Kelowna Marathon ~ Too much too soon, the body was just not ready for another hard effort. I had hoped I could sneak in another hard effort before taking a break from training and use all the hard training I did preparing for the World Championships and turn out a solid marathon time, but no go. I managed to finish up the marathon in just under 4hrs. It was great to run with so many enthusiastic runners, truly inspiring.

I now plan on taking a break from training to give the body some time to rest and recover and resume training again for next year starting in November or maybe even December if I think the body needs more time.

Look for the launch of my new website, goals and training ideas over the next month, it is going to be another exciting year.

Congratulations to everyone that ran the Kelowna marathon, that was sure a wonderful day!

Throwing a log on the fire ~ In my last entry, I mentioned I turned the fire down, but kept the pilot light on. While in pilot mode I kept training fairly solid but eased off on pace and ran relaxed, no focus on pace or heart rate, just running for the love of running. For detailed training click here ~ Training Blog

During that time I searched out the weak muscles and found exercises to strengthen them and the new exercises seem to be helping to reduce the glute fatigue. Also I looked to the next step and have come up with the following plan;

• Okanagan Marathon
• World Trail 50mile Championships ~ If selected
• Becky Scott Loppet
• Canadian Birkie
• National 100km Championships
• Red Deer Marathon
• Blackfoot Ultra
• Western States 100miler ~ If selected in the lottery
• Sinister 7
• Death Race
• World 100km Championships

Report from "Coach" ~ After posting a brief report on my web page and sending an update email to my coach and renowned exercise physiologist , Owen Anderson, here is what he had to say;

I am very, very sorry about the way things worked out. This is very disappointing and frustrating for you, and I feel very bad that the race did not go better.

I am doubtful that the glutes are not firing on the flat, one would have to have an EMG performed during running. This is a very uncertain area of research, with no norms established for glute firing levels. And, since the glutes and back were tight, it seems instead that the glutes were over-firing, getting locked up rather than removing themselves from action. I think that possibly a better explanation is simply that you injured the area while picking up the Hungarian-woman's bricks :-) near the escalator on the way to the race venue, and that the glutes and low back were simply not recovered in time for the race. While this was a freak event, it nonetheless reveals that the area does require further strengthening. ( I should mention that, the glutes not firing was my interpretation of what was explained to me, so what do I know :-)

I am very glad that your fire is still burning strong. You are still going to run sub-7; there is much success in the future for you. What have you been doing for training since you returned?

Very kindest regards,
Owen

Jack on 7hr pace at 25km's

Fragile Flower ~ Yes once again I return home having performed poorly at the world championships, each time a different reason for the poor performance. I arrived at the race site on the Tuesday before the event, to settle in and prepare for the race, if the race had gone well I would have said my preparation was perfect, and it was, as I did everything to assure a good result. As training started on Tuesday, my stride did not feel strong and was very stiff, with each workout, I seemed to get stiffer, I stretched and went to see a physio who said my right side was locked up and she could not get it too move so I came in again the next day and still no luck getting the hip to move and the stiffness continued. During the opening ceremonies my back was extremely stiff and I was really starting to worry that things were not going to go well. In the morning I went for an extra long warm up and I started the race slower than I planned to ease into the race and reduce the risk of spasming. I settled into a pace at 10km at 4:15/km but I could not find a stride that felt good and all the muscles in around my hip continued to tighten up and by 30km I could feel the disk space in my low back tighten and the nerve sensations started and the harder I tried the slower I went, even if I pressed and tried to push though the pain my stride got even shorter, so I walked for 5km to give the back a chance to settle down and then I was able to run again but the sensations returned quickly and I was reduced to walking again, by 55km I had had enough and pulled off the course. This was not a good time for me, so I spent some time walking and found a phone to call Shauna at the shop. When I reached her she was just heading out for the shop run, but she gave me some words of encouragement and putting things in perspectives I felt much better. Afterward I purchased some wine, cheese and chocolate and headed back to the race to cheer on the team. The team did extremely well his year, each setting a personal best or very close and were very supportive.

Having returned I have seen the chiro and things are feeling good again. It seems my glutes are strong and they fire fine with my knee bent, so climbing, but with my knee straight, so running on flats, no firing and with a glute not firing the slightest misalignment will cause the spasming to start. So back to the drawing board to strengthen the glutes even more and work to get them to fire on the flats.

The reason for the misalignment, nearest I can figure, on the train ride a nice lady from Hungry( not sure of country but for sure she wasn't speaking english), asked me to pick up her parcel for her, as her Husband left her at the top of the escalator to fend for herself, nice guy, so not believing my luck and realizing I was the only one around, I reluctantly, but with a smile, picked up the package for her which turned out to be her brick collection, or so it seemed and from that moment, things did not feel so good, fragile flower I am.

Certainly not the result I was looking for, but the fire still burns strong, (the pilot light is on currently) and I look forward to building on this and finding the right formula. Looking to the future, I am not sure of my racing plans just yet. I will sit down with Shauna and see what we want to do and make a plan, maybe I can convince Shauna to go to Chiropractic school as it would seem I need constant adjusting and every time I travel it seems impossible to find a good therapist and one that knows your history, maybe I will have to look into a having a Chiro come with me to the next years World Championships.

Thank you for all your support and warm wishes in preparing for this event, everyone has been so supportive, thank you!

Jack

Departure ~ One last hard workout on Monday and then I hop on the plane. Everything is feeling good, my stride has never felt stronger, all the work I have done with my stride over the past year seems to be paying hugh dividends in terms of efficiency.

In terms of race strategy, I will be looking to run between 4:00 to 4:12 min/km for pace, because this is the tempo I have rehearsed so much in training and thus have built up the best economy.  I have a strong feeling that if I do this I will be in the top ten or very close.  The problem is that if I run with the leaders I end up playing their game, running at paces which they have practiced.  If they go out fast, hopefully I will catch them later.  If I try to go out fast with the leaders, I'll burn extra glycogen and put undue stress on my hip flexors, glutes and hamstrings.  If they go out slow, it will be too slow for my fitness. So I will focus on my practiced 4:00 to 4:12/km pace and let things play out.  If I can maintain this pace it will keep me "in the hunt".

