A new slideshow from an old race

Playing around with a website Sonja showed me called Animoto. Made this video as an experiment to see what it could do. Not bad...

About that last post...

Yesterday I felt like a runner. Today, I felt like a runner who felt like a runner yesterday.

An easy 45 minutes jaunt along the daily Trans Canada Trail route, out around Kensington park and back in time to go for sushi and Star Trek. Everything was good, except the run. I think I need to pick up new shoes as these ones are running out of time.

Another couple of long runs this long weekend and then just 4 weeks of teaching left. Teachers always talk about how quickly the second semester passes, but it is actually unbelievable that every year I think "Wow, that went really quickly." Every year. You would think I would learn.

Happy long weekend!

VFAC Thursday

Having missed lunch today was a cause for a mini-celebration - namely, I don't have to make my sandwich for tomorrow as it is already made!

I also filled a water bottle to take to drink in the car on the way to workout (after having eaten my Clif Bar) and I promptly left that on the kitchen table.

The lesson here kids is to not eat much and not drink much if you want to have a strong workout.

After the soul-sopping rain that we experienced here on Wednesday, I wasn't sure if I would want to go to workout tonight. However, if you don't like the weather in Vancouver, wait a day. Today was beautiful, sunny, and a brisk 15 degrees by the time workout commenced. Paul made it back into the fold tonight after a some time away to heal an injury. He had a heck of a return workout, stepping in just barely a step behind where he usually is (that step behind was behind me for the time being, but that won't be for long). Our new British recruit, Peter, is a welcome addition to the group as I believe both Kevin and John are behind this influx of Brits coming to VFAC.

The workout tonight was an interesting one - 1 mile 5/8, then about 1.95k (we'll call it 2k), and then 1.3k. We run the same loop, but start in different places each time. The last time I ran this workout was in September in similar circumstance to tonight (coming back from a foot injury, still trying to round into form). I ran that workout in 8:31 for the first interval and then 6:24 for the second. The last interval that night was run in a different location due to waning light, so for comparison purposes it won't count (it was also 500m longer, so really no ability to compare).

I felt good in warm up tonight, chatting with Jay about blogging and "then vs. than" and my inability to spell brief (which I always get a red underline on my screen for). Strides and drills felt good and when we began our first interval, I felt like I was holding back. I was concerned coming into the workout as I had only had a green tea latte (with soy milk, no syrup - yes, I have become what I hate), and an apple fritter to eat and drink all day. Oh yeah, and an apple. Then after forgetting my water to wash down my Clif Bar, I was definitely concerned about how my body would hold up throughout the workout.

About 400m into the first interval, I followed Peter outside of Kevin and Paul and stuck on his shoulder. I have been trying to match cadence with my teammates of late, trying to get my turnover to become a bit quicker and more efficient, reducing the amplitude of the high heel kick that Paul commented on during the first section of downhill tonight, so sticking on Peter's shoulder I focussed solely on his turnover. He was very smooth and seemingly effortless as we finished the interval in 8:01. I knew it was fast because Jay didn't catch us (although he ran a flu influenced 7:56) and I was pleased that the effort was hard, but controlled.

The next interval followed the same pattern. Stick on Peter's shoulder and don't let Jay catch us. Again, the interval felt controlled and fast, with me and Peter finishing in 5:59. Kevin and Paul were running very well and finishing just a couple of seconds back, if that. The crew was starting to come back together again!

The last interval was decidedly downhill, which is always a good thing by me. We all started together (usually Jay starts behind us because he is faster), and as there was a slight uphill for the first 500m, I tried to be controlled, knowing that the downhill would be fun. As we rounded the last uphill corner and began the long downhill, I really enjoyed running. Not that I hate running otherwise, but tonight I felt like I was a runner. I pulled alongside Jay in the last 20m of the interval and, although I knew that the flu he suffered from last week was still lingering, it was nice to feel like I was back. Coach John made note of the workout being one of my better ones and I feel confident with my speed right now. I was about 30s faster than September's workout and at around the same heart rate. (Tonight's workout is here if interested http://connect.garmin.com/activity/5440760)

So, I am stating to feel good again. Strong workouts come along often enough to keep you wanting to find them again and again, and yet they still maintain their elusivity (yes, I made up a word.) I think that the back-to-back long runs on the weekends are starting to pay dividends and I am hoping that the tempo runs will get better as I know that is the weakness I need to improve for the Scotiabank half-marathon in June.

But tonight was a good night for running.

(And for getting caught up on the Lost season finale - who is John Locke? I have theories...)

Nice to meet you

Fatigue, meet Brad.

Brad, meet fatigue.

I think you have both met before, but it might have been a while ago. You may not remember each other, but I am sure you have crossed paths. Maybe last March? Before that trip out east to Boston? Yeah, that one. Right....good, I am glad that you both have the chance reconnect.

My first tempo in about 5 months occurred today, after a rest day after two back-to-back long runs of 1:45. It was an interesting 20 minutes as I tried to hold 3:30 pace on a loop around Kensington Park (for anyone that might know Burnaby). It was a good run in the sense that I finally got back into a sustained effort, but a difficult one as I never felt like I hit a rhythm. However, that might be a good thing as Jay is talking about not allowing himself to feel comfortable on his tempos and he is running ridiculously fast. So maybe my lack of rhythm is a good thing?

An easy run tomorrow and then dinner with Sonja's friend downtown, and then Thursday night VFAC workout the next day. I wonder what Coach John has up his sleeve....

Now what am I supposed to do?

