I am in the middle of writing a paper, so a race report will have to follow at a later time. I finished 4th in 33:03 (results here). The new course was a beauty and the puddles were deep.
The race started fast:
I finished with a dive to clean the mud off:
****Thanks to Sandi "Sandster" Heal for the pics and for the cheers at the finishline. Thanks also to Bob Reid and the whole PIH crew, you are top notch running community leaders. We appreciate your efforts that allow us to do what we enjoy doing most on a rainy Saturday afternoon.
We have a great winter trail series in Victoria around Thetis Lake, put on by the Prairie Inn Harriers. The courses are on wilderness trails and involve a bit of puddle crossing, some log, root and rock jumping, all over rolling terrain. Generally, the courses are quite runable, but a good challenge.
Tomorrow is the Gunner Shaw, a solid 10kish race. It is followed on December 12th by the Stewart Mountain 10 miler, my favourite race of the series.
Racing local community races is a tonne of fun. We have a lot of stud runners in Vic, so you are guaranteed a hard effort.
The Gunner Shaw course is notorious for it's bog crossing and with the rains the past week and more forecasted for tonight, things will be messy out there. Can't wait!
Rather boring, I am racing Gunner Shaw on Saturday, so my feet will be getting wet!
Sunday: 95 min at rolling Royal Roads- Monday:am 35min; pm 65 min +strength Tuesday: met with Kris Swanson and we did 12*30 sec "up-slopes" with a wu &cd, then a long overdue massage with Kim. Wednesday: am 68 min rolling (legs felt flat from the massage) + 800 m swim to flush the legs; pm 30 min EZ Thursday: 50 min + core
This is my new home for the next 3-4 weeks (with a daily excursion to log some miles). And yes, the library overlooks a wooded buffer zone that is quite pretty...
"A Jogger is everyone that I can pass. A Runner is everyone who passes me." (unknown)
I was just reminded of a great ad campaign entitled: "Runners, Yeah, We're Different". It was put out by a running shoe company a few years ago, and it really captured the essence of the sport. Other than putting one foot in front of the other, most observers aren't aware of the odd little details that separate runners from joggers.
I know there are a million, "You know you are a runner if..." lists and they are all cheezy, so here is a million plus 1 and it is equally cheezy. In no particular order, here are a few that I can think (feel free to ad to the list):
1) After a wet run and you take you socks off, having a perfectly clean foot and ankle line with mud everywhere else. 2)Parking lot nudity. How many public washrooms, trunks, backseats, frontseats, bushes...have I changed in? 3)Peeing in bushes, or number 2 in an urban public park. 4)choosing to run on any strip of dirt or grass you find, no matter how narrow, rather than pavement. 5)sped up, slowed down, or gone wide and clenched a fist as you run by a dog (the little ones are the most unpredictable). 6)Debated with the owner of a dog, that "Fluffy", "Killer", or "Brutus" (savageness of name inversely proportional to the size of the dog) did in fact chase you and nip your ankle. Inevitable reply: "Fluffy, etc... never does that, this is the first time..." 7)own more than 3 pairs of shoes (or about 20 in my case), one of which is permanently in your car and most likely wet. 8)use a shoe box as a storage container. 9)washed a jersey with a race number on it. Or found a jersey in your cupboard with a race number still pinned to it. 10)random stretching in public, most likely in a line-up. 11)run home from school, work, the bar.... 12)found mud on your legs, toes or feet hours after showering. Or, for the super-elite, not still not showered hours after running. 13)run a x-country or track race!!!! 14)"snuck in" a few miles when you had no business, or time to. 15)used a telephone pole, a bush, a tree, a stop sign...as a finish line. 16)called a race "a fun run", when you knew you weren't fit enough to perform. 17)drove or flown somewhere to run. 18)own a shoe rack. 19)know your A,B,Cs apart from the alphabet. 20)been insulted when someone called you a jogger. 21)thought you could beat someone because they are bigger than you.
Additions from the comments section. Thanks for playing:
From UG (my comment, your running links all seem to be associated with possessions :) I bet you look the part. I can appreciate that!) *Bought an Element specifically because I could change in the back and not be seen. *Own about 100 different socks for running in different temps, terrain, rain, snow, etc. *Own more running clothes than work clothes. *Own 3+ pairs of sunglasses or lenses for the same reasons you own 100 pairs of socks.
