Friday, May 27, 2011

It's been a long time coming....

This post has been a long time coming. It was meant for months ago, but my ‘princess’ kinda got in the way...it's the idea that to experience the really good, you have to first experience the really bad and thatevery once in a while 'things click'...

In my own running I’ve had to overcome (as I have been quoted ‘stupidly’ refusing to quit) some major injuries in my career (two car accidents amongst many stupid injuries and even now still having an impact from getting hit on a run a few years ago) that when the good things happened they were extreme in their emotions. To have tried to run competitively well into my mid-late 30’s goes beyond any reasonable and rational thought, so why……well one has always been the challenge (see my philosophy ideas a few posts ago), but another has been a belief that I had more to give.

I knew that getting hit by a car in 1995 had seriously messed up my back (to the point where I didn’t seriously run for 4 years) and that I had lost the ‘prime’ years of training adaptations and experiences that could never be taken back. But I also knew that I had never come close to reaching my talent levels in the early 90s and that somehow kept me going.

As it would turn out I was right. Although I never came close to running my best race from a time perspective (read time trial race) I was able to race to levels where I knew I should be…. One such time was the year I shocked the Canadian running world in winning the XC champs. No one had even picked me in their top 10, nevermind winning I knew going in that the race was mine to win.

The odd fact (sounding arrogant, but not meant to) was when Paddy McCluskey (someone I have a great amount of respect for in regards to getting the most out his talent) asked me when I knew I was going to win. The answer that came quickly out my mouth was ‘July’. The people around Paddy looked shocked but Paddy got it.
The reason for my answer was simple I had told my future wife in July of that summer, I was going to win Canadian XC champs. I am sure she thought I was blowing smoke. I had placed 12th two years earlier, but knew I was on the cusp of taking it to a new level. To make such a statement might seem crazy, but I truly believed that I could achieve such a goal. I knew that there were only three guys I could not beat no matter what (Kevin Sullivan, Jeff Schiebler and Sean Kaley, but this was also the fall of 2000 and all three had just competed in the Sydney Olys) if I followed through on the training and could get back to the place I had been the previous spring.

What no one knew was that I had had a great spring of training and was on the verge of running some very good 5kms before I would suffer my first achilles injury. I also knew that fall that I had been much faster than when I had placed 12th (in a race I was disappoint in). So off I went putting in 3 x per week Grouse Grind tempo workouts, doing 2 x 2-3 hr bike ride per week along with other various training until could run. Even then I was only beginning to run in late August.
What would transpire over the next few months would quite simply be the model I would continue to follow for the many more years. Taking a patient and process oriented approach to training. I knew the goal and ignored everything else along the way, except as part of the process. All my eggs were in one basket.

Things started out relatively well. In early October, on a slowish course (I’ll assume because some good guys ran slowish times) and early in the season I ran a bit over 30mins for 10km. Not blistering, but I also split 15:15 through 5km and was off the back til I regrouped and moved up to 4th. The real key was that I had only just begun doing intervals (before that it was hills, fartleks and tempos) and knew that something special was happening in my training. Every week got better and every session felt solid. I was hitting my ‘magical spot.

Things got a bit better at the BC XC champs (I was 3rd), but once again the intervals were just beginning to take control. I knew that my timing was on track....until....the annual Haney to Harrison relay. I was training like a maniac and had the feeling of nothing could get in my way, til I bit off more than I could chew. I ran against a very fit Graeme fell at that time and after about 10mins i was done. I hung on for dear life as Graeme simply crushed me into the ground (I lost over 2mins to him over about 14km). I remember saying to Graeme how the leg of Haney had killed me, but even in getting killed I was still confident in where I was going. It was all part of the process.

What no one knew at the time was that I had done a hard 40min hill session on the Thurs night. Haney was nothing more than a training run and in looking at previous yr’s times (and even since then) I hadn’t run that poorly. Graeme had simply run that well (He went just over 42 mins that yr and only a few people have even gone just under 44mins). The result of Haney was once my legs recovered by our annual Tuesday night interval session I was absolutely rolling. Things had gone to a new level. A week later I knew that I was now going from nobodies top 10 pick to a chance to medal. I can remember it like it was yesterday as we did a session of 1km-2km-1km-2km-1km off 2mins. I knew this was my lat harder interval session I simply ran away from everyone at practice...and it felt easy. Everything was coming together as planned.

