Friday, March 20, 2009

Hello From Yellowknife

We are settling in to sunny and crisp Yellowknife, and gearing up to start the race tomorrow. Check out Derrick's blog derrickspafford.blogspot.com for more details, and also refer to:

www.sleepmonsters.com

for daily update and photos over the next several days while the race unfolds.

Off to the Matrix Village now.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Snowshoe Magazine Blog: Women Set to Rock the Rock and Ice Ultra

From March 21-26, 2009 the third BHP Billiton Rock and Ice Ultra will take place in Yellowknife, NWT. The race consists of a self-supported race called the Diamond Ultra which covers 225 km over 6-days, a partially-supported race called the K-Rock Ultra which covers 135 km over 3-days, and the 44.5 km Cold Foot Classic which can be completed solo or as a relay in a single day. All racers have the option of travelling by foot/snowshoe, or by ski.

This is the first year that the title sponsor, BHP Billiton, is putting up diamond prizes for the women’s categories...

Read full blog >>

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Scheduled for Delivery

Remember collecting Popsicle wrappers as a kid, saving them up until you had hundreds of them, and then mailing them in for a prize? That's how training is. Building up a big pile by adding a little bit to it day after day after day after day. (Or as John L. Parker Jr. puts it in Once a Runner, "knotting his loathsome smelling laces for yet another, jesus god, ten-miler with the boys".)

My pile of training is complete, and now I anxiously wait for my prize to arrive. I put on my postage stamp called taper, and let the whole thing go. All I can do is have faith the prize will arrive in time. I'll know it's here when I feel it in my legs as a zing of flowing energy, and in my lungs as a surge of renewed power. And a walloping, enthusiastic, visceral need to just let me run run run run run! A lovely prize indeed.

Just please let it get here soon.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Gear Gathering, Muscle Meltdown, and Just a few Jitters

The countdown is on to Rock and Ice. That temperature graph I posted below? Forget it. The highs are now forecast to be more like -18°C for the race. That's sounding more like the race I signed up for.

This week is being consumed with getting together all the gear we will need and seeing how it fits together. I'm sure it will all add up to too much and too heavy, even though I'm not typically one to pack a ton of extras.

My legs have felt sore and awful since my last long run on ice, and I'm trying to coax them back to life with a lot of extra rest. I did a short tempo run last night, as if to say, "Hey Legs, buddies... remember running?" They gimped along, grudgingly, as if to say, "Hey Jerkface, bully... remember killing us?" There's still lots of time to heal up; I'm not too worried about this little disconnect.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Cold?

Check out The Weather Network's 14-day forecast for Yellowknife this morning. (We arrive in YK on the 19th.) I'll continue checking the weather obsessively, multiple times a day, from three different sources. I'll be relieved if it isn't in fact -40, but then again I don't want it to be TOO warm, or the snow will be harder to run in. Tough to please, I know!


If I could choose, I'd ask for lows of -22 to -18; highs of -12 to -8 (all in °C); clear, sunny skies; minimal wind; no Ontario-like, core-permeating humidity; and lots of northern lights dancing at night.

That would be great, thanks. :)

Monday, March 2, 2009

Training Summary for Rock and Ice

I'm very happy with my training this winter. Whatever happens at Rock and Ice, I feel like I've prepared well in that I'm in a better place now than I was in October. The training has built nicely on a good foundation from last year. Long runs have been by far the hardest, and sometimes when I'm doing them I feel like they make me weaker not stronger, which freaks me out. Looking back, I realize that they have given me a lot of confidence because I got through them even though they were tough.

Summary of my training over the last 18 weeks:
- Averaged 10:37 of running/week
- Averaged 1:31/day
- 12 weeks with an average above 10 hours
- 3 weeks above 14 hours
- Long runs: 11 runs of 3+ hours
- Workouts: 11 tempo, 6 hill reps, 5 uphill treadmill, 1 interval
- Strength work: 1 per week or so, maintaining from last year mostly
- Pack runs: 9 total, mostly long runs
- Snowshoe runs: scattered throughout

The next three weeks I'll taper down the mileage and sprinkle in just a few light workouts for fun. I'm getting excited to head to Yellowknife!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Week of Feb 23 - Mar 1

My taper starts now!!

M - am 40 pm 49 snowshoe (abs)
T - am 58 pm 42 snowshoe
W - am 52 pm 62 tempo (Colebrook Rd Loop, rolling; 27:32; felt good, tough last mile) (abs)
T - am 48 pm 45
F - 45
S - 308 (5:08) pack run Cat Trail near Chaffey's Locks. Gorgeous up there, so wild. Saw bald eagle - only third I've ever seen around here. Run was tough, footing (ice) made it tough. Derrick shared some hobnails until mine arrive.
S - am 75 pm 30
Total 14:14