Pistol Runs

Back in the VFAC Game

2009-11-27T14:45:00.000-08:00

What a difference a training group makes. Last night I returned to VFAC having last seen their friendly faces in the last week of July between trips to Germany and Luxembourg. That blazing hot night I collapsed at the end of the session at Beaver Lake from chronic fatigue and dehydration, dizzy, disorientated and stumbling I was delirious.

A lot happened between the end of July and the end of November which meant I didn't get a chance to return, but last night made up for it and reminded me why running is so awesome, even when you're relatively unfit.

Surprisingly I ended up being the top runner there and Coach John made me hurt by setting me off at the back with the aim of catching up the guys and girls in front. He sure knew what would motivate me having had six weeks of very little training, but there's nothing like some healthy competition to get the blood pumping and the legs moving, and once the first rep got underway I was able to get into that trance like state and go through the motions.

After a solid five mile warm up we launched into a four mile tempo, complete recovery, one mile tempo, complete recovery, one mile tempo. Six miles of balls to the wall effort with a real killer to start with - pacing a four mile stretch is hard to do when you have no concept of how fit you are and what your body can do.

I started thirty seconds behind the decent guys and decided to ease my way into the tempo; but of course I went out like a bat out of hell and then had to settle into a rhythm. At the half way turn around I finally passed the last of the group ahead of me and had made my thirty seconds up, probably too quickly. Heading back along the sea wall was very unnerving with cars coming towards me with their lights on full beam and not being able to see the holes and drains in the dark. I had to back off a little bit just to keep my nerves in one piece; the prospect of tripping did not appeal!

Once at the three mile mark I found myself running at a fair lick without too much trouble. I was breathing heavily and my legs were tired but I knew I could maintain the pace to the finish. Sure enough I finished the rep in 22:08 (5:32 per mile average), somewhat surprisingly decent with all things considered.

The Olympic rings shine out over Vancouver

One thing that really inspired me when hitting the rep was the beautiful sight of the Olympic rings floating out in Coal Harbour, just off the sea wall. Suddenly it was this light in the darkness, the Olympic dream shining out, the iconic symbol of effort, hard work and prowess for all to see. It really fired me up, the realisation that everywhere in the world there are people putting themselves through hardship as they try and attain their personal goals.

Next came the first of the mile reps and God was it painful. I started ten seconds down on the guys and clawed back half of their advantage relatively quickly before finding the going extremely hard. Thankfully I hit the main traffic at half way and had a chance to recover slightly as I moved through the group before pushing on again. With a few hundred metres to go I went for home and made my way to the front hitting 5:10 (for 1.03 miles according to my GPS).

On the return I felt decidedly lousy and couldn't get onto the back of the guys in front. I should have buried myself early on to make contact and then hung on for the finish, but instead I started steady and tried to build up the pace. Having not done much mileage my legs were exhausted by this point and although I got close with 200 metres to go I couldn't finish fast enough despite clocking a solid 5:13.

Jogging home my right knee started to seize up and some 'runner's knee' I had been experiencing came to the fore, however with some strengthening exercises I hope this will pass relatively quickly and without too many consequences. All in all though 13 miles of running and feeling decidedly good for someone who hasn't done much since the marathon. No complaints, I just need to find a routine and get into it.

Getting Back Into Things?

2009-11-23T21:34:00.000-08:00

Since my last post motivation didn’t really pick up, I guess I was still physically jaded from the marathon and mentally just not ready to start running again. I have certainly felt tired this past month, never really quite on song, falling asleep on the couch in the early evening and generally carrying some lethargy throughout the day, despite going to bed earlier.

I decided to have one more week off, just putting in one session last tuesday to see where I was in terms of fitness before having some nights out to relax and recuperate knowing that I could take this final opportunity to let my hair down before having to train again. I hit 4 x 5mins off 90 seconds recovery in the dark on the seawall around Stanley Park, and surprisingly I found I was in better shape than I thought I would be, hitting >0.9 miles for each rep, which isn’t bad seeing as it was freezing cold, I was in trainers and couldn’t see where I was going!

Having a laugh after winning the 2008 Boxing Day Challenge

Despite picking up a sore throat over the weekend I decided to start ‘training mark II’ tonight as the soreness didn’t develop into illness. With The Boxing Day Challenge on Cheltenham Race Course coming up I finally have a target race, and one where I am the defending champion... not that I expect to successfully claim that crown again given my somewhat limited training.

So 33 days to get into four mile race shape. I started tonight with a two mile build-up tempo, two mile relaxed and two mile tempo. All in all it went well and I finished off my tempo in bang on 11 minutes, a perfectly adequate time seeing as I was stripped down topless in the cold (my top started to chafe and my nipples were complaining).

Congrats to Charliiiiii, an 'old' training partner from younger days

I guess I felt an ounce of motivation come back, not least because some of my friends were racing down in the NCAA (collegiate champs) in the USA having been given scholarships for some of the top university teams. Watching the races on the live stream was awesome, seeing the relaxed style of the lead guys, the turn of pace, the surging, the sprint finishes... I wanted to race again.

So a big congratulations to Charlotte ‘Charliiiiiiiiii’ Browning on 21st place, hopefully that will be good enough to see her selected for the GB under 23 squad for the European Champs, and then a pat on the back for Ruth Senior (46th) and Andy Baker (78th). Cheers guys, hopefully you've just kickstarted my training!

Motivation Needed - Volunteers Required

2009-11-11T13:58:00.000-08:00

Since the marathon I have run a total of four times and considered retiring or taking a sabbatical from running.

Running is great when you have goals and races, but here in Vancouver there isn't the same racing fixture list as back in England, and as such I pretty much have no races to target over the winter. So what would I train for? Planning a spring marathon or half-marathon is one thing, but it's still quite a long way away and doesn't provide any intermediate fixtures to keep the calendar busy.

Also, since getting back from Europe, this city has been miserable. I can't remember a day when it hasn't rained, and with the clocks going back it's dark when I leave work. Who wants to go out in the dark, wind and rain every evening? I don't want to run on a treadmill, that's boring, so what do I do?

What I need is a BIG kick up the backside!

It's not that I haven't trained through similar winters (although England tends to be cold rather than wet), but back in Loughborough I had a training group of 60 other guys and girls to train with. It's sad to say, but apart from one Sunday run with Jay, I haven't trained with any of the guys from VFAC since mid-summer. I need to get back in the club scene and arrange to train with the guys again!

I've decided that I can't just take the easy option and take a break or stop. If I had achieved my potential then maybe, but looking at my personal bests, 10k through to the marathon need some revision:

10k - set on a hilly course. Give me a flat course in the same shape and I'm a low-32min runner.
Half Mara - got a massive stitch and walked for two minutes. Sub-1:12 is possible.
Marathon - stitches, cramps, the wall... one day the 2:30 barrier is getting smashed.

So here's an open invitation - email me accept_no_compromise@hotmail.com with a time when you're running in the evening (I'm free from 6:15pm) and I'll do my very best to meet up.

Post-Marathon Ache

2009-10-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

I thought I better give a quick update since the marathon. Basically I spent a week of walking with a painful left hip and a sore right knee before they finally eased. A couple of days ago I went for my first easy run and felt pretty good, my feet are fine although I did start to tighten up in my hip.

All in all my body isn't too broken which is great, so I'll give it another ten days or so of doing nothing/very easy running before getting back into training. I fly back to Vancouver on Sunday and then find myself heading off to Mexico on Thursday night to cover the final triathlon of the year... when is the year of jet setting going to end? Hopefully I can find a bit of winter sun to keep my pasty body a little less white for a bit longer!

Once I get back into the swing of things I'm looking forward to reconnecting with Jay, Kevin, Phil, Simon, Paul, Ynuk and co. at VFAC and bashing out some mileage. Winter miles = summer smiles.

Smashed... Me, Not the Marathon

2009-10-20T06:20:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in getting a report online after Echternach but I've been busy recovering.
Here's how the race panned out:

I started well enough alongside Georges Krier and there was a nice pack developing through the first few kilometres, although on a few twisty narrow sections we did get a bit tangled up and some of the lankier runners weren't particularly considerate.

Through 10km we hit mid-36mins, pretty quick, although much of the opening part was downhill. By this point I was running with a nice pack of four others although the pacing was sporadic. Guys would surge then relax, it was pretty stupid. I kept an even pace and just let them tire themselves out. They would break ahead for a kilometre and then I would naturally work my way back up by keeping a steady pace.

Coming up to nine miles I took to the front as we entered a narrow section back into Echternach and slowed the pace back down to something more sensible - 6 minute miling. At ten miles I passed Stéph who passed me some much needed sports drink with a smile, although I think she was a little concerned at how fast we were going. I offered the other guys some rehydration but they all refused, which I was fine with.

Heading down to the halfway point three of the guys surged again leaving me to run with Jose, the top Luxembourg marathoner, despite being Portuguese. We must have looked like quite the pair: him short and stocky and me tall and thin. Anyway, sure enough we went through the halfway mark in a little over 1:17, about a minute under schedule. I was moving well but knew it would be very tough in the second half of the race.

Jose and I made contact with the other three guys again as we crossed the bridge at the far end of the course and entered Germany. Turning back down the valley we hit a head wind and the road started to get a bit hillier. On the first of the small hills leading out of the town I went to the front and opened up my legs, keen to take some control over the pace. I held the lead for a few kilometres until Jose surged past, taking Georges with him. I didn't see them again as they pulled away into the distance.

At 26km I started to get a stitch and soon found myself bent over in half trying to hold 6:45 miling whilst I dropped to the back of the group. At every aid station I took on as much carbohydrate as possible and then saw Stéph again at 30km for a much needed pick up. I grabbed my own drink soon after but knew the wheels were coming off.

I went through 32km (20 miles) in exactly two hours, as planned, however things were getting tough. Although the stitch had subsided to a gentle ache my legs were getting sore and especially my left hamstring and right adductor. By 35km I was in real trouble and crossing back into Luxembourg was a real effort. I had slowed right down, and despite running with my sports drink in hand I was slowly seizing up.

At 37km I was reduced to walking breaks, thinking agonizingly of the finish line - it seemed so far away and the kilometre markers couldn't pass fast enough. Sure enough at 39km the flying Belgian Frankie Leus came past and I gave him a 'well done', a man who shows real determination and unbelievable ability to punish his body week in, week out.

The aid station at 41km was manned by Stéph's parents who offered some support as I slowed down to walk and drink the last of the carbohydrate on offer. I was well on target to break three hours despite my troubles although by this point I was so stiff and sore I was either hobbling or walking. Climbing up the final rise into Echternach I kept a nice rhythm ticking over as I made to the line and into the arms of an expectant Stéph who had been wondering what happened to me.

Hot tea, reassurance and a nice shiny medal made me feel better but both physically and emotionally I was drained and hurting. At the end of the London Marathon in 2006 I cried tears of pain and anguish at what might have been. At the end of Echernach I almost felt like crying again in thanks that the ordeal was finally over, haha!!

I had no expectations other than knowing that I could get to 20 miles in two hours, which I did, but it's much easier to talk about hitting the wall than when you actually run into it! In training you cannot fathom how painful it will be, or how slow you will be moving, but when you're desperate to see the finish line five kilometres seems like a long way!

So my final finishing time for sixteenth place (first in my age group) was 2:54:06. A new personal best, although London's 3:07:16 wasn't going to be hard to beat, but I'm pleased to have survived and dipped under the three hour barrier for the first time. There is still much more to come, so maybe in a year's time I will return to the roads of Echternach with better preparation and strategy to break 2:40.

Thanks for reading.

Hurting to Heal

2009-10-15T21:52:00.000-07:00

So having endured two weeks of pain with my foot I decided I had to put it through one more run before boarding the plane tomorrow. Just four miles of out and back effort along the sea wall, the same surface the foot will have to endure on Sunday.

The first kilometre was a little touchy, painful and all together unpleasant. I ran around corners as if treading on broken glass and thought too much about where the pain was coming from; but I stuck at it, hoping the foot would warm up and relax... and it did.

After the first mile I drew up alongside a large passenger cruise boat and sure enough was heckled by some intoxicated party goers. "Nice shorts!", "Run Forrest run!", and "Race you!" were shouted from the top deck, how original. Altogether quite funny as at 6:30 miling I still overtook them and offered a smile and a thumbs up to keep them entertained.

Note to self: men wearing lycra must be beaten! ;-)

Once running along the beach front the foot felt pretty good, and despite trying to ease into marathon pace my body really wanted to stretch out as if it was saying "come one, one last blast before the race". I wasn't going to argue so let my legs run away with me for a mile at 5:30 pace, no harm done and it felt good to be moving so well.

I put in a few drills at the large inukshuk statue at English Bay before trotting home, altogether satisfied that my foot was feeling better for the stretch out and would probably survive 26.2 miles on Sunday if I'm nice to it. Back on with the traumeel and compression socks this evening with my feet up in front of the TV.

Tomorrow it's an early start with work, but then I'll leave the office at 1pm, get to the airport at 3:45pm, take-off for Amsterdam at 6:45pm and arrive in 'Little Lux' on Saturday at 3:40pm...

... the marathon starts at 10am Sunday morning which gives me 18 hours from landing to the gun going off. But right now I don't care, just get me on that plane!

NB. A late entry from last year's top ten is Alain Inglebert from Luxembourg who ran 2:43:57. That makes it five from last year's top ten on the start line. Bring it on!

