Running: The Trail Ahead

My second summer of ultras came to an end with the cancellation of Lost Soul, and so it is time to reflect on what has been and plan for what will come.

Training for the Blackfoot 50-miler didn't get off to a great start with the severe allergies at the old job, and then the last three weeks of training were wiped out by a severe chest cold. I survived the race, but it was by no means the kind of performance I had hoped for at close to 12 hours.

Unfortunately after these disappointments it was difficult getting things back on track with my training. I did make it to the gym fairly regularly, and I was running home from work most days of the week. But upon reflection it seemed more struggle than joy on too many days.

Next it was off to Sinister 7, but inexperience lead me to overdo the pre-run snacking that lead to a lot of GI distress through leg 4. It also left me more than a little worn out, but I got the job done. After about an hour into leg 5 I was feeling better and the joy was back, and running leg 6 in the dark was great too. But after the race it seemed more struggle than joy again as I returned to preparing for Lost Soul in September.

I have never had much success with running in hot weather, and that became my nemesis during long runs in August. Long runs inevitably became shorter runs as I had problems of all sorts throughout the month. I started having foot problems. I had tried making some changes to my running mechanics, but they were not as effective as I'd have liked and changing back wasn't great either. I was still logging a lot of distance, but it felt ineffective and a burden.

The long weekend seems to have lead to injury after a bit of slipping during our descent from the snowed in North Kananaskis Pass. It really didn't manifest itself except for a couple non-consecutive days of intermittent soreness that ranged from annoying to painful, so I didn't concern myself with it and rested in preparation for Lost Soul. Of course Lost Soul was cancelled, and the replacement run on Monday turned into a very painful experience remeniscent of the pain I suffered after my fall into the puddle on the Canadian Death Race course the previous year.

So I haven't been running really at all the last month, nor have I been getting to the gym at all. Mostly I've been in my head wondering what I want (or need) to do about my running at this point. I never doubted I would continue to run, but I did need to consider what my goals would be and how to achieve them.

And this is what I've decided.

• I will take some time off from running until after we finish our move the beginning of November.


• In the mean time, I'm going back to the gym at least three days per week to work on strength, core and x-train on the bikes. I want to continue this through into the new year too.


• Commit myself to doing more stretching at home and replace my ineffective foam roller to help improve my biomechanics and reduce the tension in my leg muscles.


• Take next year off from racing and volunteer instead. I may still run Lost Soul next year (to check out the course as much as anything) because I have a guaranteed entry, but I don't have to make that decision until February.


• Focus on rebuilding my running base with more effective speed, hill and endurance workouts.


• Spend more days in the backcountry with some solo fast-packing trips. (Aerin is using all her available vacation days for her trip to China, so I will be ahead of her next summer.) This will also include bagging some more peaks.


• Attempt the Alberta Triple in 2010!

If you know what the Alberta Triple is, then you know I have big plans. If you don't, to complete the Alberta Triple I need to finish the Blackfoot 100K, Canadian Death Race (125K) and Lost Soul 100M that year.

To these ends I will formally plan more of my training and invest in some training aids. What I need most right now is a heart rate monitor, so I will start there.

So it's been a tough year to be running, but I'm looking to approach the coming year with renewed purpose and enjoyment.

Gear: Lightweight Backpacking

If I had a callsign it would be "Gear Boy". Since I'm not a fighter pilot, it's my semi-official nickname. If you're unsure of why this is the case, I refer you back to the above title.

I spent two and a half years working in outdoor retail in Edmonton prior to moving on to other things here in Calgary. During that time I learned a lot more about the equipment I already owned, and a ton more the stuff I didn't own. I immersed myself in the knowledge imparted by the company reps and online resources. Not only was this an opportunity to help myself enjoy my outdoor adventures more, but also to help other people enjoy their experiences.

The single greatest thing I came away from this with is an appreciation for lightweight backpacking.

Have you read my post about our June trip to Kananaskis? Aerin and I carried about 60 pounds total of equipment, clothing, food and water for four days. I'm quite certain a few people we saw on the trail were individually carrying 40 pounds or more for shorter trips. It hurt to see some of the packs people had loaded up with gear for even single night stays at the Forks campground (7km in and 50m of elevation gain). If you look at my Kananaskis post below, you can see that Aerin's pack is relatively small compared to what you'd see most people carrying at a trailhead. Even my 80-litre pack fully loaded for this trip topped out at 35 pounds with water, nor did I have all kinds of extra gear hanging from it as I saw many others have - I actually had space to spare inside.

How does one accomplish this? The answer is pretty easy... money. It costs money to get the right kind of gear for lightweight backpacking. Even with employee discounts I spent a fair bit of my paycheque for many months on new gear. How do you know you're making the right kind of investment in gear with those dollars you allocate purchase your gear? Research. What does this gear do? How well does it do that job? Can it do more than one thing? What conditions do I need to have my gear perform? How much space does it take in my pack? And of course, how much does it weigh? These last two questions are ultimately what you are trying to minimize while maximizing on the others.

And I have only one thing to say about money. Great gear does not come cheap. Or at least very rarely. Rarely have I found something that was inexpensive that I believed did the job better than something more expensive.

Of course, you'll have to weigh the value of the above statement against your own experience with researching and comparison shopping - and you will comparison shop a lot - on the various gear you need for yourself, and then compare that against what your outdoor experience is like before and after your gear purchase.

As time goes on I share about some of the insights and gear I have discovered through my own experiences. Prepare to lighten your load.