The first year I began running seriously was also the first year I ended up with a knee injury. Just as summer was beginning and everyone was lacing up their shoes and heading out, I was stuck inside my apartment. What kept me inspired and hopeful was another runner, Peter, who posted his journal on the Web. It's no longer around (much to my dismay), but his daily entries of his training highs and lows - as well as his own recovery from a similar injury - got me through summer and to the 1999 Canadian International Marathon. Every evening when I came back from the office I followed his struggle, right up to his first marathon in Quebec City in 1999. I never sent an email to him, much less met him, but he was a great coach. To Peter from Montreal, thank you.
2003 Goal: Complete a Half-Ironman Triathlon
Under Six Hours
Last year's experience with triathlons really set me on fire. I may never make the Olympic team, and maybe I'll be the most consistent last-place finisher ever, but this is one sport I really love. Besides, if I came in last in all three events last year in my gender/age group, then I can only get better! So this year I'm focusing only on triathlons. There are other reasons for not doing a marathon in 2003: a nagging hip injury, and the time all those running workouts sapped from my swimming and biking.
I've always stayed a bit of a recreational athlete, believing that just being out there and running was enough, and that it would be nice - but not essential - to run faster. This year, I've chucked that attitude out the window. Not only do I want to do a half-ironman triathlon faster than last year, I want to do it A LOT faster. One whole hour faster, to be specific. This requires a pretty fundamental change in attitude. I now have to think of myself as a competitive athlete and hope that if the mind goes there then the body will follow. The second big change this year is not doing my own training program. Instead, I'm using on online coaching service ( e-grip .) And the target event for this year is the UK Half-Ironman in southern England. 2003 will be nothing short of phenomenal!
- Week of January 1
- Wednesday I remember my run last New year's Eve. It was a sublime experience because it was such a personal way to end one year and begin another. I remember running along the moonlit path behind the postal sorting station on Waggoner's Lane and loving how I could do this in the dead of winter, and that I was being myself by running on an evening when everyone else was out partying. So this New Year's Eve my sweetie (whom I met just after that sublime run in 2001!) set out for a short 8km run. It was just after supper and the roads were deserted. Running wasn't very easy on the loose snow. We padded over to the area between University Avenue and the river and then came back. The most exciting thing on the roads was a horse-drawn carriage.
On New Year's Day I went out for a run on my own. I decided to try hills for the first time since the Athens Marathon and so headed for Golf Club Road. My hip was a dull pain most of the way and didn't act up until well after the run. I've been putting a lot of time into developing a yoga program to tackle that hip problem.
- Week of January 13
- Friday Yes, I'm still around! Fredericton is going through it's annual winter deep-freeze days, so it's been a bit too chilly for a run lately. OK, so it's not just the cold - it's the wind, the snow, the ice, and my hip that make running outside off-limits for a little while. Thank goodness for the gym.
- Week of January 20
- Monday The forecast is calling for more snow and even high winds, so it looks like I'll be on the treadmill for a little while yet. That's OK, though: I've just found a great treadmill routine! My workplace has a small gym with a great sound system, something I hadn't tried out until yesterday. After a few hours doing some schoolwork, I went down to the gym (which I had to myself), put in my CD with some of my favourite "moving" songs, and pounded through an absolutely amazing treadmill run. I moved on to the elliptical trainer, but had to leave after the fire alarm went off!
My hip and knee have been healing well and haven't bothered me at all in a few days. However, I think a fellow triathlete's nutrition guide has something to do with this. He takes several supplements for various preventive measures, including joint health and tissue repair. Since he seemed very qualified (he's an anasthaesiologist), I did some research on the Web and decided to try a few supplements myself. So far so good. Thanks Jon!
- Week of February 9
- Wednesday Still alive and kicking! And even running, but not outside. I'm actually in Ottawa for yet another course at the Canadian Police College. Unlike the last time I was here, the weather is not exactly conducive to running: extreme winds and terrible cold. So I'm on the treadmill every morning in the gym for an hour or so. No one loves running on the treadmill, but it is a great opportunity to do some observations since you're in a controlled environment. One major thing I've noticed is the HUGE effect that time of day and flexibility have on running speed. My legs are very stiff in the morning, which means I run considerably slower than I would in the evening, and I feel pretty terrible. But it's better than not running at all!
- Week of February 16
- Monday Guess what? I actually went outside for a run this evening! That bitter cold streak has finally snapped and the temperature rose to -13C today. I simply couldn't face another workout on the treadmill, so out I went after supper. It was so odd to be running in an area where, six months ago, conditions had been so totally different: the weathe had been perfect, I was in "training" mode for the triathlon. It's the sort of moment that makes us realise the inexorable nature of time: nothing changes, so to speak, but the mere passage of time makes everything change.
OK, enough philosophical meandering. I left the College with the idea of simply running around the local residential streets, but finally headed downtown. I simply couldn't resist running by the PM's residence, the museums, seeing Parliament. My legs were feeling great. It was only on the way back that the run became painful because of the cold wind. But it was worth every minute.
- Tuesday Ooooh, a balmy -6C this evening. How could I not go running? I did the same route as I always do (to downtown Ottawa), but I wandered a little in the Rockcliffe area to see if there was an alternate route that would avoid the Parkway where it narrows a little. So I meandered through a neighbourhood of multi-million dollar homes. Nice, but I still miss my one-bedroom apartment and my cats. My legs were tired, particularly on the return journey. I haven't run this much (two evenings in a row) or this long (ihr20min per run) since....geez, the marathon in November. With snow forecasted in Fredericton, it'll be a while before I get to do that again!
- Tuesday Ooooh, a balmy -6C this evening. How could I not go running? I did the same route as I always do (to downtown Ottawa), but I wandered a little in the Rockcliffe area to see if there was an alternate route that would avoid the Parkway where it narrows a little. So I meandered through a neighbourhood of multi-million dollar homes. Nice, but I still miss my one-bedroom apartment and my cats. My legs were tired, particularly on the return journey. I haven't run this much (two evenings in a row) or this long (ihr20min per run) since....geez, the marathon in November. With snow forecasted in Fredericton, it'll be a while before I get to do that again!
- Week of February 23
- Saturday Running today was absolutely amazing, thanks to a brief break in the wild weather pattern. It was sunny with only a little wind and the temperature stayed around 0C. I left the apartment and wondered briefly where to go, then turned down toward University Avenue. The Parkhusrt/Inglewood/Waggoner's Lane loop is OK, but way too boring for a beautiful day like this one. I kept the pace slow and steady. For some reason I had expected to be more winded or even to find the run harder, but after an hour I still felt great. Guess it really was a slow run.
I'll be signing up for the online triathlon training program next week. Time to get serious about the UK Half-Ironman!
- Week of March 3
- Tuesday There definitely won't be any outdoor running for a while, unless my shoes get inch-long spikes. After 3cm of rain, 10cm of snow, and plummeting temperatures, Fredericton is the City of Ice. Not only are running and walking almost impossible, driving is quite the adventure.
However, there is good news! I signed up for the online triathlon training yesterday and today was my first day of training for the UK Half-Ironman. The program I'm using is at Mark Allen Online. Started off with a swim this morning and will do a tempo bike tonight.
- Saturday A break in the weather! My schedule has a "long" run today: 40 minutes. I think that's pretty funny given that I usually hate running for less than an hour, but then I look at the "long" bike ride scheduled for tomorrow: 2 hours. Ouch. Anyway, today's run was wonderful. The hard biking I did this week help put some spring in my step as I ran around Parkhurst/Inglewood (downtown Fredericton is almost underwater because of the melting ice.) At last, a run with no hip pain, knee pain, or ankle pain!
- Saturday A break in the weather! My schedule has a "long" run today: 40 minutes. I think that's pretty funny given that I usually hate running for less than an hour, but then I look at the "long" bike ride scheduled for tomorrow: 2 hours. Ouch. Anyway, today's run was wonderful. The hard biking I did this week help put some spring in my step as I ran around Parkhurst/Inglewood (downtown Fredericton is almost underwater because of the melting ice.) At last, a run with no hip pain, knee pain, or ankle pain!
- Week of March 10
- Saturday Today's long run was one hour, which felt really long, for some reason. The day wasn't as warm as last Saturday so the roads were still covered with ice. To add a bit of distance to the route I headed up Hanwell Road. A few minutes up the road I heard a sound that made me think of a 2x4 hitting a car. It was a car hitting me!!! Some &@#$ in a red car hit my arm just below the elbow while racing up Hanwell Road! I fell down, looked up in time to see him running off the side of the road and his head glancing in the mirror, then keep driving!!! At least I had the satisfaction of ripping his passenger side mirror completely off the car. The sheer stupidity of the incident enraged me. This was a hit-and-run! Anyway, my arm has nothing more than a bruise on it, though if the mirror had been an inch higher it probably would have shattered the bone. Talk about lucky!
- Week of March 17
- Tuesday Went to the gym first, then out for a run on a beautiful, calm night with lots of stars and a huge full moon hanging low over the horizon. My legs felt like springs, probably because of the increased intensity on the bike trainer in the last few weeks. Running around Queen's Square I saw a falling star and made a wish for a great triathlon season. 50 minutes of running.
