The 2008 Tour Route

Not a lot of people are thinking about cycling in February but it's great motivation to imagine the work the pros are doing now to be successful in July. Amber and I are working really hard to have a great season this year and I know it will pay off in August. We have our two focus races; the Boston marathon in April and Ironman Louisville in August, I can't wait to see the results all of this winter training.

The Last Race Living in Calgary

Yesterday was the last chance for Amber and I to race in Calgary while still living here, the final Calgary Road Runners x-country race; Weaselhead 7k. I started off a lot faster than I thought I should, I wanted to take it easy and fall in behind the leaders but they had the same idea and everyone fell in behind me. I could still feel the reminants of the cold I've been fighting all week so after the first kilometer three strong runners passed me pretty convincingly. I tried to stay with them, but the pace was just too much for me to sustain. I kept a couple of them in sight but out of reach for the rest of the race and finished 4th. A great race and I was happy to go out with a solid result in a very tough field.

Amber and I have been training really well all winter and the results have definitely shown. We are looking forward to our move to Grande Prairie and finally becoming 'big fish' in a small pond and creating a great life for ourselves up north.
7 K
Plc Name Time Div Plc/Div
1 Andrew CARRUTHERS 23:57 M1829 1/3
2 Duncan MARSDEN 24:36 M1829 2/3
3 Trev WILLIAMS 24:40 M3039 1/12
4 Darin HUNTER 25:07 M3039 2/12
5 Curtis SAMPSON 25:52 M3039 3/12
6 Bruce DALTON 26:25 M4049 1/17
7 Adam TEASDALE 26:40 M1829 3/3
8 Darren LAZARUK 26:43 M4049 2/17
9 Shari BOYLE 27:00 F3039 1/8
10 Ed BICKLEY 27:27 M4049 3/17

Trying to Recover

After training yesterday for my birthday I was feeling a little run down. Amber suggested an afternoon swim so we headed for the pool for a 1:30 dip. I didn't feel like myself after a km and I slowly started to feel more and more drained as I kept going. I managed to finish another km but packed it in after 40 minutes. I could tell something was not right and I should have just rested but I felt like doing a spin to redeem myself. I pushed myself for an hour and then my body really revolted, I was completely drained and could tell I was coming down with something.

Today I needed to just rest and concentrated on trying to get back to normal, tomorrow is bike class and if I don't feel better I won't be riding :-(

Great Video of a Great Champion

But can he run? See you in April Lance.

Still Feeling It After a Week

Today I did one of my last runs around the resevoir, one of my favorite places to run in Calgary and one of the things I am going to miss about living here. I'm looking forward to finding new places to run and new adventures but I grew up here and all of my suffering has been laid out on the pathways in this city. I wanted to get in a good 2 hour effort and it took everything in me to get through it. I started with the resevoir loop and after the first 30 minutes I could tell it was going to be a tough day. I kept it slow and steady but I was thinking of calling it a day after finishing the 17km loop in 1 hour 20 minutes, my legs were a lot more tired than usual. I obviously am still fatigued after the 1/2 marathon last week. I kept going out to Stanley Park and managed to struggle through another 40 minutes. The last hill on the way home was especially tough but I managed to keep motivated with my music and the thought of doing well in Boston.

Run for the day; 2 hours 5 minutes- 28.6km.

Two Weeks Until the Big Move!

Things are starting to sink in now that I've started to change my address with everyone. I feel a little sad to be leaving the city I grew up in but I'm also really excited to be starting my new job in a new location and building a life with Amber up there. Two more weeks, next week is the Calgary Road Runner's weaselhead x-country race and the last race for Amber and I here.

Our training is going really well, the hypothermic half marathon was a terrific race for both of us and a great start for our Boston training. This week has been mainly bike training while my legs recover from last week's race. Yesterday I ran 15km pretty comfortably and followed that up with a 2.5km swim. Today we're watching the 2007 Hawaii Ironman World Championships on the trainers for a couple hours, getting ready to be there in October!

First Win of the Year!

