Training Update - Oct. 5th

Well, since the Great Lake Walk Race in September, things have been going very well for me. My recovery from that race was superb. I felt great the next day...and, I was able to train 3 days later at the PIH Club workout full tilt, and even my coach told me to "slow down and go easy".

Achilles
Recently, my weekly mileage has decreased, which has been intentional, and also has been very positive. I have been experiencing achilles issues on my right side for the past 4 months, but not severely. I have been waking up in the mornings with a tightness and slight pain in that area, but it has not impaired my running at all. Over the past few months, I have tried icing and stretching, but nothing seemed to calm the achilles down. It hasn't been getting any better, but it certainly hasn't been getting any worse either.
Last week, I was given some advanced stretching information from Eric Findlay, who apparently, had the same problem a couple of years ago. My co-worker, Ritch Primrose (fitness guru), also confirmed that the technique is tried, tested, and true. So now, I am doing some eccentric loading on my achilles several times a day, and fingers crossed, the last two days have been much better on the achilles. Hopefully in time, things will get back to normal there.

Fitness
Over the summer, I mentioned in an earlier blog post that my fitness and speed seemed to be at another level. I have maintained that level, and feel as fast as I ever have. The last two PIH workouts have been awesome for me. Last week, I was paired off with Shane Ruljancich (a 33 min/10 k guy) in the "Parloff Relay", and kinda kept up to him. Additionally, a few of my recent training runs have been very strong, and I am feeling like right now I am on fire. It feels great.

Enjoyment
With no set big race coming up, I have had the freedom of choosing distances and training runs that are a little more exciting than ones from the past. I have been dying to do some more elaborate training runs in Mt. Doug, and I have really enjoyed it. I consider Mt. Doug: my backyard playground. I also have done a couple 10 Mile Point loops in training, and again, it was great to get out to some of my older routes. I feel motivated right now to get out to those trails and do some cross-country races.

Upcoming Events
Well...this is my off-season, and keeping the mileage down and resting my endurance body is vital. However, I plan on training just as hard, but just with less weekly mileage. This should put me in good form for those races that have distances that are 20k or less.
I did sign up for the upcoming PIH Thetis Relay on November 11th, which I plan to solo the 20k distance on. I also think that I will do the Shawnigan 1/2 on November 1st, if i can work out some transportation issues. After that, my year may be pretty quiet on the racing front.
Things are good right now...I'm just trying to focus on staying healthy and strong.