedar Hill is a great place to build some strength so it all worked out well. We added one more 5 min interval this week so we did 7 x 5 minutes with 90” recoveries. Both of us were feeling stiff from doing weights the night before so it made the WO more grueling but I think we kept a great pace and put in a super hard effort. It was one of those brutal but good runs.

Spun then a Run...with a Burger on a Bun 1:27:44

Monday, September 17, 2007

I got up at 6:30, groggily slid into my cycling shorts (I put them on backwards at first…that looked pretty funny) and off I went, going nowhere. I did a 30 minute spin on the trainer while watching TV. I had the fan going and spun on an easy gear but still finished soaking wet with sweat. Good thing I took Deby’s advice and had put a towel under the bike. I didn’t find the session too bad at all. So many people said I would be bored but I have experienced a level of boredom this summer that would be hard to beat. If you’ve ever done a 90 minute pool run or sat on a stationary bike for even longer (and have done this in the steamy conditions and on a rusty bike at Crystal Pool), then 30 minutes in the comfort of your own home, with a fan directly on you while watching TV is a blast! Thanks to Deby, the tension on the wheel was perfect.

I sang this morning. It felt slightly better. I took the time to warm-up carefully and slowly. I got some bad news last night from my accompanist. It turns out his sister-in-law was on the flight that crashed in Phuket, Thailand. It’s just so horrible. We cancelled our coaching for today so I am not sure if we will be able to do the audition. We’ll see.

I did super easy run of just under an hour around the UVic trails followed by 5 strides with Matty. We’ve decided to run in a cross race in Salem Oregon in two weeks. Ahhhh! I can feel the pain already. Should be fun!

I did some weights, core stuff and a pile of stretching after supper...followed by a few episodes of Entourage.

Re: The title...Wilma and Betty's waitressing tune from the Flinstones...the Bedrock Twitch was the best though.

Long Run at the Lakes 1:22:10

Sunday, September 16, 2007

La Voce is still not cooperating. I am not too happy that I took today off from practicing but when I woke up this morning it still felt a bit raw. I am not going to panic. I have a coaching tomorrow and I am sure I will be feeling better by then. I really needed to do a couple of run-throughs though this weekend of my repertoire just for my own peace of mind….yikes.

It was definitely a true fall day today…drizzling rain and cool. The Firefighter’s 10km was going on at the lakes so the trails were super busy. We did a solid paced run around the lakes, doing the long route in 40 minutes something. Last year in February, we did this exact pace and then did a second loop in 39 minutes…how did I do that?! Matty assured me I would be there again. I know I will get there. I am making improvements every week and I know his training plan always does the trick. I am pretty lucky to have such a great coach/training partner who sets up my weekly schedule and keeps me in check. Thanks Matty.  We kept a strong pace to Hamsterly Beach where I turned around and headed back, leaving Matt to continue around the lakes at break-neck speed to finish the loop. I passed the start/finish area of the race just as people were coming in and got a chance to chat with Lucy while she was doing her cool-down. I got to see Shan in the last few hundred meters of the race. She looked pretty smooth!

This afternoon I had some errands to do downtown but ended up meeting Squintch there and we watched the Bastian Square criterion instead. It was pretty fun to watch. There were a lot of wipe-outs due to the wet, slick conditions. I saw loads of people and surprisingly a lot of runners were out taking in the event. I came home, snuck in a little nap and have just finished setting up my trainer for my bike. Deby is going to pop over to make sure the tension is set right on the tire so I don’t wear it out. Matty and I are going to introduce some morning spinning sessions this week to replace a second morning run.

Juice says the rehearsals are going well in St. John and he is still keeping up with the training program. He registered today for the Marathon by the Sea 10km which is next Sunday. He won’t be tapering too much since he’ll be using the race as a quick tempo WO inside a longer running day. I’m very proud that he is keeping the running up while he’s away!

Tempo with LeRoo 1:07:24

Saturday, September 14, 2007

I took my usual day off yesterday from running. I had a lesson yesterday and again I was not on form. Damn. I have to get it together by next week.

I was invited for dinner by the Chair of the department and his wife. I was really exhausted and was reluctant to go but it ended up being a very nice evening.

This morning Judith brought two friends from Atlanta who are visiting for a run at the lakes. Andy coaches at a high school there. The school’s track club is HUGE. He has had to actually turn students away. I think that’s fantastic that there is so much interest there. IRR also met and Boob gave the group 60 minutes of tempo running. LeRoo and I did the same 20 minute tempo WO as the past few weeks. I think I felt a smidge better this week. I had to concentrate in the last 7 minutes but used it as a chance to practice some mental focus by sucking it up and ignoring the discomfort like you would in a race.

I met Shan for brunch, did a grocery shop, a thorough cleaning of the condo, made a huge batch of chili (that was a good idea Shan!) and then had a quick nap. I hunkered in and spoke to Juice and then moved my pillow and duvet from the bedroom into the living room, got snuggled in on the couch and watched the end of a movie that happened to be on TV.

I didn’t practice today. My voice feels a bit tired so I took a break. It didn’t help not practicing the week before and then jumping into an intense coaching with Robert. Hopefully I’ll feel rested by tomorrow so I can at least work on the Mahler.

Tempo and Fast Stuff 1:11:07

Thursday, September 13, 2007

My coaching with Robert didn’t go so hot today. I was a bit tired and frazzled from work so I didn’t feel too grounded going into it. We ran through the repertoire for the audition next week and made a switch for one of the arias for a Mahler song. It’s a tune I sang years ago so at least I know it. I just have to re-memorize it…and have it performance-ready in a week….ahhhh!

I met IRR at the lakes tonight but ended up running solo. I conned Syl into doing my WO instead of the 5 x 6 mins the group was doing but he bailed part-way through the first interval…he did a two-hour ride that day and some other long rides the previous days. I started off with a 10 minute tempo then 3 mins recovery followed by 10 x 1 min with 1 min recoveries. The 10 min tempo felt a bit stiff and harder than it should have but the 1 mins were solid and I felt pretty smooth and fast. I ran most of the WO near the group so I wasn’t completely alone. Deby ran the cool-down with me. I need to set up my trainer for next week so he agreed to help me out on the weekend.

Squintch and I met Syl and John at Glo for a bite. The service was much better than the last time we went there and the food was pretty good so I think it will be one our new places to go after WOs.

Yuk 51:13

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

The day started off well at work but things got zany near the end. I almost didn’t get out in time to meet Matty. The drills were canceled for me today and we just did a run instead. I didn’t realize it at the time but I ran part of tonight’s run too quickly. The coach wasn’t very happy and let me know it by maintaining the pace I was doing after the big hill to teach me a lesson. Not a fun run at all and I felt like an idiot. To top it off I tried to do a few strides in my cross spikes and they were aggravating my metatarsals. I am hoping it's just a matter of getting used to a new shoe. I was looking forward to x-country racing and wearing my cross spikes but I might have to wear flats. Arg!! Feeling pretty shitty now...wow, what happened to last night's excitement?

Speedy Chicks at Cedar! 1:07:51

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

I did a 20 minute warm-up and then some strides while waiting for LeRoo. My legs felt a bit stiff from yesterdays drills but the strides seemed to warm them up and I felt ready to go. While IRR did 1 mile repeats on the top loop, LeRoo and I did 8 x 2 minutes with 90” recoveries. Matt made it clear that the 2 minutes were to be fast, with a quick turn-over and no slacking off. I must have a reputation for being lazy…So speedy they were. I was amazed LeRoo was able to do this WO after having just raced the half on Sunday. We really ran hard. My turn-over tonight felt great and for the first time I felt smooth and in control. I was so happy with tonight’s WO. I was recovering well between the intervals and I think the pace stayed pretty consistent.

LeRoo and I met up at Ferris’ for dinner afterwards and yakked the whole time about our very similar upbringings in small towns. A great night!

Drills and Strides 1:01:18

Monday, September 10, 2007

I got in a good 75 minutes of singing in this morning. I woke up earlier than usual so I had some extra time. I didn’t get to practice much at all last week since work was forcing me in earlier than normal. It seems to be quieting down so this week should be better.

This is my recovery week so it was drills night tonight. I did a 30 minute warm-up, 20 minutes of Matty’s drill/stride circuit on the in-field of the UVic track and a 10 minute cool-down. The drills were better tonight. I was alone so maybe I was just “slacking off” as Matty likes to say…sheesh!

I did a good session of weights and core stuff…had to pull out the fan. Man it was warm in the condo!

Cheering and Long Run 1:22:07

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Everyone is talking about the fab summer weather we’re getting…finally. What another terrific day. I watched the Land’s End race this morning. It made me feel itchin' to race watching everyone line up at the start. Matty and I hung out with Boob and the kids to watch Joan go by and other IRR members. It was hot just standing there so the runners must have been melting.

We did the same route as last week for the long run going over Bear Hill. Matty was a bit dehydrated from yesterday’s WO so his stomach wasn’t feeling too hot. He managed to make it back to the car but he was pretty pale and out of it. I was feeling good today despite the heat.

 I hit Willow’s beach for a bit after the run and then had a nice visit with Jennie and PK who was sound asleep for most of the time. Jennie took me out back to see the Woodway treadmill in the new shed they had built. Simon let me test it out and boy-o was it ever nice to run on! It’s a sweet set-up in there and when the shed gets finished it’s going to be brilliant!

Tempo at the Lakes 1:14:07

Saturday, September 8, 2007

It was just me and Squintch this morning at the lakes. Everyone is running either the Land’s End or Nanaimo tomorrow so we were on our own. I felt a bit sad that I wasn’t running either of the races. This caught me off guard because I haven’t had any real urges to race yet but I guess I got a bit nostalgic. I have run those races every year since we’ve been here and always had a lot of fun. Both courses are challenging and Nanaimo has almost the same hyped up atmosphere as the RVM. I have to say I miss racing, period. It seems like a year has gone by since I last raced. Speaking of how time passes. I just finished my 9th week of running after my nine weeks off…ask me which nine weeks felt longer.

Back to today’s WO.  I did the same 25 minute tempo as last week but it hurt a lot more this week. I managed to keep the same 3:45/km but I was feeling a bit rough. I had a headache yesterday and had a fitful night of sleep so I wasn’t feeling very frisky. Anyway, I guess I did fine considering. I felt good in the cool-down, like I could run forever at that easy pace. Squintchy did an impressive loop in 50 minutes...pretty good for his first 10km run since his injury!

Juice is still running while in St. John. I revised the IRR schedule  to work around his rehearsals. There is a 10km race there 2 weeks before the RVM so I suggested he run that as a tempo run and then worked in a gradual taper to the RVM Half.

Good luck to everyone who is racing tomorrow!

IRR Tailgater 1:24:46

Thursday, September 6, 2007

I arrived at the lakes a bit early and did some extra running before the IRR warm-up with Matty. My WO tonight was 3 sets of 7 minutes at a quick tempo pace (60” recovery) then a 3 minute cut-down (fast-faster- gawd help me even faster) with 3:00 minute recoveries between sets. LeRoo joined in so I had a buddy to run the intervals with.  We both said we were still feeling Tuesday’s workout in our legs in the first few minutes which was not surprising after Tuesday’s hilly WO but eventually we got a great rhythm going. I have one more WO this Saturday and then next week I have a recovery week. I am pretty pleased so far with how I am feeling and am happy I was able to do two harder weeks in a row without dying.

It was a perfect night for the tailgate party the club had after the run tonight. Alan brought his BBQ on the back of his truck and we had the party right in the p-lot. Alan supplied burgers and salmon and others brought salads and munchies and there were chocolates!! It was just terrific!

Another Poo Encounter 55:56

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

The work day was better today. It was still pretty hectic but manageable. I had a deep sleep last night so that helped.

I ran an easy to moderate run around the UVic trails with Matty. I wiped out in a big way rounding a corner…slipped on some dog poo and landed on my wrist (wrist did not touch the poo) and fortunately didn’t injure anything else. I did some pose/strides on the grass afterwards and then did core/weight stuff after supper.

Cedar Hell WO with Judy LeRoo! 1:19:45

Tuesday, September 5, 2007

I had a rough day today at work. I guess that’s what I get for having a slow summer. I came in early because I knew things were going to be crazy and wanted some quiet time beforehand. Well, the first email I got didn’t start the day off well. The day sort of got worse from there. I was really unmotivated and felt too exhausted to run by the end of the day (that’s when you know it’s gotta be bad) but LeRoo and I made plans to meet at Cedar Hill so that forced me to go. Thank goodness I went! It turned out to be my best WO so far! We did 6 x 5 minutes with 90” recoveries going counter-clockwise on the upper loop. The rest of IRR were doing a different WO but we managed to see each other often which was fun. LeRoo is my absolute favorite person to pace WOs with. It’s so strange, maybe her running rhythm is close to mine or it could be her positive energy. I don’t know what it is but I always feel great running beside Judy! I think it’s also because she is such a dear friend! Anyway, we worked the hills super hard. We both had a wicked turn-over going over all the hills (thank you poser drills!). I was a slave driver tonight and had us back-tracking during the breaks so we would have to re-do the large hills. We got in a really good strength WO. We ended the last interval on the long gravel hill and ran as hard we could go…just brilliant!!

Easy at the Lakes/Weights 1:00:07

Monday, September 4, 2007

I had a good sleep-in this morning. It was a solo run for me since Matty REALLY slept in. You snooze, you loose, baby! I wanted to get on with my day so off I went to the lakes. I saw quite a few runners today despite the mid-morning time…I guess they slept in a bit too! I ran at a very easy pace picking it up a bit in the last 5-10 minutes. Legs felt ok, breathing ok. I ended near the 9 km marker and did 15 minutes of Pose drills and strides. I did my core/weight routine when I got home.

Bear Hill 1:20:00

Sunday, September 2, 2007

What a cruddy sleep I had last night…whoa. Juice had an early flight so of course I was restless the entire night knowing I had to get up early. The early rising meant I caught the live on-line feed of Simon racing worlds in Hamburg. I saw the start of the swim and then got back just in time to see the start of the run. The running portion of the race (the only one I saw from beginning to end) was really brilliant. It was a first-class race with an unpredictable outcome right to the tape…was it going to be Unger or Gomez…it’s Unger, no Gomez is now in the lead…but now Unger is coming back!!…etc. Just awesome! It was too bad that Simon didn’t medal but he is on his way to Beijing! Way to go Simon!! The other big news for the day is Gary Reed’s silver medal win at Worlds in the 800m. He was 1-100th of a second behind first place. Talk about a close finish.

It was a bit of a scramble but we got Juice to the airport on time only to realize he forgot to pack a jacket. I had my raincoat in the back seat of the car so he took that instead…luckily it isn’t pink or anything.

I was going to go back to sleep before today’s run but got into watching the tri and then cleaning up the kitchen a bit. Before I knew it, it was time to head out the door to the lakes. This morning it was me, Matty and LeRoo!!! Yipee!! Man, was I ever sleepy when we started but we ended up having the best run! Up we went over Bear Hill (I thought the 8 minute climb was going to flatten me but I was pretty ok!) down the road to Keating, left on Oldfield, looping back into the park via the fire road all at a solid clip. This got us back into the park at 60 minutes at which point LeRoo went clock-wise to do a 25 minute tempo run (!) while Matty and I continued in the opposite direction passing Don-Don and Rob along the way…they were doing 3 loops! I tried a run-by pinching but Don-Don had his Mar-dar on and felt me coming. I finished up at 80 minutes while Matty continued with extra stud-running doing a good 10 minute pick-up. I am definitely starting to feel good aerobically again. Getting the speed back is going to take a while yet but I am definitely getting stronger.

Much Better! 1:08:37

Saturday, September 1, 2007

After a day off yesterday I was ready for a good session. I met up with IRR this morning at the lakes. They were doing a threshold WO of 2 x 20 minutes...a bit much for me right now. Pierre volunteered to run my 25 minute tempo WO with me and I happily accepted his offer knowing he would help me hold a strong pace. I knew as soon as I started the warm-up I was feeling so much better than last week. We took the first few minutes conservatively and gradually settled into a good pace. Matty reminded me before we started to stick to a strong but relaxed pace and that I should try and keep it strong in the last 5 minutes. Today I was able to do this and was even able to move into slightly faster pace in the last 5 feeling really good right to the end. This is very encouraging especially after a week with a decent amount of volume and with harder training sessions.

I went to Straight Up Cycle with Squintch to see Gerry about buying a trainer for my bike. Matty thinks I could do some morning spins starting in a few weeks to try and get some more aerobic conditioning. The spinning should help out and we’ll avoid the pounding. I think we’ll still do a few double run days like we did last winter but for now I’ll be on the trainer.

I went to the Oak Bay track to watch the track races that were organized to help prepare a few runners for some upcoming half/marathons. A pretty fair-sized crowd showed up to cheer the guys on. It was great fun to see some faces I hadn’t seen a while.