Race Prep.

I signed up for the PEI Marathon recently, leaving it to the last possible moment due to my uncertainty that I could actually finish the race. A part of me is glad when it will be over as following a 14+ week running regime tests my propensity for boredom.

The route itself takes you through some of the most beautiful parts of the Island which makes the somewhat gruelling experience worthwhile (You don’t realize how hilly Charlottetown is until hit the arterial road after running 30k).

My inactivity all winter hasn’t positioned me for an entirely pain free run. Last winter was the coldest I’ve experienced in over 20 years and looking back over my activity data for that period it would appear I did nothing more than walk to and from the car. This has made for a maddenly slow return to fitness with no time to improve upon what I had built before. Fitness, especially with the slow recovery times brought on by middle age, is an investment which must always be paid.

For this training cycle I tried some different approaches. I eased up on the milage considerably, giving my body more time to rest. I averaged about 56km per week, topping out at 70, which is considerably less than I attempted in the past. When you include the stretching, body weight workouts and CrossFit, I devoted about 15+ hours a week to training. Generally, I follow a regime that doesn’t take in consideration my age, and I would push myself with both milage and speed. Often resulting in an injury of some sort. So far, other than some recent tightness in my achilles, I have had no long lasting issues. This may in part be due to the fact that I started this training cycle not by running but by going to CrossFit.

If I had to describe Crossfit in a word, I would describe it as humbling. Working with athletes, and being the beginner, has that effect.

Standing on the sidelines watching people, somewhat in concert, throw around metal bars, falling on the floor in exhaustion, with all the resultant cacophony of sound, makes it look like some kind of industrial ballet. The whole routine seems a bit ridiculous to me at times but it has forced me to address some problems head on that I haven’t dealt with since elementary school. Rope climbing, olympic style lifting, and some of the other movements require not only the development of a strong core (it’s done amazing things for my hip strength and mobility), they also require the development of grip strength. I’ve long since accepted my hard limits, missing the digits on my left hand means there are some things I will never be able to do, but I don’t ever remember testing those limits until now. In my childhood my inability to do strict pull-ups and rope climbing was an embarrassment, now I see it as a challenge. Luckily the coaching and community at Court6 make meeting challenges easier.

My somewhat more gentle approach to this cycle is with an eye to the future. I take my time during CrossFit and never lift heavy. If finances will allow I hope to run the NorthFace Ultra in Thailand this coming winter and have in mind either the Capes 100 in the summer or one of the many in the American Midwest.