Previous Posts

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008
(Ethiopia Training Camp)

2007

2012 Posts

Jan. 25, 2012 - Welcome back to racing

My main goal in racing a few indoor races is to shake off the cob webs with a good race stimulus, as well as regain and refine my tactical strategies. My mile race this past weekend at the New Balance Games was perfect for both.

Going in, I was expecting we'd have a pacemaker because we have in past years, which is valuable for a race this early in the year considering no one really knows where they're at and is super confident to take it hard from the front. However, we unfortunately didn't have a pacemaker so the race quickly turned into championship-style racing tactics (sit in the pack and try to win).

Start of New Balance Games Elite Women's Mile.

I was position #1 on the line and didn't get out hard enough (race tactic reminder #1) so got boxed in for the first half of the race. We crawled through 400m in 75" and 800m in 2:27, which was already 12-13 seconds slower than goal race pace. I spent most of the first 4 laps knocking elbows with my competitors to protect my space and stay on my feed - great championship simulation. I finally found an opening and was able to get out into lane 2. With about 600m to go I decided to push hard for the finish and see how many women I could drop. I ran 2:11 for my final 800m and 63" for the last 400m and was in the lead until about 50m to go when Brenda Martinez used her 800m speed to sneak past me and take the win.

I was disappointing not to win, but I don't regret pushing the pace from a ways out because I think that is my strength at the moment until I get some more speed work under my belt. I'm going to do just that by running an 800m this weekend in Seattle, which will hopefully set me up well to run fast at Millrose Games back in NYC on Feb. 11...still waiting to see if I'm in, but fingers crossed.

New Balance Games race video, my race at 1hr30: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hGSY_K85r8&feature=relmfu

Jan. 16, 2012 - It's go time!

Happy New Year! Wow, time is flying and I'm so excited that 2012 is here. I've had a really solid block of training since taking a week off in December. I'm currently at training camp near Phoenix, Arizona to get in some warm weather as I prepare for the indoor season.

I've been here for nearly 3 weeks and been doing most of my training with Malindi Elmore. Malindi is a good friend, but also one of my toughest competitors in Canada so some people think it's a bit strange that we choose to train together. But it's worked out really well because we both have different strengths: she's stronger at longer end stuff and I at the shorter fast stuff, so we've really been able to push each other in different ways. It's been very beneficial to have someone to share the training stress with and it helps that we also get along really well considering the life of any individual sport athlete like track can be isolated.

As for training, our weeks consist of 3 workouts a week: tempo, fartlek and track; 3 plyometric sessions, 3 weight session, a long run and about 80-85 miles a week, plus lots of sleeping and recovery. Last week we did a solid workout together where our strengths met in the middle: 5 x 1200m averaging 3:40, so about 15:20 pace for 5km. That's about the best I've ever done that workout at this time of year, especially off high mileage so I'm really excited about where my fitness is at. We've also been working in with a group of other Canadian athletes coached by Wynn Gmitroski and Heather Hennigar, both national team coaches, and they have been really helpful in letting us jump into a few of their workouts and inviting us to some recovery sessions that Wynn puts on since he's also a physio. I have always considered recovery to be important, but it's been nice to learn a few more things to add to my repetoire.

I have a few more days here and then I'm headed to my favourite US city: New York! I'll be making my 8th appearance at New Balance Games in the mile at The Armory, also one of my favourite US tracks. And so the season begins...

2011 Posts

Dec. 6, 2011 - Au naturel

I have a week off running and thus more time on my hands, so I've decided to take on a challege. No, I'm not going to walk around in the nude...but I am going to attempt to eat a completely natural, made from scratch, diet for the next week and see how I do. It's not that I eat terribly at all, but I have to say that being in the US for the last month (much love to my American friends!) has inspired me. I found it so tough to find preservative-free, natural products; even in organic grocery stores I couldn't find one bin of granola without corn syrup in the ingredients! I'm not saying Canada is so much better because we definitely have our fair share of unhealthy products and eating habits.

Speaking of which, usually when I take time off I'm really lax about what I eat so I figured this time around I'm at least going to know exactly what I'm eating. I've also been reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Polland, which is along the same lines of knowing what's in your food and going back to basics with raw ingredients. So, that combined with the fact that I love to cook and have a great resource in my sports physiologist/nutritionist husband to keep me up-to-date on the latest nutrition research - I'm going to seek out new recipes and add them to my repertoire. And since I always appreciate getting recipes from friends, I'm going to post what I come up with on my blog for the rest of the week...I don't have any running news so it's a good trade off!

So here goes, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday (sorry, had to stop there because I'm off to the Canadian Athletics Coaching Centre Endurance Conference)

On another note, Canadian sports writer Chris Kelsall who has written for Flotrack and Canadian running has started his own website: http://athleticsillustrated.com. He has a ton of interviews and articles worth checking out.

Dec. 2, 2011 - Sucker for punishment

Our last week in Albuquerque went really well - I felt fully adjusted to the altitude, well, enough to feel good in workouts and hit 85 miles for the week.

The last week since coming down has been challenging. It started with the San Jose Turkey Trot. I went in to the race not feeling so great: heavy legs and a bit disoriented (not sure how else to describe it, but I figure it was the adjustment back to sea level - I just felt neurally off).

However, once the race got going I ended up feeling great, which is one reason why I NEVER use my warm up to gauge how I'm going to feel in the race because I've had it both ways. So I did something in the race that I think I've had bad dreams about, but never done - misjudged laps. I think I was so excited to be feeling fit and good in a 5km race (usually a weaker event for me) that I got distracted. Basically I had in my head that it was a 3 mile race of 3 laps, but really it was 4 laps! So half way thru the 2nd lap I was feeling great and decided to push the pace much earlier than I would normally (usually in a longer race I'd let the 5km types lead the way and try to sit and kick). As I've mentioned in previous blogs, I'm trying to take more risks in racing and not always be so conservative. And risks did I take!

I kicked with what I thought was 800m to go, but was really 2km. I realized I had really screwed up when I was way ahead of the field and no one was attempting to go with me. I knew I was in good shape, but not good enough that I would be destroying this type of field! So I had a little panic attack leading into the 4th lap where, for a split second, I considered the fact that I might not be able to finish the race. Then I gave my head a shake, bared down and figured I was just going to be in a serious amount of distress for the next 1200m - which I was! I was fully expecting the entire field to swallow me up and come blazing past me, but fortunately that didn't quite happen. I was passed by a few girls, but I was able to fight my way to 4th place in 16:26. I'm definitely happy I gutted it out and held on, but I was really hoping to run low or under 16 mins. I take full responsibility and this time will have to settle for the idiot award instead of a podium place. Lesson learned.

Needless to say, I was sore from the race for about 4 days - at least I know I got a good training effect from it! I suffered through a long run/tempo and fartlek session before my legs came to at the middle of this week. Just in time for my last hard session before a bit of down time: mile repeats on the track. This is a workout I have a love-hate relationship with. Love because I know how strong it makes me as a miler; hate because I find it really tough to run the distance of my main race hard 4x. But since I wasn't satisfied with my 5km time in last week's race, I really wanted to redeem myself. I was lucky enough to have our friend Ian run the whole workout with me and Trent jump in and out to help. We were also really fortune to have a sunny Dec day here in Victoria, which I'm told is a rare ocassion. We ended up running the first three around 5:00 or just under and then the last one in 4:49, which was a nice surprise because I didn't feel like we'd picked it up that much. Since it was a true V02 max we had full 5min recovery between - this felt like 2 mins by the end!

This likely wouldn't be a ground breaking workout for an elite 5km runner, but for me as a miler, being able to compare with previous years, it is a good indicator that I'm entering new territory on the endurance end of things. So I feel like I did redeem myself after the race and am really excited about my current fitness. I still have a lot of work to do before I'm ready to run a fast 1500m, but I'm definitely ahead of where I've been in previous years and looking forward to a great 2012. For now, I'm going to take a much needed week off and then start transitioning into some prep for the indoor season.

Nov. 16, 2011 - Wild wild west

Long run in Sandia foothills, ABQ.

Well we've made it through 2 weeks at altitude and fully adapted just in time to leave! I guess you should never get too used to one training stimulus anyway.

I think this has been my best adaptation at altitude and it's about my 5th time. Albuquerque (ABQ) isn't quite as high as where I've been before: St. Moritz, Switzerland (1750m), Flagstaff, Arizona (2100m) and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2300-2700m). What's nice about ABQ is that the city is around 1600m and the foothills are around 1900m and up. So we've been doing workouts in the city (track, trails or bike path all flat) and our moderate running in the very hilly foothills. It's a great combo. Another difference to my previous trips is that we've added in some higher altitude hikes, about 2-3hrs once week at a steady hiking pace at around 2500m. I love that that's been integrated into training because it's been awesome to get the longer low-impact training in - Marilyn and I have really enjoy exploring the more rigorous trails that would be tough to run.

2.5 hr hike up La Luz trail (2200m-2700m).

But it's definitely not all fun and games, we've been training hard and had a few humbling experiences. The hardest workout I've done was this past Monday: I did 3 x 9' tempo with 5 x 30" surges in the middle, taking 3' jog between in an 85' run with hills sprints before the workout. When I do this workout at sea level, going between the surges and tempo pace is tough, but I don't usually go anaerbic. However, at altitude, once your heart rate gets up, it's really difficult to come down unless you take full recovery. So you have to read your body really well. I found myself halfway through the first tempo with a heart rate of 190bmp (my tempo HR is about 180) and sucking wind pretty bad. I just tried to stay relaxed and keep the steady pace without letting my HR go any higher. It ended up being a really tough workout, but a good one that I feel I benefitted a lot from. It definitely helped callous me for tougher training to come.

Marilyn and I after a 12 mile run in the foothills.

This week I'll hit about 85 miles with 3 workouts, a long run and about 6 double days, which will cap off the camp well. Then I'm heading to San Jose next week to race a 5km road race on American Thanksgiving. I'm going in 2 days before to test out how my body deals with racing 2 days out of altitude. This will help me prepare for this Spring when I do it again...or maybe not if I don't feel like it worked well. The common idea is to either race within 2 days of coming down, or after 10 days - for some reason racing in between, when you're body is re-adapting to sea level, tends to hinder people more - it's very similar to jetlag. Either way, I'm really looking forward to seeing how I feel racing hard after this last bout of training!

On another note, my teammates from Guelph kicked butt last weekend capturing men's and women's titles at the Canadian University champs - congrats to Guelph Gryphons and my coach Dave Scott-Thomas! Guelph has been attracting all kinds of good press lately for their on track success and fundraising efforts to finally build the much needed outdoor track we've all been dreaming of - anyone got a million bucks they're not using?? Let me know!

Nov. 1, 2011 - Left coast adventures

Amazing trees in forest on Vancouver Island near Tofino.

Time has flown since my last post as I've been getting situated and adapting to life on the "left coast." But so far so good. Training has been great - I've been able to handle more mileage at a consistent rate than ever before and still get in the needed quality. However, as I emailed my coach Dave recently, I feel like a Tour de France rider: some days I'm so fatigued that I'm hanging on to the peleton for dear life, but the the next day I feel good enough to go for a break away. It's crazy how the body can rebound after feeling so tired - I guess that's what training is all about.

Victoria Marathon 8km

In the midst of training, I've had two races. I ran an 8km road race at the Victoria Marathon at the beginning of October. It was a good reminder of pushing myself beyond tempo for that long. I ran most of the race alone so it was a good mental and physical test. I ended up winning in 27:59, which felt like a good effort. I went right back into a 3 week training block averaging about 75miles a week, which is starting to feel much more manageable compared to a month ago.

I finished that training block last week and ended it with another race at BC XC Champs near Vancouver. It was a really hilly and tough course in which I definitely suffered in the last half of the 6km course. I was in 3rd-4th for most of the race but was able to catch the leaders and take the win in the last km. I've been working a lot of my mental toughness and figure these early season races are a good time to practice for when it counts the most. There was definitely a point in this weekend's race when I was in 3rd place, about 100m behind the leaders, contemplating if I could push myself harder to catch up or be satisfied with staying in 3rd - the answer was no to the latter. Don't get me wrong, it would have been much more comfortable or less painful to stay in 3rd, and of course my body was telling my mind to back off. Every runner has experienced doubts creep in and the fight between body and mind. I have given in before and not been willing to test myself, but I always end up disappointed when I know I didn't get everything out of myself on the day and I hate that feeling. So I'm really trying to make each race count, big or small, so that everytime I step on the line I know I got something out of it and hopefully that will better prepare me for bigger races to come!

That will be it for my racing schedule until the end of November. I will be spending the next month training in sunny, mile-high Albuquerque, New Mexico with my new training partner Marilyn Arsenault - looking forward to a good training camp!

Sept. 26, 2011 - Laying down the foundation

After a couple weeks off, a nice vacation in Italy for friends' wedding and a move across the world, I'm finally settling into a groove and starting to lay a nice foundation of base work that is crucial for the year to come. And thus my training for 2012 has begun, but it really isn't much different than any other year besides adjusting to a new environment.

A month ago Trent and I moved back to Canada to Victoria, BC where he took a new job working with the Canadian Sports Center-Pacific. It is also a nice fit for me because Victoria is a running hub and beautiful place to train. I'm very excited to be at "home" leading into the Olympic year. So far we've found some great training partners - locals Marilyn Arsenault and Ian Hallam who have been giving us fantastic tours of the awesome trails and helping kick my mileage into full gear as they are both getting ready for a 1/2 marathon.

But, as I said, this year will not be hugely different training-wise at this point in the season because it is ALWAYS so important to take the fall to run good base mileage and build a strong aerobic engine so that when it's time to do the more intense training my body is aerobically fit and able to recover from more anaerobic hits.

Lately, a typical week of training looks like about 120-130km with two workouts: one longer tempo run around 30 mins, which I usually start off with some short hills to get me warmed up, and another fartlek or interval session with shorter reps anywhere from 2mins to 2km - adding up to 30mins of hard running in about an 80min run. Other days I'm doing double day easy runs, with at least two circuit sessions a week, two plyometric sessions and one day a week after a run I do "diagonals" where I sprint diagonally across a field and jog the end, continuosly for about 10-15 mins, and finally at least one long run a week of between 90mins-1h50mins.

For a marathoner, this training regime is nothing, but for me it's quite a tiring time of year so I'm doing lots of ice baths, getting in quality recovery nutrition and lots of sleep. That's all for now, but will give another update in a couple weeks after my first race of the season: 8km at the Victoria Marathon.

Aug. 10, 2011 - Frustrations

I'm absolutely gutted - "the chase" is over for me this year and I unfortunately came up short - 1.28 seconds short to be exact. Trent always jokes with me that if he goes to work and is 99% successful in all of his task it's an excellent day, but for me if I'm even 1% off it can make a huge difference, which was the case in my last race. On Friday I ran 4:07.18, just 0.4% this year's world standard and next year's Olympic standard.

The weather was perfect, the pacemaker did a great job and I had 2 other girls in the race going for the standard - so all the criteria I'd been hoping for in the previous races. If I had to make one critique it would be that I had to do more leading and work at the front than I was hoping, but it wasn't windy so I can't complain too much. So, when I cross the line and saw my time I was extremely frustrated and disappointed - all these weeks of battling bad weather, dodging fallen athletes and struggling to get into good races - all the while trying to stay confidence, refine my racing tactics and jump at the chance to run the breakthrough time I felt I was ready for. Man, this sport is tough!