Happy Birthday Ryan Hall

2009-10-14T22:05:00.000-07:00

Today is Ryan Hall's birthday so I thought I'd put up a quick video.

What an inspiration to Christian athletes everywhere; a man I really respect for everything he does and strives to achieve through sport. I wouldn't mind being able to run as fast as him as well!

Happy birthday Ryan, and good luck for the New York Marathon!

Marathon Checklist

2009-10-13T22:26:00.000-07:00

As I look forward to the weekend I realise that as with all major undertakings you have to prepare the best you possibly can, and sure enough my training has been ill-prepared and my pre-race preparations are pretty much the same... seriously, who arrives in a country 18 hours before a marathon? Haha.

Anyway, what I can control is my diet and equipment, although jet lag will surely rob me of sleep. But as my friend Alan, a sleep psychologist PhD student and fellow athlete, tells me: it doesn't matter how much sleep you get the night before competition, just make sure you are rested. I haven't told him that the race start is effectively 1am Vancouver time... and no, I haven't been training in the early hours to prepare for this either.

So here's my check list for the big day and a couple of meal suggestions for the night before. As I land in Luxembourg at 4pm in the afternoon it's a bit late to go shopping, but luckily I happen to have the most amazing support crew one could ask for.

Marathon check list:
Timing chip and race number (to collect before 9am)
Racing flats (Nike Luna Racer)
Racing socks (Hilly or More Mile)
Vaseline (for those chafing areas)
Racing shorts (Asics)
Cheltenham vest (really comfortable and light)
Garmin watch (GPS and speed reading)
2 x powerade (liquid diet)
Cap (if raining)
Gloves (if cold)

With Eugène or Stéph (my awesome support crew):
1 x powerade (nutrition)
Vaseline (in case of reapplication)
Spare trainers (in case I blister)
Spare shorts (in case I chafe)
Spare vest (in case I chafe)

Post race:
Compression socks (recovery)
Tracksuit bottoms (warmth)
T-shirt (warmth)
Climacool shirt (if I feel like a cool down)
Hoodie (warmth)
Trainers (comfort)
Ibuprofen (pain relief if needed)
Traumeel (pain relief if needed)
1 x powerade (energy)
1 x chocolate milkshake (recovery)
1 x water (rehydration)

Dinner:
Pasta with tomato sauce (no cheese or oil)
Rice with vegetables (no gluten)

Breakfast:
White toast with honey (abundent energy)
Coffee (caffeine fix)

So there you have it, my marathon plans in a few short lists. I'll be packing my essentials, so racing shoes and kit, with me in my hand luggage as I can't risk them not arriving in Luxembourg. On the plane I'll wear my compression socks and comfortable clothing, try and sleep as early as possible after take off, and try my best to avoid ill people and stay healthy.

Before the race I'm not expecting to sleep much - jet lag means that midnight in Luxembourg is 3pm in Vancouver, so I'll try and rest up and then go for an early morning jog at 5am (8pm) before having breakfast and getting ready for the drive across to Echternach for the race start at 10am (1am).

Roll on the weekend!

What a Nutter

2009-10-13T12:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm definitely shaking Frankie Leus hand on the start line in Echternach, and probably at the finish as well. The mad Belgian who I wrote about in my last blog only went and ran another bloody marathon last weekend in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

Not only did he run it, he went and did a 2:45:29!
Check out his last seven weekends:
29 Aug - 1:17:39 Half Marathon
06 Sep - 2:54:06 Marathon
13 Sep - 2:46:44 Marathon
20 Sep - 2:50:42 Marathon
26 Sep - 1:05:17 17.5km race
04 Oct - 2:50:14 Marathon
11 Oct - 2:45:29 Marathon
... and now Echternach this weekend.

I would say I'd expect him to be completely smashed but it looks like no matter what punishment this 47 year old veteran takes he can suck it up and unleash another killer performance week after week. I am genuinely concerned that this guy is going to destroy me. I mean, he's like the terminator. He doesn't die, he doesn't blow up, he doesn't get tired... you can't kill him, he's a relentless runner. The kind of runner you hate to race, the kind of runner who doesn't know when to give up, the kind of runner who will keep coming back at you time and time again.

Hats off to you Frankie, I just hope I don't see you coming after me in the second half of the race!

Eyeing Up The Competition

2009-10-10T22:47:00.000-07:00

As I'm far too competitive I've been thinking about where I can place next weekend, so I took the liberty of going through the startlist and comparing the names to last year's top ten. Remarkably, at present, only four of the top ten from 2008 will be toeing the line.

2008 Top 10
1. Rojewski, Przemyslaw. Poland. 2:22:12 RUNNING
2. Gnila, Rafal. Poland. 2:32:52
3. Krombach, Chris. Luxembourg. 2:33:08
4. Krier, Georges. Luxembourg. 2:37:35 RUNNING
5. Rodriguez, Luis. Spain. 2:43:19
6. Inglebert, Alain. Luxembourg. 2:43:57
7. Gilbert, Michel. Belgium. 2:44:22
8. Leus, Frankie. Belgium. 2:47:22 RUNNING
9. Muller, Frank. Luxembourg. 2:52:17
10. Serafini, Jean-Pierre. Luxembourg. 2:52:41 RUNNING

What does this tell me? Well it's useful in assuring me that winning the Echternach Marathon is off the cards, unless the Polish guy is in seriously bad shape. 2:22 is well out of reach so it looks like he'll be disappearing up the road from the first mile. Good to know as now I won't go off with the leader thinking I can hang on!

With any luck I'll be running alongside a local man, Georges Krier (pictured), for the most part. 2:37 pace is what I want to be running at the 20 mile mark (2 hours), so if I can hang in with him it will be a good indicator. Doing a bit of research I found out he ran 1:14:36 a couple of weeks ago in the 'Route du Vin Half Marathon', so he's in decent shape again.

Looking through the photos from last year's race I noticed that Jean-Pierre Serafini went off pretty hard as he was shot alongside both Krier and Krombach, who took third. I'm sure he'll probably have a similar mindset and will be in the mix early on so he's one to watch.

One man I'm looking forward to seeing is Frankie Leus from Belgium. A quick google search brought up his rather remarkable blog... the guy's already run eight marathons in 2009, including three in September and one last weekend. What an animal! I can only presume he fuels himself on a diet of Stella Artois and chocolate sprinkles. Even more impressive are the times he runs. Every marathon in 2009 has been run between 2:42 and 2:54. Eight minutes either way, probably depending on the course elevation. If I do start to slip back I'll be sure to see this Belgian engine chugging past me! He obviously likes Echternach as well, he set his personal best there in 2005 with 2:37:02, great going.

Anyway, enough about the competition, at the moment I'm still rather worried about my right foot. I ran on it for 40 minutes yesterday and although I felt ok, it still twinged and complained. I was able to get through the run fine, but asking it to keep going for a further two hours right now would be putting it into the unknown. I'm applying traumeel three times a day and taking 800mg of ibuprofen with breakfast, lunch and dinner. I've iced it a couple of times as well - the benefit of having an ice cube maker installed with the freezer. I'm confident it will show signs of improvement in the next few days, but it means that I'll be staying on the cross trainer and in the pool and not risking it on the roads. Hardly ideal preparation, but this whole marathon hasn't been very well prepared, so in the grand scheme of things what does it matter?

Come next Sunday when I line up alongside everyone else in Echternach I know I'm at a disadvantage. I haven't trained properly, I have had a sore foot, I will have been travelling the whole previous day and I won't have slept much because of jet lag. But I'm going out there to have fun, run fast and see what I can do. I have no expectations, so I have nothing to lose...

... but a good result would be nice, of course.

Pouring It Out

2009-10-09T23:02:00.001-07:00

Over the past year I have been dealt some amazing cards in the game of life. I prayed for opportunities and they arose, I prayed for love and it came, I prayed for others and things happened which helped them. But I've asked a lot of Him, maybe too much, maybe every night when I have my nightly conversation with Him I've leant too much on his shoulders, maybe I've been too demanding, too selfish. I feel it's time to give something back.

When Jesus put himself on the cross to releave us of our sins he did so knowing that he would endure such pain and suffering that he would die an agonising death. In a very small way the marathon is a microcosm of that process, but hopefully without the fatal outcome... we can't all come back from the dead! Running is my gift, it's the one thing I know how to do, how to praise Him through my feet. Others have amazing gifts of music, language or ministry, I have running.

Last October I finished the Stroud Half Marathon and gave thanks. Now it's time to do it again!

So when I hit the roads next weekend I'm going to be running with Him in my thoughts. He poured himself out for me. He suffered for my salvation. He endured intense pain so that I may live. The least I can do is run with Him in my heart and my body. It's very Ryan Hall-esque, but it's a brilliant thing.

Smashing the Marathon

2009-10-06T15:56:00.000-07:00

So this is a little bit stupid and very naive, but with just twelve days to go until the marathon I’ve drawn up a proposed race plan based on my 18 mile tempo from a couple of weeks ago.

On the basis that I can run 1:48 for 18 miles I’m confident on a relatively flat tarmac course with some company and rehydration I can get to 20 miles in two hours. So with that in mind I’m going to go off at six minute miling and see how I feel. If I’m struggling after an hour then I’m going to have to revise my plan and ease off, but if I can go through the twenty mile mark in two hours then it gives me exactly one hour to run the final 10km.

You see I have no real expectations as I have not adequately trained for the race, so I’m going in with blind faith and hope that my winter base training has carried forward seven months and that my body is so rested from a summer of relaxed training that it feels fresh. Of course the chances of this happening are pretty slim and as the old saying goes ’20 miles is only the halfway point in a marathon’. I’m not prepared, that’s for sure, but it’s too late to do anything about it, so it’s time to suck it up.

I'm expecting to look like this in the final 10km

The likelihood is that I hit a massive wall, limp home in an absolute state and wonder about what could have been. But will I have had fun, put myself towards the front end of the race and made things interesting? Yes. Unfortunately for my body I don't know how not to race. The gun will go and I'll look at the guys around me and think about winning the damn thing. 26.2 miles after 800m will seem like a breeze but 26.2 miles after 23 miles will feel like death.

How can I prepare to overcome the wall? Well the event website says there are carbohydrate drinks every 5km, so I'll be sure to drink a lot to keep my glycogen levels up, and hopefully if my girlfriend's dad is officiating then he can carry a reserve supply of powerade on his bike for useful top ups. Otherwise it's going to be a case of burning my limited fat stores, which are depleted before I even toe the start line.

Here goes nothing… do or die... it’s me or the marathon, but one of us is going to be smashed through a wall (I have a feeling it’s going to be me)!

Back on Track

2009-10-04T20:34:00.000-07:00

It’s been a rough week with injury worries coming at me, but finally it looks like nothing will stand in the way between me and the marathon start line.

As predicted my niggles became a little bit worse and on Thursday I ran for 10 miles but noticed that I was subconsciously trying to protect myself, skipping here and there, occasionally not wanting to put weight onto my right foot. I slowed right down and jogged home not wanting to risk anything – obviously my body was trying to tell me something. Once home I realised just how tight my right ITB was and that my right foot was aching a little bit as well. I immediately got the t-roller out and got to work, took a hot shower and self-massaged the ITB muscle, bringing myself to the point of tears.

On Friday I intended to put in an easy 45 minutes to see how it was, but less than five minutes from the front door I decided to turn around as my foot wasn’t coping well and I could feel it stressing. If there’s one thing you don’t need its putting weight on a damaged foot for 26.2 miles! I got in and changed into my swimming kit and for the first time used the apartment pool. I put in two sets of 10 minutes with a stop to use the t-roller and do some self-massage whilst standing in the warm water of the hot tub. Afterwards I just sat and relaxed in the whirlpool, turned on the jets and let my muscles relax, it was pretty heavenly.

Apartment pool and whirlpool/hot tub

Continuing the theme of cross training I used the apartment gym on Saturday evening to do some elliptical cross-training (ski machine) and the treadmill. I warmed up with 30 mins on the elliptical before switching to 15 mins running, which felt ok but not great, before going back to the elliptical for a final 15 minutes. I jumped in the hot tub afterwards for some more massage to ease everything off. So heading out on today’s proposed 1hr40min run with Jay I was a little bit apprehensive as to how my legs and foot would cope. At first the foot didn’t take to the impact so well, but with a little perseverance it eased off and for the most part the run was pain free. The ITB felt much better and didn’t give any trouble and a slight niggle in the left quad didn’t get any worse. Result.

It was great to get out and run with Jay, a guy I really respect for his dedication to the cause as he looks to continue his improvements and make provincial and national teams. We ticked over nicely at 6:30 pace on the way out to UBC and brought it back a little quicker. Despite the fact I’ve been running at a faster pace at around the ten mile mark the effort gradually started to catch up with me and I had to ease off, which subsequently gave me a stitch. Typical! I guess the previous night’s hour of aerobic work was still prevalent and the hard tempo running had taken its toll as well.

I’ve made the decision to start my taper from here on in. My body felt pretty bad today and if I get to halfway in the marathon feeling as tired as I did earlier I’m going to find myself in trouble. I’m going to need to be completely fresh for the race so it’s time to consolidate the limited training, just keep ticking over, get in the carbohydrate and stay relaxed. I’m intending to go into the race looking to run fast... just how fast? You’re going to have to find out in a future blog.

The Day I Found Out...

2009-09-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

… my girlfriend used to be a pretty good runner!

