I can hardly believe nearly a month has passed since my last blog post. It's good to be back - in more ways than one.
In the last post you may recall the declaration of a new goal to run the Blue Nose Marathon GoodLife FITNESS 10K in less than 55 minutes, a major reset from the original sub-70 minute target. (See "Goal achieved - dream bigger!")
A lot has occurred in the past month.
It started on Monday, April 7 in Waterloo, ON. I was away that weekend to celebrate my 41st birthday and to attend the Cher concert in Toronto.
In keeping with my Team Myles 2014 training, I went for a run that morning. About 4K into the run I was feeling a little off with energy draining quickly and made a simple misstep off the sidewalk that caused an ankle roll/twist. It did not seem too bad at first and I continued for another 2.5K. Through the day the injury was worsening to a point of a limp as my beautiful wife and I did some final shopping before the concert that evening. It was hurting a lot. We returned to the hotel to get some pain killers and to rest before heading to the Air Canada Centre.
The next day we flew back to Halifax and I was continuing to have some ankle issues, plus I had a major lack of energy. Little did I know a pretty severe stomach bug was attacking. That took me down for the next week.
On April 17, I decided to lace up and play hockey in my Thursday morning hockey league. It was good to get the energy back and legs moving. With just 10 minutes left in the game, I was speeding down the ice on a near breakaway, tripped in the goaltender and crashed very hard into the end boards injuring my right shoulder. It was an Easter weekend of rest, recovery and pain killers to get through that one. The pain was so great I missed my Saturday Team Myles training.
Gotta say, my 42nd year on this planet has started off a little rough!
It was a full 14 days before I got back on my feet for a run. It was worrisome to think I lost two weeks of critical run training. I really had to reach deep and find my Inner Ninja! (Click this blog reference for what that means).
I was feeling good on Monday, April 21 - more motivated than ever to get back on track. Have to admit, I was a little hesitant at first as to how the ankle would hold, but I quickly ramped up the speed and managed to complete a 5K run in under 30 minutes at a 5:54 min/km pace. Everything is fine.
Team Myles hill training on Tuesday, April 22 was a real test of endurance completing over 15 minutes non-stop up and down Citadel Hill. Team Myles coach and mentor Devin Sherrington of 360fit pushed us all hard and it was at that moment that I realized how much all of the other Team Myles members have progressed. It was both inspiring and motivational to see the metamorphosis from when we started a few months ago.
After hill training I had about an hour before my Tuesday night hockey game. Have to say I did not play to my top performance that evening - I left my legs back on Citadel Hill! A tough night and next morning. Thank goodness for the Icy Hot!
This past Saturday, April 26 was an incredible day - weather and running wise. Team Myles members met at Point Pleasant Park in Halifax for our first non-stop run. To that point it had been interval training with run/walk progression. This time is was 40-minutes non-stop.
My Team Myles mentor Jeff Nearing and I left at a brisk pace and ran along the Halifax Waterfront. I should qualify, it was brisk for me. Jeff is training for the Ottawa Marathon and it an excellent runner, so he barely broke a sweat - the bastard! (Kidding, my friend - thanks for everything you have done to date.)
Jeff was really great throughout the run to keep asking if I was doing okay and how my heart rate was holding up. It was a push, but I was still feeling really good. In the end we did just over 7K at a pace of 5:52 min/km, right on target for the under 55 minutes for 10K. With a little extra effort I know it can be done.
There's still a few week's left to train for speed, including a hills session tomorrow (Tuesday) night. I look forward to May 18 and race day. Who knows what will happen? No matter what, all Team Myles members, mentors and coaches are winners - we've come a long way and everyone should be very proud.
I encourage you to read some of the blogs from other participants. It's great to see such an effort.
Well, I gotta go. It's time for a run to get warmed up for hills tomorrow night!
"Charlene, where's the Icy Hot?"
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SIDE NOTE: If you have not seen Cher in concert, try to do so on one of her pending "farewell tours" - this was her third, I think! Amazing show with incredible energy for this 67-year-old performer. April 3-12 was a fun entertainment week, starting with Black Sabbath at the Metro Centre in Halifax, off to Toronto for Cher at the Air Canada Centre, back to Halifax for David Myles at Pier 21 for An Evening with Easter Seals Gala, and then finishing with Buddy Wasisname and The Other Fellers at the Rebecca Cohn in Halifax the following weekend. Wide range of music talent and taste!