- Wednesday My first tempo run of the year! It felt great. I thought my legs might be tired from yesterday's run, but they did quite well. I kept the pace easy for the first ten minutes, then started speeding up as I turned up Golf Club Road. Concentrated on short steps and light feet. Speed seemed to become effortless on the way back, maybe because of a nice tailwind!
- Saturday Wow - another beautiful day. It was even 10C today! Of course, I overdressed as usual. There's something about being too cold when you're running that I really hate. Today was a long run - 1hr15min. I find it interesting that the online training program uses time instead of distance to gauge the runs. I had done a 1hr15 bike ride the evening before and found that my legs hadn't really had time to recover when I headed out for the run. Even so, keeping a good pace and concentrating on quick foot turnover (which apparently is more important to running faster than stride length) all through the run and even accelerating at the end was easy. Ran 1h30min.
Next week I'm off to Newfoundland! It's the last province/territory I haven't been to yet in Canada.
- Wednesday My first tempo run of the year! It felt great. I thought my legs might be tired from yesterday's run, but they did quite well. I kept the pace easy for the first ten minutes, then started speeding up as I turned up Golf Club Road. Concentrated on short steps and light feet. Speed seemed to become effortless on the way back, maybe because of a nice tailwind!
- Week of March 23
- Monday Talk about lucky: I get to visit St. John's during the one week of warm sunny weather that Newfoundland gets through the year! The roads have cleared a little and I can run on the shoulders without worrying (too much) about cars. The barracks we're staying in are in the side of a steep hill, so my evening run starts with a nic elong downhill (which means it'll end with a tough long uphill.) I saw Signal Hill the first day I was here and made up my mind to run up it. I trotted down the first hill, then swung around Quidi Vidi Lake and through Quidi Vidi Village - the oldest village in Canada - with its narrow streets, tiny church, and houses right up on the road. Then up another long hill and took a left (in front of a federal penitentiary!) to start up Signal Hill Road. What a hill!!! I had to shuffle up on the balls of my feet because of the steep incline, and just when I thought I had reached the end...I realised I was only halfway up! Still, it was beautiful running and I was inspired by the view of St. John's below.
Going down the hill was tougher than going up, believe it or not. But the hill back up to barracks was a piece of cake after Signal Hill Road!
- Wednesday It wasn't until Tuesday afternoon that I realised just how steep Signal Hill was - about the time that my quadriceps locked into something resembling rigor mortis after climbing up the Hill. So last night was a night off. Tonight I decided to check out downtown St. John's. I went through Quidi Vidi Village again, turned left at the penitentiary, but kept straight instead of turning up Signal Hill Road. down to Water Street, which (obviously) goes along the city's waterfront. I passed ships docked on the wharf and then went through downtown, full of character and amazing shops. Turned up McBride's Hill then back home along Ducksworth. I couldn't believe that I had been out running for over an hour (though I had to climb the last hill up to the barracks.) What a difference a new place makes!
- Thursday My last chance to run in Newfoundland, but my legs are a bit tired so I decide to stay away from hills as much as I can (no mean in feat in St. John's!) I ran more or less the same route to Water Street as yesterday, but went straight on to Battery Road. What a great place to run. The road narrowed and then twisted up and down along the hillside directly above the water. At the end of the road I turned around and to catch a great view of St. John's. On my way back I went around Quidi Vidi Lake on the opposite shore along The Boulevard. I could see the fog coming in on the hillside. As I climbed up to the building (and I actually managed to run up that hill today!) the fog and wind became quite formidable. Tired legs, but a great run.
- Saturday I finally got my heartrate monitor back. I had sent it away to get the battery changed, the one thing I don't like about Polar heartrate monitors. Today was a short run, due to time constraints. Actually, I probably couldn't have run farther even if I had wanted to. My legs were tired, I felt horrible, and my heartrate was a crazy 165bpm. Time for a rest.
- Wednesday It wasn't until Tuesday afternoon that I realised just how steep Signal Hill was - about the time that my quadriceps locked into something resembling rigor mortis after climbing up the Hill. So last night was a night off. Tonight I decided to check out downtown St. John's. I went through Quidi Vidi Village again, turned left at the penitentiary, but kept straight instead of turning up Signal Hill Road. down to Water Street, which (obviously) goes along the city's waterfront. I passed ships docked on the wharf and then went through downtown, full of character and amazing shops. Turned up McBride's Hill then back home along Ducksworth. I couldn't believe that I had been out running for over an hour (though I had to climb the last hill up to the barracks.) What a difference a new place makes!
- Week of March 30
- Wednesday Today was a special day: Dad went for his first outdoor run! He's been bitten by the running bug and is planning on doing the 5k at the National Capital Race Weekend in Ottawa in May, when my sweetie and I will be running the half-marathon. Congratulations, Dad!
My schedule called for an easy 50 min run for today. After supper I left for Golf Club Road. Climbing Signal Hill last week has made me quite confidant about my hill skills. My heartrate was high again, though nothing like Saturday's. It seems I have to give myself quite a bit of time between my last meal and my run.
- Thursday Tempo run tonight. Actually, the training schedule from e-Grip isn't very helpful when it comes to tempo runs. All it does is suggest a workout duration (45min for tonight) and a heartrate range, which is quite low by my tempo workout standards. My legs were quite strong when I left the apartment, but I made sure to keep my strides short and warmed up for 15min before starting a 2 x 10min tempo with a 5min break. During the tempos I concentrated on short steps but a rapid foot turnover. The trick seemed to work! Had a great run.
- Saturday My sweetie and I finally had a chance to go running together today, something we haven't had the occasion to do in quite a while. Just as we were leaving the apartment, it started snowing! Yes, SNOWING! It's APRIL, for God's sake! We did the same route I had done Thursday, keeping the pace slow and steady. My heartrate would bounce up to 157 or 159 once in a while, though I tried mightily to keep it down. We headed back home along Queen Street, something I haven't done in a long time, and stopped in front of Radical Edge to drool at the triathlon bikes in the window. Then up Northumberland Street and a short sprint home. Average heartrate for one hour of easy running: 149 bpm. I think that's a record low!
- Thursday Tempo run tonight. Actually, the training schedule from e-Grip isn't very helpful when it comes to tempo runs. All it does is suggest a workout duration (45min for tonight) and a heartrate range, which is quite low by my tempo workout standards. My legs were quite strong when I left the apartment, but I made sure to keep my strides short and warmed up for 15min before starting a 2 x 10min tempo with a 5min break. During the tempos I concentrated on short steps but a rapid foot turnover. The trick seemed to work! Had a great run.
- Week of April 6
- Wednesday Today was the last day of classes at the university. My sweetie and I left my apartment and trotted around downtown, wondering what sort of crazy student antics we'd see. Alas, none. In fact, it was eerily quiet. Both of us felt remarkably good, inspite of long days at work, and my heartrate stayed surprisingly low. Much to my sweetie's frustration, I stopped no less than three times on Queen Street to look at the new restaurants and, of course, Radical Edge. Then on to Woodstock Road, up Rookwood, and a sprint back home on Saunders.
- Thursday I should know better than going for a run right after work. It happens to be the single worst time of the day for me to run. However, scheduling was such that I couldn't avoid it. On the bright side, it was a gorgeous, warm, sunny day. On the other hand, my heartrate averaged 162bpm - and I wasn't even trying to go fast! I think I should try to run during daylight hours more often, simply because running at night is deceptively easy.
- Saturday A crisp, sunny and refreshing day! A perfect day to run! Too bad my legs felt like Jello. I did a long run with my sweetie. We crossed the pedestrian bridge, ran up Watters Drive, and then took a looooonnng stretch of road to Marysville. I was doing well in the first half of the run, but my heartrate suddenly increased dramatically while - and this will sound weird - I was running downhill. It didn't go down, and when we started climbing Crockett Street in Marysville, it went up further until the left side of my chest actually became painful. It recovered a little on the downhill on St. Mary's road (though it got a bit of a shock when we passed the body of a dead deer), but had a miserable time across the Westmorland Street Bridge.
- Thursday I should know better than going for a run right after work. It happens to be the single worst time of the day for me to run. However, scheduling was such that I couldn't avoid it. On the bright side, it was a gorgeous, warm, sunny day. On the other hand, my heartrate averaged 162bpm - and I wasn't even trying to go fast! I think I should try to run during daylight hours more often, simply because running at night is deceptively easy.
- Week of April 13
- Friday A strange week had me skip a few runs and go a little harder on the bike. The good news is that I will be away next week and hopefully get a chance to do more running. Last Saturday's run made me realise how much work I've got to put into running, especially since the Ottawa Half-Marathon is only three weeks away!
Today was a beautiful holiday Friday. A perfect day to go for a nice, long, easy run. The only problem: I am suffering from a very severe upper back (trapezius) sprain. My left arm can barely move. Of course, I wasn't going to let that stop me, though in hindsight I should have. I left the apartment and the first few steps of the run were excrutiating. I thought my arms were being pulled out of their sockets. I ran for a total of one hour, though very slowly. Around Queen Square, along Waterloo Row, across the pedestrian bridge, and back home along the Green, where the snow has finally cleared up. I'm really disappointed by my speed, but I have to remember that this year's goal is not a marathon but a triathlon.