For a complete outline of my training over the last week ~ Training

• Race ~ Website
• International Ultra Association ~ Website
• National Association ~ Website

Training ~ The upcoming training is designed to sharpen, to bring me to an even higher level of fitness before I step to the starting line on Sept 8. The rest of the training (between Aug 31 and Sept 8) will consist of small doses of race-pace effort (to enhance economy, confidence, and "feel"), along with moderate inputs of high-quality running and strengthening.

For more detailed outline of my training leading up to the World Championships go to my new blog, Project 9.5 ~ Project

Training Resumes ~ After a long travel day on Monday I went for an easy recovery run on soft grass on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday I resumed quality training with 5 x 1km at 12mph on my treadmill and then took a rest day on Friday taking in the Folkfest. Today, I was back on the grass doing 4 x 10min with 2min recovery at 10km race pace, pace slightly slower than usual but legs feeling good.

With 3 weeks to go before I depart for Europe for the World 100km Championships the focus is on speed, double workouts and quality food. This will be my forth trip to the World Championships where I have set PW's on each occasion and this year I am looking to find the right balance of speed and endurance to take me to my goal of breaking 7hrs for the full 100km distance.

Death Race Report ~ In preparation for this years race I focused on improving three areas, nutrition, downhill running and pacing. I wanted to run a consistent effort without a hugh decrease in speed after leg 2 and have consistent energy, avoiding the multiple bonks I experienced last year and I wanted to be able to run the downhill's at a faster speed and have the ability to recover from the pounding of the downhill's.

Going into the event I was certainly concerned about the health of my back but it held up quite well, but it did take away some of my strength on the uphill's as I had to reduce my pace on the steeper climbs due to tightening back muscles. I had figured it was better to take Hammel a little easier this year rather than to send my back into spasm and be reduced to walking the flats.

One thing I noticed was that my downhill running was far better this year but in doing so my legs didn't bounce back from the pounding making the end of leg 4 and leg 5 considerably slower this year than last year.

Leg 1 was quite solid this year with solid pace and good fluid and food intake. Leg 2 was also quite smooth, running quite well but certainly difficult footing and very wet. I did noticed that my uphill running was not as strong but considering the conditions I was not too worried. Going into leg 3, I was concerned as I was quite weak on leg 3 last year but this year I kept an even pace and felt strong the whole way. Coming into leg 4, I mentioned to Shauna that things were going much better than last year and I was feeling good. Heading out of transition I felt strong, good energy, and headed into the hills where once again the back did not like the climbing so I decided to walk pretty much the whole of Hammel and reached the summit quite refreshed and headed off the top in good spirits. Similar to last year I reached the bottom of Hammel and felt very weak and had run out of food. Different from last yea, where I hit the Ambler loop aid station, refueled and felt great, this year I refueled with the power bars provided and immediately felt worse leading to many pit stops. By the end of ambler loop reaching the bottom of the road I had regrouped and was running strong again. Moving into the last transition I was feeling good and was happy to be back to my food and ate quite a bit of food heading out onto leg five to keep my energy high. I found running the single track quite challenging this year and did not make good time but crossing the river onto the ski trails my stride returned and the last 15km went quite good, the pace was slow but it felt comfortable. A few relay runners passed on leg 5 and were able to give me info on the other soloists behind, and it was reassuring that my lead was not shrinking.

Coming into town was very exhilarating with the cheering and seeing the team and then running into the finish was a great moment, to give Shauna a big bear hug. After struggling up on stage and a few interviews we headed back to the hotel for a shower and pizza in bed, a very good sleep followed.

I should point out that the Death Race has 6 legs and not 5 as advertised, the 6th leg being at the Grand Cache Hotel Victory Party, I think I came away from Grande Cache with a leg 6 injury:-)

I look forward to next year and have a few new training ideas. A big thank you goes out to Shauna and the Fast Trax staff for doing so well in the relay and supporting me so well in transition. When Shauna yelled out "fight" on leg 5 it certainly brought a tear to the eye and gave me the energy to make the final push to the finish, I am very lucky to have Shauna there by my side, truly wonderful!

Fast Trax Ultra Update ~ Competing in the 50km event at the Fast Trax Ultra my goal was 3:30:00 but due to the heat, I managed to run 3:42:00. I was on pace for the first two laps but slowed after the heat started to take its toll. I was very pleased with the effort and things look to be on track for the Death Race in three weeks and then the World 100km Championships in early September.

A big thank you to everyone involved in the Fast Trax Ultra, by far the best event I have attended:-)

Win at Canada Road Race ~ In a last minute decision I decided to run the Canada Road Race as part of my planned quality 30km training run. I ended up running a little faster than I set out to run but the competition juices seem to take over once the gun went off:-)

It was a great day and allot of fun running with Beto, David and "da boys" from Camrose. The Canada Day Run is one of my favorites, great course, ( 15km or otherwise :-) great pancakes and having Starbucks at the finish is fairly sweet.

Next up, the Fast Trax 50km. I downgraded to the 50km from the 100km in order to have another quality training run but having enough to recover for the Death Race 3 weeks latter. The goal for the Fast Trax Ultra will be to run 100km goal race pace so 3:30 for 50km.

Full Results ~ Results

Back to Training ~ After a good sleep on Monday, training resumed Tuesday with 10 x 2min with 1min recovery on rolling grass terrain and then 20 x 1min with 1min recovery on steep grass hills. Wednesday was strength training building up glute/low back strength. This weekend we have a hard 10km race pace workout at Goldbar Park and then more strength on Sunday, no need for another long run this weekend, I think I got that covered last weekend:-)

Looking to the Fast Trax Ultra, Death Race and then the World 100km Championships. Unfortunately I am not going to be able to do Raid the North this fall due to timing, hopefully next year.

