‘Tired’ legs - 42:48

Wednesday - January 31st, 2007

I could really feel the tire in the legs today and was feeling a bit wary heading out to meet Ased and Steve B for an ‘easy’ run at lunch - my easy run and their easy runs are not exactly the same.  Once again I was able to hang on by a couple of strands, and got a great clean out run in.  It was definitely a faster pace than I would of went running solo but is probably the reason the legs are feeling as good as they are tonight.

This morning the Team had a meeting with Coach Mike and discussed our overall training plan leading up to race day, June 17th.  We discussed getting our long runs in as a Team, to see how that dynamic is going to work, and also the starting of our pack training.  We will start pack running a couple times a week in the near future, starting with just a couple of pounds in the pack and gradually building the weight up each week.

This evening T had a Youth Centre Out Trip, they went ice-skating at Juan De Fuca.  While she was out gliding, spinning and falling on the ice I spent about an hour at work and then went over to Packman’s place for a visit and good chat.

Me belly was a hurtin’ – 1:14:52

Tuesday - January 30th, 2007

Things were not well with me this morning, something I ate last night did not agree with my stomach and let me know it around 4:30.  After a couple of hours of wrestling with the bug I decided that it was going to be a good day to stay home.  Thankfully things brightened up in the afternoon, I was feeling much better and after a good meal and tons of water I was right back to normal.

I waited for a few more hours letting lunch settle in before heading out to Beacon Hill Park to run with the tire.  After the ugly morning I didn’t know how things were going to go but they turned out good.  I ran two loops of the Park to warm up and then towed the tire for 50+ minutes and then another loop of the Park to cool down.  Hugh T was out for a cruise and stopped for a few minutes to chat and catch up.  I felt even better after the run, whatever it was that I ate is definitely out of the system now.

I drove over to Brent and Brenda B’s to pick up the pictures from Saturday before coming home.  Here are a few of the shots she took.

Ohh... I could of used a good sleep in

Monday - January 29th, 2007

I was sore, tired, very hungry and even a little bit cranky waking up this morning, my legs were fried from the last few days of running, they felt like crispy bacon.

I thoroughly enjoyed the day off from training but at the same time am looking forward to taking the tire for another tour of the Park tomorrow night.

Tonight Uncle Jimmy came over and gave the computer a tune up and then we geeked for awhile on T's Playstaion, played a few games of hockey.

Pickles Bluff – 2:44:39

Sunday - January 28th, 2007

I drove out to PanPan’s place this morning for a guided tour run through the trails of John Dean Park.  I had never been to the Park before and was very excited to see what it was like.  I was not disappointed; there were great single track trails with amazing scenery lots of twists, turns, ups and downs.  PanPan was a great tour guide and showed us, Lise and Lindsaylator were along for the ride, all the ‘sites’ of John Dean Park.  I had originally thought to get in my full run out at the park but after almost two hours the legs were screaming “NO MORE HILLS!” so I finished with the rest of the gang.

Patiently waiting

Map of the Park

Below the bluff


View from Pickles Bluff

PanPan saw a bird


Another view point

The view

A different angle

Soccer ball for aliens?

My legs were thinking “Woohoo another hill!!”


Not sure what to say about this picture…

I saw a bird : )

My favorite picture from the run

I saw some pictures of the ‘cabin’ that was once on this spot – it was huge!

I spent the rest of the afternoon out at PanPan’s place enjoying an incredible brunch prepared by his Mom and Dad and then just some great company – well except for maybe Squintch (see pictures below).

PanPan relaxing before brunch

PanPan put to work after brunch

Lindsaylator studying her Math

Full and happy

First Squintch eats…

Then Squintch sleeps…

With PanPan having to catch the ferry back to Van we all ended up leaving at the same time.  I came home unwound for a few moments and then laced the Asics up and headed out the door to finish up the required mileage for the day.  I ran another 50+ minutes tonight along Dallas, down around Clover Point and on to the Ross Bay Cemetery.  On the way home I stopped in at Thrifty’s, picked up some Epsom salts and then rushed home and jumped in a bath.  The rest of the night will be spent on the couch rehydrating and relaxing.

