5K PB, parkrun 50, My Other Run Club

 In 2019 parkrun came to Nova Scotia. There is lots of info about parkrun out there, but quickly, it is a free timed 5K run that takes place all over the world and is hosted by volunteers. The courses are paved, smooth, rough, rocky, hilly, flat, and even beaches. But they all have the concept of a welcoming 5K open to all and always free.  Our local course, Chain of Lakes, is paved, straight, and "just one hill,"  with that hills being the entire course. While there are first finishers, there really aren't winners. You totally can treat this like a race, or a fun run, a hard effort, a relaxing way to start a Saturday, or any combination of the above.  Your times are recorded in your personal online info page and your "membership" is good at any parkrun anywhere in the world. 

So I missed the first parkrun, where Craig came first and raved about how this small but fun little event was worth checking out. So I came the next week with the goal of running at a moderate pace and helping some other runners try to get to their goal time. Luke came first this week. 

In week three I was the first finisher and found the fun of running a hard 5K. This soon became my goal. A good hard 5K at least once a month, which then became a sub 18 minute 5K once a month. 

The BLT Runners have taken the Chain of Lakes parkrun on as our second run family. In Canada we are one of the top teams as far as participation goes, and the bulk of that has been at our local run. We've embraced the running, the volunteering, and the post run coffee (now at the 5K cafe!)

While I have managed to be a parkrun tourist twice in Boulder, Colorado, the bulk of my run have been at the Chain of Lakes. Parkrun has milestone achievements and I reach my 50th run a few weeks back (I am now at 56). I unlocked the 50 run shirt as well! I do try and volunteer occasionally as well.

While I have had many fast runs, and lots of first finishes, some of my favorite runs have been pacing friends to goal results.

And while this course is far from what people consider to be fast (with a 2.5km uphill finish), I have rose to that challenge and set all my PBs in the 5K on this course. In 2019 it was a 17:19 chasing down the course record holder Kyle, in 2020 it was a solo effort during COVID lockdowns of 17:14, and now just this past weekend I dropped it again to 17:12 officially. I wasn't sure I had another one at this pace in me but dang, I did. 

So thanks to the main core volunteers at Chain of Lakes for making sure this event works, thanks tot he BLT Runners for supporting the volunteers, and showing up every week, and thanks to the weather for being so nice last Saturday. 

Quick Update: VO2Max Testing

So Wednesday I popped up to Moncton to meet with Gilles at O2Max for a V.O2 Max test. 

I have done great stuff with the info that Kinesic Sport Lab gave me from various blood lactate tests and I really had no idea what new info I could receive.

I will also say that recently it is a little hard to get the motivation going because it feels like I have plateaued and at age 48 was there anywhere to go.

So the testing process is pretty simple and straight forward. Initially you test your lung capacity using a spirometer. From here we found out that I have pretty decently large lung capacity, almost 7 litres. So that was good to hear. We also took measurements of body composition: height, weight, body fat.

 After this the process is nice and easy. You put on a face mask that will measure your breathing as you ramp up through a treadmill running session. As your breath is being measured, so is your heart rate with a heart rate strap. The time on treadmill is only about 15 minutes but you have to push to the end.

After the test we determined that I am using 55% of those giant lungs at best. Essentially I am hyperventilating as I get faster but I have the capacity to push through and run like that for long periods.  My V.O2 Max is listed at 65 and I know from race results the VDotO2 training system that I am not hitting that level. I sit around a 58-59 usually, though I have seen a 60 once. While your V.O2 Max is only the potential you have, it is telling that with some extra effort to get more control of my breathing, I could certainly push past the plateau I am on. 

So where to? Learning to breath better. Take advantage of these huge lungs and see where I can go and maybe I haven’t plateaued quite yet.

I think both the Blood Lactate tests I have done and this V.O2 Max test have been amazing tools to help me become a better runner by using the tools I already have by training smarter.  And there is no time like right now to see what you could potentially do. New equipment on the market makes these sorts of test far more available to everyone. It is still essential to work with someone who can interpret the data you get and help you come up with the best plan going forward.