The upside is that despite some struggles this year, both with sickness early season and the things mentioned above most recently, I still managed to have my most consistent season ever. Yes, in 2006 and 2007 I ran my pb and 1.5 secs faster than this year, but if I take my top 5 times of the year, I am way more consistent at the high level (with about the same number of races each year) than ever before. So this is why I have been expecting, and still do expect, to run a breakthrough time. But, alas it didn't happen this year and of course I can analyze it to death, but the reality is what Trent jokes about: I'm 99% there and since they don't give medals out for being close I am still very much motivated to reach my tipping point because I know it's within reach.

However, I have decided to call it a season. I tried to string it out a little longer by doing some workouts this week to see if I could get myself ready to race again, but I realized I am mentally and physically drained from pushing my body into a zone like never before for 6 races in the last 5 weeks. Plus, there aren't really any good races left now that most athletes are preping for worlds - and the races after worlds will be almost impossible to get into if you haven't competed at worlds. So, instead of pushing my body into further stress this season it's time to chill out, regroup and live a bit of a normal life (not that I'm complaining because the life of an athlete is pretty great, but like anyone, I need a vacation!).

I don't think I will have any problem keeping my mind off running for a bit as Trent and I are leaving Switzerland and moving back to Canada to Victoria, BC in the next month. We're really excited for a new adventure and I'm very much looking forward to training on home turf leading into the Olympic year and feeding off the excitement and determination of like-mind Canadian athlete, as well as being closer to my Speed River training group in Guelph. We will of course miss Switzerland and all the great friends will be leaving behind, but will no doubt be visiting any chance we get.

Finally, I just want to thank those who have supported me and sent me messages of encouragement this season. Even in the individual sport of athletics no one can be successful on their own and I very much depend on my team who I'm in constant communication with no matter where in the world and any of who bend over backward to help me out.

I want to give a special thanks to my sponsor New Balance for kicking butt this year with their new shoes and gear, to my physio Brenda Scott-Thomas who kept me in one piece all year, to Dr. Margo Mountjoy and Dr. Alan Edmunds - whose advice were paramount in helping me through this season both physically and mentally - my manager Jacky for helping me in last minute race situations, and of course my coach Dave Scott-Thomas, club manager Chris Moulton and my husband Trent - these 3 guys work harder than anyone I know and are the glue that holds my training, racing and sporting life together - which isn't even ANY of their full-time jobs. Thanks guys! If I was as successful as Usain Bolt I'd repay you by donating all the money needed to finally get a stadium and track built in Guelph - I guess I better get moving (unless anyone else has other ideas;))

Aug. 2, 2011 - Quick note from Budapest

Just a quick update for now - Budapest was good in that I ran a season's best of 4:07.80 in a wind storm, but the unfortunate part was that the weather was not great. I'm not even looking for perfect, I just need some decent weather and not crazy wind gusts and I will run fast.

So I've got one last shot this weekend before the deadline to qualify for worlds. When I was in Budapest last weekend a few friends from Poland told me their manager was organizing a good women's 1500m tomorrow because three of their girls still need the time. I jumped on that chance and booked a flight to Gdansk, Poland right away. So as the French say, "On va voir!"

July 29, 2011 - Fighting for position

It's been a bit of a struggle lately: if I'm not fighting for position during a race, I'm fighting for one just to get in! When it comes to high level track and field, there is more to running fast than just being in shape and ready to go - getting into the right race is just as much a factor.

At the moment I'm fit and ready to go, but it's been so difficult to get into races in Europe as a non-European. Last weekend in Barcelona the meet director gave me the bad news that his meet was full and he couldn't let me in. Instead, he asked if I'd pace the race. My first reaction was, "No way, I need a race!" But after looking for another good race that didn't seem to exist, I asked him if I could try to finish the race if I paced and he said yes. I knew this would be a tough thing to do, especially when they wanted a 4:00 pace until 1000m. Then I found out Malindi had also been asked and accepted the pacing job so we'd at least be able to work together. So we flipped a coin to see which order we'd go in - I drew the first 500m and she the second, after that we'd just see how we were feeling.

It was a crazy race to pace because there were 22 girls on the line so I felt like I had to go into a full sprint just to get to the front. We hit the splits required pretty much dead on. I kept running until 1100m (1lap to go) and passed 2:59, but at that point I felt like I do in a race with about 150m to go and the pack was starting to swallow me up. I made the decision to jump out of the way because I knew I wouldn't finish in my goal time of the world A standard and it would have taken a considerable effort just to finish in any decent time. For those who have raced in any sort of running competition (and more so in cycling), you know that it takes much more effort to run from the front then to draft and get pulled along by someone else. The good that came out of pacing is that I know I can run that pace and I am confident that I can run the time I need if I don't have to go out in a full sprint and lead most of the race.

So, that brings me to this weekend. After a bit of back and forth, planning to run in Belgium, but then getting into a good race in Budapest last minute (thanks to my manager Jacky who pulled some strings for me!). I'm now here in Budapest and ready for a good race tomorrow. I haven't seen start lists yet and I can't read the meet website since it's all in Hungarian, but I've heard our race will be paced for 4:00 and there are several girls going for A standard. I'm just excited to be "in" a good race and looking forward to capitalizing on the opportunity!

July 13, 2011 - Mother Nature not cooperating!

Just a quick update on my race in Liege - it was similar to the pacing in Madrid in that it was good for the first lap (65") but the pace maker slowed to a 72" second lap which made it into a sit and kick race. But besides that, the weather was terrible - 12C with heavy rain and wind so not an ideal for fast times, but I was still game to try and run fast. Unfortunately, no one else in the race was going for the world A standard and seemed content to just sit and kick. I am trying to put it into perspective and use those type of races as good practice for championships. BUT, I still need to qualify for the championship so am eager to get into a race that is fast the whole way...and some cooperation from Mother Nature would be great too!

So my next race is hopefully in Barcelona this Friday, but I'm waiting for confirmation tomorrow. I think this should be a great opportunity to run fast so I'm banking on that for now.

July 9, 2011 - Nascar anyone?

Upon first glance of my race result in Madrid, one might think it was a step backwards for me given I only ran 4:09, a second slower than my last race. I also expected to run faster given the excellent competition and near perfect conditions of Spain, but instead of a faster time, namely the World A standard I set out to run, I gained a whole whack load of race experience not much different than that of a Nascar.

First off, we started the race with 22 women on the line so I was expecting a pretty physical race and sharpened my elbows beforehand. The race got off to a fast start with the pacemaker going through in 61" for the first 400m - I sensed the quick pace so tried to hold back and went through in a more reasonable 65". Unfortunately the pacemaker only lasted another 300m, which is when the pace slowed considerably and it was like an accordion effect.

Then the inevitable crash happened, luckily I didn't go down, but a girl fell directly in front of me causing me to come to a complete stop and then hurdle over her. It was quite an adrenaline rush and I did manage to catch the lead pack again, but I unfortunately used too much energy "fartleking" in the race that I just didn't have it in the final 100m when I need to kick. So I went from 5th to 11th in about 200m - ouch! I still managed to run 4:09 and this type of racing is very similar to championship style where you're fighting for places so it gave me a good taste of that. It also taught me that when racing so many bodies, it's probably best to stay closer to the outside of the pack since you don't have much of a change to react or avoid problems when you're stuck on the inside. Lesson learned, on to the next race in a few days in Liege, Belgium!

July 1, 2011 - Getting closer: World B in Jerome

Finally I had the breakthrough I was looking for this past weekend in Vancouver at the Harry Jerome International where I ran 4:08.04 (see race here), which is under the World B standard. After such a rough Spring I knew I was playing catch up, but that I was getting close to where I should be at this time of year.

Nationals gave me some confidence that I was getting sharp because I felt strong in the final kick. In Vancouver I actually surprised myself because I felt so good when the rabbit dropped at 1km that I was ready to push the pace and take the lead. My coach Dave told me not to go too early, but we were about 4 seconds down at 800m (2:14 instead of 2:10) and I felt I had another gear. However, when I found myself out front with a small gap to the field I second guessed myself thinking, "what's going on why isn't anyone with me" - instead I should have just kept pushing harder. In the head Malindi had a super strong finish and surprised me just before the line to win in 4:07.86 (Full results).

However, I still don't regret pushing the pace early because my main objective is to run as fast as possible and I have to go with my gut (see race interview here). My goal coming into this season was to take more risks and not always play it safe because I feel like that's when you can suprise yourself and run beyond what you think. So, I'm going to stay with that attitude and keep pushing forward in the next races. And after Jerome I'm confident I can run at least a few seconds faster, but the main objective is to get the A standard of 4:05.90.

Right now I'm taking it race to race because I am not confirmed in all the 1500s I was hoping for this month. I am racing in Madrid this Sat and will hopefully get into Liege (July 13th) after that, but am on the waiting list. That's how it goes so will definitely be taking advantage of the opportunity in Madrid!

June 25, 2011 - Silver lining

Butterflies in the stomach, sleepless nights, silent treatments for loved ones- it's that time of year: championship racing season. I always find it funny how much nerves can affect me and this weekend at the Canadian Championships was no exception. I didn't think I was that nervous, but Friday night after cheering on my Speed River teammates who won several medals in the steeple chase and 5km, I found myself tossing and turning in bed unable to fall asleep because I was nervous and excited about my own race the next day.

Luckily I know from experience that a sleepless night before a race has no effect on how I feel in the race so I didn't panic, I was more surprised at how nervous I was all of a sudden. But for me this is a good thing because I usually race well when I'm really nervous: it means my mind is registering the importance of the race and telling my body it's time to gear up.

So it was finally time to toe the line and I was having all the usual nauseating emotions, which meant I was ready. The gun went off and we all dashed off the line and settled into a very slow pace, anticipating the final kick for the finish, but just waiting to see who would initiate it. We crawled through the first 400m in 75" and then 800m in 2:24. Malindi got things moving after that and the race was on. Apparently Malindi and I had put a small gap on the field with 200m to go so we were pretty focused on battling with each other. In the final 100m I passed Malindi and was surging for the win when Sheila seemed to have found another gear and flew by Malindi on the inside and surprised me for the win.

I was definitely disappointed to be so close to winning and then come 2nd, but tactical champioships are all about surprises and Sheila saw a good opportunity and capitalized on it so I have to give her credit. It was a great race and it's exciting to have some great Canadian women to race against. In terms of the overall season, it was probably my best race and gave me confidence that I'm coming around and ready to run fast.

Next up is Harry Jerome on July 1 in Vancouver. It looks like a great field of women and we'll have a rabbit to lead us through on pace for world A standard. My goal is to put myself up near the front and go for the fast time, but of course I'll be gunning for the win as well!

June 15, 2011 - A step in the right direction

After a frustrating last race in Hengelo, I was pleased to take a small step forward this past weekend in Watford, UK. Although I was hoping to run faster, my 4:14 was a solid effort and showed me my body is coming around.

The overall race wasn't super-fast off the line and I felt I raced well in terms of putting myself in a good competitive position and racing aggressively. The only thing I wasn't happy about was my finishing 150m, but I think that will come now that I'm starting to lower my training load and hit more speed in training. You can watch the full race here.

Rockies in Canmore.

I'm now back in Canada training in Canmore, Alberta, which is absolutely beautiful. Canmore is at about 1400m (4600ft) and 1hr from Calgary where our Canadian Championships will be in 10 days. Canmore is the Olympic training site for our top x-country skiiers so there are tons of athletes in town - in fact, it seems like everyone is doing some kind of sport, so it's a great place to train.

So I'm looking forward to getting in some good training and recovery before toeing the line at nationals in what looks to be a pretty competitive women's 1500m on June 25th.

June 3, 2011 - Oxygen debt

In my last blog I talked about the importance of never being too comfortable in a race...and boy was I uncomfortable in the following race in Hengelo! Unfortunately it wasn't because I was running so fast. I will say that I ran my guts out, but it seems I'm allergic to Holland.

This Spring I've been dealing with a lot of allergy and breathing problems, but since I've been back in Switzerland I've been really good. However, as the days past in Holland I was having more problems and in the race it was the worst oxygen debt I have ever experienced, but unfortunately not due to how fast I was running, more because I couldn't breath. My lungs were burning and my heart rate went through the roof. I didn't quite realize what was happening - I just told myself to suck it up and stay tough, racing hurts! But when I saw the time was at least 10secs slower than what I expected to run based on my training, and the fact that it took me 30mins to recover after the race before I could even jog, I knew something was up.

Luckily I have a great team around me and within a couple days I saw a allergy and lung specialist as well as consulted with my sports doc from Guelph to get me back on the right track...not to mention having Dave and Trent to offer some good perspective. I'm on medication now and already feeling better so I'm eager to get back on the track and race.

Although it was a frustrating race, I am actually glad to have some answers and solutions to some problems I've been having on and off over the years. Every athlete has ups and downs and I think it's important to stay positive and confident that if you take care of details and things in your control, train hard, and rest well, results will come. So I'll start the next race fresh and with the same expectations I had going into Henglo!

May 26, 2011 - Don't get too comfortable...

Over the last few weeks I've had some great training and really enjoyed being back in Switzerland. The weather has been unbelievable so I've finally been able to do some much needed speed work.

I tested that speed last night in an 800m race in Nijmegen, Netherlands. My goal leading in was to run under 2:05. I got out well and split in 61 secs for 400m, which I felt was reasonable (the leaders went out in 58" and I didn't think I was quite ready for that!). One mistake I made in the race was to relax or "get too comfortable" between 500m-600m thinking I needed to gear up for a big kick. HOWEVER, by the time I hit 100m to go I was already going lactic and that big kick was not going to happen. I finished in 2:06.10, which is actually a bit quicker than my opening 800m last year at this time of year so I'm on the right track. The biggest thing I got out of this race was the reminder that the 800m is very different from the 1500m in that you can never relax or you will lose precious seconds in the end.

Next up I'm running a 1500m in Hengelo on Sunday and I think after running the 800m the pace should feel more comfortable. It is a great field of athletes with about 7 women having pbs of 4-mins or faster, but also several around 4:05-4:09 so I think it should be a good race for me.

Between races I've been staying at the management company headquarters that organizes both races - Global Sports - they manager such athletes as Geb and Bekele. In fact, the pictures on their walls of all the athletes they've represented is unbelievable.

Although we only lived in Holland for a year, I always enjoy coming back and feel very much at home - I suppose since I married into a Dutch family and we made really good friends while here, that makes sense. Yet, everytime I'm back here I can't get over just how many bikes they have and how many people go to school or work by bike - they are very fit people!

Bike parking lot in Holland.

It's also been fun to stay at Global because it reminds me a bit of being in Ethiopia. Among the 30 athletes staying there are about 20 Kenyans, Ethiopians and Ugandans. They function very much like small tribes, sticking together for everything: training, eating meals and hanging out. Although I will say the Kenyans and Ethiopians live quite separately and don't talk much, but that is likely a language barrier issue and maybe a little competitive rivalry too!