From Wendy (aka my mom, she should know): I think 22 should be: my days are negatively affected if I can't fit in a run (she has seen me grumpy after a few missed runs)
From Dawno: *While getting errands done or while at work seen someone running and was immediately jealous that you weren't. Even if you had already ran that day!(Truer words were never spoken) *Looked outside and saw some nasty weather and thought "now is the perfect time to go for a run" (appropriate for the past few weeks)
What a season: IM Canada champ and nowIM Arizonachamp all in one year. Jordan Rapp's great quote, on Slowtwitch.com: "it's about the process. It doesn't matter what you do tomorrow and it doesn't matter what you did yesterday. It's about today, and making today count. That's especially true in training, but that same mentality that I carry to racing. Focus on the task at hand, not on the finish line, or the next part of the race, but what it is that is right there in front of you at that moment." Congrats and have a great wedding!!!
Congrats also to old training partner (no, she isn't old, we used to train together) Sam McGlone on her great come-back win too.
This video highlights the belief in yourself and focusing on the task at hand (as seen at Jono Wyatt's page). The commentator at the end has a great quote: "On behalf of all the skinny guys in America, I want to congratulate him":
With all the local mountains getting dumped on with the white and fluffy, ski season is upon us. Being more of an "endorphin junkie", I am a huge fan of nordic skiing. What can I say, skinny skis are where it's at. I am going to miss the easy access to ski trails I had in Fredericton last winter:
Anyway, as a welcome to the season, here is a great compilation video of Canada's newest skier star, Alex Harvey. It is quite well done (en français, thanks Mr. Nordic aka. Phil):
I just read an interesting "Tweet" from a friend who is following the Olympic torch around the country-"Heading into the Moncton area, I feel a sense of guilt accepting payment for the experience I had here so far today".
All I can think is, surely that is the sentiment that we should strive for from the work we do. It is unfortunate that it is the exception rather than the rule for many!
Blurry shots-the issue with shooting while running, or a more artistic title "A perspective of effort".
Thanks Brad for this music. Nice for a rainy day inside after a long run in the woods (95 min this am at Royal Roads). This video has an incredibly crisp image (Dan Mangan-The Indie Queens are Waiting)
We did a hard session at Beacon Hill this am. 20 or so min wu, some drills and strides, then (6 min at 10k effort. 1.5 min rest 3 min at 5km effort 1.5 min rest)*3. It was a hard, hard workout. Jon reckons you don't need too many of those types of intensities, as they gut you a bit. Most of the Saturday workouts are more consistent at 10km pace, or "condition sets" as Jon calls them. The workouts take a bit of discipline, as you have to run a fine balance between going out too hard and fading through the set (=bad) and not going hard enough at the start so as not to get a good training benefit (=not as bad, but not great). We also run the different workouts on essentially the same loop, which some might consider boring, but we (or I) seem to go somewhere different for every run, that it is nice to have a consistent benchmark to see where my fitness is at. A reliable group to train with helps with this too. I find it amazing how I appear to feel stronger on different parts of the course on different weeks. The body is a mystery.
After the workout I went with Simon and family and met up with Jazz and wee stud to Habit. Jen Mac showed up too, making it a little party. It was a great start to the day before diving back into the books.
On an aside, best of luck to Rappstar at IMAZ tomorrow & to DivaMar & all of Team Canada in Japan on Monday (other team members can be found here, here and here)
I said yesterday that I am fascinated by extremists, well a ukulele virtuoso would definitely qualify. I was reading The Adventure Life blog and they had this story on Jake Shimabukuro. As always, it was a great read. He certainly expands my opinion of what can be done with the little 4 stringed instrument. I now WANT ONE (hint,hint,wink,wink)!!!!! It will likely sit beside my guitar, picking up dust, but think of the possibilities... Judging by the 4 million plus views, apparently he is only "undiscovered" by me. Sort of how Chris Columbus "discovered" N. America. If you haven't heard of him, well watch this video:
I finally made it for a jog. The paper was handed in and the endless citations were done according to the McGILL GUIDE: THE CANADIAN GUIDE TO UNIFORM LEGAL CITATION, which is a hellish, ridiculous process. Who cares whether my bloody comma is in italics or not!!!!!
Rant over, the rain has ended, but the effects are still very much with us. I ran up to Swan Lake and was quite enjoying rolling along the trail when I quickly found myself shin deep in water
But what can you do? So I splashed on through and ran home with wet feet. I don't think I will ever grow out of the habit.
With all the thinking about school, wedding plans and life, I thought it would be a quiet mind run, but no, it was a day dream run. I never know where my mind will wander to on runs. Today it was making wild plans for potential running adventures for 2010. ---So many trails, so much time....