One of my colleagues came in stating he had broken his 10k PB on a training run with a 38:20 clocking. She chimed up with, ‘pfffffff, I used to run 38 minutes’.

‘What? Hang on a minute,’ I thought. ‘I knew you did some high jump and you had great genes, but 38 minutes isn’t hanging around!’

As a member of the fairer sex a 38 minute 10k would currently place 258th on the UK best performance list for 2009. In comparison my 32:51 minute 10k from Cherington back in July (on a slightly hilly course) puts me as the 382nd fastest British man.

*** NEWS FLASH ***
My girlfriend is a better runner than me!!
*** NEWS FLASH ***

Then I looked at my 5k time, 15:36 … that places me 220th on the UK 2009 men’s rankings. Phew, I’m back in the game. It also means that my time is faster than any British woman has run for 5k on the road this year, although the same can’t be said for 10k – I would place fifth. I think I have some proving to do out on the roads of Echternach in two weeks time!

Anyway, enough about me. Unfortunately Steph got a knee injury and stopped running some years ago, but then today went for 4k and only stopped once. She got back home and onto skype looking great, she really loved it. I'm so proud. When I see her in two weeks time we're definitely going running together! She'll be Luxembourg champion in no time! There are such good omens and signs. The one time she stopped she looked down and picked up a four leaf clover - what are the chances? Lucky in life, lucky in love. Run strong with a beat in your heart!

Stepping Out onto the Wire

2009-09-28T14:51:00.000-07:00

Marathon preparation lends itself to risk. You enter training knowing that there is a real possibility that you won’t see the start line, that all the sacrifice and pain will be for nothing. When you’re punishing your body on a daily basis it’s liable to break down, and the closer you get to race day the more risks you take as the stresses on the body increase.

‘The wire’ is a term predominantly used by cyclists to describe the time when they find that balance between optimum training load and race weight. There is a point where your muscle power or stamina can be extremely high whilst bodyweight is low, thus when you race you get the best of both worlds – good performance and less weight to carry – making you faster.

The journey along the wire is a haphazard one where injury risk increases and the immune system starts to decline. The final few weeks before a big competition is the time when things can go irreversibly wrong. Get injured or sick now and there is no way to recover in time for the competition.

Heading out onto the wire

I’m starting to see subtle differences in my physiology, the extra rib poking through against the skin on my chest, the way my cheek bones seem more defined as the gauntness sets in, the uncharacteristically brown lower legs from training during sunset. I know I’m creeping out onto the wire, although I’m not intentionally trying to lose weight, it’s just a side effect from the increased training. Ironically, despite looking a little bit skinnier I'm actually becoming more muscular. By running at around 6 minute miling for the majority of my training it's making me tough and my legs and arms look pretty ripped. By appearance you might start to think I was more of a miler than a marathoner.

At present I’m trying to counteract it, I don’t need to be so thin, so I’m scoffing down ice cream every night after training and treating myself to chocolate and marshmallows. It’s a great time to be a runner – intensive training and eating whatever you want. Hunger is almost constant, so I eat decent sized meals and keep snacking throughout the day on bagels and cereal bars. Before midday I had already eaten a bowl of cereal, special K bar, cheese sandwich and a slice of cake and then also finished a slice of quiche, packet of crisps and a large cookie by 3pm. However, despite the tasty advantages there are some disadvantages.

My cough is back. I always get it, originating around the Adams apple, when I’m training hard. It’s mainly prevalent in the winter during the colder months, but it came back last night after a steady evening 16 mile run. It’s both annoying yet reassuring. I cough when I’m fit, it’s ironic, but it’s true. I’m taking it as a good sign, although I’ll be sure to get rid of it as soon as possible. What I don’t want for the cough to get worse and to get ill; that would be a nightmare. I'm taking vitamin C and zinc tablets to help my body fight any germs.

The gaunt look of elite runners, balancing light weight with extraordinary musculature

I can feel the muscle tightness in my lower legs, my left iliotibial band is stiff and needs loosening off. My right adductor is a bit sore and my calves are always glad when I spin on the bike as they get a chance to stretch out. At the moment all of these problems are just niggles, but left untreated they could become full blown injuries which would stop me from running. You start to notice as well that getting out of bed or a chair becomes an effort. Muscles try to relax and allow movement, but underlying everything is an ache and some stiffness.

You can survive out on the wire for a while, but not indefinitely. Hopefully my trip along the wire is happening at the right time and I haven’t started too early or too intensively. Time will tell.

Post-marathon Planning

2009-09-25T23:11:00.000-07:00

What I’m going to do after the marathon is over:
Give Stéph a sweaty kiss
Drink a litre of powerade
Put on compression socks
Try not to lie on the ground (but fail)
Collect my winner’s cheque (wishful thinking!!)
Fall asleep in the car
Soak in a hot bath for an hour
Eat a huge bowl of pasta
Eat a whole chocolate cake (with ice cream)
Enjoy a light massage
Fall asleep again
Wake up with jet lag
Hurt (legs really painful)
Realise where I am
Smile (pain goes away)
Fall asleep a happy man
Take a week off running
Plan the next challenge

Another great run tonight – 10 miles in under an hour. Started with a fast three miles (5:37 miling), then into a comfortably four miles (6:11 miling), then finished it off with two miles at threshold (5:31 miling) along the sea wall, and finally 1.5 mile warm down (7:07 miling). Nice cool breeze around Vancouver now as autumn approaches, although that didn't stop me from going topless.

I’m feeling very good and surprised with how effortless my body can just adapt to running quicker than six minute miling. I guess when I stopped all the heavy mileage and focussed on shorter but quicker training for 5/10k racing it’s somehow paid off. The trick now if not to overdo the faster workouts and then blow up before the marathon and go in feeling tired.

To top it all I’ve cycled to and from work every day this week – that’s a round total of 83 miles (135km) – which will have given me some aerobic assistance and helped to loosen the muscles following the hard running. Having biked home and then gone training each night I’ve often felt a bit of fatigue lingering in the legs, so hopefully that will been beneficial come race day.

Right, 11:30pm and I’m shattered – bed awaits and then up to Whistler tomorrow for the day with the parents. Might squeeze an early 30min loosener in before we go, otherwise a day spent resting won’t do me any harm at all.

Where Did That Come From?

2009-09-23T22:03:00.000-07:00

I asked a few friends about 'get marathon fit quick' plans and explained my current philosophy of daily hour long runs at sub-marathon pace (6:00-6:30 miling). Oli Mott is always a great guy to ask; a doctor by education and an international duathlete by trade, his mind can calculate lactic thresholds, VO2 max scores and predicted pacing in an instant.

Oli Mott. The picture explains everything you need to know!

"I think you're doing the right thing," he commented. Phew!
"Keep the 6-6.30 mins/mile running going for the next two weeks then ease off. Get a couple of 1.45 hour runs in. No point in doing any sessions, as you're not going to be racing faster than your training pace (and it'll feel easier in flats on flat roads in the race). The main idea for this aerobic training is get your body to burn a higher percentage of fat at race pace so you don't go pop. Maybe the odd glycogen-depleted run... I reckon you'll be around 2.50 (6.29 pace)."

Well I took his word for it and set about a 1hr 45min run this evening, leaving Yaletown across Burrard Bridge, through the streets of Kitsilano out to UBC before running a short loop and home along Jericho Beach. Conditions were perfect having been warm all day, so race vest, race shorts, racing shoes and sunglasses were applied for a complete race simulation, and off I went.

Burrard Bridge

The first couple of miles up and over Burrard Bridge were relatively steady, nothing too frenetic, but once I opened up through Kitsilano I knew I was on to something good. Maybe it was because I was in my racing shoes which are really light and bouncy that my legs responded so well. Maybe it was because I was running on a firm surface which didn't sap energy out of my legs. Whatever it was, it was working.

I headed down to the beach and kept ticking over nicely, glancing down at my Garmin to see 5:50 miling... something had to be wrong, maybe the satellite was re-adjusting. I kept the same rhythm, finding my legs and arms working in perfect synchronisation, my breathing became automatic and suddenly I realised I was in cruise control. I glanced down at the watch... 5:49 miling... 'gees, I must be locked in to this pace,' I thought.

At the end of Jericho Beach at the 7.5 mile point the road bent upwards to the University of British Columbia. I went onto my toes and kept my head up, trying to remain springy with the notorious words of George Gandy in my ears: "Let the hill do the work to you, don't fight it." At halfway I was finding it pretty hard, this hill was longer than I thought, but I took encouragement as I started to catch a couple of kitted up cyclists ahead. Up and over the top and I tried to open my legs up again to find the rhythm, and sure enough they came back to me. I passed the Museum of Anthropology in 51 minutes.

Jericho Beach

Crossing my way through UBC I tried to find a water fountain, conscious that I hadn't sipped anything since home, but my efforts came to nothing. Luckily having successfully navigated my way up the hill I had the pleasure of running back down. Long downhills can really mess me up, give me a stitch and ruin my quadriceps, so I shortened my stride, kept my torso leaning forwards and ran it as I would if it was the marathon: no risks. I came off the bottom feeling good and found a water fountain for a quick stop.

The next barrier was the half marathon and I sailed through back at 5:50 miling on the flat in 1:18:21. Smash! 'I can't keep this up,' I thought. 'I just can't, this is suicide.' But the longer I ran the more I realised that actually, I was finding this alright; this wasn't actually hurting too much. Mile 14 and 15 were ticked off with just a couple of small hills to overcome, and I stopped at 16.5 miles for another sip of water before tackling Burrard Bridge again.

'Stay springy, stay springy,' I thought to myself as I eased my way up the long drag, and sure enough my body listened to my mind and soon I had reached the top and could enjoy the descent. Heading down Pacific I glanced down at my watch. 5:50 miling again... 'how can this be?' I stopped the clock as I hit 18 miles, 1:47:58, exactly 6:00mins per mile average. BOOM!!

That's over two thirds of a marathon in 1hr48... which means that if I kept the same pace up for another eight miles, I would finish with a time of 2:37:30 ... now there's a scary thought. In reality I think I could have kept going at that pace for another few miles, maybe until 20 or 21... and then it would have been very tough. However there are a number of positives as well. I didn't take on any carbohydrate during the run, I only took on water, and my first hydration was at 12 miles. The route had a decent sized hill in it which really takes energy out of the legs; although maybe Echternach will be the same? A lot of the flat running was on fine gravel, not tarmac, which makes you lose energy into the ground as the foot slips a little bit with every stride.

The man in my head, George Gandy (right), "stay springy!"

... and then I also remembered... I cycled to and from work today, that's an hour of aerobic exercise. Sure, I didn't pedal hard, but it wasn't slow either. So I ran my eighteen miles having already done an hour of aerobic work. Bonus!

However, the best thing this run has given me is the confidence. I thought I was pretty unfit and going to really struggle, but now the marathon looks like it's going to be a really great challenge and a top ten finish is certainly on the cards. Watch out Echternach, I'm coming for you!!

Silence is Golden

2009-09-20T23:55:00.000-07:00

Having got back to Vancouver from Gold Coast I decided that I really really really needed to start getting my head, body and backside into some serious marathon training, so with the rain pouring and jet lag kicking in I headed out the door for some Stanley Park running action.

After two miles I had to remove my vest, it was completely saturated in the driving rain and I headed for the relatively dry trails under the blanket of tree canopy. I was going well, legs ticking over nicely and I started to pick up the pace, hitting 6min miling which would get me round 26.2 miles in little over 2hrs 35mins.

One thing I use to distract myself from the monotany of training is music and my iPod shuffle has done its fair share of a few thousand miles since I got it as a birthday present two years ago. However, on this one occasion, despite battling the rain for the best part of an hour (and not for the first time!) it stopped working and my ears tuned in to the sound of my mouth gasping in the oxygen and of legs pounding the ground.

Having got home and tried everything to get it working the iPod decided that its expiry date was up and alas it needs to be replaced.

However I haven't got round to finding a new one, and I'm not sure that I need to. You see, when I listened to music my brain would think too much. The music was a distraction from training, but my brain soon became tired and thought up its own things anyway. Some of those things weren't always positive as my brain would start to get moody as the blood was redirected to the muscles which needed the oxygen. Sometimes I would come home with a tired body and a tired mind. The endorphine buzz from exercise was unable to pull me back up, and when you're physically and emotionally knackered it's a tough thing to feel good again.

But something changed. Now I can't train to music it is as if my body has become a single machine again, not separated into an overactive brain and automatic legs but a working unit that moves in harmony. My thoughts are clear, my senses heightened and my sense of wellbeing improved.

When I run I now understand my body's function. I hear the breath leaving my mouth, feel my lungs inhaling and placing pressure on my ribs, taste the sweat running onto my lips and sense my feet striking the surface. For once, when I train it is as if I am at one with the world, one organism existing in its environment, doing everything absolutely necessary to continue doing what it was built to do.

It's a beautiful thing and it has made me realise how amazing my life is. The moodiness has gone, the positive thoughts have climbed in, and in a little under four weeks I will toe the line in Echternach and start a journey where it's just my body and my mind versus the road. Both will play an important part in ensuring I complete the race, but I already know that my heart will be beating stronger than ever.

How to prepare for a marathon in just five weeks…

2009-09-13T07:02:00.000-07:00

Well here goes nothing, a mad cap idea thrown together because I HAVE to run a marathon. Not many people HAVE to run 26.2 miles, but I do… and here’s why.

