Making Friends and Having Fun :-)

The past week has seen some record temperatures in Phoenix, and for the past few days, we've reached 80 to 85 degrees during the day. For me, it's certainly been a shock to the system and it's meant training runs have been slightly more difficult as I'm forced to carry a camelback again to make sure that I stay hydrated.

It's strange in a way. Running on trails, I will happily carry things, but ask me to run on road and I'll cuss and curse and swear like a trooper, even if I only have to carry a set of keys. 

Thankfully, I've been doing a good mix of roads and trails although I'm ashamed to admit that my long tempo runs have been done on the treadmill where I have the luxury of air conditioning and access to fluids without having to carry them, which certainly helps when targeting a specific training pace!

So far this year, things have been pretty amazing and I'm finally starting to build that network of running contacts here in Phoenix which is a huge help. Of course, I haven't forgotten my old friends, and back in January, my good friend Dawn came to visit from Calgary. She was here to run the Rock and Roll Arizona Marathon with a sub 3 goal in mind, and despite cramps due to the heat, she only just missed out on her goal. It was fab to see a familiar face and I'm really hoping a few more folks will get to visit one day, not just from Canada, but also hopefully from the UK.

Dawn and Del - start of the RnR Arizona Marathon

After Dawn's visit, it did make me realise how much I've missed the company of other runners, so a couple of weeks ago, I made a concerted effort to meet up with the Arizona Trail Leggers at nearby Apache Wash. There were around 20 of us in the group that day and we had a great little run together early one Sunday morning, taking in the magnificent sunrise and the amazing desert views. I've been meaning to meet with them again since but with my next major race fast approaching, I've been trying to be disciplined with my training although I fully intend to meet with them far more often over the coming months, once my race is over and done with. 

I've also been fortunate to have been introduced to the amazing Kristina Pham who is a team mate with the Aravaipa Running Racing Team. A few weeks ago, she asked if I would like to be her pacer at the Black Canyon 100km Ultra - of course I said yes!

We arranged to meet up for a run just to get to know eachother and I think it's safe to say that we hit it off straight away. We ran a rather hilly 25km together on a hot Saturday afternoon and we somehow managed to chat pretty much the entire way. It was my first experience of South Mountain and the San Juan road in Southern Phoenix, and I'm pretty sure that I'll be back again eventually.

I was really looking forward to the job of pacer for Kristina and with the 100km race being this weekend, I was bracing myself for the hot temperatures as I really didn't want to let her down. Sadly, I didn't get thte chance to run as Kristina - along with many others - dropped from the race due to a variety of reasons. Just waiting at the aid station in Black Canyon City where I was due to commence my duties around noon, temperatures had already hit 80 degrees and several people had either twisted ankles, fallen on the rocks and now boasted blooded knees , or were just exhausted due to the heat. Kristina made it to around the 50km mark - impressive given the conditions and the brutal course - so I guess I'll have to save my pacing duties for another day.

Always happy to help out fellow runners when I can, I was also asked recently if I would like to join a marathon relay team as somebody from the original team was now unable to run. It came via aone of Andy's work colleagues and having met everybody on the team at the IHOP on the Friday evening, by Sunday we were hitting the streets and running in the IMS Marathon Relay as a team.

The day started early with a 4am alarm call which enabled us to get to the start line in plenty of time and avoid any last minute hiccups. Allen would be starting us off on leg 1 followed by his wife Carrie on leg 2, I was running on leg 3 and would be covering around 7 miles, whilst the glory leg into the finish went to Susan. It was quite nice chatting and getting to know eachother better whilst waiting for each of our runners to complete their leg and it certainly feels like we have some good friendships in the making :-)

Susan, Carrie, Allen and Del - great looking relay team :-)

It wasn't until around 9am that I finally got my chance to hit the roads and although it was only a bit of fun, I certainly felt a little pressure not to let the team down even. The relay wasn't a key event for me and I'd only stepped in at the last minute to help the team out, but I decided to use the run as a marathon paced work out which meant running around 6.50 minute miling, or around 4.14 km pace.

