Week of January 1<

Wednesday I'm still running, thanks to the most incredible pair of winter/trail running shoes I've ever owned (Nike Air Storm Pegasus - Santa Claus was really good this year!) In fact, before heading out for New Year's festivities on Monday evening, I was quietly running on the trails under the light of a full moon and accompanied the sound of my feet crunching in the snow. I don't have a training schedule up yet for the marathon or the triathlon, so my runs are long and leisurely, without much attention paid to my watch and none whatsoever to my heartrate. I'll be documenting the runs in spite of the lack of schedule, although not on a daily basis.
It's great to be back.

Friday As part of the whole New Year's Resolution thing, I've been working on this year's training program for both the marathon and the triathlon. The program is an Excel file and includes the events - two running, two triathlons - I want to participate in this year. The running part of the training is almost complete; the triathlon part isn't even started. There's still a lot I need to learn about stuff like equipment, swimming terminology, and creating biking workouts.

Sunday Today's run was a nice diversion from the usual 17km solo loop around Golf Club Road. Instead, I was out with another runner testing my new shoes on the riverside trail. They held up marvelously well considering the icy surface. The run was just under an hour and we seemed to slow down after getting off the path and heading back to the Y. A pace that made my hips and knees happy.

Week of January 8

Tuesday A quiet early morning run, the first such run in a long time. Since my runs are now well over an hour, I've had to reschedule them to afternoons or evenings due to hunger. I can't run after eating anything, but nor can I go too long without eating. Still, I love the peace of those early mornings. Today I was out on Golf Club Road.
In preparation for this year's triathlon, I went to my first swimming lesson at the Y last night. After two lengths (50m) of a pathetic crawl, I thought my chest would explode. And I'm aiming for 2km by September!

Wednesday I spoke with a friend last night who asked me what I ate prior to my runs. It seems I'm not the only one dealing with the dilemma of eating/running. This morning the only thing that seemed appealing at 5am was a piece of pita bread, which may explain why I had to stop halfway up the first hill on Golf Club Road. On the other hand, I settled into a great pace almost as soon as I stepped out of the apartment and maintained it for the entire 16km.

Friday Another 18km run on Golf Club Road, but earlier than usual. Even so, I had much energy that it didn't feel like 5:15am when my feet hit the pavement! Maybe the PowerBar I ate just before lacing up my shoes made the difference. Because of excessive snow and poor footing, I substituted Glengary Court for a very, VERY long descent and then climb up Colburn Drive. I really hadn't thought myself capable of those sorts of hills.

Sunday First blizzard of the year, and we were running in it! Leaving the YMCA, things looked much worse from the inside of the building. Once we were out, the traction and the resultant footing were surprisingly solid. A strong initial headwind made for frozen cheeks, and we were fortunate that there was no traffic on the roads since we more or less ran with our eyes closed. Some extremely severe pain in the left knee in the first kilometre, enough to worry me about the upcoming running season. Too many hills, too much training on the elliptical trainer, or the result of new shoes?

Week of January 15

Wednesday The roads have cleared up somewhat since Sunday evening's blizzard, but I still had to do extra loops here and there to make up for the distance elsewhere. Some of my usual running routes are now too snowbound for any sort of running, and they won't open up again until spring. Because of that, trying to run 18km is becoming increasingly difficult. This evening's run felt like a crawl, particularly in the first hour. No sore joints, but that's probably because I was hardly moving. This probably points to the fact that both endurance and speed are the result of consistent (read: daily) runs, even if these are shorter, rather than longer yet less frequent runs.

Saturday On Thursday I received some fantastic pictures of me running the Venice Marathon. I promise to scan and post them as soon as possible (they're that good!) They must have inspired me today: I decided to try to make this as long a run as I could, given the winter conditions. I ran towards the university campus, along Waterloo Row, then doubled back to do the usual Golf Club Road route, for a total of 1h40min. I had really been hoping for 2 hours, but the cold eventually crept into my shoulders and there were simply no clear roads available. How many days until spring?

Week of January 21

Monday A short run (1h05min) today. All I really wanted to do was get out before the snow began to fall. Several inches are forecasted tonight and tomorrow. I hate running in winter.

Thursday I took advantage of the unseasonably mild afternoon to sneak in a long run. Most roads were clear to the pavement. Thick snow began falling not long after I had started; after about 30min, that snow changed into pelting slush and the wind picked up. Even so, I could have run for hours today. I've been putting a great deal of effort into cycling and the elliptical trainer at the gym, both of which have given me a very strong yet short stride, as well as a remarkably steady rhythm. Some left knee pain in the hills. A total distance of about 15km.

