Madtrapper 10km Snowshoe Race

The last race of the season for the Madtrapper Snowshoe Race Series was today. Ken and I were there and did the 10km loop which consisted of the 5km flat (ok flatter than the second half, let's call this the hilly 5km) and then the 5 km hilly course (ok let's call this "Oh My God Can There Be Any More Hills to Climb In Quebec?").

The race went better than the last two for both of us. Ken had a great race and came in about 5 mins before me. I again was the last person on the course. I got a t-shirt which I am calling my award for "Man Who Spent the Most Time On The Course." Remember it is not how far you run, it is how long you ran.

Well, there were only like 20-30 people so we figure we are in the top 30 people of Eastern Ontario/Western Quebec. What, there has to be like 2 million in this region as least. Those are some high rankings ;-)

Here are some snaps:

Slow Week

Been sick this week with a flu. I figured it was a cold but after some research and the symptoms Michele and I figure it is a flu. Headaches, aches, tired, always being thirsty, and stomach upset, along with a lack of appetite.

That said, I got one run in on Monday, the day I really started to come down with it.

After reading my coach, Rick Hellard for the CBC Gotta Run special, updates for his Rock and Ice Ultra running event, I want to go run now.

I think I will just rest though. I have a snowshoe race on Saturday, if I feel like this I am doing the 5km loop, else if I am doing better I will be running the 10km.

Running Dreams

My buddy Scott (running my first Marathon with me, check his blog at: OneSoyNut) had a dream he was late for a race which started on top of a mountain on the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland and ended in St. John's. My first though was, hey, there would be a great adventure race.

That thought aside, I had my own running dream yesterday. I have a recurring running theme in my running dreams, I run so fast that I can jump and float for some distance. Man to have that power, that would make any marathon a piece of cake.

The dream started with my family moving into a new house in California where we my wife had taken a new job. While we were unpacking I decided to check out the neighbourhood by taking a run. Our new house was at the bottom of a steep street and we were on the edge of nature so there were lots of trails to run on. I ran up the hill and on my way back down I discovered that if I ran extra fast I could pick up enough speed to start floating along, as my strides became longer and longer, before I touched the ground again.

I did this all the way down the long long long hill/mountain until I ended at our driveway.

This type of floating dream has been with as long as I can remember and I like to think of it as my running mojo
helping me prepare to run longer and longer.

The Cost of a Marathon

What is the cost of a Marathon? Well there are a few:

• $150 - Sneakers
  
• $40 - Tech Shirt or free from a previous event
  
• $20 - Tech Socks
  
• $30 - Tech Shorts
  
• $75 - Entry
  
• 16 Weeks of training (you figure out how much about that costs you. Maybe I will add the hours total I have run to my sidebar.)
  
• $25 - 20 Power Gels x $1.25 each for those long runs
  
• $30 - Water bottle and holder, or free if you can score one from another event
  
• Several Toenails
  

Ok the last one was for fun and the real reason for the post. My Big Toe on my right foot started to ache something fierce after a run the other day. I had to take something to take the edge off the pain so I could sleep. The next day it was down to a dull ache and now feels ok.

I have heard many friends tell me that they have lost toenails from training/running marathons and I figure that this nail is toast. It has had a split down the middle since last year that I have tried to salvage by using clear toenail polish. This year with the additional miles I figure I will put in for the Marathon training and the 1000 km challenge I figure it is a goner.

So how much does a marathon cost? When the challenge calls you, you don't care. There is only one outcome that you will settle for, conquering the big M.

Awesome Neighbours

My wife is traveling on business for a week (Friday to Friday) and hence I had to shuffle my work-outs a little. I say a little, since I do most of my runs at lunch at work or in the morning before I go to work. The long run on the weekend is different; for the long run I am usually out of (parenting) commission for 2 hours or so.

Therefore, on Friday I ran 10 miles in the morning before work since I was not going to have the time to run on the weekend. On my way back from the run I ran into one of my neighbours coming out of her house. She was on the way to the gym and stopped to ask what I was up since I was in running gear and it was 9am (since I am usually left for work before 8:30).

I mentioned that I was doing my long run on Friday morning since my wife as leaving for a business trip. She then proceeded to offer to take care of my 2 year old son on Sunday morning if I wanted to get a run in. She is a very active senior who believes in everyone getting out there and being active. She also had a son and a nephew who both ran marathons and triathlons so she knows the time commitment that is involved with training.

So, this morning I took her up on her offer and got in an extra run this weekend. Which is a good thing since last week I missed 2 of my 4 runs since I was feeling pretty run down.

It's great to have awesome neighbours and it's just one more little boost to help keep me on the road to a solid year of running.

As well, my son thinks it is great that we have a neighbour with so many car and truck toys. Not to mention the '80s era Fisher Price parking garage. He thinks the neighbours as awesome as well ;-)

XT

XT or cross training is often in my training plan but not always followed. I try to fill my XT days with swimming, yoga or biking.

As the distances are increasing I am getting the usual (for me) aches and pains in my legs which continue to nag for a few days. So, I really need to start getting the XT days in.

On that note, I got to the yoga class at work today. It was quite awesome since the instructor takes you through some more advanced moves and gives you the instructions to perform the more difficult versions of a pose.

I knew it was doing me good when we did a pose where you are on your bum with your legs in the air at a 45 degree angle and you body also 45 (so you look like a V). This uses your abs and your quads quite a bit. With the running I am doing I usually feel my legs a little, after stairs for example, and this position had me shaking as I tried to hold the pose with my quads (top/front of your thighs) just screaming murder.

After class a coworker asked me if I was a little stiff from the class. I said, heck no, I was feeling limber after class, it was before class that I was stiff. I find yoga helps release much of the stress, tightness, and aches that I have (especially from running) and hence it's a great XT activity for running.

With yoga, and a late start to the day I missed my Wednesday run. Going to have to make up for that tomorrow. I have 6 miles with a 4 mile tempo run (running closer to race pace) in the middle. Hopefully I can get this in tomorrow am. Then tomorrow night I get to hang out in the pool with my son for his toddler swimming lesson. Which is more about playing in the pool than learning to swim ;-)

Re-Calibration

Just a quick run this am. 1 mile so I could calibrate my Nike +ipod chip. The distances on the chip have been starting to trend higher on my last few runs (hence, why I switched the tracking results on the side to just distance, not Nike + additional.)

I could tell the chip was getting out since I map my routes that I run so that I can keep an eye on the gadget that I use to track my runs.

If time is on my side, I will do a second run tonight of my regular 2 mile Monday run.

Going to be a warm week here (today up to 2 and tomorrow up to 7) with some rain and snow. It will be nice to get in some runs while it is not freezing out.

Holy Moly!!

As, my son would say (Ok, I taught him it). But Holy Moly what a lot of snow.

I never really care how many centimeters actually fell, I just know I shoveled a ton of snow after I ran.

Todays run started with a warmup of about 10 minutes shoveling of the basics (to the front door and a path to the road). Then it was off for an 8 mi run out and back along Corkstown Road which has a hill that is steep on one side and long and drawn out on the other.

Today, the long climb on the second half was a killer.

To end my run I had a cool-down of about 1 hour of shoveling the rest of the snow. Sheesh!

Been passing out almost ever since. Need bed...need Advil....need sleep.....zzzzzzzzzz...