New Trainer!

Warren our trainer is moving back to Victoria. I have been training with Warren for several years now. I initially "won" 10 training sessions with him through the Knee Knacker. It has been a good relationship and I wish him all the best! Neil joined the training sessions the year he did his first 100 miler, Western States. Tonight we had our second session with Tricia his replacement. She has a business that focuses on training wanna be Police and Fire Fighters. She was once a member of the Vancouver Police Department herself. Perhaps Warren felt we needed a tough one like her to keep us humble! She also has some experience working with the Running Room so she has met Ultra Runners before. She was aware of the distances we ran on the weekend and actually had us email her yesterday how we were feeling so she could plan our session for tonight. Tonight she focused on the foam roller to provide the myofacial massage to our tight muscles. She spent the session having us stretch all body parts and reviewed stretching each others hamstrings and butt muscles. I think the discipline of stretching is one of the most difficult things for runners to do consistently. We are so good at planning and following through with activities but fall hard when it comes to stretching. Tonight we are planning our runs for the week and plan to fit in some longer runs mid week. This means planning ahead and working around other commitments. So glad the days are longer to accomodate for longer evening runs!

No Blogging - Computer Troubles - 2nd Ultra to Report!

Well as the title suggests...the lap top crashed, the world ended, and now we are back connected to the Universe! I'm sure many can relate to this! Last weekend was a lower mileage week with the anticipation of another upcoming Ultra. As I mentioned in one of my January blogs I suffered from a bad virus in December and January. During that time I visited the DR. and was referred for a lung function test. Well 3 months later, last Thursday I finally had an appointment for the test! I was "diagnosed" several years ago with exercise induced asthma and noticed an "allergic response" asthma in the last year. I use Ventolin prior to running and always cross my fingers each run hoping I will be able to breathe well each run. I guess you live and adapt to what is "normal" to your daily living. Rick, the Respiratory Therapist (also a runner!) had me do several tests of inhaling and blowing into a machine. I could tell immediately by the look on his face my results were not good. I was sent home with a number to call to join the Asthma Clinic at the local hospital and strict instructions on how to use the Steroid Inhaler AM and PM and he gave me a "chamber" for the Ventolin. He was not happy with my lung function capabilities! I happened to mention I was running a 50km trail run this Saturday and he highly recommended I do not run those distances until my irritated airways have improved through intense drug therapy. Wow...those are heavy words for an Ultra Runner to take in. I discussed the news with Neil and we decided to try the medication as recommended and see how I feel Saturday AM. The alarm went at 4AM Saturday morning for the trip across the border to the Chuckanut 50km trail run. It was clear and cold and I decided to give it a go. (As runners do!) The cold air was irritating to the lungs and I noticed my breathing was very shallow. Neil decided to stay with me for this one and packed the Inhalers! We enjoyed the drier conditions on the route than previous years and finished in 7:17, 10 minutes faster for me than last year. I was proud of this one with all things considered! After the run we were delayed at the border for 90 minutes coming back into Canada. Andy joined us in the "fun car" for the journey. We always enjoy his company and he is a very strong runner at the front of the pack! We went to an "after party" at Chad and Marla's where there was a large crowd wishing Mike well in his retirement and move to Gabriola Island. Mike is a great person and one of the original local running club members. Today Neil and I went out for 2 hours in Golden Ears Park. Beautiful spring weekend for running! Great mileage and a total of over 9 hours of running this weekend. We are doing a 50 miler in Sacramento in 2 weeks so we needed this mileage!

First 50 in 2009!

