"In great attempts, it is glorious even to fail." -- Vince Lombardi

"I've got failed attempts dialed" -- Jack Cook -- Time to Force Fate

The mojo is back ~ July 25th, 2010

The week after Sinister 7 was one of the worst weeks I have had in terms of back pain. But I am finally pain free and have got back to figuring out how I can overcome these weaknesses. That Monday, I spent six hours in my home gym going though every exercise and muscle group, trying to find any imbalances or noticeable weakness. I think I have found a few key muscles that are just not strong enough to run ultras and will likely need to do high doses of focused exercises over a long period of time to acquire the endurance needed for ultra running. But I am hopeful I will have things turned around for the death race, I will most likely not be at my best but hopefully strong enough to run the full event.
 
If I eventually turn things around with my back it will be because of my ever lasting love of sport and the feeling of pushing my limits, but all of my efforts would not of come of turn if it wasn’t for the support of my wife Shauna!

Training ~ July 19th to 25th

• M - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min + Low back strength
• T - AthleticsNorth ~ 14 x 4min with 90sec recovery + Low back strength
• W - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min + Low back strength
• T - AthleticsNorth ~ 30 x 15secs with 1:15 recovery + Low back strength
• F - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min + Low back strength
• S - AthleticsNorth ~ 12 x 2min with 2min recovery + Low back strength
• S - Active Recovery ~ 90min + Low back strength

The biggest part of the death race will be leg 2 and how my back can handle the downhill's. If I can come off leg 2 without the neuro symptoms I normally feel after a long downhill section I should be well positioned to run a strong event.

Between now and the start, my only focus is to get my back as strong as I can. I have no time or place goals for this years event, but as the old saying goes, “When the race is on, all bets are off" :-)

Date night at the emerg ~ July 18th, 2010

Not quite what I had in mind for date night, but Shauna and I spent this past Saturday in the U of A emerg after a episode with my back which has been slowly building this past week. Things progressed though the day on Friday to the point I just could not walk so we decided to take the opportunity to see if we couldn't get any answers when I was at my worst. In these situations, I have been here before, you don't get definitive answers but you do get more information. The more people I talk with, the more I learn about my situation and with this info I can make decision as to what the next step should be. So while I didn't come out with any epiphanies I did walk away, or should I say shuffle away, from emerg with more insight into what is happening and how to prevent further episodes.

On a side note if you haven't spent a Saturday night at emerg, it is quite the thing. Shauna and I had quite the night, the things you hear and see while in your little gown are well, lets just say interesting:-)

It is disappointing not that I had the episode, I have had many of these over the years, the disappointing part is the timing as I was to go to my cousins wedding this weekend and with the episodes I couldn't travel and was unable to attend.

Now with the inflammation down, I am back to walking and feeling considerably better, I received some fairly strong anti inflams at the hospital which worked wonders, there was another pill which was also pretty sweet but you only get one of those:-)

So where am I at, I spoke with several experts in the field of back pain this past week, including Mary Young and Eric Parent and they both had similar ideas, flexion exercises and back stabilization exercises and I would likely need to do a high dose of them over a long period of time to acquire the endurance needed for ultra running.

I have two weeks to get things in order so that I can get back to doing my thing, that thing being the Death Race. I have allot of work to do to strengthen my back and loosen up my hip flexors in two weeks, but as always I love a good challenge.

Never stop believing!

Short strokes - July 12th, 2010

Headed home Saturday after dropping out of S7 to have a day at home, before things really set in, as the two days after the flare up are the most painful, with so much spasming.

I guess what I am saying here is that when I have an episode with my back, and leave early, it is not that I do not want to stay after the event and visit with everyone, but when the spasming is at its worse it is quite difficult and it is much more manageable when I am at home.

Congratulations to everyone who took part and to all the wonderful volunteers and a special thank you to Brian and Andrew who organized such a wonderful event!

Looking ahead, a few months ago I started looking at different options to overcome these back issues I have had since childhood and we may be narrowing in on a few options, we will see how things pan out over the next few weeks. It is difficult sorting though all the information and deciding what is the right.

For now riding the bike is helping with the recovery and with time the spasming will settle down and then we will go from there, with the goal of still doing the Death Race, but too soon to tell at the moment.

Not a problem - July 11th1, 2010

S7, not quite as planned, the back still holds the trump card. No one said this was going to be easy:-)

Adjustment - July 4th, 2010

Midway though the season there have been some adjustments, I started strong with the Vancouver marathon but some set backs have allowed me the opportunity to make some adjustments to my plans for the summer.

