In Like a Lion

Ice Beard Buds!

Mar 10th 5.2 0:31:00 Easy jog on Crestdale and Route 4 with Duke and George.
Mar 10th 4.3 0:30:00 Super easy on TM. 1600m swim tonight as well.
Mar 11th 5.5 0:30:20 Route 4 with the dogs. Decent run. Broke 500km! I'll be running in Calgary for the rest of the week!

The next few runs were in Calgary while staying with my brother. Had some decent runs with his dogs but definitely felt the effects of the increased altitude. Calgary is at about 3500ft above sea level. Didn't notice too much while running on flats or downhill but it was quite noticeable on any climbs. I took a day off this week to go snowboarding in the rockies. We spent a day at Sunshine riding fresh powder and having a blast. I also took a day off to rest my very sore, swollen and freshly tattoed leg. I got tattoed twice while in Calgary. I'd been looking forward to it for quite a while but it will certainly not do me any favours in the water. A week in Calgary and (hopefully) two weeks to heal is a lot of time out of the pool. I'll have to work twice as hard when I get back in next week.

Powder day at Sunshine

Mar 12th 5.7 0:32:00 Through MJ's neighbourhood in Calgary with Princess Mia. Great run but very shallow breathing going uphill. Definitely could feel the elevation.
Mar 13th 4.7 0:30:00 Snakey run through the neighbourhood with Gusto. Ran in shorts!
Mar 16th 6.66 0:47:40 Got lost in Nosehill Park with Mia. Beautiful place to run. Gnarly hills. Had to walk some of the DOWNHILLS in the snow! Cold and windy.  
Mar 17th 4.9 0:31:48 Last run in Calgary. Ran un and down the streets and long ally ways in MJ and Beth's hood. The dog and I both had icy beards.
Mar 19th 6 0:35:00 Route 4 to Blackett's Lake Bridge and back. With the dogs. Storm just rolling in. Nice to be back at sea level.
Mar 20th ??? Missed something here. Hmmm
Mar 21st 5 0:30:00 TM in the hotel in Dartmouth. 30 minutes in front of 24 feet of mirrors=gruesome. Also did an easy spin of 20-25 minutes.
Mar 22nd 6 0:35:30 Stuck in Dartmouth - Bad. Finding a few kms of trails in Burnside Industrial Park - Good.
Mar 23rd 6 0:33:30 Regular 6km route from home. Beauty day.
Mar 24th 5.2 0:30:00 Crestdale and Rt. 4 with the dogs. Feels like spring.
Mar 24th 5 0:30:00 TM at home. Vivos. I think this gets me out of debt for the travel/jet lag/ visitors perfect storm of last week.
Mar 25th 5.25 0:30:00 Graveyard with Duke. Off leash run training. Duke rules. Distance is a guess.

Hoo hoo hoo said you could skip a day?

Marching On

So my last post was on Valentine's day and ended with a poem. That cracks me up. I feel like I haven't been swimming nearly enough. When I get there I feel great but I really need to get back to the pool. Here's another boring stats log:

• Feb 15th-5.5km Crestdale Dr
• Feb 16th-3800m swim followed by 12km loop of Point Edward with Karen. Great run and my last longish run before the Long John Jaunt.
• Feb 17th- 5ish km on the dreadmill. Starting to hate that thing. Did part of the run in Vivos. I usually start my TM runs either barefoot or in Vivos.
• Feb 18th-Mini brick at home. 30min spin and 5km on the TM.
• Feb 19th- 9.5km. Modified Tuesday route with P-Mac, Bighead, Corey and Stephany. Hard fast run for me. Followed with 2350m swim
• Feb 20th- 6km. Home to Blackett's Lake Bridge and back. 1km warm-up, 4km speed work, 1km warm-down. Last hard effort before the LJJ.
• Feb 21st- 5.7km from the pool. Beautiful day. Easy pace. Now I am 38.
• Feb 22nd- Super easy 30 mins on the TM. LJJ Eve.
• Feb 23rd- 2013 JJ McDermett Long John Jaunt. I did my first and only other half-marathon last year at the first LJJ. I fell apart in the last 5km and was not very happy with my time of 2:10. This year I hoped to break 2:00. 2 days ago Karen asked me to run with her to try to get 1:45. I really didn't think I could do it (especially during this 100 runs madness) but I thought I'd go out and give it a shot and fall off the pace when I started to hurt. Turned out to be a great run. I did it in 1:50 and change for an improvement of 20mins over last year. I was really stoked. The last 3km were really tough but rather than fall apart and do some walking as I might have done in the past I put my head down and went to work to grind out those last few km. Super happy with my result. As I've said before, I may not be fast but at least I'm slow.
• Feb 24th- Super dooper easy recovery run on Crestdale. About 4.25 km in 30 minutes. 
• I'm on a new team this year for the Cabot Trail Relay. We picked our legs tonight and I ended up with leg 14 which is exactly what I wanted. It is a long one, very close to half-marathon distance and I will be running through Margaree Harbour and along the river as the sun comes up. I can't honestly think of anything much better than that. I'll also take it as a good sign that I volunteered for another plus 20km run the day after the LJJ.
• Feb 25th- 4.7km at home on the TM. Easy effort. Legs still a bit trashed.
• Feb 26th- 7km. Northend loop from the pool. Legs still sore and a bit numb. Felt like crap so I skipped swimming.
• Feb 27th- Had to take a day off with a blown back. Today was also the day I made the decision to see a new chiropractor on the recommendation of Alan MacKenzie. I'm hoping this guy will be interested in finding long-term solutions to these back problems. This blow out has been a bit longer lasting than others I've had. In fact, as I type this on March 9th I'm still a bit sore.
• Feb 28th- I managed about 4km in 30 minutes on the TM. Even that was miserable. It took some breaks and stretching to get me through it but I know that moving carefully is usually better for me than being still.
• March 1st- Ran twice today. 5km on the TM this morning and 6km on the road in the afternoon. Back was really starting to loosen up by the second run.
• March 2nd- 8km Louisbourg Slush Run. Boy did I feel like dog shit. Couldn't push the way I wanted to; the way I've been able to in my last few races. I think I was still recovering from a tough week with the back problems and the LJJ. Still ran a PB at 39:47.
• March 3rd- 5km TM
• March 4th- 5.6km. Crestdale Dr. including 3x hard up the Rock Cut Hill plus recovery. The dogs love hill repeats.
• March 5th- 11.1km Tuesday night route with Chrissy. Good run but legs sore enough that I avoided the last climp up Royal Ave and took a slightly easier route through Ashby. Followed with 2800m in the pool which included a solid 1900m (half IM distance) swim. Felt great.
• March 6th- Northend with Jody. Nice day for a run downtown. 5.7 km easy pace
• March 7th- 4.35 km in 30mins on the TM. In my 100 runs notes i just wrote "yuck". Not a good run. Feeling pretty drained.
• March 8th- 5.5km. Graveyard and Crestdale Dr. A few hill repeats and a few sprints. With the doggies. Actually felt pretty strong today.
• March 9th- 5.2km in about 30 mins. Route 4 and onto Edgewater Drive. Started off feeling strong but got pretty slow and draggy on the way back. That drained feeling again. Are we seeing a pattern?
• March 9th- Decided to put one in the bank in case I miss a day while I'm in Calgary next week. 30 mins on the TM. Did some speed build ups and "sprints". Felt much better than earlier today. Maybe because the 6 beers and 4 hours sleep had sort of worn off? I may not be smart but at least I'm stupid.