Race Season Has Started

 I raced an 800 at the Sun Angels meet in Phoenix last night. It was my first race of the year, I did run a 1500 a few weeks ago but weren't counting that. It went well, 1:47.92 which is my fastest opener of my career. I had Quin pacing me so it really felt like a workout, when they were putting us in lanes, I was number 10 and they didn't know who to double me up with. They asked me if I had a teammate in the race, so I got to start in the same lane as Quin! I jumped in right behind him off the cut in and didn't see anyone the whole race.

 It felt very familiar, which for an opener was really nice, there's normally that feeling of getting the cobwebs out but there was none of that. This was a great way to start, have a teammate take you to 600 and roll 200 alone! We had a perfect night to race, no wind, not too hot, couldn't ask for much more.

 So from here I head to Flagstaff tomorrow and prepare for Penn Relays and ReRun San Diego! I'm gonna miss my adopted family here in Phoenix but I love Flagstaff so I'm ready for the change.

Where was I...

 Right so, it's been a while, but I am back to it. I haven't posted in almost 8 months, but... from here out... (I have said that before). I own my very own computer now so it should be easier for me to keep a more consistent stream of posts, but I'm not making any promises.

 So much has happened; Olympics. What can you really say about it, it was an extraordinary experience and obviously a highlight of my life. Things couldn't have went better and I accomplished all I wanted to, onward now to Rio! I partied hard for a little bit after the Games and got back to training in September. Foot Injury.

October 4th moved to Victoria for the winter (foot injury got better). Had a solid month of training with Quin Ferguson (my new Nate). Knee Injury. Home to Halifax for part of December, I trained with my club Halifast Athletics while I was home. Running and hanging out with the young athletes fired me up for training again. Christmas with my sister and her family in Calgary, all that needs to be said is my nephews are cute, Calgary is bitterly cold and I can think of a better "sport" to drop from the Olympics then wrestling.

Back to Victoria for January, this time with my coach Heather for a month of training along with the UVic Team. The Vikes were an awesome group to train with, they made me feel at home and comfortable from day one. The old knees were still acting up so we bailed on any indoor races and February 1st made the trip to Phoenix, where I have been since.

Training has been great since, I think my arthritic knees didn't like the damp Victoria climate. I am officially a snowbird. Quin and Nate are here so it's like I have two Nates. Flagstaff begins in 15 days.

So that's the 8 months. Nothing dramatic, run, eat, sleep, repeat.

OLYMPICS

So I made the team. 4 years in the making. 4 years of thinking about London 2012. If I had penny for every time I uttered the term London 2012 to myself I would have tens of dollars, which is a lot. To be honest last year I don't think I could have ever imagined this would be happening. When I started racing this year I went into every race with the intension of winning and running fast splits. When the times started getting faster and closer to Olympic Standard I kept the same attitude going into every race. The things that motivate me are much clearer to me now.

The support from home has been over whelming and the biggest factor in my success this season so far.  The season is far from over though, I will be racing in Halifax on the 8th, Toronto on the 11th and then off to Europe for training camp, races and then Olympics. I appreciate every message and will thank everyone who has sent something individually. I have a long month coming to do the final preparations going into the Games so please keep sending the love!

There is a lot of people who were instrumental in accomplishing this goal. You know who you are and I am forever in your debts.

This is just the beginning.
Cheers.



"natepace" hats on sale now.

What hasn't happened

 I ran 2 Olympic B standards, 5 Personal Bests, and fell at 600m in Victoria. It has been an eventful month. My current PB is 1:46.12 and all things considered I am confident there is room to make that lower. Each race has its own story, I don't think I have the attention span to comment on them all. Though I will try to post some details during the next week, today I am in hour 8 of travel with three to go!
Thanks for all the support!
Geoff

OVERDUE Update

In my lack of motivation to do anything between training sessions I dropped the ball on updates to this, I also forgot to renew my domain name.  