Natal Day Weekend Racing 2022

Last weekend was Natal Day weekend, a civic holiday and a traditional time to host races. I have done many different races over the years on this weekend and this year I chose to run hard on all three days. 

Saturday morning started with the traditional Chain of Lakes #parkrun. For those not in the know, it is a free timed 5K event open to everyone and is held all over the world. Our local event started in 2019, was stopped during COVID lockdowns and began again earlier this year. 

I tend to use the parkrun event as an opportunity to get a good hard run in. This weekend I decided to hold back a little and use it as an opportunity to warm myself up for racing over the two following days. I also wanted to really focus on maintaining an even paced run. So the goal was to run a 20 minute 5K and try to keep even splits.

I started nice and easy and built up to a solid 4 minute pace. On the way down the hill I was running with a small group that included some parkrun tourists. At the turn around a made sure to push my effort a little to maintain pace as the 2.5km uphill climb began. 

I distanced myself from all but Paul who was way out front trying to establish a good PB time for the year. I did manage to put a little extra into the final kilometer and finished in 19:38 with some pretty even running. That felt good. 

 

Sunday morning I wok up and prepped for the MacPass Mile. Sadly I don't have any photos of my run. I wasn't sure how fast of a mile I had in me. in 2018 I ran this event in 5:02. I knew enough to start up front. This mile is on a hilly bridge. You go down hill then up a very steep hills and finally come down hill for a fast finish. It is certainly not an even split, or even paced event.

I took off from the start and was immediately with the lead group. As we hot the uphill section I found myself drifting into a solid 5th place. By the top of the big climb my pace was a 3:20. With half of the race to go, I had to di deep to find the speed to get anywhere close to a low 5 minute finish. 

I was on Aaron's feet for the next 400m, then he started to pull slightly away. I could hear a runner right behind me. Then with around 200m to go, I pushed as hard as I could. My pace dropped to around a 2:40 min/km effort. I was stuck on Aaron's heels and we crossed the finish line 1 second apart. A 5:06 official time. I am happy with that, as I have been really trying to find that top end speed I had been working towards before taking on the Ultra distance events last year. 5th place.   

Monday morning was the main event. While I gave a good effort on the Bridge Mile, the Natal Day 5.4 Miler (8.9 km) was my real fitness test. Earlier in the year I had planned on taking on a fast 10K event, but I just never felt good enough in training to really push myself. Now with some faster runs in my legs and  a few sub 18 minute 5 km parkruns results, I was ready to see where I was. 

A brief warmup run with some great friends from Club Dog Runnin (no dogs today!) and we were gathered to the start line. I'm in there somewhere, I think I'm one of the few with a hat!

Both the 1.8 mile and 5.4 mile event start together (the longer race is 3 laps). Craig was running the 1.8 mile and his pace was going to be similar to mine, so lap 1 was going to be fun. 

Off we went, the leaders zooming off towards the future. I found my effort of around a 3:40 pace going up the first climb. My goal was a 3:38-3:40 min/km pace if all went well. Kilometer 1 is mostly uphill, then 2 is very downhill and 3 is flat/slight uphill until the final 300m, which is a good climb. 

Craig ended up running slightly ahead of me for much of his race. We climbed the final hill together and then he blew threw the finish line with at a 3:35 avg pace. A great showing! I continued on. 

That lap would be my fastest. I had to settle down a bit because 3:35 was not going to happen. Lap two was the same as lap one of course but now I had a hitchhiker. I could feel another runner on my heels that whole lap, but I really had to stick to my pace. The cloud were staying over the sun, so the overall temperature wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. As I approached the end of the lap, I gave a nice effort up the climb to start lap 3. This seems to have broken my hitchhiker off my heels. 