I was a little worried about my preparation for Boston given that I haven't been running much lately. However, I had a terrific Hypothermic Half marathon today winning in a time of 1:19:55. Not my best time but given the conditions and terrain it was definitely one of the hardest efforts I've ever produced. It was -39 degrees with the wind chill when we woke up this morning but I was determined to run no matter what. I needed to test myself at this distance and this was the perfect opportunity. Amber had a great race as well, a personal best for her 1:36.56 and I'm very proud of her progress. We've had some killer training sessions and races this winter and it's nice to see that it's paying off. The next test (and final test in Calgary) is the Weaselhead x-country race, one of my favorite x-country races and hopefully most successful. I haven't won one of those races yet.
Half Marathon Run Results
Rank Clock Time Pace/km Chip Time Bib First Name Last Name City
1 1:19:55.8 3:48 1:19:55.8 3776 Darin HUNTER Calgary,AB
2 1:26:17.0 4:06 1:26:17.0 3867 Mike PASCOE Calgary,AB
3 1:28:49.2 4:13 1:28:49.2 3718 Colin FEASBY Calgary,AB
4 1:29:31.4 4:15 1:29:31.4 3759 Stephen HASTINGS Calgary,AB
5 1:30:41.1 4:18 1:30:41.1 3708 Kari ELLIOT Calgary,AB
6 1:32:03.3 4:22 1:32:03.3 3618 Hugo BATTEKE Calgary,AB
7 1:33:28.9 4:26 1:33:28.9 3840 Rob MILLS Calgary,AB
8 1:33:41.6 4:27 1:33:41.6 3795 Bob KINNIBURGH Calgary,AB
9 1:36:00.2 4:33 1:36:00.2 3960 Somer WILSON Calgary,AB
10 1:36:13.6 4:34 1:36:13.6 3924 Mardi SYRNYK Revelstoke BC
11 1:36:25.5 4:35 1:36:25.5 3876 Ian PIETERSMA Calgary,AB
12 1:36:34.1 4:35 1:36:34.1 3407 Debbie REED
13 1:36:56.4 4:36 1:36:56.4 3844 Amber Dawn MORRIS Calgary,AB

Now We're Into the Serious Biking

Yesterday Amber and I were not feeling so hot going into bike class (which is never a good thing) and AD was walking out the door completely resisting. I was a bit apprehensive myself as I've taken some time off this week to try and get my body back to feeling strong again. Tonight was not a night to not be feeling your best, it was a long 16.09km rolling climb and I was red-lining for 30:53. I didn't have my same pep and I could tell I was in trouble when I was really breathing heavy during the easy spin before the computrainer is turned on! The workouts have felt fairly short up until today and it was like TCR said, okay there is only 8 weeks left, time to start hard training tonight. Amber and I only have 3 weeks left in Calgary and we're going to miss our usual Thursday night bike class. I'm sure we'll make some great connections up in Grande Prairie but saying good-bye to our lives in Calgary is tough.

This weekend is the Hypothermic Half marathon and although it's not a focus race, it is a good barometer as to how much work I need to do to prepare for Boston. If I run a 1:25 I have a lot of work to do, if I run a 1:20 I'm on track with my training, and if I'm below 1:20 I'll just need to concentrate on building in some long runs for endurance.

Hard Training is Starting to Take it's Toll

Yesterday Amber and I went for a little swim in the afternoon after our superbowl party at home on Sunday and I felt like hell. I normally have this desire to push myself even on those days that I feel rough but yesterday I just did not want to train. Rather than continue with a poor workout I just called it a day after 1500m and spent the rest of the day recovering. We had a long bike ride on Sunday and that combined with 9 beers took it's toll on me Monday. I'm starting to feel a little better today but still a little sluggish. I'm just going to spin easy tonight and do some active recovery, I want to make sure I'm feeling better for Thursday's bike class and Sunday's race!

Sometimes Switching Things Up Really Hurts!

This morning AD and I completed a 2 1/2hr trainer ride and it definitely was not easy. We usually do our long runs on Sunday, trying to get used to running on tired legs after a long trainer ride on Saturday. However, this weekend we had to learn to be flexible with the training schedule, we attended my Grandfather's funeral on Saturday so it was a long run on Friday and long ride today. Riding on Sunday was a change for us but we handled it well and spun for 150mins. We had 2004, 2005 and part of 2006 Ironman world championships to keep us company and learned that even though you're having a tough day, you can get through it, just keep pedaling!