A Week in Review

Monday, January 14: A delicious 10km evening jaunt. Felt good - relaxed with no foot pain.

Tuesday, January 15: 4:3opm, 20' warmup, 30' tempo (covering 4.75 miles according to gmap), 15 cooldown. 15-16 km total. Felt ok. Kinda tired from work and arch of right foot a little sore.

Wednesday, January 16: 12-13km easy. Run down to Ness's house, then 10km with her. Comfortable pace, felt good.

Thursday, January 17: workout with Mike. 5pm. 4 x 7' at 15k race pace, off 1'. 20' up, 15' down. 14km total. Money in the bank.

Friday, January 18: 6pm. 50' easy, Hans Solo, save pour le ipod. Musical accompaniment: David Gray and Led Zeppelin. Right arch hurt good. Stop running. Stretch plantar fascia and pain go. Keep running. Run home. 11km's richer.

Saturday, January 19th: 10am. Workout with Mike. 20 x 1' off of 1' rest. 16' up 15' down. 13km. Snowy, cold morning. No foot pain. Good.

Sunday, January 20th: 8:50am. Long run with Tristan from my house. Meet Mike and Paul 33' into run. Conversational looping around UBC and Spanish Banks and Balaclava Park. Total time = 100 minutes; total distance =~23km. Kinda tired and sleepy. Legs heavy. Good to be done.

Weekly total of ~100km. Total time~ 7.75 hours. Avg speed of ~4:39km. Range of 5:55/mile to 8:30/mile.

Good to be getting back in the swing of things. Happy with training. Just trying to build a foundation of aerobic fitness, so did not push workouts too hard. Biked to and from work everyday.

Need to stretch legs, with particular attention to calves. Ice foot. May run Steveston 8km next weekend. May not. Will decide by Thursday. Not worried about foot but rather fitness.

The wheel rolls on.

existential embrace

God damn it. Sickness and injury abound. A cold then a sinus infection and now a lower back injury. Do things really happen in threes? And can I articulate a complete thought from my fragmented mind?

And so it is 2008. And eight. Wait. That second sentence makes sense in more ways than one. Still waiting to log my first run of the year. First half marathon coming up in a little over a month and I would like to PB. In fact, I actually PB everyday - unfortunately it goes on my toast in the form of peanut butter.

So what do you know? Why do I write this blog? Lately, the vanity of it has really gotten to me and "gotten" really is a real word. I like the idea of documenting my training but I don't actually seem to be doing that. That begs question, "what am I really doing?" Am I writing it because I am hoping that someone will read it? Am I hoping that someone other than myself will notice that I wrote $31 rather than $31 million? Is this ego masturbation? Why do I insist on writing only interrogative sentences?

I did manage to make a few New Year's resolutions. This would be an appropriate time and place to outline said resolutions. Unfortunately, that is not going to happen. I can't let that happen. Because, you see, you don't really deserve to hear those resolutions. I mean what have you, gentle but lazy and voyeuristic reader, actually ever done for me? Yes, it's true that I have been remiss in updating this blog and yes, it's true that a few of you will occasionally peruse these rambling, but the latter is the cause of the former and the latter simply is not good enough anymore. Nothing ever is for the consumer in us. The consumer of information that insatiably feeds on the electronic alphabet soup of cyberspace and leaves us in our desk chairs, our bodies pudgy and restless and our souls weary. I am you and you are me. And Jamie Lynn is pregnant.

Besides the obvious fact that you likely have no idea what I am talking (and neither do I) you are probably now wondering one of two things: 1) Has he lost his marbles? 2) What do I owe this quack anyways? To the first thought I can only say this: I am not quite sure that I ever had all of my marbles in the first place (and where does that stupid figure of speech come from anyway?). And to the second thought, I offer this: with readership, gentle reader, comes a certain responsibility and a kind of personal debt for the temporary keeping of the wanderlustful, inquisitive mind. As a reader, one must trust a writer, not unlike a guide, to take oneself on a journey of the mind and imagination and the debt that a reader owes is his/hers full attention and commitment to see the journey through to the end. Now, perhaps you are not looking for that kind of time here. Maybe you are just looking for the cold, hard facts. Julian ran 15km in 65 minutes at an average heart rate of 150 bpm. He felt tired and his calves were cramping. His mind was wondering. Well, maybe this ain't your cup of john (that's right "john"; it makes as much sense as "joe") then. If transparency and facts are what you are looking for maybe you should just pick up a copy of the Vancouver Sun and get your daily dose of the Facts. The Truth. You're not gonna find it here.