Last winter I was training for the London Marathon, had run the elite qualifying time over the half marathon distance and was all set for an epic battle, throwing in 100 mile (160km) training weeks and generally becoming an absolute aerobic monster. I promised my Mum I would run it for charity, Cotswold Care, a hospice that offer support and care for terminally ill patients. My Nana used to go there when she had cancer and they were brilliant.

All was going exceptionally well and then I got a new job… in Canada… which was great, but meant that I wouldn’t be able to run London so I shifted attention to the Vancouver Marathon… which I then missed as I was off covering a triathlon race in Korea. Epic fail.

I promised I would run an autumn marathon instead and signed up for Victoria, but then I met my girlfriend and wanted to be across in Luxembourg at that exact time… and then came a brilliant idea. Walking down West Georgia Street in Vancouver last week a voice said in my ear “we have a marathon in Luxembourg in the middle of October!”

Case closed. Echternach Marathon on 18 October is the go date. Training is sporadic, but has started, it’s going to hurt like hell but I have no choice.

Wish me luck!

Training With The Dobriskinator

2009-09-01T15:27:00.001-07:00

There aren't many women in the world who can beat me in a race, but when I was at Loughborough I considered it a privilege to be beaten by my team mate and training partner Lisa Dobriskey. I would put emphasis on the fact that she was a 800/1500m runner and I preferred the longer distances, but every winter for six years we would pull each other through the sessions and base training, smashing out 6 x 5mins on the track or charging up and down Beacon Hill.

Training with Lisa was like training with an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. Off the track she is quite possibility the nicest person in the world, always smiling, always chatty, always complimentary, but during competition she has the sharp focus and determination that makes her dangerous. Very dangerous. She wants to beat you, make no mistake. The top guys were scared of Lisa, knowing that if they were having a bad day she would be nipping at their heels whereas I was just happy keeping up with her, watching the tell-tale bobbing ponytail bounce off her shoulders as we carved out bend after bend, rep after rep.

Being a Dobriskey fan is a hard life, one full of emotions, both high and low.
Here are my memories.

Commonwealth Games 2006
Lisa was a big rank outsider, the up and coming potential but not the race winner. That was until she charged off the final bend in Melbourne and kicked hard for the line leaving behind a trail of competitors in her wake. The world woke up to Lisa Dobriskey and I remember sitting at University watching her on TV with Rich Warburton and Rich Belton screaming at the screen. We went to breakfast still buzzing.

Olympic Games 2008
Lisa's preparation for Beijing was far from ideal, an early season injury left her playing catch up, but just before she left Frank Baddick and Rob Whittle towed her round to a 4min 1500m clocking in Stretford. In the final she came onto the final lap in sixth, moved up with Sharron Rowbury from the USA and used her kick for home, but it was too late, she finished fourth. I watched the race sitting on my living room floor, rocked back with my hands over my face. I looked up and saw Lisa doing exactly the same. I shed a tear but was still delighted for her incredible display.

Lisa falls to the ground after the 1500m final in Beijing. She finished fourth.

My fondest memory was the January of 2008 leading into Beijing. Lisa had been injured the previous autumn and was just beginning to get back into good shape and I was in a good run of form. It was a cold dark night on Beacon Road where we did a 900m uphill effort and cruised back down, usually five or six repetitions. Rep four came and went and I was ahead of Lisa in a group of guys so I dropped back on the recovery to give her some assistance. Half way up the fifth rep she was breathing heavily, really heavily, but Lisa doesn't give in and I wasn't going to let her. "Come on Lise, think of Beijing" I shouted. She surged again, getting into my slipstream before kicking over the top of the hill together. We strode down the hill in silence and went for it again. No words were said, we knew what we had to do. It hurt like hell, but that night we beat the hill into submission.

World Championships 2009
Some athletes in Britain were suggesting that Lisa shouldn't have gone to Berlin for the World Championships, that she hadn't shown the sort of form as she had done going into Beijing. I told them to wait and see. Sure enough she had another great race in the final, finishing third, just 0.01secs behind silver... and then the gold medallist was disqualified for pushing. Lisa had a world silver medal. I followed the race online via the BBC as I covered a race in Japan. I went to bed a happy man. Beijing made her stronger and now the whole world knows Lisa Dobriskey's name.

Lisa celebrates having taken second at the World Championships in Berlin.

Who knows what next year's Commonwealth Games or the Olympics in 2012 will bring, but every time I step onto the track in Vancouver I wish Lisa was there with me. Every time I kick for home I imagine she's alongside me, pushing me to the line. Every time the going gets tough I think about how hard I used to work to try and stay ahead of the only girl in Loughborough who could show me a clean pair of heels.

Here's to you Lisa, you legend.

The Dream

2009-08-31T15:30:00.000-07:00

Around 5:30am on Sunday morning my brain started dreaming. For the first time in a long while I dreamt about running, about training with my friends back in Loughborough, experiencing that freedom and that expression through my feet. I'm not sure whether it was the altitude increase in being up in Whistler, or maybe the log cabin we were sleeping in, but something affected me in the early hours.

I woke up feeling pretty low. I missed my friends, I missed Loughborough, the green fields, the team spirit that flowed between us, the boys and the girls all running and laughing together sharing the experience. I ran my fingers through my hair and back came the desire to run, right now, around the lake, getting lost in the wilderness with just the bears to worry about.

Sunday marked seven weeks to the day until the Echternach Marathon in Luxembourg, my next target. Today was a good day to get the training routine back underway.

I went for a run and rediscovered my love. I ran along the lake on an old trail, riddled with tree roots and rocks, enjoying the challenge of keeping my balance whilst moving forward. I didn't see any bears, but I did find a gorgeous spot where the jetty pushed out into the lake. That evening, on the drive home, Stephanie and I stopped there for a bite to eat. It was idyllic.

Sometimes running surprises you, sometimes you even discover things worth telling the world about.

End of the Summer

2009-08-20T06:32:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm calling it, I'm not racing now until the autumn.

During the past few weeks I have run sporadically, at best.

Week 02 August:
Flew Vancouver - Frankfurt - Luxembourg
One easy run on Wednesday
Flew Luxembourg - Prague - Budapest
Raced 14km on Friday, finished 8th averaging 5:30 miling

Week 09 August:
Flew Budapest - London
Two easy runs on Sunday and Monday in London
Went down with a cold on Tuesday and haven't run since

At work in London, organising a photo shoot in Piccadilly Circus

I had a great week in Luxembourg with Stéphanie before heading to Tiszaujvaros in Hungary. Somehow roused myself for that 1/3rd Marathon race but felt very tired. Once in London I was knackered from all the travel and jet lag, and went down with a summer cold following a couple of easy runs in Hyde Park. I decided to put my feet up and made the most of my time with Stéph who flew in for the week. Now I am in Yokohama, Japan, with another bout of jet lag and still blowing my nose on a regular basis despite not feeling ill. I think I will get up and go for an easy run in the morning before breakfast, just to stretch my legs and wake them up a bit. I don't want to be too rusty.

Next Tuesday I arrive back in Vancouver and Stéph will fly in from Luxembourg - it's going to be amazing. I'm undecided whether to run or not; maybe I'll train in the early morning before work rather than spending my evenings on the trails and away from her. I have to work and so every second with Stéph is very precious.

Stéphanie and I on the London Eye

Then on 6 September I fly to Australia for the Grand Final of the world champs series which means ten days of heavy work, extreme jet lag and probably a lot of fatigue. I'm tempted to pack in serious training until mid-September when I'm back in Vancouver, but I'm not sure how that will affect my winter preparations. I still want to have a good cross country season and have a bash at a half marathon or marathon PB in December.

Decisions, decisions, decisions...

This is just the beginning...

2009-08-08T15:09:00.000-07:00

It's strange how life can flip, turn completely around and amaze you with its sheer brilliance in such a short space of time. This past week has been the best of my life, without doubt.

Here's the shortened version of my 'Hollywood' story:
25 July - working at the Hamburg World Champs event
26 July - finish work and go to the after party where I meet 'Stéphanie'
27 July - fly back to Vancouver, can't get Stéphanie out of my head
29 July - make the decision to head back to Europe early to see her
30 July - run the worst session of my life, but don't care
01 Aug - board a plane for Frankfurt
02 Aug - arrive in Luxembourg
03 Aug - best week of my life
04 Aug - best week of my life
05 Aug - best week of my life
06 Aug - best week of my life
07 Aug - fly to Hungary the next stop of the tour

A public blog isn't the place to go into details about one's innermost thoughts and private emotions, but I can say from deep within that this is something special.

Anyway, back to the running... sort of...

Following last week's horrendous session where I collapsed after running some truly appalling splits I put my feet up and enjoyed life.

On the Wednesday I did 25 minutes and had to stop three times to walk, I was still a mess.

On the Friday, after just arriving in Hungary, in the heat and with tired legs from travelling, I ran a 14km road race and finished eighth, averaging 5:30 miling. Awesome.

How did I turn it around? How did I go from running like a jellyfish to running like a flyingfish?
One reason: if you pretend you're running to Luxembourg, you can run a lot faster than if you think too much about racing! ;-)

I'm going to continue taking it easy for another couple of weeks with races in London and Japan to attend, but then I'll step back on the gas for the Victoria Marathon.

Want to know how to enjoy the best week of your life? In the words of my best friend, Jack:
"Doing something crazy for love... why the hell not!?!"

Over and out :-)

Rest is Best!

2009-07-31T17:34:00.000-07:00

I got back into Vancouver on Monday and found myself in a sprawling mass of heat, humidity and jetlag. Unknowing to my mind, my body had been taking the punishment of extensive travel and was ready to break. But when…?

I went for an easy run to clear my head and loosen the legs and bumped into Kevin. We shared stories, laughed and parted company – 7 miles.

That night I couldn’t sleep, it was too hot, too sticky and my mind was all over the place. At 6am I went for a run along the beach; on a tranquil morning with the sun rising over the mountains and a cool breeze it was blissful. My legs felt heavy, but that was normal.

Wednesday was the hottest day in Vancouver since records began. The average temperature is apparently 22°C and it was 36°C, by the time I left the apartment at 7pm it was still in the thirties and at every water fountain I made sure I stopped to drink. Even the shade of Stanley Park couldn’t shield me from the inferno, but the freedom of running was strong and I went for 10 miles.

Down at Beaver Lake for Thursday’s workout with the guys I knew I was going to suffer. After five miles of easy running just to get there I was already dripping, my shorts completely soaked in sweat; it was like Des Moines all over again.

Rep 1 (1km) – Target time 2:55 … Actual time 3:05. The legs were going round, but they weren’t moving forward. The heat was oppressive, completely brutal. I ran slower than my 5k pace.

Rep 2 (2km) – Target time 6:10 – Actual time 6:19. After the first kilometre I felt like stopping, my legs had turned to jelly, they were physically melting beneath me. I pushed on, my breath escaping from my lungs like lava being thrown from a volcano, forced into the atmosphere.

Rep 3 (2km) – Target time 6:10 – Actual time 6:41. In short, I collapsed after the finish. Hyperventilating and with my legs failing I fell against a log. I couldn’t get up, my vision went blurry, all I could hear was Coach John shouting out the times of the finishers. I had given everything, pushed my body too far, my heart had the strength but my body had broken.

Thankfully one of our members gave me a couple of energy sweets and I finished off my bottle of water. I sat out the final rep, clapping home Jay, Ynuk, Brad, Dave, Paul and Phil who were all giving everything and running well. I tried to comprehend what had happened.

I have to rest a while. My body broke down. It needs to build back up. I’ve put myself through too much. Next Friday I have a 14km race in Hungary at an event I’m going to, but if I’m not up to it then I won’t start. I don’t want to create damage that can’t be repaired.

As far as running is concerned…
Roll on the autumn, roll on the rain, cleanse my skin, flush the tiredness from my bones. Get me out there in the early mornings, watching the sun rise. Get me out there in the evenings, watching the sun go down. Let me bask in late summer sunshine, let me kick up the fallen leaves, let me hear the crunch of snow beneath my feet. Make me whole again.

But as far as life goes, I want to preserve this summer, I don't want it to end.
Enough from me, I’m signing off for a while. I’ll let you know when I’m ready to talk about running again.

The Broken and the Beaten

Next target, beating 2:30 for the marathon.
Who's coming to Sacramento with me?

Finally, the 10k PB is Broken!

2009-07-21T14:50:00.000-07:00

I set my 10km road PB back in February 2006 at the renowned flat course in Bourton-on-the-Water during the height of marathon training. 33:14 for a 20 year old in perfect conditions... not bad going. But then 33:14 came to haunt me... I just couldn't break it; I'd get injured (early 2007), get a stitch (Sherston 10k 2007), turn to marathon aspirations (2008), and then get another stitch (Vancouver Sun Run 2009).

During this time Bourton was ridiculed as being short by many athletes, although the deadpan flat and wind-less out and back course on fantastic country lanes was naturally quick and a good group of guys could speed round in double quick time, helping each other out in the knowledge that this was a special place to run.

2009's Bourton 10k was taken off the record books following unnaturally quick times, including an incredible 32:32 for Alyson Dixon. Midland Counties asked for the course to be re-measured and it came in 110m short. Ouch! Whether 2006 used exactly the same course is another matter, but it still haunted me... that is until one day after my 24th birthday.

The Stroud AC 10k champs was meant to be a strictly club affair in the local village of Cherington, however due to some tenuous connections (going to school in the town and training with the Stroud guys) the organisers turned a blind eye to both myself and good mate and GB under 23 x-country star Tom Russell, who left his homeclub to run for Bristol and West AC.

