It's a spectacular day in Squamish, a great relief after the big dump of snow we received last weekened: I was supposed to run 3 hours last Sunday but after struggling 2-1/2 hours alone on slippery roads, I had more than enough.
After a great hill / tempo session on Tuesday, I went to see my new ART therapist here in Squamish on Wednesday afternoon. She did a superb release, though I felt like I'd been run over by a truck so decided to postpone my run until Thursday, and postpone it again as I still felt so wrecked.
Until my two visits in the last 10 days, it had been months if not a year since I'd last had any ART done so I shouldn't be surprised at the way my body responded. On Friday, I only did an easy half an hour run.
With a gorgeous day yesterday, I headed out for an hour but felt so fantastic now that I'd recovered from the ART treatment that I did an 85-minute fartlek session. Today I began by taking my dog Luka for an easy 25-minute run around the block. Next I was joined by Tim and Stacey, and we jogged the 15-minutes from our house to the Adventure Centre where Derek was waiting for us.
Our course today was a flat out-and-back on the road. Tim and Stacey did a shorter session, so turned around earlier, while Derek and I kept going at an easy pace. Running in the sun, on clear roads, while having a relaxed chat with my training buddy, it was a stark contrast from last week's cold and lonely battle with the elements.
Derek and I ran for two hours. Then I had a final (uphill) 15-minute stretch to go on my own. While tired, I felt pretty good overall. I drank 500ml of water and ate 1 Powerbar during this run, after this morning's breakfast of (sugarfree) Alpen with milk and my usual mugs of coffee.
After a shower, I rubbed a layer of Voltaren on my calves before Glad wrapping them, a tip from a former ART therapist in Sydney. Then it was time for a big recovery lunch (omelet with ham, and bread with goat's cheese), and plenty of fluids (water with OJ, and peppermint tea).
Less than two months to go until the Vancouver Marathon! First, I'll race the Vancouver Sun Run in mid-April with Tim and my sister, who's moving from the Netherlands to Vancouver. Back to work this afternoon, and finish the final work left on my book A Hundred Reasons to Run 100km. I'm hoping to release it this week and the proof copy of the paperback looks absolutely awesome.
I'll do an easy 30-minute run late this afternoon, something my former coach Pat Carroll introduced me to a couple of years ago. It's a great way to get in some extra mileage on those long run days, without pushing your main effort beyond three hours, which Carroll was an invitation for injury and unnecessary.
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