Much has happened in the last few weeks; I ran 2 Life time bests! My current 1:46.80 is a half second of Olympic B Standard, so that is what I am hoping comes next. My schedule is Indianapolis on the 6th, Vancouver on the 10th and Victoria on the 13th, than one more training block till Nationals. Otherwise life's is as about as good as it gets. I am here in Calgary with family which is a nice place to be. I'm chasing dreams and making big plans, couldn't ask for much more.  

Today

It's about time I posted something.

My training is going famously, I am battling some small injuries here and there but all in all the quality is above anywhere I have ever been and only building. The first outdoor race of the season is on Saturday, it's at ASU and will be a fast race. Fast people in it and I am feeling more than ready for a fast race which equals results! The weather here has been great for training, I am getting very excited to get to Flagstaff in less than a months time. Getting up to Flagstaff is always my indicator that the season is started and it's time to perform.

I have had some big changes in my life in the last few weeks and it's been a test staying focused, but I'm coming through stronger for it all. It's funny how these things end up working themselves out in the end anyway.
I will have one more race before Flagstaff at Mt. Sac. If everything goes well might get a trip to Penn Relays and than up to the altitude.
Things are rolling well, I'm keeping the momentum moving forward one day at a time.

I love hearing from home so keep sending emails!

Life

Life in this "training camp" environment takes a toll. It's not a training camp in the conventional way but at this point in the year you've got to live like it's training camp and put 100% of your energy into training and recovery. That doesn't leave a lot of time or energy for social lives. The other Canadian athletes here have found a good balance. We all manage to get out to do something every week or so. Otherwise I watch a lot of tv, and read, if i read this much in high school I'd have graduated with and nicer looking report card which I think has a direct impact on the grammar of this blog, and I apologize to those who care.

I got 110km in this last week, had some quality track session and gave myself a sweet hair cut. So all in all with one week down training here in Phoenix I am feeling on the right path.

PHOENIX

I am in Phoenix! I made it, though the charming customs officer didn't really want me to, (thankfully his supervisor wasn't so obviously angry at his own existence and was delighted to have me come south of the boarder) I got through. For those who were able to attend my Fundraiser you will be receiving some information about your donations soon, please be on look out for that!

I have had two solid recovery runs and start my first track sessions tomorrow. It's a bit of speed endurance, I am excited to see everyone and see how they are training.

I am living here with Nate for the first month then will stay with fellow Nova Scotians Celia and Dan next month, we head to Flagstaff after that! The goal is weekly blog updates so please keep following!

1k Results

I raced a K this weekend, its was new for me. Not because I don't usually race 1K's but because I was actually able to finish the race. For the last two years I have been running on ice when I got to the last part of my races, injuries were holding me back. On saturday I hit my splits and finished with some authority and it felt good.
I ran 2.23:60 alone, lead start to finish on a flat track with a good surface. For any anti-dalplexers it was at the new Canada Games Center and I don't think its short but I don't like to assume anything.
It was awesome to have a meet run on time and have as many runners (and jumpers) as it did here in Nova Scotia.
I am planning on racing once more in the next couple weeks, I just don't know where yet. Otherwise it's back at it as usual!

Racing 1k

 I am racing on Saturday for the first time since July of last year. I went out last year on a low, dropping out of a race in Toronto, dealing with a season long foot injury. I have since taken the steps (pun intended) to heal and my foot injury and to make sure it’s not going to happen again. With my new orthotics and a better foot strike I have got through the longest set of straight training sessions in 2 years. I have been training very well, feeling fit and powerful. I am hoping that when I get to my speed and power phase it’s going to take me above and beyond what I have been able to accomplish in the past.