It was decided the day before on Facebook that Tom would run round in a very steady 33mins as a tempo, well within his capabilities, and the rest of us would hang on in for as long as we could. Over a testing course I thought 33:14 was probably out of reach, and sure enough the remnants of a passing storm left breezy conditions out on the country roads. Anyway, to hell with it, with nothing to lose both Julian (Judd) Hough and I decided to have a crack at it.

Mile 1: 5:10 flat / felt pretty good and I pushed Tom on to run a bit faster
Mile 2: 4:56 flat-downhill / took on mile two but was shocked at the mile split
Mile 3: 5:24 uphill-flat / Judd and Tom came storming past on the hill to Rodmarton
Mile 4: 5:20 undulating / Pushed back past Judd, Tom came with me to help out
Mile 5: 5:14 undulating / Tom sheltering me from the wind as we headed for home
Mile 6: 5:31 uphill-flat / final long uphill hurt like hell, but stayed strong and opened up
Finish: 1:11 undulating / (4:46 miling) nice kick for home, really pleased with it
TIME: 32:51

Wow! On a seriously undulating and windy course I knocked 23 seconds off the PB and dipped under 33 minutes for the first time. Both Tom and I were wearing our Garmins and clocked the mile markers to within 0.01 accuracy and both had 6.22 miles showing at the finish - awesome! On a fast flat course I reckon there's another sizable chunk to come off that.

My incredible thanks to Tom for pacing me around, sheltering me from the wind and dragging me up the hills. Fantastic to have someone of his calibre working for us out there, and I will have to repay the favour in beer at Christmas! The Mince Pie run on Christmas Eve is going to be special!

Right off to bed. Am heading to Hamburg in the morning for the next leg of the 'Tri Tour'. Roll on some more PBs!

Training Week 12 July - 18 July

2009-07-19T16:28:00.000-07:00

Sun.am. 12.86m / 1:30:36 / 7:03 miling
Because of the German GP the women's race in Kitzbuhel didn't start until 4pm so plenty of time to get a long-ish decent hilly Sunday run done in the Alps. Took some energy tablets with me and they seemed to be digestible and work... maybe something to use over 26.2 in the autumn.

Mon. Rest - transfer to Munich --> Birmingham --> HOME!!

Tue.pm. 6.24m / 46:42 / 7:29 miling
Quick trip up to Loughborough to see Tim Hall before he departed for holiday. Nice run around Outwoods reliving the glory days in a torrential downpour. Catch up with a few of the guys in the evening.

Wed.pm. 2m WU - 6 x 150m strides - 2m WD
Nice leg stretcher before Thursday's 5k, feeling pretty bouncy. Afterwards the bridge of my foot felt very sore and had some problems walking. Not good.

Thu.am. 2.18m / 15:16 / 7:01 miling
Easy jog to wake the legs up. Didn't fancy sitting on them all day with the race not getting underway until 7:45pm. Foot feeling ok, bettered overnight.

Thu.pm. 1m WU - White Horse 5k, 15:36 (3rd) - 1.33m WD
Lashing it down with rain all afternoon but said I'd take one for the Chelt guys, so rocked up to some hamlet the other side of Gloucester. Found the pub about 15mins before the start, so managed an adrenaline filled 5min jog before getting underway.

Race lead out by Dalton and Roper with a couple of younger guys in tow. I started steadily and worked through it, picking off the first guy to drop off the pace at 2k, then Sam Dagliesh at 3.5k. Finished strongly to get a PB by six seconds. Ironically Chelt placed 5 in 17 but had no 6th man so lost the team prize to Severn. Thanks to Dave Newport, Andy Proph and the Norris bros for the support.

1. Tim Dalton, Severn AC 14:59
2. Dave Roper, Cheltenham 15:12
3. Peter Holmes, Cheltenham 15:36

Fri.am. 19.67m / 2:09:04 / 6:34 miling
Was aiming for a 15 miler, but took a wrong turn in Sherston and ended up going out for over two hours. Rather dehydrated and tired, pleased to have a Frijj in the fridge! All good for marathon training though.

Sat.am. 2.00m easy - 8 x 180m hills - 2.10m easy
Needed something short and sharp following the long run so hit my favourite strength workout of Cirencester Road reps. Hurting like hell but moving well and powerfully. Rep times: 36, 36, 36, 36, 34, 34, 35, 34 for ~180m.
Unfortunately I stacked it (tripped over a lace of all things!) just a mile into the run and cut my hands, elbow and right knee, but carried on to get the session done. Once I stopped my body really tightened up and became quite sore.

Run total: 57.60m / 6:38:49 / 6:58 miling avg

Comments:
Nice to be home for a week between legs of the European based races, and great to get a run done in Loughborough and get a race done as well. PB making it especially pleasing.

I've really enjoyed turning my attention to shorter distances and hopefully the lactic threshold work will in turn benefit my endurance when marathon training comes back around in September. 15:36 isn't exactly setting the world alight, but it's nice to have a decent PB to reflect on. Definitely gunning for sub-15:30 next year.

My trip on Saturday has left me a little bruised around my right knee, but hopefully having taken Sunday off I can make a 'birthday run' on Monday. Would like to run the Stroud AC 10k on Tuesday evening, even just to pace someone round, as it's only three miles from home... perfect for a warm up/down... if anyone from Stroud happens to read this, do you think I can make an appearance as a loosely affiliated ex-pat?

Another PB for the Year

2009-07-16T15:10:00.000-07:00

On a whim I turned up at the Gloucester White Horse 5k this evening on instruction of Cheltenham team manager, Proph. Having watched the rain come down all afternoon like stair rods I was in two minds whether to run or not, but with the Chelt crew out in force I thought I would show my face and take one for the team.

Having navigated myself to the hamlet of Sandhurst just north of Gloucester I proceeded to spend half an hour trying to find the damn pub on flooded roads. If it wasn't for the fact I'd been in the car for 75 minutes I may well have turned back, but with 15 minutes to spare I found the start.

I managed to get a 'quick' five minute warm up done as the rain eased off a bit and lined up ready for some fun. Dave Roper was out for us and old Uni mate Tim Dalton was also on the start line, so at least I knew how to pace myself this time round.

We started smoothly with Tim and Dave hitting the front with a couple of young guys from Westbury tucking in behind. I started steadily, trying not to blow up as I did in the Yaletown Grand Prix. At the 2k mark I caught and passed the first of the guys to drop off the front group and flew past - he was not getting back on!

Sam Dalgliesh was the next guy to fall off the pace of the leading pair and I caught and past him under the watchful eye of Dave Newport with about 1500m to go. Despite the puddles I was able to pick out a pretty decent line, although I reckon there were another couple of seconds to be had if the corners weren't under water.

I got the "half a mile to go" shout from the marshalls and put my head down, wound up the pace, and went for home. I went for the line about 200m out but kept imagining I was just running the final half a lap at a Kerrisdale track session.

Having not worn a watch I was delighted to hear I ran 15:36 which is six seconds faster than the Longest Day, and a new PB. It also consolidates my second place in the VFAC rankings and leaves me just 11 seconds behind a certain Mr McDonald... although I think a sub-15:30 might have to wait twelve months! My prize of two boxes of biscuits made the trip extra worth while!

I didn't think I'd run as well as I did, but it felt good, my legs were springy and full of life. It was as if I was exactly on the line of lactic threshold - feeling great but knowing that an extra 1% and I would start the slow death that is oxygen debt. Maybe the Austrian hills and lack of sessions has done me some good?

Training Week 5 July - 11 July

2009-07-15T13:17:00.000-07:00

Sun.pm. 15.64m / 1:43:02 / 6:35 miling
Long run in Vancouver, over Burrard Bridge and along Kits beach along to Jericho and back. Explored a few of the trails coming up from the coast - could have done with more time to look around.

Mon. Rest - flying Vancouver --> Dusseldorf --> Munich - transfer -> Kitzbuhel
Flying in to the World Champs race in Austria.

Tue.pm. Overnight flight so arrived in Austria on Tuesday evening. Jumped straight on the treadmill in the hotel as it was pouring down outside.
4.52m / 32:00 - increased pace up to 20kph for the final couple of minutes.

Wed.am. 5.47m / 40:00 / 7:19 miling
Easy morning run to find my bearings, but thankfully remembered many of the routes from when I covered the race last year. Jet lag wasn't my friend so hit the trails at 6:30am

Wed.pm. 8.83m / 1:09:19 / 7:51 miling
Very easy run, pretty shattered from the travel, but nice to breath in some alpine air. Hit some hills to get the legs working, enjoying the heavy breathing.

Thu.am. 8.25m / 1:00:16 / 7:18 miling
Another early run, but done with a tempo loop of the lake thrown in for good measure. Legs still not waking up though.

Fri.am. 5.07m / 34:10 / 6:44 miling
Quicker morning run, giving it some beans, finally feeling normal considering a night at the Casino and 3am bed time... maybe that says something about my usual lifestyle

Fri.pm. 8.52m / 1:04:32 / 7:35 miling
Long day with press conference, athlete interviews and setting things up for the weekend, but managed half an hour. As I came back Andrew from the team was heading out for his run so jogged alongside to put it over the hour.

Sat. Rest
Men's race started at 2pm (Al Brownlee won), and legs were tired from all the hills... not much flat running to be had, so took the day off.

Run total: 56.30 miles (90.6km) / 6:33:21 / 7:10 miling avg

Comments:
Really nice week of alpine running on the trails of Kitzbuhel; extremely beautiful and pretty warm as well. Very fortunate with the weather despite it raining during the men's race.

Legs took a bit of a bashing as for the most part you were either going up or down, and coupled with the jetlag (9 hour time difference hurts!) I was pretty tired most of the time. As such I didn't do a long tempo or a session, but still feel I got some quality because of the strength work required.

Am now back in the UK for a week before heading off to Hamburg for the next leg of the tour next Wednesday. Hope to make an appearance at the White Horse 5k in Gloucester on Thursday but my left arch has been complaining today.

For some pics of Kitzbuhel, click here.

Training Week 28 June - 4 July

2009-07-07T15:04:00.000-07:00

Sun.pm. 6.50m / 45:24 / 7:00 miling
Easy final run in Des Moines, but having worked at team world champs all day didn't have much time to get a long one in.

Mon. Rest - flying Des Moines, IA --> Denver, CO --> Vancouver, BC

Tue.pm. 2.03m WU - 8 x 100m strides - 2.00m WD
Prep before the Yaletown Grand Prix. Ran a few laps of the course, really nice setting.

Wed.pm. 3.22m WU - Yaletown Grand Prix (~4.2k) - 1.90m WD
See the race report for more info, not the best run of my life but pocketed $125. Happy Canada Day!

Thu.pm. 5.44m WU - 5 x 1km (3:07, 3:04, 3:04, 3:05, 3:02) off descending recovery - 3.73m WD
Had a bit of a sniffle following the race but felt like I still had plenty to give so went for the session. Started easily and worked into it. Really smashed the final 300m of the last rep, legs finally moving. Jogged back with Paul and cooled off in the Pacific.
16 miles cycling.

Fri.pm. 5.61m / 38:24 / 6:51 miling
Easy run around the sea wall, felt terrible so picked it up over Burrard Bridge to try and wake the legs up.
16 miles cycling.

Sat.am. 4.08m WU - 5 x 800m (2:22, 2:22, 2:22, 2:20, 2:17) off 400m jog - 3.73m WD
Felt good but just couldn't hit decent times. With Jay on his break I had no one to target so plugged the ipod on and started smashing it out to Hillsong. Gradually worked up some momentum and as Coach John predicted, the times came down as the legs got motoring. Pretty pleased, especially after a hard Wednesday and Thursday.

Run total: 50.00 miles (80.5km) / 5:51:47 / 7:17 miling avg

Comments:
A weird week capped by a strange race where I ran like an idiot and still made $125 (£65). Lots of quality but not too much quantity, but I guess it is the summer.

Not really too much more to add, although I am getting down to race weight so I'm sure my Mum will complain that I'm obviously not eating well enough when I get home for a week in seven days time. Hopefully I can get some hill work in this week in Austria, although the weather forecast might have me on the hotel treadmill.

Am back in the UK from 14-21 July, so if anyone has any race suggestions I'd like to hear them!

Despair in the Departure Lounge

2009-07-06T17:30:00.000-07:00

Sitting in departures at Vancouver Airport (two hour flight delay) it suddenly hit me that I haven't put my week's training online. Shame on me.

I promise I will do it when I arrive in Kitzbuhel, the next stop on the triathlon tour. Am in Austria for a week, then back home in England for seven days before hitting Hamburg for the next leg of the crusade. I am returning to Vancouver on 27 July for some more smack down training sessions.

Hopefully I'll be running the White Horse 5k in Gloucester on 16 July against UK international vet Andy Prophett (of zoom!)

In the mean time, run hard and train well!

Rue de Pistolet

2009-07-03T23:17:00.001-07:00

Rue de Pistolet, or 'Road of Guns' in English, is the chosen name for my annual Tour de France fantasy team. I saw this road sign when attending a French Grand Prix triathlon in Les Sables D'Olonne and instantly fell in love with it. My running nickname back at Uni of 'Pistol' (as in Pistol Pete) put into some cool caligraphy and smacked onto a wall. I wish I had stolen it now!

