Training Log Archive: W

Hills! And plenty of them. After a minor initial meet-up debacle with my running partners, we set off down Whitemud and hit up some hills, most of them steep this time around. 190 metres of climb, which is not bad considering.... well, prairies. Felt comfortable on the climbing, but not... fast. If that makes sense. I would appreciate more spring in my step.

Yikes! Way behind on logging. I'm sure you're all very concerned.

Didn't get to run as much as I'd've hoped today, got up early to do the bicycle measuring of certifiying a new running course, The Blue Mile. It goes partway down whyte ave, so I figured Sunday morning was the time I was least likely to get hit by a car. Success!

I've started working through some old wednesday meets that I may have missed over the years. Poorly planned courses, but presumably it does more good than harm. Got dropped off at the top of Mill Creek, ran down it, then started at Queen Elizabeth for a 5.5k loop. Pretty muddy out there, its a dry layer of mud with slick underneath, so some uphills were slow going, even in X-Talons. Still managed to make silly mistakes, partly because I've been conditioned to never bother taking bearings when entering the woods in Edmonton. It doesn't usually end well. Kept up to the trails on one leg pretty well when I tried to take the slower, more complex route.

After a relatively promising week of running, I hopped on the trainer for a bike ride.

Salomon demo night at the shop in the pouring rain, but it was all okay, because the Salomon rep is very attractive. So, you know me, I turned on the charm. I actually think that makes things more awkward. Watching several seasons of the Big Bang Theory have felt painfully realistic.

Gave a try to some Salomon XR Missions, which, I think, would be decent for a long long race like leg 4 of the death race, but really nothing else. Felt like I was wearing high heels that weighed the same as bricks. I appreciated the large footprint, but that was about it. inov-8 for the win. Give me a job, dammit.

Anyway, intervals, 8 x 4 minutes at 10k pace in the driving rain. Hovered around 3:35-3:45 for most of them, even the uphill one, though number 7 was an ugly one, and decidely slower. Still, given the rain, the hills, and the soft surface, I think there is certainly a percentage of pace lost to the conditions there. Foot held up okay, though certainly taped up.

C • Big Bang Theory... 4

First Wednesday night train wreck, I mean, orienteering session of the year. Given the actual park this event was starting in, it was a smart ideal to immediately make a bee-line across the river to a different, slightly more interesting park. However, I've noticed that many of the club members who plan courses have an intense fear of a overlapping itself, so it very close to just one giant loop. Also somewhat devoid of route choice or... anything, given it was advertised as 7.7k and my Garmin pegged me as doing 8.08.

Nevertheless, gave me a chance to really think about compass work. I've observed that perhaps I still don't necessary have my compass pointed directly out in front of me, but rather pointing slightly right. So today I tried to ensure that whenever I took a bearing a did a deliberate extra extension of my wrist to ensure I wasn't getting lazy. It is somewhat fatiguing to hold your hand in that position, but I've convinced myself the compass bearings were just slightly better.

Light run checking locations for my Wednesday night meet at Kinsmen, which, rest assured, despite having been used so many, many times, will still be given some thought and effort to make it interesting and challenging. I can't say the same about many others. /continued rage

Rumsey Spring Opener, 11.7k, and, as is typical of my first events of the year, this was abysmal. This is never a good time of year for me. All of my bad habits and non-habits have remerged, and I navigate very, very poorly. It was positive that I was able to get another opportunity to run on a 1:15000 map, but I just could not, in any way, gauge my distance properly and made several horrific parellel errors. Hard to work on scale when most of the Wednesday night meets are at 1:7500. Its especially frustrating because I know that Europe has started their season 4 months ago, with several countries already having their national championships! I feel that any technical gains I made with my year in Europe has slowly faded given my inability to find new terrain or get even remotely good training here in Edmonton. This is exacerbated by a club who is happy with the status quo and is unwilling to consider any ideas or suggestions or any ambition at all yet expects me to volunteer my time to their own pet projects. Unfortunately I am between a rock and a hard place because moving elsewhere would require finding a real job and significantly reduce my ability to bugger off for several months and compete.

/unrelated rant that just perpetually frustrates me.

Nevertheless, I will continue to plug on, as I've said, in my opinion my biggest strength improvements will be from being a better runner, and I can still work towards that, assuming I can fix my foot. If anyone has any ideas on how to practice on maps I've been on many, many, many times, I'm all ears. I have most of the maps so I'll send them out if you want to get creative.