This weekend’s race is going to be a 1km. I am doing it at the Canada Games Center. I have some good runners in the race, with some of the Dalhousie Varsity team and my training partner Dan and newly acquired Kenyan John. It will be a good pace from the start; wouldn’t it be nice to PB first race of the season? I have barely been in spikes this year. Annnnnd there are the butterflies, right on time. I had a really great workout last night to set up for the weekend 600 – 400 – 200 (2min/1min recovery) -15min with steady state- 5X200… all at 1k pace. Through the whole workout knowing behind me and hearing the foot steps of a fit Kenyan made for some faster than expected intervals.

 

A Rant on improper chin ups.

I touched on this on a twitter post and felt it might be appropriate to elaborate via my blog. I don’t think there are many people reading this during this uneventful time of my running season so…

I am all for healthy living, in all regards, nothing makes me feel more proud of a stranger than when I see them running, or working out at the gym, and you know it’s been a long over due life style change for them. When I see a runner with terrible form and out of shape running with their full “running room” gear, (belt full of water bottles), I am rooting for them. “At least there out there doing it” I think to myself. It’s only when the weekend-recreational runner wants to start debating me about training regimens that my aggravation might show…. Might.

Now I hope (and if there are any dancers out there maybe they can attest to) when I am out dancing, though it might not be the prettiest thing they have ever had the honor of seeing they feel the same. “At least he’s doing it, having fun and trying”.

But, when it comes to the fake “cross-fit” non-athletes I want to rid the world of them. That might have been harsh, I guess what I am trying to say is; I have no respect for you and I’d like you to go away, permanently. 

I can dig Cross-Fit as a theory of working out and getting into a certain kind of practical and functional shape. But just because you watched a youtube of someone doing it, you’re not an expert and you shouldn’t be teaching your friends. You need to take your American eagle cotton t-shirt and your friends to a Cross-Fit gym and have a Cross-fit trainer teach you Cross-fit. Cause right now you look like your having a seizer whilst holding on to a chin-up bar accomplishing what can not be categorized as a chin-up as your chin is not getting up to the bar. As well your 4 person rotation of this is making me wait to do my chin ups and this is not acceptable.

Done.

On a more positive note, my training is going famously. I am light years ahead of where I was at this point last year. I am seeing big things.

Is Mr. Boots Immoral AND if so am I Immoral.

I have been having some conflicting emotions about my cat’s behaviors. First a little background; Boots came into my life about a year ago by a strange series of events and through even stranger circumstances he is now our cat! Mr. Boots is a unique cat to say the least, he is the most laid back cat when he’s indoors, he sleeps, eats, cleans himself, eats some more and sleeps some more. You could quite literally throw this cat against a wall and he’d just walk back over and rub against your leg and purr. I have never been scratched or bit by him. He’s just a lovable cat. He broke every stereotype I had for cats in the first week, and has been nothing but awesome.

His outdoor behavior is much different, he hunts. He hunts small game and big game. Mr. Boots started with mice, which quickly became small song birds, followed by squirrels, and now recently larger birds; blue jays and pigeons. He’s not killing them for food, though he tends to get a taste in, he hunts for fun and tortures these still alive animals in the cutest way imaginable. This is where my moral dilemma comes to be, I have pride when he brings his dead animals to our door and offers them to us. But, watching his killing process is border line sadistic. Once the animal is tired and wounded he backs up away from the maimed animal and crouches waiting for it to make a move and than when (in the instance of the last bird) it goes to make flight, he two paw bats it down and stomps it’s body. Than he rolls with what has to be a smile on his back beside the now more wounded animal and paws at it with same playfulness he shows when you dangle a string in front of him. This goes on for upwards of an hour at times, until the exhausted animal finally takes his last breath and Boots promptly bring his prize to the door or in the case of the first squirrel to the foot of my bed.

          

So what should I do, when I see the wounded animal put it out of its misery? I don’t get to see all the killings so that doesn’t solve the problem. I could put a bell on his collar giving the prey a little notice, but what than will that do to Boots, he is a hunter, and I don’t want to take that away from him. I don’t know what to do. For now I will do nothing, when ever I see Boot’s dead bounty I find myself humming the Elton John’s “Circle of Life”, and that makes it just a little bit better when I am going to sleep and I have a murdering, sadistic, psychopathic house cat spooning me! 