My team:
Lance Armstrong, Astana - bit of an outside bet but he's widely tipped to get on the podium

Andy Schleck, Saxo Bank - going to be good in the mountains and GC, what a talent

David Moncoutie, Cofidis - great climber, going to be going for the polka dot jersey

Igor Anton, Euskaltel - another solid climber, should attack early on near the Basque country

Mark Cavendish, Columbia - can anyone beat him in a sprint? I don't think so!

Christophe Moreau, Agritubel - strong in the mountains, super domestique

Sylvain Chavanel, Quick Step - another high class domestique, might fancy his chances

Maxime Monfort, Columbia - could be useful in the mountains and I like his attacking style

Fabian Cancellara, Saxo Bank - favourite for the time trials, overall legend, love his power output

Three weeks of racing to go, am looking forward to waking up to watch the prologue in Monte Carlo. A beautiful beautiful city to start a beautiful beautiful race. Love it. So glad I'll be in Europe for most of the racing as it means I don't have to get up at a ridiculous hour to watch it.

Pics from Yaletown Grand Prix

2009-07-03T00:31:00.001-07:00

Many thanks to Rick from VFAC for the pics, much appreciated, some really great shots!

Lap one:
Lap two:
Lap three:
Lap four:
Lap five:

Money for Nothing

2009-07-01T20:29:00.000-07:00

So today's Yaletown Grand Prix was an interesting affair where I ran like a complete muppet and yet still walked away with $125, which I feel is rather undeserved. Since pressing the 'autofill' button on itunes last week my ipod shuffle has had Dire Strait's Money for Nothing on it. With an amazing guitar riff and lyrics it seems rather pertinent to how I feel.

The whole race set up was pretty incredible, the 900m of closed roads around the district made for some cool racing, although the cyclists made it look better than the runners did. The cat one riders were tanking it! Having all of it just one block away from home was especially fun and it really was just a case of walking out of the front day to get to the start line.

I made a class 'a' error right from the start. I saw a young guy warming up in Asics kit and thought it was probably Ryan McKenzie so when the announcers didn't call him up I thought the race was open and I stood a chance of going for the win. Little did I know that my lack of knowledge of Canadian distance runners would cause me a lot of grief as both Richard Mosley, a sub-30 10k runner and legendary marathoner Steve Osaduik were on the start line. I should have picked up on Steve's name but I was listening for 'Ryan McKenzie' and had turned my brain off to anything else.

Me centre, with Richard in blue on the right and Steve in yellow on the left

I stuck in behind Richard and Steve for the opening of the five laps and felt pretty good, however I knew I was never going to be able to live with them as we headed out on lap two. We got a nice gap on fourth and I dropped off hoping to hold a decent pace to stay ahead of the pack, however the damage had been done and running solo was a real effort, especially with a headwind on the longest stretch of the course.

Lap two was decent but unspectacular as the guys started to disappear and I started to feel I was being caught on lap three. Come lap four I was overtaken by Tom Michie from Kelowna who had paced his effort a lot better than me. He drew alongside heading up the short hill at Davie and I couldn't hold on to the back of him when we got to the flat. By then I was already rocking and rolling so I backed off to ensure I didn't completely blow up and lose fourth. Lap five felt better as I knew I couldn't be caught and I managed a final kick off the last bend, but by then Tom was well up the road.

Getting dropped on lap two by Steve (left) and Richard (right)

Although I pocketed $125 I don't really feel like I've earnt it. I'm more disappointed with the ridiculous naivity which cost me third place. No disresepct to Tom, but I know deep down that I really should have done a lot better, but come the day he ran a much better race, paced the course to perfection and showed me a clean pair of heels, so full credit to him, he delivered and I didn't.

Secondly the prize money seemed too much for what I actually ran. Richard and Steve deserved their $400 and $200 respectively as they're great runners... but $125 for finishing fourth with a poor performance? You've got to be having a laugh. It's the same amount as the guy who finished fifth in the pro bike race, and that was 65 minutes of flat out wheel to wheel racing where the pack had a sprint finish... and he would have been a top cyclist riding for a team. There were even national champions and tour riders in there, crazy!

All in all a great first Canada Day, which incidentally marks my 100th day in Vancouver, and a super event atmosphere, but probably the worst race I've endured since Northampton Birmingham League back in December of last year with this feeling of guilt that I don't deserve a penny.

Metropolitan Racing

2009-06-30T22:26:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow is the ZegnaSport Yaletown Grand Prix around the streets just a block away from my apartment. By all accounts it's the first time the Grand Prix have included an 'elite' men's and women's 4.5km race alongisde the usual bike crit racing, so we'll see how the organisation goes.

So far I have to say that I haven't been too impressed. I registered a while ago but have not had any confirmation from the organisers that I have a place on the startline. Any joe jogger could have gone online and entered, so for an 'elite' race you'd at least hope for guys who can break 16:30mins for 5k at the very least. The website has not updated since I registered over a month ago, and if it wasn't for the banner hanging up by Earls saying 'Yaletown Grand Prix 1 July' I'd have my doubts whether it was even going ahead.

That aside I'm looking forward to putting on the racing flats and having a blast. I jogged a total of four laps of the course this evening as my usual pre-race warm up - strides - warm down routine, and found it to be quite entertaining. Once the streets are closed it will make for a great atmosphere, especially through the bar district. My hope is that a load of sub-15min 5k runners don't turn up making me look like a right idiot for even entering. If that happens I know I'll probably pull out after a couple of laps and save myself for something less embarrassing!

Having witnessed some great running over my weekend in Des Moines I am pretty excited to be racing again, just seeing the guys laying it all out is extremely inspiring and it makes me hungry to pour out the pain. So this is my philosophy... early on sit in the pack like Jan Frodeno, then make my presence felt like Brad Kahlefeldt, on the last lap make my move like Lukas Salvisberg and then kick like hell like Simon Whitfield. If it all goes to plan I'll be a happy guy! But as we all know, plans on paper hardly ever work out in real life.

Training Week 21 June - 27 June

2009-06-30T11:23:00.000-07:00

Sun.pm. 20.00m / 2:09:05 / 6:27 miling
Loooong Sunday evening run across to UBC from Yaletown, just couldn't stop myself, had a great time. See the blog entry for more details.

Mon.pm. 7.21m / 48:33 / 6:43 miling
Relaxed run, keeping it smooth and gentle with yesterday in mind, nice to freshen the legs up before the week ahead.

Tue. Rest - flying Vancouver, BC --> Denver, CO --> Des Moines, IA
All aboard the triathlon train for the Hy-vee ITU Triathlon Elite Cup and ITU Triathlon Team World Championships.

Wed.am. 4.25m / 30:30 / 7:11 miling
Easy morning run out to wake the legs up having spent yesterday on various planes and taxis. The heat and humidity of Iowa really hit me despite it being 7:30am and I soon had my vest off.

Wed.pm. 1m WU - 5k tempo (17:20) - 2min jog - 5k tempo (19:01) - 1m WD
I couldn't guarantee my training for the week so decided to get the session done early incase I ended up not being able to fit it in. Over concrete pavements, intersections and a few undulations I felt decidedly ill-prepared for the intense heat. I wore my GB Beijing Olympic shorts and by the end they were completely saturated in sweat, it was ridiculous. In the final 2k I got a stitch and felt like death. I must have looked a right state walking back into the hotel.

Thu.pm. 7.00m / 47:58 / 6:51 miling
Got out the door at 9:15pm into the slightly cooler air for an easy 45mins up to the local mall and back. The mall complex was probably the best part of 4 miles in diameter - crazy!

Fri.pm. 6.29m / 37:09 / 5:54 miling
Got back from team interviews and media activities in the late evening so threw the kit on and headed out for a quick run before we headed off for dinner. Felt a lot better, more acclimatised and fresher so wound up the pace and made it a tempo run. Imagined I was racing some of the triathlon guys for the $200,000 prize cheque, haha.

Sat. Rest - Hy-Vee ITU Triathlon Elite Cup
Early start (06:30am), late finish (01:45am when I finally turned my computer off) so no training, as expected. Decent women's race with an impressive run by Lauren to take third - great to see someone taking their first step onto the World Cup podium, especially when it's long overdue... and then that happened. The men's sprint finish was nothing short of epic with a win for Simon over Brad and Frodo:

Simon probably gave the best interview I've ever done as he finally got one over on Jan to bury the Beijing demons and gave tribute to his daughter. It was a buzz just to witness such a great sporting moment and it's something I'm not going to forget. I'm not sure the Americans were too pleased in hearing the Canadian national anthem though!

Run total: 53.32 miles (85.8km) / 5:47:54 / 6:31 miling avg

Comments:
A bit of a strange week with all the travel, change in climate and event work, but it has really got me fired up for the Yaletown Grand Prix. Training was rather sporadic, but at least I got most of what I wanted to do done.

I am just working out my travel plans for the summer, but I could well end up spending six weeks back in Europe from 6 July - 18 August going from Austria to England, to Germany, back to England, to Hungary to England. I'd like to get back to Vancouver after Hamburg World Champs, but we'll see how it plays out.

Right now I want to race hard, get some training in, and try and keep the consistency despite the rollercoaster lifestyle. I knew my life would change when I moved over here and I feel like I'm living the dream; so sometimes I need to forget about the 'triviality' of running and instead focus on enjoying the moment.

Congrats to everyone at VFAC on the Scotiabank Half Marathon results! Top banana!

Over The Top?

2009-06-22T10:44:00.000-07:00

So despite it being June, the time when base work is effectively put into maintenance mode, I found myself running 20 miles last night... and at a decent lick at that. 2hrs 9mins in fact, and most of that was off road on an out and back route to UBC from Yaletown.

I asked myself why I was doing it as I hit 7 miles, then 8, then 9 on the way out to UBC, knowing full well that every yard I ran forward I'd have to repeat on the way back. But it was almost uncontrollable, the power of freedom being expressed through my legs, this feeling of escapism having been working from 6am until 2pm in my front room, and the knowledge that I was running well and really enjoying myself.

I looked at my garmin stats and it turns out that it's the second longest run of my year, the biggest being 21.5 miles run just before I came out to Vancouver at a time when I still had spring marathon ambitions. Saying that, I was running 2.5 hours on Sundays back home, so longer, but the hilly running around Loughborough was done at a slower pace.

The fact is I think I have an underlying desire for distance. However much I enjoy the 5k and 10k races in the summer, there is one nemesis I need to correct - the marathon. When I cramped up at the 20 mile mark at London in 2006, aged 20, I made a vow that I was coming back to erase my embarrassing 3:07:16 and clock something respectable. Last night I could have jogged a 50 minute 10k on top of my 20 miles and run a sub-3 marathon, easy. It's great to know that any given day I can go out and re-write the record books, so roll on the Royal Victoria Marathon in October when I'll get the chance to do it in anger.

Training Week 14 June - 20 June

2009-06-21T23:25:00.000-07:00

Sun.pm. 14.50m / 1:37:15 / 6:42 miling
Feeling pretty pumped after the Longest Day so did some exploring in Stanley Park, up to the top of Prospect Point and back via Brockton and sea wall.

Mon.pm. 11.50m / 1:06:02 / 6:36 miling
Pretty inspired by the trails in Stanley Park, so back through up to Brockton Oval. I passed a Sikh music festival, great vibe, great dancing. Party in the Park!
Cycling - 16 miles

Tue. Rest - sore calf
Took it easy with a sore calf. My left cleat on my bike shoe broke and screwed up my leg biomechanics. Decided to not to risk it and to take my rest day early.
Cycling - 16 miles

Wed.pm. 7.76m / 48:01 / 6:11 miling
Run over to Kitsilano Beach on the grass for a stretch out. Dropped in 6 x 80m incline strides with walk back recovery. Need to improve my turn over!
Cycling - 16 miles

Thu.pm. 6.23m WU - 2 x 1.83m reps - 5.84m WD
Awesome session in Stanley Park with the guys. See the blog entry for details.
Cycling - 16 miles

Fri.pm. 4.28m / 30:00 / 7:01 miling
Easy grass run lapping David Lam Park by the apartment. Wanted to freshen the legs before the morning track session and felt good for doing it.
Cycling - 16 miles

Sat.am. 2.75m WU - 4 x 1200m hard/400m +25secs continuous - 2.68m WD (0.75m barefoot)
Rep 1 - 3:49 / 1:41 ... Rep 2 - 3:45 / 1:41 ... Rep 3 - 3:44 / 1:39 ... Rep 4 - 3:44 / 1:36
Really nice session where I tracked Jay throughout, trying to keep him in sight. Love the continuous workouts and this was no exception. Great to have Kevin trackside to read the split times.
Total time for 4 miles: 21:42 / ~5:25 miling
Cycling - 10 miles

Run total: 64.08 miles (103km) / 7:10:08 / 6:42 miling avg
Cycle total: 90.72 miles (146km)

Comments:
Really nice week, two great sessions and no recurring injury from last week which is the main thing. Feeling very motivated to run some fast times this summer and the legs are responding well to what I'm putting them through. Hopefully last week's 5k is the start, not the peak, of what I can achieve.

I'm not sure if the cycle commute across Lions Gate Bridge each day is necessarily aiding my training, but psychologically I feel like I'm getting some decent aerobic work in, even if I am only spinning for the most part. My legs are a lot more toned because of it and my quads are certainly more prominent than they have been.

