Baldy Half Marathon and Festive of the Grape

First Annual Baldy Half MarathonI came in 4th in the male category. I really enjoyed it, and I got access to the Festive of the Grape in Oliver BC.here is the local paper’s coverage the race was flat along our scenic channel trail, and it was very small, so very intimate and personal with the staff and organizers. Got to take in the grape stomping competition after and a bit of food too! What a great way to get back into racing. I enjoyed it immensely! Rick Mercer came to cover the festival for a segment on his show the “rick mercer report”. I can be seen in the crowd behind him when he is talking to the camera! Very fun.

A Month To Heal

My Finish lineat the Marathon in October was a triumph of human will. It was the hardest race I ever ran.  It was also my slowest, as predicted.

I literally hobbled for a few weeks after, having run on an emerging injury.  I found it hard to turn over in bed!  Ibuprofen was my best friend, as well as massage to my trigger points while I healed.  Eventually the pain subsided.  My chiropractor told me my hip flexor on my left was very tight, creating my pained buttock.  I mosied everywhere, trying desperately to cover my pain, as many would comment on how weirdly I was running or exclaim (as my mother did) that running was risky and killing me.  I hate showing the pain of running because I love it so much.

I decided as I crossed the line that I was probably going to rest for a month from running so I could recuperate and recharge my running passion.  I continued to stretch my hip flexor.

Well, I did.  I am now just entering back into the running scene, having started at 5 k, 8 k and then 10 k last week.  My delayed muscle soreness has lasted me a lot longer than expected, so I could have probably backed off the mileage, but one month should be alright for not losing too much fitness.  At least this is my stubborn belief.  I know I have gained a bit of weight, so this will need to be addressed, mostly due to snacking and inactivity, and wine :).

Signed Up For A Marathon?

I have committedagain to the regiments of training for a marathon.  This will be the third for me.  It wil be Kelowna's BMO Okanagan Marathon.  This week I pushed my times to see if I could get back to my old ones and am taking a few days to rest my poor butt.  Literally!  Stretching my hip flexors and massaging will keep the injuries that come to me with speeding up away!

Its been a humid summer for running which is a hinderance to speed for me as well, but I am seeing good gains.  My goal was to amp up the mileage to over 40 km per week and keep raising it. 

Have you signed up for a fall marathon?  The serious training starts soon depending on your plan.  One rule I try to stick to is to not increase more than 10% per week in mileage for the long run and over all, as I pay for it in injury, feeling it in my glutes.  Stretching and masaging helps stave off long bouts of recovery.  Happy training everyone!

SOWA Half Corked Marathon 2012

Oliver and Osoyooswill be hosting the third annual Halk-Corked Marathon here in he heart of the desert of BC.   This event has sold out within 24 hours of opening, so tickets are hot!  It will meander between 8-12 wineries, sharing the best of fare between wineries and local restaurants.  A pasta meal will also be held that weekend.  Tickets go on sale on February 7th.

Here is the link to the information.  

Its a time to get dressed up, to run a fun and very beautiful terrain amongst the local vineyards and sample Canada's best in wine and hosting.

Here is the link to the ticket sale site with info on packages.

SOLD OUT!!   
"ANNOUNCEMENT: SOLD OUT IN 3 MIN- We're as surprised as you are!"  For more on this click here.

This is crazy but true.  I have looked at the traffic patterns of my blog and the SOWA Half Corked Marathon has been one of the top viewed blogs, so there is no doubt that it would be popular, but 3 minutes is ALL IT TOOK!!

Beating My Body , and Other Reflections

So far so good,I seem to be holding up pretty well.  I have had a very busy and draining week, exhaustion has set in every day as i have started a new position.  An update on the ol' bod...

my feet hurt!  The bottoms!  It could be the distances taking the pounding.  It may be the silly shoes i have been wearing in my new profession.  The bottoms feel bruised!  Morning hurt the most as i roll out of bed.  Feels like I have been walking for hours on really rocky shores in bare feet.

My piriformis and my ITB are holding up remarkably well, which to me is such a joy and I am experiencing much less hip stiffness than I previously did.  Today my right calf hurts.

So all in all, my training is goin as planned.  I am not following to the letter any runner'sworld for newbies on the first marathon plan, but in my head I know my goals.  I am pushing the distance per week less than 10% each time to get to just below 42 km.  I have edged up and backed off a couple of time s to give my bod recoup time.  I am letting recovery runs be just that.

It is getting colder in the mornings.  Almost time to break out the winter gear, I would say, which is a pain since all the training I have done is in summer garb, so hopefully no huge amounts o chaffing wil happen.  Just in case, I have bought my first "glide" stick.

Some reflections.  I will be emotional for this race.  The half last year was emotional for me.  It represented so much, was very personal.  I have put a lot in to my training.  Not jsut physically,  but spiritually and emotionally as well.  All this year's challenges seems to be in the training.  From a new home to a family trial to a huge change up in career and all the uncertainty that came with it, my running times were the bread and butter of my coping, of reflecting, of problem solving, of coming "unravelled", of my being in the moment when I was feeling anxious, and my prayer life, my sweet worship times.  So this race in Oct will be like the expression of all that investment.  Which gets me thinking about beyond that, how the winter will be, I need to have some goals over the dark winter months.  Maybe not such lofty ones.  I have one month to gear up, taper and prepare for this race.  tIt will hopefully be the first in many, but I like to start with a bang!  My friend Jeremy will not be joining me this time.  This was a nice distraction last year,  Maybe Not having him might keep me more in the moment. Who knows.

