6 Weeks to go!

With just under 6 weeks to go until Desert Solstice 24 hour, my training has started to ramp up again and so far, I have been happy with how things are going. I’ve already managed 2 good sessions on the track to get my body both mentally and physically prepared, and over the coming weeks, the time spent on the track will become progressively longer. The aim of these sessions is to practice running at race pace as well as working on my nutrition in the hope of keeping myself fuelled for the entire duration of the race and avoiding the vomiting that I tend to get at some ultras.

Around and around we go!

Running in Phoenix in December certainly won’t be as hot as during the summer months, but the temperatures will be warmer than what I’m likely to encounter here in Alberta. The good news is that running at the indoor track does keep things at a steady 70 degrees – even warmer if I opt to wear a long-sleeved shirt rather than a singlet – so hopefully this will be prepare me for any heat when in Phoenix.

Whilst my sessions appear to have been going well, I have been having some issues with my left knee, so last week I bit the bullet and made an appointment to see the physio.

Last year around about this time, I was having problems with my left glute and hamstring, and having seen the physio back then, he identified the problem as a weak left hip. I was given a program to help strengthen my left side which I followed religiously and after about 3 months, the problem disappeared, and I was running pain free again.

In May this year, I ran Blackfoot Ultra 100k which was extremely muddy and it seemed to aggravate an old foot injury. The problematic foot lasted a while although it wasn’t painful, so I kept on running and have still had some pretty good races throughout the year. But when the knee started to ache, I knew that I needed to pay some attention to what the old body was telling me which resulted in me making the drive to St Albert to see Norm who would hopefully put things straight.

To cut a long story short, there were two things causing the knee problem – the left hip and my big toe, both of which are causing my knee to bear the brunt of all the running. Not surprisingly, the left hip is still weak (I had been neglecting my exercises since the glute/hamstring seemed to have resolved itself), whilst the range of motion in the big toe is very limited which is not giving me the “push off” that I need when running. It’s the same toe that was affected by frostbite earlier this year and if I’m honest, I wasn’t surprised to hear that it was still causing a problem. Another program to build strength and flexibility is now in progress, and once again, I am making sure that I stick to the program as much as time allows whilst still completing the training sessions that I have been given.

It can be difficult building up for a winter race when the weather in Canada can be somewhat unpredictable at this time of year. We’ve been lucky so far in the Edmonton area in that we haven’t yet had any proper wintry weather, so I have been able to run outdoors. But last weekend, the weather did turn quite chilly and we had a couple of centimetres of snow which turned to ice overnight. I’ve said before that I really don’t mind the colder weather, nor do I mind running in the snow, but when things turn icy, it isn’t quite as much fun.

I had a speed session scheduled in for 5 x 1-mile repeats and I really wanted to go to the outdoor track so I could practice running a consistently fast pace. It was a gorgeous evening for running despite being well below zero again, and when I arrived at the track, I was relieved to see that in the main, it was clear of snow. I did my first mile on the track, but as I hit the bends, I felt my feet sliding and realised that there was ice forming on the bit of lying snow. I didn’t want to risk falling just weeks out from a big race, so I completed the rest of the session on the pavements instead. The City are pretty good at clearing the pathways but there were still some icy patches which were somewhat difficult to see in the dark, and I found I needed to slow down when doing my repeats. I was still happy with the session and managed consistent reps at below 7-minute miles, but I was also a little frustrated that I hadn’t hit my goal pace. But like I say, we have been lucky with the winter weather so far – I’m pretty sure this time last year I was already running at the indoor track twice a week, so I couldn’t really sulk too much!

5 x 1 mile repeats and feeling good :-)

As an athlete, I do try to stick to my training plan although I have been known to mix things up a bit during the week if time means I cannot follow things to the letter. Last night was one of those days, although it wasn’t because of time constraints but rather I desperately wanted to take the dogs for a run, and I was missing my chums at the Leduc Runners group.

I dithered most of the day about whether I should run or not, especially given that Wednesdays are now a rest day but I eventually decided to do the easy 6km with the group and to take Wilson, Tillie and April along with me.

Wilson and Tillie have run with me lots in the past and both love the joy and freedom of running. April however has only ever run about 400m with me on-leash but having turned 12 months of age a few weeks ago, she was now at the point where pups are considered strong enough to run without doing damage to their growing bones and bodies.

I had no idea how they would all fair running together, but I was excited to see how they got on. I also wasn’t sure whether 6km at Wilson’s pace would be too much for April, so when our friend Julie asked if her son and hubby could run with 2 of the dogs, it worked out perfectly! I knew that April and Tillie would be good to go with Kasey and Brady and I would have the pleasure of Wilson’s company for the duration of the run.

The run turned out to be awesome, and I was so happy that the members of the group were so welcoming of the 3 pups in one visit! Tillie was a little timid but soon got into her stride with Kasey, whilst April was a little Rockstar with Brady and ran so well for her first time – a little enthusiastically to start with, but she completed the full 6km and seemed to be ok later in the evening, if a little sleepy along with the other two pups. And Wilson of course did awesome, yapping away for the first 10 or 15 minutes before finally settling down and getting into his stride as he pulled me along the pathways in the dark with the rest of the gang.

Me and my boy Wilson with the Leduc Runners somewhere!

This weekend I have a 3-hour run to do and the weather is set to cool off again with possible drizzle or snow flurries. I could go to the indoor track to avoid the weather, but I’m meeting friends at noon to run the last hour or so with them, so I know for sure that I’ll be running outside. What I’m not sure about is whether to hit the track again or stick to the roads, but I can decide that in the morning. The good news is that it should be a great weekend – a run followed by lunch with friends, an afternoon with the pups at the dog park, and then after almost 3 weeks away, Andy will finally be home and I’m pretty sure the dogs will be very happy to see him. We then need to plan for another visit from friends later this month, before deciding on flights to Phoenix for December, and maybe I’ll start registering for races next year – yep, it’s going to an awesome weekend but also quite busy too and I’m really looking forward to it.