After a week off from running and some further research on my on going back issues I am looking forward to the challenge of Sinister 7 and the Death Race.

As much as I detail the issues with my back in this blog, it is also, to a certain extent, in my nature to enjoy the challenge of finding a way to overcome what would otherwise have forced me to retire from sport years ago.

With that thought in mind, it is game on for Sinister 7. This time, passion might just trump logic and no matter what the experts might say, don't be surprised if I figure this thing out and I take a pass on yelling uncle, or, you will see me walking, either way it's going to be epic! :-)

The back holds the trump card - June 28th, 2010

No matter the fitness or the motivation my back holds the trump card when it comes to my goals and when it decides to stop we stop. Once I have irritated the disc space between L5 / S1, due to the spinal slippage caused by my spondylolistheses, "Bob's your uncle", I cannot run and I tap out.

It is safe to say my back and I are not on speaking terms and it will be some time before we come to an understanding. Lets just say at this point we have agreed to disagree!

There is no way around it, once the spine has slid forward and irritates the disc there is no going back, I just have to wait for things to calm down again and give the spine a chance to move back, reduce the inflammation and allow the disc to return to its normal state. Which in most cases takes about a week with the second day being the worst. Generally on the second day, I have period where I cannot walk and just have to lie down and wait it out, which as luck would have it, is today.

The nice thing about the old back, "the spondy" as I like to call it, is that it can occur at any time and with no real indication as to why. Some days are good and the body goes like Vancouver and some days are bad like Blackfoot or in this case the Fast Trax Ultra and the body stops. With the slippage or weakness in my spine each foot strike cause a vibration and with each vibration there comes slippage to the point whereby the slippage irritates the disc.

I had irritated my back some time on Friday and received a chiro adjustment Friday night but things were still stiff in the morning. I did wear a back brace to sleep and then compression shorts with back support for the race but all of this did not seem to add up to a solution. Not sure what set the back off, but sometimes I can set the back off with something as simple as picking up my socks off the floor.

For almost 4 laps I was on my goal pace of 42min per 10km loop and with no real effort but my back was not pleased from the start, it was to be a bad day and I knew that, and I was trying to figure out a way to correct the problem with core position and at 30km I even switched shoes hoping the new position would correct the pelvic position but it made it even worse.

As I said at the outset, "I've got failed attempts dialed", but when this works, look out, I will be on fire!

Long and short, I will be taking a week off from running to let the body heel with some easy cycling and then I will assess options and make a plan, as I love a good plan.

Tour of Swiss

• Flickr Slideshow
• Ytube Video - pause the video at 18secs and you will see myself and Shauna in orange and black on far side of road on far right watching
  

Fast Trax Ultra - June 23rd, 2010

The big week has arrived, the National 100km Championships right here in my home town, not much of a surprise I guess since as I am also the race director, but great to have in my home town, no travel, my own bed etx.

Strong and steady, with the goal of breaking 7hrs, no running a marathon the week before this one, this ain' t no training race, it's game time, full taper mode! We got ourselves a game!!!

Week in France - June 20th, 2010

• M - Active Recovery 90min
• T - Fartlek workout while testing the new Salomon Crossmax
• W - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• T - 1:40-1:30-1:20-1:10-1:00-:50-:40-:30-:20-:10 with 1min between intervals
• F - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• S - 6:00-5:15-4:30-3:45-3:00-2:15-1:30-:45 with 2 min between intervals
• S - Active Recovery 30min + travel home to Canada

On Tuesday we were up bright and early to head out to the trails to try out the new Salomon EXO compression clothing and the new Crossmax trail shoe. The aim was to test Salomon's three main models, the new Crossmax, XT Wing and the XA Pro and at the same time managing to hammer in some quality intervals. Nothing gets in the way of the training:-) I can say, the new Crossmax will turn some heads and the new EXO clothing for spring 2011 will keep some heads aligned, so to speak.

After the test we headed to Salomon headquarters for a tour of the factory as well as their R&D department, very cool, except for the severe jet lag head bobs. Then we wrapped up the day at one of the nicest restaurants I have seen, right on lake Annecy.

