Friday, November 30, 2007
One Day to Go
Not feeling so lucky about getting into Western States. I have mixed feelings as well: If I do get into this one I can't do the Blackfoot 100km Trail Championships in May due to a course I'm taking at work. Shouldn't complain though, no matter what happens I'll get to do one of these races next year. I may also have been bringing bad luck on myself by checking out different running calendars and trying to scope out which races I'll do next year if I fail to get into WS via the lottery tomorrow......
Friday, November 23, 2007
It has to be a record for me losing a nail. Not even three weeks since Haney to Harrison and it fell off already!! I helped it along this time but it feels like a new toe. I know last time it was months before it finally came off. Maybe it has memory from the last time it happened. I've been through the trails and on the road with no discomfort or pain. She's as good as new.
I was worried this would have an effect on the Huntsville race on the 8th of December but I think it will be fine now. A load off my mind. Thirteen days 'til the race!!
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Simon Fraser University has always reminded me of three things:
1) Carrie got her degree from there
2) about fifteen years ago I used to play floor hockey at the school with some buddies who were going there at the time.
3) doing hill repeats on the bike over and over and over when training for triathlon.
I can now add a fourth - trail running up and down the mountain. Over the last few years I would use the hill as a Spring bike strength training tool, usually adding a repeat every week for three or four weeks. I always knew there were trails off to the side but never really had the time to explore them. Where I park there is a map of the routes and they didn't look too bad. Finally a few days ago I made the trek there for the sole purpose of checking them out.
It wasn't the best start to a run because I lost my car key. I take it off the key ring so I have just the one in the pocket of my bottle holder (less weight, you know). I've always had bad visions of losing it and trying to figure out how I would get home. This happens especially when I'm in Bellingham as it would be hours before someone could get down there.
I started running about two minutes when I realized I forgot my Garmin. Back to the car I went got the Garmin, and put my gear bag in the truck for security. I ran to the trailhead and the gps hadn't picked up the satellites yet so I waited and thought I'd look at the little map I brought to double-check where I was going. I go to put the map back and, sure enough, the key was not there. A quick look on the ground revealed nothing. The fourth look through the tiny pocket did the same. I walked back to the car, scanning the ground and seeing dozens of "keys" because every stick, twig, and leaf now resembled it in some way. At the car I thought I may have left it in a door lock or on the roof or on the ground, but nothing. Maybe it was in the trunk where I put my bag? Crap. So back I went along the same path with the same result. At this point I'm thinking who should I phone to come out here? Where is the nearest phone? If Carrie comes it'll be after school, what do I do with the kids? A nightmare was unfolding.
Back at the trailhead I stopped where I stopped before and gave the ground a thorough staredown. I was looking for a key on it's side with the shiny side shouting to me "here I am!!!" so I was amazed when I spotted it in some rough leaves and grass with just the black end sticking up. I guess it had fallen like an arrowhead and landed that way in the thick stuff. Not sure if I could repeat that again as it was like a needle in a haystack. Whew, that killed a bunch of time running but it was a learning experience.
The trails were good with lots of steep technical hiking routes but a fair amount of hard-packed areas that are the Trans Canada Trail. It isn't the biggest area to run in but my thoughts are, next Spring, to come back and do some six to eight hour runs around the University. I figure it would be a good spot to go around dinnertime, get a couple 10 or 12km loops in before dark, then do another four or so in the dark to get used to running with the light through the trails for Western States (hopefully) and others I plan to do.
Eleven days and counting until the lottery.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
To Eat or Not to Eat
I've written before about how I laugh at the people who are VERY strict about thier diet, especially in the weeks or months leading up to a race. I've said that I discovered many years ago (after being one of those people for some time) that I could eat ice cream or chocolate before a race and still achieve my goals and that life is too short to deny yourself some simple pleasures.
I would not really change much about my eating habits before a race or in the taper. I just made sure I was well-hydrated during race week and that I had my share of carbs for three days prior to the big day. I also did try and cut down on the portion size somewhat but it rarely was enough to matter. I eat well at meals but too much of a good thing....
After pretty much any race I did whether it be a sprint tri or half marathon, I would gorge myself afterwards on coke (which I never drink), maybe chips (Hint of Lime Tostitos), and for sure, ice cream in reward of my good time or placing at the race. So in essence I was "going overboard" for a day or two and then settling down to the normal amount of chocolate and ice cream.
It finally hit me after Ironman Canada this year, after again not really watching what I ate or how much in the months before the race, that how can I justify this bad habit of eating just for indulging in under ten hours of exercise? That's what I call this year's Ironman now because it was basically to me a long training day. I wasn't needing a reward, say, for abstaining from eating any kind of junk food for two months before the race and looking forward to it the whole time once I completed the race. It wasn't a carrot anymore that I dangled in front of me to try and achieve my goal. When I had a five hour bike followed by a one and a half hour run during training, I didn't go and pig out becuase I "deserved" it after such a big effort. Why did I feel the need to do this at the end of any race this year?
With this information firmly at hand, and the fact I had gained about four pounds in the month leading up to Haney to Harisson, I decided to try something different. Even with the Halloween candy in the house prior to the race and unlike the previous two years, I stayed away from it for two and a half weeks before the run. I didn't buy ice cream and therefore could not be tempted. I cut down on my size of meals. At the firehall I did the same, usually dividing my meal in half and eating it later or the next day. I even passed on ice cream at work. At work!!! A staple in every firefighter's diet. As it turned out I didn't go to the gym all this time so therefore couldn't get progress checks on how I was doing. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know. Then the day came, two days before the run to be exact, that I went to see what I weighed in at. This was in the evening, after dinner, so I had an excuse if I didn't lose any pounds - it was the meal still sitting inside of me of course. It ended up I went from 175 to 171.8 lbs. It had actually worked. So now I was determined to be even more proud of myself and went the next morning to do a thirty minute treadmill run. I got to the gym wearing only shorts and a dry-fit shirt, no shoes. I was a happy 170.2 lbs. After the run with only a little water I ended up at 169.2. I can't remember the last time I was sub-170. This was awesome.
The fact that my shin splint pain flared up for the first time all year in the week before Haney also was a kick to my butt in thinking that a few less pounds may help that as well. Funny though I felt nothing during H2H or in the days after that would indicate they are coming back or that I have another stress fracture. I will alter my training somewhat before Texas though, only one short road run a week, long stuff in the trails, and either treadmill or eliptical workouts. Maybe even the dreaded water running once a week.
I think if this experiment had gone the other way or I hadn't seen much in the way of movement in the scale, it could have had disastrous effects in that I may have kept eating the same way as before. I wasn't a total angel during my seventeen days or so, I think I had two regular and two small servings of ice cream, a few Halloween goodies (okay, a lot on Halloween night but they were right in front of me, what could I do?), and some of my niece's birthday cake. Other than that, junk food was pretty much absent. Since I had all this will power before the run I now know I can do it again and will for races if not all the time.
I now feel okay having been rewarding myself this week for that "long" period of abstinance.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)