Here's the context of my performance rage:
DOMA

Update!

Okay, so, I haven't read any comments or anything, but I should clarify that I most definitely overreact on bad performances, but I think I've made it pretty clear that I have ludicrously high expectations for myself and I'm a terrible loser. And the thought of future losing infuriates me more. My coach would try to give me the standard post-race hug after most ski races, and I'd tell him to screw off. Just thought I'd make that clear.

Now, to book flights to San Fran!

C • training 5

Hit the Fast Trax intervals before a long day at the shop. 10 x 3 minutes with 3 minutes rest at 10k-ish pace. We've started running on rolling grass terrain, rather than pavement, which I'm very thankful for, though it makes my paces seem a little slow:

3:47
3:37
3:46
3:38
and etc.

Still, with the foot all taped up and some slightly more supportive shoes, the painful first few minutes were a little bit less, and my afterwards it really didn't bother me until 4-5 hours into running around and up and down stairs all day. Busy day, Apparently we sold 69 pairs of shoes. Which, yeah, doesn't seem like much, but it actually is, for a store our size.

Two fairly positive days of running means I don't want to overdo it and go out for another day. It also started raining, which just sealed the deal for biking on my trainer.

Headed out to do some intervals. Foot still 100% taped up, but stayed on generally gravel trails so the impact was a bit lower.

Hammered out 15x1 minute intervals with some buddies. Felt relatively fast-ish, though the stomach was a bit heavy. Averaged about 3:15-3:25, which is probably a reasonable 10k pace, but harder than a 10k effort, just because of the soft condition and rolling terrain.

And then I saw that there's only 80-ish days until WOC and HOLY CRAP THAT'S NOT LONG AT ALL.

Received +3 to my terror stat.

Speaking of stats, I briefly lost my mind and recently re-activated my world of warcraft account, which has done a number on my blogging. Nevertheless, I polished one off:

Scienteering

Well, the weather is finally starting to turn. Despite being only +5, it was warm plus 5, worth of 3/4s. Hauled out my new road shoes, for now, the Saucony Mirage. Just like the kinvara, but with some stability, which is yet another emotional vice to help with my foot pain. Unfortunately it did nothing to ease my foot pain. Whatever. I think these shoes are still good, spent a while debating between these and some Mizunos, the Brooks PureFlow, or the Fast Twitches, or maybe the Asics Excel33. Still have my eyes on those Asics Tarthers for road racing, though. You know, if I ever get to road race. I think they might be good for sprinting too, a bit stiffer than f-lites, which I think would be an improvement. Hard to know about the grip though.

Didn't have much time for training tonight, since staying late at the office, and then had to go see COLDPLAY!

They were awesome. Not quite Muse awesome. But still pretty dang awesome. Even if you only know a few of their songs, get tickets and go see them. Stat.

C • Coldplay 2

Light trainer riding in the morning before the office. Played soccer in the afternoon, and planned to go for a run afterwards, but my partner ditched out, so opted to give the foot a break. Probably the best my foot has felt after soccer in a while. Still sore, but a bit better. Still taped it up as well. Gave it a lot of TLC after words with some strength, stretching, massage, foot soak, and etc. I should start a spa.

Training doesn't look hopeful tomorrow, too much work and capped off by:

Headed out to do some intervals in the snow. 8 x 3 minutes at 10k, which on trails in mud and snow was around 3:40 pace on the flatter one, it fluctuated with the rolling hills.

Some light twinges in my foot during the run, but not too bad. Oddly enough, it was more lateral arch today than standard medial heel. Its like my foot is toying with me.

Again, it was nice to run fast, I wish I could do it more often. Going to have to start to anyway, since the first event is next weekend. Cripes. I'm so not ready.

Tried to do another workout in the afternoon, but I'm really suffering on the stationary bike. It makes me sleepy.

Training was stunted today by going to an officials course. It doesn't matter what it is, I'm likely to fall asleep at it. Sitting + listening, no hope for me.

Hopped on the trainer when I Got home for some spinning and standing.

Oh, also, we got 5cm of snow today. BOO-URNS.

C • Snow 2

First run in quite some time. Probably 95% pain free, but, then again, not 100% pain free, and as far as I'm concerned, if it still hurts, its going to start hurting more until I'm back to zero. Still, cool and rainy, plenty muddy, nice to be out.

cycled to the shop. I was aiming to make this longer, but left too late. Still, some fun diversions on some muddy singletrack.

