A race? Really?
April 06, 2010 | 1:07 pm
Remember when I said I was going to update this every week? Yeah, so do I. I suppose it has been a while! My training has actually been going very well. I've had some really good tempo runs and a few decent interval workouts that would all indicate that I should be able to race fairly well by this summer. I've been in the Saucony Triumph 7s, and I couldn't be happier. I've been putting in a decent amount of volume, more than I have since the fall of 2006 (my last cross country season) and other than some tightness here and there, I have had no real pain. I've been in them for almost nine weeks now, and I think I'll be able to get another month out of them before I move on to my next pair. They're definitely more durable than the Nike Pegasus, although not as light. They start to feel a little heavy towards the end of a long, fast workout.
A few people have asked me what my goals are for the year, and I suppose it's about time that I get them out in the open. What's the point in having a training blog if you're going to keep secrets? Well, it looks as though I'll be, if everything continues to progress the way it should, gearing up for the Canadian Track and Field Championships. Will I do the 800m or 1500m? To be honest, your guess is as good as mine. I will race a couple of each and see what happens. I'm not sure that I'll have to flat-out speed I used to have, so the 1500m may be the right option. On the other hand, by the time July rolls around, I'll have only been back at it hard for six months. That's hardly enough time to have the base for a good 1500m. So we'll see.
I'm actually racing a 5K at the Lung Run this Saturday. It's really exciting to be toeing the line again. The last race I ran was in October of 2008, so it's been almost two years! In all honesty, I have no idea what to expect. I have been training well, but the first race of any season is usually a throw away. Add on to that that it's my first race in a long, LONG time, and I could be in for a world of hurt. I'll have to be fairly conservative. Guys like Rob Jewer and Jason Smith will likely be going hard after the 15 minute mark and they've done quite a bit more racing of this kind than I have. But at the same time, I'm a pretty competitive guy. I expect to win and I really don't like losing; especially in Nova Scotia. However, those two guys are very good runners and Jewer in particular has a much more impressive resume than I do over these kinds of distances and has been consistently pounding me in workouts. In fact, in the last cross country race I ever ran, the 2006 CIS championships, I finished 36th and was thrilled with my result. Jewer was 7th. So I've got my work cut out for me! I certainly won't be devastated if Rob wins; he has become my favourite training partner and is a really nice guy. But, as always, when the gun goes, all bets are off. And as I said, I expect to win!