The next day everyone headed home and Shauna and I stayed at the hotel, had a relaxing breakfast and then just happened onto the sports page and low and behold the tour de swiss was on, quick check of the web, a little map, little car rental and "Bob", we were off to see the tour. Well, six hours and two mountain passes later we cross sectioned the race and caught the race with 7km to go, parked in the ditch hopped out and were on the side of the road to see the whole race roar by, including Lance, a sight to see. We then proceeded to stock Team Radio Shack and drove right up to their tour bus and took a bunch of pictures, I will try to get them up on Flixr latter tonight, need to charge the camera. Oh and yes the 6 hour drive back to the hotel the same day, epic seems to have a way of following me around, eff!

For the remainder of the week, things calmed, great training, great food and some wonderful walks through the old town of Annecy. Oh and just happened to stubble onto a new trail shoe designed and developed right in the town of Annecy, which so happens is also the home town of Salomon, a little poking around, a little map, a little email, a test pair and "Bob" we will have them in the shop by weeks end. It is really kind of funny go to Annecy to visit Salomon and come home with Hoka trail shoes, in our defense we spent a wack of cash in the Salomon employee store the day before, so were good:-)

Salomon Canada, with Jack checking out, I am not sure what?

Big week ~ June 13th, 2010

• M - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• T - :20-:40-1:00-1:20-1:40-2:00-2:20-2:40-3:00 with 2min between intervals
• W - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• T -:40-1:20-2:00-2:40-3:20-4:00-4:40-5:20-6:00 with 2min between intervals
• F - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• S -:30-1:00-1:30-2:00-2:30-3:00-3:30-4:00-4:30 with 2 min between intervals + Travel to France
• S - Active Recovery 30min

Traveled to France for the Salomon Trail Shoe launch on Saturday, had some issues with passport, managed to get on flight, traveled for 9hours, arrived, went for a short run around lake Annecy upon arriving Sunday evening. Up bright and early for meetings on Monday morning with the Canadian retail group after a wonderful breakfast, then went for a run with Phil V. in the afternoon. After a wonderful 90min run though some terrific trails, quick shower and then attended the big Salomon media presentation with each of the top Salomon retailers world wide from 14 different countries and met the two top trail runners in the world for ultra and mountain running.

All in all not a bad week!

Thomas Lorblanchet World Ultra Trail Champion and Jonathan Wyatt World Mountain Running Champion, oh and I almost forgot me:-)

What week I'm Having ~ June 6th, 2010

• M - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• T - AthleticsNorth ~ 2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16min with 2min between intervals
• W - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• T - AthleticsNorth ~ 10-20-30-40-50-60-70-80-90-100-110-120sec with 2min between intervals
• F - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• S - AthleticsNorth ~ 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8min with 2 minutes between intervals
• S - Active Recovery 90min

Back to full strength, feeling the speed!

Barefoot ~ June 4th, 2010

Am I still running barefoot as part of my training, you bet, 10% of my training week in, week out. Have been doing it for five years now and have not had an injury, well except for my back, but that's not an injury.

Ultra Race Nutrition ~ June 3rd, 2010

So what am I doing for ultra race nutrition, coconut water and beef jerky ( landjager) plain and simple. That's the way Grok would have done things, Primal Running!

Marathon running I go more the simple sugar route with Agave nectar and coconut water.

"The Fast Trax" ~ June 2nd, 2010

Not sure how I get myself into these things but I have made special arrangements with the IAU to be able to attempt the 50km event and the 100km event in the same race. So the game plan will be to attempt the first 50km's of the National 100km championships in under 3:20 and then continue on and complete the remaining 50km's after that.

God hates a coward, like I said, "I like epic"!

What's up ~ May 31st, 2010

With their being no World Trail Championships this year, I changed my focus back to the road earlier this year which made the Fast Trax Ultra the main goal mid season to qualify for the World 100km Championships to be held in early November. Having said that November is poor timing for me and with the opportunity to qualify for the World 50km Championships in August I might change my focus to the 50km event and try the 100km event next year, but I am still undecided.

At this point I am leaning toward the 50km event and should decide in the next week or so.

So with that in mind, I have four weeks of crazy intensity in preparation with no more quality long runs. Then once the Fast trax ultra is complete, I can focus on the trail and try the S7, Death Race double again this year.

Should be epic!