Naturally, cycling to the shop requires me cycling home as well. Had more time, and took a much longer route home. Some single track, some paved, some gravel, off-leash dogs in not off-leash area, standard stuff. Did the long downhill which still had some snow. Good fun down, tricky climb back up. Good stuff.

3 x 10 minutes at marathon-esque pace at Fast Trax intervals. The schedule said 5, but I went with three, just for good measure. Foot held up okay, though not amazingly well.

So, today I went and visited a physio at the Glen Sather Sports clinic. Yeah, my sister is a physio, but I thought I'd go see someone who is not on a tropical island and get some new ideas.

That was a colossal waste of time and money. First thing the physio does, after having a student take my history for 10-15 minutes, is march in and begin to criticize my level of training. I said I typically do about an hour and a half, seven days a week. He says "That's way too much, no runner should be doing that much, have you ever heard of resting?".

Naturally, this caught me a little off guard. This is a sports clinic right? He is aware that perhaps its not exactly 90 minutes every day? Some days are shorter, some are longer, some are faster, some are slower, some days I train (gasp!) TWICE? Seriously, 90 minutes x 7 days is just 10.5 hours, that's not exactly crazy. Do I have to explain how training works?

Now, if I were the physio, I'd think, "Hm, that seems like plenty, I wonder WHY he does that much training? What is his history? Does he have experience with this much running?" These seem like pertinent questions to ask. Not just as a physio, but as a someone whose job is to provide quality customer service. How can you possible do your job well if you have no understanding of the context of your customer's needs? That's right, you can't. And thus, he had absolutely no flippin' clue about me. But gosh darn it he was going to judge me anyway.

Sure, once doing the world's fastest assessment, he told me what I already knew. And, sure, he gave me a couple of new strengthening exercises, and some new strategies, and maybe they'll help, but I was too pissed to consider it a positive experience. In my "hour-long" appointment starting at 12:30, I didn't get called in until 12:40, talked with a student until 12:55, waited until 13:00, got criticized until 13:02, was assessed until 13:10, got some exercise advice until 13:20, another quick little criticism and was told, "man, if I ran for 15k in a week, I'd be dead" (which, by the way, strikes me as odd given he was just preaching about how to run), and he was gone by 13:25.

They're all such smug know-it-alls and so dismissive. This is why I hate visiting medical professionals. And bankers. And my financial planner.

If I can take one small positive, is that it reminds that the customer service I provide at the shop is so damn awesome.

C • Butterdome 2

I'm not going to lie, when training isn't any fun, my enthusiasm for blogging/logging/[insert other things]ogging significantly wanes.

Well, its the end of no running week, and quite frankly, my foot doesn't feel any significantly better. So perhaps its time to throw caution to the wind and start with ALL RUNNING WEEK! Hooray!

Some road biking on the trainer, followed by some mighty wet and muddy mountain biking. Did a longer loop than last time, but in the same amount of time, I was definitely hustling a bit more. Got my off-road legs back.

Augghhhhhh, so much trainer riding.

So winter decided to come back with a vengeance, with 25 cm of ultra heavy wet snow. One of the branches on our big tree in the back yard broke from the weight of the snow, and there were plenty of branches down throughout the city. Power went out in places, collisions blah blah blah. Its like they've never experienced winter before.

This is really putting a damper in no running week, all this new snow. Perhaps I'll give it another day to melt and then I'll go for a snow/mud ride on Saturday! That'll be fun. And really slow.

Well, wanted to go for a mountain bike, and waited and waited for a buddy to come too, and then he backed out. Disappointed, I rode my trainer instead.

Rode my trainer before heading out to coach at week 1 of Kids Run Wild. 25 kids, which is 100% more than last time. Not bad at all. They seemed to have a good time. My group did far less sitting and drawing on a piece of paper and far more running, which unfortunately meant that we finished a tad too early.

No running week failed after just over 24 hours. Let's call it "one run week".

Its the start of "no running week" here, to be concluded by a visit to a physiotherapist who is not on a different island.

My guess? I won't make it.

First edition of our semi weekly "SunBunRun", wherein we start at a different cafe, go for a run, then come back and sample their cinnamon bun wares.

Naturally, it decided to snow this morning. So it was cold, windy, and soaking wet. I'm not going to be impressed if my run partners always only want to do 45 minutes.