Turkey Head Walkway – 2:04:20

Saturday - January 27th, 2007

I had a great time this morning with Packman, Scooter and Brenda B taking some pictures behind the Parliament buildings.  Brenda is going to get them all together for us on a disc and we’ll have them in a day or two, I can’t wait to see them!

After the shoot, Scooter, and I drove down to Mo:lé for some breakfast, we were joined by Scooter’s Aunt G.  After breakfast I drove Scooter home then dropped the banners back off to Chris K at Popeye’s then came home.

I took a very quick nap, about an hour, and then headed out for a run, just over two hours with an out and back along Dallas to Oak Bay Marina and a short bit on the Breakwater.

I had one of those moments today where you realize that you have been by a place a hundred times but never really noticed all of it.  I’ve been to and by the Marina countless times but had absolutely no idea the short walkway around it was called “Turkey Head Walkway”, I took a few minutes midway through the run, sat down and enjoyed the view from one of the benches along the Walkway.

Three Running the Songhees – 45:20

January 26th, 2007

April 22nd, 2007 is going to be a huge day for an amazing trio of Victoria athletes - Finn, Rumon and Mike are all heading to England to run the Flora London Marathon.  Check out their website “Three Roads to London” it’s a one page splash right now but get it in your bookmarks and head back often to see what they are up too.



While I didn’t see any of the above trio on the Songhees today I did have the opportunity to run with Ased and Steve B again.  The three of us went for a great (and gorgeous, woohoo for the sun!) run along the Songhees to Westbay marina.  Steve was a little late but caught up to us just after Ased and I had turned around at the marina.

Not much on the go tonight, right after work I ran up to Popeye’s and borrowed a couple of banners from Chris K.  Tomorrow the Team has Brenda B coming out to take some more pictures for us.  Have a few sponsor shots to do and then some fun ones too.  Will post some here as soon as I can.

Two more runs to get in before a well deserved day off on Monday.  Will go for two hours tomorrow later in the afternoon and then a long run on Sunday, I’ll have to double check the schedule but I think Coach Mike has us down for close to 30km - time for some sleep...

Captain Packman – 46:37

January 25th, 2007

Check out this great article “Running the journey of a lifetime” in UVic’s Martlet.



I finally made it out for some speed work

Got out at lunch today, was a bit late though and missed Ased and Andrew who were running some 3 minute intervals.  I did see them on my way out, during my warm-up, and they both looked like they had a good session.  My plan was for something much shorter, went with 1 minute intervals with a 30 second recovery and fit in as many as I could from the 2km on the Goose to the far side of Switch Bridge and back, I think it turned out to be 11.

The goal today was to practice fast light turnover and during each interval I kept repeating the words “quick” and “pull” as my feet hit the ground, I wanted the turnover to be the engineer behind the speed not a big long stride.  During the recoveries I would check my form and posture, letting the arms drop down, shake them out, relax the shoulders, head up, chest out, ensure the eyes are looking forward not down, relax the jaw – BREATHE -  then go again…

It was a great exercise, and definitely filled my desire for a speed workout, at least for a little while.

Tonight T and I started a course together, it will fill up part of our Thursday evenings for the next 7 weeks – should be fun

Looks like the plan for tomorrow is to join Ased for another easy cruise at lunch.  Coach Mike has just sent us the schedule for our next few weeks of training; we are going to start ramping things up and will be doing back to back long runs.  A couple of hours on the first day then our ‘normal’ long run the next.