Blackfoot Week ~ May 30th, 2010

• M - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• T - 18 x 90sec with 90sec between
• W - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• T - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• F - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• S - Blackfoot Ultra
• S - Active Recovery 90min

Didn't have the legs for Blackfoot on Saturday. Five days was just not enough time to recover from the Red Deer marathon. Felt strong overall and had the push mentally but needed another week to get the legs back. The intention of doing Blackfoot 100km so soon after the Red Deer marathon was preparation for the S7 / Death Race double so this is money in the bank. I was hoping I could pull off the full 100km but the body was just not ready.

Another opportunity has presented itself. With the Fast Trax Ultra being a World Trophy 50km selection race, there is an opportunity to gain selection to attend the World 50km Championships but this would mean skipping the National 100km Championships. Too many options and as Saturday showed not enough time to recover.

On Tuesday I will return to my normal intensity routine and slowly get the legs back.

Great race, thank you to the race volunteers, directors Gary and Emma and congratulations to all that took part, that was an epic day of rain, snow and sleet!

That was a big week ~ May 24th, 2010

• M - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• T - 8 x 9min with 2 minutes between
• W - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• T - 20 x 1min with 2 minutes between
• F - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• S - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• S - Red Deer Marathon
• M - 90min Recovery Run

Big week of training preparing for the first ultra of the season, the Blackfoot Ultra, this coming Saturday. In Red Deer, I started relaxed and slowly worked my way though the field over the course of the marathon and pulled out the win managing to win $300 which will be donated to cancer research in memory of friends who have recently been affected by cancer.

I recently signed up for a non-profit group called Athletes for Africa to raise vital funds for programs throughout Congo, Sudan and Uganda. It involves individuals setting up their own fund raising campaign on the Athletes for Africa website and, as they compete in their athletic goals, helping vital programs in Africa. I was truly touched by this group and thought it would be a great way for followers of my journey to give back and donate to this vital program.

Of note, Shauna says I am a shoe-in to win the Death Race this year, based on the amount of laundry I am producing:-)

So what am I eating these days, greens, meat, fish, berries and good fats

I am always refining my nutrition to help me better handle my training and long work days and have developed the following as my nutitional template with the thought in mind that 80% of my body composition will be determined by my diet. Yes, exercise is important to health and to speed up fat-burning and muscle-building, but most of your results will come from how you eat.

This morning, for example, I had my cup of coffee, some scrambled eggs, with an avocado and some berries. Sometimes I’ll have a green smoothie. I don’t eat a lot of fruit other than berries as I like to get my fiber from vegetables since they’re lower in sugar and have more nutrients than fruit.

For a snack I’ll grab some berries, cherry tomatoes and some almonds. I try to avoid the temptation to grab a sports bar from the shop as they are high in sugar.

For lunch, with the shop reno and the large staff kitchen, I now have more flexibility in what I can make at the shop and have a large salad with smoked salomon with mountains of dark leafy greens, colorful chopped up veggies, with hemp oil and Bragg. I do different greens on different days, but I never really put much planning into it. I just grab my big bowl, toss in whatever veggies and greens I have on hand, and chow. This keeps me full and the flavor is unbeatable.

In the afternoon, I will have another salad, nuts or a green protein smoothie, depending on the workout for the day. Hard workout, smoothie, recovery workout, salad.

For dinner, I always have a meal focusing on a large fresh salad and some broiled fish or occasional organic chicken or meat, I don’t like a big dinner. Sometimes I enjoy a glass or wine or a beer, but in general I keep the evenings light on calories.

I say I eat salads every day, but they’re always different. There are hundreds of different types of fish, vegetables, berries and herbs that can keep your salads interesting and exciting and you don’t have to be a great cook, either. The great thing about eating fresh and clean is that these things don’t take much time or creativity to taste great.

Going Primal!

Strong week ~ May 17th, 2010

• M - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• T - 20 x 1min with 2 minutes between
• W - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• T - 14 x 2min with 2 minutes between
• F - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• S - 12 x 90secs with 2 minutes between
• S - Active Recovery 150min

Interesting week, registering for one of our local events I noticed a series of pictures on the race website that had our shop logo photo shopped. Falls into the category of things that make you go hmm!

On a more interesting note, I received a cheque from the Vancouver marathon this week for being third master overall which will be donated to cancer research in memory of friends who have recently been affected by cancer.

On the funnier side, when Shauna and I returned from Blackfoot on Sunday we thought we would do up the recovery compression, Shauna went for the tights and I went for the socks. Well I can say, sporting a pair of shorts, compression socks and an Bar BQ apron can bring back memories of your father with the long black dress socks and suspenders. I can say I looked more like an old man on the deck than an elite athlete in full recovery mode:-) On the positive side, we felt quite recovered the next morning, the neighbors have asked that we keep the compression indoors mind you:-)

I am looking forward to the Red Deer marathon this weekend.