- Week of April 21
- Thursday Hello from Regina where the temperature is actually in the double digits! I'm here on yet another course, and certainly happy to take advantage of the 19C sunny weather. SSo I relished tonight's run: a chance to discover a new city, and the first time I run in my brand new Mizuno Wave Mercuries. I do like my Nike Air Storm Pegasus, but they're heavy shoes and wearing the exceptionately light Mizunos after a winter of the Nikes is like running on clouds. I felt great as I left Depot - something else I haven't felt in a while on a run - and headed for the path along the river. Ran to the end in peace and quiet,with no traffic, no lights, just the river to keep me company. Ran for an hour with a bit of hip pain,but overall a great run.
- Friday Woohoo! Another beautiful day! I skipped supper this evening just to take advantage of the sun and warm temperature. Took the path once again, but this time in the opposite direction and headed towards Regina. The RCMP Depot is quite a ways away from the city, and the Running Room map said it was over 13km to run their store (downtown on 13th) and back from Depot. I was quite frustrated when my heartrate started skyrocketing. It stayed over 160 bpm for the entire run. I'm starting to think that I'm just out of shape because I haven't been running as much as in previous years. I was thinking of my sweetie, so I ran to the very impressive Saskatchewan legislature and came back. The return trip was much more delightful, thanks to a strong tailwind. Only two weeks until Ottawa. I don't think I'll be breaking any records at that event.
- Sunday Quite a rainstorm here yesterday, so I took the day off from running. The cold weather is back for a while. I dressed up and went out after supper, this time going north along the path. I also left my heart rate monitor in my room; watching it go over 160bpm is just too discouraging. It's a reminder of how little running I've done this year, and that the Ottawa Half-Marathon is only two weeks away. No hip or knee pain! Kept my strides nice and short, tried to focus.
- Friday Woohoo! Another beautiful day! I skipped supper this evening just to take advantage of the sun and warm temperature. Took the path once again, but this time in the opposite direction and headed towards Regina. The RCMP Depot is quite a ways away from the city, and the Running Room map said it was over 13km to run their store (downtown on 13th) and back from Depot. I was quite frustrated when my heartrate started skyrocketing. It stayed over 160 bpm for the entire run. I'm starting to think that I'm just out of shape because I haven't been running as much as in previous years. I was thinking of my sweetie, so I ran to the very impressive Saskatchewan legislature and came back. The return trip was much more delightful, thanks to a strong tailwind. Only two weeks until Ottawa. I don't think I'll be breaking any records at that event.
- Week of April 28
- Tuesday A gorgeous, crisp, clear evening in Regina. I was out for a short (45min) run, trying to keep a steady pace on the path and not get my heartrate too elevated.
- Wednesday Last evening in Regina. I decided to make this evening's run a longer since tomorrow will be spent on a plane home. I ran out to the Legislature, feeling a bit better than on other runs. The run back to Depot was quite chilly - those temperatures sure drop fast out here in the Prairies. Running back into Depot is always interesting: there's a huge warren of very bold rabbits or hares munching on grass alongside the road, making me think of Watership Down.
- Saturday Today was probably my last "long" run before the Ottawa Half-Marathon. That's not saying much, though, since I've hardly run at all this year. Today's route took me to Golf Club Road. I remember the year I did the Venice Marathon I trained extensively in hills, and reaped the benefits of that strategy during the marathon. I think I'll be doing much the same this year. I also want to spend more time running on asphalt since it seems to strengthen my legs in a way that gravel paths don't. So I trudged up Golf Club Road, quite out of breath, and did lots of hills before heading back after 1h30min.
- Wednesday Last evening in Regina. I decided to make this evening's run a longer since tomorrow will be spent on a plane home. I ran out to the Legislature, feeling a bit better than on other runs. The run back to Depot was quite chilly - those temperatures sure drop fast out here in the Prairies. Running back into Depot is always interesting: there's a huge warren of very bold rabbits or hares munching on grass alongside the road, making me think of Watership Down.
- Week of May 3
- Wednesday Normally it's not in my training plan to go for any long or tough run the week before a half-marathon, but I haven't been sticking too closely to any training strategy this year. Tonight, after a HUGE greasy supper, I went out to Golf Club Road and looped a little in the sideroads. Oddly enough, I was feeling great: no heartrate or speed problems, and my stride was fantastic on the way back. It was a meditative, quiet, very mental run. I imagined the wind blowing through me and listened to my footfall. Very peaceful.
- Friday Home in Montreal for a day. My sweetie, alas, cannot make the trip to Ottawa with me for other reasons, so I feel quite lonely without him. Went out for a short run this morning just before breakfast. It was tough going (runs here in Montreal always seem harder.) But I think my problem is something like last year's problem with motion sickness: I seem to do OK when I don't look straight ahead or when I run at night. What a weird thing to deal with.
- Sunday A big day for my father and me! This morning Dad ran the Farmboy 5k at 8:30. Mom and I watched him at the start, then rushed over to the finish line to catch him again just at the end. What a great result! He coasted by 31 minutes later and came in 3rd out of 16 in his age category. Way to go Dad!
Two hours later it was my turn. The sky had clouded over and the wind had picked up from the east. It gave us a good tailwind in the first half of the course and I took advantage of it. My pacing chart was the best part of the run. I don't think I would have run in such a focused, precise way without it. I had 5:45 down for the first 8km, but blew that by 15 seconds less. I was going faster, but figured I should probably push myself while the wind was good. After about 5km I started feeling great. It was as if my running legs, after taking the winter off, had decided to start working again. Then the hills at the turnaround point - Hog's Back, the overpasses and underpasses - were in front of me. They were tough - tougher than in previous years when I had spent the winter training on Golf Club Road. They cost me a lot in energy and I had a hard time making time after that. At 13km I started feeling quite faint, but recouped on the downhill of an overpass. Then the course turned down the other side of the Rideau Canal and straight into a very strong headwind. That's when the going got tough. I was just keeping my pace, but probably slowed considerably from the first half. My lack of tempo and sprint training really showed: there was no way that I could speed up or sprint in the final 3km, which was incredibly disappointing. Few things are as satisfying as a strong finish in a race. However, I did manage a sprint in the last 100m, past the 21km sign, with my sweetie by my side - at least in thought. The result: 1:56:40, a whole minute better than last year! And with less training (I hadn't even done the distance this year!) What a great start to the summer's events!
What worked:- Facing the run with a much more serious, focused attitude than I normally have. Sounds discouraging, but it isn't. I've noticed in the past that I tend to do better when I isolate myself.
- Playing Sting's Desert Rose over and over again this morning before leaving my room. That song was stuck in my head, and every time I started mentally tiring during the run, I would recall the song and use it to steady my pace.
- Eating lightly throughout the weekend, particularly the day before the run. Supper wsa a small bowl of penne with pesto sauce. Breakfast was fruit salad and a bagel. I munched on Nutribars all morning, though I was a bit too hungry when the run started.
- Being comfortable. Clothes and shoes fit perfectly and were ideal for the temperature. I didn't overdress, as I had last year.
- Friday Home in Montreal for a day. My sweetie, alas, cannot make the trip to Ottawa with me for other reasons, so I feel quite lonely without him. Went out for a short run this morning just before breakfast. It was tough going (runs here in Montreal always seem harder.) But I think my problem is something like last year's problem with motion sickness: I seem to do OK when I don't look straight ahead or when I run at night. What a weird thing to deal with.
- Week of May 10
- Thursday My first run since the half-marathon. The grey weather cleared out this afternoon and the evening was clear, refreshing, and brilliant. The first 20 minutes of the run were OK; after that, the stiffness returned to my legs and running felt awkward. My heartrate shot up and I was running a bit slower than last year. The path along the river was deserted and it made for a beautiful run.
- Friday Same deal as yesterday: a run down by the Sheraton to the pedestrian bridge and back, with stiff legs settling in at 20min. The evening was absolutely spectacular and I was running faster than yesterday. I'm still over a minute off my best time last year, though!
- Saturday Wow, it's HOT today! By the time I got the housecleaning done and got out of the apartment for my run, it was 27C and not a cloud in the sky (nor much wind to cool off.) My legs were still a bit stiff; running wasn't easy and I was overdressed. However, the fantastic weather and the opportunity to be out on the northside trail for the first time this year made up for all the other minor hassles, including the fact that I had to stop or slow down due to hunger pangs and low blood pressure. I ran out on the Gibson Trail to Marysville. It was quiet and relatively abandoned, just what I was looking for since this was a very sad, reflective run. In Marysville I ran/walked up the hill to the cemetary behind the Wesleyan Church and spent some time there, then ran down the hill, crossed the bridge and headed back. More walking as the hunger became worse, but a good run nonetheless.
- Friday Same deal as yesterday: a run down by the Sheraton to the pedestrian bridge and back, with stiff legs settling in at 20min. The evening was absolutely spectacular and I was running faster than yesterday. I'm still over a minute off my best time last year, though!
- Week of May 17
- Wednesday A long, easy run tonight, though I could definitely feel the stiffness and fatigue in my legs from last night's tempo bike ride. A cool grey evening and the northside path all to myself. Surprisingly, my heartrate didn't go up as it has been doing in the past few weeks. I didn't seem to be running any slower than usual. It was the first time in ages that I had been able to run for 1hr30min with an easy effort.
- Thursday A tempo run tonight. I decided to opt for a more general tempo run rather than something specific like the long intervals I used to do last year. In a momentary lapse of reason, I also decided to do this tempo run on Golf Club Road for the hill practice. It turned out to be a great idea. The hardest part of the run was on the flat. Once I got in the hills, I felt quite strong and had a great, low heartrate.