Sunday More snow! I spent the entire day glancing outside asking myself how I'd manage to run in the slush. It was indeed difficult: we started running around 4:30pm, when several inches had accumulated. I found the traction quite frustrating, but did a reasonable 45min at a fairly slow pace.

Week of January 28

Monday Today's run made up for yesterday's crawl. Fairly mild day with clear roads and no wind. I felt surprisingly strong as I started down Charlotte Street toward Golf Club Road and did two loops around Parkhurst Drive as a warm-up. Some difficulty climbing the hills, but still stronger than in previous weeks. The additional intervals I've been doing at the gym on the bike and the elliptical trainer seem to be paying off. On my way back I picked up the pace quite a bit and really charged through the final 20min.

Tuesday I had this bright idea as I left my apartment this afternoon for my run that it would be similar to yesterday's. Forty minutes later, I crawled back home in agony. My legs, particularly my hamstrings, were stiff, tired and didn't improve. I blame it on last night's swimming.

Thursday         There is yet another snowstorm forecast for tomorrow, so out I go before I get stuck inside for a few days! I seemed to have recovered from Tuusday's disasterous run and looped around Golf Club Road in fine form. Only an hour of running, but it is January.

Friday         Speed pyramids at the gym today. Warmed up on the elliptical trainer, then did 30min on the treadmill. Speed and endurance seem to be much the same as where I left off last year. I'm a little surprised: I feel slower and heavier than usual when running outside these days.

Sunday         At last, a sunny and relatively warm day! The roads had melted a little and I ran a few blocks downtown before climbing up Golf Club Road. The extensive workouts I've been doing on the bike and elliptical trainer at the gym have resulted in legs that are the strongest they've ever been, but also quite heavy. I breezed up all the hills and found myself recovering from strenuous parts within a matter of seconds, but I seem to have lost that "light" feeling my legs had when I was at my peak last summer. It may be time to start incorporating more treadmill workouts.

Week of February 4

Tuesday         With the triathlon in mind, I set up today's gym workout so I'd be doing 30min of biking, followed by a fast 35min of running on the treadmill. I can't believe that in seven months I'll have to do this for a total of 6 hours (not counting the swimming, which will be an additional 45min)! Some fatigue in my legs as I started on the treadmill, but I ncreased my warm-up time, and that made the following speed pyramids a bit easier. I also started the pyramids a bit faster than I normally do.

Thursday         A day full of beginnings! It never ceases to amaze me how life, after months and even years of meandering quietly along in one direction, can veer off into something new and totally exciting within the space of a day. I had to go running if only to celebrate it all! It was windier and colder than I expected and running on Golf Club Road was perhaps not the best route to take. The roads were clear, however, and I was feeling (obviously) on top of the world. The usual heaviness in my legs, but I was too happy to care.

Week of February 11

Sunday         Set off for Golf Club Road under almost ideal weather conditions: a balmy -5C, no wind, sunny. That lasted about two minutes! The wind picked up and my face froze on the way back. Still, an excellent run. Hills were so easy I almost didn't realise I was climbing them. Strong, steady pace. One of those days when you don't really think about running.

Thursday         A strange storm on Monday that turned Fredericton into a giant sheet of ice has left me housebound in terms of running. Squeezed in 25 minutes on the treadmill tonight. Significantly slower than usual. I think this is a general trend due to the fact that I'm not out running as often.

Friday         Even the Maritimes gets a chinook every now and then, and today is one of them. The weather was above freezing today, so this evening I switched my gym workout for a run. After yesterday's pathetic crawl on the treadmill I had expected misery and pain on today's run. But as I took those first few running steps down Charlotte Street I knew I was in for a surprise. My legs felt sore but I kept an incredibly fast rhythm and pace, even picking them up as the run ended. I finally gave Golf Club Road a break and stuck to looping around Parkhurst/Inglewood/Rookwood.

Saturday         It's SPRING!!! Wow! A warm, balmy, even sunny day with no wind. I made my way to Golf Club Road at an even faster tempo and speed than yesterday. This was indeed a glorious run. A special touch was running downhill and listening to the water from snow melting and gurgling like a brook in spring.

Sunday         Those two fast runs finally caught up to me. The weather was the same as yesterday's, but the legs were definitely not. My quadriceps were aching terribly - normally a sign of oncoming knee problems. Still managed 16km. On a day like today, anything less would have been a crime.

