My photo
Secwécwpemc-ken ri7(I am Shuswap), Chief, Economist, Distance Runner, and Secwepemc Health Researcher/Co-ordinator/Policy guy. I've run a 30:24-10k, 1:06:23-half, and 2:19:55-full marathon but am most proud of the World Peace Prayer Day '06 relay run to Anchorage from Vancouver I participated in. This blog is primarily about running but I will post photos of the many places I like go on the tmícw of my maternal ancestors, Secwépemcul'ecw.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

91 days

When I was doing my coursework at UVic I had the pleasure of going for a few good long runs with Joe Grant (http://alpine-works.com) and at the time he had instated a policy of running every day no matter what; doing at least one mile of running. I've decided to take this up on my Vancouver Marathon build as kind of a mental trick, if you will. In the past I had a bad habit of taking a needed day off then sometimes ended up taking two or three off. By committing to running everyday I have put out of mind breaking the momentum of training. This is not to say I'm making the error of not recovering but that even on a 'day off' I'm doing at least 15mins of running. So far its worked out well and I've actually relied on days where I REALLY didn't feel like running. So i'm at 21 in a row. The build is 13 weeks so that makes 91 days.

Today, I finally went for a decent long run. It's been kind of a slow build the last three weeks. I had intended to do a good hill workout this past week but the conditions sucked. In the mornings it was icy and in the afternoons a sloppy muddy mess. I may have to find a different place and do it on the road, or change my plan to doing repeat miles or something. I'll make that decision on Wednesday. It's feeling pretty great to be gaining some fitness and not too many aches and pains. Time to step it up a notch and see what I can do over 10k at the Kamloops Spring run-off at the end of this 3 week cycle.

Sunday, February 9, 2014

The Fog has lifted

I've been running for the better part of 18 years now and I never seem to learn  how much I need it.

Through December and much of January it seemed like it was really foggy in this part of Secwepemcul'ecw. I was also feeling similarly until about a week and a half ago. The weather cleared up and got sunny and cold and it was time to start training for the Vancouver marathon. So, I started running and the fog of my own brain and existence also cleared along with the weather. I don't know why it is that when I'm not running I don't realize I'm not operating at my best but when I get back to it everything seems to fall into place. My body physically feels better and my mind is clearer and sharper, everything starts clicking. So I'm happy. Feeling great. I've run 9 of the last 10 days for an average of an hour which has gotten me back to some basic fitness. This week coming up I'll add in a hill workout and probably do a long run next Sunday. Additionally its time to do some maintenance work to ensure I don't get any injuries like stretching and a few yoga poses to strengthen my stabilizers along with some basic core work. This last week my left knee has gotten a bit sore due to the uneven and often slippery surfaces I've been running on. The knee ache isn't the kind that is right inside my knee but the feeling of things tightening or pulling on the inside. I've had this before and its on account of not having strong enough stability muscles, the fix in the past has been an "Eagle" yoga pose. I highly recommend doing this pose as well as the tree pose to ensure your stabilizers are sufficiently strong when doing such a linear movement such as running. Anyhow, things are going well and its time to see if I can pick a tune up race a few weeks down the road.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Compulsion for Flight

I've never been able to really put into words what running is to me in the psychophysical sense. At times I have called it addiction however I understand the definition of addiction to be a practice or action which affects normal function and when removed causes physical and/or emotional withdrawal symptoms. To a degree this holds true for running, however I find it rather easy to stop running without feeling withdrawals. That said, when I start running again after a period away, it takes only a couple of runs for my body to be compelled to continue. When I have stared running again, I get a feeling like I feel today where while I am sitting I actually feel my body wanting to get up from the sitting position and run, to feel that sensation of moving quickly and often moving up a hill, feeling of movement, not just any movement but one that is smooth and powerful. Then, when I think of this I feel grateful for the gift of motion. Not so many people are able to feel powerful and efficient in such a natural form of movement.  Then, despite how smooth, efficient and powerful I can feel when I am very fit, land movement is still cumbersome compared to flight. I cannot imagine how that would feel, to fly under your own power.