Rain, Rain Go Away...

The weekend has come and gone and what have I got to show for it...wet shoes.

The nice sunny autumn days of Vancouver where I walked through the park while the sun shone through the golden leaves seem to have vanished. They have been replaced by rain and all those golden leaves are now slippery mush ready for me to slip on when my mind wanders as it tends to do.

Coming from the UK, I'm used to this type of weather, but for some reason the fantastic summer lulled me into a false sense of security and now I feel slightly betrayed. Actually all this is lies, I say this to justify my complete lack of exercises over the last few weeks, only getting out to run with the club.

I have signed up for the Los Angeles Marathon in March and next Monday hails the start of my training for it. It is a brand new point to point course running from the Dodgers Stadium in the hills, through Hollywood, Century City (think Die Hard), Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills and then finishes at the Santa Monica Pier. I'm hoping with this mainly down hill course I should be able to improve my time and edging towards a 3 hour marathon.

Back to the weekend. Saturday I decided to get some fresh air and go see a movie... what????Between my buildings door, the skytrain station and the cinema I was outside in the rain for a good 500 yards.

I went to see Pirate Radio, for those in Europe, The Boat that Rocked. Having been out in England some 6 months back I missed it then but normally enjoy Richard Curtis films so I thought now was as good as time as any.

The first thing to mention about the film was the difference in trailers. In the UK the films trailers had your usual comedy clips from the film showing the story of how they were getting round the Law and Government. In North America it concentrated far more on the one American character, even suggesting he was showing the Brits how it was done. Marketing you have to love it.

The film was enjoyable and Bill Nighy is always fun to watch. One problem that did emerge in the theatre was when the humour relied on regional knowledge. There were a few uncomfortable moments where I was laughing and the people round me were just looking like maybe I was on day release from a straight jacket.

With still some daylight to kill, I decided that Science world might be worth a gander. I go past it on the train a lot and have even run past/around it a few times but have never made it in. The building itself look very futuristic or it did at some point, think Epcot Centre but smaller and with lights all round it. It has to be said, it is mainly set out for kids with lots of hands on stuff to do, but... if you are willing to ignore the looks, whispers and scowls from narky parents adults can fully enjoy it too. With exhibits to test your flexibility (I'm average), your grip (erm, I've got a good grip for some reason), your brain waves (yeah, I think that one was broken) and the worsts one in my opinion, your fears (there were people walking round with fricking snakes!!!). It was fun but I really think it is best to do with a kid so at least you can pass it off as you are there for them, like Disney movies, you know what I mean.

Sunday started early with getting up in time so I could have breakfast and have chance for it to digest before my second attempt at trail running. Sukhi and John from PRR were kind enough to take me back out to the Baden Powell Trail to do what I presume is roughly the third quarter of a race known as the Knee Knacker. We started at Grouse Mountain and ran through to Lynn Valley Headwaters and then back again (the route should be visible through a link in the Garmin section on the right for those that are interested).

The first trail run I did was on a beautiful crisp morning with the sun coming through the trees. It couldn't have been more different on Sunday. The rain while not heavy was consistent and the temperature was cool to say the least, especially up in the mountains. We ran just below the snow line even crossing it at one point although I'm not sure 1/2 an inch of snow on either side of the trail counts. It was an amazing run, all the streams were up and you could here the waterfalls from quite a distance, my favourite part would have to be running over one bridge that was partial submerged due to the rise in water. I think Sukhi summed it up best my saying we had run the Baden Powell stream not trail.

Trail running is a very different art than road running and one I have yet to master in anyway. While my two guides were lithely leaping from rock to rock, gliding over roots and fallen branches, I was clomping around like the tyrannosaur in Jurassic Park. There was no fear of meeting any wildlife along the way, they had heard me from a long way away, and had time to finish what ever they were doing and amble away at a leisurely pace long before we got with in range. Oh well, something for me to work on.

The rest of Sunday past in napping, I did get up early, and doing a bit of food shopping. I did manage to get a whiteboard though where I have laid out my day to day activities so I don't keep forgetting to do them, you know, the small things like getting dressed (I'm not kidding). I did manage to get out to the buildings gym to have a quick run on the treadmill as I'm concerned that I have lost a fair amount of speed and fitness since completing Chicago back at the beginning of October. I was doing great until Jerry McQuire came on the T.V. and I had to stop.