Team Fast Trax / Salomon Places 2nd at FMIJ ~ To podium at an adventure race has been a dream of mine since I started adventure racing several years back, and to realize that this past weekend brought tears to my eyes as we came over the last hill and ran down to the finish line. Granted at that point we were unsure of placing, but to be as strong as we were over the 175km course was very satisfying. Also to be part of such a great team was something to cherish, Juha, Sean & Tara were absolutely amazing the whole way though.

The strategy going into the event was to be steady, communicate, work together and be quick in transition. There is a fine line when in transitions, leave too quick and you risk running low on fuel, spend to long and it is hard to resume. I should point out in this race you had four options, regular course or regular course plus three advanced sections. Teams completing the full three advanced sections would be automatically ranked ahead of teams doing two advanced sections and so on.

Our plan at the start was to do all three advanced sections with the flexibility to change based on progression. We started off running, working smoothly we made our way though the first advanced section to the first two unmanned check points, the first one being the most difficult to find. After some difficult trekking we headed to where we were to pick up our mountain bikes. Making good time we hit the road and started running again and headed downhill, and then ding, ding, mountain bikes start flying past us, we missed the bike check apparently, we needed to go the other way on the road, so we turned around and waked back up the hill. Opps

Once on our bikes we headed off down that same road and headed off for our first manned transition for some food and to replenish our water and bars. This was a long bike which found us in the middle of a swamp with no clue where we were, and just when we thought we were hooped I saw the road we we were looking for just beyond the swamp and off we went. Back on our bikes we headed down the road, at which point my seat post broke and I was left riding with no seat, nice treat:-)

Once in transition we changed gear, refueled and headed out with our climbing gear heading for the top of one long climb in the full heat of the day. This proved to be a difficult climb for the gang due to the heat, thankfully there were snow patches on the way up and we were able to use the snow to cool off. Once at the top we had to make the choice of choosing the regular course or the second advanced leg, after considering our options we opted to skip the 2nd advanced section, the thinking being we would run out of time and if we did manage to make it we would be too tired for the remainder of the course. Taking the regular course at this point would keep us fresh and if things went well we would do the 3rd advanced section later in the race. ( The second advanced section was by far the hardest and longest of the advanced sections and it would have been difficult to complete in time for the rafting section, as there was a dark zone, where by you had to be off the water by 9:30pm at which point you would have had to walk to transition loosing valuable time.) Heading off on the regular course we hiked down the other side of the mountain heading for the ropes section. Coming off the mountain onto the flat section we had a major river crossing which was so cold it brought us to tears, but what it did was refresh our legs and we were off running again. Running onto the road we came upon 4 teams and with 1km to the ropes section, suddenly the team shifted gears and the pace increased and with one big push we managed to catch all four teams and make it to the ropes first.( You can gain valuable time if you can avoid a line up at the ropes. )

Once across the ropes section we met our wonderful support crew once again, refueled and suited up for the rafting section. Once we inflated the raft we were off and heading down river full of tricky class three and four rapids. Sean really shined here, guiding us though some very tricky sections. Shortly into the paddle, which was a scream, I realized I was in trouble, as on the second stop to drain the raft, I could not keep up the team while walking over some rocks and I almost didn't have the strength to get back on the raft. From there I just started eating and four hammer bars latter I was back enjoying the ride. It seemed we hit every rock on the river, so I am not sure if there is extra points for that, I did ask at one point if it was our goal to hit or miss the rocks, but the team didn't seem to see the humor.

After 3 hours in the raft we jumped out of the rafts and walked two km's to transition where we hoped on our bikes again, new seat post,( thank you Wild Rose!), and headed off with sleeping bags and bivy sacks in our packs just in case we feel asleep in the night. I cannot imagine the need for sleep after being awake for 30hours. ( you do not get much sleep before the race) We were now moving into our second evening, easily the hardest part of the race. The ride started off rather calm finding the first check point quickly, but the next check point proved to be difficult, now in the dark and with so many options we were making progress but it was hard to decide which was the correct trail and then all the top teams converged on the check point where we found out the course had been changed. Off we went in a pack of four teams and just when I was about to say "were racing with the big boys", one by one our head lamps and bike lights died and in a flash we were once again alone in the woods. With new lights, and a few words for the gods, we headed off to the bike drop where we needed to decide weather we wanted to head to the finish or take on the third and last advanced section.

Jack standing with his sleeping bag over his head like a mummy, with head lamp shinning though the team was in good humor and energy was there, somewhere, deep deep inside, so we decided to go for it and do the advanced route. Heading out on foot we set a strong pace, but I soon faded and dropped back, at first giggling uncontrollably and then realizing Sean was in the same place we both started laughing non stop, striking fear into Tara. Sean recovered quickly, and left me to the bears, as I was not recovering. At this point I started taking to our filth teammate.(we only have four members per team) Also interestingly enough the fifth teammate kept changing, first it was Mark Woodhouse and then Shauna and basically all I got was "suck it up sunshine". Walking as fast as I could, I tried to keep it together, eating everything in sight, but nothing. Shortly after we found the check point, when I say we, Juha found it and I staggered in sat down by the fire and quickly fell asleep. 15 minutes later, feeling refreshed, well as refreshed as you can feel at this stage in the race, its a relative term at this point. Off we went for the next check point at the top of one long mother of a climb. Loosing energy again it was one step in front of the other all the way to the top, not my proudest moment but I refused to stop and eventually we made it to the top, found the flag and headed down the other side. Now daylight my energy was returning but now Tara's light was starting to fade which lead to not one but three close lining incidents which left her swaying and me laughing, sorry Tara, it was just too funny. Though the dense forest we set a line for the lake on the bottom of the hill, this was one of Juha's finest moments, human GPS I say.(don't tell Brian or Andrew) When we hit the lake I was relieved to see it was a swamp and we quickly spotted the flag on he other side of the lake. I say relieved as it is allot easier to walk on bog as opposed to swimming or bashing though the woods. Once we made the flag it was a matter of making a bee line for the finish. At which point Tara piped up, we should run it in, (we were at the base of the downhill resort looking up the back side of the mountain thinking are you @&*% kidding me) we walked to the top and then ran it in, mostly for the large crowds though:-)

Finishing in 33 hours we were confident we were between 2nd and 5th depending on how teams managed the advanced sections. Sitting back and cracking a beer the team made short sentence jokes and one by one we faded off while trying to keep the Fast Trax booth open, it took on a self serve feel after a while, sorry. It was great to talk wars stories with the other teams and crack jokes about the race.