I didn't expect them to win the cup, but I didn't expect seven pucks to find their way behind Luongo either. Now my bi-nightly watching of Canucks hockey has come to a screeching, unceremonious halt. I will no longer wake up neighbours with loud yells when O'Brien scores nor when Kane gets a hat-trick (note: the yell sounds very different for those two events).

Every other night I now have three hours back in my life. I am unsure of what to do with this new found time. Watch the Blue Jays? I don't know if they are for real yet, so I will hold off on reigniting what was once a deep passion, complete with two banners on the wall of my room as a (younger) boy. Read a good book, one might suggest? I could, but I will hold off on that until the summer (although I have just started my first Christopher Moore book as a it was a gift from good friends - review to follow).

I guess I could run more? I figure that is likely the best scenario now as workouts are starting to become good again and I need to get my running volume back up. I put together back to back 1:45 long runs this weekend, up to the top of SFU on both Saturday and Sunday. As I just mentioned, my VFAC workouts are starting to go well again, as I went 3:11, 3:02, 3:00, 3:02, 3:00 for 5 x 1k on descending rest at Beaver Lake in Stanley Park. I am nowhere near our fearless leader, Jay, but I looking back at my 4 x 1k workout mere days before I broke my foot last July, the times are very similar - near identical, in fact, except that my heart rate was 10 bpm lower last summer. It is this last piece of information that is the important one; my base fitness is not what was before the broken foot. It is this base that I need to begin to rebuild. Long runs and tempos are what are going to get me to where I would like to be come the end of June. But I have been pleased with my progression over the last few weeks, especially as I begin to feel the ground starting to move underneath me as I run. It has been awhile coming, but I always remind myself that the return to fitness is the hardest part of running. Get through the first five or six weeks and everything starts to feel like it did prior to the layoff.

So now that hockey is done for the season, I guess it is time to get serious about running. Good thing the Canucks didn't make the Stanley Cup final or else I would not have been ready for any races before October. I guess that means I owe the Canucks a thank you. A sad thank you.

Spring in the air?

The car thermometer read 18 degrees at one point today while out shopping for copious amounts of wonderful, fresh food. The weekend has been everything that the week was not - open, sunny, welcoming, and warm. Today is a day where the decision to be on the left coast is justified - you just have to get through 6 months of rain to remember.

Yesterday morning was track workout which went surprisingly well. In shorts for the first time this year, I was pumped to be with the group, circling the track. That was until I found out that I was in the "You haven't been on the track yet" group, which meant instead of fun 200s and 400s, I had the dreaded 10 x 400m workout. The clouds loomed on the horizon, ready to release a torrent of furious rain upon us. (I may or may not be exaggerating a little).

Coach John wanted me to start out running low 70s and the descend to 69s for the 400s. I obliged with a controlled 73 on the first repeat. Having not run at with any pace in a while now, I found myself a little tight and rigid, but aerobically, I was in control of my running. The next few I focussed on control and form, coming in around 73 and 74, respectively. It was then, around the fourth and fifth repeat, that I found myself loosening up. With the increased range of motion, I found myself moving with more fluidity and beginning to have some fun. I knocked of a 70 and then three 69s before closing out the workout with a 67. These times are good for what I have done, but are still not where I was at this time last year. However, that is ok. The sun is back out and the promise of training and trails is exciting.

What else is exciting is that my old training partner and friend Brent McMahon won the New Orleans 70.3 triathlon this weekend, and teammates Graeme Wilson and Ynuk Bosse went 1-2 at the BC Half-marathon Championships on the Sunshine Coast this weekend. Congrats to you all!

Another step...

I have been very delinquent in updating the blog, but as one of my favourite races is tomorrow, I thought it time do so (and I have to wait for my Garmin Forerunner 405 to recharge before I go for a run).

Things have been good recently. This past week saw my first back to back days of running since the injury (Monday and Tuesday) and also my return to VFAC workouts. I was surprised with my workout as we ran 2 x 2.95k at Stanley Park. In my runs leading up to Thursday, I had felt decent, but not great. I definitely had not had any faster pieces during my runs, although that is not entirely true. The thing I find most interesting about coming back from time away from running, whether as a result of injury or otherwise, is that I lose "gears". When I feel fit, I feel comfortable running, as though I am walking. There is a smoothness that I feel (whether or not I "look" smooth is another question). There is also the ability to run at different speeds comfortably. Whether I need to run tempo, steady state, base, or race pace, I can pick and choose from amongst the varied efforts and speeds and be pretty comfortable. Coming back to fitness is another story. I have two speeds - walking or fast. There is no gradient to the speed - either super slow base or race pace. As you can imagine, the race pace doesn't last long and is usually a result of a longer downhill section of running. The base pace is everything else. So it was with this concern that I approached the workout on Thursday, not knowing if I would be able to sustain a tempo pace for more than 3 minutes.

It was great to be back with the group. Jay is running super fast as usual and Graeme is back out which is great. Wanting to be smart about my first workout back, I settled in with group a little ways back and ran comfortably. My breathing was never really strained, but my HR was very high (180+) and there was very little room for running faster. I completed the first of the two intervals in 10:19, which wasn't bad for the first time back. The second interval I ran with Kristina Rody and we went through in 10:09, which was great. Negative splitting a workout is always a good thing, and to be smart enough to come back controlled pleased me. So, another step back toward fitness.

With that said, I am going to run the Times Colonist 10k this year and see how it goes. It will be a good baseline for how I am doing after a month of training. Then it will be the Scotiabank Half-marathon in June before hitting the trails and prepping for the ENDURrun in August. This is all tentative still on how things feel as I get back to full training, but I am hoping that things will work out.