Life: Catching Up

As Aerin so helpfully pointed out, I haven't posted here in a long while. There wasn't much to say since it was a lot of busy time just doing the living life thing. However I guess I can update things with some more exciting news.

We bought a house in Deer Run. It's close to Fish Creek Provincial Park and the off-leash dog park. My commute will stretch from a 20 minute walk to under 60 minutes on mostly the LRT. Overall we are very happy with how things turned out with the price, location and the house.

The house itself is a four-level, front-bank split with a double detached garage. The garage needs some exterior finishing and new shingles, but we'll do the shingles this summer and then redo the exterior next year when we'd like to upgrade the windows and house exterior. The windows are original, and the house has metal siding right now. We need to replace the foundation parging, so this would all happen together. The eaves off the gables were not installed properly either, so that's a matter of bolting things back on. Replacement of the furnace and hot water heater is also future project, but for right now the exterior is our focus.

The first order of business after possession is changing locks, and then it's out with all the carpeting. We're getting a cash deal with someone Aerin knows, so we should be able to redo everything with laminate that's currently carpeted. Renovated bathrooms and the kitchen are on the future projects list, but the structureal stuff is of most immediate concern. After the initial bit of busy work it's on to moving. By the end of June we will be in our very own house.

I am doing more strength training and cardio on the recumbent bike at the gym. I can wake up in the morning and not feel soreness or stiffness in my back once I get moving around. This will continue for another month before I start into the running again. I've had some stiff shoulder/neck spots due to being a little stressed over the whole house thing, but that is slowly working out too. Lots of long walks with Ursa have done well to help keep Aerin and I active.

And speaking of Ursa, SHE'S HUGE! I knew we were getting a big dog when we got her, but she is officially way past the breed standard for a female Black Russian Terrier. She stands about 29.5"/75cm at the shoulder (standard max. 28"/72cm as I recall), has a big, black nose (the breeder even says so), has a chest of 35" (and growing), and some darned long legs. We haven't had Ursa on a scale in almost two months now, but the last time she was weighed the scales tipped just over 100lbs/45kg. One of her brother's already has 10kg on her. Basically we couldn't show her if we wanted to since she's bigger than standard. Another BRT we know named Sasha is a good year and half older than Ursa, and last we heard he wasn't even 100lbs.

We love our puppy a lot. It's great fun seeing peoples reaction to her when we go for walks along the river. "Fantastic", "beautiful" and "great" are some of the many positive adjectives people use to describe Ursa. We still haven't met anyone that has guessed her breed right the first time, but we don't keep her trimmed in the usual BRT cut either. "Big" or "huge" are also commonly mentioned in conversations with other people about Ursa, but she's just our dog. We can't help it other dogs look so little. No doubt we'll have a whole new group of admirers and people in awe of Ursa's wonderful puppy-ness once we've moved.

The Flames of War Escalation League I've been running at The Sentry Box has been quite successful this year. Lots of new players and many battles fought on Sundays for the last five months almost. I plan to try another league in the fall that I am trying to decide the details, but it will be set in the Late War period.

Some other players and I have also started up a historical game club with our focus being Flames of War. We will branch out a little, but for now it's just FoW. We are currently planning to run a big D-Day battle that covers Juno Beach from Courselles-sur-Mer to Bernier-sur-Mer. I have my work cut out for me building terrain over the next month. Trench lines, barbed wire obstacles, an enfilade bunker and some tank tobruks are all waiting for my attention.

I had thought I'd gotten my American Armored Rifle company finished just about, but then I realized I'd completely forgotten about the damned transportation. So now I have to finish those too. Except I have now hit a bit of a snag with applying decals because the gloss varnish is beading on the basecoat to form a bunch of ripples and ridges. So now I plan to take a little 600 grit wet sanding paper to things to try and even out the surface before going back to finish the decals. I have a detailing left after that, but otherwise things are pretty well complete. Then it's on to my next army - Soviets. Then it's back to Americans and Soviets in alternation to finish off some of the other platoon options for switching out or expanding things.

I will try to do some more catching up later this week or next.

Running: Taking It Slowly

The running continues. I'm not giving up on it. But it remains frustrating too many days of the week.

The problems with my back are not particularly debilitatiing, but I'm concerned about pushing things too quickly still. At this point I've resigned myself to no races this year, so I don't feel pressure to put in miles that I might not be able to handle. I continue to do short pace or HR targeted runs, but at some point I will have to decide that mileage is the only answer. Without a target race it does put a damper on my enthusiasm for running in the cold, but that's my choice I have to deal with.

Oddly the biggest thing working against a fulfilling workout has proven to be the lack of sleep the past few weeks. I haven't been sleeping well, and it has been noticeable during workouts and daily life. One more thing to figure out.