Today I met a young Kenya girl who told me she was 17 and this was her first trip out of Kenya and in fact last night was her first 1500m and she ran 4:22 (I'm sure she'll run much faster soon!). We met because she came and sat right beside me while I was working at my computer and just kept starring at my screen and touching my computer. Perhaps it's the first time she saw a computer or maybe a Mac, not sure. She seemed very enthralled so I asked if she wanted to see something (not in a rude way, although I have never had someone be so obviously about reading over my shoulder, but in this case I was not offended). I don't think she knew what I meant so I just brought up the results of the Rome Diamond League. Within 20 seconds I had 15 Kenyans around my computer asking me to see all the distance races (and actually men's 100m) and commented on all their countrymen and women, cheering when Kenya was first.

Next generation of Ethiopian runners.

For how isolated some of the Africans might be or live, they definitely live for track and field and are extremely knowledgable about the sport and the top athletes. They are students of the sport and absolutely embrace every aspect. It does go to show that to be the very best in your sport there should be no sitting on the fence or doing anything mediocre: it takes hard work and discipline and you can never get too comfortable because there is always someone that will be happy to take your spot.

May 4, 2011 - Racing to race

Well I opened up my season this past weekend in California at the Payton Jordan Invite at Stanford Uni. It definitely was not what I was hoping to start the season with, as I ran 4:16. However, as of even 2 weeks ago I wasn't even sure I'd make it to the race.

It has been a pretty rough last month for me. I'll preface this by saying that I've been incredibly lucky for a distance runner that I have had very few injury problems - I seem to be quite durable (knock on wood). And this past month I had no injuries to stop me, but I did have some health problems that kept me down and made training incredibly frustrating. It started with allergies and asthma/breathing problems, then a bad cold, then a sinus infection that sent me to the hospital with high fever. Needless to say, I missed some training and had to delay specific track training until only a few days before the race.

So, when I say I was racing to race - I just mean that I wasn't quite physically ready to race this past weekend, but needed to get in a race to get my body ready for those to come. I consider this just a bump in the road, as I realize other athletes have WAY more frustrating bumps with months of injury rehab to deal with.

It's annoying and frustrating not to be where I would like at this point in the season, but I know all the training I've put in during the winter months has got me strong and I'm optimistic with a few weeks on the track I'll regroup for my next race at the end of May.

I'm back in Switzerland now and enjoying the warm spell that has come over Europe and ready to rock some hard training and kick butt this summer!

April 4, 2011 - Spring has FINALLY sprung

Luckily life has been pretty busy so although it's been a super long winter, I haven't notice too much. But I have to admit that when the snow was coming down hard last night I was not a happy camper! However, today was as Spring as it gets with 15C and raining. We were doing fartlek on the trails so everyone came back good and muddy. We did our usually 6 x 15" short hills and then on to 24mins worth of fartlek - but mixed it up with some long and short intervals to start getting us ready for track training.

So I've been logging some pretty good miles and just trying to get strong over the last couple months since indoors. Last week was our first time on the track; it's been a low transition. I was thinking about racing in a couple weeks, but since the long winter did delay our access to the track I decided to wait and open the season on May 1 in California.

I'm also in my last practicum of teacher's college and it's been a hectic but rewarding year. I'm teaching gr. 1 right now and they definitely keep me on my toes - they are so much fun! I figure the extra mileage of chasing them around will do me some good. So I have two weeks left and then I'll be back to full-time athlete life of eat, sleep, train, race, repeat - that's what my summer will look like and I'm looking forward to it!

Feb. 7, 2011 - "There's always room at the front"

The title of this post is actually a quote from my former university coach at Wisconsin, Peter Tegan. Peter was an excellent coach, known for his crafty strategies and artistic coaching style. This is what he always said to us if we ever claimed we had been boxed in during a race. I mean, what can you really say to this right?!

So I was reminded of this quote on the weekend, as I cross the finish line in Boston in 5th place with a slow time - so really not much to show for myself! I was frustrated because I didn't try to kick early enough and then when I did, I couldn't find a hole to get out of and ended up kicking with the pack. I guess I should have listened to Peter!

I find tactics in indoors much different than outdoors - with more turns you really have to get to the front early or you end up spending most of your time in lane two on the curves. But this is definitely a good lesson in tactics for championship racing.

So, my indoor season is over just as quick as it began - after two races I'm happy with the stimulus it gave me and satisfied with the motivation it provided me to get ready to race this summer. I'm excited to build on my current fitness and go into the season ready to roll.

See full Boston results here.

Jan. 24, 2011 - New Balance Games

Photo courtesy of John Nepolitan.

This past weekend I raced at one of my favourite races, the New Balance Games at the Armory in NYC. I love this race for a few different reasons: it’s actually a high school meet with just a few elite races and I really like the energy the young athletes bring to the Armory; Ian Brooks the meet director does a great job at providing competitive races in a low-key atmosphere, which is nice for a season opener; and New Balance, with their increasing focus on sponsored athletes, does a nice job at bringing our Team NB together and setting the stage for a positive and motivating start to the year.

So, this was my 6th time racing this mile. Going in I’d had some good workouts, but I feel stronger than fast right now. I’ve focused more on mileage and endurance work longer into the winter because of Commonwealth Games going so late into last year and I needed to catch up on my usual fall of base training. But I have been on the track once a week for the last month so I was pretty confident that I could get in there and put up a good fight.

I ended up running 4:31.72, which is actually the fastest time I’ve run at this meet in the last 6 years so it was a good start to the season. Overall, I felt really strong and maintained contact with the lead group, but I lacked that extra gear in the final kick to finish in the top-3. I ended up a close 4th and looking forward to racing again in two weeks with the hopes that this mile woke my body up a bit and my kick will just keep getting better. Nevertheless, I’m really pleased with where I’m at right now and feel like my strength will only help me leading into the summer. Indoors is really just for breaking up training and getting a bit of extra stimulus.

Next up, I’m hoping to run the mile in Boston at the New Balance Grand Prix (formerly Boston Indoor Games).

Jan. 18, 2011- Why obesity is becoming a pandemic

I'm going to take a different spin on my blog today to talk about something that I think is really important in general society.

So, as much as I love coffee and do appreciate the comfort and consistency of Starbucks no matter where I am in the world, this coffee corporation has caught my attention in a negative way today. They have announced the release of a new size of iced drinks called the Trenta, which is 31 ounces or 916ml - that's nearly a liter of liquid calories (often called empty calories because our body doesn't recognize them in the same way as food, thus it doesn't fill us up in the same way).

My question is who really needs to consume this size of drink? Just to put it into perspective, I got Trent to "run the data" (for those who know Trent you won't be at all surprised to hear that he is the one to send me the article and had already done the stats and had a nice ppt slide ready to go when I asked for it!). Here goes:

Drink: Trenta Iced Peppermint Mocha = ~900kcals, 20g sat fat
Translation: A 60kg (132lbs) person would have to run 15km to burn this off!

I'm going to say this in my most diplomatic "teacher voice" - but if you wanted to make a "healthier choice" you would be better off choosing a full breakfast of bacon and eggs with some fruit. You'd be getting much more nutritional value for the calories taken in.

This is why I think the US (and Canada, although you don't see it as much) needs to introduce a couple of food policies: 1) ban free refills on drinks, 2) regulate portion sizes in restaurants to be more standard. Some people might argue that it should be about free choice and I agree to some extent, but I do think this probably with obesity is because people haven't been taught how to make good food choices and have come to think it's normal to consume these ridiculous mass quantities.

And for the record, I'm speaking to the seditary population who need to make better nutrition and exercise choices. Most runners likely don't have to worry as much about these issues, but my guess is you still care about your health enough not to order a litre of iced coffee...at least not on a regular basis!

Jan. 7, 2011 - Happy New Year!

Last week was one of those training weeks that I was excited to write down in my log.  Our Speed River club went down to Chapel Hill, N. Carolina for “warm” weather training. Although upon arrival we were greeted with a nice blanket of snow, it did warm up during the week and we were able to train on the outdoor track.

Group after long run in NC.

After surviving the first semester of Teacher’s College, it was nice to have a two week break to be a full-time athlete again.

At training camp, I was able to run just over 80 miles (130km) for the week, as well as doing some great workouts. We did our annual New Year’s Eve (well Eve-day) V02 max workout. As a 1500m  runner, I get much more excited about doing speed workouts and somewhat dread V02 sessions, but I do realize how much they help me.

Me finishing up VO2 workout.

This year we did 4 x 1 mile with 5 mins rest with some of the youngsters doing 1200m reps, but we were all able to work together. Thanks to UNC coach Pete Watson and DST and Trent who shoveled snow out of lane one, we were able to do the workout on the outdoor track. I averaged 5:02 for four of them and cracked under 5mins for the last one so it ended well.  We usually do this workout 3-4 times a year and I’ve never averaged quite that fast so I am pleased with where my fitness is at right now.

The rest of the training camp consisted of a fartlek, speed work and really hilly long 13 mile (21km) long run. By the end of the week I was spent and sore – just what I needed to get me ready to race indoors.

Trent and Reid clearning snow off track at UNC.

So now I’m back to school and  training in the snow, but the break helped and I’m pretty excited to jump into some races to break up the winter and get ready for outdoors. My plan is to race a 1500m this weekend in Toronto, the New Balance Games mile (Jan. 22) and a 3km in Boston in mid-Feb.In the meantime, I’ll be strapping on my YakTraxs (awesome for snowy runs!) and layering up with all my NB windstopper gear!

2010 Posts

Nov. 30, 2010 - GO RIVER!

This past weekend was both an exciting and painful one as we (Speed River/Guelph) hosted the National XC Championships and I decided I didn't want to pass up the chance to help my team win on home turf. But, that meant running a hilly, snowy 7km XC course after about a month of training, which isn't quite enough for me being a middle distance specialist!

But, I suffered through it, survived and would even do it again. I ended up 11th overall and our women's club team won the title, which was really exciting since it's our last year hosting the event. Dana Buchana was our top finisher in 4th place, good for a spot on the World XC team.

Our senior men's team also captured the title with Rob Watson running a gutsy race leading the 10km race from the gun and unfortunately being overtaken in the last lap by a young, up-and-coming talent Cameron Levins. Rob took silver, while Reid Coolsaet was 3rd, both are in the midst of marathon training.

Overall, 8 athletes from our group qualified for the World XC champs, so it was a very successful weekend. And, it was a bit of a crazy day as about 5-6cm of snow fell the morning of the race and made the already-challenging course even more so. I suppose that's what Canadian XC is all about though!

That's enough XC for me for this year, I'm going back into training mode for the rest of the winter. Since I missed a lot of the fall base training because of preparing for Commonwealths, I need to get that in this winter. I will likely do a couple indoor races, but my focus is definitely the summer racing season.

Nov. 8, 2010 - Sad day in the running community

Trent and I with Haile at 2007 Lisbon 1/2 marathon

After failing to finish the NYC marathon today because of injury, Haile Gebrassalasie sadly announced his retirement. An emotional Haile said he didn't want to complain anymore about injury and seemed really frustrated that he'd trained so hard leading into NYC and it didn't pay off.

Seeing Haile so emotional and to end such an amazing career in this way brough tears to my eyes. I realize most top athletes don't stop when they are on top, but it was so sad to watch a man I know to be extremely positive and upbeat, so down.

Haile is arguable the best runner in the past 1/4 century, having set about 30 world records in everything from the 1500m to the marathon, and still holds the marathon WR. He's an astonishingly decorated athlete, but more than that, he's an amazing person that has inspired so many Ethiopian and athletes world-wide. He's also given so much back to his country and currently employes 1000 or more Ethiopian people in his many businesses, which I expect he will now focus most of his time on.

I've had a chance to meet Haile on a number of ocassions and each one was memorable. I'll never forget what he told me when I asked what his secret to success was, he said, "First you must win yourself." And he really did show this confidence in the way he competed. Unfortunately, it seems today he lost this battle. But, I'm still not ruling out the possibility that he'll be back!

Eitherway, I'm greatful to have witnessed so many of Haile's great sucesses and wish him all the best in future endeavours. He has a huge running community of supporters and I hope he seeks out the support he likely needs at this difficult time.

Oct. 22, 2010 - Back at it!

My break has come and gone so it's time to start the base phase, which I always enjoy. After two weeks of downtime I feel very refreshed and eager to start training again. I was quite busy student teaching Kindergarten during my downtime so I was using my energy in other ways. It was awesome though...anyone who thinks Kindergarten is just glorified babysitting is completely wrong, those little guys are brilliant and busy!

So now I'll start gradually adding in the mileage at pretty low to moderate intensity. I had a meeting with Dave tonight to talk about strengths and challenges from the past season and our goals for next year. I find this is a great coach-athlete activity to give closure to the season and make sure you're both on the same page for the upcoming one. I usually get both Trent and Dave to write down what they felt I did well and what we can improve on, then their goals for me for next year, while I do the same. We are all on the same page and excited for this year!

I am thinking about doing some x-country races this year, which could be fun since it's been about 4 years since I've run cross. I'm still deciding and will see how the next month of training goes.

Other fun stuff coming up, New Balance asked myself and Reid Coolsaet (also Speed River club) to go to NYC to do a commercial so I'm really psyched about that. And this Sunday is our monthly Speed River brunch where Taylor Milne, Eric Gillis and I will all be talking about Commonwealth Games and/or Toronto Marathon experiences. Anyone in Guelph, it's at 10am at Shakespeare Arms. Should be fun!

Oct. 11, 2010 - Disappointed with 11th

Me in the heats in Delhi.

Sorry for the delayed update, but it was a quick turn around after my final as I left the next day for the 24hr trip back to Canada and started my first teaching practicum in Kindergarten today! Needless to say, I was a bit out of it this morning, but the kids didn't seem to notice.

Anyway, my final result in Delhi was disappointing. I ended up 11th overall and my goal was to minimally come top-8. It was a very competitive race with the Olympic champ taking the gold and the championship record. Nevertheless, I went to Delhi with the intent and confidence to compete with these girls and I came up short. But I am definitely motivated by failure and this just fuels my fire. I know I made some big steps forward this year and was fitter than I've ever been.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to race a few key races in August that would probably have helped my prep a bit more, but these things happen and are out of my control so I just have to stay focused on my goals for world champs in 2011 and Olympics in 2012. The good thing about the upcoming championships are that they are in the midst of the competitive season, which I think I'll benefit more from instead of being so far after the major season ends like this year. Either way, each race and season bring new experiences, as well as personal and professional growth that challenges me to reflect and set new goals that I continue to build on.

As for now, I'm taking two weeks away from running to focus on school and rest...perhaps some yoga and hiking, but no running so that I'll come back refreshed and energized to start building for the 2011 season!

Oct. 7, 2010 - On to the final!

It was a bit of a close call this morning in my heats as I nearly fell flat on my face with 20m to go in my heat, but still was able to qualify for the final! Being in the first of two heats, I knew my heat would be fast and I was ready for that. I hung in the pack and with about 600m to go, four of the top women started to pull away. I wasn't feeling great at this point, but I knew if I could stay in top 8 I would have a chance to get in the final.

