Week of Sept 7-13

Sept 7-13
~ Haliburton race week
Total # of hours this week: 21:32
Total # of runs this week: 7
2009 total # of hours: 458:32
2009 total # of days: 262
2009 total # of runs: 336
Streak: 7,201 days in a row
Training Log Details: click here

Haliburton 100miler: Time to Play!

Well, Haliburton is almost here. I find it very hard to believe it’s been a year since my first 100miler there.

I feel in a great place fitness wise going into this weekend. I am definitely in the best shape of my life. Going into last years race, I had been pretty sick for 3 weeks in July, which cut into my training significantly. This year, since June I have averaged 15.5 hrs of running each week (with a high week of over 24hrs), including 10 long runs of over 4hrs. My higher training has been much more specific towards a 100 mile trail race this year, and the Haliburton course specifically. The overall high mileage has allowed me to run at a comfortable pace for long periods of time and recover very quickly. Long runs have felt better each and every run as well. All this has me looking forward to race day.

The only bit of recent frustration has been that my IT band flared up on me a few weeks ago. It was a strange thing as during my last long run I was stung by a bee in my quad and my quad/ITB swelled up. I was scheduled to take a few light days anyhow, but my ITB seemed to have stiffened up and stayed stiff since the sting. In retrospect, I probably should have taken it even easier for a few days, but I didn’t really think it would be an issue. Anyhow, I’ve been aggressively rehabbing it with lots of stretching, rolling, massage and it seems to be improving. I expect that things will take care of themselves on Saturday, but it’s never fun dealing with stupid issues like this at the last second. (Note: Just back from an ART treatment with Greg Lehman and seems like it is more of a muscle strain deep in the quad under the ITB which function wise is probably better than ITB).

Regardless, I feel great going into the race and am looking to run my race at a comfortable pace from the start. The trails will be beautiful and I just can’t wait to get out playing in the forest, and fully enjoying them.

As far as gear goes, the final week before a race is the time to pick out your final race gear, and pack your drop bags and crew kit. I feel 100% confident with the great gear I’ll be using. A big thank you once again to the La Sportiva Running Team for providing the best gear by La Sportiva, Sugoi, Petzl, Ultimate Direction, DeFeet, Julbo, Headsweats and First Endurance.

The following are some of the items I’ll be using during the race and packing in drop bags.
-La Sportiva Crosslites: my shoe of choice. Lightweight, great fit and amazing traction.
-DeFeet Trail 19 socks: just an awesome wool trail running sock.
-Sugoi 42k Split short: lightweight and allows great range of motion.
-Sugoi/La Sportiva Singlet &/or t-shirt: lightweight tech fabric.
-Sugoi arm sleeves: removable arm sleeves for a cool morning start.
-Headsweats Cap: breathable with sun protection.
-Julbo Trail Sunglasses: lightweight, comfortable and change with the light.
-Ultimate Direction Double Bottle waistbelt: lots of pockets to carry stuff
-Ulimate Direction Handheld bottles: the only handhelds that I like.
-Petzl Headlamps: E+Lite (for start), MYO XP and Tikka XP (with adapt option on waist) for night running.
-Nutrition: gels, bloks, electrolyte caps/drink, protein drinks, reactin (in case of bee sting), Ibuprofen (emergency use only), rice/cheese wraps, in addition to aid station buffet.
-Extra clothing: Sugoi merino wool long sleeve, Sugoi ½ tights, Sugoi full tights, DeFeet calf sleeves, Sugoi toque, Sugoi gloves, extra DeFeet Socks, Wisp jacket.
-Backup shoes: La Sportiva Wildcats and Skylites.
-Other: Sport lube, lip balm, duct tape, bandaids, ITB strap.
-Pacer: Last, but certainly NOT least, a huge thank you to David Bohn who has offered to be my pacer during the final miles of the race. David will be a huge help once my brain starts going south as he knows the trails very well from running Haliburton the past two years, including winning the 50km last year. I'm looking forward to sharing the trail with you David! Thanks as well to Kimberly Bohn who will be out on the course crewing with Sara in the afternoon and cheering along the way.

Whew, I think that’s it! Hope I haven’t forgotten anything.

Look forward to seeing everyone in the forest!

La Sportiva Contest of the Week

Check out the La Sportiva Mountain Running Blog for the latest 'Contest of the Week' to win a free pair of La Sportiva shoes!

Sydenham Fall Trail Run - Entry Deadline

Just a reminder about the Sydenham Fall Trail Run that will be held on October 18, 2009 in beautiful Sydenham, Ontario. The race shirt deadline is fast approaching on September 18, so don't delay if you haven't registered yet.