I'm definitely not giving up running.

Life: New Year of Possibilities

So begins the 36th calendar year of my existence on this rock hurtling through the vaccum of space. I can't really say that this event holds anything special for me. It's just more of the same. I've had a few years practice with passing the time. I certainly don't like waking up the New Year's Day when Ursa wants some attention, food and a bathroom break way earlier than I'd like. But with the changing of the calendar comes a whole new year of challenges and dreams.

So first on the list is what to do with my running. I'm still not entirely happy with how this is going with continued back problems that don't seem to respond to anything with ongoing positive results. I am running, but not in any sort of volume I would consider truly useful to undertaking much more than a gimpy half-marathon distance if I raced this week. And yet I find myself desiring to lighten my wallet with race entries for a number of events.

I have currently decided I want to run the single lap of the Blackfoot 25km baby ultra since it is the only distance other than the 100km I have yet to run. Since I won't be running the 100km this year it seems a reasonable compromise. My other decision is to enter the Lost Soul 50km again given the disappointing lead up to the race due to the dislocated rib. My hope is that continued progress, however slow, will make for very different race this year.

The chance to run a couple ultras as part of a relay team has presented as a possible option. This is currently in the discussion and exploration phase. The Iron Horse and Sinister 7 are the two I'm most interested in. After some reflection I have no interest in the Canadian Death Race until I'm ready for a solo attempt. If this doesn't quite work out I have alternate plans to do more exploration of the trails in the Canadian Rockies this summer.

There are plenty of shorter trails to run, but I would also like to run some of the Glacier Trail and over Jonas Shoulder. There are some passes that I might be able to transit in a day too. A lot will depend on the kind of mileage I'm comfortable with by the time summer arrives. I'm not particularly interested in unsupported runs of more than 6 to 8 hours unless I think my body is up to it.

And speaking of the Canadian Rockies, there will certainly be more time spent there this year. Ursa will be pretty much finished growing this summer, so we will do some light trips into the backcountry. Car camping and a few overnight backpacking trips will begin the summer. Hopefully this will work out the kinks for a multi-night backpacking trip with Ursa by the end of the summer. Lots of day hiking is also on the menu. With Ursa being up for almost 3 hours of snowshoeing last weekend I think she will do just fine hiking around the mountains for more than a few hours.

And winter has not yet left us, so there is still snowshoeing to do. No doubt we will go out to Kananaskis a few more times before the snow starts to disappear. Some trips closer to home at Nosehill or Fish Creek will no doubt happen if the snow isn't all melted away by chinooks. I have little motivation to run on a cold weekend, but if the chance presents itself I will certainly head for the south side of the river on snowshoes or just shoes with appropriate ice gripping attachments. Either way me, Aerin and Ursa are still getting out lots between our walks and other activities.

Aerin and I are looking into buying a house this year. Who knows if this will actually happen, but we have started discussing our options. Wrangling a down payment and what we would actually spend the money on our the top two house conversations. We have little interest in buying something for the sake of buying since the cost of certain fixes or renos to make things liveable are not an option for us. We really would like to find something we can say we're still happy with ten years later.

We really enjoy our Friday night boardgames with our friends. It is by far one of our favourite events of the week. I am currently organizing a regular Flames of War league at The Sentry Box. I get to play some games, meet some new players, and generally have some good motivation to get things done with my terrain and miniatures. I'm so lucky and thankful that Aerin lets me play my games. We're both going to need to sit down with some paint again to move things along. Thanks for helping Sweetie!

That's all I can think of for now. I'm certain the year will whiz by in a blur of barely remembered details - 2009 certainly did.

Running: Skyline Trail and Lost Soul Ultra

So with no runs longer than an hour undertaken once or twice per week since my dislocated rib in June, I knew I had to test myself in some way before leaving the starting line at Lost Soul. I had planned to run Skyline Trail two weeks before the race, and with the chiro and massage helping my back, Aerin and I loaded Ursa into the car, filled the trailer with gear, and departed for Jasper.

I started from the Morraine Lake trailhead about 8:30. I had asked Aerin to hang there for about six hours in case I needed to make a slow, painful retreat from the trail. Fortuitously I didn't need to exercise that option.

In the grand tradition of grinding out the distance, I did a fair bit of the trail at my "military" pace. This is about a 16min/mile, or 4mph/6kmph. I did run quite a bit of the level and downhill sections, but I wasn't out to push past wherever my limit was - I just needed a confidence boost before undertaking Lost Soul. It also gave me a chance to test changes to my nutrition plan that proved highly beneficial.