I kicked with the second pack and was in about 6th position when a girl from Uganda came to pass me on the inside (I think it was about 20m to go, but I haven't seen the replay) and I stumbled and nearly fell over - at the same time she and one other girl passed me. I was able to regain my stride and sprint for 8th. Luckily, the second heat was slower and my time was faster than all of them, so I am good to go for tomorrow's final, as is my teammate Nicole.

It's nice to have the heats out of the way. I always find them really nerve-racking and I rarely feel good. But it's usually a good wake up call for my body and I think I'll bounce back hopefully feeling better tomorrow night. I'm excited to race again, it will be a very competitive final with the Olympic Champ in there and five other world finalists.

We go at 6:45pm Delhi time so hopefully CBC will show it at 9:15am EST.

Oct. 6, 2010 - Ready to race!

Me in front of the "Taj Mahal"

I've now had a few days to adjust to India and I'm ready for my competition to begin. So far things have been going well. The heat and humidity were challenging to train in for the first couple of days - I just felt heavy and tired - but I feel like I've adjusted well and felt great training this morning.

Tomorrow we have our first round at 10:50am Delhi time (1:20am EST) and 12 women will advance to the final. I believe I'm ranked 8th off my season best so it will be tough, but attainable. I am definitely not taking the heats lightly since I know anything can happen - ever Olympic champions fail to make it to the next round in some cases.

As for day to day life, I'm so glad to have the rest of the team around because it would get boring justing waiting to compete. People often comment how neat it is that us athletes get to go to so many cool places, but we rarely get to actually "visit" the places where we are racing unless its after we compete. Hence my picutre in front of the "Taj Mahal." Yes, I am in India and in front of this spectacular buildings, but only a poster that was up in the village because I won't get to visit the real thing - it's about 4.5hrs each way (100km, but crazy traffic)!

Between Trent and I, we have been taking some photos, but I'm going to have to delay putting them up for now - sorry!

Oct. 3, 2010 - Greetings from Delhi!

I made it to Delhi in one piece and I have to say the travel wasn't too bad. I went to Brussels for a couple days first to start adjusting to the 9.5 hr time change (I was more than half way there with Brussels 6hrs ahead of Toronto). That helped tremendously because it broke up the 14hrs of travel and getting up for our 10am team meeting today (we landed in Delhi at 9pm last night and were processed and in our rooms by 2am!) I felt okay. Today it's about 35C with lots of humidity - I haven't run in it yet, but will test it out later tonight.

As for the village, it's actually really nice, despite the media hype. There are some glitches and it looks like they literally just finished, but the rooms are pretty Westernized and food is great. It seems like most athletes have arrived so some great colour with all the countries around the village.

The vibe on the Canadian team is fantastic and everyone seems excited to be here and ready to compete. CBC will be showing he opening ceremonies on TV - I guess it shoud be about 9am EST and likely repeated later. I have decided not to go because they've told us it will be an 8hr ordeal and since I compete in 4 days I don't want to be on my feet that long. It's unfortunate because it's usually a great way to start a games, but I have to think about competition first. Trent will be walking in the ceremony so look out for him.

I will try to post some photos in the next couple of days - Trent has the camera right now so hopefully he gets some good ones at openings.

Sept. 29, 2010 - Onward to Delhi

I'm sitting in Toronto Airport getting ready to head to Delhi...although my flight is 2 hours delayed, I'm super excited to get going! All the news we've been getting from our Canadian mission staff already in Delhi is that things have progressed well and they are ready for us. Many people have been asking if I'm still going because of all the bad press about the village not being finished or security worries, but I figure the Canadian Commonwealth Games Committee has put together an experienced team whose job it is to test the site and let us know what's safe or not. My job is to compete and that's what I plan to do.

As for my race in NYC on the weekend (5th Ave Mile), it didn't go as well as I hoped or planned. I take full responsibility as I seemed to have lost my toughness or guts somewhere between 1200m and the finish. I was running well, at the front for the first 3/4 of the race and then a big pack passed me and I started to think too conservatively that I don't want to go too early and I'm not sure I can stay with them that long - and in that time, I lost them and it was too late to catch them, but I realized I probably could have held on judging by how I felt in the end. Don't get me wrong, I was hurting bad, but still felt strong.

The good thing is, it was a valuable wake up call to tell me I'm fit enough to run with those girls if I put my mind to it, I just need to stay confident and run tough. It was a good thing to consider before leading into the championships and I feel more race ready after not having raced for a month. Plus I'm pretty motivated for redemption!

Anyway, I'm going to try and post updates and photos as much as I can while in India so stay tuned.

Sept. 26, 2010 - 5th Avenue Mile

I'm sitting in my hotel room getting ready to run the 5th Avenue Mile and I can't believe a month has gone by since my last post. It's been a crazy one - going back to school and preparing for Commonwealth Games. I love school, but it feels pretty strange to be back in that setting. Training has also been going really well so I'm excited to test myself today.

They've set up excellent men's and women's races for the mile here in NYC. The weather is great (18C) and the course is apparently fast. The race will be streamed live here.

I have some extra motivation after watching Speed River teammates Reid Coolsaet and Eric Gillis run huge personal bests at the Toronto Marathon this morning. Gillis took nearly 2 minutes off his previous time (2:12.08) and Reid ran 2:11.23, which is 2012 Olympic standard! Great start to the day - hopefully Taylor (Milne also running here) and I can follow their lead!

Aug. 30, 2010 - No luck, super frustrated!

Well, I didn't end up getting into Reiti so at the last minute I decided to go to a Flanders Cup race in Antwerp, Belgium. The field was meant to be okay, with a couple girls around 4:09-4:12, but I fully expected I would have to do a lot of work to run fast. The meet director assured me he has a good pacemaker who could run 1km at 4:05 pace. I knew I was in good shape and needed a race since I hadn't raced since Canadian nationals so I went.

Unfortunately, on the morning of the race, the storm clouds rolled in and it was super windy and stormy all day. Our race was delayed by 45mins because of weather, which was pretty cold and windy, but luckily not raining when we races. So, I went off with the pacemaker and we hit 66" for the first lap (1 sec. too slow, but still fixable). I asked her to pick it up and she did for a bit, but then I felt it slow again. When we came through 800m we were 2:15, at this point I passed her and tried to go it alone. I'll be honest though, when I saw how slow we were at half-way my morale took a hit. I tried to get the pace going faster, but with the wind and no one to race it was tough. I ended up winning the race in a very slow 4:15! Not what I was hoping, nor reflective of my shape.

Going to Belgium I was really determined to run fast, but I think the let down of not getting into Rieti (which ended up being really fast and perfect weather!) hit me pretty hard and then with the factors of bad weather and slow pacing, I just couldn't run the race I wanted. It's really disappointing and I'm pretty down about it.

Moral of the story...sometimes things don't go as you planned and you really have to take advantage of good (racing) opportunities when you have them.

But, I have to move on and focus on getting ready for Commonwealth Games in 5 weeks. At least I'm hungry to run fast and race well so I think after a few days off to reload, I'll be ready to take on the next challenge and start training hard again. I'm hoping to run in the 5th Ave Mile in NYC at the end of the month so that will be my next competition. In the meantime, I'm heading back to Canada to start Teacher's College next week - back to school!

Aug. 23, 2010 - Dying to race...

The last two weeks since Luzern, or what was supposed to be Luzern, have gone so well that I'm dying to race. The 800m in Zurich didn't work out because it was only U20 so I ended up doing an 800m time trial in training last week and actually ran a pb of 2:02.1. Of course I'm happy to be fit enough to run that in training (with a good pacemaker of course, a friend from Lausanne sport who did an excellent job taking me through in 59-high and 1:30). However, running a pb in training is obviously not worth the same as doing it in a race where you have that real result.

The 800m and a few other key workouts show me I'm more than ready to pb over 1500m so I'm just dying to race. I am waiting to hear if I get into Rieti, which would be the perfect opportunity - Rieti is consider the "magic" track where everyone seems to come away with a pb. I should know today or tomorrow if I'm in. Fingers crossed!

Aug. 12, 2010 - Sans Luzern

I have to apologize for my delayed update on Luzern - I've been getting lots of emails asking what happened. Although I did not race, I am fine - no injuries, still health and fit.

Luzern was really frustrating...I actually missed the race! At the last minute (I'm not exactly sure how close to the race), the meet organizers decided to split the women's 800m into an A and B section. Everyone in the A had run sub-2mins this year. So, I got put in the B section, which I would have been completely fine with because it was still a fast race. However, they also decided to move the B race into the pre-program (2 hrs earlier than previously scheduled) without advertising this on their website or giving timely notice to those travelling to the meet.

My notice was this: I show up at the track and hear my name being called and my race walking onto the track. I was far from ready, still in normal clothes and not warmed up. I ran over to the official who was very sympathatic (especially since I wasn't the only one in my race confused and unprepared). We had to wait for the meet director to come explain that there was nothing he could do (the B race had gone by this time)- he was told all the athletes had been emailed and he couldn't justify putting me in the A section (which was still at regular time, 2 hours later) because I hadn't run sub-2mins this season. I understand his principle, but felt they should have dealt with their own mistake by letting me race - the A section did have 9 girls, but it's not like I take up a lot of room!

Needless to say, I was super bummed out and didn't even watch the race. Well, mostly because at that point I still needed to do something so had to get a workout in on the trails while the meet was going on. Now I'm looking into possibly racing an 800m next week in Zurich as part of the national program, but it's still up in the air because it might only be a U20 race. I guess this is part of being an athlete - you definitely have to be adaptable at this time of year when race schedules can change very quickly! For now I'm just focusing on getting in some good training in preparation for Rieti at the end of the month, and of course Commonwealth Games in Oct.

Aug. 4, 2010 - Canadian Nats recap: Disappointed with 3rd, but happy to have secured spot on Commonwealth Team

Although it's an "off" year from many athletes in the world with no major championship (Worlds or Olympics), this was probably the most competitive women's 1500m at national championships I've raced since 2004. It also served as the Commonwealth Games trial, which meant you had to be top-3 in your event at nats, plus have the qualifying time standard to make the team.

In this year's women's 1500m, three of us had the time standard, two others were less than 1/2 second off and a couple more were within 2 secs. So, leading intot the race, I wasn't sure if those who were just off the standard would try to make it fast. Otherwise, I figured it would be tactical.

I really felt I was capable of winning the race, but of course had to be a bit conservative because the crucial criteria I had to fullfill was finishing top-3. It ended up being a very slow and tactical race with no one interested in leading in a fast time (we split the 800m in 2:24 - that's on pace for about 4:26), which meant we were a huge pack leading into the bell lap. As much as I was getting really anxious and wanted to push the pace early, it wasn't in my best interest to lead too early and risk everyone sitting on me.

Instead, I decided to kick with 100m to go and did get a couple steps on the field and thought I had the win, but then Malindi and Nicole came flying by wide in the outside lane with about 50m to go. It was so close to the finish that I didn't have time to react and thus crossed the line in 3rd. I was really bummed not to get the win, but in hindsight I guess I should have been a bit more patient and waited to kick closer to the line so I could react closer to the finish. We ran our last 800m in 2:10 and the last lap in 61" so it was rolling along by the end and, as I said, a very competitive group of women.

In the end, unfortunately, only two of us from the women's 1500m will go to Commonwealth Games (Nicole Edwards - 2nd and myself) because we fulfilled both criteria of time and place by the July 31st deadline (winner Malindi Elmore didn't have the time, and Carmen Douma-Hussar had the time, but was 4th). It was a bit ironic because Malindi and I warmed down together after the race and were both kicking ourselves with mixed emotions (me wishing I had won and her wanting to have the standard). C'est la vie. Not much we can do at this point and we've both been their before so could sympathize.

Moving on, I'm really fit and ready to run fast so I'm going to continue on racing and will run an 800m this Sunday in Luzern, Switzerland.

July 19, 2010 - Step by step: season's best in Paris

Paris definitely went better than Lausanne, although still not as fast as I was hoping for. One month ago in New York I ran 4:07 and my training since then has been at a level that shows I'm ready to pb so when I saw the screen Friday night in Paris: 4:06.99, I was disappointed not to have run a pb.

It was a good race to be in to run fast, but I had to race smart after going out too fast in Lausanne. So, when the pack went out in 61" for the first lap I could sense this and backed off, which meant I (along with a couple other girls) let the lead pack gap us and then chased them the rest of the race. It was a bit strange to run a race like that because you almost feel like you're not exactly "in" the race. But, I knew I wasn't ready to go out in 2:05 through the 800m (which is what the leaders passed) so I needed to be confident in running my own race.

In the third lap I waited a bit too long to start really trying to catch the pack and I think this cost me a couple seconds because I wasn't with them at the bell and this would have definitely helped in my finishing kick. I finally caught them with 200m to go and was able to race a few people to the line.

All in all, it's a good race experience and gives me another good quality 1500m that will only help my body get used to the fast pace and hopefully adjust to run even faster! I'm feeling good and really motivated to keep improving with each race.

Next on the agenda is Canadian National Champs where I am going in ranked second, but will definitely be going to race for the win. This championships also serves as the Commonwealth Games trials (in India this October). Three of us have the qualifying standard and four others are very close so it will be a good battle - top 3 in each event with the qualifying time will have a chance to compete in India. It will be exciting and I'm looking forward to the challenge!

On another note, while in town for the Lausanne meet, Ryan Fenton of Flotrack stayed with us and took some good videos that are quite entertaining and give you an idea of what it's like in our neck of the woods:

Chalet-a-Gobet - a run in our local forest outside Lausanne
Swiss Riveria - a tour around Lausanne and area
Walking to Stadium with Trent and Dave
Nutritioin while at the meet (for those NOT competing!)

July 9, 2010 - Welcome to the big leagues!

What a race last night...first off, thanks so much for everyone who come and watched, the support was fantastic! As for the race, I went in feeling great, ready to go and from the gun it was full on. I split the first lap right on target (65 secs), but then the pace kicked up and my next lap was 63-high. I was definitely feeling it at that point as I had never gone out in 2:09 before, but I figured now is the time to take some risks and see what happens. I continued on through 1200m really well, splitting around 3:15, which is another pb! But that's when it got really ugly as I barely made it through the last 100m and ended up running 4:11.

Definitely not the result I was hoping for since I know I'm in pb shape, but other than the ever so crucial last 300m (I realize this was the downfall of my race) I am actually pretty happy with 75% of my race and even think if I ran a similar race in a week (funny I'll have the chance in Paris!) I will run better after having adapted to going out hard in Lausanne. Sometimes you have get a big shock and go down before you come up.

So yes, I am disappointed in the final time and overall place, but still feel like I'm making progress and feel like I'm on the verge of a bigger performance. I can say that it was an extremely competitive race last night where the top 3 times in the world for women's 1500m came from our race so besides major championships this is as big as it gets and I'm still motivated and determined to keep battling my way up the ladder.

I have one week to recover and get some training in to get ready for Paris on July 16 - looking forward to it!