...and more Food – 50:12

January 24th, 2007

After that little rant about food yesterday, I was very excited to find out today that Harvest Foodworks has sponsored the Team, and is going to supply us with all the main meals we will need for the Gobi March.  Harvest is a small company that is located in rural Eastern Ontario.  They make primarily vegetarian products with main dishes like Couscous Almondine, Alfredo Primavera, Tandoori Curry, and Wild Rice Pilaff.  I am getting hungry just thinking about them!

Got in a great run this afternoon with some great company.  Andrew G, Andrew H, Ased and I went for a very nice, easy run down the Goose to Switch Bridge, a welcome clean out of the legs.

This morning we had a Team meeting, went over a couple of things we’re focusing on for the next few weeks and started working on the plans for our ‘Silent Auction’ event.

Food, food, food!!! – 49:17

January 23rd, 2007

Unfortunately T’s finger just wasn’t up to playing basketball today, we did have it all taped up and braced but it really didn’t like the bouncing at all.  She went with the team though and cheered them on to their first victory!

The legs were tired today after the longer runs in the past couple of days but I did get out again for a nice easy cruise on the Goose.  I had wanted to try for some speed work today but there was absolutely no speed in the legs so bailed on that idea.  I have been getting down on myself lately for the lack of speed work in my training but a question from a friend today put things back in perspective.  It was something along the lines of “You’re not training to PR on a 10k, why are you so worried about speed work?”  I didn’t have a good answer for them.

As I was running today the topic of food was on my mind.  During the Gobi March we are required to carry a minimum of 2000 calories of food per day.  That’s 2000 calories (approx 1lbs of food) per day for seven days while covering 250km.  My longest week of training so far has been just over half of the race distance but my food intake during that week was insane, I was eating 6000 – 7000 calories per day.

The question on my mind today “How am I going to survive on only 2000 calories per day?”  Carrying more food is an option but at 1lb per 2000 calories it adds weight to the pack very quickly.  Definitely need to do some more thought on this one.

Ouch! I left my pinky back there – 1:46:52

January 22nd, 2007

Have you ever closed the car door on your finger?  After tonight T can answer that question with a hearty “YES!”  Right when we got home from the Youth Centre, T hopped out of the car, closed the door and then realized with a yelp that she left her pinky behind

She has a small cut and will probably lose the nail at some point.  She was a great girl and after the initial shock let me clean and bandage it up.  The big question she had was if she’d be able to play in her basketball game tomorrow?

I got two good runs in today.  An easy run to Westbay at lunch and then another from the Youth Centre this evening making for some great mileage today.

Some days I can be such an idiot! – 2:24:07

January 21st, 2007

I was up and out quickly this morning with a bottle of Endurathon and a gel (keep this in mind, it comes into play later) in hand with the thought of a three hour run in mind.  It was an incredible morning, the sun just coming up over the mountains across the straight and the temperature just right for a nice cruise along the water.  I ran up Dallas towards Gonzales Bay then up and over King George, crossing paths with Lise just before the Golf Course.  I continued along, running on Beach Drive past Willows, as I was rounding Cattle Point, Finn and company came zipping past me, slowing up long enough for a quick hello and chat then off they went like a couple of rockets.  I ran on, following their vapour trail up Beach Drive and turned around just before the hill heading down to Cadboro Bay.

I had used my one and only gel after about an hour and at that point realized just how much of an idiot I was, how the heck was I going to go two more hours with no more fuel?  I tried anyway.  The Endurathon is great stuff and was a life saver today but… with only the one gel after two hours I was feeling quite done and at that point decided to find the quickest way home.  I was running on empty but after another 20+ minutes I made it.  Cooked up some srambled egg whites, then took a quick shower and felt much better.

The rest of the day was spent between home and Shawna’s place as T spent most of the day hanging with Shawna.

A Trio of Tired Hero’s

January 20th, 2007

I was able to get the girls into bed at a decent hour but not to sleep, and I could still hear them quietly giggling last night as I was crawling into bed.  This morning they all looked droopy as we made our way down to Mo:lé for some breakfast but after a wonderful meal and some juice the girls were right back to their normal bubbly selves.

