Saturday, January 26, 2013

WILES: The science of running | The Chronicle Herald

WILES: The science of running | The Chronicle Herald

Here is a link to a great article about a new program coming up in Halifax for runners, to get them to their best.

I am participating in the pilot program and so far I am really liking the individualized attention the program is giving, while still in a group.

I think it will really address my weaknesses as a runner and make me faster.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

2012 By the Numbers

So it seems to be that time of year again. Time for reflection on the past year and what we may do to make the coming year better. Currently I am sitting in Colorado, on vacation and trying to relax. I just went out for a nice 6.5 km run to start the new year off right and the climb back to the house is a 9% average grade that seems to go on forever. So maybe not that relaxing I guess.

Last year at this time I put forth my numbers from the year before from my training. I guess I do this to make a note of what I had done and maybe see where I should go. So let's see those numbers:

Swimming: 130,300 meters of "quality" in water time were to be had by me last year. It was nice to see that number climb from the year before and finally I find that I am getting comfy in the water.  I managed some great pool sessions this past season, and I managed some great solo and group open water swims this year as well. Perhaps my most impressive swim (for me) was the 750 meter start to the Bridgetown Triathlon. With the water being too warm, it was wetsuit illegal. Also It was a river swim with a decent current. The time I set was horrible, my technique was rather bad and I was really proud of myself. I survived numerous hits, both from people and rocks, slight off course moments and probably some sort of diseases floating around.

Cycling: So this number from me actually went down this year. I managed a little over 5900 km of cycling. But I must say that I increased my number of fun distance. Sure commuting, racing and a good hard training ride are fun, but this year I took on leading a group of hybrid trail cyclists once a week. Many of these people were new to cycling, getting back into it, or just looking for a great way to spend a relaxing Thursday night. We would head down the BLT trail or out to Lawrencetown Beach and catch the sunset. I made some great new friends, had great talks and hopefully managed to help some people form the great habit that is cycling. As the trails clear up and the weather warms a bit I will restart the group and I can't wait.

Running: I had some grand hopes this past year for running. I wanted to really tackle getting a decent time for the Bluenose Half Marathon, I wanted to run a sub 40 10K and also a sub 19 minute 5K. And I wanted to have strong finishes to my triathlons and duathlons.  All of this meant getting in the mileage. So that is what I did. I added almost an extra 300 km of running this past year for a little over 1300 km. The exact number is currently stuck in my Garmin and not wanting to come out while I am away. This includes a break while healing up during October and into November.

I managed to get my half marathon time down to 1:32. I managed my sub 40 minute 10K run at 39:46 and was oh so close on the 5K run with a 19:05. Now the 5K really didn't get the effort I wanted to give it. That 19:05 was to start a duathlon and I relaxed a bit at the end of it. When I was ready to actually give a good go at a sub 19 minute run, I was injured and by the end of the year was just tired out. So we can carry that goal over to 2013, and add to that a sub 39 minute 10K, a sub 1:30 half and wait for it, yes, a marathon. The marathon will be the big goal of the year and while we haven't completely settled on which one to run, we have a good idea. As for a time? Well again, I have a good idea, but I will wait and see how training goes first before committing myself to that. In order to achieve these loafty goals, I will really be focusing on running again and trying to get into the exciting world of 150-200 km a month. But will write more about my training in another post or 12 (ha ha).

Until then, have a great start to the year, get out, get active, enjoy life, and also remember to sometimes just take it easy.