Today has been basically about recovery, all the feet slapping from yesterday has left me a very sore back and calves. To see me this morning would have been like looking at in 50 years (I'm hopeful) I was sort of limping with an arched back and a blanket over my shoulders, It's got cold out side and I'm too cheap to turn the heating on. Thank you pharmaceutical companies for Ibuprofen!

And just for the record, I did get dressed today as per schedule :)

Birthdays come and go

Well I certainly have been busy over the last week so I will try and not bombard you with my usually level of mind numbing detail.

After much self congratulations on hearing I had finally completed my Open University degree last Thursday morning, I wandered up to Swanguard Stadium in Central Park to watch the final of the men's 5k race in the World Police and Fire Games. Not wishing to show any disrespect to the fireman of the world out there but it seemed to be they received a good drubbing from the police. But that is just my take on it, not sure who came out on top for the entire games. The racing was good and it gave me a chance to practise some sport action shots with my camera, as it turns out I still need more practise.

Thursday nights club run turned out to be a little harder than I had imagined. A large number of the club was taking part in a 80k (50 mile) trail race on Saturday so I had thought that most would be taking it easy on Thursday in preparation for this. I yet again underestimated these guys. Their idea of tapering for a race is very different from mine. In brief, after running up a hill ()I say hill but I think crampons would have been more suitable than running shoes) to what I can only guess/hope is the highest point in Metro-Vancouver, we had a brief respite in Queen Elizabeth Park (awesome views) before running (free falling) down the other side of the hill to the site of the 2010 Winter Olympic village. After reaching (hitting) the bottom I committed the cardinal running club sin of falling so far behind that I missed the pedestrian traffic light and the rest of the group had to wait for me to play frogger across the road to catch up to them. It didn't get much better from there, I managed to keep them in line of sight until the last kilometre then just meekly finished off.

I don't want you to get the wrong idea here. The rest of the runners in the club are fantastic, they have been really friendly and welcoming and have never once complained or even rolled there eyes (that I have seen) as I gasp for breath at the back of the pack. I also don't want you to think that I'm not enjoying it either. It is a great challenge every time I go and I feel even in the short time I have been going, my running has improved. So far each run has had a different route and I'm seeing parts of the city and surrounding area that I would not normally see. Running clubs are only as hard as you want to make them, give it a go, you don't have to be fast or take part in races, you get to meet some great people who encourage and help you achieve what you want.

Friday was my Birthday!!! Thank you to all those that sent messages, it was great. After a finishing work and speaking to my Mum I had a day of mooching around, and buying myself some presents. I have now got my wireless network up and running so watch out for the video guided tour of the apartment soon. I also got the Wii connected up so I could practise my tennis. In the evening I headed off downtown to try out another restaurant , this time The Keg won my business. The Keg seems to be a Canadian chain who specialises in steak, who am I to argue. I had a great meal here and while a little more expensive than else where, on special occasions worth the extra, nothing too fancy but nice. After steak, jacket potato and a range of deserts (best not to ask) I got home after having a good night out.

As mentioned a little earlier, PRR members were taking part in a race over the weekend called the Stormy Trail Race which wound it's way around the mountains of Squamish valley. This was meant to be a relay race which the club had entered 5 teams, but some thought that the idea of taking part in a 80k (50 mile) relay version of the race was a little to sissy for them so they attempted the whole race on there own! I had volunteered to help out at one of the aid stations along the course and to be a backup runner if anybody had to drop out. I could do a whole race report here on the days events but in the hope you are still reading this and I would like you to finish I will be concise.

The alarm went off at 3:30am and I was picked up at 4am, FYI, people were still coming home from a good night on the town. We got to the race start by 5am and the race got underway at 6am with a 12 hour cutoff for the race. I nearly got to run a couple of times but on both occasions the opportunity was wrenched from my grasp (sigh). I spent the day eating sweets and crisps that were meant for the runners and cheering as they went by. Meanwhile, our club runners put in an amazing effort. Every team finished and one team only missed a prize due to a course marshal mis-directing one of there runners. All of the solo runners finished under the 12 hour deadline and not only that but Elle beat the male and female course record from last year, winning the women's race and coming third overall having taken 57 minutes of the female course record (her own). These guys did an amazing job and I can't wait to give trail running ago myself. This will have to wait just a little bit though as the amount of lost skin and blood makes me think I will wait until after the marathon. An awesome BBQ followed the event and finally made it home at around 9:30pm. Long day and I didn't even run.