We dropped Ems and Penny off on our way home after breakfast and then spent some time cleaning up before T went out bowling with her Big.  While T was out I went for coffee up in the Square and a little wander along Dallas Road.

T got an invite for a sleepover with Shawna tonight and I spent part of the evening at Super Dave’s place celebrating his Bday.

Have made it home not too late and plan to go to bed right after finishing this entry, will take advantage of the free morning tomorrow and head out early for a long run.

Guitar Hero’s – 45:17

January 19th, 2007

Another great run this afternoon with Ased and Steve B.  We all met up at the Johnson Street Bridge and then ran down the Songhees Walkway turning around at the Westbay Marina.  Lots of good chatting and I thoroughly enjoy the company, it feels amazing to be running with such great company.  Not too often in a race would I be running along side the likes of these two, maybe for the first thirty seconds or so

Uncle Jimmy dropped by the office this afternoon and had a couple of late Christmas or possibly early Birthday presents for T.  A couple of new games for her Play Station, one being "Guitar Hero II".

T has invited a couple of guests, Ems and Denny, to spend the night and after enjoying some pizza from Il Greco’s the three of them rocked out hard!

Very yummy pizza!

Some frets…

A trio of Guitar Hero’s

Silent Fluidity – 47:35

January 18th, 2007

I know, I know - It’s a silly pun on a great Queensrÿche track but it fits today’s post.

I don’t often talk or write about my time in the Marine Corps but today during a normal daily interaction with a customer at work I was hit pretty hard with a deja-vu moment and a vivid remembrance of an episode during my time in the Fleet.  This particular event happened during Operation Desert Storm where I served as an Assistant Section Leader and Crew Chief in an Amphibious Assault Detachment.

You may be asking your self what does an Amphibious Assault Detachment do in the desert?  I am not quite sure how to answer that one, but we did do stuff…

Anyway back to the episode… It happened one evening after having just received our mission briefing from the 1st Sergeant and Captain.  Our Platoon Commander, a young 2nd Lieutenant fairly new to the Fleet (but who knew the Code Book back to front, inside out and diagonally - lets call him 2nd Lt. Rules from here on out), after hearing a few things that were not a part of Fleet’s regular routine decided to speak up.  “Captain?” he said “There are a couple of things here that aren’t a part of our Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), in Section… and he continued” at which point the Captain looked over at the 1st Sergeant who looked back at the Captain and then at 2nd Lt. Rules and said “F**k your SOP, your gonna have to be flexible on this one tonight.”  This statement of course stopped the 2nd Lt. in mid-sentence but after just a couple of seconds he came out with it, “All right Marines, you heard the 1st Sergeant.  We’re going to have to be flexible tonight.  Code… and he continued again.”  At this point and with a raised voice the Captain spoke out “F**k flexible, be FLUID!” and then walked out of the briefing tent leaving the 2nd Lt. speechless – the rest of us were all silently applauding.

A few things struck me about that episode today;
1) I realized it was the first (and last time) I heard the Captain swear.
2) After that briefing I don’t think 2nd Lt. Rules ever quoted the Code Book again.
3) and “F**k flexible, be FLUID!” has been stuck with me since that day.

So to that customer today to whom I ‘silently’ raised my voice and yelled “F**k flexible, be FLUID!” I am sorry, at least I kept it in


Training today consisted of a steady cruise down the Goose with a couple of short spurts to get some turn over in the legs.

Tethered – 45:59

January 17th, 2007

As I was getting up this morning and swinging my legs off the bed all I could think was – “Wow! My legs are sore.”  Thoughts of running a double today quickly passed, even thoughts of going out for an easy run with the Lunch Gang were more to the “Ohh… I’m not sure I feel up to that?”  I can’t remember the last time my legs were this fatigued, sore and heavy.  That damn tire!