We extend our thanks to Brian, Andrew and the whole FMIJ crew, you and your crew did an amazing job!!! As well we would like to congratulate all the teams that took part, it was wonderful to race on a wonderful course which such great teams! What fun!!!

Also a big shoot out to our amazing support crew, what a treat to have such a great support team.

Ultra Update ~ First-ever Commonwealth Championships for ultra distance and mountain running will take place in Cumbria in 2009, it was announced today by the International Association of Ultra Runners (IAU) and the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA).

Their joint proposal, which has been accepted by the Commonwealth Games Federation, is for two ultra distance events, a 100km road race probably involving scenic laps around Derwentwater and a 24-hour event in the centre of Keswick, plus an uphill only mountain race and an up/down mountain race in the Lake District.

The four events will be open to all 71 nations and territories of the Commonwealth. If they are successful, the disciplines could be added to the main Games from 2014.

This is great news for the sport of ultra marathoning and it is also good news for me as it would seem it is going to take that long to get this thing right:-)

Blackfoot Ultra ~ I left Blackfoot recreation area thinking to myself, now that was a great race, I think it was most likely one of my best efforts. I set a goal of running under 2hrs per lap, and to run smooth and relaxed over the hills, my stride and rhythm was the best it has been. The first two laps went as planned, both under 2hrs and the third was slightly over 2hrs due to two stops in the woods, and one rather awkward stop on this side of the trail, after my stomach started doing back flips, this would be the start of a very short final lap. Moving though transition for my final lap I loaded up on fluids and food but heading out of transition I was back into the woods yet again, by the time, several stops latter, I reached the first aid station I was dehydrated and all energy was gone, and any attempt to hydrate was unsuccessful, at which point I decided to ask the kind volunteers for a ride back to Islet.

I am not sure why the problem, it seemed to come on very suddenly mid way though lap two without warning. When I weighed myself upon returning home I had lost 8lbs over the course of the event.

It was great to have so many wonderful volunteers encouraging along the course and it was quite neat to see so many runners out on the trails, a beautiful day. Many thanks to Gary and Emma and all the volunteers for hosting such a wonderful event! I look forward to returning next year!

Plan to Prepare for World Championships on September 8

(1) Continue to improve running strength and dramatically improve the strength of glutes and hamstrings, especially on the right side.  This will be a progressive process in which I gradually add strengthening movements.

(2) There are 16 & ½ weeks remaining before the World Championships and they will be divided into the following parts:

May 17 – June 17 (four and one-half weeks): Hill Training (good for the glutes, but not as stressful as some of the running-specific movements in the resisted running-specific training)

June 18 – July 15 (four weeks): Running-Specific Strength Training (adding to glute and whole-leg strength)

July 16 – August 12 (four weeks): Explosive Training (upgrading dynamic flexibility of glutes and hams, improving max running speed)

August 13 – September 8 (four weeks): Sharpening, tapering, and whole-body strengthening (maximizing strength and endurance of whole body)

Nationals Report ~ The pace started relaxed, running 44mins per lap. While the pace was relaxed, there was growing tightness in my glutes and I was finding it hard to find a smooth running stride though 50km,I am not going to lie:-), I was worried of my chances at this point. I was running with Andrew who was also looking to run 7:30 for the 100km. At 40km mark of the event and we had moved into the lead and were leading the 50km and 100km and were well on pace for 7:30, but the glutes were so tight it was getting harder to keep pace. At 60km I decided to walk to see if I could release the glute tightness and the back spasms. During the walk I dropped to 5th in the 100km. After walking roughly 5km and running with ice on my back, which Shauna was replacing every 5km, Shauna worked hard to keep in this one, I was able to get back up to my original starting pace and moved back up to second place on pace for 8:00 after walking half a lap, but with one lap left to go my hip flexors started to spasm and I ended up walking the last lap, running 10 hours for 100km. It was a gritty performance, but not a good performance:-)

While the result is disappointing, there are some very encouraging signs, as in the past my glutes did not fire due to weakness, now the glutes are firing and they are stronger but they need more work. The good news being I am no longer running with only my back muscles I finally have enough strength in my glutes to run properly, I just need to strengthen them further and I should have this back spasm thing under control.

I failed to make the National Team with this effort, so it looks like Team Fast Trax will be sending a 100km Team to the World Championships. The World Championships has an open category whereby you are on the same start line. While my result will not count officially for Canada, I can still go head to head with the worlds best and see what I can do. Training continues in ernest, we'll get this thing!!!

St Albert Update ~ Some great performances were turned in this past weekend with the course record being broken by Mat Normington in the men's race and 10miler rookie Chantell Widney taking the women's race.

For myself the plan of running 55mins similar to last year didn't quite pan out. Posting a time of 58:45 I felt strong, good leg speed, but sluggish and basically heavy. At first I didn't see the connection but in my efforts to keep carbs high during my high intensity/volume week of training I seemed to have managed to put on 12 extra pounds. Looking back to last year when I ran 55mins I was 171lbs and this year I was 183lbs, a little heavy:-) I am not sure why I didn't pick up on it sooner but it took a while to find the scale after the move:-)

I guess I will consider St Albert a strength workout, running with a 12lb weight vest:-) So much for having desert over the next few weeks:-)

Nationals Training Camp ~ This years camp held in Canmore took a different focus than last year. All of the training was done on pavement as nationals is on pavement and I did considerably more intensity with fewer long runs. With fewer long runs I feeling considerably more refreshed and ready to race.