Holiday Training

With the Holidays rolling up training tends to slow down alittle here in Halifax. All the university runners go home and the Track is always hell to get on with exams happening in the Feild house and than Holiday hours never match up with my training schedule. In the past it's always been my oppertunity to get some real quality training in and set myself up for January's training well. Peter Lawson and I work a little harder and when all the varsity runners get back we see the pay off in there fat turkey belly's while we look better than ever. This year is going to be just as good if not better in that I have a new training partner that will be around straight through. I just got to make him do all the morning runs with me.

Two years ago I do 90min at 6am on Christmas morning on a beach in New Zealand, last year I ran around Bedford in the cold. This year I am going to run from Halifax to Bedford and than eat Roast Beef. Though it doesn't compare to two years ago, I will be with family, and will compete for my 5th Crokinole Title in 10 years. If you don't know what that is you can google it and what our family does is all that on steroids.

Going to hit a 100km week this week, which I am pleased with, I cracked out some serious Euro Training this week and am feeling a bit bigger than a usual 800m runner... I am or may not make a career move to the circus.

Happy Holidays.

Biking in Halifax

Now for the story of my and bike and I. In the last year I have had three accidents on my bike, I ride a fixie (Google that if it’s not familiar). Stopping can be a bit more difficult on a fix gear but all three times this was not the cause. The cause has been for two of the times, cars who don’t pay attention. The other was my own lack of attention but it only affected me.

 First accident; I was driving down the Bedford highway (not a real highway by the way, standard 50km speed limit) riding in the bike lane. When a car going to the same direction as me stops suddenly and waved in the car coming from the opposite direction trying to get into a MacDonald’s parking lot on the opposite side of the street. He peeled in and I crashed into his hood ruining my front wheel, fork and left shoulder.

Second accident; I on my way to yoga class was pedaling down hill, hit a pot hole, wasn’t holding my handle bars with any real control, and flipped directly over the bars onto my back. This had no damage to anything but my back and ego. No one was watching and no one came to see if I was ok. Missed 2 workouts with back stiffness, but was told by the ER Doc that I obviously know how to take a fall.

Third accident; one month after the first yoga crash on my way to yoga again I got t-boned by a jeep at a 4-way stop. It was clearly my turn to go, I was half way through the intersection and the jeep gunned it. I was looking right at his face which happened to be looking down at his dashboard. I managed to peddle so that only the back end of my bike was hit. I rolled off landing on my lower back and he managed to ruin my back tire and rim and bend my frame. After I screamed profanities at him he apologized admitted he was in the wrong and drove away. He bloody drove away, didn’t get out and ask if I was ok just yelled out his window “sorry, I didn’t see you, my bad”. I got his license plate number and called the police and am waiting to hear back about who he was. I am going to make him pay for my unsalvageable bike and may or may not yell some more profanities at him.

Moral of the story, I am not going to be a triathlete.  

December is Good

I haven't wrote a lot in the last few months, I have been nervously waiting out the transition to new orthotics and not wanting to jinx the process by saying anything about it. I am now officially injury free and feeling like a million bucks. My foot is completely healed and now to full strength over its new platform!

I am just finishing up a 4 week cycle with a rest week of reduced milage and intensity and I need it! I ran the most milage of the season for a week last week and it borders on the most of my career. I am heading into a three week December phase leading up to the holidays! Going to be training on the new track at the Canada Games Center this winter and looking forward to not smelling the inside of the Dalplex.

I have been consistently taking my supplements and vitamins and that coupled with my much more restricted diet this year I am feeling awesome.

This has been a bit of a scatter brain post but I am finally excited and feeling good and happy to be posting! more coming this weekend!  I will tell my story of getting hit by a car on my bike on Monday and how that has been playing out for me.