I did end up meeting the Lunch Gang, which today turned out to be Ased and Steve B. both Andrew’s were not able to make it, and we went for a loop along the waterfront.  Steve led us through town, along the Inner Harbour, down the pathway by the Laurel Point Inn, up Dallas Road to Mile Zero and then down Douglas Street back into town.  It was just past the Breakwater that I started to fade, the chatting (at least for me) stopped and any conversation was down to one or a couple of words.  Using some visualization I mentally threw out some tethers, attached them to Steve and Ased and was able to hang on to the pace – barely.

Not much on the go tonight, things for T and I were fairly quiet.

Side Show – 55:12

January 16th, 2007

I was able to answer yesterdays question this afternoon.  With a referral from Scott (Squintch’s roommate and a MEC employee) I walked into a funky custom clothing shop “Side Show” at lunch and was greeted by Suzanne.  She is crazy and does a great job of: Custom clothing, alterations, backpack repairs, clothing repairs, reworking clothing, deconstructing, from the obvious to the bizarre and apparently she does all of MEC's repairs.  I dumped my pack off with her and she is going to fix up the water sieve with a replacement grommet as well as design a couple of water bottle carriers to attach to the pack.  Not sure just how they will attach yet, we’ll explore that some more tomorrow when I take in a water bottle for her to use as a guide.  If you ever need some sewing done head down and see Suzanne, her shop is located at 559 Johnson, right below Wiink.

I felt like a bit of a side show act during my work out tonight.  After a couple loops of Beacon Hill as a warm up I strapped on the belt, attached the tow rope to the tire, clipped on a couple of blinky lights and proceeded to tow that tire around Beacon Hill Park.  I didn’t want to take my chances on the dark, unlit stretch of Dallas Road along the water so stuck to the better lit roads inside the park.  The warm up laps took about 16 minutes, and the rest of the time is tire time, close to 40 minutes worth.  What a work out, you can feel every little hill and depression it is incredible, even down hill running is more difficult – a constant resistance, but with the belt pulling you are forced to pull in your core and lean which puts you in a more efficient running form, much like the Pose Technique.  I think with the roads being wet and even slightly slippery in some spots I was spared from the full effects of the towing, had the roads been dry I am sure the resistance would have been that much greater.  I can see why Ray Zahab suggests doing this type of training only a couple of times a month!

Where can I get my pack fixed?

January 15th, 2007

Today was rest and recovery time, no running - actually no workout of any kind, although it did turn into a busy run around day at work.  I had an appointment with Doc C. this morning, received a tetanus/diphtheria shot, a script for a Hep A vaccine that I will need to get, and a quick physical that was needed to fill in the Medical Form for the Gobi March.

At lunch what I thought was going to be a quick trip to Jeune Bros to fix up a popped out water sieve from the bottom of my pack turned into a trek all over downtown looking for some place that might be able to fix it.

The list of no’s so far:
Jeune Bros
Valhalla
Morton’s
and MEC

I did get a couple of names for sewing shops to check out and will do that tomorrow.

Tonight was chore night, got caught up with the laundry and cleaned the house up some and now will lounge for the rest of the evening.

The forecast is calling for snow – I am hoping it will hold off as I’d really like to get out tomorrow night and try out the tire towing rig with some loops around the Beacon Hill mile.

Tires ‘R’ Us – 1:42:03

January 14th, 2007

I met up with Pan-Pan and Lise at the Caleb Pike trailhead of Gowlland Tod Park this morning for an incredible excursion into the trails out there.  We ran an out and back from the parking lot towards McKenzie Bight on some amazing snow covered trails, I am sure the pictures will tell the story well.

Pan-Pan

Lise

Lise w/bunny ears and me

Snow covered trail

More of the above

Working our way through

More trails

Pan-Pan saying “We’re going this way!”