Back into the rhythm ~ May 9th, 2010

• M - Active Recovery 30min
• T - 20 x 2mins with 2 minutes between
• W - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• T - 30 x 1min with 2 minutes between
• F - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• S - 10 x 4mins with 2 minutes between
• S - Active Recovery 90min

Good week of training after the marathon, I am enjoying the rhythm of maintaining speed work and recovery workouts so that there are no huge breaks in training.

That was epic ~ May 2nd, 2010

• M - 6:00-5:15-4:30-3:45-3:00-2:15-1:30-:45 with 2 minutes between
• T - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• W - 4:00-3:30-3:00-2:30-2:00-1:30-1:00-:30 with 2 minutes between
• T - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• F - 60m, 800m & 3000m Time Trials
• S - Active Recovery 30min
• S - Vancouver Marathon ~ 2:42

Epic week of travel, racing and even some dancing, yes the condor came out briefly in New York, sorry, the condor is a dance move I seem to be famous for in very small circles:-)

I couldn't be happier with Vancouver, 2:42 was the best I could do on "any given sunday". It was a perfect race and without the heavy rain and hilly course I think I could have gone under 2:40.

It has been a long road back to being able to run pain free again. It took allot of hard work and persistence but running that well made all the hard work worth it!

Back to normal ~ April 25th, 2010

• M - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• T - 120-110-100-90-80-70-60-50-40-30-20-10-10-20-30-40-50-60-70-80-90-100-110-120 sec
• W - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• T - 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1min with 2 minutes between intervals
• F - Cruise Workout ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• S -2:30-2:15-2:00-1:45-1:30-1:15-1:00 - :45 - :30 - :15 with 2 minutes between intervals
• S - Active Recovery 90min

All is back to normal this week with some great training, had an exceptional run on Sunday, everything seemed to be clicking. This week I head to New York as a guest of New Balance as Fast Trax was one of the top New Balance retailers this year. Upon returning I will work a shift at the shop on Saturday and then off to Vancouver for the marathon. Nice life:-)

Good Start to the Week ~ April 18th, 2010

• M - 6min-24min-6min
• T - 20 x 30sec @ 3km pace w/ 90sec recovery
• W - 6min-24min-6min
• T - 14 x 90sec @ 5km pace w/ 90sec recovery
• F - 6min-24min- 6min
• S - Active Recovery 30min
• S - Active Recovery 30min

Had a good start to the week but developed some sort of stomach aliment on Saturday evening after attending a fundraising event for Lurana Shelter and was unable to run the St Albert 10miler, hopefully I will be feeling better soon. Something has seemingly also triggered my back, not sure if it is related to the issues with the stomach but most likely it will be all sorted out by Tuesday.

Good Week ~ April 11th, 2010

Training April 5th to 11th

• M - AM 6min-12min-6min PM 6min-24min-6min
• T - AM 6min-12min-6min PM 12 x 4:30 @ 15km pace w/ 90sec recovery
• W - AM 6min-12min-6min PM 6min-24min-6min
• T - AM 6min-12min-6min PM 16 x 3min @ 10km pace w/ 2min recovery
• F - AM 6min-12min-6min PM 6min-24min-6min
• S - Travel Day
• S - Active Recovery 120min

Back from Spring Training Camp / Vacation and feeling great! It was wonderful to spend some time away from the day to day busy and take some time to reflect and look to ways to better my life and the life of the others around me. I find it very inspiring to read books related to Zen Buddhism and take some of the lessons and apply them to my daily life, hopefully inspiring me to be more mindful in my everyday life.

