Week in Review: June 28-July04

Ominous looking skies to the West near the top of Lynn Peak

28/06/2010: 9.5 miles (1:15) Out in the PM after work for an easy recovery run as is my customary routine after the weekend. Felt good the entire effort to the extent that I had to consciously tell myself to slow down on numerous occasions. I still ended up doing the run faster than I wanted but honestly I just listened to my body and went with it.

29/06/2010: 4 miles (1:40) Up and Down the BCMC with Meredith. Fun climb. It started to hail about half way down which surprisingly hurt as they pelted off our exposed neck, arms, and back.

30/06/2010: 9 miles (1:08) Headed out in the AM before work and did my customary run from my apartment to Lynn Headwaters and then returning. Overall, a fairly uneventful run with no major highs or lows. Body feels good.

01/07/2010: 10.5 miles (1:38) Had the day off work because it was Canada day!! Meredith and I ran from behind Park Royal up to the Suspension bridge and looped around that area for a while. It was pleasant running through the rolling yet forgiving terrain. PM: 6 miles (2:26) Closed the day with a hike up Lynn Peak to satisfy the vertical for the day.


Hanging out on top; the view to the Southeast from the top of Lynn Peak

02/07/2010: 9 miles (1:12) Replicated my run from Monday evening but felt about ten times worse. Had pretty crappy energy the whole time and then my stomach really started to give me grief. Got it done though and actually started to feel better by the last couple of miles; unfortunately, had to go to work by that point.

03/07/2010: 12 miles (2:00) Ran from my apartment down to Intrariver park, up to the Lynn Headwaters. From there, I followed the Baden Powell into Deep Cove, covering the last 1/3 of the Knee Knacker course. Compared to yesterday I felt much better and just settled into a nice rhythm for the effort. Meredith met me in Deep Cove. I soaked in the ocean and then we headed off to the Farmers market. Great day.


Meredith working her way up

04/07/2010: 12.5 miles (2:26) Ran a nice little loop with Meredith. Ended up covering a very similar route that I ran yesterday but instead looped down old buck after descending the first part of Baden Powell once cresting the Seymour Grind. Followed Bridle Path to Twin bridges finishing back at Lynn Headwaters where we started. Again, enjoyed a quick (because it was so f** cold) soak in the river. Unfortunately, GI issues plagued me for the majority of the run; just felt bloated the entire time and really could not get rid of it. O well, some days are just like that I suppose.

Miles: 74
Time: 12 hours

Overall I was really pleased with this week. The mileage was where I wanted it to be and I was able to keep all my runs at a relatively low distance. Despite a bit of GI issues, my body seemed to feel pretty good. I will likely take it easy this week (although the weather is improving which may be too tempting to resist; plus I hate tapering because it means I have to run less). Knee Knacker 50km is this Saturday and I would like to put in a solid effort for this race. It is a classic on the North Shore and one that always presents itself as a significant challenge. Last year I ran the race for the first time finishing with a 5:58 (15th. Obviously, I would like to improve in both respects and feel this is realistic given the complicating stomach issues I experienced last year that set me back a good 8 minutes.

Recently checking out my personal log, the last two months have been great for me in terms of training. I have kept injuries at bay and managed to log 667 miles over the past nine weeks (74.1 weekly avg) taking a sporadic 7 days off over the 63 day stretch. Moreover, I have fit in a nice training-block over the last 30 days only taking 1 day off. Cumulatively, this is definitely one of my best stretches of training and something I am actually quite proud of (given my injuries late last year). We will see if it pays off in terms of racing... Either way, just spending that much time running and being out on the trails and on my feet is satisfaction/ pleasure enough and truly what I extrapolate the most enjoyment from.