The weather was quite warm - about what it would be at Lost Soul it turned out. I stopped for about 80 minutes total for fixing the tape job on my heel, changing socks, ingesting lunch, stretching and some sightseeing. It took me 8:47 (if my recollection is correct) to finish the trail. Some real speedsters passed me, including the University of Alberta mens cross country running team, during the run, but most weren't spectacularly fast compared to my slow, undertrained ass.

So with this confidence builder under my belt I knew I could finish Lost Soul even if I was reduced to military pace for most of the race.

We arrived in Lethbridge on Friday afternoon to pickup my race package and unload the trailer. This was followed by a trip out to the Pavan and Peenaquim aid stations to walk Ursa and get our bearings as both the runner and the crew. I also got to check out some of the terrain beyond the hotel area. Despite the slightly grim description of the course in the race info I didn't see anything I didn't already expect or wasn't confident I could handle in the terrain. Certainly I wouldn't be breaking any speed records, but I knew I could handle it.

With most of my pre-race bag prep finished prior to leaving Calgary, I managed to refrain from too much craziness that Aerin would find amusing or annoying. (She did do all the driving so my distracted self didn't crash the car.) A nice pasta dinner and soak in the hot tub got us into bed in decent time for the 6:30am race meeting. I also taped my feet before bed to move things along in the morning.

It was cool in the morning, and I was quite happy to cover as many miles as possible before the rise in temperature forced me to slow my pace. I started out toward the back of pack of the 50km racers, and before not too long I was moving at about the middle of the field. Ultimately, that placing didn't change much over the course of the race. The south loop takes you down to the river from the hotel and then back up to the coulee tops before another descent to the river and a return climb to the hotel for the first transition area. At one point I got a little off track, but I managed to correct that error quickly.

I unloaded my vest, had some food and flat Coke before heading out for the next section. This is the second longest section with a few good climbs up and down the coulees, and I ran a fair chunk along the top side of things. There are also a few good steep sections, but being rested and relaxed I managed these without too much trouble. My methodical approach even moved me up a few places, but I knew I'd probably lose these spots at the transitions where I wasn't planning to take any less time than I needed to be prepared for the next section. I continued to push myself to run the level and downhills as quickly as possible.

At Peenaquim I fixed up the tape job on my heels, changed socks and my race bag. Things were going good, and I was happy with the pace I was maintaining.

Unfortunately, things slowed significantly when somewhere along the trail to Pavan aid station I developed a slight twinge in my left knee. It wasn't too bad on the climbs, but it definitely didn't like running downhills or over rough ground. So when I rolled in to Pavan I resigned myself to military pace the rest of the way.

The north loop is the longest section of the course at almost 16km. I quite enjoyed this loop, and was passing some of the 100-milers that were working on their last lap. It was darned hot, so I made sure to drink lots of water and refilled at the unmanned water station. (I was glad I did too.) They had put up ladders to climb over the barbed wire fences. I don't know if bending over to crawl through or using the ladders to go over would be worse after 100+ km, but I didn't really dwell on that one much at the time. In the end it took me less than 3 hours to finish the loop and change my socks and race bag again at Pavan before heading south. I did try running a little during the loop, but I was firmly stuck in my high rev walk.

From the north end of the course back to the start line was along the river for most of the way, and there were long stretches under the big trees lining the river. The shade and steady wind was a nice respite from what would otherwise be oppressive heat. A couple of steep climbs to surmount the coulees that butted up against the Old Man River made for some slow moments, but it also made for some nice views up and down the river valley. I never had a moment during the whole race that I didn't enjoy the views and scenery.

I arrived back at Peenaquim inside of an hour, refueled and reloaded my bag with more food before heading for the home stretch. I had maintained a 15min/mile pace for the last four hours, so I would arrive at the finish line with another hour of effort.

It was during this last leg that I wished my knee would let me run more, but every attempt was short lived. I certainly had the energy and spirit to do it, but my body just wouldn't cooperate. One gal commented that she'd never seen anyone that walked so fast. Apparently I had been in her sights for a while, and she didn't truly leave me behind until I was halfway to finishing that last leg. There was a lot of gravel, shale or paved trail to follow, so I just kept going. It got to be a little mentally stupid for a bit as I started fixating on how slowly the clock seemed to progress, but I got off it and I was flying again.

After passing through the Fort Whoopup park it was up the last big climb to the finish line. I kept pushing to keep up my pace on the hill since I knew I didn't need anything extra to carry over the finish. I ran the last 200 meters despite the sore knee.

I was finished. 9 hours 17 minutes despite the heat and a cranky knee. I certainly felt I could have done much better, but was happy with being able to finish with some strength. Pizza and much hydration later is was time to rest.

