Monday, 26 May 2014

Busy, Busy, Busy

Life is a funny old game. Sometimes we plod along, following the same old routine day in, day out, and whilst happy and content with life, we don't feel the need to shout about it. Then other times, there is so much excitement and so much news to share, that it becomes difficult to restrain ourselves, and we feel the urge to tell the whole work, particularly if it's good news.

The past couple of weeks have been like that for me - lots of things happening that have given me a buzz and I've felt like shouting from the mountain tops how happy I am.

A couple of weeks ago, I did the Red Deer Marathon, and I was absolutely delighted to have won my first Canadian marathon. I'm not going to harp on about PRs and what pace I ran, but I was so chuffed to have ran yet another evenly paced marathon. My goal on the day was to run sub 3.15, aiming to go through half way in 1.35 to allow for some slippage in the second half. Yet despite the hills, despite the relentless rain, and despite approximately 8km of the course being run on forest tracks and woodland trails, I passed through half way bang on target, give or take a few seconds, eventually finishing the race in 3.11.09 - even I was surprised at how well things had gone and how good I was feeling at the end!

Finishing straight of the Red Deer Marathon
The event itself was fabulous - extremely well organised, very friendly, and with a course that barely touched the main roads and intersections - 99% of it was on river pathways or short stretches of trail, which really gave the feeling of racing out in the sticks.

Undoubtedly, I was over the moon at winning, but what put the biggest smile on my face was finding out that Kim had won the half marathon making her undefeated on the roads this year which is pretty impressive for somebody that prefers trails and mountains for company. Needless to say, there was lots of excitement at the presentation, and we both came away with a considerable medal haul, along with trophies, prize money and other goodies.

Celebrating our wins :-)
The following day was Victoria Day so we had a day off work which meant we could sit back, relax and recover. With having a rest day from running, it gave the perfect opportunity to pursue another passion of mine.

Back in the UK, the running club scene is huge, and I was a member of running club from the age of 10 and for the vast majority of the years that followed. Having team mates and training partners was always a big help, and with team competitions on the road and country, it didn't matter how good you were at running as an individual because you always had the team and their support to fall back on.

Here in Canada, running clubs are not as common. Back in Stoke, there were at least 4 running clubs within a 5 mile radius of homewhereas in Calgary, there is just one that I am aware of and I'm already a member Calgary Road Runners.

For the past 12 months, I've been trying to set up a club in Mahogany yet despite constant emails and communication with the Home Owners Association, there hasn't been a regular meeting of the group and people have come and gone without any real commitment to continuing. Unlike the UK, winters in Canada can be very extreme which can deter even the most dedicated of runners from heading outside in stupidly low temperatures and deep snow, and yet since October last year, I waited religiously at the beach parking lot, hoping that maybe somebody would brave the weather and come out to join me. Every time, I ended up heading off on my own pretty much every week.

It would be so easy for me to have given up, but I'm not a quitter and so persevered. Come Victoria Day, I decided that a new change of tack was needed, and despite my reservations about the use of Facebook, I decided to create a page for Mahogany Running Club to try to create greater interaction and to encourage new members. For the next 24 hours, there was a wave of activity as almost 30 people requested to join the group and started to ask questions, It was fantastic!

I've not naive enough to think that all 30 would turn up on the Wednesday, but I figured that if just one person turned up that had joined that group, it would make things worthwhile. As  it happened, 3 people turned up that Wednesday - I was so excited and so relieved.

Pathies is from the Congo, whilst Ricardo and his wife Gabriela are from Mexico, and as we ran 2 laps of the lakes together in glorious warm sunshine, I sensed that this was finally just the start of something good. Despite being beginners, they already had a positive "can do" attitude, along with enthusiasm for what they were doing. I thoroughly enjoyed chatting to them and making new friends, and I'm convinced that they will spread the word amongst others in Mahogany and that the running club will now continue to grow.

Pathies, Gabriela and Ricardo - the new Mahogany Running Club :-)

With so much happening within just a couple of days, I really didn't think that things could get much better, but the following Friday, I had news that I had passed my college exam with 97%. I've always had a dream that one day I would work with animals, with the ultimate goal being to have my own business as either a pet sitter or dog trainer. To help me along the way, I recently signed up to do a couple of courses, and for the past few weeks I've been working through a pet sitting course as well as studying for diploma in animal behaviour. I'm finding the studies extremely interesting, and with willing guinea pigs in the form of Wilson and Brandy on which to test my theories, I really am having fun and learning lots.

I was still on a high about things on Saturday morning when i headed over to the COP for the first race in the Central Alberta 5 Peaks Trail Running Series. I'd done this particular race a couple of years ago when first arriving in Calgary and whilst I had loved the race, I had struggled with not being used to the dry air and altitude of the City.

This time I had no excuses, and despite having done a marathon just 5 days earlier, I wasn't going to use that as an excuse to take things easy nor as an excuse should I have a poor run.

Our friend Alan had helped to design the course so even before he revealed the route, I already knew that it would involve single track trails, with some steep ups and downs. I did wonder how the old legs would cope, particularly as I seemed to remember the hills being pretty steep if not long, and whilst I didn't feel under any pressure to do well, I did want to run faster than I had back in 2012.