Lap 3 was a bit all over the place (literally). Lap 2 had seen a little over taking of slower runners, but lap 3 was quite busy. No complaints, it is all part of the fun and everyone was having a great time. 

I had a goal of finishing under 32 minutes. Now that was when I mistakenly thought the race was 8.6km long. As I run past the 8.6 km mark, I realized that goal might not happen. With the final climb coming it was time to push hard. 

I zipped over the finish line in 32:09 with splits of 10:32, 10:51, and 10:46. An avg pace of 3:37. Faster than I hoped and I feel I could have held that pace for another 1.1 km without issue. Meaning my 10km race pace is almost to where I want it to be. That would likely put me in a low 36 result and I am aiming at a high 35 min result. Best of all I wasn't beat up. I ended up running again later that day with the BLT Runners as well. 

It feels great to be back to a place where I can start to push my effort in training again. Ultra stuff was fun, but it took a lot out of me and I needed a good bit of time to recover. Time and physio and chiro and massage. 

So huge shout out to Anita at Beaverbank Physio who put me back together again and a massive thanks to Seaside Chiropractic with Alan and Dan making sure things just work. 

I have really been loving the On Running Cloud Monsters. I have never been one for a big cushioned shoe, but this shoe is really peppy and maybe it is what I needed. Maybe one day I will try a fancy super shoe, until then, the purple beasts will do. 

Canicross Race 3 (and 4!) Nothing But Epic at Keppoch

 So the third race of the MAHDS Spring Season was upon us. Club DogRunnin' put together another race, this time a full day event with multiple disciplines, 2 canicross races, 2 bikejor events and a canitrail event. Originally there was also a scooter race, though due to the weather this was cancelled.

Wait, what? In harness dog sports there are some very important safety rules, and one of those is the heat on race day. People can choose to run or not run in the heat or can be smart and slow down, but often dogs just want to have fun and aren't as good at realizing the consequences of their actions. So we have to be the smart ones at this time and make those choices for them. Taking the scooter event out, also shortened the day to allow us to get the other races in well before noon. As it turns out, the heat started to climb but generally we had some clouds to limit how bad it could have gotten, and we were safely able to deal with the races due to their shorter distances.

Okay, so back to the fun stuff. 

This weekend I signed up to do the Standard Canicross race at 3km, and the Sprint Distance at 1.5 km. As these are trails with lots of twists and turns, the exact distance isn't always easy to calculate, but they were pretty close to that.  

I got up at 4:30 to head off to Keppoch, arriving with enough time before the first race to have a chance to go run the main course as my warm up. 

The course is mostly crusher dust and wide with lots of tight corners. The hills were frequently quite steep. I chose a shoe with a short lug and lots of cushioning.

So as my race was coming up, I met with Val. Val had been generous with her dog Solo at the first race of the year, and was going to be generous again by loaning me another of her dogs (she has three great boys) names Bryce. Bryce is a Eurohound, like Solo. While not as big, he is definitely just as fast.  

Bryce and I took off to the start line, and I did my best to keep him calm. I was going to be going in the second wave of runners, so we lined up behind Wave 1 and waited our turn to get going. 

It's okay Bryce, just look forward to the fun!

Bryce seemed a little nervous and looked back a few times, but as we approached the start line for our start he clicked and was definitely looking forward to get going. And then we were off!

We quickly separated from Charles (he started with us) and headed for the first real test, a tight right, left and steep downhill.

Bryce swung wide to get us around that tight corner

That downhill was crazy fast and I did my best to hang on. And just as fast, another tight corner and up a hill. This continued, and soon we met up with our first runner ahead. Bryce didn't blink and before I knew it we flew by. Where possible Bryce chose to run right on the edge of the trail along the grass, so we didn't have a perfectly straight line between us, but it didn't seem to slow us down.  Much like with Loki in the last race, we hit a blistering 2:47 first kilometer. With 

We snaked along and soon caught our next runner. Again without hesitation Bryce passed on by. We were storming along.