Running: Recovering... Again

Back in June my back went into major spasms when I was just getting into my long run at Dinosaur Provincial Park. It was another month before weekly massage appointments loosened the muscles enough to reveal the true cause. After each massage I would be doing okay, but then things would seize up again. My massage therapist suggested it might be a partially dislocated rib, and I was off to chiropractic to get things back into place.

That was the beginning of August that I finally got a regular treatment schedule underway. The relief wasn't quite immediate, but things have improved steadily. Things improved enough that I felt confident I could at least show up and complete the 50km Lost Soul Ultra in Lethbridge, AB.

In the end I did finish the race in 9:17. I walked the second half of the race at my "military" pace. I finished the race in pretty good shape, and didn't have much trouble walking stairs the day after. Monday was a little rougher, but I was back to work on Tuesday without too much difficulty. The fact I had maybe got in 20 hours of running between my injury and the race is interesting. Certainly it just goes to show how much the mental aspect plays in finishing a race like this. I will write more about the race later this week.

Now that I've recovered from the race and gotten back to the gym, my back is doing well with the increasing demands. I will continue with massage and chiro as needed, but I think I'm on the way to being 100% again soon.

I find it odd that my running setbacks have never been directly related to running. Neither my massage therapist or chiropractor can say how the rib came to be partially dislocated, and Aerin and I are just as much mystified. I've pulled leg muscles, but that has been slipping on ice or mud while walking to and from work or while backpacking. I've had colds - overtraining or something else?

But it's recovery and rebuilding again for now. Something I've been getting good at. Luckily I seem to keep coming back stronger each time. There's the Frozen Ass to run in February after all.

Life: So It Has Been a Long Time

As some anonymous person was kind enough to mention, it has been some three months since I posted something here. I guess I'd better get things updated then.

I guess the big thing is that since I wasn't running pretty much at all, and still not much at all since I'm working back into things quite slowly, trying to write about not running seemed more than a little depressing. Though I didn't specifically set out to talk about running when I started this blog, I do enjoy going out to run and no being able to and then talk about the enjoyment and successes was down right disheartening.

Summer was also pretty busy for other things we enjoyed. There was lots of time to spend with Ursa in the nice weather. Trips out of town to take.

I guess I should start getting things caught up. And I will start with the running part.

Running: The Way You Run

On Monday I was over at TCR Sport Labs to have a gait analysis done. I've been sore ever since.
The major objective to the whole exercise was to improve my running efficiency, of course. Basically, it involves a transition from a gait with a lot heel strike to more forefoot/mid-foot landing with a lean from the ankles to use more gravity to proper myself forward. Unfortunately, this has brought into play more than few muscles which are not used to being used in this manner. The other aspect of the change is keeping a higher cadence with a shorter stride. I've put on a lot of miles as a heel striker, so I didn't expect this to be easy. It certainly has made for some speedier running with the same effort.

Unfortunately it would seem I've overestimated just how much my muscles are rebelling. I've been doing a lot more core strength and stretching than I have running miles since the gait analysis. With all the sore and tight muscles I didn't want to overdo things, but I have done so anyway apparently. My right hip flexor was giving me trouble after a couple laps around the U of C indoor track today, so I called it quits on the running and did more core and stretching. It almost hurts sometimes now. I guess this means I will be making very slow progress again for a while.

So in the mean time core and stretching is the order of the days.

I am considering my options for coaching too. There are a number of individuals I can approach about coaching in a variety of forms in the immediate area. I don't know exactly what to do about it at this point other than I will undoubtedly benefit from any coaching I get. The big thing is the amount ground I need to cover literally and figuratively to make it through until October 2010. A coach could only help in achieving my goals for the Alberta Triple next year.

More news to come.

Running: Back to the Outdoors

I ran outside for the first time since last November (when I started in with the three week cold) on Sunday. What a rush! Since I was last running outdoors I've been trying to work on strength and core in the gym, spending time recovering from illness (some more), and generally getting my brain back into training. Getting back outside was so enjoyable even with the -10C and sunny weather.

I started out from home heading east before crossing the river and heading back west. The south side of the river isn't the best below the escarpment between Crowchild Tr and Edworthy Park, but I had packed my Kahtoola crampons knowing this from last year. Not a single problem with traction was had. I crunched through packed snow and ice with ease.

I got home in just over an hour. I had run 9 minutes, walked 1 minute for most of it except for a few minutes I had to wait for a train before crossing the tracks. And was I ever in for a shock when I got home and checked my Garmin. My average heart rate for the run was 84% of max HR! I could hardly believe it. It didn't feel like I was working that hard. I certainly wasn't running a blazing pace. But I was enjoying myself and probably running an adrenaline high.