Also, a quick update that we are pleased to announce that Dion Running Snowshoes will be sponsoring the race and giving away one free pair of their top-of-the-line running snowshoes as the grand draw prize to one lucky participant. This will also come with a free snowshoe running clinic/lesson provided by Spafford Health and Adventure. We will also be handing out four pairs of La Sportiva Trail Running Shoes and an assortment of other great loot!

Remember...the race is capped at 250 and the entries are coming in fast. Register soon to avoid missing out.

For more information on the Sydenham Fall Trail Run, please visit the race website at www.HealthandAdventure.com or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly or post below in the comments.

For online registration, please click here.

See you on race day,

Derrick Spafford

Race Director

Sydenham Fall Trail Run

Week of Aug 31 - Sept 6

Training Summary for the week (photo: Coming down to Birch Lake):

~ Pretty light week of running. Amazing all the time you have in your day when you aren't putting it into training. I DON'T LIKE TAPERS! I love the feeling of being out there and putting in lots of time on the trails and being one with nature. Good for the body and soul! That said, I do feel pretty well recovered and rested going into this last week before Haliburton. My ITB continues to be just a bit stiff, but really isn't a concern as I know that if I was running a ton right now that I wouldn't even think about it. I was very happy with my Friday hilly fartlek/tempo run. It felt very smooth and was the type of run that made me think that I could almost run some reasonably fast times over some shorter distances if I chose to focus on them. Sunday was a nice run for my head, just getting back out to the Park for a play in the woods. Little Clear Lake is just such a beautiful loop to run.

Total # of hours this week: 8:27

Total # of runs this week: 7

2009 total # of hours: 437:00

2009 total # of days: 255

2009 total # of runs: 329

Streak: 7,194 days in a row

Training Log Details: click here

My Imaginary Ipod Playlist

Ok, let me start by saying that I have never, ever worn headphones listening to music while running. I run trails, love being in the woods while experiencing nature so for me, running while listening to music just seems wrong. I want to get away from anything to do with civilization and just experience life in the great outdoors. Many runners and ultra runners can’t seem to get through a run if they are not plugged in, and that’s fine, but it’s just not for me.

Having said that however, there are many times during a run that I will be singing along in my head to some of my favourite songs. During a recent long run, I was thinking about what songs and bands I think about most and came up with the following playlist imaginary playlist:

1. ‘Just look them straight in the eye and tell them Pogue Mahone’ by The Pogues: I have to admit that I don’t have this boxed set yet, but probably have a lot of it on other releases. I’m a huge fan of the Pogues. You could play a number of different songs by the Pogues and please any musical taste. Just brilliantly written songs and played and sung with passion. I still have not seen the full Pogues lineup in concert, which is disappointing. The first time I tried, the concert was cancelled. The second time Shane MacGowan had just been kicked out of the band. I did finally see Shane MacGowan with his other band The Popes, but musically they were just not the same. The one good thing about the Pogues concert I did see was that Joe Strummer from The Clash was the replacement vocalist and the concert was incredible.

2. ‘Never mind the Bollocks, here’s the Sex Pistols’by The Sex Pistols: The Sex Pistols really started the whole punk movement. Incredible energy and passion for the music they were playing and the message they were trying to get across.

3. ‘London Calling’by The Clash: More punk! Labeled as the ‘only band that ever mattered’, The Clash were very political with great lyrics and a mix of punk, ska, reggae and rockabilly. London Calling was awarded the best album of the decade (1980’s) by Rolling Stone Magazine.

4. ‘The Ramones’ by The Ramones. Early American punk. Guaranteed to make you run fast listening to the Ramones……1,2,3,4!!!!.......

5. ‘El Corazon’ by Steve Earle. Folk, Country, Bluegrass, Punk, Celtic…Steve Earle does it all and this album is a great example. We saw Steve Earle last year in Gananoque and he put on an amazing solo show. The only thing better than Steve Earle’s singing/songwriting is his social commentary.

6. ‘The Best of The Mahones’ by The Mahones. The Mahones are from Kingston and started out as a Pogues cover band, but have evolved into a great international band with their own interpretation of Celtic Punk. I used to watch these guys at the Toucan Pub when there were only a handful of people in the audience. Great to see them still at it. Their song ‘Paint the Town Red’ kept going through my head for the duration of my marathon PB.

7. ‘Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits’ by Bob Dylan: No list is complete without at least one Bob Dylan album. We saw him in Kingston this year which was good, but probably would have preferred a concert from about 25years ago instead.

8. ‘Into the Wild’ (soundtrack) by Eddie Vedder: Probably a little surprising to be on this list and might not be in 10years time, but I find myself listening to this CD in the car a lot and the music sometimes gets into my head when I’m out for a long trail run and seeing beautiful country.