As we came into the open area of the course, I could see Sarah P just in the distance, and we hit a huge downhill section again. Bryce pulled through, not caring about any of the volunteers on the sides. I think He noticed Sarah and wanted to catch up to her. He pulled me up to her in a little over a mile of racing. While it wasn't as fast as I racing the MDR race's first mile, this 4:31 mile on the twists and turns and ups and downs felt a lot tougher. 

As we reached Sarah we pulled along side and Bryce seemed to know Loki and we hung out there for a bit. I welcomed the slight easing of pace he went into, but then he got feisty and off we went, staying just ahead of Sarah but not seeming to want to pull away too much.  

Oooo nice soft grass

Now the thing with dogs and racing is that you can never be 100% sure what the day will bring. And since I am borrowing dogs, I have to accept this even more so. Everything was going great and then Bryce spotted a mud puddle well before I did.  Before I could yell leave it, he was upside down and rolling in the mud. I saw Sarah ease up a bit and then start back up (she could tell we were fine).  

While it seemed like we were in the mud for a long time, it was actually maybe less than 10 seconds before I convinced my buddy to move along and he went to regain the lead.  

We picked up the pace and caught back up, finally passing Sarah with maybe 200m to go on a very loose gravel area.

We crossed the finish line in 9:36 for 3K. Bryce was a giddy boy taking the win. It was obviously not the perfect race but it was the perfectly fun and exhilarating. I know I am a decent runner, but having to work as part of a team is a whole different beast and knowing we could go head to head with Sarah P and Loki the wonder dog was great. 

Huge thanks again to Val for loaning me Bryce  

Sure Bryce lets go run some more

Post race water cooler chat

Bryce and his sidekick

Race 2 was to see how well I could recover from Race 1, and really it was because I drove 2 hours to do the first race. Might as well have some more fun!  For this race I went to my friend Charles. He has two dogs and wasn't planning on doing this specific race (he did the full distance bike and canicross and the canitrail). 

He said I could have a go with Casey. She's a spicy GSP, much smaller again than Solo and Bryce and Loki. But speed? Oh yass. 

This course was fast and mostly downhill, though with some tight corners, so it isn't all out speed. Casey has been running for a couple of years now and knows what to do. We lined up in the 3rd Wave this time. I actually like a slow start, as I know the dog will make up any "lost time" pretty fast. This course though did require a quicker start as ideally, you want to get to corner 1 first to really take advantage of the width of the course through the twisty bits and steep downhill. 

Casey didn't want a slow start, and felt let down that I allowed teams to get ahead of us even for a moment.  So 100m in we took the lead in our wave.

Through the first 2 corners

Just an FYI this hill maxes out at a 10% grade

What can I say, this race was over fast. I barely could take a deep breath going down the first crazy hill. Then we slowly started to catch teams from the waves ahead of us. All of a sudden the 500m to go sign was in front of us. Casey pulled wonderfully, and kept straight in front of me. Her small size was the opposite of her big speed. Her desire to win is amazing.

We crossed the finish line with a 2:52 min/km pace. She gave it her all for sure. We took the Sprint distance win on the weekend as well. 

I did have the fortune to push myself extra hard as I was only doing the two races. So I didn't need to save any juice for anything else that day. I switched to Event Official for the final event, running the canitrail course to check it out and then working the start line. 

Huge thanks again to Val and Charles for the teammate loans. Huge shout out to Keppoch and Club DogRunnin for hosting the event and doing all the leg work. As an event guy myself, I know what work they put in. And big shout out to all the racers that travel to get to these events. The growth I have seen in harness dog sports over the last 10 years has been amazing. I am sop glad I have been a part of it, even before I could race it. 

Thanks to Val and Bob MacEachern for the photos. 

That's the final race of the Spring as I said, and I had a blast. Highs and lows can happen in less than 3 km, but the highs will always surpass any lows. 