Whatever the reason for the high HR I had a blast and really enjoyed the run. I didn't feel burned out afterwards or the next day. There was some stiffness the next day in my legs because I haven't run on an uneven surface in a while, but other than that I felt great and went to the gym on Monday for a light workout. More core and stretching between now and my run on Thursday on the gym. The weekend is looking great, so I'll definitely be out again on Saturday and probably Sunday too.

Yeah fun!

Life: Welcome 2009!

Didn't we just celebrate New Year's 2008?

I have to say, that from my end of things, the passing of 2008 was definitely NOT slow. I will always remember an episode of Daily Planet a few years back about how a person in 2004(ish) perceives time passing eight times faster than someone in 1904. That would mean we haven't even made it to my birthday before we're celebrating New Year's again. Talk about getting the short end of the stick!

I'm happy to be back on the road to running after few months of nothing much leading up to Christmas. Between injury (not running related) and illness (damned 6 week chest colds and my second this year) I got in little running between October and few days ago. Even a minimal amount of core work hasn't done much to keep me sane or maintain any level of fitness. The stress of moving and lack exercise was a horrible combination. So it's back to building, and I have some time to do that properly and with some enjoyment that was missing from this year's training.

Aerin and I are both pleased with our new place, and invites to the house warming party will be going out to friends in the near future. We'll probably never move into anything smaller than a two bedroom apartment now that we have all this space. Unfortunately I think we may be a little beyond future living area with the items we've purchased to make our place truly functional, but I don't foresee any great need to depart anytime in the near future unless under duress.

I've been doing some life inventory to spend time on the things I really enjoy doing. So there's time with Aerin, friends and family, being outdoors with running and backpacking, and building and playing my Flames of War armies. I'll be spending some time exploring industrial design related classes through Continuing Education, and Aerin and I will take the digital photography course to get the most out of my Christmas present, a Canon Powershot G10 (essentially a professional-grade point-and-shoot). That's all I have on my radar for the coming year. I still won't have as much free time to spend on these as I'd like short of winning the lotto, but I'll be happy to be able to do it.

Another Flames of War player and I are also collaborating on a writing project for a campaign book for our shared interest, but that's still in the development stage. Our plan is to have a proposal submitted by the end of January. It'll be interesting to see what happens.

I'm having a little trouble getting to sleep, but I'm getting closer to sleepy now. I hope everyone had a great 2008, and that you're looking forward to another great year in 2009. I know I am.

Happy New Year!

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.

Running: Lost Soul Ultra Report

The short version: CANCELLED DUE TO RAIN.

We arrived in Lethbridge on Friday afternoon with lots of time to pickup my race package (which included a very nice jacket) and check into the hotel before dinner. We found a local Boston Pizza for pasta to do the carb loading thing.

On our way back to the hotel it began to rain heavily with lots of wind on top of it. (It is Lethbridge after all.) I was certainly glad not to be running in it, but I couldn't help but feel badly for the 100km and 100 mile racers currently outside.

Back at the hotel I did the last minute obsessing about the gear and had everything ready to go before Aerin and I hit the hot tube for a soak. At this point it was still raining a little outside, and I was hoping it would let up long enough to save the course from being too muddy. We met another couple that was there for the 50km race, so we talked about running and traded war stories.

It was time for bed about 9PM, but little did we know as we drifted off that they were already shutting down the race due to the rain. The clay gets very slippery, so they decided that it was too dangerous to continue to let the racers go through the night. Of course it wasn't until 6:30am at the race meeting that I learned my 5am wakeup to get ready was in vain.

Needless to say I was disappointed and more than a little grumpy about not getting to run my race, but in the end it would seem to be somewhat fortuetous since I'd be having an odd occasional pain in my left knee. After trying to get a couple more hours of sleep, Aerin and I spent the day relaxing. We visited the Japanese garden, did some pillow shopping since the old one didn't do well on the new mattress, caught a movie, and generally took it easy.

The movie we saw was Kung Fu Panda, and we both enjoyed it enough to put it onto our DVD wishlist. Watching the movie reminded me of an article I'd read in the paper when the movie was first released. Why do they shell out a lot of money for big name actors to voice characters other than the name recognition when it comes time to promote the film? They certainly won't help the movie if it just stinks to begin with. But now I'm straying off topic...

So in the end, we stayed for the breakfast on Sunday morning to collect my Rock with no time, have some food and trade a few stories again before heading home.

Running: Losing My Soul

It's now about 11:15pm as I start to write this. I should be sleeping, but I have finally been struck by taper madness leading up to my run at Lost Soul this Saturday. This basically means my mind is going a little crazy as it focuses in on what I am undertaking.