Spring Training Camp ~ April 4th, 2010

Training March 29th to April 4th

• M - AM 6min-12min-6min PM 6min-24min-6min
• T - AM 6min-12min-6min PM 10-20-30-40-50-60-70-80- 80-70-60-50-40-30-20-10sec @ 3km
• W - AM 6min-12min-6min PM 6min-24min-6min
• T - AM 6min-12min-6min PM :30-1:00-1:30-2:00-2:30-3:00-3:00-2:30-2:00-1:30-1:00-:30 @ 5km
• F - AM 6min-12min-6min PM 6min-24min-6min
• S - AM Travel PM 6min-24min-6min
• S - AM 6min-12min-6min PM 15-:30-:45-1:00-1:15-1:30-1:45-2:00-2:00-1:45-1:30-1:15-1:00-:45-::30-:15 @ 5km pace w/ 2 x 2min at end of interval set @ 5km pace

Time for the annual spring training camp to give the body a extra boost of fitness. Truth be told Shauna and I are away for her bi-annual Nakamun meetings in Napa Valley, but I like to refer to them as training camps. It is a great time to get in a little extra training with the added recovery time. Morning run and stretch, light breakfast, morning workout, nap and evening workout. Might be a glass of wine or two, I know:-)

Spring time ~ March 28th, 2010

Training March 22nd - 28th

• M - AM 6min-12min-6min PM 6min-24min-6min
• T - AM 6min-12min-6min PM 1-2-3-4-5-5-4-3-2-1min @ 15km pace
• W - AM 6min-12min-6min PM 6min-24min-6min
• T - AM 6min-12min-6min PM 5-10-15-20-25-30-35-40-40-35-30-25-20-15-10-5sec @ 3km pace
• F - AM 6min-12min-6min PM 6min-24min-6min
• S - AM 30-1:00-1:30-2:00-2:30-3:00-3:30-3:30-3:00-2:30-2:00-1:30-1:00-:30 @ 10km pace
• S - AM Active Recovery 90min

With the approach of spring, it is time to lose the winter vest, a few adjustments to diet;

• green smoothies
• replace afternoon coffee with green tea
• eliminate sugar and beer, I know:-)

Stillman Performance Height / Weight Ratio Table for Men

• 110lbs for my first 5feet in height
• 5.5lbs for each additional inch in height
• Ideal weight for myself, 6ft tall, 110lbs + 66lbs = 176lbs
• Ideal race weight for myself, subtract 5 to 10% = 159 to 168lbs

I am currently running at 172lbs so not too bad, the winter was good to me:-)

Also with the return of spring so do the morning workouts;

• AM 6min-12min-6min

Subtle reminder ~ March 21st, 2010

Training March 15th to 21st

• M - Cruise ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• T -AthleticsNorth ~ 34 x 30sec @ 3km pace with 1min recovery
• W - Cruise ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• T -AthleticsNorth ~ 24 x 90sec @ 10km pace with 1min recovery
• F - Cruise ~ Cruise ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• S -AthleticsNorth ~ 26 x 1min @ 5km pace with 1min recovery
• S - Active Recovery ~ 90min

Had a flare up on Thursday, not sure what happened but it affected Thursdays and Saturdays workouts so I decided to opt out of the masters mile Saturday night. I like to think it is a sign of maturity, a sign of maturity at age 42, interesting thought!

Other than that a great week of training, very happy with progress!

Getting back up ~ March 14th, 2010

Training March 8th to 14th

• M - Cruise ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• T -AthleticsNorth ~ 14 x 5min @ 15km pace with 2min recovery
• W - Cruise ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• T -AthleticsNorth ~ 40 x 15secs @ 5km pace with 45sec recovery
• F - Cruise ~ Cruise ~ 6min - 24min - 6min
• S -AthleticsNorth ~ 16 x 2min @ 10km pace with 2min recovery
• S - Active Recovery ~ 90min

It's not how you start, its how you finish!

Perfect Week of Training ~ March 7th, 2010

Training March 1st to 7th

• M - Cruise ~ 6-24- 6 + Complex strength
• T - AthleticsNorth ~ 24 x 1min @ 3km pace with 2min recovery
• W - Cruise ~ 6-24- 6 + Complex strength
• T - AthleticsNorth ~ 16 x 3min @ 5km pace with 2min recovery
• F - Cruise ~ 6-24- 6 + Complex strength
• S - AthleticsNorth ~ 16 x 2min @ 10km pace with 2min recovery
• S - Active Recovery 60min ~ Nordic Ski

Good to be in the groove!

Slight Change of Plans ~ March 1st, 2010

I have decided to make a few tweaks to my race calendar;

• St Albert 10miler ~ April 18th
• Vancouver Marathon ~ May 2nd
• Blackfoot Ultra ~ May 29th
• Fast Trax Ultra ~ June 26th ~ National 100km Championships
• Sinister 7 ~ July 10th
• Death Race ~ July 31st
• World 100km Championships ~ Nov 6th

I just do not feel ready to run 100km in a little over five weeks and with this schedule it will give me more time to do a better lead up before returning to the 100km distance and lets face it I am a fragile flower and just do not travel well, so the closer to home the better:-)

My race director hat will be handed to PFM Race Services for the day so that I can focus on running the Fast Trax Ultra and not running the Fast Trax Ultra:-)

Note: We are still hoping this years Fast Trax Ultra will be chosen as the National 100km Championships.