I also came across a guy standing in the middle of the trail taking a leak while lighting a pipe. It was not a tobacco pipe (of the wacky or regular type). It is a bit disconcerting running by a guy with his pants down, johnson flopping (and spraying) and a pipe in hand. Wildlife on an urban trail I guess.
I don't have any of his albums, but I do have a curious interest in and a strange affinity for extremists. I think that as a Hasidic Jewish Reggae musician, Matisyahu qualifies.
I saw this picture on XKCD, after following a Paulo Facebook link.
The message in the cartoon strip is self-deprecating, but I like the stand alone image. It is a good reminder that snapshots never tell the whole story, but can be rewarding on their own.
How to relate that to running? It's quite easy really. While individual workouts don't mean much, it is the consistency and intensity in training that leads to results, but damn does it feel good to nail a good one sometimes!
***I did not just have a workout that I am proud of, I am just reminiscing about good sessions. Most of my favourite sporting moments have come not from success at races, racing is actually such a small part of my sporting life, rather, the memorable moments have come away from the race course, either by myself, or with a few training mates around. So appreciate the process or the journey, it has as great, or greater an impact than the outcome. That said, nailing a race is pretty damn sweet too.
Many, if not most of the great trail, mountain and ultra runners come from distinguished running backgrounds (i..e Jonathan Wyatt ), and many of them continue to compete and suceed in a variety of disciplines (Max King). The simple truth is that fast running is fast running and if you want to succeed at any endurance event, you have to keep in touch with your running speed. A great way to do this is to hit the pavement every now and then. There are a variety of ways that it will help your off-road experience: it is convenient, it gives you good competition, it challenges you in a new way, it provides a great fitness benchmark and for those of us in more northern climates is more realistic in the colder months. Duel in the Sun-1982 Boston Marathon-a great road race
I just saw the following post on iRunFar.com and it expresses the sentiment more accurately than I can.
I like road running and think it has a place in training for trail races, especially trail ultramarthons. There, I've said it, let the hate mail commence...
OK, so it may seem hypocritical for a trail running website to suggest that road running may help someone into a better trail runner, but that's what came to mind during my18 miles on pavement and graded dirt that snaked through the Sierra foothills yesterday afternoon. That notion was reinforced with an exclamation point when the toll of 2,000+ feet of climb brought me to a walk somewhere around mile 13 or 14. (The full run had around 3,000 feet of climb.) It later occurred to me that I'll be in the best shape of my life if I continue running such routes for the next six months. I could be wrong. Below are a few thoughts on why a trail runner might want to hit the roads. Be sure to let everyone know how you use road running (paved or not) in training for your trail races... or exactly how much you detest road running.
Clarifications Let me make it clear, I don't think road running is necessary; however, I do think that running roads, canal tow paths, flatter non-technical trails, etc can be beneficial to racing on the trails. (I'll stick to using the terms trail running and road running from here out, but know that I include the previously described terrain under "road running.") I also think that road running is of more benefit to ultrarunners than to those who race shorter distances on the trails. (That said, those short distance trail racers may benefit more from track or tempo workouts.) It goes without saying that getting in the trail miles pays big dividends come race day, I'm just suggesting that a variety of terrain might help you in the end!
Why Isn't Road Running Evil? Below are a couple good reasons why I think road running and its ilk aren't the work of the devil.
Continuous and Consistent Running When you hit some honest to goodness trails they can put a hurting on you in a hurry. Maybe steep climbs abound that get your heart pumping like a hummingbird's and reduce you to walking. Perhaps there are particularly technical sections or gobs of mud. Those things are a blast, but they can take you out of your running rhythm. On the flip side, a long, steep downhill may give you long sections where you can let gravity do the work while your cardiovascular system goes on vacation.
For sure you need to be prepared to do the above in many a trail race, but you'll likely want to run a bit as well, right? I find that when I run moderate distances on mountainous trails, I don't end up fatiguing some of my running muscles as much as I can by continuously running on the roads. Those very same muscles often DO come into focus in ultra distances and I, for one, like having them ready.
I also like putting my cardiovascular and endocrine systems through consistent two, three or four hours tests. I find I don't often keep a very even effort when training on trails where there are steep hills, obstacles to navigate, and views to take in. However, I do keep a very even effort (heart rate wise) when racing ultramarathons on the trails. I want my body prepared for that. Cartoon interlude
Run The Hills! I love walking. I really do. When I'm out running in the mountains, I'm quick to switch into walking mode even while my companions keep running. I consider my walking ability a strength in ultras and specifically hone it before competing in a mountain 100 miler. That said, there are plenty of inclines to run in many trail races.