I have a few non dog events coming up, but I'll bask in these ones first and maybe get some club runs in before the weather turns too hot. 

You wanna race me?

Canicross Race 2 MDR Fast Fox Moncton, April 2022

Well it was two weeks ago that I slipped into a canicross belt and attached a big ole Eurohound named Solo to me for a 3km race in the woods. We had such a great time. Now it was off to Moncton for a big harness dog sport festival hosted by Moncton Dog Runners.

I was super lucky to be allowed to run with Sarah Peel's dog Loki this weekend. He is a young gun, but his brain is all racing and going fast. Sarah helped to organize the weekend's racing, but was able to get out for the events herself as well. So to have her loan me the super Loki was incredibly nice. 

Now Loki did the Standard Distance (4.6km) Bikejor finishing up just as I arrived at the race venue. We was tired but still looked like he wanted to go again. I thought maybe that the 1.5 hours before the next event (the standard canicross) might take the edge off of him. More on that later.

So I signed in, swapped out my shoes for some running shoes and took advantage of some in between race time to pop out onto the course for some recon. The course is tucked into a nice park on the edge of Moncton.  The start is nice and flat crusher dust for about 2 km. At that point things start to get twisty with punchy little roller hills. If you run in Halifax at all and know Long Lake park, it is just like that. This section works its way up through the next couple of kms and finally with about 800m to go, it begins to descend a bit, staying twisty and becoming flat. It is pretty fast.

While there was rain the day before, there were only a few puddles and a few soft spots to contend with, nothing that would make the run difficult at all. The weather on race day was sunny with high winds, though inside the race route, the wind was minimal. Perfect.

Shoe choice was tough for me. My fast On Cloudventure Peaks from the last race were too aggressive for the crusher dust, road shoes were probably okay but maybe not grippy enough. I had an older pair of Salomon Sense Max Pro and opted to use them. A low lug and some cushion seemed like a reasonable choice. 

After what seemed like forever, it was approaching race start time. So I belted up, found Sarah P and hooked up Loki. We went for a light jog (as she suggested) with a few sprints and headed to the start line. 

If you have never seen a canicross start it is fierce looking. I got to start 1st with Sarah beside me (2 up start). Soon the time counted down and we were off. 

I purposely held back a little and eased into the start with Sarah getting a much better jump off the line. After a few hundred meters though we caught up and passed back into the lead. Loki was on fire and away we went.

I didn't bother to look at my watch because it didn't matter.  I just ran behind Loki and let him set the tempo. And he was fast. I did look at my watch after the first kilometer and we ran through it is 2:45. Dang, that was fast. I thought, well that can't last, at least for me it can't. I figured I would soon become a bit of an anchor for this boy.

He is a smooth dog for that speed though. He let me do the running and just elevated that. The leash / line never strayed from just taut. We cruised through kilometer 2, and our average pace was still 2:53 min/km. Then we began the hilly section. I felt like we slowed, but in general we didn't. I guess the downs made up for the ups in this case. Kilometer 2 and 3 were both run at a 3:03 min/km pace.

This dog was focused on going forward. I think it also helps that he had just raced this course 2 hours before and this was his home turf. I saw a few glances at a couple of squirrels, but nothing to worry about. 

Kilometer 4 we slowed. I'll take the blame. That was done at a 3:15 min/km pace, though it had the biggest elevation gain in it, so let's say that's to fault there. With now just 600m to go, the course heading slightly down to a flat finish, I thought, let's go for this Loki (because I couldn't use words). We picked it up a little, and crossed the finish line hard. Our finish time was 13:55.

Doing the math and allowing for some extra slowing down would have still had me finishing a 5km race at a sub 15:30, almost 2 minutes faster than my personal best. 

That was an amazing run for me. Loki was a great running partner. I wish I was faster for him. 

 After the finish Sarah got to have a post race photo with us and all her amazing dogs that got to run in the event. Notice that Loki barely looks tired. 