Mixed Emotions ~ February 28, 2010

This week has seen some huge highs with the olympics and some devastating lows with the passing of my nana. My nana was my biggest supporter and a truly wonderful women. With the passing of my mother and the absence of my father my nana was my rock and supported me no matter how poor or good my decisions were growing up and latter as an adult. There is not a day I do not think of my grandfather and knowing my nana and he will be together again brings a smile. I will truly miss my nana, as I miss my grandfather, mother and father as it is difficult not to think of each of them at a time like this.

Training for February 22nd to 28th

• M - Cruise ~ 6-24- 6 + complex strength
• T - ANW ~ 12 x 6min @ 15km pace with 2min recovery
• W - Cruise ~ 6-24- 6 + complex strength
• T - ANW ~ 24 x 30sec @ 3km pace with 90sec recovery
• F - Cruise ~ 6-24- 6 + complex strength
• S - ANW ~ 14 x 4min @ 10km pace with 2min recovery
• S - Active Recovery 60min

Good Week ~ February 22, 2010

After a trip to the chiro, back at it, good week of training with loads of leg strength and intervals at slightly relaxed pace to get the legs back into it. It has been abit of a break after a 2 week cold and then a week of solid skiing to get ready for the Birkie.

Six weeks to go before the 100k, oh dear:-)

Stupid, stupid, stupid ~ February 13th, 2010

Put my back out taking down the Fast Trax display at the Birkie Fair, race ended before it started, will I ever learn.

I must say it never ceases to amaze me how great the staff at Fast Trax are, I have some great individuals working with me. With the birkie week the staff worked some long hours making sure all our customers had the best race possible as well as lining up on the line and taking part in the event itself or waxing skis from 5am to 9am race morning and racing back to the shop to open the shop for regular Saturday shop hours.

Above and beyond!

Thank you team! As we say at the shop, "Bob"

(saying is short for "Bob's your uncle" and well it took on a life of its own after a while)

Slow to progress ~ February 7th, 2010

No training this week until Sunday, when I went for a 2:30 easy ski with Shauna out at Blackfoot after visiting with Rogers family and friends in the Blackfoot Pavilion for some kind words and friendly speeches. It was great to see so many friendly faces and to see both parking lots full.

I was surprised by how long it took to bounce back from what started as a simple cold but when it comes to the body you simply have to listen and let it recover at its own pace. Once I felt my cold go into my chest I immediately stopped training last Wednesday after Tuesday's workout and had I not done that I would most likely still have this cold and would go into the Birkie run down. This way, I am fully rested and still have some time for some quality training.

With this cold behind me, my goal this week will be to put in some solid quality training before this Saturday's Birkie. After the Birkie, I will have 8 weeks of solid quality training before the US National 100km Championships and by the looks of it, I have allot of work to do, with this week's, Complex Interval Workouts.

Not a greet week indeed ~ Jan 31st, 2010

The shop and life's little twists and turns took their toll this week, came down with a progressively bad cold on Monday and still have it, slowly starting to improve though and might be able start training again on Tuesday.

Complex Strength Workout ~ Jan 24th, 2010

Starting to see some great strength gains from the new strength training I have been completing. It does not always happen but I aim for 20min strength workouts everyday with the following exercises;

Warm Up

• Treadmill @ 15% - 5min

Workout

• Chin Up - 5 sets of 3 reps
• Leg Raise - 5 sets of 3 reps
• Squat - 5 sets of 3 reps
• Box Jumps - 5 sets of 10 reps
• Treadmill @ 15% - 5 sets of 30sec sprints

Each exercise follows each with no break between exercises, very taxing! I can do this!

Back in Business ~ Jan 17th, 2010

I think I have found the culprit, the "horny worm" , if you were out for a shop workout this past summer you know what I am referring too, if you have not, its a core strength thing:-) Anyway's it turns out for fellas like myself with "the spondy" plank based core is not the goods, it actually sets the back off, especially blank exercises with movement!

