Alright, I have been asked what the big news was that I alluded to in my previous post so here it is. I convinced Karen that I needed to get an altitude tent to help with my training and to take the next step in getting me closer to a marathon time that will get me on a national team. I brought it up as soon as I came back from holidays and surprised that it ended up happening. I started really thinking about it after talking with coach Richard about it and how Dylan W. has been using it as part of his training. So I set it up this past Sunday and have been using it at night getting in 10 hours a night and jumping in for naps during the day 2-3 hours at a time. I noticed right away the first night that something was going on, i rolled around a lot that night, my breathing was laboured and i felt a bit achy and foggy when i got out of it in the morning, but I am quickly adapting to it. I like to wake up in the morning roll out of bed and head straight out for a long run but I find now I need a bit of time in the mornings before lacing up the shoes, but other than that training is the same.
Training is going well, I am running solid weeks of mileage right now, not over doing it at all and still able to easily hit 100 mile weeks. Each week workouts are improving, with one hiccup last week where I traveled all the way from Langley to UBC to run 800 meters of the first mile interval before stepping off the track because my hamstring was so tight I was getting shooting pains through it. I was supposed to run 6 by a mile but that was out of the question so I went out and ran 30 minutes around campus to salvage the days mileage and make the trip to UBC not a complete waste of time and my leg felt fine with the slower pace. The next days to follow my hamstring felt good during training so I just ran out the rest of the week with easy running before heading to Victoria for the Bazan Bay 5km.
This race was another test to see where I was at with my fitness. Race day conditions were good aside from the wind that kicked up along the road that runs along the ocean. The race went out slow, 3:02 for the first kilometer I heard someone yell out. I tucked in behind the leaders and just ran comfortably. A bit past 2km I moved up and tucked in behind M. Clout who was running up front and sat in past the turn around till we came to the 3km mark where I heard the split of 9:03. At this point I knew a quick time was not happening and I had no intention of running into the wind so I sat and waited till be took the left away from the water and into the final 600 meters or so to the finish. As soon as we got to this point I went past M.Clout and so did Finlayson. We went back and fourth a couple times till we hit the last turn before the finish and Jim pulled away from me for the win, with a 14:58-14:59, and Matt clout in third with a 15:02. Overall I was reasonably happy with the race and pleased that I was able to keep up my mileage and able to come out of it feeling good with no hamstring problems.
Tuesday night I was back at UBC for a workout and I was determined to make this one a good one. I laced up a new pair of adidas spikes I got the day before and ran some 1200 meter repeats with the UBC crew and members from LMElite. I started off the first one sitting mid pack and hit 3:32. Next interval I moved up and ran near the front with another 3:32. Next interval I had had enough of sitting in the pack and I made that interval quicker dropping 3:28. The next one I went to the front straight off and made the pace quick, with 200 meters to go I was challenged but I put the gears down and made the point to stay in front running 3:26. Richard told me to not push too much and make sure the hamstring doesn’t get strained. I listened to that advice and ran the 5th interval at the front and when the inevitable kick came from behind with 200 meters to go I just stayed in the same gear and eased in for a 3:25. With the UBC guys done, Dylan and I still had one more and I felt it a bit during this one, Dylan chilled for two laps where he was then to run the last lap hard. I stuck in and ran the interval at an even pace finishing in 3:30. Finally for me a solid workout and a step in the right direction.
Next up is another race this week end in Stanley Park, the St. Patty’s day 5km on Saturday. With a bunch of guys coming over from the island it should be a good race and I imagine it will go out a bit harder than last ween ends race. Looking forward to that.