All Doped Out:
Thoughts on the Plight of the War on Doping in Sports

With the recent hum and ha of the doping scandals of the Tour de France (TdF), it is difficult to not feel more than slightly discouraged about the current state of doping in professional sports. Surely it is unprecedented to have three riders expelled from the TdF in three days with either positive tests or doping suspicions, but the masses should know that this is only the tip of the iceberg of the drug problem in professional sports.

A positive test and another scapegoat, a rotten apple for the sport in the arena of public opinion. Fingers are pointed, names are called and the war on doping is applauded for having caught another senseless cheater. The war wears on. However, something is missed. A lack of understanding prevails.

Most people simply cannot fathom the life of a professional athlete, a life where 20+ hour training weeks, isolation from family and friends, chronic fatigue and self inflicted pain and suffering are the norms—a life where daily caloric expenditures can reach upwards of 10,000 kilocalories resembling a sedentary counterpart’s weekly expenditure. The happy pigs cannot identify with the discontented Socrates.

The war on doping has much in common with the United States war on terrorism. Not only are they futile endeavors but both breed the same kind of “us or them” mentality. You are either with us or against us, Bush once said.

As long as there is sport, there will be ergogenic (performance enhancing) aids. Athletes have always found ways to gain competitive edge whether it has been the modern use and abuse of testosterone and EPO in endurance sports or the Ancient Romans fondness of goats’ blood, and pig testicles, which were thought to be rich in testosterone. The current reality is that very few people in the lay public the pervasiveness of drug abuse in sport, particularly in sports which have lower testing.

Now in the wake of this year’s TdF doping scandals, anti-doping federations of various countries are promising to tighten laws and improve testing protocols. The chairman of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA), which alone has spent more than $31 on doping research, Richard W. Pound maintains that WADA has made significant strides in the global campaign on doping and that the gap on cheaters is closing. The adoption of the WADA code in 2003 by nearly all international Olympic federations and national Olympic committees was a unified world movement against doping in sports. A previous problem had been coordination between various governing bodies on testing protocol, criteria and methods.

A fundamental problem with anti-doping measures is the very nature doping control: new doping methods must precede new doping tests. Athletes and drug doctors will always be at least a full stride ahead of the WADA stakeholders. This vicious cycle is the reason why only a small percentage of dopers are caught.

While legalizing doping would level the playing field, the ethical implications would be far reaching. The most obvious is the message that we would be giving to young athletes: it is ok to cheat. In which case the first step would be to redefine exactly what constitutes “cheating.” Can we not educate young athletes on the dangerous side effects of PEDs and allow them to make informed decisions? Do the risks outweigh the benefits?

Regardless of the approach we take to doping in sports, an underlying question will remain: where are our values? If the war on doping is to succeed the approach must not be focused on catching the cheaters but changing the cheaters. We must recognize the drug doping dilemma as a part of a larger problem: we live in a society that is so fixated on success and power that individuals are willing to risk their lives in order to gain material wealth.

Who ate all the humble pie?

It was a larger bite out of the humble pie than I would have liked, but last week’s 1500m race taught me an important lesson: train your weak points. I only wish the Australian national cricket team had been there to share the pie with.

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t expecting too much from myself in just my third attempt at contesting the metric mile. Leading up to the race, I hadn’t done very much 1500m specific training, my training had been in a bit of lull and I simply was not mentally prepared for such a short race. Any other excuses? Did I mention it was only my third 1500m race?

Despite my lack of preparation (and abundance of excuses) I had at least hoped for decent effort and a time that reflected that. A sub 4:20 performance was at the top of my race wish list.

The funny thing about running is that you never know what kind of day you’re gonna have until you actually start running. Even warm-ups can be misleading. I’ve had some of my best workouts and races after whimpering through warm-ups I thought would never end.

“I think I feel pretty good,” I thought to myself on the ride out to the race.

After an abbreviated warm-up of10 minuters of jogging, a quick bathroom break, and a couple of rushed strides I was getting ready to toe the line.

Jamie, a running friend who came to watch the race (who, with sub 30 minute 10,000m to his name, is no slouch), informed me that there was a pacemaker in the field. Apparently a high school boy was being paced to run 4:04. Looking at the start list, I could see many predicted sub 4:10 performances. After calculating the pace per 400m required to run sub 4:10 (~66 seconds) in my head and remembering what I had averaged for 6 x 400m off of 3 minutes recovery in my last interval session ( 68 seconds, in case you were wondering), I decided not to try sticking with the lead group.