June 26, 2010 - A win's a win

Hilary in 2nd position. Notwil 800, 2:04.26 (1st)

This past Saturday I toed the line for my 2nd 800m of the season at a small meet in Notwil, Switzerland. It was an interesting set up for such a small meet in that they had rabbits for every section of every race, which is great! And apparently I was deemed the 2nd rabbit in my race as when I arrived at the meet, the organizer, some coaches and a few women in the race said one of the best Swiss girls in the race needed to run the European Champs standard of 2:02.50 so would I so kindly go behind the rabbit (who was scheduled to go out in 59-60" through 400m) and Monika (Swiss 800m runner) would follow me.

I found this predicament a bit strange and funny at the same time: I couldn't help but think to myself, "Leave it to the Swiss for being ultra organized!" However, I didn't care too much since I was just there to run fast and was happy to help someone else try to get a qualifying time since I know all to well how that feels... with that being said, a race is a race and I was still there to try and win it.

So the race, or pre-arranged time trial, went off with the rabbit passing 200m in what I understood (in German) to be 28" - yikes, a bit too fast so I was hoping I had misunderstood, but then I heard Trent yell "57, 58" as we passed 400m. I know 1 or 2 seconds doesn't sound like a lot, but in an 800m even half a second can make a big difference at the half way point in how lactic you get. When I heard this split and the rabbit dropped out, my plan was just to push as hard as I could for as long as I could before fully expecting to hit the wall. However, I didn't feel nearly as bad as I anticipated and even got through 600m in 1:30.6...but then I did hit a wall in the last 100m. Luckily, so did everyone else in the race since everyone went out way faster than they could handle. In the end I won in 2:04.26, which is 2 seconds quicker than my first 800m of the season, but still slower than I had wanted.

I'm hoping to run at least one more 800m this season and take a crack at my pb (2:02.20). I definitely think I'm fit enough to do that in a more even race and perhaps battling some more girls down the home stretch.

Now I have a week and a half to get some good training in before Lausanne Diamond League on July 8, which I'm really excited for because we have lots of friends coming to watch, including a huge Nestle crew and Dave is making his first trip here...hopeful bringing Taylor Milne (fellow Speed River teammate) who is on the waitlist.

June 17, 2010 - Small breakthrough, moving in the right direction!

It's funny how as athletes we think we need to constantly be pushing and training really hard, especially when things aren't going well and we feel if we push a bit more we'll get the improvements we're hoping for. Sometimes this might be the case and don't get me wrong, training hard is a huge part of success, but sometimes it's the rest and recovery we neglect on our list of importance. My husband Trent is always telling me and other athletes he consults (he's an exercise physiologist) that we actually get strong when we rest from training, which breaks you down.

So, where am I going with all of this...well, if you read my previous blogs you'll know that I was feeling pretty tired in the last few races. Training has been going great, but I wasn't quite recovered when it came to racing. Dave and Trent had me pull back a bit leading into New York this weekend, and it was amazing the difference I felt compared to two weeks ago in Windsor.

I ended up running 4:07.76, which is under the 4:10 Commonwealth Games standard, not to mention my 3rd fastest time ever. Needless to say, I'm very pumped! It's about what I thought I should run, judging by my training, but training and racing are two different thing so it's nice to have the mark at this point in the season. I don't think I've ever run that fast this early so I consider it a small breakthrough and a step in the right direction. The next step will be working on my pb of 4:05.

I'm back in Switzerland now and will moving into the European ciricuit of races, starting June 26 in an 800m at a small race in Switzerland. After that, I'm running a 1500m here in Lausanne, which is quite a big race - as it's another Diamond League. It will be fun to race at home!

June 5, 2010 - Speed River in action

So my 800m on Wednesday went okay - I ran 2:06, which is an alright start. I was hoping to run a bit faster but we didn't have a rabbit, so I lead the entire race and was a bit hesitant to go out too fast for my first 800m of the season; I've done that before and it doesn't turn out well. Anyway, it was a good race effort and I'll get a chance to run another one in a few weeks when I get back to Switzerland.

Tonight we have the third and last race of the 401 series here in Ontario. I have been confirmed to race the 1500m at the Diamond League in New York next weekend so we decided it was best if I just paced the women's 1500m tonight. I'm excited to be able to help out my Speed River teammates and other girls hoping to run fast on home soil. We're aiming for about a 4:10-4:12 pace. And the men's mile is heating up with Taylor Milne (see feature article) looking to run fast and others will be using him in the quest to break the 4-minute barrier, which would be the first in Guelph!

Come out and watch if you're around Guelph, events start at 7pm.

May 31, 2010 - Ups and downs

Since my last blog, we had a great turn out at the Town Hall Meeting and it seems there's lots of community support for Speed River and running in general so hopefully that will kick start more. See Guelph Running for more info.

I also raced a 1500m in Windsor on the weekend. After about a month of fantastic training, I had a not so fantastic race. I just didn't feel right from the gun - it just felt tough and I'm not sure if I'm just tired from the hard training block and still recovering or if the drastic temperature change (aveg. 33C and humid) in the week leading in hit me harder than I thought. It was a bit like a time trial with my training partner Amber and I trying to work together for a fast time. We worked hard, but I guess it wasn't a good day for either of us as we were well off our 4:10 or under goal (we ran 4:16 and 4:17).

But, as I said, we've been having great workouts that show we should be able to run our goal time so I'm staying postitive and focused on the races to come. Just a blip on the radar and still a tough effort that provided good stimulus.

Up next I'm running an 800m in London, Ontario this Wed. I don't get a chance to run many so I'm really excited! I'm thinking this will make the next 1500m feel nice and slow compared to the pace of an 800m!

May 17, 2010 - Community Outreach

In my last blog you saw our Speed River Track Club shoveling manure for a club fundraiser, which ended up being really successful - so thanks to everyone in the Guelph area for supporting us!

This week Speed River has been getting quite a bit of press about an upcoming Town Hall meeting we've called to try and raise awareness about our group in terms of our elite athletes, but also our community involvement and outreach. It's always been a big part of our club's philosophy that we have a social responsibility to get involved in our community to promote general health and well-being starting from our youth programs to masters runners to connecting with the recreational fitness community. If we as elite athletes can help inspire others to be fit, then it's a good start!

So, by following through with our own social responsibility, we also hope that the leaders in our community might be able to help us out by rallying for more funds to build better facilities (ie. we need a rubberized track!) as well as get sponsors on board and support our programs so we can help more future and current Olypmians, as well as live in a healthier community! And that's what brings us to the Town Hall Meeting.

If anyone is going to be in the Guelph area May 25th at 7:30pm, stop by Rozanski Hall at the University of Guelph to join us for the meeting. Our goal is to have world-class Canadian athletes training with the best track club in Canada, in the fittest city in Canada! Check out more info here.

May 7, 2010 - Good start

So the race at Stanford was a pretty good start to the season. I ran 4:13 in a sit and kick type race. It was a windy night so no one really wanted to lead and we slugged through 800m in 2:18 (my split). It got going in the last 600m and I ran about 80 seconds for my last 500m (~64 last lap), but the top 3 girls closed in 61 so I definitely need to work on my kick. I'm not too worried as we haven't done much speedwork and it's about 3 weeks earlier than I usually open the season, yet still ran the same time as personal best years. So, eventhough I think I'm fitter than the final time I ran, it still shows me I'm on track!

It was also really exciting to be at Stanford to see my former Wisconsin teammates kick butt in the 10km - Chris Solinsky ran an American record and I think a world lead of 26:59 and Simon Bairu broke an 8-year-old Canadian record running 27:23. It was amazing to watch - great job guys!

I'm not going to race again until the end of the month so I'll have some time to get in several good track sessions and still keep decent mileage going. I'm planning on a few different racing blocks at end of May/begining of June, mid-July and Aug so I can focus on training inbetween.

Speedy Manure club fundraiser

This week has been okay for training, although I was pretty tired on Monday after Saturday race, Sunday morning long run and then 12hrs of door-to-door travelling home from Cali. I'm glad I'm not racing for a bit! Instead, this weekend I'm doing some supplemental training for a Speed River club fundraiser. Each year our club raises about $12,000 selling manure from a mushroom farm used for gardening. So tonight I spent about 3 hours shoveling and bagging manure to get ready for delivery tomorrow. I think I'm going to be more sore from that than my track workout this afternoon. But at least we can help the club out!

Me and my team shoveling manure.

May 1, 2010 - Let the racing season begin!

In just a few hours my racing season will get underway with my first 1500m of the season at the Payton Jordan meet in Stanford, California. I guess in my last blog I said I'd be running a 3000m here, which was the original plan, but they decided not to have one so 1500m it is!

The last month of training has gone really well. It's been a transition phase into track so some days I feel like a completely different athlete compared to others. For example, in one week I'll do a workout of up to 35 mins of tempo, a track session of 1km repeats and another of fast 200s. But I like the dichotomy of training and know it will be important for my endurance and longevity throughout the season.

As for the race today, I’m not quite sure what to expect. The competition is strong and I’m hoping for an honest pace and a good starting point for the rest of the season. We haven’t done a ton of specific work – I guess I’ve been training in Guelph for two weeks now and we’ve done one workout geared to 1500m, but it felt surprisingly good. So, I’m just excited to get out there and race and go from there.

After racing tonight, I'm heading back to Guelph to train for the next month and I'll run in our 401 Distance Series races that will be aimed at providing some good local racing opportunities.

For those interested in watching the race live, I run at 7pm PT, see here.

March 27, 2010

Finally Spring has arrived and training has become a lot less frigid...at least in Switzerland, although I think my training partners in Guelph might still be dealing with snow (sorry guys!).

But weather aside, I've had a really good last month of training. I took a short break after Birmingham - just one week of a few 1 hr runs, mixed with a few days off. And since then I've had a good endurance phase - averaging about 70miles (110-120km) a week, with one longer tempo run (up to 30mins), one workout of a fartlek or long repeats on the track, and a split day where I do a bit of tempo in the morning and hills or shorter speed work in the afternoon. And I've added in weights twice a week and plyometric training 2-3 times a week.

It took me a couple weeks to adapt to this load again so I was pretty exhausted and was crawling on some of my easy runs, but then by the third week it's like my body woke up and I started to come around. I'm still tired a lot, but my workouts have been on target or better, which tells me I'm handling the load well. If my quality was going down for a significant period of time I would be worried I was overdoing it, but that hasn't happend.

So, I thought I'd give myself a little wake up call or test by entering a 10km road race tomorrow in Holland. I am here visiting friends and there is a good race closeby so it was a good opportunity to race. It's suppose to be cold, windy and rainy - typical Dutch weather - so a perfect way to test myself BOTH physically and mentally!

After tomorrow I won't race again until I start on the track May 1 at Stanford in California. This year with the long season leading hopefully into October for Commonwealth Games, I decided to start with a longer race, so I'll do the 3000m at Stanford. It's a distance I don't get a chance to run very often so I'm excited!

Feb. 23, 2010 - Good close to indoor season

I finished off my indoor season this past weekend at the Birmingham Grand Prix. I have to be honest, since Stuttgart I was a bit hesitant to run in Birmingham because it was another world record attempt and the startlist was quite slim initially. I'm all for challenging myself, but I think it's important to make sure I'm in the right race at the right time. I'm really happy with how my training has been going and was confident that I was in indoor pb shape, but getting into a sub-4:00 race with only a few women in the field, is something I'd be more ready for this summer.
In the end, the field at Birmingham ended up rounding out much better than initially planned and I decided to give the race a go. The field was still very elite, but I knew besides the few at the front (Burka and Jamal) I was in shape to hang with the rest of the field and run a fast time. So, that's basically what happend. You can read more below, but I ended up running a new indoor mile personal best of 4:30.89. I just missed the Canadian qualification for world indoors (4:30.64) but since my focus has always been the outdoor season, I'm quite okay with this. I'm really excited to end the indoors in pb shape and continue on with a good training block into the spring. I'll likely open my outdoor season sometime in May.

More updates to come!

Feb. 8, 2010 -  Where do I begin...

I have to apologize for the long delay in updates - my computer crashed in early January and I'm still waiting to get it fixed. So I've just figured out how to update on here without accessing my files.

Anyway, my indoor season is underway and I have mixed feelings about it so far - in that I'm really excited about where I'm at in training, but have yet to achieve what I want in races. But from experience, I realize racing doesn't always match up to training right away.

A quick update since last time...I stayed in Guelph (Canada) for a few weeks after Christmas to train with Dave (Canadian coach) and some new additions to our training group - Dana Buchanan and Amber McGowen (Canadian girls who were training with Oregon Track Club), along with some of the collegiate girls. We did some great workouts and I really felt like this kick-started my fitness.

We did a little test in Toronto at a small indoor meet, basically switching leads to run 4:22 in the 1500m, which felt good. At that point I felt strong, but not sharp - pretty normal for the start of indoors when we still focus a lot on endurance training and just once a week on the track.

From there we headed to the New Balance Games, which is always one of my favourite meets. New Balance treats us well, as does meet director Ian Brooks - who always makes this early-season meet so much fun. I also got asked to do a high school training clinic for New Balance and was very impressed with the local athletes who attended - they challenged us with some great questions! (see photos)

The New Balance mile featured a great field of women and ended up being a good test on tactics - it went out pretty slow (2:17 for 800m) and wound up for a fast finish. I ended up 5th in 4:34. I was aiming to run faster, but I made the mistake with 3 laps to go of not covering a move by Erin Donahue, which was a good reminder that when a gap forms in a 1500m race, it's pretty tough to get it back.

So, this past weekend I ran in Stuttgart, Germany which was a very different race than in New York - the pace was set to be at 4:00 (close to world record for indoors) at the request of Ethiopian Gelete Burka. There was only 7 of us in the race and all were strong competitors. The race split a bit and I was in the 2nd group, but we still hit the 400m in 64.9, which is right on my outdoor pb pace! So I knew it was going to be a matter of holding on and testing my fitness out. I know I'm fit, but realistically I know I still have work to do before I'm in pb shape so when we went through in 2:45 for the 1km I started to struggle. I managed to stay with the group until 1200m, but then things got pretty ugly. I finished in 4:17 so I really tough last 300m considering I split the 1500m (via the mile) in New York if 4:15.0.

But I know a race like that, although disappointing because of the overall time, is still a good race stimulus that will just prepare me better for races to come. My plan is to run the mile in Birmigham, UK on Feb. 20. So I have a couple weeks to get a few good workouts in and improve on my latest performances. I'm pretty confident about my progress in training and just want to get the most out of these indoor races to set me up well for the more important outdoor season.

2009 Posts

Dec. 7, 2009 - Rolling along...

I had another pretty good race in Geneva this past weekend so things seem to be moving along in the right direction. It was nothing ground breaking, but I ran faster than last year and was happy with a solid, yet painful in the end, effort that will help my adjustment into the indoor track season.

It was actually a pretty exciting race because it ended up being the most competitive field I've run against thus far in Geneva. Recent winner of the NYC Marathon, Deratu Tulu (who also ran last year) was second, along with some other good Africans and a couple of European women getting in one last race before next weekend's European XC Champs in Dublin. Since I'm jealous I can't run in the European Champs, at least I can see how they fair and make a comparison of where I'm at.

Overall, training has been going well and I've been able to keep up good volume through these road races. I have one more next weekend before going into another training block that will transition me into the indoor track season, which I always enjoy!

Nov. 26, 2009 - Sometimes we think too much!