Which is kind of funny, as I was doing this exercise up till last week as part of my warm up for races as I thought it was activating my back and the more races I dropped out of, the more I did this exercise and the worse my back seemed to get as training was becoming harder and harder. As well as I was doing this exercise before all my interval workouts and before bed at home. So yes, I was activating my back alright, I was putting the damn thing out of place.

Having re-moved this exercise from my core program and replaced with more upright based core I seem to be gaining ground once again, Tally Ho! (oldie but a goodie!)

Unfinished Business ~ January 10th, 2010

Before moving on to the 2010 Ultra Trail Racing Plan, I have a little unfinished business, the 100km Road World Championships coming up in November and to that end I have decided to do the US National 100km Championships on Saturday April 10th in Madison, Wisconsin.

If I can bring it together and go under 7hrs I will lace them up and give the World 100km Championships one more try. From now till April everything will go into preparing for this one race, everything on the line, no holds barr, time to FORCE FATE and get 'er done. Game on!

This is going to be EPIC!

Force Fate 2010 ~ January 3rd, 2010

Sitting down and taking a look at what lies ahead is always an exciting time for me as I have always enjoyed the planning process of training and racing. If you have been reading my blog the past few years, this year in particular, there have been some ups and downs in terms of my race results and with that I have posted several ideas and decisions. The biggest hurdle has been the issue of over coming my struggle with my weak back due to having instable Spondylolisthesis, the hardest part of having this condition, in my case, is spelling the damn word.

Having this condition, the question becomes, what do I do, simply sit back and say I have done the best I can and move on to other things or do I step up and FORCE FATE and find a way around this to race the big race. As I say, I have posted many ideas and if you have been keeping score there have been many contradictions and changes and adjustments, the sign of a desperate man I suppose.

To quote a favorite movie of mine, "I feel the need, the need for speed", the quote that better suits me, "I feel the need, the need for epic" When it gets down to the brass tax, what ever that is, I do not much enjoy marathons, they are not epic enough, what I truly enjoy is ultra ridiculous trail racing, the more extreme the terrain the better. So with this realization I have developed the following Ultra Trail Racing Plan for 2010. This plan also reflects the mantra's of one of Fast Trax's greatest managers and coaches, Lorris Williams, "if you wish to do something well, really well, i.e. win the damn thing, you need to specialize". With that thought in mind and with the development of my newest crazy training component, my Complex Strength Training Program, I look to take on the following list of races;

• Blackfoot Ultra ~ May
• Fast Trax Ultra ~ June
• Sinister 7 ~ July
• Death Race ~ August
• World Trail Running Championships ~ September
  

What is Complex Strength Training you may ask, well it is very similar in structure to the interval program, random, complex, specific to running, always changing, to force the body to adapt and become stronger. The focus on the program is the Squat Exercise and running intervals at a 15% grade after each and every set, but then adding bosu ball squats before each squat set and plyometrics after the full squats and before each 15% interval on the treadmill. If this newest idea actually works and gives me a back and legs of steel, I will see about posting some videos of the new program.

As well, you may have noticed I have once again deleted all previous blog posts about my back, this year, and the problem's with my back are in the past , which cannot be changed. The win, pain free running and skiing - it still lies up ahead, waiting, and it will stay there, until I figure out how to conquer my back pain.

My goal, mission, this year is too FORCE FATE and to become the strongest trail runner I can, finding a way to once and for all to conquer my on going back problem.

If things progress well and I can run and ski pain free through the winter, I hope to add a few more trail races to the list, as well as completing each of the main classic loppet's in Northern Alberta including the Birkie, the grand daddy of Loppet in February. I will focus solely on classic skiing for now as Skate skiing is just too hard on my back.

As Fast Trax's great wax tech, Patrick, always says, "we did not come here to mess around", well he may have used another word but you get the idea.

Happy New Year!

Your still reading:-), there is more, Crazy Training Regime 2009

MASTER PLAN

The goal this year will be to prepare for the Fast Trax Ultra, Blackfoot, Sinister 7, Death Race and the World 100km Championships.

Events

• Vancouver Marathon ~ May 2nd
• Red Deer Marathon ~ May 23rd
• Blackfoot Ultra ~ May 29th
• Fast Trax Ultra ~ June 26th
• Sinister 7 ~ July 10th
• Death Race ~ July 31st
• World 100km Champs ~ Nov 6th

Goal Events

1. Fast Trax Ultra
2. World 50km Trophy
3. World 100km Championships

All prize money donated to Cancer Research

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