- Saturday Perfect running conditions today! Cool, grey, no wind, and I was running with my sweetie! We had a long run (21km), and I wanted to do most of it in hills. This is the same training I had done for Venice and it had been wonderful. The first 20min or so of today's run were difficult, but then again, they always are. Once we got into Odell Park I seemed to find a nice steady, short stride that could keep me going comfortably in the hills. We did the bottom loop twice, then headed over to Golf Club Road and did every hill we could find. My sweetie had to stop at the Golf & Curling Club while I kept going. I ran back down to the Sheraton, then along the river to the little green pedway bridge over the road. By then I was also trying to speed up a little, but that still needs work!
- Thursday A tempo run tonight. I decided to opt for a more general tempo run rather than something specific like the long intervals I used to do last year. In a momentary lapse of reason, I also decided to do this tempo run on Golf Club Road for the hill practice. It turned out to be a great idea. The hardest part of the run was on the flat. Once I got in the hills, I felt quite strong and had a great, low heartrate.
- Week of May 25
- Wednesday Looks like I'll have to get used to running in the rain. The forecast calls for lots of it in the next few days. I left for the northside trail right after work today. Usually my legs would be complaining loudly about this, but that didn't happen! It still took me a solid 20min before my stride felt comfortable and I lost the feeling of being winded and nauseous. I attribute that to doing less running and more biking than last year. As anyone who does a triathlon knows, the transition from run to bike - even a full day after the bike - is one of the worst parts of the sport. By the time I was on the other side of the river I was feeling much better; by the time I was approaching Marysville, I was feeling absolutely fantastic. Things only got better on the way back as I sped up and tried to keep a light, fast rhythm.
- Saturday Thursday's run turned into an equivalent workout on the elliptical trainer at the gym due to rain. But the rain was just a refreshing sprinkle today when my sweetie and I were out on our long run. My training program actually calls for substantially shorter runs on Saturdays: its idea of a long run is usually about 1hr40min. I don'tfind that anywhere near long enough, particularly when getting ready for a half-Ironman. Mentally, I should be prepared to run 2hrs30min. Besides, I really like running over 2 hours. So today's run started in Odell Park as the sun was shining. We did two loops of the bottom trail, going a bit further on one part of the trail than what I usually do. It was quite exciting to be running through trails with bridges and stones and sharp turns. Cross-country running is exhilerating. Then we ran back down Rookwood Avenue to the Sheraton and across the river to the Gibson trail. No wind, no noise, just the quiet of running and the patter of a light shower. Given that I had biked 2 hours last night and that I haven't done any really long runs this year, I was really surprised at how well I was doing. OK, the last half-hour was a bit rough (a row over politics with my sweetie didn't help), but still an awesome run.
- Saturday Thursday's run turned into an equivalent workout on the elliptical trainer at the gym due to rain. But the rain was just a refreshing sprinkle today when my sweetie and I were out on our long run. My training program actually calls for substantially shorter runs on Saturdays: its idea of a long run is usually about 1hr40min. I don'tfind that anywhere near long enough, particularly when getting ready for a half-Ironman. Mentally, I should be prepared to run 2hrs30min. Besides, I really like running over 2 hours. So today's run started in Odell Park as the sun was shining. We did two loops of the bottom trail, going a bit further on one part of the trail than what I usually do. It was quite exciting to be running through trails with bridges and stones and sharp turns. Cross-country running is exhilerating. Then we ran back down Rookwood Avenue to the Sheraton and across the river to the Gibson trail. No wind, no noise, just the quiet of running and the patter of a light shower. Given that I had biked 2 hours last night and that I haven't done any really long runs this year, I was really surprised at how well I was doing. OK, the last half-hour was a bit rough (a row over politics with my sweetie didn't help), but still an awesome run.
- Week of June 1
- Tuesday Is it already June? If it is, how come I have to wear gloves when I walk to the gym in the morning? Well, today was exceptionately beautiful, albeit windy. Because of that wind I did a run tonight rather than a bike ride. Off to Golf Club Road right after work - and after a 3hr30min bike ride yesterday. Both of those things meant that running seemed futile for the most part, almost like putting a lot of effort out simply to run in place. Heartrate was fairly high, though nothing like earlier in spring. Once I got into the hills I seemed to be doing well. Biking forces you as a runner to maintain a very stable cadence or foot turnover and to persevere regardless of the situation.
- Thursday Just as I was about to start my run, the rain began. Sigh. It's been so long since I've seen the sun. I still went out. Things weren't so bad; the rain was more of a very fine mist, and the trails were abandoned because of it. My schedule called for a 50min tempo run. I ran 3x10min at tempo after a ten minute warm-up, then just ran quietly for the remainder of the Gibson trail. The first tempo was brutal, the second one OK, and the third one felt fantastic. How come that always seems to be the case?
- Saturday A nice warm afternoon and a 23km run with my sweetie! What a great way to spend Saturday afternoon. Well, almost. The run was still quite difficult since I had spent most of the day cooking, which meant long periods of standing that always stiffen my legs. I also hadn't eaten enough before leaving the apartment. Nonetheless, the first hour of running was delightful. We did our two loops in Odell Park then went over to Golf Club Road for even more hills. My legs were dying in the hills, a complete reversal from last week when I had felt energetic and refreshed for the entire run. My sweetie chatted about a movie he had watched and tried to goad me into another debate over politics while I trudged up and down hills. At the far end of Golf Club Road we ran down to Angelview Park, went upriver for a bit to see the salmon fishermen's cabin that had burned down last week, then headed home.
- Thursday Just as I was about to start my run, the rain began. Sigh. It's been so long since I've seen the sun. I still went out. Things weren't so bad; the rain was more of a very fine mist, and the trails were abandoned because of it. My schedule called for a 50min tempo run. I ran 3x10min at tempo after a ten minute warm-up, then just ran quietly for the remainder of the Gibson trail. The first tempo was brutal, the second one OK, and the third one felt fantastic. How come that always seems to be the case?
- Week of June 8
- Wednesday Got out for my run just before the rain started pounding down. I was almost dreading this run since it was going to take place right after work, which is generally the worst time of the day for me to run. However, I left the apartment with one thought in mind: go slow. I focused on relaxing, taking short steps, and keeping my heartrate down. I guess it all paid off. Overall, the run was incredibly refreshing and I never once tired, even though I ran for over 1hr30min. Saw a turtle! At least I was running faster than him.
- Thursday I started tonight's tempo run fairly late since I had gone to Killarney Lake right after work for my first open water swim of the year. I'm still a lousy swimmer, but what an improvement over last year. Anyway, tonight's run was beautiful. We actually had a clear, sunny evening! I started with a long loop in Odell Park simply to enjoy the peace and quiet of a trail, then picked up the pace as I ran down Rookwood Avenue to the trail. The bugs were out in the millions tonight. Maybe that's why it was so easy for me to speed up and sustain a strong pace with a quick foot turnover! The last 20min of the tempo felt fantastic. I may not be as fast a runner as two years ago, but I'm definitely a stronger and steadier one.
- Saturday Guess what? It's raining! What a truly miserable spring and early summer we've had so far. By the time I started my run the rain was really more of a fine mist. I suppose the nice thing about is that the trail is all mine when the weather is bad. I stuck to the flat today, since running in hills AND in wet weather can make for unbelievably stiff muscles. I also reduced the pace. This was probably one of my slowest runs ever! But it felt great and at the end of two hours I could easily have kept going.
- Sunday Yep, that's right: I'm running on Sunday this week. Actually, I had a brick workout today: 3 hours of biking followed by 30min of running. Last year's experiences with bricks and races were terrible, so I wasn't looking forward to this workout. However, I've spent all winter researching how to ease that bike-to-run transition, or at least cope with the horrible feeling you get when you get off your bike and start shuffling into the run. So now I've got a forward seat post on my bike, new shoes (Nike Air Kukini), and spent the last five minutes on the bike spinning at a high cadence. Started running up Church Road, one of the quietest country lanes way out of Fredericton, and....wow! It had all paid off! OK, so I wasn't going to be breaking any world records, but I actually could run and feel great! The stillness of the countryside and the simplicity of the narrow country road definitely helped. This was a major confidence-booster for next week's triathlon!
- Thursday I started tonight's tempo run fairly late since I had gone to Killarney Lake right after work for my first open water swim of the year. I'm still a lousy swimmer, but what an improvement over last year. Anyway, tonight's run was beautiful. We actually had a clear, sunny evening! I started with a long loop in Odell Park simply to enjoy the peace and quiet of a trail, then picked up the pace as I ran down Rookwood Avenue to the trail. The bugs were out in the millions tonight. Maybe that's why it was so easy for me to speed up and sustain a strong pace with a quick foot turnover! The last 20min of the tempo felt fantastic. I may not be as fast a runner as two years ago, but I'm definitely a stronger and steadier one.
- Week of June 15
- Wednesday I was so tired this evening I'm surprised that I somehow got out the door for tonight's run. Blame it on yesterday's brutal back-to-back swim and bike workout: a long swim in windy, choppy Killarney Lake, followed by a sprint workout on the bike. This evening I hauled myself out of the papasan and did an easy 40min along the Green. The training program called for a slightly more intense 55min workout, but I just couldn't do it. Beautiful running, though. Gotta sleep.
