The Little Man

Since the arrival of our “little man”, life continues... as it always does:
· Our dearest daughter still get’s up at 6:00 a.m. (5:40 this morning) regardless of the time I go to bed, apparently my schedule is of little concern;
· Ally continues to surprise me with her adaptability and calm demeanour; and
· When I stumble down to the shed in a tired stupor only to remember that my bike is at work, i.e. I ran home the day before, crying is okay but I still need to run to work.

In all seriousness, the routine in our household has changed little since Corbin’s birth. I’m not minimizing the arrival of a new child, but I still tend to make dinner, Isla continues to thoroughly enjoy either 8, 10 or 2 books before bed and my lovely wife picks up all the slack.

As for the running, well, although the volume has dropped off I’m thankful for being able to maintain some frequency particularly when it means throwing in a double to help a friend lesson the load on his shoulders.

Earlier this week I booked off work in order to spend a day (our wedding anniversary) with the family. Whilst everyone was sleeping I snuck out the back door and jogged down to the Lochside Track for an impromptu workout. I wanted to squeeze in some faster intervals after warming up with a couple miles of tempo:
· 2xmile: 5:57, 5:55
· 2x400: 1:19, 1:15
· 4x200: 0:35, 0:34, 0:33, 0:33

Although I’d hoped to run the 200’s faster, the difference may lie in the subjective distance (which I need to measure out). Still, not all that bad and with some luck I hope to use this to break the 5’ barrier at the Victoria track Series Race #6 this weekend.

Wish me luck!

Training:
Jul 26: A.M. 1:01:30 with 2x(3’ (1’) + 30”(1’) + 30”) (3’), P.M. hilly 47:02

Jul 27: sluggish 24:09

Jul 28: 57:32 w/ 2xmile (1') + 2x400 (2’) + 4x200 (1’)

Jul 29: day off (scheduled)
Jul 30: easy 25:54 w/ 4xstrides

New Arrival

Friday was all about family, and more importantly Ally. She was the star of the day in a very short (I don't know that I'd ever describe childbirth as sweet) performance. Shortly after 2 p.m. Corbin Thomas arrived weighing in a 8 lbs 1 oz... and is loved by his parents and ever so affectionate big sister.

Groundhog Day

The last ten days have become a bit of a blur, certainly not made any easier with my increased training. The mileage bump wasn’t in the plan but with imminent arrival of our newest family member, I can only surmise it is due to my own quirky coping mechanism. That or stupidity.

Always a glutton for punishment coupled with much need/appreciated distraction, last week I decided to squeeze in three workouts. I thought I was playing it safe by descending the intensity, but with the larger volume I may have been treading an awfully thin line. Either that or confused with marathon training.

Still I survived, barely. Although that’s possibly a little untrue because as I sit here I’m aware of nothing but heavy legs and unwanted overall fatigue. Even my lucky mauve shirt does little to lift my mood. Did I mention my sore neck? apparently sleeping on a single bed with my daughter, while resting my weary head on Dora the Explorer isn’t as romantic as once believed... at least not nearly as comfortable.

Ally’s due date ‘was’ supposed to be July 7th, but that came and went without much excitement. We did experience a false alarm on the 5th but after several hours at the hospital we were sent packing.

Since then, we’ve gone to bed every evening with the expectation that this would be it, only to repeat the cycle again. And again. As I explained it to a co-worker, it’s like coming home from work on a sunny Friday afternoon with nothing but a relaxing weekend ahead of you. Then, instead of waking to a glorious Saturday morning, I’m instead greeted with the cold harsh reality that only Monday can bring. Did I mention I’m impatient?

Training:
Jul 05: A.M. easy 26:49, P.M. 1:07:39 6x4’ hard (4’)
Jul 06: A.M. easy 48:15, P.M. easy 30:47
Jul 07: A.M. easy 24:00, P.M. 1:07:12 3x6’ T (1’) + 4x1’ (1’) + 6’ T
Jul 08: easy 50:42
Jul 09: 1:16:08 5x5’ T
Jul 10: day off (scheduled)
Jul 12: undulating 1:24:11

Weekly mileage: 7h55’43”, +/- 112km or 70 miles

Heat Wave

“The temperature in Victoria peaked at 31.6 degrees Wednesday, breaking the previous record for July 7, which was 28.9 in 1952. It’s also the highest since July 29 of last year, when the mercury reached a sweaty 35 degrees.”

I don’t know that I’d call two balmy days a heat wave, but given the average temperature over the last 10 months has fluctuated around 12C, I’ll take what I can get. Hello sunshine.

Following my recent 5,000m race, I found myself inspired but also left... wanting. And so, always the sucker for punishment, I decided to leave the qualitative measurement of “feel” behind and instead stepped up to the plate prepared for a more quantitative approach to training.

Despite not having access to track, or at least not having one conveniently located on my route home, I took advantage of two local footpaths that have been measured out by (I assume) the National Triathlon Center.

On Wednesday I ran 12x400 along the Blenkinsopp Connector, a paved route that runs across the valley, and only seconds from my doorstep. Notwithstanding the shorter intervals I’ve run on my various routes home, having a measured route to keep me honest was humbling: 1:14, 1:15, 1:16, 1:14, 1:16, 1:16, 1:17, 1:13, 1:16, 1:16, 1:15, 1:12.

Two days later, I found myself on the other side of the valley running 800s along the Lochside Trail. Last year I would’ve cruised through this workout with time to spare, but with my fitness building coupled with an undulating route I was again pleased with the results: 2:42, 2:41, 2:43, 2:41, 2:45, 2:42, 2:44, 2:46.

Happy trails.

Training:

Jun 28: comfortable 58:59
Jun 29: easy 43:31
Jun 30: 1:09:56 with 12x400 (2’)

Jul 01: easy 49:38
Jul 02: 1:03:59 with 8x800 (2’)
Jul 03: easy 32:28
Jul 04: rolling 1:21:58

Weekly mileage: 6h49’29”, +/- 94km or 59 miles

Bend It Like Beckham

At two years old, I think she has more skill than most of the English squad... certainly not any less. Hup Holland!

My training continues to roll along but with the wife expecting on Wednesday, coupled with last night’s false alarm, finding time to sit in front of the computer is difficult.

That said, I’m thoroughly enjoying what has quickly become a culinary tradition. For the third year running, for the duration of the Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy), Tour de France, and Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain) I cook Italian, French and Spanish food respectively. Last night was no different as we sat down to a massive Salad Nicoise courtesy of Ally.

More later.