Throwing up all over oneself....

Discussions on why one runs always come up. There's always the typical fitness, it makes me feel good, I like to compete, etc....arguments made, but alas I seldom like to fit myself into some running category. Hell I hate wearing running shorts.

But when this subject of why one runs comes up I have found no better way to explain it then by a section from a golf book. John Feinstein is easily my favourite sports non fiction writer. He's best know for his classic "A Season on the Brink' in which he followed Bobby Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers around for an entire season (Knight was not a happy when the book came out). Feinstein has put out many more books over the years (my personal favourite is the 'The Last Amateurs', but his next most famous book is a golf book entitled ' A Good Walk Spoiled' in which he once again followed a handful of PGA tour players around for an entire season. In his introduction he mentioned a story about Curtis Strange (2 x US Open winner), who had been playing poorly for a while. Strange had somehow positioned himself into a situation where he was one stroke away at a US Open, but over the last hole he hit a poor shot and missed a playoff.

Rather than be angry or even disappointed Strange had IMHO the best description of what competing really means....and the one I've always used to explain why I still run:


They all want to be there because they know the work that goes into getting there. Shortly after Curtis Strange had come up one stroke of making a playoff at last year’s US Open , I ran into him in the empty locker room at Oakmont.
I asked him if he would sleep that night.
“Probably not,” he said. “I’ll probably go through every shot and every thought.”
He smiled . “But you know what? That’s okay. It’s disappointing, but goddamn it, I was there. I hadn’t had that feeling in a long time. This is what you play the game for – to get yourself in a position on Sunday at the US Open so you can throw up all over yourself.”
He was glowing. “My God,” he said, “it felt great.”
He hadn’t won. But he had had a chance right to the very end. All the work was worth it, just to have that feeling. That’s what they all search for: the chance to be there on Sunday afternoon. They live to have the chance to choke. At Q-school; at Hartford or Memphis; at Augusta or Oakmont.



....so if you ever hear me talking about 'throwing up all over myself' it was probably not due to a long night......

uh oh.....

...Carter has started crawling and that means load of fun.

One might assume (if they read this regularly) that training has been going poorly because I haven't been posting. Actually it is quite opposite. I was able to get back into some semblance of discipline after my November meltdown and even hit around 100 miles this week (having the week off was nice, but it really wasn't a week off). In fact I would even say I purposely backed off so that i wouldn't overdo things.

If anything I've gone back to my more traditional approach of 'secret training' (as Joseph Kibur used to put it when we didn't see him for a while). It's not any secret, but rather that I sometimes forget I need to struggle to get my behind in gear. If I have realized anything in my years of running it's that the athlete has to make the decision. Last year I made some poor decisons in rushing parts of my training that I have felt I always needed to race well. These things aren't always physical hence why I find I need more of the mental process. That's still one of the issues regarding group vs personalized training. You can caught up in the group atmosphere (where it can be much easier to train) and forget that sometimes (and some people) require different approaches tp get to where they need to go.

I used to say to my old coach Mike Lonergan that 'you can get me fit, but you can't make me fast'. By that I meant it was mine and mine only decison to make a choice on whether I was committed to the process of racing/training focus. There can always be legitimate reasons to not train (I've had a few over the past year or so), but most of the time one can work it out if they really want.

Topics for the future: 'why throwing up all over yourself and is a good thing' and 'the concept of the 'big workout'.

Last 4 weeks:
1) 77
2) 75
3) 85
and this week (4)

Mon: 68 mins
Tues: 30min plus 3min 20-30 sec hills fartlek PM 35 mins
Wed: 66 mins
thurs: AM just under 1 hr 40mins with Tina PM 30 mins plus drills
Fri: 51min
sat: 3 x 15 mins off 90sec easy jogs done in 5min pickups (5 below MP HR, 5 at MP HR and 5 at tmepo HR PM: 35mins
Sun: 2 hr 3mins at SFU. Good as felt decent from the start and got better as i went along

If there's one thing this sport has taught me.....

....it's what people are now realizing about Tiger Woods and that is great athletes are not always what they seem to be. As a person one is always looking at having a role model/s or maybe more accurately someone they respect.

I fortunately/unfortunately realized early enough in my running experiences that great athletes could be the sort of people who, although you may respect their performances, you do not respect as people. But being a somewhat cynic and optimist all bound up in one I may complain about the ones who have disappointed me, but I've also come to appreciate those who are the 'good guys'.

So rather than focus on the negatives (the stories I could tell/have told) the post is on the positive people I've come across. This is not to say I put these people up on some pedestal (I am way to old, cynical and arrogant for that) I'd rather view these people as those who you know when the 'chips are down' they will be the ones still standing. In no particular order would be those I've come to respect as much for their athletic results as how they approach life and running....