Week of February 18

Tuesday         Feeling like a triathlete tonight, I hopped on the bike at the gym for 30 minutes, then on the treadmill for another 30 minutes. Speed pyramids at two minute intervals, with each interval going either up 3mph or down 1mph. I'm putting the emphasis on speed these days when I'm at the gym. I think those sort of workouts are largely responsible for the fantastic runs I've had in the past few days.

Wednesday         A long, strong run tonight. This warm streak we're experiencing is a something straight out of running heaven, and I'm taking advantage of every minute of it by making my runs as long as possible. My quadriceps don't seem to have recovered from last week's runs. This is quite odd since it's usually my hamstrings that hurt. Regardless, tonight was yet another fast run around Golf Club Road and some extra loops here and there, all for a total of 18km. Finished off the last 15min at a very fast pace.

Thursday         My 30th birthday today! Had to celebrate by going for a run! However, I knew the minute I started running this evening that my streak of "good runs" was over. Very sore quadriceps and very tired legs after yesterday's particularly long run (for this time of the year, anyway: by May, 18km will be quite typical.) I skipped the hills and stayed on the Parkhurst/Inglewood loop until I had almost an hour clocked on my stopwatch. The first 30min were the worst; in the last half of the run, the pain in my legs began to disappear and I found myself in settled in a very nice rhythm, albeit a slow one.

Saturday         A seriously sprained left hip flexor suddenly made itself known yesterday. I think it's the result of the long, fast runs - particularly on hilly Golf Club Road - that caused it. Of course, that didn't stop us from heading up Golf Club Road this morning, although the run was considerably shorter than my typical route. We left Angelview Court under beautiful weekend weather conditions, run up Golf Club Road, and looped down Colburn Drive back to Angelview Court - probably about 6km. My legs were seemed to be completely unable to go faster than a horrible crawl. I recovered a little in the hills, but it was one of the hardest and most agonizing runs of the year.

Week of February 25

Thursday         A short (25min) run on the treadmill and the end of a very long (1.5hr) workout, but enough to realise that my legs are indeed getting much stronger. My triathlon swimming program has started. The weather has warmed up and the roads are clear: I'm itching for a long run!! Work will bring me to Halifax next week, so I'm looking forward to some long, quiet runs in Point Pleasant Park.

Friday         At last, my chance for a long(er) run! It was a lovely, calm Friday evening, no wind, a little cool, bare pavement. My legs had that usual heavy feeling that I've come to expect in winter when they're not as lean or fit as they are in summer, but even so I found a nice rhythm that got my up the hills on Golf Club Road with no discernable effort. A simple and happy run.

Saturday         What a start to the day: I forgot to put my running clothes out to dry after last night's run and so had to crawl into damp, smelly tights and shirt this morning. Ugh! But it was worth it: another calm, sunny weekend morning with hardly a soul around. We left Angelview Court and, rather than heading toward the city along Woodstock Road as we had done last week, picked up Golf Club Road from the other direction. The climb is very long and steep as opposed to the other end of the Road where I normally turn up. Good practice, however. I think I've become to complacent in the other direction; I was surprised at how hard a time I had climbing this hill. The return along Woodstock Road was difficult - I was running out of gas. Slightly pulled left hamstring.

Week of March 4

Monday         Hello Halifax! I adore this city, and even more so today when I find out that there's not an inch of snow to be found anywhere! I was so excited to be here this morning that my running shoes were pounding pavement by 4:45am. Even more amazing was that I sprang out of the Delta Halifax at the very bottom of Cogswell Road and SPRINTED to the top. Fog and a good breeze greeted me, as did the Citadel and the Commons. My legs were certainly not this strong last year. I looped around the Commons a few times, headed up Quinpool Road and into the lovely residential areas on the other side of Windsor Street where all was quiet and relatively flat, then headed back down Cogswell. My left hamstring was still bothering me slightly so I saved the Citadel for tomorrow morning. The nicest surprise of all? BIRDS!!! The wonderous, joyous sound of birds chirping away on the corner of Robie and Quinpool! Suddenly spring is so very, very close.