My road race season officially began this past weekend in the small village of Bulle, Switzerland - just 45mins down the road from us. Switzerland has an excellent series of road races that feature races of 1km for small kids, up to 6km for elite women and 10km for elite men - plus all the age groups inbetween. It's amazing to see so many people out racing - it goes on all day with the elite races at night under the city lights - among streets filled with screaming fans, making for a great atmosphere.

I was pretty happy with how my race ended up, although if I didn't stick with and end up beating a large pack of women who had caught me mid-race, as I was paying for first-race-excitement of going out too hard, I think my analysis of this race and my overall fitness would have been much different. And thus the title of my blog - sometimes as athletes we tend to over think or put too much weight on one race or workout. I could have very easily ended up 15th in Bulle and when the big pack of women passed me I started doubting my fitness, but then I just told myself it's a race and everyone is hurting, I am fit and I better get my butt in gear to stay with them and beat as many as I can. So in a matter of seconds my change in attitude changed my race outcome and probably my ultimate outlook of my fitness. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy I dug in and finished well, but all the training I've done up until that race would not have become null and void if I'd finished 15th place.

My point in all of this is that I think it's important not to get too caught up or over analytical about one race or one workout. I remind myself to trust my fitness and stay confident because this will get you through a tough race almost more than being super-fit will...of course both are ideal!

Nov. 15, 2009 - Getting stronger, loving training

I really have to apologize for how long it's been since I've updated this - not much of a blog if I'm not putting regular posts up! It's been a busy Fall and my website has taken a bit of a backseat to other things, but I think I'm back on track.

Training has been going really well - I am definitely ahead of where I've been in previous years. I'm stronger in workouts and have run better in my first "test" at the Lausanne 1/4 marathon. I can't claim any major changes in training, but I have to say that my husband Trent being in full marathon training in preparation for the NYC marathon definitely helped push me and I think I'm just getting stronger with more years under Dave's program.

As official cheerleader, I went with Trent to NYC and I have to say it's a spectacular event and a marathon everyone should experience once. I definitely will run it at some point. And Trent ran great, 2:51 which was right in his goal range. I did feel bad for all the runners that day as they had a head wind for the first 20 miles.

I've also been working on some of my duties as female athlete rep for Athletics Canada, which has been very rewarding and will be even more so if I can help make improvements - I think any time you're intimately involved in the strategic planning and process of something you love it gives you more accountability and motivation to help better the system and the sport. I've also been able to see how passionate our Canadian athletes are about T&F and achieving their goals.

Anyway, I'm going to start racing next weekend and am excited to rub elbows with some good competition and push myself to see what I can do. I WILL keep everyone posted.

Sept. 18, 2009 - Back at it!

Wow, the last month has flown by and I can't believe it's already into Fall training. I took some much needed time off of active recovery - I enjoyed doing some hiking, biking, swimming, as well as visiting with friends and family. I actually found it tough not to be running during the World Champs - I really wanted to be racing, which is good motivation.

The women's 1500m was a crazy race in Berlin as one of the pre-race favourites got knocked down with 150m to go by a Spanish athlete who ended up winning, but later was disqualified, thus crowning Maryam Jamal the World Champion for the second time in a row. I have to give props to the American and British 1500m women who have been running some really fast times and great races. Having raced most of these women in the past eight years and being in the mix with them, this is very motivating for me!

Although some athletes are still rounding out the track season, I have officially started my Fall training - also known as base phase. In the next few months I'll be laying down a good base of lots of endurance training and longer interval or tempo workouts. It's still really important to mix in strides, plyometrics and circuit training during this phase to keep the fast twitch muscles firing - which I'll integrate in a couple times a week, along with yoga and Pilates once each a week.

Speaking of fast twitch muscle fibers - research has found that you actually activate these fibres during long runs: when your slow twitch fibers start to get tired, the fast twitch kick in to give the slow ones a break (known as the overload principle in muscle contraction) . Perhaps, this same phenomena occurs with regard to fartlek training or even the African style of racing (surging) because it indicates that surges or activating fast twitch fibers could actually help you in long runs and races by giving your slow twitch fibers a break and time to rejuvenate. So the next time you have been running/racing for a long period of time, and are starting to fade, try putting in a little surge to see if you can active those faster twitch muscle fibers - it can't hurt to try!

Anyway, that's some science behind why we do our training in such a way. And besides lots of training, I'll also run a few road races in November just to put myself through enough pain that I don't forgot what racing is all about! I'll be posting updates as the season progresses.

Aug. 1, 2009 -

Frustration + Disappointment = Quest for redemption

Fit, ready and determined - all things I left Barcelona with and went into Stockholm knowing, but a small niggle in my hip flexor and hamstring turned into a big problem mid-race that resulted in a bad outcome and a very disappointed and frustrated me.

All athletes know what if feels like when your body starts to breakdown from a lot of competitions, combined with travel. I am usually pretty resilient when it comes to injuries (knock on wood), but I still deal with some nagging stuff that I try to stay on top of and have never had a problem in a race. I guess there's a first time for everything because what started out as a nagging hamstring and hip flexor, turned into a big problem mid-race in Stockholm.

Unfortunately, it was cold and windy and the meet was a bit behind so we had to sit in the outdoor call-room for about 20 mins basically cooling down. I've dealt with this before so I didn't let it bother me - at major championships it's pretty common to sit in call-rooms for 30-45mins after you've already warmed up, but usually they're inside or at least warm.

Eitherway, I started the race only feeling a bit of tighness in my hamstring, but halfway through a felt something pull and gradually it felt as though I was running on one leg. From there the race go progressively worse.

It was super-frustrating because I finally felt like things were going in the right direction this season and I was ready to pop a personal best. I also got into this race by a hair so it was very disconcerting to run so poorly. You're only as good as your last race so bad performances can really hurt getting into future races.

Nevertheless, this experience and this season leaves me with a hunger for more and a determination for redemption. Although this will end my season, I plan to rest, get some treatment, regroup and then get back on track and ready to run fast again.

Best of luck to everyone going to Berlin, I really wish I could be there, but I'll be taking notes and getting motivated for next season.

July 29, 2008 - The waiting game...

This morning I woke up, packed my bags with the usual race gear, went for an easy run and got ready to catch the bus to the train station that would take me to the airport. However, in all my morning preparations, I actually had no idea if I was in the race for which I was preparing and wasn't quite sure when I'd find out.

Since Luzern, things have gone quite well. I went to Heusden, Belgium (also not knowing if I was in the race or even if they would have a women's 1500m until the night before). It ended up being really windy, but it was still a good race as I ran 4:11.18, with a really strong second half. Even though I didn't run faster than Luzern, I was regaining my confidence and progressing with each race.

From there I flew to Barcelona for another 1500m, in which many of the fast Spainish girls were running, among others. There I took another couple seconds off my season best, running 4:08.96 and again having a really strong last lap. Unfortunately, even though the international deadline to qualify for World Championships is Aug. 3, July 26 was the deadline for the Canadian team, I raced Barcelona on July 25th and needed to run under 4:06.00. It was bittersweet because I know I'm peaking as the days progress, but time has run out.

Nevertheless, I know I am fit and in personal best shape so I wanted another shot at doing this. From Barcelona I immediately contacted my manager to see if he could get me in Stockholm. It turned out the race was full, but if there were cancellations, I could run.

So this brings me to this morning, awaiting a call to see if anyone had cancelled and I could take her spot to run in Stockholm. I had reserved a flight and could book it up until 1 hour before, but by the time I had to get on the bus to the train station, I hadn't heard. My manager gave me the phone number of the meet director who told me to call him back in 45mins - so I got on the bus with my luggage and proceeded to the train station, hoping I was in.

Ten minutes before the train, I called the meet director back and he informed me I was in luck, someone had cancelled. Phew! I quickly bought a train ticket and got myself to the airport to buy my ticket.

Now I'm on my way to Stockholm and really excited for another opportunity to run fast - this time with a bit more adrenaline behind me! This is how it goes in the world of athletics...well perhaps unless you're Usain Bolt and have meet directors begging you to run in their meet!

July 16, 2008 - Season best and one step closer!

The race in Luzern last night wasn't quite as good as I hoped since three of the top-seeded girls pulled out at the last minute, but it still was a step in the right direction. I ran 4:10.70, which is a season best by 3 seconds. I was pretty happy with this time since I ended up doing most of the leading in the second half of the race after the rabbit dropped out.

So, now I'm heading to Belgium to race in either Heusden (18th) or Gent (21st), depending on if the first has a women's 1500m - still pending at this moment! After that I'll head to Barcelona for a good race on July 25th.

Stay tuned!

July 9, 2009 - Can't help but have amnesia!

If anyone looked up results in Lausanne they'll see that it didn't go very well. The weather was less than ideal - cold and rainy - but I felt good going in and felt find until the last lap where I lacked the pop needed to close it out. Talking to several Canadians who had similar travel schedules as I, coming from Nationals, they expressed the same feelings so I got the first one out of my system and ready to move on.

I can't help but have amnesia about this past race because workouts have been going well it just won't make sense if I don't run fast. Given that logic, I simply plan to do just that. I'm racing in Luzern on July 15th and according to the meet director the pace is set for 4:04 - which would be great so you can bet I'll be hanging out in that company!

At Montreaux Jazz Festival with visiting athletes.

Other than the race here in Lausanne, it was a great week with lots of fellow athletes in town staying with us or close by. It felt kind of like a Team Canada training camp, which I always get a lot of energy from so it's been positive. And a bunch left today to head to Athens to run fast! Best of luck to all getting ready to race and I'll keep you posted on my journey.

June 27, 2009 - Good for silver...

Courtesy of Guelph Mercury

It was a tough fight for the medals this past weekend at the Canadian Champs. I gave everything I had in the very tactical race that came down to the final sprint. Although I didn't satisfy my questl for another gold, my effort was good for the silver medal. Malindi (1st) and Nicole (3rd) put up a good fight and both look ready to run fast, so I'm in good company.

I'm back in Europe now and ready to run fast times in good races. My next race is at home here in Lausanne, Switzerland on July 7th, which is always a good race so I'm really pumped and will be ready to lay it down!

On a side note, I've added a new link to my site for Trent's new website. Obviously I'm biased since I'm married to him, but I do think if you're interested in gaining more knowledge on sports nutrition and physiology and want reliable info, you should check it out!

June 24, 2009 - Ready to go!

It's been a great couple weeks of training and seems like everything is coming together at the right time. Since my last race in Vancouver I've had some great workouts, even pbing in my speed workouts, which is exciting! So I'm especially looking forward to translating that into my upcoming races. My first race at Nationals is in three days, the 1500m heats, and the final is Sunday.

I want to thank everyone for all their supportive emails. I also want to give a shout out to Jean Little Elementary school in Guelph - I've been volunteering there for the last month while training in Guelph and really enjoyed working with all the students who have inspired me with all their energy and motivation. They even helped keep me honest in our race last Friday. Thanks guys!

June 16, 2009 - Moving in the right direction

I'm back from Vancouver and feel like I took a good step forward in the last week. The Festival of Excellence in Toronto was a great competition and lots of fun. Unfortunately, the weather didn't quite cooperate and it ended up raining for most of the meet. I wasn't very happy with the time I ran (4:33 mile) but I was a bit too hesitant to go with the front pack and let them get too much of gap on me in the middle of the race. However, I realized in the end that I'm fitter than I gave myself credit for because I made up ground and felt strong in the finish. I should have stayed with the leaders, but it definitely got me excited to race again.

So, in Vancouver I raced more aggressively and stayed with the lead pack, which I think was a good strategy overall and would have worked out well if our pacemakers didn't open the first lap in 61 seconds instead of the 65 seconds we were hoping for. We all paid for it in the second half of the race - many girls ran about 5 seconds off their season best due to the early fast pace. Thus, I'm optimistic that in a good race I am ready to run under 4:10 right now and am quickly approaching the fitness and race sharpness I need to run in pb range and faster.

Next up is Canadian Nationals in less than two weeks. I am looking forward to getting in a couple strong workouts and then getting ready to defend my national title!

June 9, 2009 - Ready for the Festival

I'm happy to report that I'm healthy and ready to go for Festival of Excellence in Toronto on Thursday night. I've had a solid couple weeks of training with my club Speed River in Guelph, Ontario, which not only has been beneficial for physical training, but it's also been great mentally. It's been a good confidence booster just to have Dave at my training sessions and get in with the group here so I can shut my brain off and just run! When you have a group you don't have to worry about every split, which is great. Trent was also able to be here for all of last week's training, which helps me because he and Dave work well together and can bounce ideas off each other to get me to where I need to be in training and racing.

I'm running the mile on Thursday night and it looks like a good field. I've been watching a lot of fast times go down in the women's 1500m all over the world and I'm ready to join that group! After the mile, I'll head to Vancouver to run at the Harry Jerome Classic on Sunday in the 1500m. I will report when I can, but results should also be on the websites.

May 20, 2009 - Small bump in the road
If anyone has seen my most current race results at the Carson meet, they're probably wondering what happend. It was a pretty stressful and disappointing weekend. It was a difficult decision to actually race because in my last workout in Flagstaff I somehow strained my calf, which put a lot of pressure on my achilles. I didn't run for a couple of days, hoping the rest would help for the race. During my warm-up for the race it didn't feel too bad so I decided to race, but I think all the stress leading in with perhaps some compensation of running differently made me feel really off when it came to the final sprint. It's possible I could have also felt off from only coming down from altitude two days earlier - it was my first time doing this so it's tough to see. Either way, the combo wasn't good.

However, I got back to Canada and was able to get in to see my doctor, John Vargo, right away for some electric stim and active release. So far it's been working well and today I ran with little pain. I think I'll be good to go for some great training just in time for being back in Guelph with my coach Dave and the rest of the Speed River group next week!

Hilary's Dad and John Gibbons handing over car keys

On another note, I want to give a big thanks to John Gibbons Motors of Chatham for supporting me with a car to use during my time in Canada - it means so much to me to have community support.

May 9, 2009 - Good week of training

Flagstaff track

I keep telling myself that I have to be getting fitter with how hard training is up here, even if the times are difficult to relate since you run slower than at sealevel. I keep hearing different conversions like mile repeats are about 15 secs slower up here, but I just figure if I run on effort and run as hard as I can on the days I need to, I will get fitter! [more]

One other side note I just had to share - I was reading race reports on IAAF and noticed a local track meet in Kenya attracted 350 men in the 5,000m - they had to split the race into 3 heats! Sometimes it's hard enough to attract that many people in a local road race in Canada. I suppose this is why distance running is their forte and hockey is ours. I'd say we have a good goal to reach in Canadian running! Check it out. [IAAF story]

May 1, 2009 - One week survived in Flag

Me at the Grand Canyon

I can't believe I've already been here in Flagstaff for over a week. It took me about 8 days until I started feeling normal in terms of my breathing and heart rate. It's still a challenge, but I feel much better.
[More...]

April 23, 2009 - Running High at 7,000ft (2100m) in Flagstaff

Buffalo Park, Flagstaff, Arizona

After a week in Phoenix, Arizona at a training camp with the Canadian Team, I've started my altitude training camp in Flagstaff and have to say I much prefer it up here compared to Phoenix. I've been here four days and it's been absolutely perfect - about 20C, sunny and little wind, which is great considering they had snow a week ago! [more...]

