Positive Start to 2020 :-)

2020 so far has got off to a good start - I'm enjoying my running again and with a variety of road, trail, track and treadmill, it's certainly keeping things interesting. It also helps that I have no races in the immediate future - much as I love to race, I think I also needed a little bit of downtime to help me rekindle that relationship I once had, where I ran without pressure, ran for me, and ran for pure enjoyment. So far, coach Paul has done a great job in helping me to keep things ticking over to maintain some fitness, but keeping things at a level where my body and mind are recovering from all the stress of racing last year. I like it, and I'm happy.

First run of 2020 - no pressure and just happy to be outside having fun!

Compared to last year, I'm certainly not planning on racing as much as I did during 2019 when I raced 3 x 50km, the 125km Canadian Death Race, Iron Horse 100 miler, the 24 hour track race, and a few road races of 15km or more. This year is going to be pretty quiet,with just the following currently on the list:

February - Hypothermic Half Marathon

May - 5 Peaks Enduro Trail Race at Terwillegar Park

June - 24-Hour Survivorfest Track Race

August - Canadian Death Race Solo 125km

September - 5 Peaks Trail Half Marathon in Canmore

October - Grizzly Ultra 50km, again in Canmore

This will hopefully take less toll on my body and with the mix of roads, trails and track, it's certain to keep me interested and motivated as the months go by.

Happy trails :-)

There are of course a couple of other reasons why I'm not intending to race quite as much. I've done so many races over the years and have always been heavily involved in the running community, whether as a competitive athlete, race director, setting up running clubs and being on the committee, or being a coach and helping others achieve their goals. For the past 3 or 4 years, I have been trying to get out to more races in the volunteer capacity as I was starting to feel selfish racing all the time. My view is that I've had my "glory days" - it's time to support others compete, and I know too well that without volunteers, many of the races would not happen. I want to do my bit more often these days, and I want to give something back to the sport that I love.

In addition to the volunteering, I also want to spend more time with our pups. Last year I found it tough training for so many ultras due to being at home on my own and having not only myself to look after, but also the pups. Heading out for 4 or 5 hours on my own for a run seemed selfish when I had 3 pups at home that would like nothing more than a hike in the mountains or a swim at the nearby lakes, so I wanted to make time for them. I'm also hoping that we can start to get involved with agility and disk competitions, and with Tillie and April's love for hunting mice, I want to start doing barn hunts with them during the summer. Of course, those that know me and the pups will know that I also run with the pups when I can and I'd love to start to compete with them at Canicross events if I can find them. Having recently done a couple of winter runs with Wilson, April and Tillie, they make a brilliant dog team, and I get a thrill watching them working together when I run them.

Winter run with my two girls :-)

The Pointy Snout Running Team :-)

In terms of my running to date, the winter so far has been kind, and I've had some awesome runs. However, this past week the temperatures plummeted, and we have been embracing the extreme cold where daytime temps have been no higher that a very chilly -30c, and far, far colder at night. It's been too cold for the pups so walks at the dog park have been limited, whilst any plans for long outdoor run sessions have also been put on hold if I've had to do them in the dark hours during the week.

But the weekends have been awesome and for the past couple of weeks, I've been up to Edmonton to hit the trails in the river valley. It helps that I have finally mastered my winter clothing - just 3 layers which enables me to move more easily, and yet I've been snug as a bug without any problems. I was a little worried about my frost bitten toe from last year, but so far that has been holding out ok - it is more sensitive to the cold, but it hasn't turned purple or black again yet.

-41 - not a problem just yet!

Besides the trail runs in the City, I have finally got around to doing a park run! Given how popular they are in the UK - and have been for several years - I had never done a park run. In the summer of last year though, a group of Edmonton runners finally succeeded in launching the River Valley Park Run in Edmonton, and whilst there aren't the hundreds of runners turning up like back in England, numbers are growing and I'm certain that this year it will gain in popularity as more people become aware of it.

For the record, I have never been a huge fan of 5k races, but the with the park run not technically being a race, it removes that feeling of dread that I have for the distance, and the sense of panic, pressure, call it what you will that I usually get. I know I can turn up, run as fast as I want and just compete against myself - it really is a nice feeling.

I ran my second park run today and it was freezing cold at -41 with the windchill. The 4 volunteers that turned up were awesome and I think them so much for being there just to make sure the 6 runners that turned up could do their Saturday morning 5k. I wasn't expecting too much and just ran at a decent steady pace, not bothering to even look at my watch until I finished, and was pleasantly surprised that I was only 57 seconds slower than two weeks ago - nice and consistent, even with the chilling temperatures! It gave me a boost - maybe when the weather warms up and I can wear less clothing, maybe I can go sub-20 again. But even if I don't, it really doesn't matter because it's Park Run :-)

6 Die-Hard Park Runners on a -40 day :-)

The next couple of weeks with my training is starting to include hill work again, and with Leduc competing with The Netherlands for being so flat, it will mean hitting the treadmill to get the climbs in during the week. But the weekends will be for the trails, and with things warming up by Monday and temperatures expected to go above freezing, it will mean that I can take the dogs with me. I'm pretty excited about that and I'm looking forward to having some fun with them out there :-)

The best running buddies I could ever wish for! Team Pointy Snouts :-)