The ‘Great Debate’ – Nike vs. Brooks and Tights vs. Bare Legs

Slippery downhill

Great view

Ice floe

More slippery downhill

The next few are all shots of the trails

Self portrait

After the run Lise joined me for breakfast at Mo:lé and then I had some errands to get done downtown, picked up all the stuff I needed to build my tire towing contraption.  Both Packman and Scooter have been training with their tires and now it is time for me to join in on the fun – can’t wait!

The basic ingredients

After a little experimentation and a call to Packman the finished product

A closer look

Today was a day to bump in to people – Coach Mike out on the trails with his trail clinic group, Scott in MEC who gave me a hand picking out a climbing harness, Jeffery Chand at Capitol Iron who was buying a new light for his office and then Squintch at Thrifty’s who was picking up something for dinner.  I tried to talk Squinch in to joining me for a movie tonight, “Jet Li’s Fearless”, but he was not feeling well and thought it best he stay home.  That will be the remainder of my evening – a movie and then bed.

Maestro-Diva Magnificat – 42:59

January 13th, 2007

I had a very nice lazy morning, slept in, made some pancakes, lounged on the couch and really did a whole lot of nothing – glorious!

Went over to Packman’s place this afternoon to get out for a run with him, he took me on a tour of the Oak Bay area and golf course, one big loop.  We started off slow but once warmed up ran at a nice steady 4:30/km pace or at least that’s what Packman’s GPS was telling us.  We finished up back at his place, did some stretching and got some Endurathon before I headed back home.

Stopped in at Thrifty’s again to grab something for dinner and then had some time to get cleaned up and lounge before heading out again this evening.

Tonight I had the pleasure of seeing both Maestro and Diva perform.  Maestro was conducting and Diva was singing.  I had heard Diva sing before but never as a soloist and all I can say is “WOW!!”

Glacial Floe – 41:43

January 12th, 2007

There was no way I could take another run indoors so braved the sidewalks and roads for my run this afternoon.  It was icy and slippery, some sections of the Songhees resembling a shimmering glacier.

The run was an exercise in patience and clever course selection.  There were a few raised eyebrows as I crisscrossed the pathway running through the untrodden areas in my attempt to stay off the slick beaten path and stay in the sections with deeper snow and dryer ice - it was an incredible run and I thoroughly enjoyed myself!

After work I made a few quick stops on the way home, picked up a new book from Chapters, grabbed something for dinner from Thrifty’s, picked out a movie and now will make it a quiet night on the couch.

A Whirling and Rising Phoenix – 45:16

January 11th, 2007

T and I had to get up and out a bit early this morning.  T has decided to join the basketball team and her first practice was this morning.  She was introduced to drills, some lay ups, dribbling and her favorite - running lines.  She’s pretty pumped about being on the team and I am pumped about getting to watch a few games!!  I was also out trying to catch a glimpse of Scooter running into her work with tire in tow, but unfortunately I missed her

I have been told that treadmills are our best friends on days like today.  I think I have run on a treadmill maybe five times and have never really enjoyed the experience, not sure how to express how I feel about them.  I imagine that it is close to how Ghostie must feel when she is whirling in her wheel – “Why does this all look the same, I am running and running but I don’t feel like I am going anywhere…”

My run today, which now makes it a total of six times on a treadmill, was no exception.  The only solace I did have was that there was a TV to watch while I was drifting down that spinning rubber belt.  The treadmill itself was a very nice machine, brand new and capable of pushing out a speed of 12mph!  I didn’t go anywhere near that fast, starting out at 7.5mph for 15 minutes then cranked up the speed for the middle 15 minutes for some tempo - 5 minutes at 8.5mph, 5 minutes at 9.5mph, and then 5 minutes again at 8.5mph before slowing back down to 7.5mph.  I held that speed for another 5 minutes before turning it up to 8mph for the last 10 minutes wanting to get in approximately 10km (6 miles) before having to get back to work.

As much as I disliked running on the treadmill it was a much nicer (and safer) alternative to the outdoor running conditions we had this afternoon and I do owe a huge thank you to Troy down at Club Phoenix for letting me in the club and on the treadmill.