P.S. Thanks to everyone who voted for me in the Female Athlete Rep election, I'm really excited for the challange and looking forward to making an impact.

March 31, 2009 - I have to say that I'm eagerly awaiting the warm weather so I can get some good quality track sessions in. It's been a tough winter of training, but I feel like I have some great base under my belt, which should help keep me going through the upcoming track season.

Over the last month I've continued to build my base with long runs, tempos and fartleks, but we've added a few track sessions in and a bit of speed. I am heading to Phoenix, Arizona in just under two weeks to join some other Canadian athletes for a training camp. After one week in Phoenix, I'll spend one month at altitude in Flagstaff before starting competition in May. I can't wait!

On other fronts in the Athletics world, Jordan hosted the World Cross Country Champs this past weekend. Although it was clear there was an African dominance, it was exciting to see people like New Zealand's Kim Smith and US's German Fernandez running up near the front. And hey, I'm not one to complain about the strength of the African runners because I believe they've worked extremely hard to be great champions and all we have to do is match them on our work ethic and tenacity or will to win. On that note, I will mention that I was equally as excited to see Maryam Jamal, who I've spend a lot of time training with, finish 8th in the senior women's race.

One more interesting note...I definitely feel fortunate that New Balance has continued to sponsor me through this economic crisis, but other athletes haven't been as fortune. One in particular, Romain Mesnil, a French pole vaulter lost his Nike contract so decided to attract some attention in hopes of new sponsorship by running naked through the streets of Paris. Interesting way to attract attention, that's for sure!

That's all for now, I will post updates from Arizona.

Feb. 22, 2009

Well, as fast as the indoor season came, it is over. I have to say I'm not completely satisfied with how it went for me, but unfortunately getting sick hindered my performance. I think if I had a couple more races I would have ran the times I was looking forward. But that just gets me eager for the summer.

Overall, I think I still got a boost in fitness from the races. I feel like I'm in pretty good shape and plan to build on that in the coming months for outdoors. I am now taking a week of down time and will start back up in a few days, slowly building into specific track training.

I am really looking forward to spending a month in Flagstaff, Arizona starting mid-April and then getting start with racing by mid-May. I will keep everyone posted on how things are going as the season progresses.

Thanks to everyone for their support and emails!

Feb. 15, 2009 - Under the weather...

As you will read in the news on Dusseldorf, I was unfortunately not well and my performance showed. It's disappointing considering I only have a few indoor races, but out of my control.

My focus now is to recover and hopefully be healthy enough to run Stockholm on Wednesday. I will keep everyone posted.

Feb. 9, 2009 - A good start

I opened my indoor track season in Stuttgart this past Saturday. Although the time was a lot slower than I was hoping (4:17), I have to say that I truly enjoyed racing and being competitive. I didn't think much about the time during the race, but we were already 2:16 instead of 2:12 (the rabbit's projected pace) at 800m.

Nevertheless, I didn't really know what to expect because I haven't been doing anything on the track that is directed at 1500m pace except a few 200s three days before. Although, I do think the plyos and hill sprints have helped keep some sharpness.

My goal for Saturday was to come top-3 and run 4:12 or faster so I hit one of those goals by placing 3rd in a pretty good field, and I'll aim for the time goal in the next couple races. Although my focus will first be to just race!

See more on Stuttgart below in Latest News.

Feb. 5, 2008 - Time to get racing!
After a couple months of a good training block, I'm ready to start racing. Although my indoor season will be short, it will help remind my body and mind what competition is like.

Training has been going well in the last few weeks. I've been averaging about 120km a week with about a 20-22km long run. We changed my program this winter a bit in that I only do two workouts a week (long tempo and fartlek or interval session) and other days are moderate running, but also mixing in weights, plyometrics and hills to keep my speed active. Hopefully this will keep me fresher and ready to undertake the really tough training that is required to run fast in the outdoor season. As well, the goal is to use the next few indoor races to rev up my fitness.

I will keep you posted on how they go!

Jan. 16, 2009 - Happy New Year!

Indoor track w/o in Guelph Dec.31.

I always find this time of year the toughest in terms of the grind of training. I'm sick of the cold (although I have to say Switzerland has been a heat wave compared to what we experience in Ontario over the holidays!) and I'm eager to get into track mode. Lately I've been averaging about 75 miles (125km) a week with basically lots of endurance-type training such as longish tempos (30 mins worth) and fartleks. But to keep my speed fine-tuned I still include things like weights, plyometrics, short hill repeats, and fast strides, a few times a week.

I did get a chance to jump on the indoor track while in Guelph (Canada) over Christmas and joined my club, Speed River, for a tough workout of 4-5 x 1200m (4mins rest). I just did 4 since it was my first time on the indoor track and averaged some pretty uncomfortable 3:48-3:50s on the 180m track! It was a good wake up call and will hopefully get me ready to race a few indoor meets in February. But the bigger picture still remains to be the outdoor season.

I hope everyone is surviving and enjoying the winter! I will keep you posted on how the indoor season goes.

On another note, I just read an interesting article comparing running on a treadmill vs. running outside. I have run on treadmills a number of times to avoid slippery or cold conditions and actually don't mind it. Anyone interested in how they compare to outdoor running should read this article.

2008 Posts

Dec. 5, 2008 - Back in the groove...

My apologies for not posting sooner on my experience in Japan. Once I got back home, it took me longer than expected to get back into the swing of things.

As for Japan, it was a great team experience and so nice to bond with some fellow Canadians. Our team was 9th overall, which was a decent showing. We would have liked to be in the top-6, but there were definitely some strong teams, especially those from Japan. (Check out full race results and info here.)

My race was a different story. I was not happy at all with my performance and was really disappointed not to have run better for the team. I know I am in better shape than how I raced, but I think all the travel (from Ethiopia to Europe and then a day later to Japan), combine with racing 5 days after coming from altitude was a bad mix for me. It was a bit of a gamble I'll admit, but you don't know until you test yourself. The good thing is now I know for the Spring when I will spend more time at altitude in Flagstaff and then race on the track.

But after a week back at home I'm feeling much better. Overall, I seemed to have responded really well to all the training in Ethiopia. I will have another go at racing tomorrow in the Geneva Escalade - one of my favourite road races because of the amazing fans who line the old town of Geneva as we maneuver our way up and down the winding streets of the old town. And you can always count on great competition.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Training Camp: Nov. 1-19, 2008

Nov. 18, 2008 - Time to go home
I've had a great two and half weeks here in Ethiopia, in which I've gained a lot of knowledge and experience about training at altitude. It's been especially helpful to have other athletes with much more experience give me guidance. I will definitely be back here and hopefully with a similar training environment and group. More.

Nov. 15, 2008 - Two miles high and on the edge
A significant lesson I've learned here, both from experience and from watching other people, is that your body reacts differently at altitude: you recover slower, you run slower and your body is on the edge. More

Nov. 12, 2008 - Ethiopian Style

The Ethiopians have their own way of doing things: some things are traditional, some intuative, and other things are just plain inefficient. More

Nov. 8, 2008 - Ethiopian Culture from food to dance

I have to apologize for not posting blogs more frequently, but our internet and power has been sketchy at best and goes on and off frequently. So, I have been writing, and will post everything when I can.

We had the chance to eat at a traditional Ethiopian restaurant a few nights ago, check it out...

Nov. 6, 2008 - Training at 2700m

'm started to feel more comfortable at the altitude and really enjoying the training, even though it can be really tough, especially on hard days. But I figure that all the great Ethiopian runners have trained in the same places and in the same way as we are and it's benefitted them a great deal, so it's worth a try! More...

Nov. 5 - Meet the athletes

As my last blog said, it's really incredible here and I feel very fortunate to be having these experiences, not to mention the benefits of the great training environment. All the athletes with us here are very motivated and serious about training hard and getting the most out of the training camp. Check out this video to meet everyone and get their perspectives.[Video]

Nov.2/3

Nov.1, 2008 - Day 1 - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

And so it begins, my training camp in the land where some of the best distance runners live and train: Ethiopia.
We arrived early this morning at 4am, I came in on the same flight as Lidia Chojecka (Polish,1500m) one of the many athletes joining our camp for the next month. We were able to pick up our visas pretty quickly and were picked up at the airport by her boyfriend who had arrived a few days earlier.
The first thing I noticed when existing the airport is how nice the locals are...okay, I don't want to sound too naive because I do know they weren't carrying my 25kg bag for nothing! Nevertheless, the Ethiopian people are very nice...more.

Oct. 8, 2008 - Getting back into rhythm
I've been back to normal training for about a month now and finally finding my rhythm again. Although I appreciate taking time off, it is always tough to get back into shape...and I'm nowhere near that yet! But I am feeling stronger each week and have been able to increase my mileage steadily.
I'mgoing to ru n a 10km road race at the end of October, before heading to Ethiopia for a few weeks of altitude training. I've had the pleasure of training with Maryam Jamal here in Lausanne for the last couple of years and have been invited by her and her husband to join them in Addis Ababa for a training camp with a few others from various countries. I'm really looking forward to experiencing a new culture, especially one that is so famous for its runners, as well as taking advantage of some great training partners.
While there, I hope to give updates and post videos -- provided I have the necessary internet connection.

Aug. 28, 2008 - Rejuvenated and refocused
After a good break that I needed both mentally and physically, I am ready to embark on the year ahead. It was definitely tough to watch the Olympics from home, but I had a great support system around me in my family and friends to help me get through it.
Some surprising and difficult news that did put a bit of salt in my wounds were the announcements of eight doping violations in the women's 1500m all before the Olympics: 4 Russians, 3 Romanians and 1 Bulgarian. There are still appeals going through and it will be awhile before we know the outcome. None of them competed in the Olympics. This news was tough to take considering our qualification standards for Olympic and World Champs are based on averages of times that include those of these doped athletes. This also means instead of 18th at World Champs last year, I would have been at least top-10. But, at the same time I have to rejoice in the fact that they are catching athletes and making our sport cleaner! This will mean good things for the upcoming seasons.
On a positive note, the Canadian athletes represented our country well with some very exciting features. Personally, I found it amazing to watch Priscilla Lopes-Schliep win bronze in the 100m hurdles, and found myself screaming at the TV as 2000 Olympic Champ Simon Whitfield battled back from being in 4th place with 1km to go in the men's triathlon, to win silver - that was inspiring! Great job to all the athletes in Beijing!
So, with the 2008 outdoor season coming to an end for most athletes, I am getting back into training and looking forward to having a good endurance phase of training through the fall and winter. I will be running a few low key road races and will report on how things go.

July 20, 2008 - Sport is tough, life is not always easy
It's been a very rough and emotional ride in the last couple days. After a big rejuvenation at Canadian Nationals, I came back to Europe and ran two 1500m, neither of which went well. I haven't had too much time to analyze what went wrong except the fact that I am both mentally and physically exhausted from chasing the Olympic standards. As an athlete, I think you can only go to "the well" so many times before you crack and I think you only have so many big performances. I think I've hit my limit for this season.

Unfortunately, I pushed pretty hard in May and June in an attempt to hit the times I needed and only later found out my iron was low, which explained my struggles. And although I bounced back at Nationals, I don't think I quite regained my physical and emotional energy from the month before. It's a really tough pill to swallow, knowing I won't be going to Beijing, especially when I know I've worked so hard and done everything possible to make the team. At this moment I'm extremely distressed and upset.

But, I believe this will make me a stronger athlete and person. I am not giving up on my goals and dreams because I do believe I'm capable of so much more in my athletic career. This experience has taught me a lot and given me a new desire to succeed.

I also want to say how blessed I am to have such an amazing support system. I've received so many emails and calls of support from friends and family and I want to say thank you to everyone for your support because that definitely helps me get through this tough time.

I also want to congratulate all the athletes going to Beijing and wish them the best of luck - I'm still a proud Canadian and will be cheering them on from Canada!

July 15, 2008 - Just back from Belgium and heading to Paris in a few days. Unfortunately Gent didn't end up being a good opportunity to run a standard. It was pretty windy and no real front runners, which meant Malindi and I ended up at the front doing all the work to keep the pace. So, we missed the time. However, I'm confident that Paris will be the race to qualify with great competition. It always feels easier running fast with bodies around and not having to do the pacemaking. It looks like a great field of competitors and good conditions. In the next couple days I'll be getting back into race mode and focusing on doing what I need to do: qualify for Beijing!

July 8, 2008 - Hi everyone - sorry for the delayed update. This one will be quick, but I wanted to make sure I could fill all of you in who have been supporting me and asking about my current situation.
I am thrilled to have captured my second Canadian 1500m title this past weekend in Windsor. I couldn't have done it without my amazing support team. Thanks so much to everyone for coming and cheering me on.
But, some of you may have figured out that I still didn't get the Canadian Olympic Standard. However, we put in a medical appeal based on my blood results of low iron in the last month and Athletics Canada has agreed to give me (as well as 5 others) an extension until July 22 to fullfill the criteria! I am so happy and relieved to have a second shot. I am confident after this past weekend that I can run the A+ standard. Now it's just about getting in some good races. I am trying to get into Athens (July 13th) and Paris (July 18th). I will keep you all posted.

June 30, 2008 - After a very busy week of travelling and racing, I'm happy to be back at home in Canada just chilling out before Olympic Trials. My two races last week were not what I was hoping for, but they were a bit better.

However, I did get a few answers before those races when I got some bloodwork done which showed I had very low hemaglobin and iron levels. This helps explain how I've been feeling in races, but it doesn't give me too much time to correct it. I got an iron shot a week ago and was hoping it would help for the race on Friday. Although I am already feeling better, I wasn't quite there yet.

Nevertheless, I'm optimistic that I'll be feeling better next weekend. My plan is to just go for it and lay everything on the line - meaning go for A+ standard. There are a few others in my same position so I know they'll also want to run fast and we can work together!

June 16, 2008 - Unfortunately I don't have any big results to report, but I'm staying positive and keeping an open mind for the next couple races. I have another week to re-group and then I'll run two races in 3 days before going to Canada for our Championships.

Thanks to everyone for their support and encouraging words, I feel blessed to have so many people behind me.

June 7, 2008 - Well, Greece didn't quite go as well as I had hoped, but I still feel like I'm making progress and confident that things are coming around. I really enjoyed racing this week and was pretty aggressive to follow the fast early pace. Sometimes you take a risk and maybe your body isn't quite ready the first time around, but I know I'm getting strong and it will come.

To me right now, the most important thing is that I enjoy what I'm doing and satisfied that I am doing everything I can to run my best, which I am. Of course, I was disappointed with my time, but I'm going to get back on the track and race another 1500m next weekend in Morocco. Looking forward to it!

I'll keep everyone posted.

May 31, 2008 - Well I'm getting a bit stressed and frustrated about these qualifying times, but I think that just gets me more fired up to run fast and get things done.

Dave and Trent keep telling me to be patient and not freak out because in the last two years I've had a few slower races to start and then been able to run 4:05 once I get into the season. They have both been a huge help in keeping me calm and focused.