I did one long run on the first Sunday of the camp in Banff along the golf course road at race pace, felt great. With a little rest and recovery I am looking forward to St Albert 10miler this weekend.

Third at Becky Scott Loppet ~ Jack places third, loosing touch with Will with 3km's to go and being out sprint by Lorris on the final climb..

1. Will Critchley
2. Lorris Williams
3. Jack Cook

Fantastic race! The race organizers did an terrific job with organizing such a wonderful event!!!

Jack Wins Athabasca Loppet ~ After fighting off the holiday cold Jack returns to action with a win at the Athabasca loppet. "Focusing on turn over, instead of power in the soft conditions I was able to ski with good tempo without the muscle fatigue".

Thank you to the Athabasca Loppet for organizing such a great event! We will be back next year.

Greetings and Happy New Year

I went for a few long walks over the holidays and set some some new goals for the 2007 season;

• Close the shop on Sundays to allow for a more balanced lifestyle and better training
• Eliminate sugar and alcohol from the diet to see what changes it makes.
• Add yoga to training program to increase flexibility and recovery.
• Add massage to recovery program ~ 2 x month

Racing Goals

• 2007 Canadian Birkie - Edmonton
• 2007 National 100km Championships - Victoria
• 2007 Death Race - Grand Cache
• 2007 World 100km Championships - Netherlands

Troll in the Park ~ 10km Skating Race

At the Troll in the Park, I placed second to young up and coming Curtis Merry. After two hard laps with Curtis pushing hard on the uphill's, I broke on the last climb and could not respond to Curtis's finishing kick.

Top Three - Open Men 10km Skate

• Curtis Merry
• Jack Cook
• Tolly Bradford

I now look to the Athabasca Loppet this coming Saturday and the Alberta Cup here in Edmonton coming up in two weeks time where I will do the skating race on the Sunday.

Jack leading the charge in the second regional race of the year.

All is well on the training front, I am slowly adjusting to my new life as a run and ski shop owner and have started to find the balance again between work, training and life away from the shop. The adjustment was harder than first expected but with a load alarm clock and a firm kick in the ass the morning workouts are becoming more consistent each week:-)

I should mention shortly after this picture was taken, Will, second place, put me in a world of hurt, and dropped me like a sack of potatoes. I did mention something about a pay cut as he passed, but it didn't seem to help:-) It was great to see "" athlete drop "coach" Great job Will!!!

Training is back in full swing. It took a few days to get up and running but by Thursday of this week I was back to double workouts. The beginning of the week, the hip was not quite right so I had to keep the workouts to once a day. Now, the hip seems fully recovered with the help of Simon and Mary at Kinsmen Physiotherapy.

With the snow arriving I will be doing half of my workouts skiing down at capillano park, 60mins in the morning and 60mins in the evening, roughly 15km's each workout. Hopefully the snow will stay for a good while longer:-)

World Champ Report - Every aspect of this race went according to plan right up to the point I was unable to run:-), quite literally at 55km I could no longer put weight on my right leg. After 45km I was forced to take walk breaks every 5mins and then I could return to running but after 55km I couldn't return to running. I thought about walking the remaining portion of the race, but in the end it seemed the better solution to retire from the race to reduce the chance of injuring the hip even further. It is never an easy decision to DNF, especially in an event you are representing your country, but ultimately it's my aim to run the full distance without walking:-)

Returning home I have started treatment with Mary Young and should be returning to training in about three weeks, everything progressing smoothly.

The trip to Korea was a great experience and allot positive came out of the trip , including being part of a terrific team, a team with a great passion for ultra running.

After a three to four week break from running I am planning on doing a mid-winter marathon or 50km in preparation for the Elk Beaver 100km in Victoria May 7th, the Death Race, August Long Weekend and the main event being the World 100km Championships mid September where once again I aim to break 7hrs.

I came away from Korea very inspired to resume training and utilize a few new training ideas.

I would like to thank my sponsors for helping making this event possible, Jencess Software, Hammer Nutrition and Vega Whole Food Products. Without their support I would not have been able to attend such an inspiring event.

Departure - With one day left to go before I hop on the plane to jump the pond I would to like to thank a few of the people that help to make this all possible. First and foremost I would like to thank my wife Shauna who without her love and support I would have never taken on the challenge of ultra marathoning and would not have been as prepared as I am for this event.

Next I would like to thank Kirk Jensen of Jencess Software for supporting my athletic endeavors this past year by providing airfare to each event. With Kirk's generous support I would have had to skip this years world championships. It is truly wonderful to have the support of such a generous person.

Also, I would like to thank Charles of Vega Nutrition and Darren of Hammer Nutrition who have supported me this past year with all my nutrition needs and have provided financial support for this event so that I could travel and prepare with peace of mind.

Lastly I would like to thank Craft clothing and Karhu shoes for being my equipment sponsor as well as being the National Team Clothing sponsor in co-operation with Fast Trax.

One more workout tonight with my team, the Edmonton Nordic Performance Team and then I am off to the airport. The race will be held this Sunday at 6am. All things going to plan I will be finished up by 3pm:-)

Program

• Wednesday ~ Training + Departure
• Thursday ~ Arrival + Training
• Friday ~ Training             
• Saturday ~Training + Opening Ceremonies
• Sunday ~ Start of Race @ 6AM                                                        
• Monday ~ Departure

Race Info

• National Team
• Course Map
• Results

The Goal

• Top 15 placing in a time of 7:00:000 to 7:15:00

Have a great Thanksgiving Long Weekend!