This coming week could be tough with training as I fly to Des Moines, Iowa, on Tuesday ahead of next weekend's elite triathlon. Therefore I'm going to play it by ear, but hopefully I can wangle in a session and a tempo at some point. Next race is when I get back on Canada Day in the Yaletown Grand Prix. As a Yaletown resident I'm looking forward to getting the opportunity to smash it through the streets past my local bars, however if it turns out to be a sub-15min elite athletefest, as I fear it will, then I'll be pulling over to the side for a pint instead!

The Topless Crew

2009-06-18T22:01:00.000-07:00

Anyone walking through Stanley Park this evening must have thought there was some kind of camp guys' running club going on as this chain gang of topless fellas came storming through at five minute miling. We were flying, pushing each other hard and towing ourselves along in one long line of exalted brilliance.

There's something really empowering when you find a group of similarly paced runners who all want to lay it out on the line rep after rep. Without each other we wouldn't run as fast, train as hard or necessarily have that motivation to pull ourselves down to Stanley Park on a Thursday evening. Aside from Brad who ran the 10k at Longest Day, the other four of us were covered by just 18 seconds in the 5k, so we're all really close.

The warm was good, I felt pretty fresh, although finished needing a drink without a water fountain in sight - typical! It was great to have Ian Druce down training with us; a few of us were telling him to come along back at last week's 5k, and he was a very welcome addition to the group. Top bloke!

The session was 2 x 1.85 mile laps of the park, starting on the Rawlings trail by second beach before routing along the bottom before the slight drag up to the footbridge and back along the Lover's Avenue trail towards second beach.

Me chasing Graeme for fourth at Longest Day 5k

For rep one the chain gang of myself, Brad, Graeme, Paul and Ynuk started 15secs ahead of Jay. Instantly the pace was laid down by Mr Cunningham, obviously feeling good from his 10k last Friday. I slotted in alongside him but made a stupid error after half a mile when I nearly missed a right angled turn and had to play catch up. I returned on the back of Graeme who pulled us through the incline with his marathon strength which was much appreciated - the guy's an animal! Once over the 'hill' I felt pretty good and Brad and I worked hard on the final downhill stretch back to the finish - 9:17.

The mass start of rep two was a better paced affair. Jay stormed off as per usual and somehow I ended up at the front of our group, feeling really good, running fluently and striding out well. However once we hit the incline I went through a bad patch, probably from going off too hard, and really had to battle to hang onto Brad at the rear of the group. My head was rolling like Paula Radcliffe, much to my amusement. I felt better once we had got to the top again and gradually worked my way to the front before trying to pick it up in the final 400m with Ynuk on my shoulder - 9:20.

Ian (white vest), Phil (red vest), Ynuk (blue vest), Mike (red vest), Phil (blue vest) at Longest Day

A super session, not least because our working group stuck together for the entire rep. With Simon to add and a few guys getting quicker since their marathon endeavours, like Phil, we're going to have a crack team of running operatives before very long. Anyone else in Vancouver looking for some decent guys to train with, you know where we are! Hats off to Graeme and Paul who went out for a third rep, and came past us as we cooled down looking really good. I can't wait until I'm back in marathon training and hitting bonus loops!

Unfortunately my lower legs seem to be having a rough week. I postponed Tuesday's easy run by 24 hours as my left calf tightened up because of a broken cleat on my bike shoe which skewed my muscle; and during the session my popliteus on the back of my left knee was tightening up and it became very rigid on the warm down. Back on with the compression socks (left one rolled up to my thigh) and we'll see how it feels in the morning. Hopefully some knee extension on the easy ride into work will loosen it off!

Mind Over Matter

2009-06-17T21:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we all find it hard to get out of the door and into our stride. Motivation is often lacking in runners, usually in the winter during the base phase when we're clocking big miles, running twice a day and generally feeling constantly tired.

I remember earlier in the year when I was running over 100 miles (160km) a week, grinding it out day after day, but thankfully every evening I would meet up with the squad and train with the guys and girls, distracting myself from the fatigue. I found that hitting big miles was actually a motivating factor. The satisfaction of clocking three digits in the diary kept me going, even though the comfortable duvet was ever present on those cold wet mornings.

My good friend Kevin Seaward, an international from Northern Ireland, recently posted this now infamous quote on his facebook page:
"Running is a big question mark that’s there each and every day. It asks you, ‘Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?'"
- Peter Maher

Peter Maher was a Canadian marathon runner who competed mainly in the 1990's. He was credited for a brief period with the record time for a half marathon and competed in the Olympic men’s marathons in Seoul, 1988 and Barcelona, 1992 and ran sub-2:12. In other words, he is a bit of a legend.

His description of running as a 'question mark' is interesting. In my experience the questions thrown up through training revolve around finding that kick to get out of the door every morning and evening. Am I going to be that proverbial wimp, or am I going to be the tough guy, the one sucking up the hurt for the greater good of my performance? Am I going to take the easy option and take the day off, or am I going to stand back at the end of a race knowing I have given everything I possibly could have done?

Unfortunately for runners, this can become obsessive. Days constantly spent thinking about the evening's training session, the times you want to run, that fear of the niggle growing in your right calf muscle, the wonder about what your rivals are doing, the feeling you need a caffeine hit to get you going again. We've all been there, and we know that only the strong perservere and get their just rewards.

Maybe the best summation of overcoming the issue is from former US Army General and 1912 Olympian, George Patton:
"Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired ... you've always got to make the mind take over and keep going."

My question now is: am I strong enough today to give it everything in tonight's session?
When really I know deep down inside, so that I don't even need I ask in the first place, I am.

There's Better Clubbing in Britain

2009-06-16T22:30:00.000-07:00

Since moving to Canada it's become very apparent that there isn't actually a system in place to aid recruitment or competitions for clubs. I always took it for granted back in Britain that throughout the season I would race for my team, Cheltenham Harriers, in a number of competitions. It meant that no matter what fitness level I was in I would don the vest and do my best to support my team and clubmates wherever possible.

Racing old friend Ed Womersley at the Birmingham League Div 1 race in Gloucester, clubmate Jeremy in the background

Over the winter I would compete in four league cross country fixtures where every result affected our collective aspirations. If we failed to put out a strong team in each fixture we faced relegation from division one, something we wouldn't dare to think about. In the spring the top twelve guys would do battle at the Midland and National 12 Stage Championships, and then repeat the process again at the Midland and National 6 Stage Championships in the autumn. Wearing your club vest was a symbol of pride, something that resonated in your bones and so you made sure that you made the commitment to do your very best when wearing it.

Canada is quite different. The only athletics club of note in the whole of Vancouver is the Falcons, although there are other clubs dotted around the surrounding towns, such as Richmond, Burnaby and North Vancouver. Results for road races are posted with the city of residence of the runner, not which team vest they were wearing, and there are no inter-club competitions, even on a local level.

Giving the captain's team talk to the Loughborough guys before British Uni XC Champs 2006

Everything here is individualised. Name, date of birth, city of residence. That's all that counts. There isn't that identity where your training group or coach is highlighted. For instance, in the current British Columbia Athletics Road Race Series my training partner Jay is placed in third. There is no mention that he runs for the Vancouver Falcons, so those people interested in the runner don't see the background as to what makes him successful. Does the average recreational athlete in a local road race even know that there is an athletics club in Vancouver that they can join with like minded individuals? They sure can't see it when they receive their results. When Vancouver is such an active city, and one where I pass literally hundreds of people out running every week, why aren't more of them attached to a club?

The Vancouver Falcons - we'd make a great team!

I'm not having a go at my Canadian club here, far from it. I love training with the guys every week and I think it's a very energetic and motivating setup with excellent coaching; but where are the opportunities to race for each other and not just against each other? We'd make a great team, one where we'd give every last drop of energy to have us succeed as a group. As team mate Brad posted on his blog: "I am looking forward to workout on Thursday and meeting up with the rest of the blue train after their great showing last Friday. 3rd through 8th and a bunch right after that. What a group." But unfortunately, despite the camaradarie I can't see us getting the chance to pull on the Falcons vests to battle it out against the Richmond Kajaks or the Island Road Racers; and I think it's a real shame.

Old Marlingtonians/Stroud AC, the winter training buddies and former school team mates

Ironically back in Britain there have always been complaints about the state of the club system, from the low turnouts at BAL matches to the arguments over the apparent poaching of athletes. The message I will take back with me is that the British distance fraternity should count themselves lucky to have such opportunities to compete against each other on such a regular basis. It's one thing to run for yourself, but it's quite another to run for your team.

Training Week 07 June - 13 June

2009-06-15T23:09:00.000-07:00

Sun.pm. 6.24m / 42:00 / 6:43 miling
Hungover run around False Creek sea wall and around to Kitsilano Beach. Glorious.

Mon.pm. 9.01m / 1:00:48 / 6:44 miling
Nine miles into Stanley Park, small loop up to Prospect Point and back along English Bay.
Cycling - 16 miles

Tue. Rest - sore peroneus
Cycling - 16 miles

Wed. Rest - sore peroneus
Cycling - 16 miles

Thu.pm. 1m WU - 6 x 100m strides with walk back recovery.
Barefoot at Brockton Oval to test peroneus, it held up fine.
Cycling - 18 miles

Fri.pm. 3.27m WU - Longest Day 5k (4th, 15:42) - 2.29m WD
Warm up on course with Jay and Ian, really solid race and came through strongly in the second half to run a PB. Took home $75 as well, always a bonus. Warmed down with the guys.
Cycling - 16 miles

Sat. Rest - trip to Whistler, two hour walk

Run total: 23.92 miles (38.5km) / 2:43:56 / 6:51 miling avg
Cycle total: 69.41 miles (111.7km)

Comments:
Sore peroneus in my right leg meant that I missed much of training this week, but luckily the commute kept me active. Thankfully the tightness and pain eased off by race day and I was feeling fresh as a result.

Pleased with my run as I didn't feel overly stretched during most of the race and it was nice to place well and run a decent time. A good confidence boost coming into the summer so hopefully this is the start of some good results and revisions of my personal bests.

It's time now to put in a decent week of miles and quality sessions before heading to Des Moines, Iowa in a week's for the next stop in the triathlon tour.

Signed, sealed and delivered

2009-06-12T23:30:00.000-07:00

Well I said my target for tonight was 15:45, and I hit 15:42 at the Longest Day 5k, so how's that for prediction accuracy?

Me (4th in 5k), Ian (9th in 5k), Brad (1st in 10k) and Jay (3rd in 5k)

It was pretty much textbook stuff, exactly as planned. The opening downhill kilometre was quick, and I started conservatively, tucking in behind Mike and Phil from VFAC and Ian from Lionsgate for the opening 500m. I realised we were effectively in a pack sitting in sixth position so I made my move coming off the downhill and into the uphill second kilometre. I managed to get a gap on the bunch and noone came with me, and I quickly reeled in the guy in fifth who had gone off too hard.

I tried to keep my pace on the inclines consistent and strong, focussing on technique and efficiency rather than effort. It worked well and once I was on the flat again I was able to open my stride and get back into a nice rhythm. I visualised Ryan Hall striding out up in Big Bear Lake, California, just wanting to praise God with every turnover of his legs - tonight's run was about using the abilities I believe the Lord has given me rather than trying to run well for personal gain.

This video, Ryan Hall: Passion for the Run, has really inspired me.

Slowly I started to track down Graeme, a 70min half marathoner who clocked 2:31 for the Calgary Marathon just two weeks ago and ran a 32:40 10k last weekend. Going through 3km in 9:18 I managed to latch onto the back of him and made my move on the slight incline back to the main drag. With his incredible strength and stamina I was worried he would manage to cling onto the back, but thankfully for me it was decisive.

The final kilometre was a nice run in to the finish, striding out on the slight downhill gradient, then raising the tempo 400m from the line. Running up onto the grass was tough, but I still felt pretty good and so to finish with 15:42 is very pleasing. Hopefully on a flatter, faster course I can get down to 15:30. Now I've got to decide what to spend my $75 prize money on. Suggestions please.

Jay was always up the road from me, although his race was a solo affair, caught between me and the leaders who ran 14:22 and 14:27 respectively - highly impressive. VFAC were towards the fore throughout the 5k with Phil and Mike right behind along with Ian.

Ooh err missus, check out those socks!

Brad stormed the 10k, running with another two guys for the first 4k before making his move and pulling clear. On a relatively undulating course his 34mins is very solid and he should go well in the Scotiabank Half Marathon in a couple of weeks! I'm not sure about his compression socks/number belt/lycra shorts under split shorts attire though, haha.

Smash ups!

2009-06-11T22:57:00.000-07:00

Thankfully my injury has slackened off and the peroneus has relaxed, albeit not completely. Therefore tomorrow evening's 5k is on like Donkey Kong. I cycled back home via Brockton Oval this evening and dropped in a mile in bare foot on the grass followed by 6 x 100m strides and it felt fine, so I'm ready to rip it up.

British NCAA runner Luke Cragg coined the phrase 'smash ups' to describe how he wants to attack a race, and I'm borrowing it for tomorrow. I want this 5k to be the result of the hard work I've put in. The thousands of miles I ran between September and March and the subsequent speed work I've been doing in Vancouver.

I want to take this race apart, I want to build into it, run the opening kilometre controlled, enjoying the downhill, then work hard on the uphill and the second kilometre before letting the legs open up through kilometres three and four on the flat. Kilometre five is going to hurt like hell, I know it will, I want it to. I want to feel the pain of pushing myself to the limit. I want to taste the lactic acid rising up from my legs into my mouth. I want to run that final kilometre completely balls out, on the wire. I want to run it how Luke Cragg would run it - smashing it up.