- Thursday I didn't get today's workouts: the program has three speed workouts listed, but I wasn't sure if I should do them separately or back-to-back. So I went halfway: this morning I did the bike and run workout, and I'll do the swim this evening at the Y. The run was very short: 25 min, starting with an easy 10min across Wilmot Park, then 6 x 30sec sprints with 30sec rest, then easy running back to the apartment. I think it was actually my first morning run of the year! It sure is nice to be out that early and have quiet, peaceful streets all to myself. I improved my form a little on the sprints, realising that I could do a whole lot better by stiffening my upper body and not letting it move excessively while my stride cadence increased.
- Saturday Not that today's run was really long enough to warrant much description. In preparing for tomorrow's triathlon, my schedule had a short, easy swim, bike and run workout for today. Off I went to Killarney Lake, with about half of the population of Fredericton. A bit of a swim, then I hopped on my bike to see how things felt. The run after the bike on the path around Killarney Lake was absolutely gorgeous. It's the first time I've been on that path. It's a stunning trail that wanders (up and down) around the lake, through conifer stands and on pine needles. The first two or three minutes after the bike are still awkaward, but nothing like last year. After those first minutes my legs seem to make a recovery and I can almost run normally!
- Sunday My first triathlon of the year! the Saint John Rockwood Park sprint triathlon. My sweetie and I arrived just before the flood of competitors, so I had a good spot in the transition area. It was a beautiful morning: full sunshine, warm but not hot, no wind, calm waters, and 96 anxious athletes. I didn't warm up in the water, which I probably should have done. The horn went off and the in the next few minutes I did the usual battle with my nerves: "I should stop right now. I can't do this. I'm going to be sick. I really feel like throwing up." I was breathless and tired. I finally settled in by the time I reached the first buoy on the triangular course and just plodded along with another girl in a blue short suit. My form wasn't all that great (I had to spend a lot of time sighting), something to emphasise more in workouts. At the end of the first loop we had to exit the water, run between two buoys, then run back into the lake and start swimming. It's much harder than it sounds because one's sense of balance is completely gone, and the wetsuit is quite a hindrance. On the plus side, I heard my sweetie cheer me on! That made my day. I plunged back in, caught up to blue-suit girl, and enjoyed the rest of my swim. The last leg was quite special. I'd be peeking out as I came up to breathe, looking at blue-suit girl, the sun reflecting off the water, and watching water and waves flash by. Then into the transition, trying not to rush, hopping on the bike - and seeing my sweetie again! Up the hill, then down and onto the highway.
The bike portion of a triathlon is deadly. Not because it's hard, but because of how deceptive it is. After spending all that time plodding with so much effort in the water, you get on the bike and euphoria strikes you. You're moving! This is easy! Feel how invincible you are! Of course, all experienced triathletes know that a triathlon is won in the run and lost on the bike. I'd get excited on the bike and whip by people, particularly on the hills, and revel in feeling strong and steady on the aerobars. But then the rational voice in my head would remind me that the harder I went on the bike, the more I'd suffer on the run. This is something I really have to work on at home: focus and discipline. As we approached the last long hill into Rockwood Park, I caught sight of blue-suit girl up ahead of me in the hill. Wow, she must have bike incredibly hard because I hadn't even seen her on the bike - and we had left T1 together. Ooooooh...I REALLY wanted to beat her! Don't ask me where these ideas come from. I have a latent competitive streak that likes to pick people in my age/gender category and see if I can beat them. She was my target today.
So down the short hill into the transition area. I got my foot out of one bike shoe, hopped off the bike and hobbled into the transition area. I kept blue-suit girl in the corner of my eye. As soon as my running shoes were on, I was running out of the transition area. Blue-suit girl and I ran out together and I waved to my sweetie. Blue-suit girl was not happy at this point. Her hard bike ride had caught up with her and she looked horrible. I tried talking with her, but she was quite short. So I ran ahead. I was surprised at how well I was doing on the run. Sure, my strides were short and I was doing The Helen Shuffle, but I was actually keeping up with people! In fact, I was even passing people! The run course started with a long, very tough hill. People were barely moving and there were lots of walkers. At 2km we went off on a path to a turnaround point. It was there that I realised that I was actually doing quite well. After the turnaround, my running legs made a comeback. I'd gain momentum on a downhill, lengthen my stride, and keep feeling strong on the next uphill. Back on pavement, I passed two more people and actually had the energy to start running strong! Woohoo! What better feeling than finishing strong! I crossed the finish line around 58th (out of 96.)
- Thursday I didn't get today's workouts: the program has three speed workouts listed, but I wasn't sure if I should do them separately or back-to-back. So I went halfway: this morning I did the bike and run workout, and I'll do the swim this evening at the Y. The run was very short: 25 min, starting with an easy 10min across Wilmot Park, then 6 x 30sec sprints with 30sec rest, then easy running back to the apartment. I think it was actually my first morning run of the year! It sure is nice to be out that early and have quiet, peaceful streets all to myself. I improved my form a little on the sprints, realising that I could do a whole lot better by stiffening my upper body and not letting it move excessively while my stride cadence increased.
- Week of June 22
- Wednesday What a beautiful evening. I left rather late, but still enjoyed the sun (and the crowds on the pedestrian bridge.) It's summer! Full, glorious summer! My legs felt great and it seemed that I was running more easily and more quietly than usual. I ran down the Gibson trail and watched the sun turn orange and red through the trees (gonna be a hot one tomorrow), and stopped in Marysville just to look around and admire the gorgeous evening. Ran back, trying to keep a good pace without getting my heartrate too high. Felt nice to be able to run at a decent pace.
- Friday Incredible heat kept me from running yesterday. Having a rest day wasn't such a bad idea: tonight's run was amazing. I did one loop in Odell Park, when it was late evening and the sun was casting a warm orange glow throughout the park. The park was empty and so incredibly peaceful to run through. Then on to Golf Club Road for more hills. I seemed to be having a hard time with them this evening, but my heartrate was very reasonable, given the heat and humidity. I felt wonderful on the way back. What a surprise it was that I should do so well in hills and heat and for a considerably long time!
- Saturday A brick workout today, to make up for the fact that I won't be biking next week. So I started with a good two hour bike ride out to Jemseg and back to the little church past the Barton Bridge. Then...the run, and the heat. I put on my Nikes and ran up Church Road. The transition to the run was probably my best ever: my legs adjusted (though I still had a short shuffle for the first 20 minutes), and my eyes had no problem getting over the fact that the scenery wasn't going by as quickly as it had been on the bike. But the heat on Church Road was suffocating. After 15min of running I had to turn back and finish the rest of the run on the highway simply because I lacked oxygen. Still, I can't believe I ran an entire hour under those conditions after a bike ride!
- Sunday My sweetie and I are on holiday in my hometown of Beloeil this week. Ahhh...holiday. We're here for the absolutely BEST festival in the GREATEST city: Montreal's International Jazz Festival. Tonight we headed out for a fast, short run to stretch our legs after a day's drive. I could barely wake up for the run, but when I did it was worth it.
- Friday Incredible heat kept me from running yesterday. Having a rest day wasn't such a bad idea: tonight's run was amazing. I did one loop in Odell Park, when it was late evening and the sun was casting a warm orange glow throughout the park. The park was empty and so incredibly peaceful to run through. Then on to Golf Club Road for more hills. I seemed to be having a hard time with them this evening, but my heartrate was very reasonable, given the heat and humidity. I felt wonderful on the way back. What a surprise it was that I should do so well in hills and heat and for a considerably long time!
- Week of June 30
- Monday My sweetie's long run was today, all 17 miles ((28km) of it. I decided to join him to make sure he didn't get lost, but I really didn't think I was ready to do close to three hours of running. We left home and ran along the Richelieu River, under the Trans-Canada bridge, into a residential area. As we were running back, still in the residential area, a bird literally fell straight down from the sky right in front of us. It landed on its back, and wasn't moving though its eyes were open and it was watching us. I wrapped it up in my t-shirt and placed it under a tree and out of the heat. He seemed to recover but I don't know if he was well enough to fly again for a while.
We made our way back home to refill the water bottles and grab a granola bar on the go, then left again. This time we crossed the river and ran up through Otterburn Park. Wa spent a few minutes in the schoolyard of my old elementary school. My legs felt great, even going uphill, and my heartrate stayed very low. After the 2hr30min mark my legs started feeling a bit stiff, and as we finished the last two miles I started to get seriously hungry. But I actually ran three hours more easily than I ever did last year!
- Tuesday Happy Canada Day! Our day in Beloeil started with an easy 5km run. Maybe not so easy. My legs were stiff and grumpy at the start as we went around the golf course. They eased up a little on the long stretch on the far side of the golf course - a very scenic part that's shaded and on a bike path. A bit of a sore knee.
- Wednesday Running before breakfast again this morning. I find running first thing in the morning incredibly difficult because my legs are so stiff. However, it's the only way to beat the heat. Today both my sweetie and I had speed workouts. We went over to the high school around the corner and used their very nice track. All of the tracks in Fredericton have way too much loose gravel on them, and it's very hard to get any good traction if you're accelerating for a sprint. I warmed up here with 4x15 second pick-ups, then did my main set of 6x 400m sprints. They were all exactly 2min - as good if not better than last year. I also had much better form than last year: a quicker stride and cadence, a steady torso. I finished off with 4 x 100m flat out sprints. Wow! They felt great!