Up early again on Sunday at 5:30am. This time it was my turn to run. I was taking part in the Delta Half Marathon which was about 25 mins south of Vancouver and most importantly, flat as a pancake. Due to some interesting difficulties with my car here I was very grateful for the lift to and from the race. On arriving at the start the first thing I noticed was the three fire engines lined up out side the leisure centre where the run was starting from. I'm still not sure what the problem was but the result was there were no restroom facilities, thankfully a nearby tree did the trick for me but members of the female persuasion were getting a little antsy. A Porty-potty was found and after a 15 minute delay the race was started. Just before we got off a light rain started which kept me nice and cool, if a little damp, for the race. I set off well and after settling in everything went well until the course turned into the wind, in all fairness wind might be an exaggeration, draft would be more fair but at the 9 mile mark it was enough to slow me down a little. My target was to finish in between 1:30:00 and 1:35:00, I crossed the line in 1:32:27 so job done. They had a nice pancake breakfast for the finishers, a good medal and just as important for me, a good ribbon too.

For future reference, a steak dinner on a Friday night, an early morning the next day eating sweets, crisps and BBQ, followed by a late night, another early morning and a 13.1 mile race does not a happy stomach make!

I'm going to cut you off at this point as there is more to come from the day and I don't want to overload you. I'll post again soon.

Thanks for reading.

Back to the point

Given the title of this blog, I thought it appropriate to write an actual entry about my current running endeavours.

Out of pure narcissism and for the record so I can look back and compare here are my current personal bests (PB's):

5K - 21:14
10K - 41:27
Half Marathon - 1:36:01
Marathon - 3:24:37

I'm currently training for the 2009 Chicago Marathon which I'm running on Sunday October 11th with Andy and Martin. We will all be running separately, aiming to hit our respective goals. The reason I picked Chicago to run at is that it is a fast flat course, you are constantly in the city with things to look at and it is fast becoming recognised as one of the top marathons in the world.

My goal for Chicago is to get my time down below 3 hrs 20 minutes. I was hoping to do this in Paris but due to heat, inadequate amount of drinks and mainly due to me not training right, I missed my goal by 4 minutes and change. I say this is my goal but to steal a quote "I have a dream..." (I'm thinking more Martin Luther King than ABBA here) I would love to use the Chicago Marathon to Qualify for Boston.

For those that don't know, the Boston Marathon to some is the pinnacle of marathons, the Everest to which some of us strive to reach. It is the only major open marathon (I think) that requires you to have done a qualifying time at another marathon to enter. In my case for my gender and age I have to have completed a marathon in 3:10:59 seconds. So I have basically got to cut 14 minutes of my time, which may sound easy, but you are going to have to trust me on this, it isn't!

So there is my ultimate goal, 26.2 miles / 42.2 kilometres in 3 hours 10 minutes and 59 seconds. To achieve this I have changed my training plan from the last 3 marathons I have done and I'm using a plan downloaded from Runners World specifically created to help me run the distance in the time.

Now this is where reality sets in. I've now just come to the end of my fifth week of training for the race and this is the first week I have completed all of the runs I'm meant to do at the pace and distance I'm meant to do them. I could use the fact that I moved to Canada at the very start of the plan and it has taken me a few weeks to settle in but don't be fooled this is just an excuse. The truth is that it is damned hard and I have used any reason to dodge out on a run even though I really want to achieve this.

But enough with the negativity, as I said, this last week I did complete all the training for the week. I now feel awful as a result but there is a happiness in that aching, exhausted feeling. I'm on my way now and I have to keep it up. Over the next few weeks I'm going to try and turn it up to 11. I want to drop about 7lbs to get back to a better race weight, improve my flexibility and start training in the gym again to help rebuild my core strength that will keep me going over the distance.

So that is where I stand at the moment. For any that have made it this far in to the post and have managed not to fall asleep or be put off my the excessive use of the word 'marathon' (11 times by my count) I have included links at the very top right hand corner of this page which shows you my last 5 outdoor training runs. When a link is followed, you can see the route I took for that run, the distance I did, how long it took me, how big the hills were, how high my heart rate went, pretty much everything you didn't want to know and more about my training effort.

For those who are still left, thanks for sticking with me, it is appreciated, as are any comments on you might have on this blog experiment.