Yesterday Neil and I completed the Dirty Duo 50km run. The weather forecast for the day was terrible with predictions of rain/snow and high winds. We woke at 4AM to the sounds of ice rain hitting the window. I lay there thinking do I really want to run 50k in this today? By 5AM it was much calmer and by 6AM the skies were starting to clear and it turned into a beautiful clear but cold winters day. Neil and I decided to try running this event together. We run together (or should I say he waits at strategic points) all the time in training but have only attempted it once before at this exact event 2 years ago in the 25km event. I recall that it did not go that well 2 years ago but yesterday it worked well. The purpose in practicing running in events together is for the potential that we may do this for the West Highland Way, 95 mile run in Scotland. Yesterday we opted for the early 7:30am start. There were 5 of us early starters in total. It was clear and cold, I wore my head band, gloves and jacket all day. The course had snow throughout and in areas quite deep. Good thing we have had lots of practice running in the snow lately. It was so beautiful and quiet, no one on the trails but us. After awhile the rest of the 50km runners started to catch up with us. It was amazing to see the leaders fly up the hills making it look effortless. The next wave of runners were those in the 25km event. They were moving quite quickly compared to us. This event also has a bike race component that tackle the course in the opposite direction so we soon found ourselves dodging bikes as they came flying down the hill at what appeared to be completely out of control. Nearing the end of the event the 15km runners join the course. At one point I heard some very heavy breathing behind me and I thought a runner was about to be sick when I turned around to discover it was our friend Chad who was participating in the 15km event. It was an attempt to get my attention and that it did! Neil, Chad and I ran the last 5km or so together. It was a nice way to end the event having Chad run us in. Marla was waiting at the finish with their dog Ella. Marla and I both did this event last year but her achilles tendon has been bothering her lately so she is staying off the hills for now. I felt a little "queasy" at the end so we opted for a quick change of clothes in the car and a coffee and scone with Chad and Marla before heading home. This event is one with lots of variety of terrain despite it being 2 loops for the 50k. You pass by a few aid stations several times and there is an out and back long flat run section that you do 3 times which was deep in snow this year. I recall several years ago doing the 25k for the first time thinking that the 50k would be impossible. Well it feels good to say that 2 years in a row I have completed the Dirty Duo 50km event! Oh and the running together with Neil went very well. He was very patient all day. At one point he commented that we still had a long way to go and I caught him out on his negative words. Another interesting strategy I had was I did not look at my watch the entire route. The only clock I saw was the finishing clock that read 6:51 when we crossed the line.

Quad Cruncher/Shin Basher!

Today we joined the Fat Ass Club for the Quad Cruncher at UBC Research Forest. It is a 10km loop that is uphill on one side, flat at the top of the loop and then a steep downhill to complete the loop. You can run as many loops as you wish and then record your kms and time on the piece of paper under the wiper blade on Karl's van. Neil and I arrived at 8AM to just a few cars in the parking lot. Some early birds were starting a 7:30AM. Half way up the hill we ran into Karl and Gilles coming down the hill. They are doing a 100 mile run in a few weeks time and are desperately seeking hill work. This is a great course for that but today we ran into quite a bit of snow and icy/slushy conditions which made it tougher and slow going. Karl and Gilles were the only other runners we saw but heard that a few managed to get lost in the woods. That can happen easily in this forest due to the many trails and logging roads branching off. I often run this loop with my iPOD but today I found that my mind was very active with many thoughts going through it while I was out there so I never turned the music on. Sometimes that happens, other times there are minimal thoughts! Right at the end of the last loop we saw Cheryl. She came out after lunch for one loop. We had lots to catch up on and talked until the 3 of us started to shiver and had to get moving to stay warm. Tim caught up with me for the last few strides before he headed out for another loop. Today when we started I was planning to do 3 loops but Neil managed to convince me to go for 4 loops when I had finished the 3rd. I was glad he did as we did a tough 40km, and that was 4hrs, 45 minutes so that really kicked up the training this week again! Two weeks in a row with long Saturday runs! That will help going into the upcoming 50km events. One next weekend, the other 2 weeks later. Here's hoping my quads and shins will be OK after all the crunching and bashing they took today going up and going down!

Kicked up the Mileage!