- Thursday My vacation lifestyle has caught up to me. All the food, the walking around at the Jazz Festival, and even a Guinness last night meant a brutal tempo run this morning. Heat and humidity didn't help. My sweetie and I ran upriver to the train bridge. We picked up the pace at 15min. It was the turnaround that killed me. We had a tailwind all the way back home and it seemed as if I was suffocating in heat. Very, very tough run.
- Friday Up early again today for a nine mile run. I've been running with my sweetie all week and his training program is considerably different from mine. Normally I'd never do a 16km run the day before my long run. I was a little stiff at the start of the run but after 20min or so felt quite comfortable at our slow, easy pace. We ran north along the Richelieu River, past the Trans-Canada Highway bridge and into a tiny residential street. At the end of the run I surprised myself by picking up the speed for a block or so.
- Saturday My legs were tired this morning. We've been running almost one whole week - in incredible heat, with lots of speed work - without a break. Today's long run was only 12 miles (20km), a step back from last week. But the heat! We left around 10am and headed across the river to Otterburn Park, ran up to my uncle's house to say high, then kept running around the area admiring the large houses and the lovely urban planning. Ran up to an old country road I used to know well as a kid, then back down to the river. When we got to the shore the heat was beginning to have an effect on me. The last half hour was interminable.
- Tuesday Happy Canada Day! Our day in Beloeil started with an easy 5km run. Maybe not so easy. My legs were stiff and grumpy at the start as we went around the golf course. They eased up a little on the long stretch on the far side of the golf course - a very scenic part that's shaded and on a bike path. A bit of a sore knee.
- Week of July 6
- Tuesday I was on my way over to the gym this evening when I decided to opt for a run instead. It looked like the rain would be holding off for a bit, and I didn't feel like doing both a sprint bike workout and a run tomorrow. Because of the dark skies the paths were empty and I ran in this blissful solitude for almost the entire run. My joints creaked a little at the beginning, still sore from all the running I did last week. Once I got onto the path on the other side of the river I seemed to be doing well. I tried to keep my mind empty; the environment simply demanded it, with its stillness and dark grey light. I started running faster on the way back and managed to keep a fast pace for about 30min. Yep, way better than the gym.
- Friday My sweetie and I went to the Nashwaaksis Field House this evening. The Field House has an indoor track, quite handy when the weather is miserable and wet as it is tonight. My workout called for 6 x 3min sprints with 1.5min rest in between each sprint. I hadn't realised how tough the sprints would be! I tried concentrating on form, keeping a stable and solid upper body and making sure my feet were light and fast. The middle sprints were the toughest. What a great feeling when the whole thing's over, though!
- Saturday A long run with my sweetie this evening after a long day at the office. The weather cleared out and we were treated to a stunning, perfect summer evening. We were running from the Northdside and so went out to Penniac since we rarely get to run their from my apartment. My legs felt like wooden blocks after yesterday's sprints. I'm trying to accept this and even enjoy it, simply for the sake of making it easier during the triathlon. It helped to have beautiful scenery to distract me. When we reached the end of the trail we headed up the road out to a bridge, then turned around. Ran back along the river and up one momma of a hill in Marysville, then up ANOTHER hill to the house. Oooo, I'm going to sleep well tonight.
- Friday My sweetie and I went to the Nashwaaksis Field House this evening. The Field House has an indoor track, quite handy when the weather is miserable and wet as it is tonight. My workout called for 6 x 3min sprints with 1.5min rest in between each sprint. I hadn't realised how tough the sprints would be! I tried concentrating on form, keeping a stable and solid upper body and making sure my feet were light and fast. The middle sprints were the toughest. What a great feeling when the whole thing's over, though!
- Week of July 13
- Wednesday A nice easy run this evening after a gym workout. It was cool and grey when I left the gym, the sort of weather that's just perfect when you want a quiet time. I did Golf Club Road at a good pace, amazed that my heartrate was staying low: I didn't even break 160bpm going up the first steep part of the hills! As I ran around Glengary Court I imagined myself in the lead pack in a triathlon behind Tim DeBoom and Jamie Cleveland (hey, it's a run! I can daydream all I want!) That was enough to focus my mind and make my cadence go up until I had a great pace with a nice quick "pat - pat - pat" of the soles of my shoes hitting the ground. A light sprinkle started not long after and I got a whiff of that summer scent that comes when a warm shower hits hot pavement. It was beautiful to watch the hills on the other side of the river shrouded in low clouds as the shower pulled away from the south side. What a gorgeous, refreshing run.
- Thursday A sprint workout at the FHS track this evening. Not my favourite track: the footing is quite awfult (too much crushed gravel), the surface isn't level, and you have to keep an eye on the soccer game going on infield to make sure you don't get whacked in the head by an out-of-bounds flying soccerball. Other than that, the sprints went well. As usual, the first warm-up 100m pick-ups were terrible, and the first of my 8x400m was the slowest of them all. But then I seemed to find a good pace and nailed the other seven in exactly 2min each time. I don't think I could have pulled off eight of these a year ago, so I guess there's some improvement. Finished up with 4x100m flat-out sprints that felt incredible.
- Saturday I had a bit of a rough time with today's long (2 hour) run. I did a long, hard swim just before lunch, which meant that my legs were a bit wiped by the time I started the run. It was also quite hot and muggy - very unusual weather this year!
Regardless, I slathered on the sunscreen and went out to my favourite trail. It was such a quintessentially summer day: so full of life, so dazzlingly sunny. It was easier than usual to concentrate and empty my mind as I ran, just listening to my footsteps on the gravel. I'm still quite a bit slower than I was last year on my regular runs, though better at sprints and track workouts. Strange, but probably normal with all of the biking I've been doing. Anyway, I swallowed a fly just past the 30min mark. I stopped, and hacked and coughed and gagged for a few minutes, scaring a cyclist who passed by me with eyes the size of dinnerplates staring at me. In Marysville I decided to throw some hills in (of course!), then back onto the trail and on my way home. Some parts of the trail were even more spectacular and breathtaking than usual, especially the curve right after the long field and The Cathedral (check out my Northside Trail Photos to see what I mean.)
- Sunday Sprints today. This is the beginning of my taper for Saturday's triathlon in St. George. I SO wanna kick ass in St. George this year! Guess I'd better start with some sprints. I had 1.5 miles to do on a track, sprinting the straight stretches and doing an easy jog on the curves. As luck would have it, there was a soccer tournament going on at ALL of the tracks today. Oh well. 1.5 miles is 6 loops around a 400m track, which means 12 straight stretches. So 12 one-minute sprints with 1 minute rest, all on the path alongside the river. My legs were tired but felt strong at the same time. Got caught in a fantastic summer shower.
- Thursday A sprint workout at the FHS track this evening. Not my favourite track: the footing is quite awfult (too much crushed gravel), the surface isn't level, and you have to keep an eye on the soccer game going on infield to make sure you don't get whacked in the head by an out-of-bounds flying soccerball. Other than that, the sprints went well. As usual, the first warm-up 100m pick-ups were terrible, and the first of my 8x400m was the slowest of them all. But then I seemed to find a good pace and nailed the other seven in exactly 2min each time. I don't think I could have pulled off eight of these a year ago, so I guess there's some improvement. Finished up with 4x100m flat-out sprints that felt incredible.
- Week of July 20
- Wednesday In preparation for Saturday's Olympic distance triathlon my workout today was a bit of all three sports. Because of rain, I did the bike inside on the trainer (while watching the video of the 2000 Ironman in Hawai - talk about a motivator!) for an hour, then went out and ran in the light rain. I was really expecting - and dreading - the deadwood leg feeling, but to my surprise, I felt absolutely incredible as I started to run down Charlotte Street toward the Sheraton. Maybe it was the video, maybe it was because I was wearing my Nikes instead of my Mizunos, I dunno. All I know is that I charged down Charlotte Street feeling the best I've felt in years. I was SO strong and steady! And it was such a great evening to be out running, too: no wind, the trails all to myself, just mist and peace and quiet. Hope my legs remember how to do this on Saturday.
- Saturday My sweetie and I set off from Fredericton early this morning for the St. George Triathlon, where I was doing the Olympic distance event. I felt a great deal more confident than I had last year prior to this event: a lot calmer, a lot more confident in my abilities, and maybe even hopeful of placing well. Reality check. The swim started, and I found myself dead last (at least last year three people were behind me), and hyperventilating for the first ten minutes out of sheer nerves. I finally settled into a rhythm: stroke, strike, hit buoy, stroke, stroke, hit buoy. I think I hit every buoy on the course. Even so, I came out of the water three minutes faster than last year and cruised through the transition.
But the hardest part of St. George is the bike course. Only a true masochist would love the hills around Lake Utopia. As I left T1 I looked at my heartrate monitor, and was shocked to see that my heartrate was 177 bpm. OK, I thought, it's just the rush of transition; I'll settle down pretty soon on the bike. Didn't happen. My legs felt drained and weak, though they got better as the bike went along. The hills seemed harder than last year, when I was probably biking on some high emotions after getting through the swim. I got lapped by a few long course athletes. When the hills finally ended and I turned onto the straight stretch along the river, the headwind came up to greet me. I couldn't seem to find a rhythm where I could hunker down and pedal into the wind. This was partly poor organisation: I spent some time refilling my water bottle, then trying to find the right gears. But finished off with a great dismount and fluid transition. The run started with the usual shuffle. I tried to avoid looking at my watch. Even worse was comparing how I felt on the run this year compared to last year: worse. It was probably due to the heat and humidity (lots of people were walking). I had to walk a few hills. Just before the turnaround, though, I reached into my back pocket and pulled out a Cliff Shot. Wow, those things are quite incredible! My running legs came back, and then I finally started passing people! Couldn't really sprint at the end, but my sweetie was there to cheer me on.