Rob Lonergan...some people may even ask who is Rob ( I hope not), but being the inaugural winner of the Sun Run has to get you some bonus points. He was often the lesser known the great dist runners who came out of the Vancouver area, when the other great runners of the Kajaks dominated. Rob's ability to look beyond the sport (he's a lawyer now), yet still be able to give his all has always impressed on me. Knowing of Rob's career best results being destroyed by his elastic band achilles, yet his inability to also pack it in (I still say his 4th place at the 93 CWG trials as one of the most courageous races I've seen in person) and ability to run tough every time out are characteristics that any runner would be proud. Even now I say that any runner should be afraid if Rob Lonergan is right behind you with 200m to go. Ahhhhh..... if only the achilles had held out, but why do I think that Rob has no regrets.


Art Boileau...ahh the legend of Art. If I've learned anything about Art it's too always carry out the childlike attitude towards the sport. As a 2 x Olympian, Boston 2nd placer, and many other accomplishments, show that Arty has to go down as one of Canada's all time greats (he's still no 3 or 4 all time marathoner). The best Art stories have even come recently. Over the last two yrs Art has essentially been the first one my high school team has seen at BCHS XC champs. I always proceed to put Art on the spot with the younger athletes, as I introduce them to him and tell of his accomplishments. Art's response is typical of his attitude towards the sport as he deflects his standing in the sport, with his still evident American twang, and a response that is always to ask the kids questions about their races for the day (and then proceeds to help us setup our school tent and organize our gear).


Kevin Sullivan.....Kevin is more a peer than anything (actually I am older by a few yrs), but they way he has conducted himself, as a Junior and later as one of the wld's best, speaks volumes of his character. I had the pleasure of being on some teams with Kevin and he always handles himself with distinction and class (well okay except for some of the 'after' parties, but come on everyone needs to blow off a little steam after a big event). If I was a young athlete he'd be at the top of my list as someone you'd want to emulate.


Richard Lee will love this one but his wife Sue also falls into my list (of course he knows this story that was prefaced by my admission 'Dick, did I ever tell you the day I fell in love with our wife?') due to the singular reason that she knew who I was.... I should preface this by saying that Sue might go down as one of (if not the most) underrated runners of the great era of Can female dist runners (egs Lynn Williams/Kanuka, Brit McRoberts/Townsend, Angela Chalmers, etc...). She was a fantastic runner (18th in 85 WXC, the Can 10000m record and 2 x Olympian) and her results sometimes seem to get lost when great Canadian runners are mentioned. Being a student of the sport (even at a younger age) I knew who Sue (amongst many others of her time) was and what she had done, but I never expected she would know who I was... or at least know my name. As a young athlete I had one big breakthrough year, but then unfortunately had an injury (turned out it was stress fracture). As I was coming out of an appt with the Dr I bumped into Sue on her way in. Now recognize I had done nothing before that year, and when I saw Sue she actually knew my name. I was flabbergasted when she even took the time to ask me what I was doing there. Now I am no Sue Lee, but I also know that I have done enough in this sport that I at least some semblance of a positive (I hope) reputation in Canada. Forever, Sue knowing my name would have an indelible impact on how I approached young athletes and anyone who I ever came across....

All of the above have left an impression on me in some way. I doubt that any of the would see themselves in that way I may have mentioned, but to all of them I owe a debt of gratitude. There are many others who have impacted me (In fact those have inspired the most aren't even what one might call great athletes unless you call a 1:51 800m runner great....but that's for another post) in some way because of their athletics accomplishments, but mostly because of who they are as people.

Base Building....

As I begin the process again (in earnest this week) I find myself thinking more about what type of training to do. It's not that i don't know what to do, but more along the lines of since I am in that sort of mode, it's what dominates my running thoughts. In this case base building.

If there's one area of training that I am most concerned about in training it's a good aerobic buildup. This of course would be more so due to my training according to a more intensity oriented model as a younger athlete vs what I did as an older athlete.

As a younger athlete the trend of the time was the Seb Coe/Joaquim Cruz model of base building (or at least that was how things were interpreted by many coaches and athletics bodies of the time). it's also the one thing that I still find some coaches doing (or not doing) that frustrates me today. It's do hard workouts and get fit fast, as opposed to taking more patient approach. I find that athletes certainly get fit fast, but they also lose their sharpness just as quick and also fail to show long term development as athletes.