When out on the roads, I don't switch to walking even on grades that I walk on the trails. I guess roads keep me honest. If I put in my uphill road miles, I hope that I become a better uphill runner on the trails and end up moving the grade at which I switch from running to walking to a steeper grade.
Specificity: Specifically Flat Terrain I don't know about you, but many of the trail races I run have a great deal of flat, runnable terrain in them. Western States 100? Check. Leadville 100? Check. Bull Run Run 50? Check. Stone Cat 50? Check. Well, perhaps in addition to training for the hills, we should put in some boring, flat, monotonous miles in training! I can attest that in my two biggest races of 2009 I at least perceived my lack of training on the flats to be a detriment to my performance.
After running many a rolling trail mile with a heavy pack in preparation for the Marathon des Sables, I ended up wishing I'd spent much more time cruising flat pavement. My biggest problem by far at MdS was fatigue from many miles of continuous flat running across the desert. Hello, hip flexors!
Then there was Leadville. Actually, there almost wasn't a Leadville 100 for me. Why? Well, one reason is that I thought I hadn't logged enough long continuous runs for this course. Maybe my performance there suggests otherwise, but when I run Leadville again I will be sure to include many more flat miles before I head to the start at 6th and Harrison.
Logistics For some, road running isn't a result of training requirements; instead, it's for logistical reasons. Many folks don't have trail out their front door. When I've lived around Washington, DC, I logged nearly all of my weekday miles on the roads, because I didn't have trails that I could easily incorporate from work or home. Even now when I could drive to trails any day I like, I prefer the easy logistics of rolling out my front door and running... even if that means hitting the roads. Some who have trail access aren't able to log their weekday miles during daylight hours and are understandably leery of running on the trails alone at night. There are plenty of other logistical reasons why many a trail runner may log road miles and those road miles are better than no miles at all!
Conclusion and Call for Comments Have no fear iRunFar readers! We'll be back with more trail running goodness on Wednesday. While road miles have a purpose that doesn't mean we wouldn't rather be out on the trails!
Adam again: I enjoy road running and will continue to do it, but I would still rather Run to the (unpaved) Hills
Downhill running technique? More likely a way for me to get incredibly sore. His coordination and foot speed is impressive, maybe this is how he came up with the "dinner roll".
I saw another creature with nimble feet this am by Government House (actual pic below). I have been seeing a lot of black tailed deer on my runs recently***I do not necessarily endorse the sentiments in the article, just the perception that there appear to be a lot of them walking around the streets of Victoria.
School is definitely picking up at the moment. My calendar is quickly filling up with presentations, papers and pending exams. It's actually an interesting time, since the course material slowly comes together and starts to make sense. Piecemeal bits of knowledge start to fit together to give an overview of the subject.
I still have a hard time understanding how 3 months of 3 hours a week of class and another 6-10 of reading are supposed to give you the foundation for a legal career. I guess that the courses are more audits of the subject, helping you decide which areas you might find interesting. Even then, I find that the effectiveness of the prof tends to influence me as much as the subject matter itself. Call this the Lennon/McCartney criticism: "You tell me it's the institution...".
Ignoring that little aside, with school picking up, I am having to do my runs earlier in the day. I start most of my runs at 7 or 7:30am after waking up at 6:15. I am putting in some decent miles at the moment, which means that I can be a bit stiff for the first part of runs. I expect this, so I take my time letting my body warm-up, starting out much more slowly than I would mid-day and letting my stride gradually increase as the blood flows.
It's a nice time to run, as I get to watch the sun rise and the streets and trails are quiet. Not a bad way to start the day.
This am was 65 minutes on rolling terrain. I went and explored Beacon Hill Park and did 2 laps of the grounds at Government House, before rolling home past the inner harbour and back over the Johnson Street bridge and then home.
Apparently BC is preparing for some heavy rain. According to the Times Colonist, some parts of the province are being warned to watch for potential flooding and landslides. Contrary to popular belief, Victoria gets much less precipitation than other BC coastal regions. We are somewhat sheltered by the Olympic Mountain rain shadow which gives us a special micro-climate. This micro-climate explains the unusual ecosystem in the area, such as the Coastal Douglas Fir zone along the ocean and a drier versions of the Coastal Western Hemlock zone a little farther inland. I should stop there, because that is the extent of what I know and a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Although I'm not sure how dangerous this info is, other than the fact that it might be (and likely is)inaccurate. Anyway, I do know that it is currently raining and that whatever climatic zone we are in leads to great trail running. Trails that will be, and currently are, extremely wet and muddy.