I finished dead last by a huge margin. OK, so I was a bit faster than last year under tougher conditions (stronger winds, more heat and humidity), but I was disappointed in how weak I felt at times during the bike and run. So:
Lessons Learned :- That the swim may not get me ahead in terms of time, but how I mentally handle it sets my attitude for the rest of the race. If I relax and truly enjoy my swim, I will have slower swim time but a faster course time - and enjoy my entire event. This is a key thing. Attitude is what counts most, even more than pacing. Swim attitude = event attitude. Learn to enjoy the swim, even if it means slowing down.
- Nutrition was great, though I needed more food before the race. I was starving during the swim, which distracted me and made me feel a bit ill.
- My transition are great: they're fluid; I do them almost unconsciously; everything is exactly where I need it to be. Hardest part is finding my spot.
- Wearing the heartrate monitor might not be a good idea. If my heartrate is high, the bad news is too distracting. Next time I'll just wear my watch.
- Saturday My sweetie and I set off from Fredericton early this morning for the St. George Triathlon, where I was doing the Olympic distance event. I felt a great deal more confident than I had last year prior to this event: a lot calmer, a lot more confident in my abilities, and maybe even hopeful of placing well. Reality check. The swim started, and I found myself dead last (at least last year three people were behind me), and hyperventilating for the first ten minutes out of sheer nerves. I finally settled into a rhythm: stroke, strike, hit buoy, stroke, stroke, hit buoy. I think I hit every buoy on the course. Even so, I came out of the water three minutes faster than last year and cruised through the transition.
- Week of July 27
- Wednesday A big shower caught everyone by surprise this evening just before supper. After a quick bite to eat, I left for my longish mid-week run as the skies cleared. Felt a bit stiff and tired at the start, then made a comeback by concentrating on short, fast steps. That didn't mean I actually ran any faster, since I still passed my 27min point at the same place I always in....exactly 27min. Got eaten alive by huge flies along the long straight stretches on the Northside Trail, to the point that I decided not to head back home on that part of the trail. But as I got closer to Marysville another shower - this time with a big thunderstorm - was approaching. I did an extra loop around the old cotton mill and then scurried for shelter in the front entrance of Marysville Place. Lots of waiting and edging up the street by one building at a time. Every time I decided to start running again, a huge flash of lightning and crack of thunder nearby would send me to the next building for shelter. After about 20min I decided to go and not turn back, even though I had to cross a bridge while lightning flashed nearby.
Once I got over the cold and the fright, the run was great. I was really charging ahead, mostly because of all the wide open spaces I was racing across in fear of getting hit by lightning. When I passed the lumber mill the sky was breaking to the west and there was only the tiniest sliver of a moon to my right, while on my left the sky was still pitch-black. What a wonderful time to be running: the streets and trails were deserted, and that settled stillness hung everywhere.
- Thursday A sort of brick workout today. First a strong speed swim in Killarney Lake after work, then a speed workout on the incredibly beautiful trail around the Lake. I want to do more of these brick workouts simply to become accustomed to the disorientation and fatigue that one sport causes on the subsequent one. It was everything I could do after the swim to run in a straight line and not smack into a tree. I knew the run was going to be tough when the first part of the speed run workout had me winded - and I was barely moving faster. The trail around the lake is also very rugged, with short, steep hills that burn the legs and lungs. I started with 3x2min sprints - which were the hardest - followed by a 1x12min, and finishing off with 3x1min. I was running during the early evening, one of the most beautiful parts of the day, too.
- Friday Another brick workout today: just over two hours of biking, followed by 30min of running. Lots of adventure, too, particularly with a flat tire in front of a church. But the running was great! No terrible transition from the bike. I think the cool weather helped.
- Saturday Long run in the rain. It didn't seem to bother me as much as usual except toward the end when my legs started getting stiff. I went out to the Sheraton, along The Green, and did the Northside Trail with a few extra hills in Marysville. One thing about rain: it keeps everyone else off the path, and the sound of raindrops hitting leaves when I'm running can be very meditative. I seem to have more problems focusing on clearing my mind than I did two years ago when I was exceptionately good at that (though not as many problems as last year, when I was exceptionately BAD at it!) Keeping a high cadence and short steps is one thing I'm getting good at, though.
- Thursday A sort of brick workout today. First a strong speed swim in Killarney Lake after work, then a speed workout on the incredibly beautiful trail around the Lake. I want to do more of these brick workouts simply to become accustomed to the disorientation and fatigue that one sport causes on the subsequent one. It was everything I could do after the swim to run in a straight line and not smack into a tree. I knew the run was going to be tough when the first part of the speed run workout had me winded - and I was barely moving faster. The trail around the lake is also very rugged, with short, steep hills that burn the legs and lungs. I started with 3x2min sprints - which were the hardest - followed by a 1x12min, and finishing off with 3x1min. I was running during the early evening, one of the most beautiful parts of the day, too.
- Week of August 3
- Tuesday Because of torrential rain forecasted for the entire week, I've had to juggle some of my workouts. My longish Wednesday run got bumped up to Tuesday in the - probably vain - hope that Wednesday would be drier for biking. I went out to Golf Club Road this evening, inspired by a great article I read about the fantastic effects of hill running. Much like Saturday's long run, I was trying to keep a fast cadence and a short stride. The bike workouts seem to help make this easier. Charged up and down hills without a problem.
- Thursday Sprints tonight. As soon as I left the apartment and started down Charlotte Street I knew it would be a tough run. My legs were exhausted from yesterday's sprint bike workout. I took an easy ten minute warm-up down to the Sheraton and along the Green, then sprinted 4x15sec with 10 seconds' rest. The pickups were terrible and I wondered how I'd ever manage the rest of the workout. Then it was 5x1min sprints with 30sec rest (brutal), followed by 1x10min sprint (not so bad.) My heartrate stayed over 165bpm and I managed to keep going strong throughout the entire interval. The last part was another 5x1min sprints - hard, but doable.
- Saturday Today wasn't really a run day. It was a four hour bike and one hour run day. The four hour bike was tough, particularly as the heat and humidity climbed throughout the afternoon. The best part was seeing a young hawk taking one of its first flights out of a nest just past the big bridge in Jemseg. I've been watching the hawk all summer (mostly because it screeches and swoops over me when I pass near the nest!) and was waiting for the young one to make an appearance. There's another hawk's nest near Marysville.
After the bike came the run. By then the heat was overwhelming. There was no wind whatsoever. I only managed about 30 - 40 minutes of running - very labourious running - before my internal thermometer ordered me back to the car and the shade. I don't know how I'll manage a half-marathon in three weeks.
- Thursday Sprints tonight. As soon as I left the apartment and started down Charlotte Street I knew it would be a tough run. My legs were exhausted from yesterday's sprint bike workout. I took an easy ten minute warm-up down to the Sheraton and along the Green, then sprinted 4x15sec with 10 seconds' rest. The pickups were terrible and I wondered how I'd ever manage the rest of the workout. Then it was 5x1min sprints with 30sec rest (brutal), followed by 1x10min sprint (not so bad.) My heartrate stayed over 165bpm and I managed to keep going strong throughout the entire interval. The last part was another 5x1min sprints - hard, but doable.
- Week of August 10
- Sunday I'm glad I opted to do my long run after my long bike this week. I really need to get used to the feeling of those dead legs. Running after spending a few hours on the bike is an entirely new sport. It was early evening by the time I managed to get out for my run. It was actually NOT raining (!!) and there were hardly any bugs. I ran very gingerly down Charlotte Street, testing my legs and waiting for the pain and frustration of trying to run on legs exhausted by a bike ride. The fatigue wasn't really obvious at first, but I did notice that it was almost impossible to run at the high cadence I had been used to up to then. I was very, very slow. But running felt good. Saw the first grass snake of the year! Hopefully the last one, too. In Marysville I did a few hills, then headed back up the Northside Trail to home. It wasn't until I crossed the pedestrian bridge that I really started to feel exhausted. Ran along the Green, then home.
- Tuesday I switched my Tuesday and Wednesday workouts around, so I had a longish run this evening. I really couldn't wait to go running after supper because it was actually NOT RAINING!! In fact, it was even sunny and warm! That was the only good part of the run. My legs were still exhausted from the weekend. I really did try to run at a faster cadence but just couldn't do it. The run wasn't all that much slower than usual. It was simply a monumental effort to run at a normal pace. My heartrate went up and I felt sluggish and heavy. On the way back I passed a clearing and caught a glimpse of beautiful artwork made by long soft clouds and an orange sun. Running across the pedestrian bridge was breathtaking: the black skyline of the city between a river and a sky that were both an orange and diaphanous.
