I heard a voice say catch me if you can
My club, Speed River, is hosting the Canadian Cross Country Championships in Guelph on November 27th. This is the fourth and final year that the race is being held in Guelph. In the first year, 2007, I won the race (thanks to Bairu not showing up, haha). In 2008 I broke my foot less than a month before the race. In 2009 I was in good shape and I came down with H1N1 flying back from Japan less than a week before the race. Needless to say I want to race this year, badly.
My cross-country training started late because of the September 26th marathon however, by late October things were clicking along pretty well. Mileage was solid around 180km/week for three weeks and workouts were building on each other. A pain in my foot was getting slightly worse (sometimes if got better) as the weeks went by until finally last week I ony ran three times. So far this week I’ve only run once.
Yesterday I went to see the doctor about getting a cortisone injection to clear up my foot faster but she said that if I got the shot I shouldn’t run for seven days. Well if I got the shot 11 days before the race and I had to take 7 days off then I wouldn’t want to race anyways. Plan B is to keep on given ‘er… well actually the plan to take some prescription anti-inflammatories and keep running every other day with a special foot insert. My foot is slowly getting better. I’m sure it would heal faster if I took complete rest from running, but like I said, I stubbornly want to race nationals. If my foot gets any worse I will call off the race and take some rest.
This Saturday I’m going to do a workout on the National XC course and decide if I’m ready to race Nationals. I’ve been cross-training pretty well but with such a lack of running there is still a big question mark. I hate making big decisions off little information but I really feel that I can get a good idea of my fitness with some work on a familiar course.
Did I mention that Simon Bairu is not on the start list? I’m sure I’ll have my hands full with a lot of other guys given my lead-up to the race.
Here’s a video of the 1979 World Cup. There are a few reasons why this video is cool: There is a 10 000m at the World Cup (now called the Continental Cup the longest distance is 5000m). Peter Butler from Canada is in the race. The World Cup was held in Canada (Montreal). Finally, the last two laps are awesome (with that in mind just watch the first 1 minute and the last 2 minutes).
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FLOAT ON 
Ignore the voice. Please. You’ve been doing this time and time again, pushing when you shouldn’t. Only days ago “My plan is to hit up the X-training and let this thing heal in the hopes of running Nats XC. My main priority is to be ready for a Spring marathon and be 100% for training in January when the build-up begins.”
Yeah, gotta agree with asdf. You sound like me right before a stress fracture.
JR, would your pain go away a few KM into a run? There are a few reasons why I don’t believe this is a stress fracture; I feel soft tissue damage when I massage the area. Light massage of the area makes it feel better. A few km into my run yesterday my foot didn’t have any pain.
asdf, that is still my plan. I’ve been hitting up the x-training with minimal running and so far the foot is feeling improving.
Well, the pain would go away during the run, then come back when I stopped. My problem was on the inside of my left foot and it was the strangest injury I’ve ever had – I could never tell if it was soft tissue or bone. You’ve been through all of this more than me, so…. hope all heals well!
I wanna see a sub 2:10 this spring! Heal quickly.
That is the first time I’ve ever heard of or seen Yifter the Shifter. He is now all the rage at the office, and we have made “Yiftering” a part of our marketing strategy.
was that voice “saying catch me if you can” me on wednesday?
I met Yifter, maybe he is still in Toronto!!!?
Part of me agrees with asdf first comment here. I know it’s hard when the race is in your back yard, and you could win it.
Anyway….you are a Marathoner now! 🙂
At 7 AM this Tuesday morning it was 55F in Guelph and -25F in Grande Prairie,
Alberta, near where I once lived.
How do the western Canadian runners train for this Saturday’s Canadian
cross country championship?
The Guelph Dome is closed for liability issues, so I guess I’ll be running up and down the
YMCA- YWCA basketball court when winter starts on Thursday.
My buddy did cross country sking with an altitude simulator in 82, and he dominated
summer racing. I guess I could simulate threshold workouts on a basketball court,
or breathe through a straw.
You guys don’t have any business telling the next Canadian record
holder how to train. Its his journey and personal learning experience.
Fred, keep with x-country skiing, plowed roads and the treadmill and you’ll be fine through the winter. Maybe even a good pair of trail-running shoes for the trails when there isn’t too much snow.
It’s too bad about the U of G dome, there is another indoor facility (Marden) that you might want to look into, I’m not sure about their hours.
The middle of that race is cool, too. Virgin basically stops on the track and forces Yifter to take the lead.
“I’m sure I’ll have my hands full with a lot of other guys given my lead-up to the race. ”
hmmmmm…..the inference from this comment being???…..
Yifters kick is by far the most ridiculous one I have ever seen. He looks more like a steam train than a man.