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.