In talking to my coach at the time, about a week before the race he felt I could make the team. My response was simply ‘I know’. What he didn’t know was that I was thinking much bigger than that. I had 3 simple goals 1) make the team outright 2) top four 3) top two. The first goal was where i thought I’d be if I had a bad race (seriously) and goal 2 was where I thought I’d be if I simply ran okay...but goal was 1 was the real goal.

At that years Canadian XC champs everything played out like it was destiny. We got into -15 degrees weather, but by race day it was closer to + 10. The course was simply my kind of course. It was a three km route that mostly flat with a few smallish hills and firm (I hate the mud). Even the race went out as I had planned to focus on Paddy after one of his teammates told me he was going to take out around 8km (of the 12km race). I watched Paddy, knowing he was far more experienced than me at this stuff and when I saw him make a slight move at 5km I began to move up, but as I did so I went past Paddy and immediately caught up with the leaders (at this moment in time the two main players were Graham Cocksedge and Peter Cardle). I thought to myself....’well since you’re here you might as well hang out for a while’ (if you know my general tactics they are to wait as late as possible). But in hanging out with the lead guys I felt as though I was jogging. Once again I thought....’it can’t be this easy’. As it turned out it was. Graham through in a surge at around 7km and Peter countered. I was gapped a meter or so and responded by following Peter who soon went by Graham. As soon as Pete went by Graham I slowly went by Peter and what felt easy must have been pretty quick as I soon gapped Pete. A meter turned into two and then into 3, etc....With 4kms to go I was leading a race I had no business being in (at least according to the internet predictions where I was in no one’s top 10). My thoughts once again turned into ‘well you’ve taken the lead let’s put in a decent surge and see what happens. I was running scared but I was also getting stronger and stronger. With one lap to go I looked back and had put about 5 or so seconds on Peter. I surged again and was running absolutely petrified. By the time I was at 2kms to go I was probably upward of 10 seconds on Peter and knew that I was going to win. It was everything I had within me to hold my emotions inside. All I did was wait for the last counter, but what Pete and no one else in the field knew was that I had at least another 30 seconds in me over the last mile. I simply stayed around 10 seconds until the finals straightaway where every ounce of everything negative that had ever happened to me in running came out.

From now on there would be no questioning of what I was capable of doing. There was no coulda, shoulda, woulda of what ifs. I never understood how much of that pent up energy had been so completely controlled until that moment as I was simply a blubbering mess (thankfully Peter pulled me away from the crowds and to a quiet place). I was from that moment on I would be a much more relaxed runner. I no longer had a chip on my shoulder. I had proven to myself that belief did matter and that sometimes if you do stick around long enough good things can happen. I would never be the same runner and more importantly I would never be the same person....

Thursday, May 19, 2011

A Slight Change in Direction

Lo and behold a heck of a lot happened since I last posted. I now have a baby girl (the main reason for such a long time between posts), I have gone through my umpteenth achilles problem (not bad as I was getting really fit.... but I wasn't going to run through it, although thankfully I hooked up with a great physio out here in Langley who has really helped me with my reoccurring hip issues which were adding to my achilles 'whip'), the kids I've coached at HS have begun to finally make an impact and last but not least I have now entered the phase of focusing on actually coaching, as opposed to more mentoring.

I recently accepted a position as the endurance coordinator at Trinity Western University (a short run near my house thankfully). Coaching at a more serious level has been something I've been himming and hawing about for while (if it was up to Julie I would have done it a long ago as she has been my biggest supporter in that regards), and it pretty much fell into my lap.

An old friend (I realized in going through this process I've know him for almost 25 years)was recently hired as the head coach after coming back early from his position as the Scottish National team coach asked me to come on board. I had originally gotten hold of Laurier to give him some names of some kids who I thought would be a good fit for his program and to offer him any support to assist him when he asked me if I wanted to take the coaching gig on part time. As I told Laurier, " You really threw me for a loop", as it wasn't something I had even expected.

After some conversations with my wife and some more with Laurier I decided I would give it a try. It certainly is a new direction for me in that I am now willing to give up some of my own running (I will try to still training , but no more 100 mile weeks for me....not that I had been putting in many recently) to see if I can make a difference for some others. Hopefully, we'll be able to provide some new ideas and options for young runners.