It amazing how much stress levels can go up in an Olympic year, I really sense this from all athletes because it's something we all work so hard and long for. But at the end of the day we just have to do what we know best and just push ourselves to be the best competitors possible!

I got some good advice from my mom the other day saying I just need to stay in the moment and be confident and focused on what I'm doing in the race and not stress about anything else. It was good advice because, despite Belgrade not going so great, I enjoyed racing and competing instead of being so stressed about the times. I believe with this strategy times with come!

So I'm heading to Greece tomorrow to race on Wednesday. It looks like a great field of competitors and I'm crossing my fingers for good conditions.

May 19, 2008 - This weekend I was reminded about how tough racing can be and how much you should cherish the perfect ones. Loughborough was a bit disasterous for me. It seems that at the beginning of each season I have to get one bad race out of my system where the pain of racing consumes me and then I become stronger for it.
It was a cold and windy day yesterday in the UK so actually no one got standard in our race. I ran a really good 1200m and if continued on would have been pretty close to nailing down one of the standards I need. But, a bear jumped on my back (so to speak) with 300m to go and I lost a lot of time. So not any better than Doha.
However, last week I had one of my toughest and best training weeks where I ran two track sessions faster than I've been able to do in the past. This tells me I'm fit and strong, but I think this training, coupled with good mileage, caught up to me come race time. At this time it's a fine line between training hard and coming down for races. I am confident that the work I've done in the last month will start benefiting me in the upcoming races. And we will bring things down a bit over the next month so that I'm ready to roll in races.
The best thing to come out of a disappointing race is that I'm hungrier for success! And everyone around me have been amazingly supportive helping me stay calm and relaxed, giving me confidence that the best is yet to come - this is just the kind of support I need. There is lots of season left and I'm excited for each step!

May 12, 2008 - And so the season begins...I started off my outdoor season this past weekend in Doha, Qatar. Overall it was a great competition: well organized, good weather, top level athletes. However, the race itself definitely caught me by surprise.

Just before the race, the rabbit announced she would go through 1km in 2:40, which is 4-min pace. So my plan was to get out mid-pack and be pulled along to a fast time - ideally an Olympic qualifying time. However, I think everyone in the race had the same plan of just sitting in for a ride because no one wanted to lead or follow the rabbit and thus we passed 800m in a pedestrian 2:17!

I definitely learned that even if it's a big race with the best competition, I can't depend on others to make my race - that was a big mistake. Next time around I'll be more willing to make things happen, instead of coming home pouting about my slow time. For more on the race, see Doha news item.

All suited up at the Doha banquet.

Besides the race, Doha was an interesting experience as the organizers gave us special clothes to wear to the banquet the night before. It was a neat cultural experience.

Anyway, I'm keen to get back out there and race another 1500m so I've changed my plans of racing an 800m next Sunday in Loughborough and have switched to the 1500m. Looking forward to it!

April 25, 2008 - Back on the track!

Maryam, Jo, Hilary: track session this past week.

Sorry it's been so long since my last update -basically life stuff got in the way. We moved into a new apartment at the beginning of April and between unpacking, set up and training, it’s been busy. But all has been going well. After about a month of base training (tempos, fartleks and a couple V02 max sessions), I’m back in the track.

Yesterday I had my first 1500m-type track session and it was a good “welcome back” workout. It was really tough because I haven’t had to deal with lactate in awhile, but I was lucky to be in good company with two training partners Maryam (Jamal) and Jo (Mersh). We did 8x400m with 4 mins rest. I was really happy to average 62 seconds. I’m hoping in another month or so I can do the same workout with 1 less minute of rest and eventually bring it down to 2 mins rest. You can check out some great photos of our workout taken by Asker Jeukendrup.

Plyo session

So basically I’m getting ready to race a 1500m in Doha, Qatar on May 9th and then an 800m on May 18th in Loughborough, UK. After that I’ll focus on some good 1500s at the end of May and into June, but still narrowing those down at the moment.

I’ve also been doing two good plyometric/weight sessions a week and got some cool photos last weekend down by the lake near our house, also taken by Asker.

March 21, 2008 - An inspiration: Meeting The Great One

Trent, Haile and I in Lisbon

Last weekend I had the wonderful pleasure of meeting Haile Gebrselassie at the Lisbon 1/2 marathon during a PowerBar product launch. Haile was an inspiration to talk with - his charisma can light up a room, he gives you his full attention when he talks to you and is extremely down-to-earth. Considered probably the best distance runner ever - one might expect him to be conceited, but he actually seems more comfortable giving advice rather than speaking about his own ambitions. Don't get me wrong, he's extemely confident in his abilities, but this confidence is exuded more in his stories or in the advice he offers.

When I asked him what keeps him motivated and how I might overcome the defeat of not always achieving the results in which I aim, when I know I've worked so hard, he had some great advice. With his permenantly displayed grin, he urged me to "win yourself" meaning I must have full confidence in my hard work and that I can be the best; believe no one else is better. After explaining to me that breaking 4-mins in 1500m is easy, he states that in this sport you have to be a selfish and step on the line showing you belong there - even throw a few elbows now and again - don't let anyone push you around, he said! All things I agree with and try to practice, but I still feel quite priviledged to have had a pep talk from the greatest distance runner ever - I'm ready to go!

I had a nice week of down-time. I really feel refreshed and ready to embark on a great summer season. I know my fitness is good and I plan to build on that with a hard training stint leading into May when I start my competitive season.

For more photos of my weekend in Lisbon, see here.

March 11, 2008 - Trial and Error

I apologize for not having an update sooner, internet was a bit sketchy in Spain. But for most people who saw the results, you will know that I am very disappointed with my performance. I'm learning that it's such a fine line for me at this point when it comes to good and bad performances because I've just started being competitive at the top level and if I have an off day (which is what unfortunately happened) it means that 1 or 2% decreased performance results in me not making the final. But it still motivated me to keep reaching for the top and once I can even consistently run in the range of my current personal best, an off day would still mean making the final.

So, onward we go! I'm looking forward to a good summer and since training has been going well I am not overly worried. Nevertheless, I think it’s still important to do a bit of an analysis of training, especially what I’ve done in the peaking phase, to see what has worked and what has not. So, we will go over that and see if we need to change some things. Peaking is somewhat of an art and it take a bit of trial and error to see what works with each athlete – we’re getting there.

I’m going to take a little down week and then get back into training and get ready for summer. I will probably start my competitive season sometime mid-May. I will still keep updates going on training.

Here's some photos from Valencia.

March 4, 2008 - Off to Valencia with the Maple Leaf!

This winter has flown by and the end of the indoor season is this weekend. I head to Valencia, Spain tomorrow to compete in the World Indoor Champs for Canada. The competition looks pretty good - with two Russian leading the way (one with a new indoor world record to her name). I'm ranked 10th going in to the championships. My main goal is to make the final and go for top 6.

The last two weeks of training have gone really well. I've been on the indoor track once a week to get a bit of speed work and had my last big workout on Friday: 2 x 600m+200m with 1' between and 10' between sets. I ran 1:33/29 and 1:31/30. I've done this workout outdoors and run only a bit faster when I was in 4:05 shape so I'm hoping I'm on track for an indoor pb. Although times could be irrelevant in championships - good tactics and making the final are more important. Just one more small workout tomorrow and then it's time to get ready to race.

I'll try to give updates when I can, but you can also find results here.

Feb. 15, 2008 - New Canadian Running Magazine hits stores today!

Canada finally has it's very own running magazine - Canadian Running Magazine (CRM) - set to hit stores today . I think this is a great thing to get the Canadian public fired up about running and to help profile some of our athletes, which is why I was so honoured when they asked me to be on the cover of the first issue.

Professional running is not like hockey in Canada, which means we are a far cry from famous so it's great when you have a chance to help profile the sport you love and hopefully encourage others to embrace it in the same way. So, thanks to CRM for giving me that opportunity and I hope everyone at home will pick up not just the first issue, but many to follow. For more info, check out the news release here.

On another note, I finally put up a photo gallery from my Phoenix training camp and also threw in a few from New Balance Games in NYC since it followed the training camp. And, check out new website of fellow Canadian Megan Metcalfe .

After a run in Sedona, AZ.

Jan. 22, 2008 - After two weeks in sunny Phoenix and a weekend of racing in NYC, I'm back in Switzerland. To my relief, I come back to fairly warm weather (10C) and no snow except that in the distance on top of the mountains.

I had a decent start to the indoor season in the mile this weekend. You can read the update here. I have to take this time to say a few thank yous to people who have made a difference for me in the last few weeks. Thanks to all our friends and family who came to cheer us on this weekend, it was awesome to have the support. And thanks to New Balance and NYRR (Ian Brooks & co.) for taking care of us so well. Finally, a big thanks to PowerBar for the sport nutrition support at our Phoenix training camp.

I will get back into some good training for the next two weeks before toeing the line in a 3000m in Stuttgart, Germany. I'm gunning for a new pb and I feel I'm in good shape to do it. It's about time I break 9-mins since my current pb doesn't really match up with my other events, so we'll see what I can do!

Taken by Asker Jeukendrup

Jan.10, 2008 - Happy New Year!
I have had a great start to 2008. After ringing in the New Year with friends in Guelph, I travelled to Phoenix and have spent the last week training in sunny AZ with my training partner Jo Mersh (Fenn). Sara Hall has also joined us on a couple sessions, which has been great!

We have been getting in some great training - this pic is from one our our hill sessions - cactus and all! I've been averaging about 75 miles here with most as double days. One long tempo run a week, a fartlek of shorter reps and an interval session on the track so the New Balance Games and the rest of the indoor season won't feel completely foreign!

Sara Hall and I during a track session.

Nevertheless, I have the summer season clearly as my main focus so it is crucial that most of my training is endurance or aerobically-based and I only use the interval-type intensity to keep that system awake.

Since I've been here I had a nice chat with Peter Gambaccini from Runner's World who is covering the New Balance Games and you can see his write up here. I will also put up more pics and video at the end of the trip.

Dec.27, 2007

Running in big snow storm.

Wow, it's hard to believe that 2008 is in just a few days. This years has gone by so fast, but I have to say it's been a good one and I feel very blessed.
The last couple weeks have been going really well for training. I've averaged about 70 miles a week with 3 workouts that include a long tempo, hill repeats, fartlek and either an interval session or shorter fartlek (see link here for detailed training log). I've also been really focusing on staying on my plyometrics and weight training to keep my dynamic or explosive strength in tacked while I'm in this endurance phase.
There have definitely been some tough days with really cold temperatures and some crazy snow storms, one of which occurred on a long run day where I set out for 1hr40min and came back in after 45mins because I couldn't see more than 50m infront of me and the footing was terrible. I added on on the treadmill, but cut it short and did my long run on a Tuesday that day - it's not worth getting injured and sometimes Mother Nature dictates the training schedule. So, in lieu of some of this bad weather, I can't wait to get to Phoenix on Jan.2 for some warm weather training!

Dec.10, 2007 - I've had a few people request that I update this site more often, so I sincerely apologize for taking a week since my last race to post. I really enjoy reading other athletes' blogs and I appreciate all of your interest in mine and hope I can offer some insight to other athletes, so I will try to post more frequently.
Last weekend I raced on my home club turf in Guelph, Ontario, at the Canadian XC Champs. Of course I'm bias, but I really think the group did a great job at putting on an amazing XC meet on a true XC course that included hairpin turns, steep downhills and lots of snow, with -8C temps. Unfortunately, I wasn't quite ready for 7km XC and was thus pretty disappointed with mine results. I think I needed another month of endurance prep, which I will have now. But, it was still good to be running at home and to see our other Speed River athletes run so well, including a senior men's team title and 3 individual team medals!
Check out full coverage from Flotrack here.

Nov. 30, 2007- The Great White North

Well the last couple weeks of training in Switzerland have been quite an introduction to winter. We had about a 30cm of snow and it was -8C when I raced in Bulle. Not the most pleasant weather, but in retrospect, it will serve me well.

Now I'm back in Canada and racing the National XC Champs tomorrow. The course is covered in snow and ice and the forecast is -5C (23F). Welcome to Canada! A week ago there was no snow and temperatures were mild so you just never know. But in x-country season you've got to be ready for various types of course and weather conditions and everyone has to deal with the same things so you just have to take it in stride and go out and race.
We have the Flotrack guys here in Guelph covering the event so you will be able to check it out on video from there website.

Nov. 16, 2007- It's funny how running affects your mood...
I had a bit of a bump in the road last week. When I was warming up for what I was hoping to be a good, strong, fitness-boosting workout last Tuesday, I twisted my ankle and was forced to forfeit the workout and head back home. Unfortunately, I lost a few days of training, but I tried to be smart about it and just run easy and on flat surfaces.
You would figure that since it's Nov. and not really an important time of the year, I'd be okay with this little bump, and I thought I was. However, when my ankle finally came around, I realized how grumpy I had been for about a week and how much happier I was to be able to do normal training. Yikes, it's pretty crazy how much running affects my mood! Well at least I can try to use that to my advantage and realize that in really hard workouts and races I know if I can everything out of myself and have a good performance, how high my moods can soar.
This week I was back to running 70 miles with a fartlek session and mile repeats on the trails, which went well. I've also had the enjoyment of an amazing training partner the last few weeks. Jo Fenn, British 800m runner and 2004 Olympian is here training with us and we've had some great sessions together. Tomorrow we will both do another 6km road race in Bulle.

Oct. 25, 2007 - Back to work!
Well I'm back from a few weeks of down-time, feeling refreshed and ready to go. During my down time I took some time away from running, taking an amazing holiday with my family (see photos here), doing some hiking and other fun stuff I don't often get to do.

Now it's back to business, I have a lot of work ahead of me, but I'm excited for the journey. As I start my base training, I'm refining my plan for the year with Dave(coach) and Trent(husband/coach). Right now I'm planning to do a few road races in November and then head to Canada for the XC Champs.

This past weekend, after a couple weeks of getting back into training, I decided to test myself in a 10km road race. It was definitely a hard effort, but I was able to share the pain with some friends, which makes it a lot better. Check out the write up here.

And finally, for those who are interested in sports science, I have added two articles in my wellness section, one related to my V02 max data this year compared to 2005, and another on Athlete Reactive Hypoglycemia.

That's all for now, stay tuned.

Sept. 10 - Time for a break
This season has come to an end and I'm ready for a break. It's been a great year and I feel that I've made some significant steps forward in terms of the training I've accomplished, as well as the racing experience I've gained. I succeeded in personal bests in the mile, 1500m, 1000m and 800m so my goal to continuously improve has been achieved. I would have liked to run a bit faster overy 1500m, but sometimes races don't always go perfectly planned and you have to just "race" instead of go for time. I think my ability to "race" this season has improved so much and a major part of that has been due to having to opportunity to run in some of the best races in Europe, as well as at World Champs.

So now I'll take a couple weeks off to let my mind and body relax, then training for Beijing begins. Next year is a big year and all my focus and preparation will be towards the Olympics.

Again, I'd like to thank all of you for supporting me this season. There are so many people that have played a part in my success that I can't even begin, but I do want to say that I appreciate ever word of encouragment that I receive. Please stay tuned, we have a big year ahead!

(Check out my journal and photos from Osaka.)