I got to then watch the sprint distance races, which included canicross, bikejor, and scooter. 2 Dog scooter is crazy to watch. 

I was able to take the overall win and we had a nice little podium picture. It was great to share the podium with Reanne and Krista (and Astrid).  The medal was awesome and I have a spot for the special medals where this will hang.

Club photo time with Club Dog Runnin'. I don't get out with the crew enough since their training times and mine commitments haven't always worked well together, but they are an amazing group. 

Is MDR trying to earn top spot for post race cake over the Halifax Movember Run? I mean, they do have flowers. Also a chocolate / vanilla mix cake? Dang.

It was a worthwhile trip up to Moncton for sure. The win is great, but I love an event like this one. Lots of opportunities, success measured in personal achievements, and dogs. Lots of dogs. 

Next up we head to Keppoch Mountain, and you should consider checking this sport out, May 14th.  

I meanwhile have to work on strengthening my body to run at these speeds. Seaside Chiro has been doing wonders on keeping me lose and ready to run, and I have added back some work with Anita Connors at Beaverbank Physio, as she finds little extra ways to allow me to take advantage of the speed I am being offered. 

Canicross Race 1 - CDR Rust Buster 3K, April 2022

 I'm a little late getting to this one, I guess I am out of practice writing race reports! 

A couple of weeks ago now I took part in my first official in person canicross race. I did one official virtual race last season, but that was it. 

For a few years now I have been helping the local harness dog sport scene in the Maritimes by serving on the board of the MAHDS, which serves to oversee harness dog racing's growth and safety. My role outside of the board had been mostly hosting events for other racers. After last year's 50K Ultra challenge, I wanted something new this year, so short and extremely fast it was!

First off, I didn't race with my dogs. They are 4 lbs soaking wet. Instead I borrowed a trusty new friend names Solo from my New Brunswick friend Val Michon. Solo is a big 80+ lb Eurohound and he can move. Val had a new dog in her stable and was going to run with him for this event. 

This race would be short and fast. 3k long but it included access roads, deep mud, rolling twisty hills and rooty sections. In some areas this would be close to canitrail racing (canicross on technical single track). 

I went out for a reconnaissance and warm up run to explore the course. It was going to be a fun run for sure.

After choosing my shoes (super grippy On Cloudventure Peaks), I got harnessed up and met up with Solo, so we could have a little bonding time. 80lbs of determined dog is not easy to control, but he was pretty good at not just towing me around too much.

As race time was getting close we all started to line up. While some canicross races are mass start, most are on tight paths and go in a time trial like fashion, with either 1 or 2 races starting at that same time and a small gap before the next start. This race was a 1 up start with 15 seconds between runners. I was starting 11th.

The excitement was growing, the dogs were howling, and the runners were starting to take off.

Soon my time came and I was off. A quick zip for 100m up a dirt path and then onto an access road for a moment where you can really gain some speed. I peaked out at a 2:35 min/km pace for a bit then settled into an easy (?)  3 min/km pace through twists and turns and mud. I quickly started ot catch and pass other runners and Solo was flying.

I knew we would be fast, and assumed I would catch a couple of people per kilometer, but wasn't quite ready to have worked my way up to the 6th place starter with 1.5km. Now, this is when things got "fun." The 6th place runner was Val and Solo was very happy to see her and decided he wanted to run with her instead. Ah, dogs, you just can't always plan what they will want to do. 

I kept running, though his heart wasn't in it as much. Finally we got far enough ahead that he started to pick it up again and we were flying. But then we ran into Sarah W, and while she was totally willing to let me pass her and Eddie, Solo didn't want to be rude. Finally I convinced Solo it was good idea and we took off again. 

Our final 1.5km was not as fats as our first 1.5km on the race, but the good news it wasn't for a lack of fitness. We both had a lot more to give. What we lacked was training as a team, and this sport is about being a team. Some dogs will pull anyone with no issue, some dogs won't pull anyone but their training partner. Solo just needed some more time with me I think to build that trust level.