I hadn't really looked at the course for my particular section so I didn't know what to expect. I'd been told there were a couple of hills that were more of a gradual climb rather than anything too severe, so I set off a little cautiously but also quite intent on trying to maintain my targeted pace. I felt a bit of a fraud when spectators were giving me loads of encouragement - I was only running 7 miles and with having fresh legs, I was overtaking quite a few people - a couple of relay runners but mostly the full marathon runners - and it must have been awful for them to have somebody fly past them whilst others were cheering me on.

What I will say about the small section of the course that I ran is that it was really, really nice! We ran through a lovely little neighbourhood with palm trees lining the streets, and it really was quite pretty. We then hit the main road and the first of the hills and although slowing slightly, I still managed to maintain a decent pace. We then turned into the local air force base and I have to say that the amount of encouragement we received from the military personnel was exceptional, with dozens of them lining the course. It really hit home where I was running when several times I was referred to as "ma'am" - it made me smile, it made things a little surreal (am I really living in the United States these days??!!) and I tried to give a little wave of acknowledgement or a verbal thank you when I could as I ran past.

Shortly after leaving the military base, we approached the relay exchange area and I could see our team all waiting there to cheer me in and set Susan off on her way. I was really pleased to have just about hit my target pace although it did feel far more difficult than I would have liked - now I just have to keep it going for 26 miles in a few weeks time and all will be good :-)

With Susan now on her way, we headed down to the finish line and awaited her arrival so that we could cross the finish line together as a team. It was a fabulous atmosphere for such a small, low key event, and with the great organisation and the amount of support, it's certainly a race I will likely consider doing in the future. The nice thing about the day was that Andy was able to get involved, and he kindly took the role of chauffer to make sure we all got to our relay start points in plenty of time as well as playing joker for the day and keeping us entertained with his awful (did I say awful? I mean awesome!) sense of humour :-)

Team finish :-)

Of course, whilst my life does consist of lots of running, I'm fortunate enough to have other things going on in my life too. Since being granted permission to work in the USA last month, I have been busy applying for jobs to get myself back into work and have been lucky enough to have already attended a couple of interviews. I'm still awaiting the outcome, but I must admit that it will be strange being back in full time work again, especially having spent several months at home doing my own things and having lots of quality time with Wilson and Brandy.

Over the past few months, I have managed to do some runs with both of the pups, more so when the weather was cooler, and they loved it! But what has been most exciting for them is Wilson going to agility classes. He's a dog that loves to use his brain and to run, and he's been doing so well in class. Last week he attempted a full agility course for the first time and whilst he still has a fear of running through the dark, curved tunnel, he did awesome. Unfortunately, the cost of the classes was too much to justify Brandy taking part too, but I've since set up our own little course in the back yard and I have spend several afternoons with both Wilson and Brandy practicing there instead, as well as letting them run and climb on things at the local kiddies park.

Agility practice at the local kiddies park

In addition to the agility, we have now found a training venue that provides lure coursing and a week or so ago we took both Wilson and Brandy along for a bit of "chase the bunny". They used to get extremely excited when we practiced in Airdrie up in Canada, but when we pulled in to the parking lot in Cave Creek and they saw and heard what was going on, they were both uncontrollable for the next 2 hours! Everybody seemed to be impressed by both of them, especially Wilson simply because of his speed, and he even had a video of himself posted on the dog training website to show how fast he was.

Of course, living in Arizona, there is one aspect of dog training that from our perspective is an absolute must, but we are not looking forward to it - snake avoidance training. There are many venomous snakes here in Arizona, the popular and most lethal being the West Diamond Back Ratttlesnake, and with the weather warming up again, it's only a matter of time before there is a greater chance of an encounter. 

The training consists of introducing the dogs to live rattlesnakes and using a shock collar to condition the dogs to avoid them, by using the shock as an association to both the sound and smell of the snake. Neither Andy nor I are particularly keen on the use of shock collars, but if a few minutes of discomfort can bring greater reassurance over the summer months, then we're willing to allow it. 

So that's it in a nutshell for now. My next race is fast approaching and so far, training has gone well and I'm optimistic of a good run. After that, I've plenty of other awesome trail races planned for the rest of the year, and I'm hoping that I can have a great year of running and racing, and get to meet even more new friends along the way.

Happy trails and happy running folks!