It's kind of odd to be doing only 50km. This will officially be the shortest race of the year. I actually haven't gotten in a great deal of running in the past few weeks between traveling to Edmonton, backpacking and just generally being low on the mojo. In the end it won't matter a great deal since I'm confident I will finish the distance anyway, but certainly not in any timely fashion.

I mentioned the lack of mojo because I've been thinking (probably way too much) about what comes after this weekend for me and my running. My goal when I started running two and bit years ago was to run the Hard Rock Hundred Mile Endurance Race before I turn 40, and I've been thinking more about how I'm going to achieve that goal. The big thing I need to work on is consistency in my training, and that means better planning and maybe some coaching. How I'm going to make this happen is a bit up in the air, but I have some time still to make this happen.

Anyway, I still have to make it around the course this Saturday, and then we've also got the move to the new place to take care of. Lots to do, and still not enough time to do it...

Life: The End (of August) is Near!

The end of August has certainly snuck up on me. The car registration is due. Our last backcountry trip of 2008 is this long weekend. We bought ourselves a new bed that has to wait another week and a half to get delivered. And we found ourselves a new place to live in Calgary, but won't get to move in until the end of October at the latest.

The hot weekend weather for most of the month has made training runs on the weekend hard to take sometimes. About the only thing I could do that would make it tolerable was to slow right down to a fast walk. I also haven't been putting on as many miles leading up to Lost Soul since I have either been feeling very run down and tired, or I haven't had a particularly great time scheduling training runs with all the other stuff we've managed to do this month.

The next couple of nights are dedicated to tidying up before this weekend and getting the gear packed for another trip out to Kananaskis. The one thing that would appear to be lacking for this trip is the heat and snow pack. I don't know if this is pushing our luck, but we will drive out after work on Friday to pack 8km into Forks CG that night. The next day will be a little easier with the climb to Turbine Canyon, and then Monday will require us to hike out all the way. I am looking forward to a few good nights sleep though.

It would seem this weekend is to be about the best sleep I will get until the new bed arrives. We had our doubts about the bed surviving the move from Edmonton last year, but when test driving new beds turned into a purchase it was all too apparent how bad the bed had become. We are both eagerly awaiting the delivery day.

Last weekend was our practice move now that we found a new place here in Calgary. Aerin's Parental Units moved out of the house into a townhouse condo further west in Edmonton on Sunday. As one of the designated "strong, young men" I got to have all the fun with the heavy appliances. In the end things went pretty smoothly and we were done in about five hours. My back was kind of stiff, but it's been good since.

Which leads me to mention that I must be getting old since I managed to tweak my back somehow the weekend after the long weekend this month. I was cutting up styrene sheet for miniatures terrain when I stood up and had a bad muscle spasm in my back. It was the same spot where I had trouble last fall, but the dying bed has countered the exercising and stretching that would help it out more. So things are stable, and I hope getting better when my back gets better support from the new bed.

That's it for now. It's time to clean up and start packing. Cheers!

Outdoor: Waterton National Park

Aerin and I spent five days in Waterton last weekend. I wanted to share some of our backcountry adventures first, so I'll talk about the regular tourist things we did in another post. I will post photos when I get the chance.

Friday was our first outing to Crypt Lake. After getting onto the ferry across the lake to Crypt Landing, we began our hike up the trail. Unfortunately this didn't last long as Aerin began having blister trouble from her boots. While they weren't a problem last year, the boots have been causing problems this year, and the fix we tried for this trip didn't take. So about an hour into the hike Aerin decided it was better to save her feet than carry on to the top in pain and ruin the rest of her weekend. She sent me to the top with orders to take lots of pictures.

I took off to the top to complete my mission and return as quickly as I could to Aerin as she waited at the docks. The hanging valley Crypt Lake is in was lots of fun to get to with it's tunnel crawl and exposed trail access. It's certainly a very pretty cirque lake, but I didn't enjoy it as much without Aerin to see it too. With my mission completed I turned around and started the rapid running descent to the dock. All told it was about 2:30 to get to the lake and about 1:15 to make the run back.

Friday night we ran into friends we knew were going to be in Waterton. (There were lots that we didn't know about too. Yeah Grant MacEwan Mountain Club!) The next morning the four of us headed up to Wall Lake on the BC side of the border for a look at another beautiful lake. This was preceeded by some emergency shoe shopping for Aerin, but she made good time despite some soreness due to not quite blisters of the previous day.

We encountered a pair of male mule deer on the way up with beautiful antlers. They were still in their velvet. Another doe wandered the area when we got to the lake finally.

Wall Lake itself is most impressive for the towering wall of stone around the back side of the lake. It's quite a sight to see the glacier remenants around the lake too. There was some recent chunks that have separated along the western end that were all blue-green in tinge. In some places even older clear ice with the same blue-green tinge showed through under the newer snow. It was really neat to realize that some of that ice could be thousands of years old.