Back to Training and Blogging

It's been a long while since the last blog. Long story short is I took two months off and am finally back and injury free training. That is the news! Lots more to come! I will be putting up weekly if not more posts about training and what ever else is going on in my world!

I will be speaking at Crichton Park Bolt Running Club's season end celebration on Sunday! It's an honor to get talk at it! More about it post Sunday.

Indy and Nationals

 My race in Indianapolis went good and bad all at once. I didn't run the greatest time, but I ran "my" race. On the start line they told us that the pace setter couldn't run, which changed my race plan. So right at that moment I decided I was going to take it out. I did, I went through 400 in the front at 53sec, and at 600 all alone I was 1:19. I stayed running well until about 720 meters and than I (excuse my french) ate $hit. I ran a faster time than that when I was 19 years old. I am very happy with the first 700 meters.

So now I am in Calgary getting ready for Nationals. I am staying with my sister, her husband my nephew and Leanna. It's the perfect low stress home life to be in. Staying in hotels and dorms can start to get to you and make you just wish you were home. This is a perfect balance for me, it's not "my" home but it's a home.

I am feeling good and am excited to race again. I have lots of races coming up in the next few weeks and think I am going to get a good time in at at least one of them.

The Indy Race

http://www.runnerspace.com/video.php?do=view&video_id=48812#ooid=xxbTRqMjqsGJOwaHykLhC_GGnW8toW-I

Making an awkward decision based on my gut.

I made a hard decision last night not to run. My foot is sore, and not it's a little still sore, it's sore in as "this feels like it could rip" sore. It's been getting better but it's not at the point you test it. I'd say if it was 90% I'd go for it and risk doing some damage. Right now it's closer to 75%. I have three days to make it get to 90% and than go for it. Nationals is getting close and that has to be the priority.

It's a very strange process to go through mentally to make the call not to race. Especially when you really want to run. There are so many factors that play into your head. I really think I made the right call. I will know Wednesday. For the next three days I am going to ice 36 times (every hour for 12 hours per day), pool run and relax. I am going will this thing better!

It was exhausting coming to that though. I had my spikes on, I was warmed up and 10 minutes before the gun, 3 strides done and my foot telling me something. It wasn't a clear message but it was making itself heard. The thoughts flying around my head of "is three days enough to make any difference", "don't be a pansy and run", "your foot might explode mid race"...ect.

So here I am, foot in a bucket of ice and hoping this was the right move. I am going to re-evaluate on Tuesday, and run no matter what on Wednesday.

Race Day in Indinapolois

Race Day in Indie is here again, and I will say it's always exciting. I think it's fair to say that about 40% of the races here get postponed a few hours due to thunderstorms. There are thunderstorms all over the place in around here right now. So it's all up in the air, you never know.
My foot is feeling very questionable, I am going to be icing every hour for the next 10 hours and racing in 12 hours. I will be quick to post on twitter results tonight.
@geoff800

Indianapolis, Calgary and Beyond

It's been a while since the last post. I have been in Halifax for the last few weeks with not very much to report. I have had my second cortisone shot in my foot and am hoping that the relief will last through the race season now. I am struggling with this right foot of mine, it's a struggle because the only real cure is complete rest. I am not capable of that for the next month. I may or may not be capable of that ever.
I checked in 2 hours early to my international flight and got grilled by the customs officer and am now waiting patiently at the gate. They shouldn't make you check in early for an international flight, if there's going to be larger line ups they should accommodate to make it go quicker, not make us come earlier. We got to fight the power.
I am racing on Saturday night in Indiana, my favorite place to race. It's the track Flo Jo ran her world record 100m on. I am going to tap into my inner Flo Jo and find some steroids and race really fast. I will absolutely not take steroids. I will run fast however. I am ready to I just need to make every race count. That's up to me. I race again on Wednesday.
I am flying up to Calgary for some conversation with Kingsley my nephew and race Nationals. That will be fun.
Beyond is yet to be determined.