I am thinking now of a word from scripture:

 1 Corinthians 9

24Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 25All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 27I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

I know th point of this script is not about running but metaphorically about seeking to love on God with all we have for a crown you can't receive here on earth.  But to appreciate the metaphor, it is so enriching to understand what the author is talking about in the discipline of running a race, the effect of things that hinder on your training and being purposeful.  those who win arent just kidding around, they are focused, they say no to  things others may not understand because they are saying "yes" for so long to the prize they envision.

Hebrews 12:1

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

When I look at this last scripture, I think of my father., Terry Teigen  Since he passed away, I have wondered what those who are with Jesus in glory get to see of our world once gone.  This scripture makes me think that I not only have him as an example, but as one who is allowed to rejoice with me in victory, to pray for me in trial and hardship, and to be a witness to God's work in my life.  He left a legacy, spiritually that continues in me.  One for running, especially, I think of him a lot while I run.  More on that again soon, me thinks. Sometimes, although i know I can't talk with the dead, i ask Jesus to give my dad a hug for me or to give him a message of love.  The veil is up, but it wont be forever, what a  day that will be!  So I run in the meantime.

How do you prepare for races?  What do you think about , especially on your firsts?  Let me know.

 Cheers!

Boston Marathon Qualifying?

Well,my last long run of 35 km was a very strong run for me.  It felt slow, but my overall time was under 3 hours.  That was quite shocking, as I am seeing the last few kilometers in the distance left to hoof out.  Then it dawned on me, what is the qualifying time for my age group in Boston, the mecca of running standards for so many endurance runners?  For me, it will be 20 minutes more than yesterday's 35 km long time at 3:20:00 .  Can I doll out 7 km at the end under 20 minutes?  Wow, suddenly that goal doesn't seem so far off!  Qualifying for Boston, although I doubt I would get there in the next couple for years, would be powerfully satisfying to me.  We will see how the next few weeks of training pan out to solidify this as a possibility.

This distance is truly humbling.  as I feel the weight of it when I set out, the prep it takes from trial and error and other runners' wisdom becomes a survival skill.  I must respect the distance as I note the toll it takes on my hips (especially after climbing stairs!) I ended up really tired yesterday and walking like a cowboys with saddle sores all day.

I am hydrating well, listening to music for maybe a quarter of the time, taking Gu at about the 1.5 hour mark.  I realize I must watch how I eat the rest of the day as it will not only affect my recovery, but I am feeling hunger all day and thirst all day long after these longer runs.  My wife noted that i expended over 2000 calories during my 35 km run!  That is almost a full day's  intake right there.  I could stand to lose maybe 8 pounds or so for speed sake, but this is new territory for me.  I ate quite randomly yesterday, which for my world is fun, but after the leftovers of my wife's birthday party are gone (including Purdy's chocolate fondue and fruit! :O ) I should really follow a plan in the next few weeks as I need to concentrate on recovery and fueling.  

Another note:

Last week as I ended my long run of 33 km, I was going up the long ill to my road and something deep in me needed a push, so I began out of gut level instincts to talk myself up the hill.  "You can do it, you can do it, you can..."  I rarely do this while running, but hill seem to do this at times to me, when I am digging deep. 

SOWA 1/2 Corked Marathon May 29th/30th

News:Right on my front doorstep we are having a new marathon put on by the local wineries.  This is fashioned after the French Marathon Marathon Du Medoc .  Very exciting! More details will come, but it sounds like a lot of fun and will be encorporating visiting the different abundance of wineries in the area.  The Okanagan, specifically where we live in the south are world reknowned for the wonderful red wines produced by our hot dry climate in the summer.  I recommend coming and visiting just for the wine touring alone!  We have our local favorite wineries, and Jackson Triggs is about a five minute drive from our home as are Silver Sage, Nk’Mip Cellars, Desert Hills Estate Winery, TinHorn Creek and Burrowing Owl Estate Winery just to name a few of my personal favorites.  There are too many to list here, but on the website of the Association is a list of the predominant ones.  I look forward to seeing any of you there who dare to come out and run!

Taper Tantrums

First time I have been to a sports massage therapist, and it was totally enlightening.  I had to get past the nudity under the blanket, but that was quickly overcome.  I was feeling anxious about my tight piriformis, and its effect on the coming race, so this is what most of the conversation included.  I was pleasantly surprised to hear that most people in training just before the race go through some breakdown.  The therapist calls it Taper Tantrums!  Taper Tantrums refer to the visits frequented by those preparing to race in long races, and because of the intensity peaking just before the race, the body kind of goes into shock, preparing to mend and heal based on the fact that there was breakdown for a long period.  Rest now and recovery is paramount to a good performance.  If the work has been put in, then the race just needs the focus and trust put in as we rest.  Thissettled me, and i was given a clean bill of cautious health for the coming weeks.

Cycling up or Down in Training

Cycles.I found an article in my research that is helping me tremendously to understand possibly why I had injuries this year.  Its about cycles, and the explaniation is pretty logical.  I went from doing 13 km in the winter for my longer runs- 15 km to 24 km.  This buildup with no real reprieve is immensely problematic to the need for our bodies to recuperate and rest.  True of life as well. We are not machines, impervious to wear and tear.  We are organic.  Resting is a part of growing, of strengthening and of producing.  Its as important as the actual work.  Swing to either side of the pendulum and there will be trouble. So I am realizing there is much more to learn about preparing for a race, about planning for improvement and for making gains in life.  To everything there is a season.