Sunday was trail running day. I had to go solo on this one, but it turned out to be a short trip. My plan was to do the Snowshoe-Blakiston loop from Red Rock Canyon, but bad weather rolled in just short of the Snowshoe back country campground. Facing heavy rain, lightning, high winds and the uncertainty of whether it would continue or not, I decided to turn around.

This brings me to the interesting part of this aborted trail run - a cinnamon black bear and her two cubs. One the way up I was coming down a hill when I noticed her on the level a little ways down. I started talking and making some noise, and she lead her cubs into the woods off the trail and went around me.

Once I turned around to return to the trailhead I figured I'd likely run into her again, but I'd set my Garmin with her position when I met her on the way up. I started paying particular attention as I got close to that spot, and about a kilometer later noticed her ahead of me just off the trail. I backed off and made noise, and soon saw one of the cubs coming down a tree. While this was happening I explored the option of going off trail, but the undergrowth and footing was darned near as dangerous as a bear in the wet conditions. So with much caution and making noise I moved up to see what was happening. Luckily she and the cubs had moved up to a wider part of the trail, the cubs were no where in sight (but likely up a new tree), and she was busy ripping apart a log a little further up the slope. She lifted her head the one time when she head and saw me, but went back to ripping apart the log. I slipped by with as much space as possible to spare, and she didn't even look at me again. After that it was a quick run the rest of the way.

And that was basically it. We checked out Cameron Falls in town on Monday before doing the loop at the buffalo paddock, and then it was on to Fort MacLeod and the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump site.

Overall it was a great trip that both of us enjoyed since I hadn't been to the park in almost 20 years and Aerin had never been.

Life: Calgary Folk Fest

This weekend was the Calgary Folk Fest. With some other things I needed to do, I only went to the evening mainstage show on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The acts have been quite enjoyable.

Saturday night's Blue Rodeo show was very good to finally see since I have never got around to seeing them live. I am not entirely sure how to describe Calexico's sound, but I really like their music. Aerin was already a fan, and was very happy to see them live finally.

Since I was mostly their for the main stage, I didn't see a lot of the side stage action. There's lots of different music to pick from certainly, but I haven't gotten to listening to that broad a mix of music to really have any favourites there. One thing I did find slightly annoying for the couple of side stage performances I attended was that some were a little close together, or not directed away from each other enough, for the music to overlap. It makes it hard to listen to something a little quieter when the next stage is playing loud and thumping.

The rain on Saturday also made for some exciting times. It never rained very heavily, but the thunder and lightning to the north hinted at what might have been. I hadn't arrived yet on Sunday when a good rain with some hail went through the festival area.

Overall though I had a great time listening to plenty of good music. Aerin was very happy that I was willing/interested to come out to the festival with her.

Running: Lost Soul Ultra

It's odd how things have changed so quickly. I really didn't expect to get into the Lost Soul Ultra this September, but I got the email Tuesday morning that I had a spot if I wanted it. So now I'm setting things up for the rest of the summer with an eye on September 13th.

This is actually the shortest distance I will race this year at 50km. But there is one thing I have not figured out how to manage that could be a major factor in my success in September - running in the heat.

At Sinister 7 the hot afternoon that I started my running in was certainly a factor. With the unsettled stomach and crampy legs it was a tough combination to deal with and keep moving. One of the things I realized I could do better was my pre-race hydration and nutrition. I probably overdid the snacking before my turn on the course at Sinister 7. This threw my hydration plan for a loop, not to mention any nutrition I needed that went along with it.

At this point I think I will plan to ice my neck and forearms when I get into the transition points that Aerin can access. It should also allow me to keep my hydration cooler too. Ice cubes in the hat when I leave the transition will help too. This, of course, is based on the assumption that it will be hot on the race weekend; if not, then I have other things to concern myself with such as footing on wet trails. Personally, I would rather deal with the latter.

The elevation and distance are not a problem based on what I have accomplished this year. Certainly there are some very steep sections, but what that gives rise to is the beating my quads will take that carries over into the flatter sections.

In the end I'm confident I can get through the course to collect my rock on Sunday morning. Now I just have to get some training for the remainder of the summer figured out.

Running: Sinister 7 Post-Race

I can still walk. The legs are little stiff and sore, but that will fade soon enough. The official times aren't in yet, but overall I completed legs 4, 5 and 6 in ~10:20 and a team finish of ~18:20.

My teammate John headed out for the first two of three legs at 9am. It was just over 3 hours before he came into the transition between leg 2 and 3. The next leg was about 29km in an out-and-back loop which he completed in about 3:36. And off I went for my three legs.