One week to go - With one week to go I am focusing on diet, rest and maintaining two runs per day. The goal is to have a small meal every three hours of fruits, vegetables, whole wheat and protein.

Last week I had a one of those runs where everything felt perfect and the legs felt no pain. As my old coach used to say," when you feel good, really good, look out", so I added a long run to the program to delay the peak as it was looking I timed the peak a little too early. The long run certainly did short work of feeling strong:-) and I am once again back to where I need to be one week out.

I will be flying out Wednesday morning so there are a few more days for one or two more good workouts.

Three weeks to go - I have started into the final three weeks of training for the World Championships. The last training block went quite well, but I skipped the break between blocks as I was feeling so good and paid the price last week with some built up fatigue.

I have now fully recovered from both blocks and go into the three week taper feeling refreshed and injury free.

The plan from here is the following;

AM

• 20min Recovery Runs

PM

• M - Strength
• T - 4 x 8min with 2min recovery
• W - Strength
• T - 4 x 8min with 2min recovery
• F - Strength
• S - 4 x 8min with 2min recovery
• S - Strength
• M - 4 x 8min with 2min recovery
• T - Strength
• W - 4 x 8min with 2min recovery
• T - Strength
• F - 4 x 8min with 2min recovery
• S - Strength
• S - 4 x 8min with 2min recovery
• M - Strength
• T - 4 x 8min with 2min recovery
• W - 20min Recovery Run - Travel Day
• T - 20min Recovery Run
• F - 20min Recovery Run
• S - 20min Recovery Run
• S - World 100km Championships
• M - 20min Recovery Run - Travel Day

Each evening run will incorporate a 30 minute warm up and warm down run on grass at a very easy pace.

Training progressing well - With the focus being on increasing anaerobic threshold there has been allot of intervals these past two weeks. With this comes increased sleep and a few more small meals per day;

• M - Strength
• T - 4 x 8min with 2min recovery
• W - Strength
• T - 4 x 8min with 2min recovery
• F - Strength
• S - 4 x 8min with 2min recovery - Done in morning
• S - 4 x 8min with 2min recovery - Done in evening

After this week of intervals I take a week of recovery training and then start another 3 week block of intervals before tapering.

Sequel Whole Foods - Just today Sequel Whole Foods offered to support my World Championship program. Having contacted Charles of Sequel Canada, a long time nutritional sponsor, a few days ago about the possibility of supporting my trip to Korea they excitedly came on board to offset accommodation and food costs not covered by the race organizers.

Once again, it is very exciting for me to have the support of such a wonderful company, as with each sponsorship the training becomes that much easier as I can devote all my energy to my training instead of worrying about the costs involved to prepare for such an event.

World Championship Update - The Association for Canadian Ultra Marathoners (ACU) is a non-profit organization, under the auspices of Athletics Canada. The ACU is the national body that promotes and manages ultra running in Canada. Each year, the ACU sends a team of outstanding athletes to the 100Km world events. For 2006, this event will be held in Misari, Korea on October   08th.

While Ultra-marathoning requires extreme athleticism and garners an incredible amount of respect, it is not a sport which is funded at any level of Government.  There is no funding provided by Athletics Canada or any other Canadian agencies. All the funding received by the team is used to offset the cost of accommodation and meals while at the event. All of my other expenses, including flight are out of my own pocket or from private sponsors and given the cost of the flight to Korea I would have been unable to attend this event without the support of the community.

Kirk Jensen of Jencess Software is just one of those community minded people who fully supports myself and the the sport of ultra marathoning. Having contacted Kirk, a long time supporter, he gave his full support and was very excited to come on board to cover the full cost of my flight to Korea. Without this kind of community support this trip would have been just too expensive to attend.

It is truly wonderful to have the support of individuals such as Kirk Jensen of Jencess Software, as it allows me the opportunity to focus fully on the sport of ultra marathoning and posting posting the best result possible at the World Championships.

Method, Madness - Only time will tell, but there was some method in my madness. The Edmonton Marathon was the end of my big endurance phase before switching to completely threshold training for 4 to 5 weeks in preparation for the world championships. If I had not entered the marathon there was no way I would have gone for a 26 mile run after a 60min run the weekend before:-)

With a solid quality endurance base I am ready to push my threshold as high as possible so that 6:45 per mile pace feels as easy as possible with the hope of breaking 7hrs at the world championships.

In The News - Jack on the main page of Vega Whole Foods Web Page

• Vega Whole Foods

Recovery - The recovery has started in earnest with one a day workouts on the mountain bike ( on bike paths ) to speed to the recovery process. In terms of nutrition there has been an increase in protein these past few days to help repair the muscle tissue and I have also increased the amount of hours sleeping which has been quite good.

We are still looking to do the Edmonton Marathon this weekend, mostly to run the Fast Trax singlet around the course, mobile advertising in a sense, wait till you see the new singlet, much larger font:-)

The Fast Trax singlet made the Journal today, picture below, but the font is so small only a handful of people would know the name, poor advertising. We have now fired our marketing department, that being myself, and we have hired a new firm, that being myself, so look for a much larger font in the races to come:-)

The Canadian Death Race - Jack Cook wins the Canadian Death Race, setting a new course record of 13:48:06.

The race started off at a steady pace on leg 1 of the 5 leg race though the mountains of Grande Cache. The legs felt good and the pace was steady. Coming into the first transition, I changed out of my tights and long sleeve from the cool morning, filled up my water bottles with the help of my amazing support crew of Jay and Kim and headed off again in second place.

Heading out on leg 2, the second most difficult leg, the plan was to pick up the pace slightly if the legs were there and as luck would have it, the legs climbed well though the hills and fueling was good, moving into first place and running with relay runner Petra Graen of Quickard Norden Autohaus, we worked together switching off on the downhill's as Petra was a much faster on the downhill's.