Base building is the one area of Arthur Lydiard's training concepts that I firmly believe in (although as I'll explain I don't follow him to a tee). Lydiard was accused of just doing long slow runs, but this is untrue and unfair. After living in New Zealand for almost a year I can tell you that his annual Sunday long run was in fact more a long run fartlek, and if you have read enough about Lydiard's athletes and his books you'll also see that he did other types of training besides easier aerobic runs. In fact Lydiard advocated things like 10km runs at 3/4 pace, or as is better termed 'tempo' pace. In fact when I lived there we did a lot of the stuff that Arch Jelley (John Walker's coach...since i was often training with a guy who had been trained under Jelley this shouldn't have come as a surprise) such as 4-6 mile tempos and a fartlek style 9-10 miler called the X Games (so called because you ran it during Auckland's rush hour and had to dodge cars, take chances thru red lights, etc...) to get a fast time. In fact the X games had a Sat morning record, when the traffic was light vs a 5 o'clock X games record when the traffic was heavy.

But as with all things Lydiard's ideas have also been tweaked over time. Although the original idea of taking a specific amount of time to get in easier levels of aerobic runs in it has still taken on a more efficient level of base building. So what then does a base building week look like....well IMHO it depends on the strengths and weaknesses of the athlete. But this is also the reason why I don't believe in one specific model. In fact I take a handful of approaches to create a system that still stays true to Lydiard (see this great article by Lorraine Moeller http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=18121) and works in a little bit of everything so that 1) you never just work on your weakness or strengths and 2) still make an aerobic security blanket.

Anyone who has been around me for long runs knows that I base much of my training beliefs on the methodology of running and personal experiences vs science. Not to say I don't consider science, but that I use science to explain my experiences and methodology as opposed to the other way around. In that respects I tend to focus on a handful of approaches and that being a handful of great coaches and athletes. Those of course, as anyone who runs with me, are well known such as Marty Liquori, Harry Wilson, Ron Daws, Lydiard, Joe Vigil, Chris Wardlaw, Pat Clohessy, Alan Storey/Nic Bideau, Vin Lananna, among others. What I've done over the years is simply take out the 'individual' ideas of these people and instead focus on the 'consistencies' (that is also how I approach my training in general). In that respects I think I have come to understand 'what it takes' as well as anyone. In the end it really isn't rocket science.

So what does it look like...well here would be some ideas... (and recognize that one has to work up to some of this over time...and by time I don't mean days, weeks or months):
1) some semblance of speed needs to be done, although this doesn't mean hard intervals...to the contrary stay away from hard intervals with lots of recovery
2) high end aerobic work is very effective
3) lower order aerobic activity is key, but no the end all to be all
4) aerobic development occurs quicker than muscular development so don't be surprise if your fitness allows you to go long, but not fast......don't worry it will happen, just not quickly......give it a few months
5) two peaks, therefore two buildups, have been shown to be the best way to reach optimal results....IMHO trying to train all yr round without a proper buildup is running suicide



Mon: 50-70mins
Tues: easy longer interval reps done a at high order tempo pace (egs 4-5 x 2kms or 6min off 1-2mins), or aerobic fartlek (see def'n on the next Tues)
Wed: 50-70mins
Thurs: 90mins but pick it up the last 20-30mins or do it on hilly terrain to make it more fartlek oriented.....in other words harder than an easy run, but not like a real workout
Fri" 40-50min really easy
Sat: tempo run 20-50mins
Sunday Long run 90+min
Mon: 50-70min
Tues: Aerobic fartlek 15 up to 45 mins, but make sure that the hardest stuff is below tempo pace…or in other words is aerobic. In general I use a handful of concepts from 3min harder-2min easier, 1-2-3-2-1 mins off 1min, hill fartleks or some sort of longer tempo/fartlek
Wed: 80- 90mins
Thurs: short fartlek or hills (egs monofartlek 20min or less)..the only thing i would say to do more intense than aerobic
Fri: 40mins really easy
Sat: tempo run
Sunday: long run 90+ mins

Throw in some short sprint/form work to keep up the mechanics and voila there it is....

Repeat twice, but on the second week of the second repeat cycle tone it down with no mid week long run or throw out the short fartlek.

Now this doesn't mean this is exactly how you should do it. Some people like to do two slightly harder workouts than I might do (egs long slow intervals/tempo/hills and tempo and a long run).....then so be it. The only reason I put in the shorter fartlek is because I am more a 'speed runner' and like the feel and motivation of doing some slightly shorter/speedier stuff. The key is simply to not do much in the way of harder sessions (egs 3-5km pace) and longer easier sessions.

There many other way to go (I've always liked the 'complex system' of Clohessy/Wardlaw...see more at http://www.sport.monash.edu.au/assets/docs/chris-wardlaws-training-program.pdf, and Bill Squires of long run fartlek style runs mixed in with some hills and tempo runs), but in all honesty it really doesn't matter as long as you mix up a few concepts, don't be in a rush and don't do anything super intense (egs I find I sometimes do variations of long reps like 3mins off 1min one week and 6mins off 2mins the next later in my buildups).

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.

'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.

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.