Love, Hate, and Running.

I am not, have not been, and had no interest in being, a runner. I had my aerobic pursuit of choice nailed down pretty handily, and branching out just wasn't nessecary. Love is a many splendored thing, however, and like many who have come before - it would sway me to the dark side.

Ashley is pretty supportive, and never once asked that I run. But, when someone is that easy going and has a passion of their own (running), you feel bad not supporting it. Besides, how hard can this thing really be? Yes, that is how it started...

Under no circumstances was running going to interfere with cycling. This meant by default, the only time to expirment could be in the off season. So we picked a half-marathon in Vancouver on valentines day. It occurred to me weeks later that this was actually the ultimate nabbing of many birds with one stone. So effective December 1st, I left the bike on the hook and picked up,the running shoes.

Running at face value is not that hard. Avoiding pain and injury is. I was concious of this and did not want to jeopardize cycling with any injury, so I started slow. First it was 5 or 6km, then it was 8km. Then about 2 weeks in, I could knock off 10km without major issues or soreness. 

Now, by this time I had also regained fitness post-cross season, so the runs started to get faster. And of course when you CAN go faster, why wouldn't you? I mean, anything to feel like you are getting some forward movement out of all the hard work, right?

That is the thing about running... You work so hard to go so slow. But, it is addicting when you finally start to feel lie, the effort is producing something. So you push harder, but not too hard because what I also realized is that when y pop, that's it. No coasting for you - it's over.

It took until the first week of January to get hurt. What seemed minor one day turned into a absolute run-ending calf knot the next. I was bummed after a week with no improvement - even with my reluctant particition, the inability to access my body and make it perform was frustrating. Fortunately a trip to the physio and a week of intense stretching put me back on track, but it makes you realize how much we rely on our bodies for activity and sanity... And how so many don't even realize it.

I was back on track 3 weeks before race day. Just enough time to build up a bit more volume and focus on "smart speed" - more cruising tempo like what I planned to race at than any super hard efforts that could re-injure myself. I got up to a 16km run, and that would have to do.

Race day came, and I found myself surprisingly nervous. I think it was anticipation, and fear of the unknown. Fortunately, what Vancouver offered us by way of non stop rain on race day, it made up for with the wondrous endurance gift of sea-level atmosphere. Chris Hooper (equipment sponsor and running confidant) had promised me 2 minutes of free speed at sea-level. I heard it and knew I would need every second.

Next time I do this I'm just starting on the front row. It is worth the awkward looks just to avoid Fred-dodging for the first 5 km. (yes, running has them too. I expected to be one, but apparently there are many levels). Fortunately, I managed to stick to my start pace among all the chaos and burning of mostly mental matches.

Once I settled into a pace, I could tell that a) I felt decent; b) I was on target; and c) this altitude thing is for real. Crossed through the half and got ready to pick up the pace. I finally found myself in a small group,so stuck it out with them until ~15km, when I realized they weren't going to pick it up. From that point, it was just me on my own rhythm.

I was worried about my legs giving out, as I was now in uncharted distance territory. As it turns out, they held on but I just could not push them below 4:10 in the last 6km, which I really needed to. I was able to hold a good suffering pace through the last 3km, but still finished with more kick than I should have had after 1:32:26 of racing.

...And so ended my running career. It actually wasn't that bad, and for a few reasons (including joke immunity), this may not be a one-off affair: it was fun sharing the training experience with someone close, and this has put me in decent shape while giving me greater appreciation for the inevitable return to the bike (tomorrow, actually). Accomplishment is felt when you challenge something new, and that's a good thing.