Coming into transition 3 I was feeling quite good, had a chance to see Shauna who was manning the Fast Trax Booth and off I went on leg 3. Leg 3 was described as the easiest leg and the plan was to take it easy and refuel for leg 4 up Mt Hammel. Unfortunately I ran low on sports drink and filed my water bottles from the river and with straight water my electrolytes dropped and I fatigued coming into transition 3. Mistakenly I drank too much water in transition and decided to fill my water bottles with water instead of sports drink and I headed out on leg 4 up Mt Hammel feeling, well, to be honest not the greatest.

The plan was to take it easy up Hammel and then push the pace again once over the top. Reaching the top of Hammel I could see my lead was shrinking. I pushed over the top and started the decent. At this point I ran out of water and I was starting to feel the effects of not filling my bottles with sports drink. Again, I was drinking from streams, but unfortunately with straight water my electrolyte balance was off slightly again, and my energy was dropping. At the ten hour mark, just when I thought I was was about to break I made it to an unmanned aid station, ate three sports bars, drank two bottles of sports drink and filled with my bottles with sports drink. At this point Dominic Repta of Team Montrail came up beside me and was looking strong. Still fueling I tried to maintain contact but dropped back into second place and things were not looking good, after 1km of easy running behind Dominic the energy was returned and within two hills I was back along side Dominic.

At this point I had to decide weather to push the pace again or run easy. I was feeling as good as leg 2 again so I decided to push the pace, not looking back I ran the rest of the way looking to gain as much time as possible, I refueled at the unmanned aid station again as we had just done and out and back loop and off I went down a long gravel road back down to the highway and into the last transition, where I wanted to get out of as fast as possible just in case Dominic had closed the gap on me as he was running the downhill sections faster than I was. Gary did an amazing job of filling my water bottles, I slammed a red bull and off I went out of transition, unfortunately the wrong way, but we corrected, and feeling great I headed to the river crossing. Coming into the river crossing I was feeling great, and made my second big mistake, I ran by the aid station without refilling my water bottles and shortly after the river crossing I started to fade again.

Coming up the last hills I was hoping I had enough to get to the line in under 14 hours but I really needed more water. I came off the last uphill and into town and found a tap, filled my water bottles and quickly regained my energy and looked at my watch and figured if I pushed hard I could break 14 hours. Rounding the last corner the music was blasting and the crowed started to cheer and I made the sprint to the line to break 14 hours and give Shauna one great big bear hug.

An absolutely fantastic race! The only change I would make would be nutrition, as I didn't have enough fuel.

The after race party on Sunday night was a great time, but I didn't read the program correctly, mostly due to fatigue:-) and missed the awards ceremony Monday morning and felt bad arriving late. Being Death Race rookies, Shauna and I always seemed to be in the wrong place at the right time:-)

The Plan - In order to break 7hrs for 100km, I will need to get focused again with my training. Once the Death Race is completed it will be time to focus on being the best shape possible on October 8th.

If we plan back from the event date we have six weeks of quality training before the 3 week taper leading into the event. During this six week training block I will include the following;

• double workout training days ~ AM 60min PM 90min
• edmonton marathon ~ quality training run
• lost souls 100mile ~ quality training run - Idea cancelled due to lack of interest:-)
• threshold and mv02 workouts every second day

World Championships - Jack Cook has been selected to represent Canada at the World Championship 100K, in Misari, Korea, Oct 8th 2006.

As part of Jack's preparation Jack will make weekly updates to his page, as to his preparation for the big event. Tomorrow Jack(I :-) ) will post my overall training plan leading up to the event.

The goal for the event will be to break 7:00hrs for 100km.

Current 100km Best Times - 2006 National Championship Events

• Spanish - 6:44
• French - 6:51
• Russia - 6:53
• German - 6:57
• British - 7:17
• Jacks' Best - 7:37at 2005 National Championships - we have some work to do:-)
  

New Sponsor - Jack's Ultra Marathon project is happy to announce the addition of Invo-8 Trail Shoes as its Official Trail Shoe Sponsor. Jack will be using the Invo-8 Flyrock310 in the 125k Death Race in Grande Cache on August 5th and the National 100mile Championships in Lethbridge on September 9th.

The Flyrock 310 is the ultimate lightweight Trail and Adventure racing shoe with high levels of comfort, breathability and performance. Ideal for off-road and mixed terrain use with excellent grip in grass and muddy conditions.

Jack hopes they will carry him to the finish in flying fashion.

Calgary Marathon - This turned out to be a bit of a gong show as I dropped the ball in my pre-race planning. Without looking at the course map, I assumed the race started in the same location as the last time I raced the Calgary marathon. After closing the shop on Saturday I drove down to Calgary, found a quite street close to the start and climbed into the back of my van for a sleep. Upon waking things looked a little too quiet for a race that was about to start in 90 minutes, but I continued on with breakfast and some pre race stretching. Heading out to find a washroom and start my warm up I walked by what I thought was the start line and it was quite apparent I was not at the right place.

I ran back to the van and called home, "I need you to wake up and turn on your computer" Long story short I made it to the start with 6 minutes to spare., found Curtis who had my race number and finished tieing my shoes as the gun went off.

The remainder of the race was a struggle as I seemed to have missed some of the morning essentials and suffered from a stomach aliment for most of the race.

The moral of the story, a good pre race plan is essential for a smooth warm up and a successful race.

CN Canada Day Race - Jack comes out on top at the CN Canada Day Race on Saturday with first overall for the men's race. Jack will be running the Calgary marathon this coming weekend.

Full results.

Looking Ahead - After some down time to recover, I have set my sights on the following races to prepare for the upcoming World 100km Championships in Korea;

• Calgary Marathon - July 9th
• Death Race - August 5th
• Edmonton Marathon - August 13th
• Lost Soul 100mile - September 9th
• World 100km Championships - October 8th

Blackfoot Ultra Report - Heading out on the course at 5am on Saturday morning, Islet Lake looked as beautiful as I have ever seen it. Maybe because I was not chasing the second break in the Birkie trying to keep the leaders in site, but being on the trails that early in the morning sure is something to be experienced. The rain leading up to Saturday left the trails hard to navigate in places but overall the trails were in great shape and as always Gary and Marie did a wonderful job of organizing a great event.