Target time: 15:45

Not impressed!

2009-06-09T22:38:00.000-07:00

Typically three days before a race I pick up a niggle, namely to my peroneus brevis which runs down the outside of my right lower leg towards the ankle. It's the part that sticks out, the thin corridor of muscle fibre that is used in flexing the foot.

It's not so sore that I couldn't train on it if I wanted to, but you know something is up when it starts to twinge when doing a non-impact activity like cycling. Anyway, I'm not impressed. It shouldn't stop me from toeing the line on Friday night, but at any rate it's going to be in the back of my mind.

I'm not sure how it's come about, probably through over training on hard surfaces like the track and the sea wall. I did some rolling on it at work and have used the t-roller tonight and am sat here writing in compression socks, so hopefully a good night's rest will help it out.

Training Week 31 May - 06 June

2009-06-08T22:57:00.000-07:00

Sun.pm. 13.28m / 1:30:01 / 6:46 miling
Relaxed run around False Creek sea wall and Kitsilano Beach, moving well, very fluent.

Mon.pm. 12.22m / 1:21:05 / 6:38 miling
Stanley Park inner loop out to Brockton Oval. 5 x 100m strides on cinder track included.

Tue.pm. 9.34m / 1:00:00 / 6:25 miling
2 mile easy - 2 miles tempo - 2 miles easy - 2 miles tempo - warm down through Stanley Park and English Bay.
Cycling - 16 miles

Wed.pm. 6.60m / 42:27 / 6:26 miling
Kitsilano Beach loop, relaxed, staying springy and fluid.
Cycling - 16 miles

Thu.pm. 6.58m warm up - rep session (1k, 2k, 2k, 1k) - 5.24m warm down
1km (2:57), 2km (6:09), 2km (6:18), 1km (3:00) off full recoveries.
Session around Beaver Lake kilometre loop in Stanley Park.
Cycling - 16 miles

Fri.pm. Rest
Cycling - 16 miles

Sat.am. 3m warm up - 5 x 800m track session - 2.50m warm down
Rep 1 (2:24), Rep 2 (2:24), Rep 3 (2:23), Rep 4 (2:24), Rep 5 (2:18).
Cycling - 10 miles

Run total: 66.93 miles (107.7km) / 7:29:26 / 6:42 miling avg
Cycle total: 73.32 miles (118km)

Comments:
Nice week, plenty of aerobic stuff at the start and a decent Thursday session to boot, if a little tired and dehydrated towards the end.

Saturday's track workout was pretty good, although could perhaps have gone faster with Simon and Brad around.

Looking forward to the Longest Day 5k race on Friday, aiming for sub-16mins, but will need to judge the pace well.

The Hangover Run

2009-06-07T22:31:00.001-07:00

There is always a split second when you awake after a heavy night which indicates how bad the day is going to be. This morning was one of those you come to recognise as painful. The kind where you denounce alcohol for good, swear you will never touch it again and wonder what you have done to deserve such a headache, nausea and fatigue.

Usually I can handle a decent amount of liquor without ill consequence, but for some reason it took me all day just to feel half decent, and that involved a long afternoon nap and a whole packet of crisps ('chips' for my Canadian friends).

Come 7:30pm I was just about ready to hit the road, feeling better, refreshed and hungry for exercise to sweat off the remaining remnants of last night's beer from my system. With the sun going down over False Creek it was glorious, euphoric, blissful and liberating. With Hillsong United playing in my ears and a spring in my stride it made me realise just how far I've come this year. The mountains in the background, the lapping waves of the Pacific and the reflecting sun in the windows of the skyscrapers epitomised the beauty of creation and the fluid mechanics of running.

So thankyou hangover, you may have ruined most of my day, but those 45 minutes of pure unadulterated praise made the endurance worthwhile.

Let's Drop in Some 800m Reps

2009-06-06T18:54:00.000-07:00

Six days out from the Longest Day 5k marked my final workout, with 5 x 800m off 200m recovery on the Point Grey track down in Kerrisdale. With Jay doing some all outs I was pretty much the designated hare for the guys, so had the responsibility of pacing around the ever-fitter Phil who was nipping at my heels.

A football tournament in the centre of the field provided some ample support from the sidelines for those of us repping out the track, although the poor quality of play meant that there was an ever present fear of a stray ball whacking us in the head. Eyes on the prize though, and my focus was on maintaining good form, efficiency and stride length.

John recommended trying to hit 2:24 for each rep, so 72 second laps. Thankfully Kevin was on hand with a stopwatch as my Garmin had run out of battery, so he was able to take my splits and call out the elapsed time at half way.

We warmed up with a 400m lap at target pace, and despite not having a watch I was able to hit a 72, a perfect start. Obviously there is some good intuition somewhere in this brain of mine.

The first rep started strongly, good leg turnover and feeling pretty fresh with a 2:24, so bang on the money; my only concern really being the breezy headwind in the homestraight and first bend, but having trained on Loughborough's backstraight for five years it was well within acceptable atmospheric boundaries.

Rep two was much the same, a solid start to open the legs up and then onto the toes aiming for consistency. 2:24 again. On rep three we caught the back end of the group to lap them, and despite running in lane three round the final bend I dipped a 2:23 - maybe the extra motivation of having people to run towards quickened the pace? Rep four went to plan, although I started to tighten up in the final 200m, fatigue kicking in.

Jogging round for the final rep I knew I had enough in the tank to push out something a bit quicker. I got rid of the Loughborough vest for a final topless assault and started with a 70sec first lap. Striding out into the wind for the final time I picked up the effort and then accelerated out of the final turn for a 2:18.

Strange how a week ago I ran a hard 800m after just doing a 200m rep in 2:17 and then today could muster a 2:18 at the end of a session. All good though and I'm pleased with how it went. I wore compression socks for the first time on the track as I had struggled with some calf tightness earlier in the week, and they certainly did a good job. I warmed down with Jay and finished with three laps on the faux-grass infield in barefeet for some intricate muscle strengthening exercise before he left for Eugene and the Pre Classic. That's a definite date for my calendar next year!

The Trials and Tribulations of Beaver Lake

2009-06-05T23:52:00.000-07:00

Thursday's are workouts in Stanley Park and last night was the hottest one yet. As temperatures soared up in the thirties for most of the day I was keen to get under the bows of the trees and down lakeside where it was cooler as soon as possible.

Given the fact I have to run over four miles just to get to Brockton Oval to meet the guys I sometimes feel like I've done too much before we even get going on the rough stuff, and last night was no exception. With 6.5 miles showing on the Garmin I had already worked up quite a sweat before John informed us of the 1k, 2k, 2k, 1k interval session around Beaver Lake. With the predicted times of "2:55" and "6:10" given to Brad and I, it was evident that it was going to be pretty solid.

Beaver Lake in Stanley Park - 1km perimeter

Starting at aggregated time intervals Brad, Jay and I soon found ourselves ploughing through the dust storm spewed up from the runners in front as we caught them on the relatively narrow gravel path. Somehow Brad can always muster a shout of "on your left", which is very unnerving for someone fighting for breath as I always seem to be when I try and keep up with the king of the heel flicks - he really does have a great running style. We managed to navigate our way through with Jay crossing the kilo in 2:53 with Brad and I in 2:57. First one down and I felt sore: legs burning, lungs coughing and with the breathing rate of an asthmatic in Beijing rush hour.

The 2km rep was pretty decent, with Brad putting distance into me in the final quarter as he went with Jay's increase in pace. A rounded up 6:09 was bang on what the coach ordered, but I knew a repeat in the next rep would be out of the question. Sure enough Brad ran away from me early on and a 6:18 was clocked in the diary; not too bad but not great either.

Trying to recover in the lead up to the final rep is tough to do when all you can think about is the pain and suffering it's going to cause. For some reason I got pretty nervous, although in reality I knew it wasn't that much of a big deal. I have a habit of slapping my outer quads, breathing deeply and getting agitated when I get anxious and I was certainly feeling the heat. Dehydration was starting to work against me and I felt very parched so I was keen to get it over with and back to the carpark.

With the mass start I was very concious of the guys just behind as Brad latched straight on to the back of Jay and disappeared into the distance. All alone I could hear the pounding feet on the gravel, the sound of deep exhales in my ears and the all to familiar feeling of instinctive primeval 'fight or flight' adrenaline rushing into my system. I wasn't going to let myself get caught, not today! Turning for home into the cooler air I surged for the line, closing the gap on Brad, but nowhere near fast enough to get on even terms - a bang on 3:00 for the kilometre was a just reward and welcome closure.

Once back at Brockton I spent a good minute at the water fountain, surprising myself at how much I could drink without feeling nauseous. I jogged back to the city with Jay who has been buzzing about his impending trip to the fabled Prefontaine Classic in Eugene this weekend. Jealousy isn't quite the word I'm looking for... envy might just suffice, haha.

All in all it was good to get the session done and have a rest day to follow. I have pushed some decent mileage this week, considering the time of year; and coupled with the 16 mile round cycle commute each day my legs have welcomed the rest. Hopefully that workout around Beaver Lake has give my muscles something to think about for next week's Longest Day 5k race at UBC. Time will tell!

Read Jay's summation of the workout, 'Ode to Beaver Lake'.
Read Brad's blog regarding the session, 'VFAC Thursday 1, 2, 2, 1'.

Making the Switch

2009-06-05T22:57:00.000-07:00

Having come off a British winter into a Canadian spring it dawned on me that my training was never quite going to be the same again.

After enjoying five and a half years at Loughborough, both as a student and a working man, the familiar routine of annual training periodisation, socialisation and racing was to come to an end. Under the regime of infamous coach George Gandy, life for an aspiring athlete couldn't have been much better. Fantastic insight, great facilities, amazing trails and run loops and above all, incredible training partners and friends to share the experience with.

Ed Prickett Memorial Relays 2006 (4 x 2 miles vs. men's 4x400m team - I won!)

Vancouver quickly became a lonely place as far as running was concerned. For the first month I trained alone, unmotivated and fed up with pacing the pavements and the repeated stress on my calves that the relentless tarmac pounding caused. Loughborough was but a distance memory, a holy land amongst the barren suburbia of the city.

I came to Canada in great shape having been training specifically for a spring marathon, however due to work commitments the chance to race and put my large aerobic capacity to use over 26.2 miles faltered and I was unable to take to the streets in anger. With this in mind running became a hassle, a 'should do' rather than a 'want to do' in my list of priorities. For the first time in years I was seriously concerned that my running days were numbered.

However things soon changed with the Vancouver Sun Run, the world's largest 10km road race, where I finished 41st out of 56,000 competitors. I missed my personal best by 12 seconds due to a stitch in the final mile, but realised then that I loved running too much to give it up. I was very fortunate that Kevin O'Connor, a fellow Brit living in the city, had got in touch through the eightlane.com website and spoke to me on the startline, inviting me to train with the Vancouver Falcons.

VFAC track session of 12 x 400m off 1min jog, me in purple shorts, Jay leading us off.

I now run with the Falcons every Thursday in Stanley Park and every Saturday at Point Grey School in nearby Kerrisdale. The two sessions orchestrated by John Hill are pivotal to my week, a chance to train alongside likeminded athletes, aspiring for fast times whilst juggling work commitments and day to day lifestyles. If anything, it's like a mature version of Loughborough where the students are replaced by adults. I owe a lot to the guys towards the front of the group with whom I share the pacing, hand slaps and "good jobs" with each week. They welcomed me with open arms and it's great to feel part of a group. So to Jay, Brad, Simon, Paul, Kevin, Phil and everyone else, thank you!

Of course I miss Loughborough, the seventy guys and girls smashing it up on a Saturday morning, or the throng of athletes making their way to various fixtures week in week out, but I'm glad that I made the decision to move to Vancouver, and right now I can't imagine myself anywhere else.

As a comparison between winter marathon base work in Loughborough and 5k/10k specific workouts in a Vancouver summer, I present my typical training weeks of 2009:

Winter, Loughborough, UK
Sun.am. 18-22 mile long easy hilly run
Sun.pm. Rest
Mon.am. 6 miles easy
Mon.pm. 10 miles easy
Tue.am. 6 miles easy
Tue.pm. 4m WU - long rep session, short recoveries (6 miles) - 4m WD
Wed.am. 12-15 miles easy
Wed.pm. 6m WU - circuit training - 4m WD
Thu.am. 6 miles easy
Thu.pm. 4m easy - 6 mile steady - 4m easy
Fri.am. Rest
Fri.pm. Rest
Sat.am. 2m WU - 10 mile tempo - 2m WD
Sat.pm. Rest
Weekly total: ~100 miles

Summer, Vancouver, Canada
Sun.am. Rest
Sun.pm. 13 miles relaxed
Mon.am. 8m cycle to work
Mon.pm. 8m cycle home + 10 miles relaxed
Tue.am. 8m cycle to work
Tue.pm. 8m cycle home + 12 miles steady
Wed.am. 8m cycle to work
Wed.pm. 8m cycle home + 7 miles easy
Thu.am. 8m cycle to work
Thu.pm. 8m cycle home + 6.5 mile WU - rep session (4.5 miles) - 5 mile WD
Fri.am. 8m cycle to work
Fri.pm. 8m cycle home
Sat.am. 5m cycle - 3m WD - track session (3 miles) - 3m WD - 5m cycle
Sat.pm. Rest
Weekly total: ~65 miles + ~90 miles cycling