What does this have to do with today's run? Well my feet got wet and my shirt got dirty, proving my point about the mud and puddles.
As an addendum to yesterday's post. To all of you looking to run faster, run/train with a group! It keep you accountable and is a bit more enjoyable. You still suffer just as much (and maybe a bit more), but "misery loves company" as they say. Except the intention of that expression is a bit off in this context. It isn't really misery, it is just what we enjoy doing on a chilly fall Saturday morning. The workout today was: 3*10 min at 10km race effort with 2 min rest between sets. We run it on the Beacon Hill loop (hilly/twisty/grass), so effort makes more sense than pace. We always do a 20 min warm-up & cool down, with some strides and stretching to get ready for the set. I did the first interval, hoping the legs would be there, but the body is definitely off. Jon told me to to just go steady, so I kept Diva Mar company and that was just fine. She is heading off to Japan next week to race on the Canadian Chiba Ekiden team. She is running well and always has lots of interesting insights.
It was a windy afternoon here in Vic. I joined Lauren on her afternoon run and we were hit head on by the stiff breeze for at least the first half. Headwinds are much easier to deal with when running or riding with a partner or a group (profound observation).
“The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind, The answer is blowin' in the wind” Bob Dylan
I am always fascinated by peoples' creativity. I was just having a look at The Adventure Life Blog (a great resource) and saw this amazing time lapse video by Blu. To quote Steve Casimiro: "he makes time-lapse videos of his paintings and they’re rad. Check out this collaboration with David Ellis. I won’t tell you anything about it, except that you’ll be blown away…"
When I'm out running, I frequently see, think, hear etc... something that I think is worth sharing with others.
I am going to try and describe or capture those moments on this blog.
Let's call it: "Seen and heard on the Run"
Some of it will undoubtedly seem inane, much of it will be repetitive and ultimately, as with any story, picture, or idea, it will be decontextualized, lacking some of the elements that made it notable at the time.
However, some of it may resonate with others, so why not share it.
I am not feeling too well today. I am congested and groggy after a poor night's sleep. I find that, although it can be unpleasant, some light exercise often helps clear the sinuses. One trick I use to get myself out the door is to go exploring.
Today I decided to explore our neighbourhood a bit more. I followed the water along the shore in through Esquimalt. There was a bit of chop on the water and the wind was blowing some ocean spray in my face, but the sun was out. The run wasn't fast, but it got progressively more pleasant and I went a bit further than planned. I was rewarded with a nice trot through the Westbay Marina Houseboat village. I haven't been down there in a long time, I forgot how colourful they can be. There are so many cool little pockets in this city. Image found here
Although I have been fortunate through my athletic career to get to learn from some incredible athletes and we are often surrounded by them in Victoria, it never gets old. I am a total endurance/Olympic/outdoor sports nut/geek (heck, I am marrying one of them soon enough).
While in Portland, we got to run with some incredible runners, further satisfying my geek fantasies (not that I really fantasies about scrawny dudes in short or tight shorts). Our first hook up was with the Jerry Schumacher group. He was invited to help coach some of the new additions to the to the Oregon Distance Project. He brought along many of his top runners from Wisconsin to Portland (i.e. Matt Tegenkamp)
We did a tempo run with Canuck superstar Simon Bairu (not sure if he has ever lost a Canadian x-country championship; Tim Nelson (27:36 10km) & Evan Jager (13:22 5km at 19 & a crazy fast mile time).
It was a memorable run on a rolling 3.5 mile loop, in a torrential downpour and a violent wind. When we left, in a warm car, putting on dry clothes, they were still hammering out 2 more laps. A small example of "what it takes"!
What I learned? They used lots of "athletic discipline" (Schumacher's term). They methodically descended the pace and were rotating the lead into the wind. They did not bitch about the weather, they just got down to work. They put their heads down and did what they had to. 17 hard miles (+w/u & c/d) in those conditions, probably at the end of a solid training week, was impressive. Jerry's attitude was notable too. He respected the athletes, suffering along beside them on a bike with 1 VERY big gear, yelling encouragement and tips. He was light hearted before the set, joking around and not putting any pressure on the athletes. He gave a simple, yet demanding, workout and for as much as we could see/follow, the athletes executed. The results that his athletes have had reflects his ability. A coach can get lucky with 1 athlete, but to have several succeed requires some skill.
