Sunny skies, Strava, and supplementing my run

The Vancouver Marathon has long passed. After the race, I decided to take some time away from run training. I did not stop running, but I let myself have a break from the constant pressure of workouts, intervals, hills, and the stress of knowing that what I was doing was all for my next race. The downtime away from the diligence and commitment has been very lovely and very needed. Even with Knee Knacker coming up, one of the 25 toughest runs in North America, I am surprisingly not super stressed out. This lack of obsessive run training has created a void. In it's place, I have become re-acquainted with my bicycle.

It started gently enough with a recovery ride the day after the marathon in the Watershed on my mountain bike. I wanted to spin out my legs and try to prevent painful DOMS from setting in (preventing DOMS from setting is is futile, but I did try my best to mitigate the soreness and stiffness by having two massages in two days, two ice baths, and the bike). One ride turned to two, and sooner rather than later, I was back to doing long rides, intensity and double days of bike in the AM, run in the PM, or vice-verse. A couple of things happened: I fell in love with my bike--with the ride, again. I signed up for the Axel Merckx Gran Fondo in Pentiction on July 7th. And Strava, that ugly, sexy beast came back to life for me.

Searching for the run of my life: The BMO Vancouver Marathon

Finishing up the Marathon. Photo: Doug Francis

It has been a while since I last made a post, and much has happened since the Chuckanut 50. A trip to L.A. with the family the day after the ultra, 10 days in SoCal at staying in Santa Monica with my close friend and adolescent travel partner Andy O., visits to the amusements parks (Disneyland, et al.), and hitting the beach in San Diego made March very memorable. The weeks leading up to the Vancouver Marathon had me plagued with a serious Achilles tendinitis injury. I had to undergo some PT treatment at Physiomoves by Christine for a few sessions to deal with it. It lingered for the whole month, putting my marathon in jeopardy. I was left before the race thinking that I could go out and run right through the pain, and risk being laid up post race, or take it easy and have fun.

I wrote the following the night before the BMO Vancouver Marathon: