Sunday, November 29, 2009

Living the Life of a Luddite....

....I (we) have been without a home computer for the last few weeks. The only Internet access i had was a at school and I try to use it minimally, therefore that meant really only checking emails. You don't realize how things have changed so much over the last 10 years with people (myself included) who don't know some one's ph number, and use emails a s their main form of communication (hell I've only been using a cell phone since early last year and even then I was forced with our waiting game of the little person who we now know as Carter)

In many respects much has happened during this time, but also very little. My running has been nothing more than maintenance. I don't think i realized how burnt out I was both mentally and physically. I have only been running 4-5 days per week, but it wasn't due to not wanting to get out. I simply kept on falling asleep at times from 6-7 o'clock.

I have had some nice runs (only a couple mellow fartlek workouts) including a great run in Belligham last week. For those who don't know I consider Bellingham to be one of the best places to go for runs anywhere. they have so many hilly trails that hook up with each other that you could go for hours and hours of running. I don't know the trails that well and got lost. I took Kao and only planned on 90 mins but alas we ended up at a wee over 1hr 45. It was nice and hilly so she had no problems keeping up (I only lose her when it's flat, but she gets a good break going up hill).

The day before i also had a dog run with me, but ti wasn't Kao. This friendly husky dog followed and I couldn't get it to go to where I thought it lived. In the end I took the dog back in my vehicle and took ti back to it's owners. It was kinda funny when i showed up and asked them if they owned a husky. they had been looking for it during the length of my run. Just another funny running story for the annals.

Monday, November 9, 2009

'Here it goes again'...

....yeah a great video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv5zWaTEVkI&feature=fvst (IMHO the best video I've probably ever seen).....and the theme of my training.

I've gotten to the point where I can at least run again with some semblance of respectability, but I also know there are some big holes. Hence, taking into acct I've gotten some fitness back, along with some better mechanics, I am going to essentially begin from scratch.

Some people like to roll from one phase of training to the next. I've always found it better to view my training as beginning from scratch. I don't know if it's a goal thing, forgetting any previous training/racing (both good or bad) or what, but I've always viewed training as starting from 'ground zero'. It's like I have no stress attached to training and it seems to flow much easier. I also find that it allows me to fully clear my head and have no preconceived notion of expectations...it's simply rebuild and go at it again (although in this case) have the advantage of at least having gotten 2+ mths of reasonable training in play.

It's kinda funny as since 2003 I haven't had an major debilitating injuries, but in the last yr I've had 2 Achilles problems that put me out for quite a while. I can really feel the lack of continuity with the second injury.

For now it's back to the simple grind of some fartleks, tempos and long runs....

Highlights of the week:

BC HS XCs. We had a nice grp of young kids run (mostly gr 8 and 9s) in the BC Jr Invite. It's not an official race, but it sure is great to be able to get the younger athletes into a race that says provincial championship. We had some pleasant surprises with our two gr 8 girls destroy our Jr Girl who had actually qualified for the Open race. On the other side the kid who we think has exceptional talent (gr 9) finished 10th in the Jr Boys race...and he does this off no real training (only soccer). So if we can get them out, mixed in with a few other young athletes our school could have a nice program.

Got picked up by a running room group (Matt Norminton) to to do the infamous H2H. I knew I could only do leg 1, but I was also concerned as i had committed to them before my BC XC debacle. to make matters worse I got my H1N1 shot on Wed and it really messed me up. I could barely run on Wed and Thurs. I still felt bad on Fri night. In the end I ran poorly, but at least I didn't blow up. Better yet I was able to keep the guys in at least 'spitting distance' and they were able to have some other strong runners make up for my 'slowness'. I didn't do haney last yr and I couldn't do the full on follow the car experience as i had to go to BC HS's, but I was able to hook up with some of the guys at the after party.

Monday, November 2, 2009

20/20 hindsight is a beautiful thing

....just when things seems to be coming along something (sometimes my own fault...sometimes not) have really bit me in the behind this fall. Such was the case this past weekend at BC XC.

My main focus for this fall was simple...stay uninjured, have fun and run Can XC. Except for the injury part I cannot honestly say that these three goals have been met. I find enjoying running is a byproduct of fitness and that will come, but for now it's a grind.

The shocking thing was not that I had an unexpectedly bad race at BC XC, but that I felt near death after about one lap. I ended up dropping out at just under 4km, as I had began feeling somewhat in a daze around 3km, but by the 4km mark I was literally feeling light headed. When I dropped out things even got worse and I felt like I was either going to pass out or be sick. In the end none of those two options occurred, but for the rest of the day I felt like my 'head was in the clouds'. I ended up going to sleep in the afternoon and then sleeping for over 12 hours that night. Even On Sunday I felt better, but when I went for a run I felt lousy again and decided to take the day off work. It was probably a good thing as I slept another 12 hrs and am still somewhat sleep even as I type this post.

One of the things I think I've done well is honestly assess why things have gone poorly in racing/training. In this scenario I can only think that everything over the fall came to a head on Saturday (bad timing). That being a whole lot of factors that I've been ignoring from training, work, coaching, parenting, marriage and just general life (any successful athlete has to have some semblance of selfishness and I have come to realize I have been trying to keep everyone happy, but me...in the end my first priority is only to keep three people and a dog happy). If I take any one of these out of the equation I think I am fine. The warning signs were there earlier in the last couple of weeks (I had to can my long run last Sunday when I woke up with dizzy spells and for some reason I had migraines this past week.... which I never have). I can see how those warning sign had shown themselves now, but at the time I was blind.

The only positive is that things are now much simpler for the rest of this fall (no focus races and HS XC ends this weekend). It's simply training with the odd race to keep me honest....a combination of this and recognizing how I have been spreading myself thin means some things will have to change. I've had life and training stresses impact me before, but I don't think I've ever had this much on my plate...something will have to change.