This evening we went on an adventure with Uncle Jimmy who treated T and I to a wonderful feast at Sabri’s, it was almost like traveling to India   After dinner T and I came home and relaxed for the rest of the night.

A Wintery Wednesday in Wonderful Westbay – 44:22

January 10th, 2007

Wow snow!  The weather here for the past couple of months has been berserk, rain storms, wind storms, and now a snow storm.  What are we getting next week, a January heat wave?

Got in an incredible run this afternoon with Ased and Steve B, we all hooked up by the start of the Goose near the Johnson Street Bridge and then went for a whiteout cruise along the Songhees to the Westbay Marina.  We took it easy as there were some pretty slippery sections, especially on the wooden walkways, and just enjoyed the scenery and chatted.  Was some great adverse weather training

Not much else on the go this evening.  T spent some time after school with her friends playing in the snow and then we just lazed the night away at home.

In the footsteps of Titans – 50:11

January 9th, 2007

I got out for a late lunch cruise on the Songhees and around Macaulay Elementary today just beating the release of the big dump we had this afternoon.  It was a good run, nice and steady.

I have been thinking a lot about ultramarathons, ultramarathoners and just where I fit in to it all for the past couple of days.  I am definitely a neophyte at the sport of ultramarathons but have caught the bug and already have a wish list of races to attempt.

The Wish List (in no particular order and I am sure not yet complete : )

Canadian Death Race
Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run
Badwater Ultramarathon
The Spartathlon
Chuckanut Mountain 50K Trail Run
pretty much any Club Fat Ass event…

and while I am not sure they are actually considered ultras these races too

Atacama Crossing
Sahara Race
The Last Desert
Racing the Planet's - Vietnam Race


And here are just a few of the ultramarathoners, on most days I feel like the pebble that gets stuck in the tread of a shoe on one of these Titans of ultramarathoning (I can’t quite get myself to call them heroes as I don’t know them at all)
Scott Jurek
Scott Dunlap
and of course the
“Ultramarathon Man” himself, Dean Karnazes

or how about a couple of semi-local Titans like:
Darren Froese
or
Wendy Montgomery
…both who have represented Canada on our National 100K Team

then there are the very local ultramarathoning Titans such as:
Bob Reid
Carlos Castillo
and
Mike Suminski (Coach Mike)

…all who are 100 miler veterans.  These gentlemen I feel more comfortable calling my ultra-heroes as I have at least met and talked to them, can claim one as my coach and have even had the pleasure of running with one of them.


So I ask myself - “Where do I fit in to all of this ultramarathoning madness?”

The only answer I come up with is - “I don’t know, only the miles will tell…”

I Love Varty Floors Ltd. – 47:37

January 8th, 2007

Scooter broke the news this afternoon in her Gobi Journal; we have got a ‘title’ sponsor – Varty Floors Ltd. of Richmond, BC.  They have come on board huge for us, with the help of their sponsorship we were able to pay off the remainder of Team Gobi’s race entries this morning – a gargantuan (I really like that word) relief for all of us!  One of the bossmen at Varty Floors is a former US Marine and after sharing a few stories we discovered that we had both been stationed at MCAS Kaneohe Bay during our time in the Fleet.

I may as well continue on with this sponsor related blog entry as we had a meeting this evening with another of our amazing sponsors: Frontrunners Westshore.  After work Packman, Scooter and I carpooled out to see Mark and Nick for a gear meeting.  We spent about an hour with them picking out our packs, shirts, sleeping bags, skorts and the rest of the mandatory gear we will need for the Gobi March.  We are going to look pretty slick with all thanks going to them!!

Training today consisted of an easy run to the Breakwater at lunch and another Jelly Belly workout this evening

Another Lazy Sunday

January 7th, 2007

It has been another fairly lazy day, after our late night last night T and I slept in some and then after waking up lounged on the couch with our cereal watching some cartoons for the rest of the morning.

