A Focus on Recovery

My mindset is changing this week as the Hong Kong 100km gets closer and as I get excited for the big season ahead. I know there are some things that I need to start addressing.  My training hours and run miles have been ramping up significantly over the past few weeks and its critical that I keep on top of everything, body, mind, nutrition, sleep, injuries etc.  Maybe after 10+ years of racing and training, I'm finally wising up a bit (at least I'd like to think so :)

These last 2 weeks have forced me to train through lots of snow and slush. Mentally, I can take it as really, I have no other choice. But during my runs, I can feel little twinges here and there in my calves, knees and hamstrings. I'm so grateful that RMT Di Adams of www.diadams.com has come to my aid, taking an active role in the massage that I so desperately need.  I've been seeing Di off and on for a few months and she knows how to work amazing wonders. I'm fully putting all my trust in her and the knowledge that she has to treat my body.  I got a bit slack with massage ever since Ultraman finished, telling myself that it was my off season and that I didn't need it on a regular basis. Well, as I sit here tonight working, I know more then ever how much better I feel and how well my body responds.  With that said, I'm ready for the week ahead now as I've planned a great training camp in San Francisco for the weekend.  Di spent lots of time today working my low back and tibialis anterior. It's feeling so good tonight, I can't wait to run tomorrow!  The achilles drama continues on and off but I have a game plan for tackling it once again - its' called torture IMS.


I'm committed to using my foam roller as well and really, I have no excuse not too! We have 10 of them at the CBC studio and I stare at them daily.  I'm on it now from this day forward and will be saving an extra 10mins at the end of my workouts to lengthen out.  I'm testing out a new yoga mat too made by Vernice Vita Yoga Mats.  Ummm, who ever thought that a yoga mat could be so comfortable? Well, I'm thoroughly impressed already so that alone gets me stoked to get my stretching game back on.  And for me to say that, you know it must be cool!

Exactly 1 year ago today, I was racing through the heat and beauty of Costa Rica at the TCC 6 day staged race.  During my time there, I fell in love with a post run drink of coconut water provided by the locals, straight from the coconut!  It was the ultimate recovery drink.  We obviously don't live in the tropics but I'm really excited to have welcomed aboard for 2012, Coco's Pure Coconut Water.  Great taste, pure coconut water, I'm loving it!  I've long known the amazing nutrition that comes from the coconut so I'm really excited to add it to my daily recovery routine.  Coco's Pure will also be a sponsor at my 3rd annual Women's Tofino Running + Wellness Camp this year so 16 amazing woman will get to incorporate this great product into their camp recovery!

I've also gotta address sleep.  I used to function on 5hrs, maybe 6 a night. Times have changed and I'm loving and needing 8+hrs now. I'm striving to make this happen each night now by getting off the computer earlier and drawing a cutoff for responding to emails.

Nutrition and fueling is going really well and I will write a full blog on this soon. Have been 100% off all gluten/grains etc and have never felt better. The stomach issues have long subsided and energy levels are up.  Why did I wait so long once again? I've been reading and researching and things are making much more sense now  I'm having fun playing with Manitoba's Harvest "Hemp Flour" but oops, my coconut energy bars were a total flop this past weekend! I will have to work on that one before I post my recipe.  

More to come.........

Timing

Today, the world has been hit by the news of the passing away of Sarah Burke, one of best free skiing woman in the world, a true driver in female sport.  I never had the opportunity to meet Sarah although we have many mutual friends.  She and her husband live here in Squamish and I've followed her ski career and admired her talent and passion for the way she lives day in and day out.

Oddly enough, 4hrs before I read the news on FB today, I was just out running with 2 good friends on some fabulous winter trails. We were having a great morning session. As we climbed towards Tsuga Tsuga, the sun was warming us up and the views of Squamish were incredible.  We were talking about how much we loved this town, how lucky we are to live here, to access our trails and to be outside playing all the time.  In my head, it was yet another reminder of how much I love life, how fortunate I am to be living out my own dreams and how I do my best to make each day count.

Snowy Training Days

What can I say! I'm motivated right now BIG TIME.  The Hong Kong 100km is on my mind right now as I leave in 4 weeks time to join my Salomon team mates, Ryan Sandes and Grant Guise, to experience a great trail running event on the other side of the world!

I just put in a quality week of training, 18hrs to be specific with each workout counting.  I lost a lot of leg power over the past few months so I have still many hard workouts ahead to get my climbing ability back to a level that I am satisfied with.  I'm mixing in some bike workouts as well and these seem to do wonders in terms of keeping my legs fresh.

For once the weather man was right and the snow really did come Friday night as expected. As much as I'm enjoying my ski days on Whistler/Blackcomb this year, it's been incredible having very little snow in Squamish.  The trails are busy with mountain bikers and runners so in a selfish way, I've been excited about that.  I planned out this weekend to be a great adventure on my feet but when the white stuff fell, plans changed instantly.  No way was I NOT going to run outside, treadmill running in my opinion is best kept for sub 45min runs and only when in a desperate time pinch - ie - 5am training sessions or -30 temperatures. Neither of those were the case this weekend so outside it would be.

The Hemp Fuel Up

As of December 27th, I went gluten free again, taking out all and anything that was causing me stomach irritations! I'm feeling awesome, no bloating and energy levels are up big time. As I increase my training volume now for the Hong Kong 100km in February, it's time to get back to creative snacks to fuel the workout!

Check out these tasty little power cookies that I made! Adam Hart's www.poweroffood.com website has all kinds of great recipes and these are a long time favorite. Super quick to make, let me know what you think.