I remember looking at the other athletes on the start line, seeing faces of determination and focus and feeling an odd sense of detachment. I took comfort in the fact that the race would be over soon - in less than 4 minutes and 20 seconds if all went well.

The gun finally went and the field accelerated from the line. Less than 100m in I knew that it wasn’t going to be a good one. My breathing was too labored, my legs were too heavy and my mind was too weak to handle the pain that lay ahead.

“61…62…63…64…65…66,” I heard the starter’s splits as we came through 400m.

“Shit,” I thought to myself as I watched the pacemaker go through in 62 with the last man of the lead group in 64.

I came through in 66 and started crying or if I didn’t I at least wanted to. From that point on, it was survival mode.

800m in 2:16-2:17 (pb)

1200m in 3:41.

Line at 4:27.

I collapsed on the infield and lay there for awhile, bathed in my own sweat, struggling to catch my breath. I looked around at the other athletes sprawled out on the infield.

Several athletes in the race had PB’d. Kapil ran an impressive 4:17, while Tik ran with the lead group to power home in 4:08 – very solid performances by both.


Tik, running strong (left); Me, in a world of pain (middle); Kapil, motoring home (right)


Looking around at the other competitors I felt overcome by an odd mixture of emotions: disappointment, embarrassment and, somehow, hope. I knew I could run better than I did. Seeing the looks “PB elation” on other competitors faces reminded me why I decided to race and why I will continue to race.

Starting the cooldown jog, I was already thinking about all the weak point training I was going to do in preparation for my next attempt at the metric mile. Sub 4:20, I swear…

The Call Out

I would like to call out the three people that read this blog on a computer related query. My hope is to get some constructive discussion going on in the comments section of this page.

I feel that introductions are in order. Adam, Henry, and Matt: thanks for reading this. Adam, meet Henry and Matt. Matt, meet Henry and Adam. Henry, meet Adam and Matt.

Okay, now that the intro's are done the query. First, it would be prudent to preface the query with a brief story.

Here goes. Back in Oct. 2006 I turned 25. In lieu of birthday gifts, I requested monetary donations to fund a laptop computer from members of my immediate family. I had been eyeing the Dell 640M. However, at the time I did not have enough of my own money to facilitate the purchase. I therefore waited. And waited.

Now, removed from academia with several months of full time work behind, I have the money and I am ready to make the purchase. This is where the query comes in:

What kind of laptop should I buy? Are Macs the way of the future? What are some basic requirements I should look?

I am looking to spend roughly $1000. I would use the computer for Microsoft Office programs and internet for noble ventures such as this and retrieving scholarly articles (no others!). I would like something that is light weight and portable (I guess in a way all laptops are). Also, I would like the computer to have decent speed (good processor + good RAM = good speed?)
I understand that when it comes to processors, Intel Core Duo are the way to go? My whole life I have had to put up with a slow neural processor--I do not want to deal with a slow computer!

Anyways, the reason I have called you three out (aside from the fact that you are the only people who read this at least once in a blue moon) is that I consider you all to be computer savvy. By computer savvy, I mean that you know a buttload more about computers than I do. I keep meaning to go to Chapters to pick up the computers for dummies book...

I appreciate whatever comments and suggestions you can offer!

Out of hiding

I'm slowly creeping back into shape here. It always good to have a fresh supply of motivation. So if you're looking for some, look no further than this video.

The Adventures of Kenya and Bronco

Somehow, dogs have become a recent theme in my life. Or perhaps motif is the appropriate word. Maybe it's because I am dog-sitting for my brother's dog, Bronco. Or maybe it's because I am as sick as one.

This week has been The Adventures of Kenya and Bronco at the house here. They both enjoyed a well-behaved trip to the park today. Their favourite activities include the following:

• Begging for food together
  
• Eating together
• Napping on couches and beds together
• Play-fighting together
• And trips to the park together

The dogs compliment each other quite nicely. Bronco's laid-back, lackadaisical attitude meshes well with Kenny's intense in-your-face, attention-demanding behaviour. They are both currently napping (Kenya in the living room and Bronco in the kitchen), no doubt recovering from their trip to the park.

As for me, I am recovering from a nasty head cold that has recently afflicted me. Too tired to leave the house (save for trips to the park), I am forced to spend my days indoors, perched on my desk chair before the computer screen, watching letters become words and words become sentences, gradually filling up the white space on the page until there is nothing left to write...