Hills

I’ve had some chats with my buddies Alex and Nick about varsity running. They both have loads of experience – and had loads of success on the Canadian university scene in their times. There are lots of OUA, AUS, and CIS medals between them – Alex with Windsor and Nick with Dal – so they’re an invaluable resource for me… as well as great folks to run with and hang out with.

I’ve been asking them what it’s like to run varsity. Turns out, it’s not for the faint of heart. For example, three workouts a week is standard – or two workouts and a race. That sounds like an awful lot of intense work to me… I can feel my legs cringe at the thought of it. But if that’s what it takes, well, then, that’s what it takes.

My plan is to introduce the three-workout week into my routine – Tuesday, Thursday, and then Saturday or Sunday (depending on the state of my legs and my responsibilities to family and friends). But I need to do it in a way that I don’t break apart in week one. So I’m going to try reducing my overall weekly mileage and reducing the volume of workouts until I feel comfortable with the new 3-a-week schedule. I’ll build mileage and volume as I adapt (hopefully!).

Oh boy! Up we go!

I’m not sure what mix of workouts I’ll do each week, but I know hills are going to be important – especially because the traditional Dal route through Point Pleasant Park has lots of gut busters. So I’m thinking I’ll fold a hill workout into the mix most weeks. And that’s what I did today: 6 repeats of a hill route in Shubie that’s about 700-800m long. It’s not all hill – it’s got a sharp up, then a wee down, then a bit of flat, then three ups to the finish. The ever-changing terrain is great on my heart. It’s a tough workout, but I know it’s going to pay dividends.

With each interval, I try to remember what Alex taught me about hill running: RELAX. Everything from the waist up has to be absolutely relaxed – shoulders down, arms moving lightly, oxygen moving freely. And you lean into the work, not from the waist but from the ankles, and the pelvis stays forward. The knees need to come up nice and high too. As he puts it, you just lean and lift your knees and keep your breathing steady and up you go.

It works. I’m running hills way better than I used to. I’m still slow on them, and I still hurt and struggle. But it’s easier when I just relax and lean into it… it’s amazing what better form will do!

I’m Back – with a New Running Goal

It’s been over a year since I’ve posted. Lots has happened. Through it all I’ve still been running. I haven’t raced much, but I’ve been running. I can’t imagine life without running – don’t want to. I’d like to think that, while I can still run, I’ll always find time to run. Hopefully.

So. Last summer, I did the old career gut check: can I see myself doing what I’m doing 5 years down the road? There I was watching the London Olympics, feeling like the career side of my life was in a rut. I’d been here before, but for some reason, this time I actually decided to do something about it – to really sit my butt down and think – well, what is it that you want to spend your days doing? The answer finally came in the wee hours of a sleepless July night – an answer I should’ve seen or had the guts to acknowledge years ago – I wanted to be a physiotherapist.

As a runner, I’ve undergone my fair share of physio – I’ve received so much great treatment, good advice, and honest encouragement from physios. But the possibilities of the job go well beyond fixing up recreational athletes – anyone with mobility issues benefits from physio attention… from people recovering from surgery to stroke survivors and others with neurological damage. I finally realized that keeping bodies moving as much as possible is work that I find significant. It’s something I could see myself doing 5, 10, 20 years down the road.

So I decided to do a bit of a 90-degree life turn.

I went back to school in September to do the prerequisite science courses (my background is firmly in the humanities) required to apply to the MSc in Physiotherapy program. I felt pretty darn old amongst first-year students – but it didn’t matter – I knew exactly what I was there for and exactly what I wanted. The courses went great, then the interview to get into Physio went great, and in May I was accepted to the program at Dalhousie University. I start this September.

The last year has been busy but really amazing. And through the stress of it, running kept my head above water.

With this return to school, though, comes a new running opportunity – and my new running goal: I’m going to try to make the Dalhousie Cross Country team.

Perhaps I’m crazy. I’m 37. I started running just to lose weight and get in shape. The guys on the team will be almost two decade younger than me. They’ve probably never been overweight (like I was 10 years ago) – probably never smoked half a pack of cigarettes a day (like I did 10 years ago). Is there any way I can run with them? Maybe not. But I’d sure like to try. I want a taste of varsity training. I want to take a shot at running for the school.

So this is where I am right now with running – I’m trying to get as fit as a 20 year old. I’m trying to bring my 10k time down as much as possible. I have no idea where this goal will lead, but I’m going to work my butt off trying to get as fast as possible.

Only time will tell how this narrative will unfold.