Leg 4 is the longest at 31.5km, but I think it's actually a little longer since I managed to stop my Garmin for a bit. I do not like running in the heat, but there was a stiff headwind for most of the way to help cool things. Unfortunately on this leg I never really got settled into my running. My stomach was queasy the entire leg, and I was having problems with cramping in my legs. I could run or I could hydrate. In the end I did a little of both, and I got into the transition area feeling less than stellar. I wasn't in a rush to get going again, so I changed my socks and shoes, drank down a bunch of water, and talked to the medics to make sure I wasn't doing something I shouldn't be. By this time the sun was going behind the mountains and trees, so things were cooling off. I rested for a bit and then headed out for the next leg.

Leg 5 was supposed to be 17km, but more on that later. I took off with as fast a walk I could manage with my poles to help push me along. I must have managed to stop my Garmin again when I was at the transition, so I got it going again after what I figured was a mile. My stomach was still being a problem, but my legs were feeling better. I tried running a little every now and again until my stomach started complaining, and then I would slow again. I arrived at the beginning of the long climb to the ridge. Thankfully my stomach settled and I began the long climb.

I would not have liked to do this climb in wet or muddy conditions. The trail is very steep in places, and traction was bad enough on some spots with just a little loose rock. Even as a quad ATV trail I would have to say it's less than desirable. As I got close to the top of the ridge I heard what I thought were the dinner (bear) bells of the one person to pass me on the climb going along the ridgeline to the south. When I got to the top myself, I stopped unsure of the direction to take, but I did find a sign pointing me downhill. There were a couple of spots where things switched from up to down on the ascent and vice versa on the descent, but overall it was steady going. At one point I looked at my Garmin and began to wonder where the heck the transition point was. It was another 20 minutes and 3 km before I got there. It was also where I confirmed for certain that I hadn't been hearing things. The gal that had passed me on the way up had gone the wrong way - I had beaten her to the transition. Time on this leg was ~3:45 (I think) including my transition times.

I changed into my warmer shirt, changed my pack again, and took off with my big chocolate chip cookie. I was feeling much better now. The weather was cool, I was headed downhill, it was dark, and I was alone except for my chocolate chip cookie. Leg 6 was definitely my happy leg. I did a fair big of running, but the route wasn't always clear. I finally realized that some of this leg mirrored the end of leg 4, and I was not happy. There was one very steep climb up and down from a creek bed that wasn't any more fun to do in the dark. In the end I rolled into the transition after about ~2:20. It was about 1:30am, and I was happy to be done.

I had a lot of fun. It was a great experience with lots of lessons learned. (I'll talk more about those another time.) I will be back next year.

Running: Sinister 7 Update

Well it looks like it'll be warm in the mountains for the race this weekend - hotter than I'd like anyway. The hotter it is the harder it is to keep hydrated and moving quickly. I'd prefer mid-teens and overcast, but it looks more like mid-twenties and sunny.

If you're interested in how things are going, you can get race updates by following the link on this page. I'm on Team "Two Fun Guys", and running legs 4, 5 and 6.

Ciao!

Running: Sinister 7

I run a lot, and I love running on trails. Since I began running in April 2006, I have completed the 50km (2007) and 50-mile (2008) Blackfoot Ultra. (For those unfamiliar with running these races are called ultras because the distance is great than a regular marathon of 42.2km or 26 miles.) I have also completed leg 3 and 4 (58km) of the Canadian Death Race as part of a relay team. I did run a half-marathon road race for kicks and training in the fall of 2006, but I much prefer trail races.

This coming weekend is the first running of the Sinister 7 ultra trail race. It is a 135km course in the Crowsnest Pass area in Alberta. The race is run solo or as part of a relay team. I am part of a two man team called "Two Fun Guys". I am running legs 4, 5 and 6 for a total of about 62km. I'm not quite so fast as my relay partner, so I will be done in about 8 hours.

This is a new ultra trail race for Alberta. I had been living in Edmonton, AB until last summer, so I'm looking forward to getting into a new area of the mountains to run. The late spring has meant that running in the mountains has been delayed since I'm not a huge fan of post holing in thigh deep snow. There's been a lot of warm weather in the Crowsnest area lately, so I'm hoping things won't be too slippy or muddy for the run.

I'm feeling much more relaxed going into this race. Prior to the Blackfoot ultra I had picked up a bad chest cold that wiped out my plans for completing my last four weeks of training. This left me pretty freaked out about my prospects of even finishing. I haven't gotten in as many long runs between Blackfoot and Sinister 7, but I'm much more confident in my ability to finish the distance strongly going into this race than I was leading up to Blackfoot.

Back to work!