After two laps my thoughts drifted to the store and being the worrying kind, I packed up my bag and headed back to the shop in case the shop was busy.

The 50km's that I did complete were wonderful and I look forward to having more staff next year so that I can run the whole 100km's :-)

Cook cooks up marathon win - Article in Red Deer Advocate - Full Article - Full article in Sports section.

Jack Wins Red Deer Marathon - After a disappointing National 100km Championships, Jack bounces back and wins the Red Deer Marathon in 2:49:00ish. Experiencing no back pain throughout the race Jack was able to run relaxed and maintain an even pace though to the end.

This is Jack's first marathon win and one of his first finishes in the past few years. Jack now prepares for the Blackfoot Ultra 100k this coming Saturday.

May 8, 2006

Back Home – Back home in Edmonton I have had some time to find some answers to my back problems, it would seem I strained my back before leaving for Victoria moving the store to its new location. As hard as I tried to minimize lifting there was still considerable lifting and the long hours lead to fatigue, poor recovery, weakening of the back muscles and possibly a slight bulging of the disc between L5/S1.

The training in Victoria leading up to the race seemed strained and my stride was not as smooth as it had been weeks previous. Seeing a chiropractor in Victoria I knew the back was not moving properly, but you always hope come race day things will sort themselves out. Not the case in this instance.

I am very prone to bulging in the L5 / S1 disc space and the smallest things can cause weakness and reduced ROM. I am still looking to strengthen the area further but we are moving forward and looking forward to the next event.

Now that the shop has been moved and things have slowed down I will have time to catch up, and continue preparation for this year’s world championships in Korea. Preparation includes the upcoming Blackfoot 100km May 27th and possibly the Levis 100km in Quebec in July.

May 6, 2006

Nationals Race Report – Having run the course twice upon arriving in Victoria I set my sights on attempting to break 7 hours for the 100km event, which would have been a pace of 4:10 per km.

Arriving at the start the weather was good for a good run. After 10km 4:10 pace was not feeling that easy and the back was tightening so I decided to slow the pace to help the back relax and aim for 7:15 and maintained this pace for the next 30km’s.

On the fifth lap my neck started to stiffen, which is always an indication of things to come so I slowed the pace again to 7:30pace hoping things would settle down and I could settle into a relaxed pace.

Heading out on my sixth lap my back went in to spasm forcing me to walk. I walked the next three km’s hoping the spasms would release and by 63km’s I decided to step off the course, my goal of repeating as National Champion done for the day.

Packing up after the race and heading off to the airport was not an overly happy moment for myself, many thoughts went though my mind; the disappointment, the time spent preparing and the costs involved both financially and emotionally.

Should one continue to pursue a goal which I seem to be unable to attain due to ongoing back problems, the same back problems that forced me to retire from skiing back in 1992 or should I continue in my pursuit of one day running 6:30:00 for 100km’s.

With my PB of 7:37 at last years Nationals I have made the standard to represent Canada at this years World 100km Championships in October in Korea but it is an expensive event to attend and the costs do not seem justified with my history of being unable to complete the distance.

A few options to consider; I could take a break and maybe take a step back from competitive ultra running, or I could refocus my energy and prepare for the World Championships in October..

Some things to ponder

May 3, 2006

Race Lead Up – I arrived in Victoria today after a quick check in and flight from Edmonton. On the way from the airport I stopped to check out the course, a beautiful 10km loop around Beaver Lake. The 1st 5km’s are winding and slightly undulating with the 2nd 5kms being quite flat and slightly wider. The course record is 6:46:08 set back in 1998. We now have 3 days to relax and focus on the upcoming event, 10 laps of Beaver Lake.

April 27, 2006

MV02 Test – Improved Results

I completed my pre race MV02 test on Tuesday to test fitness level and set race pace for the upcoming National 100km Championships. My MV02 increased from 65.50 in December to 68.50ml/kg/min and my race fitness has also increased from 7:00:00 for 100km to 6:30:00.

All things look good for a run at the national 100km record. That being said, 100km is a long way and there are many variables, but it is reassuring to know the fitness is where it needs to be.

Now the fun part, we taper

April 25, 2006

St Albert 10Miler – Jack Places 4th – Full Results

Another strong race. I was aiming to break 55mins but faded between 6 and 8miles. We now cut back and prepare for the national 100km championships in Victoria, May 6th.

1.             Adrian Lambert 52:37
2.             Dennis Colburn 53:53
3.             Ken Myers 54:04
4.       Jack Cook 55:32
5.       Lukas Arenson 55:51

April 21, 2006

Franks XC Run – Jack places 2nd - Full Results

Starting relaxed I ran with Denis Colburn until 1 km to go, where I took the lead briefly before Denis out sprinted me to the finish. A very good start to the season.

1. 1.       Denis COLBURN - 14:31
2. 2.       Jack COOK – 14:37
3. 3.       Victor VILLEGAS - 15:00 

Next Race – St Albert 10miler

April 6, 2006

Nationals Training Camp – After a two week intensity block of training, I am currently in Canmore for our annual pre nationals training camp. The first part of the camp focused on an endurance block, followed by a threshold block and then a second endurance block of training this coming weekend.

   Training

   Saturday – AM 2hrs PM 2hrs
   Sunday – AM 4hrs
   Monday – AM 2hrs PM 2hrs
   Tuesday – AM 4hrs
   Wednesday – AM 1hr PM Threshold Intervals
   Thursday – AM 2hr PM 2hr
   Friday – AM 1hr PM Threshold Intervals
   Saturday – AM 1hr PM 1hr
   Sunday -  AM 4hr