- Thursday After work I had a swim at Killarney Lake followed by sprints on the beautiful path that circles the lake. The sprints were supposed to be done on a track (the intervals were defined by distance, not time) but running around that lake is too precious to trade for a track swarming with screaming parents and kids scrambling everywhere over a soccer game. The sprints were OK, though the taper phase of the training program is plainly evident. I feel tired and lethargic and my definition of a sprint right now is something of a faster-than-usual shuffle. Apparently this is normal. (?!)
- Saturday Not much of a run today since I put my brick workout on Saturdays rather than Sundays now. After three hours of great biking, I got off at Green Village and went for a 15min jog. I really didn't want to run on the main road, and luckily enough I found a small subdivision right across from Green Village. I felt quite good on the run, probably the result of adjusting my bike seat height. The subdivision actually forms a loop on both sides of the highway. Great run, beautiful houses, even found a nice path (it was just too hot to run it.)
- Tuesday I switched my Tuesday and Wednesday workouts around, so I had a longish run this evening. I really couldn't wait to go running after supper because it was actually NOT RAINING!! In fact, it was even sunny and warm! That was the only good part of the run. My legs were still exhausted from the weekend. I really did try to run at a faster cadence but just couldn't do it. The run wasn't all that much slower than usual. It was simply a monumental effort to run at a normal pace. My heartrate went up and I felt sluggish and heavy. On the way back I passed a clearing and caught a glimpse of beautiful artwork made by long soft clouds and an orange sun. Running across the pedestrian bridge was breathtaking: the black skyline of the city between a river and a sky that were both an orange and diaphanous.
- Week of August 17
- Sunday Such a perfect day, the quiet summer Sunday kind you dream of during the week when you're working. I started the day off by going to watch Seabiscuit , the fantastic movie about a racehorse that just wouldn't quit. It was two hours of pure inspiration. How wonderful to go running after that! The sun was out, there was a cool breeze, and the paths were empty. Running was such a joy today. I did the Northside Trail, added a few hills in Marysville that went surprisingly well, then came back. It was quiet enough that all I could hear was a song of crickets and insects buzzing everywhere. Quintessential summer.
- Wednesday A reverse-brick workout this evening: sprints on the track, followed by sprints on the bike. I went to the Nashwaak Middle School track around suppertime, which proved to be a good call: I had the track to myself and no annoying soccer games and crowds around. It was remarkably soothing to be pacing around the track with no one else around, no noise, just a hot and hazy summer evening. I warmed up and felt quite good (though slow), given that it had been a few days since I had run. The main set was 1x4000m, sprinting the straight stretches and easy jogging on the curves. Ugh, that's 10 laps around the track! It actually went faster than I thought it would, but those last few sprints were tough.
- Thursday If only every brick workout were like this. A two hour bike, followed by an amazing 50 minute run. I didn't break any records on the run, but I felt great. So great it was as if I couldn't slow down even if I wanted to. I was on a trail I've never run on before, starting at the Nashwaaksis Commons on Royal Road, and heading west on the trail almost to the city limits, then back. Sure, the first few minutes weren't easy (though starting downhill helped). But once I got going, my feet and legs were loving it.
On Saturday my sweetie and I will be in Sackville NB, where I'll be competing in the New Brunswick Provincial Triathlon Championships (Olympic distance, of course. No wimpy sprints for me!) It's a surprise last minute decision to enter this event. Maybe not the wisest thing to do the week before the big triathlon in the UK; however, my training program does call for a 2 hour tempo bike and 1 hour tempo run one day this weekend, so I might as well turn that into a competition!
- Saturday My sweetie and I were in Sackville today, where we stayed at a quaint B&B, The Harbourmaster's House, run by a lovely woman and her equally delightful cats and dog. Why were we here? Because of the New Brunswick Provincial Triathlon Championships! We were up early, thanks to a wicked thunderstorm. The rain finally abated and we drove to Lily Lake to get going. I couldn't believe the crowd, but soon found out that most of the people there were doing the sprint triathlon (bunch of wimps.) The day was warm, the wind was building up fast, and the race briefing was so confusing.
As we stood in the water waiting for the horn to go off, I kept reminding myself "The water's cold. You will panic when the gun goes off and you dive in. Expect this. It will happen. You know it will, and you know how to handle it." I think that was the best way to handle the swim start, because as soon as the gun went off and I dove in, I didn't panic. Even though the water was so murky that I couldn't see my shoulder and everyone raced ahead of me, I was fine. I absolutely MUST remember this next weekend at the UK triathlon. Through the first leg of the triangle I was relaxed and swimming easily. Then I turned the first buoy and tried to sight the second. I had to stop and talk to the swimmer next to me, who couldn't see anything either. We finally found one and headed off. But wait! After swimming a bit, I realised I was heading to the wrong one! I was actually swimming toward the third buoy, when I should have been aiming for the second one. After getting around the second and third buoys, I couldn't sight the first one we were supposed to come back to because the sun was in my eyes. To make matters worse, we had to swim through thick clumps of algae that would cover our goggles and reach around our arms and legs. And just when I thought things really couldn't get worse, the sprint course started, and 50 swimmers came thrashing up behind me and passed me. It was so humiliating.
OK, finally out of the water, through the transition (smooth, but not as flawless as it had been in St. George), on the bike and ripping up hills with a fabulous tailwind. The bike course for the Olympic event was two 10km out-and-backs, so that fabulous tailwind that had me whipping along at 35-40km/h and passing everyone became a massive headwind that howled through my aero wheels. I was still surprised that I could cruise quite easily through the wind. The second loop was a little more discouraging, because by then all the sprint athletes were off the road and I was alone, realising how far behind the rest of them I had fallen. I was also getting a bit tired, discouraged to find that my legs were no longer so eager to jump out of the saddle and onto the pedals to climb hills. At the far turnaround I counted two people behind me (not so bad.)
The bike-to-run transition was also not as perfect as it could have been. I think that was due mostly to lack of mental rehearsal. I fumbled with one shoe on the bike, almost forgot my cap, had a hard time racking my bike. More lessons learned, I suppose. The run was great once I got going. My legs adapted surprisingly easily, and I never once felt like stopping to walk (a first!) One guy passed me, and another dropped out. The run was a quiet affair, with two wonderful aid stations to break some of the howling wind. I ran well: not fast, but strong and steady. This is exactly how I want the half-marathon to go next week in England.
So what are this week's lessons learned?- I love competing. This sport is such a thrill, such a boost to my pride and self-esteem, and I thrive on the bigger challenges. Given the choice between doing the sprint and demolishing most other competitors or doing the more awe-inspiring Olympic distance and coming in last, I'd rather do the Olympic. It's harder.
- Don't slack on transitions! They require mental rehearsal, ESPECIALLY before the event, not just before the transition. They must be rehearsed the evening and the morning of the event, and then simply reviewed as one goes from one sport to the next.
- How many times am I going to have to learn this one? Take it easy at the beginning of the bike. Don't fall for the euphoria of speed. I really need to remember this next week in England when the bike will last for three hours.
- Attitude really is everything. Smile. Love every minute of it. Remember that great challenges offer the greatest rewards.
- Wednesday A reverse-brick workout this evening: sprints on the track, followed by sprints on the bike. I went to the Nashwaak Middle School track around suppertime, which proved to be a good call: I had the track to myself and no annoying soccer games and crowds around. It was remarkably soothing to be pacing around the track with no one else around, no noise, just a hot and hazy summer evening. I warmed up and felt quite good (though slow), given that it had been a few days since I had run. The main set was 1x4000m, sprinting the straight stretches and easy jogging on the curves. Ugh, that's 10 laps around the track! It actually went faster than I thought it would, but those last few sprints were tough.
- Week of August 24
- Sunday A one hour tmepo run scheduled for today. In spite of yesterday's competition, I felt as if I had springs in my legs today. It was one of those cool, crisp days, with a strong wind and the occasional shower. The sort of day that your lungs fill with fresh air and you want to run . My sweetie and I went down to the Sheraton then along the Green. By the time we passed Regent Street, my sweetie asked that we slow down a bit. Considerable overtraining has given him some knee problems. We continued along Waterloo Row, where I haven't run since last year, then along Beaverbrook, and back toward the pedestrian bridge. It was a short, easy run.
- Monday I went out for today's run quite late: well after 9pm, when it was dark and the streets were quiet. There was no wind, not much traffic, nothing but the sound of my feet patting the pavement. I love running in the dark. Every sense but sound shrinks away and I'm lost in a meditation of movement that centers on the pat-pat of my rubber soles on asphalt. I went out to Golf Club Road and back, running faster and faster simply because I couldn't help it. Running with short strides and a high cadence is a fantastic thing once you've mastered it. What a great, great run.
It's probably also the last run before leaving for the UK and France. As usual, I'll be posting daily updates ( The Trip to England and France ) while my sweetie and I are puttering around the other side of the Atlantic for two weeks. And I'll be checking my email too. - Monday I went out for today's run quite late: well after 9pm, when it was dark and the streets were quiet. There was no wind, not much traffic, nothing but the sound of my feet patting the pavement. I love running in the dark. Every sense but sound shrinks away and I'm lost in a meditation of movement that centers on the pat-pat of my rubber soles on asphalt. I went out to Golf Club Road and back, running faster and faster simply because I couldn't help it. Running with short strides and a high cadence is a fantastic thing once you've mastered it. What a great, great run.
The Running Journal will be continued here after the UK Half-Ironman.
The Trip to England and France
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Last updated September 15, 2003 by Helen Rooney