Dathan and Galen (yes, we are on a first name basis now) were doing a set of 300 & 400 cruise intervals on grass. The pace was quite relaxed for them, which meant that they could work on form. I asked Galen what he & the group have been focusing on and he said that it is mostly getting their hips under them, which allows them to maximize their toe-off and drive. We tagged along behind them, trying to feel their rhythm and watching their form. They were metronomes, hitting their paces comfortably. Their upper bodies were incredibly relaxed and their feet are very quick off the ground.
The loop had a very tight corner at the end, which made it a bit strange, but they were also able to get back up to speed, or maintain their speed very comfortably.
What I learned Dathan has an online journal that is worth a read. In his last post he talks all about attitude. It seems like one thing Alberto does very well is have an intuitive "feel" for coaching and for his athletes. He is able to build their confidence and help them believe that, through hard & specific work, he can help them become world beaters. He does select the athletes (or they select him), so he only takes athletes who really possess the physical ability to compete, but he helps foster "the right attitude". It seems like the entire group has this attitude and, once again, the results speak for themselves.
Before the set, the mood was light and jovial. They were ready to work, going through their warm-up routine and the guys (& gal) just got the work done. They were methodical and professional, knowing what the purpose of the workout was and they did it. No big expectations & lots of patience, despite us following along like lemmings.
I realize that this is only a brief snapshot into their process and that I bring a lot of preconceived notions from what I have read online (being a total geek when it comes to this stuff) and what they choose to share, but it was still an incredible opportunity to watch, learn & geek out.
It was an honour to get to "toe the line" at a workout and to have them invite us to watch them work. I am more eager than ever to follow their progress from here.
(late addition)Simon made this video of a grass session that they did with the Schumacher group after I left. This is also most likely what I was day dreaming about while I was in class. It is a great example of the smooth, efficient, yet powerful stride that I talked about. Also, Simon is apparently a man of many talents, as this is quite a good kick at the editing can. Good work!
Lauren and I are in Portland. She is here for a training camp and I played hooky from class today to sneak in a visit. It really is a very cool city. I love being in natural environments, but well done urban centers can be a thing of beauty. A bit of art, some creative architecture and public planning and the city can feel quite livable. The fact that there are some decent running venues makes it all the better. The City seems to have a lively and active vibe.
After a morning of training, Lauren and I walked around PDX a bit. We came across a studio showing off some custom bikes. There were some unreal designs. Here is a small sample:
(This video includes some complimentary dancing lessons).
I saw this video of last weekend's BC X-country championships at Jericho Beach in Vancouver over at Steve "Oz" Osaduik's blog. It was a beautiful day to race, sunny and quite warm, with an incredibly scenic backdrop. Due to some heavy rain in the preceding days, the course was nice and muddy. In short, perfect x-country weather and conditions. I have been training with Jon Brown's group and getting coaching advice from him for the past month, so was looking forward to toeing the line.We have been doing some hard workouts on Saturday mornings and it is always fun to race after putting in some big sessions. The race went as expected. It was a very fast field and I was lacking the wheels to be competitive at the front. The gun went off and I was quickly left in the dust, chasing the field. I was still very pleased with my run, as I worked through the packs over the 5*2km loops. I ran 32:50 for the muddy/hilly 10km x-country course and finished 19th. I got in some fun little battles and, not surprisingly, felt stronger and stronger as the race went on.
Jon put on a x-country clinic and showed us all what world class running is like. Marilyn, who is also coached by Jon and who has been a regular training partner recently, showed us all that she does in fact have wheels, winning with a beauty of a kick. This was a good race to start from and I am really looking forward to building my fitness and speed from here. Tony Austin has some great pictures of the race on his site . I'll try to get some and post them on here.
My blog, my opinions. I do appreciate you reading though, so thank you. Main topics include, racing, training, gear review, passing thoughts & commentary on things as I see them. Please feel free to comment. I will not remove posts that challenge my opinions, or ones that prove me wrong, but will remove ones that I deem overly offensive (my line is pretty far out there though, so if I remove your post, it is probably psychopathic).
I can also be reached via email at: campbelladam79 at gmail dot com
A bit of this, a bit of that.
I like to run trails, up mountains and the odd bit of pavement bashing. I also ride bikes with skinny tires and pretty much anything else that gets the ticker going in an outdoor environment.
I am currently an articling law student in Vancouver, British Columbia and have a wide range of interests.
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