The course was beautiful, the weather was beautiful, and even though I did have to walk up some of the hills, I ended up finishing some 6 minutes faster than my  previous attempt 2 years ago. I didn't hang around for the presentation but I later found out that I had finished 8th lady and 1st in my age group, meaning that I had qualified for the regional Canadian Mountain Running Championships in June......well, I would have done had I been Canadian, but sadly I've still a couple of years to wait until I can go for citizenship.....!

5 Peaks Trail Running Series
Photo thanks to Robert Shaer - official photographer
Next weekend I'm racing again, this time the 50km that is being held as part of the Calgary Marathon's 50th anniversary. I've mentioned before that I wasn't intending to run Calgary this year, but my plans had changed. having won a free place. I'm really looking forward to racing again, and after a good, strong run home from work today, I feel like I should be recovered enough from my marathon exploits earlier this month to have a half decent run.

But next weekend isn't just about me. Several months ago, we put our names forward to host out of town elite athletes that were racing in Calgary. This week we had confirmation of which athletes would be staying at our home and we are really looking forward to hosting Dee from the Congo and Gilbert from Kenya. they arrive on Thursday, and I'm sure there will be plenty of conversation about growing up and life in general as an athlete living in Africa, along with many other things about the cultural differences, politics, education and lots of other social aspects of life. I'm also hoping to pick up some training tips and hear stories about their running careers so far, and I'm pretty sure that it's going to be fascinating.



Thursday, 1 May 2014

Change of Plan....Again!

May has finally arrived, and what a beautiful, warm and sunny day it is :-) It really is one of those days where I could burst into song and “Sing a Song of May Time”, but I’m sure all the frogs that have settled in the nearby wetlands nature reserve would feel threatened by a voice such as mine! Yes, it really does feel like spring is here, and last weekend, I even spotted spring flowers starting to poke their heads out of the ground, catkins on some of the trees alongside the river, and endless varieties of birds that have returned home ready to breed. Even our lawn is starting to turn green now that all the snow has melted  and things have started to warm up (I won’t mention the forecast for the weekend for fear of spoiling things!)
 
It’s been a long, hard slog running wise this winter, but with just over 2 weeks until the Red Deer Marathon, I’m getting excited about racing again, especially as May 18th sparks the start of the unintentional “Run a Race a Week” scenario that I’ve somehow got myself in to. From May 18th through  to July 6th, I am entered for no less than 10 races and needless to say, but it’s going to be a busy couple of months!

 
Although Red Deer Marathon was originally my main spring goal, I’ve since had another carrot dangled before my eyes and my focus has now shifted to June 1st when the Calgary Marathon celebrates its Golden Anniversary. 

To mark 50 years of this awesome event, there is a 50km race this year that will be held alongside the marathon, half marathon and 10k. 

Having won a free place to the marathon last month, I’d merrily decided to just run around with friends and have a bit of a party on route rather than racing flat out, especially with it being just 2 weeks after Red Deer and 3 weeks before Banff Marathon which I’m also entered for. But then an old acquaintance of mine from the IAU got in touch, and he happened to mention that not only was the Calgary 50k the 2014 National Championships, it was also an IAU labelled event that would be used as a qualifier for the IAU 50km World Trophy Final in Doha, Qatar later this year.

I haven’t competed on the international stage for 3 years now, the last time being the World Trail Running Championships in Connemara, Ireland, back in 2011. Unfortunately, I no longer have the urge to compete for GB anymore as my affinity has shifted more towards Canada, even though I know running for my newly adopted country will never happen - and yet my ears pricked up at this news about Calgary. 

If I ran the Calgary 50km and either won the race or ran one of the top 20 fastest times in the world for women over 50km this year, there was a distinct possibility that I would have the option of travelling to Doha in October. I wouldn't be representing Canada or even Great Britain - I would be heading over there competing for myself and doing things my way. I proceeded to look at the world 50km rankings to date, and having honestly assessed my training in recent weeks and decided on a time that I felt was realistically possible in the 50km, I felt the excitement building the more I thought about it.

One of the things I loved about competing internationally was seeing new places and meeting so many different people from different cultures and backgrounds. I was always amazed by the number of countries represented at the flag parades and opening ceremonies, and always felt honoured to be amongst some of the best ultra runners in the world. I’ve also done lots of travelling over the years with family and friends, but having never been to Qatar, the idea of running the 50k in Calgary rather than the marathon was sold to me if it meant a chance of visiting a new part of the world, should I perform well.

I will be honest and say that I do now have a time in mind and I intend to push hard on what is not a particularly fast course. I have no idea how I will fair, but unless I try, I will never know. There are also likely to be the cream of the Canadian ultra runners toeing the line on race day, all fighting for that national title, so I am under no illusions whatsoever that it will be easy.

The good news is that I’ve had some good training runs this past week or so, and whilst the legs have felt tired and a little flat some days, I do feel stronger and fitter again despite lacking in pace. I’m hoping I can use the Red Deer Marathon as a steady run to help determine whether I’m being overly ambitious with my target 50k time, and providing I don’t run too hard, I’ll recover in time to give myself the best shot I can at getting to Qatar.

So thank you Nadeem Khan and the organisers of the Calgary Marathon for giving me the opportunity - whatever happens on the day, so long as I give my best, I know that I won’t be disappointed by the outcome.