We did have some excitement this afternoon as Fish, Erin and Enny came over for some tea, and game playing.  Later in the afternoon T went for an outing to the museum with Haley H.

When T got home we spent the evening playing some more games, had some dinner and geeked for awhile.

No running today but with this unofficial contest Scooter and I have going I did spend some time this evening working on my ‘Jelly Belly’

Games Night

January 6th, 2007

I didn’t get up to much today, some chores around the house and some lounge time was about it.  T spent part of the afternoon with her “Big”, they went for a walk around Thetis and then for lunch.

This evening we went over to Maestro and Diva’s place for a games night, Squintch, C-lyn, Pan-Pan, and Lindsaylator all came out as well.  We played some pretty serious games of UNO as well as a few rounds of boys against girls Taboo – the boys of course kicked some serious butt!

WET! – 44:43

January 5th, 2007

Another lunch run today, this time along the Songhees to Westbay Marina.  Was joined by another friend for the very wet run, met up with Tasha at the Johnson Street bridge and we ran together from there.

We ran at a nice easy pace and other than the cold head wind on the way back it was a very enjoyable run.

Surprised by Speed – 44:43

January 4th, 2007

I met up with Andrew G for a cruise on the Goose today at lunch.  We went out easy and gradually picked up the pace as we went.  After about 7km we pushed it hard for one km and ran it in 3:50.  Andrew looked very comfortable, a great sign that he is coming back well from his Achilles injury.  I was pleasantly surprised with the speed, definitely the fastest I’ve run in awhile, and it didn’t feel too terrible but I am sure that I wouldn't of been able to run that fast without Andrew pushing the pace and pushing me

After a quick meeting right after work T and I have made it another geek night at home.


As I am sitting here writing this "Ghostie" is taking a cruise in her wheel.  Before we got her T did a little research on dwarf hamsters and found out that they will run as far as 14km a night in those little  wheels - that is amazing!

163 and a wake up – 48:46

January 3rd, 2007

It’s a scary number - 163 - that is how many days are left until the Gobi March, which begins on the morning of June 17th and finishes seven days later on June 23rd.

While I have known for awhile when the Gobi takes place, it hadn’t really sunk in until a couple of days ago that the ‘event’ is quickly approaching and I have begun to have all kinds of thoughts;

- am I training enough?
- am I training too much?
- will I have the right mix of gear?
- how will the team mesh?
- what am I going to eat?
- will I feel like eating it?
- how are the feet going to hold up?
- and of course about two gazillion what if's

Anyway...  I am sure that all my questions will get answered in time.

So on to today’s training - a nice clean out run through town and out on the Breakwater - a much needed clean out run as the legs were definitely feeling tight after last nights run on the hills.

After work T and I got some chores done quickly and then still had time to get T to her Youth Centre night.  After the Youth Centre we picked up some groceries, got dinner ready and then geeked until it was T’s bedtime.

Climbing hills with a turtle – 1:05:57

January 2nd, 2007

I didn’t make it to the track tonight, about half way through the day I decided that a hill run was what I felt like doing.  I came home right after work threw on a couple of shirts, socks, shorts and a toque.  Then laced up the new Nimbus, pinned a blinking turtle light on my back and was out the door on the way to visit “The Seven Sisters”.  I had a good run tonight, was feeling strong on the hills and steady on the flats and with the extra distance with running from home got some nice mileage in.

Although last night I had been craving some company for a run and was looking forward to joining the IRR gang at the track, tonight running alone up and down between Richardson and Rockland felt great


I think I needed some of that in the dark solo running therapy…

Lazy Day One

January 1st, 2007

Today was a full on do nothing day of pajamaness - lots of laying around, TV and geek time – it felt great.

To start off the year of training it looks like I will be able to get out with the club at the track tomorrow night for some speed work.