Tuesday         A bit chillier than I had expected this morning: -13 with the windchill. I had to put socks over my gloves in order to keep my hands warm. Last night I had passed by the Running Room and picked up a map of running routes in the city. I picked the 12km route for this morning's workout, heading along South Park Road to Point Pleasant Park, then back along Tower Road/Inglis and Beaufort, and a long, slow uphill stretch on Oxford. Thank God for all that running up Golf Club Road! The hills in Halifax are much more strenuous simply because there are more of them. Fredericton's may be steeper (in some areas), but they are considerably shorter and require only a sprint effort. The birds were chirping away the Commons in spite of the cold!

Saturday         Sometimes I can do some really, really stupid things. Like skip supper Friday night and breakfast Saturday morning, then going for a run Saturday afternoon. It was not a pretty picture. We started on the trail below Angelview Court, but after 15min or so I made my way back onto the road. My ankles were asking for a nasty twist on the rough ice. My legs were well-rested and I was feeling strong at the beginning. By the time we reached the Bucket Club on the old highway, however, I was beginning to feel light-headed and dizzy - classic signs of onset of hypoglycaemia. We turned around and I battled my way back as things got worse. Eating habits must definitely be improved!

Week of March 11

Tuesday         According to my training schedule, I think I was supposed to swim tonight. A run sounded so much better. At least, it did until I stepped out of the apartment and realised that the entire city had turned into a skating rink in the past hour. Wet snow had melted in late afternoon, then frozen into a very thin sheet of ice when the sun had set. I slipped and skidded all over the place; I even had to WALK downhill, if you can believe it. But it sure beat swimming!

Wednesday         A little warmer than last night, so I wasn't skating quite as much as yesterday. My legs felt a little tired, likely due to Monday's heavy workout at the gym. Yesterday's run was too slow to really have any effects. I had a nice pace this evening, although the hills seemed to tire me out more than usual. Wildlife report (and it's not even summer yet!): saw a skunk - yes, a SKUNK - on Glengarry Court. Brazen little thing.

Week of March 18

Monday         I checked the weather channel before heading out this evening. "Winds: calm." Whatever. My face nearly froze off on the way back from the sheer strength of the wind. Even so, it was a nice run. I kept the pace deliberately slow and steady, trying to find a rhythm that would carry me through 18km without stopping. At this time of the year, that's not very easy. Right hip and left knee are beginning to complain.

Wednesday         This morning on the bus to work I saw people walking across the pedestrian bridge over the river and decided to check it out on my run. I warmed up around Parkhurst/Inglewood Drive, then ran to the other side of the city and across the train bridge. The wind was quite fierce, but the wood surface felt divine to my legs. I'm beginning to have more serious shin and hip pains, although I haven't really been running the distance to warrant such damage.

Week of March 25

Wednesday         What a great night for running. I had been focusing on more intense workouts at the gym during the past week, and I could feel the difference in strength in my legs when I stepped out of my apartment this evening. It was a mild, quiet night and it seemed as if my body knew exactly what to do to run at a steady, moderate pace. I've been battling some hip pain, the same problem I had last spring, so I made a strong effort to keep my posture nice and straight. 18km in great conditions.

Friday         There's nothing like the first day of a four-day weekend, especially when that first day is spectacularly warm and beautiful. I had tried running on the treadmill last night at the gym only to realise that my left ankle, which I had twisted Wednesday night, was still very sore. With today's weather begging for a run, I bandaged up the cantankerous ankle and went for a run.
        Running in the daytime is much different from running in the dark. It seems that twice a year - at the beginning and end of training - I have to make that difficult transition from one to the other. Today's running in the sunlight went well, although I always feel so much slower when I run in daylight hours. That's probably because when it's dark I don't realise how slow I'm going since I can't see what I'm passing! I stuck to the flat today to appease my joints.

Saturday         I lucked out with the weather today: by the time I set foot outside to go for my run, the rain and wind had stopped, and I ran under bright, warm conditions. I seem to have found my running legs as well. My stride was strong and steady and I hit a runner's high in the final 20min of the run. The fact that I had enough energy today to make the Tasmanian Devil look sluggish helped. Once again I stayed away from Golf Club Road. Instead, I headed for the University Avenue area and eventually across the pedestrian bridge, which was oddly deserted.

Sunday         Happy Easter, folks! Since I had received all of my Easter chocolate last week and had long since devoured it, I didn't have to run to burn off any extra sweets. Instead, I ran simply because it was a beautiful day. Actually, I headed out around 6pm, just when everyone was at home having Easter supper. The roads were completely deserted, the wind was quiet, and I had a great time running the Parkhurst/Inglewood Drive loop. My pace has picked up a little over the past few days and I seem to be running at a very steady rhythm.

Go to April - May 2002 Journal