The ending light

The sun was setting and this is the view I captured through our sliding glass door and screen. I see a spider web. Do you? I have run six days in a row and the hip is holding up well. A rest day today and I will be back doing my clockwise 4 k loop. My mantra - slow and steady progress for the next 4 weeks.

Running in the footsteps of Olympians....

I am not an Olympian although I have ran in their footsteps. Today was one of the those days and the thought crossed my mind midway through my hour ran around Rithet's bog. A multiple Olympian has ran through this trail time and time again.

As fro me, its been a couple of rest days as I have been assessing an achilles issue (not fully blown into an injury). I have been out briefly and each time I have been resisting the urge to speed. Today, I went through broadmead enjoying the shelter of the trees as the sun beat down on the earth. My steps were light, lungs full but I felt the strain of the achilles on each step. I guess I can't complain nor do I know what disappointment is until I train hard and not achieve some arbitrary standard (set by an athletics organization) and be injured at a critical time before achieving the standard. There have been a lot of disappointments lately and only the strong (and lucky) will be able to get through this (...here is wishing them all the luck), last the 4 years before the next olympics and achieve their goals. This sport of ours is full of ups and downs. We train on hills to get stronger, surge on the downhills and like a roller coaster enjoy every moment of it. Hope you enjoyed your run today.

Double C...

Yesterday was by far the longest time I have ever spent on the saddle. The ride out to Dunsmuir was not taxing except for the long climb up Mount Newton. It took me an hour and twenty minutes of steady cycling and an hour to get back. Today, I did my usual commute to work.

I had a track workout scheduled but I decided to take a rest day for a number of reasons including celebrating my son's third birthday. He is in love with his skateboard and I will be enforcing the helmet rule. We all enjoyed the carrot cake and cheesecake. I had a sample of each and topped it with a mug of coffee. Tomorrow is another 12 km "double C" (Commuter Cycling) day to work.

Lately, I have been stopping at Bean Around The World on Fisgard for a morning coffee. The stop has become a daily morning ritual. I have been thinking that maybe I will try and have a coffee at each of batw locations listed at this site: http://www.cowboycoffee.ca/batwlocations.html

Nime Rudi...(i am back)

A poem:

Wake up lazy...
Get your runners and run a thousand miles to the songs of a thousand birds..
Praise the unrelenting daylight and seize the day
Don't forget to wish for strength on your last interval from the genie track.

I have been on a comeback trail. I have been up at the crack of dawn chasing fitness and I thought I had it but it slipped through my fingers. Fitness is playing a game of tag and I can't find the speed to catch it. I don't mean to be condescending to the average Joe or Jane but my times are mediocre. While all times are relative, I have a target and it seems the harder I work towards it the more fragile I become. I feel like I am on a train with worn tracks. O.k. enough complaining. I have been back with a 16:29 ~5 k performance followed by a 35:21 - 10 k effort. The legs feel tired and I am taking every effort to stay off them but as you all know its almost impossible. I will be posting brief reports of my progress under the tutelage of one Mr. P.O. from the Black Country.

November to January 2008 - Lazy

I have been consciously lazy. As I put it, it is a lifestyle choice, one that comes because of the choice that I made to run. Injuries are inevitable (although I know a couple of iron clad runners...you know, those who can run miles and miles and keep going). I am definitely not one of those and I also do not fall into the category of the high end running machines. Those efficient 800 to 1500 meter runners who can take a step or two before the Ferrari catches up to them even though it lasts for a millisecond. I am a mid class vehicle and the lack of maintenance caught up to me. The attempt to push the limit dropped me to the bottom of the lazy hole. I would love one of those Lazy Loungers and snooze like the guy in the photo...I would like heat with that please. I managed a 10 min run on January 01, 2008 after a month of lazy lounging. I am tired of the betrayal by my body. The complaints are insidious. I thought a month of pure rest should cure any ailments but my lower back and right Achilles seem to be holding out on me as I attempt to travel back to the roads. What more can I do but accept the fate that I will no longer be able to chase my racing goals. I need no advice the writing is on the wall. On a lighter note, I managed to land a new position that should present challenges and I hope new rewards. I hope that working in a beleaguered resource industry will be kind to me. Lets hope that 2008 brings me some good running news. So far, at least at the work front, I am hitting 100%