It feels awesome to be out and running and getting ready for the 2013 Around the Bay. Finally my legs feel great, the shingles symptoms are gone, and I am at a totally different position from last year.
One of the weird things for me is the realization that I have been running for almost 2 years now (will be two years in March). It is also cool to see what I was doing last year in terms of training and what I am currently doing. I thought I was doing plenty last year for ATB, but my result and the way my body was destroyed on the hills told me I did not do enough. Last year in November (mostly due to injury) I ran a total of 55km and in December I ran a total of 65 km. My long run was in November and was around 11km. This year in November I ran a total of 95km and I am on pace for a 120km December. I will get to the long run in a bit.
As for the "gear" I will be using I have changed things up. I have had some issues with a super tight calf for as long as I remember running. I do use the roller (big and small one), stretch, and do everything I should be. I kept reading a few places that I should consider a new shoe so I finally did. I went with a support shoe (asics gel kayano) and so far, after three weeks and some good long runs, I have no stiffness in the calf. Finally. Also, I knew I needed a new winter running jacket and after some research found a North Face jacket I liked but it was almost 200 dollars. I decided to get it but waited for a few hours for some reason and voila - good karma hits me. Running Free, a local running store here in Southern Ontario and if you sign up for the email program they send you some awesome deals. The same jacket that I was going to buy for 200 bucks was now on sale for 100. Score!! It is a great jacket - wore it yesterday in the rain and cold with no issues. I would totally recommend signing up for their deals or liking them on facebook.
As for the training, I have officially starting my running club and their training program. Now, I know I said you didn't need a running club, you should do training on your own and I do believe to get started you need to do it yourself, however, at this point, I realized I need help. After two group runs I have to say I love it. It is really weird to be talking during your runs as I have never done that, but the support the other runners provide is awesome. Oh the long runs - we are already doing 15km and will be up to 19km by the end of December, a little bit more than last year!! Most of the people are way faster than me but they are all available to talk to. The other crazy thing is the training schedule. Most ATB schedules have the longest run coming in around 26 - 27 km. This schedule has 3 runs of longer than 30km!!! Oh - and the long runs with the group are Sunday mornings at 7:00am, which means I am up by 5:30 to eat and get ready. It's gonna be a long winter but I am really excited for it.
I will certainly update with the program and how everything is going.
Oh - is anyone interested in touring Chicago on Thanksgiving weekend? The tour will be a total of 42.2 kms........
Cheers,
Steve