Despite myself missing the workout with Warren this past week...it was a good week for mileage! We managed to get out Tues/Wed/Thursday night for runs on the dyke after work. Saturday's run turned into an interesting outing! Neil had to work again until about noon so I opted to head to Hayward for a long run, possibly 2 loops. There were plenty of emails indicating many were running various options at Hayward Lake so I felt despite heading out on my own, I would not be alone. Neil planned to join in after work for a loop or 2 himself. My plan was to start counter clock wise, many were running clock wise so it would definitely be a social outing! I left my car at the main parking lot to use as an aid station after my first loop of 17km. The iPOD was charged and off I went. Within minutes I met the first group of runners and many dog walkers on the railway trail as it was a beautiful clear day. I continued to see runners I have met over the years as well as a few new faces. Today I broke a few safety rules a runner (especially one on their own!) shouldn't do! First, I changed my route from what I told others I was doing. Second, by changing the route it made me miss my aid station (my car) that had my top up fluids and some food. I decided to stay on the trail side and turned around so I could do the majority of the run on the trail instead of going out on the road, over the dam and an out and back on the railway trail. This new route also let me run the entire length of the railway trail at the end which mimics one of the upcoming events I am doing. So...I ran out of fluid, I had no food, and Neil never did catch up with me as I changed the route! It all turned out in the end as the weather was fantastic and we know the terrain well. However, these silly changes in plans can sometimes end differently. I managed to stay out there running the lake trail for just under 4 hours. My hamstrings were really tight and I felt close to bonking without the fluid and the food. Once back to my car I was able to rehydrate and chomp down the S & V chips I had been dreaming about for the last 2 hours! Neil had parked his truck next to me so I left him a note saying the time I was back and that I was on my way home. Funny thing, he finished only 5 minutes behind me so he almost caught me...but not quite! Last night we had a fun "Mexican Dinner party" at friends. We all brought a dish and the food was excellent. I haven't laughed so hard in some time. Was it the endorphins from the long run or perhaps Pat's Margaritas! I have attached a photo of some of the "amigos" from the evening!
Today we slept in but managed an hour run about mid day! 5 hours this weekend...now that's better!

Weekend Update

Last Thursday we managed to get out for our after work run on the dyke. We noticed that the days are starting to get longer so hopefully within the next month we can be more adventurous with our after work runs. Saturday Neil had to work until early afternoon so the plan was to go for a run at Buntzen Lake in the afternoon. We had Valentines dinner plans with friends who live in the area so this would all work out nicely. Unfortunately the work did not end in the afternoon as planned so I headed out on my own to Hayward Lake. I ran the railway trail side (the side with the bears!) with the iPOD cranked for an out and back which gave me almost and hour and a half run. A little shorter than we had planned for that day but better than nothing at all. Neil made it home in time so we could still go for dinner. It was great to catch up with Marilyn and Ron and we always enjoy Marilyn's great cooking! Sunday was a beautiful clear winters day. Back to Hayward Lake we went this time all the way around in about 2:15. We were planning to add on to the loop but our legs were tired (from the 30km on the road last weekend) so we decided to call it quits for the day. Next weekend we should run longer as we have a couple of 50km events in the next few weeks. Tonight I missed the workout with Warren due to a later work commitment but I just heard from Neil and it sounds like it was a tough one! The weather looks great for the week so no excuses for not getting out for some runs again this week!
On the weekend we watched the West Highland Way Information night that John Kynaston kindly filmed so those of us from far away could see the evening. Lots of great tips and great humour too! Thank-you to all who contributed to the evening.

Monday/Tuesday Outings

Monday night Neil and I had our session with Warren (trainer). This week he had us do something he called a "complex". This was a work out with a weight bar that used every muscle in the body from biceps, shoulders, hamstrings, back muscles...like I've said before they are always activities I would never do on my own! Oh and we ended with 30 "burpees" where we had to jump over a mat sideways between each one! Slept very well last night! Today we woke up to snow again. The locals here are tired of all the snow we have had this winter...not typical of Vancouver. After work we met for a run on the dykes and had a cold wind with blowing snow. It was reminiscent of a run we had in Scotland before Christmas. We set out from Bonaly and headed over the Pentland hills to the Flotterstone Inn. This is a route we had done many times before but on this day we hit some terrible weather where I experienced the strongest, coldest and wettest winds ever running. I really thought we were going to perish out there. I remember Neil saying "keep moving forward."It really was a frightening outing. I have been following a West Highland Way blogger who has an awesome blog about his training for the WHW. I noticed that John was going to video an information night about the event. That is so awesome for those of us who could not attend! Looking forward to viewing the information night! It appears that my blog has been added to other WHW blogs. It might be interesting for others to follow the Canadian perspective!