We crossed the finish line running hard, which was great and made me happy. My 3K on a dead flat no turns crusher dust trail last year was a 9:30 with Asil (she's one of those run with whoever let's go kind of dogs). This run on a a twisty turny, muddy, hilly, rooty, course was a 10:08. And considering the last bit wasn't us working at our best, I am happy with that result. We did have to wait to see who won the race because it was a time trial start. Ultimately we did by just a little bit over Sarah P and Loki.

 

That mud on my shoe was actually Solo's foot print. I did say he was a big boy. 

Next up is the canicross race in Moncton. 

2021 The Year in Review

 So  2021 has come and gone. Another year with COVID restrictions and limited in person events. So one could easily have decided to cut back on things and just be, though I decided that wasn't for me.  

The year started out with some speed skating at the Oval. Luckily our oval is outdoors, which is bad when the weather sucks, but during a pandemic, it is great. 

And while I kept running all winter, I also took up a cycling challenge to virtually ride the coast line of Nova Scotia. Put on by Route 541 (which hosts other virtual fundraisers) this allowed you all year to get the ride done. While I didn't finish first, I did finish in the top ten and managed to get the over 2000km done in a few months on the indoor bike trainer. 

In April, during what should have been Trail Cleanup Day and World Litter Run Day, we had a lock down. While we couldn't gather, I could at least hit the trail and make sure to do my part. I committed to a bag of garbage from our trail a day. And while I didn't keep a daily litter run going (like Luke does), I do commit to picking up some trash when I can to keep my neighbourhood and our trail clean. 

I continued with skipping when I could and one the weather warmed up I took to the lake, often with Craig for our weekly swims. But the bulk of my year was running. And while I still committed to my monthly 5K time trail of a sub 18 minute run (which I managed to do), without a proper race on schedule, I decided to start training for a Fall Ultra Road Marathon. This was the Valley 50K. While it was never certain that it would be run, I figured the worst thing to come from this was a good solid training block of fitness I could use at some other time. 

I wrote about this race previously, and my other running exploits on the blog. While the Ultra was the highlight of my running year, the toughest / funnest / craziest was Craig and I running the Rum Runners Relay by ourselves. 110km in total with 60km for me in one day was a tough go, and probably harder than the race but in the end worth it. 

Finally, I managed to host 2 in person running events. One canicross event and my Movember Run. Both fundraisers and both big successes. 

I was lucky to be an ambassador for Nuun Hydration (electrolyte drink), which was a key tool I used in my run training. I was also an ambassador for Balega Socks. I love socks and good quality running socks are certainly worth it. Balega were great to have on board to help me get to the finish line of my events with my feet staying together (trust me, I have had poor sock choices and horrid blisters before).

Support for my athletic year came from friends at Sportwheels and Aerobics First and of course the BLT Runners. I love to help them give back to the athletic community as much as I can. 

And now the numbers:

Running: 3201 km. This was actually lower than last year. Now I will say I really cut down on how many weekly kilometers I was doing after my Ultra. So November and December were significantly reduced. Otherwise I probably would have been much closer. Of course all this goes to show that it isn't super high mileage you need, but well planned mileage.

Cycling: 4180. Down a little bit as well. I went cycling heavy to start the year with the virtual event, then mostly used it as a cross training and of course the weekly Sportwheels rides I host. I always want more cycling, but alas there is never enough time. 

Swimming: 11253m. Another drop, but I think overall my swimming was much better this year. Again, while I wanted to get in the lake more often, run training really takes it tole on you and I didn't want to be hitting the lake tired. 

Other: This would be skipping, walking, skating etc... 483km and almost 90 hours. 

I am not going to commit to anything specific for the coming 2022 season. One thing I would like to do is get training again for a fast 10km run. Maybe it will be a virtual race, a time trial or perhaps something in person. I am open to all options. 

Have a great 2022 every one.