The Next New Beginning ... Act II

A few of the overhead spotlights flash on and off, and the oh-so-polite "ding-dong" can be heard over the murmur of the guests in the lobby ... intermission is coming to a close. The crowd finds its way slowly back into the auditorium ... in a few more minutes, the stage manager will cue the house lights down, and the curtain will rise on the second act ...

... and so begins the continuation of my last post ... by the time the final curtain closed on "Willy Wonka" at the end of October 2010, I knew that I was hooked ... I also discovered that I am extremely susceptible to post-show depression. As I understand it, any of you reading this post who have invested heavily of yourselves into a show will identify, to some extent, with my "condition" ... it's actually quite similar to how you might feel when you come home from a really awesome vacation ... a kind-of "let-down" if you will. When "Wonka" wrapped up, I hit the skids kinda hard for a little while there. Friends of mine with far more experience (and intelligence!) suggested that the best way to avoid the "post-show blues" was to always be involved in a show - it seemed like such good advice at the time ... but wait, I'm getting ahead of myself here ...

Shortly before Christmas, my friend Pauline called me up, and said she had heard that the Victoria Gilbert and Sullivan Society were having an open casting call for the role of Nanki-Poo in "The Mikado". At the time, I wasn't familiar with the work, the composers, or even the Society ... little did I know how indelible an imprint this Company would have on me as a performer! I threw my name into the proverbial audition hat, and the producer sent me a copy of the audition song ... "A Wandering Minstrel, I". With the help of my good friend Sylvia Goodwin, I "learned" (in quotes for a very good reason) the piece and showed up for the audition. I sang the song (as best I could) and did a short cold read for the part. I really had no expectation of actually landing the role - I thought the experience would be good for me, and in a few days, they'd call me and thank me for coming out. Instead, the Director asked me to "wait over there" (a table in the corner of the room) along with a few other hopefuls while the Production Team had a short "huddle". A few minutes later, he walked over to us, dropped his hand on my shoulder and said, "Scott, we'd like to offer you the role of Nanki-Poo". After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I said, "Yes, I'd be happy to accept it!". "Great!" he replied ... "Can you stay? Rehearsal starts in 10 minutes!" ... second jaw-dropping moment of the night!! I stammered out a yes, and headed outside to make a few jubilant phone calls before coming back in to get started.

Over the next few months, I worked very closely with George Corwin, former UVic Professor of Music and music director for the show. With his guidance and expertise, I was able to "find" my voice. (Coincidentally, we took to the stage at the McPherson Playhouse a year ago to the day of this posting) I am very grateful to the entire cast and crew of that show in particular for taking me in, and making me feel so very much at home. I continue to perform with this Company whenever I can, and I have the utmost of respect for their players.

Since "The Mikado", I have performed in another half-dozen (no I'm not kidding!!) shows, in both principal and chorus roles. Most recently, I have found myself rehearsing 3 of the 6 shows listed below at the same time. I have learned that rehearsing 3 shows at once is too much ... I've more or less lived at rehearsal halls and theatres since the beginning of January this year. "Carmen" closed at the end of February, and "HMS Pinafore" wrapped up just yesterday, so now I find myself in just one show - "Brigadoon" ... that is, until summer auditions start ;-)

"Gone With The Wine" (Peninsula Players)
"Another British Music Hall" (Victoria Gilbert and Sullivan Society)
"The Flying Dutchman" (Pacific Opera Victoria)
"Carmen" (Pacific Opera Victoria)
"HMS Pinafore - concert version" (Victoria Gilbert and Sullivan Society)
"Brigadoon" - (Victoria Operatic Society)


There we have it folks - the performance has come to an end, and the curtain drops (hopefully while the audience is still clapping, of course) ... not a "Wow!! That was amazing!!!" end to the "Second Act", tho (sorry if I mislead you). I do have one more addition to this "show" tho ... call it an encore if you will:

Early in this post, I did say that I was "hooked", right? Maybe the picture below will give you an idea to the extent:

This tattoo lives on the outside of my left thigh now - a proud monument to my love of (and addiction to) the dramatic arts :-) As always, Dear Reader, thank you for visiting my corner of cyberspace ... I will endeavor to keep this Blog as current as time permits between performances, rehearsals, and vocal coachings. In the meantime, may all your endings be happy ones ... Toi Toi Toi!

The Next "New" Beginning ...

Well, if anyone still reads this thing, they're in for a surprise ... almost 2 years between posts - betchy'all thought I was never coming back ;-)

If you tuned in for a running or other endurance sport update, I must warn you - you're likely to navigate away from this page in disgust (ugh!) or horror (Aaaahhhh!!) or just plain boredom (*YAWN*) cuz I didn't return to cyberspce in order to wax loquacious on any of these (fine) subjects.

This blog has definitely changed its focus, as has its somewhat reticent author ...

Just under 2 years ago, (pretty much right after I stopped trying to maintain this blog) I "discovered" the wonderful, exciting and highly addictive world of the dramatic arts - especially musical theatre and opera ... no, seriously! I mean it!!! I'm so H-O-O-K-E-D!!!! Can you even believe what you're reading? From endurance athelete to opera singer?? Really???? How does that happen?!? Read on, my friend(s), read on ... okay, finish laughing first, then read on ... ;-)

I hardly know where to begin ... well at the beginning makes the most sense, doesn't it ... the problem is that there's so much to tell, and I don't think anyone wants to read a 2000-word opus entitled, "How Scott Crinson Found Himself on the Stage". *sigh* Lemme try to hit the highlights ...

I had been singing tenor with a community choir called "Spirit Rising" for a couple of seasons when I got wind of auditions coming up for a production of "Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory". Tanisha, my daughter, wanted to audition for the role of Veruca Salt (one of the spoiled-rotten bratty kids). Michelle encouraged me to audition as well. I wasn't too sure Tanisha would "approve" of doing a show with her Dad, but to my surprise, she loved the idea. I originally planned to auditon for the role of Mr. Salt (Veruca's on-stage father) - up to the day of the audition, that was still my plan. Tanisha, Michelle and some friends from the choir were insistent that I should go out for the role of Wonka instead. I showed up at the audition and asked to read for the part - in hindsight, I'm so very glad they (the Four Seasons Musical Theatre production team) allowed me to do so ... much to my surprise, they offered me the role (due in a large part, I think, to my ability to be "creepy" ... think the Gene Wilder version, as opposed to Johnny Depp). By the time we opened in late October, I was starting to feel like I'd found a new home ... call it my niche ;-) Little did I know how "deep" that niche was gonna turn out to be!

What say we leave it there for tonight - it IS getting late for me (on a non-show, non-rehearsal night that is) ... if I've learned anything in the last two years, it's this: never give away the ending of the story in the first act ... otherwise, why would the audience come back after intermission?

I do have a busy week coming up (three rehearsals and two shows leading up to Sunday afternoon) so I cannot guarantee how long this particular "intermission" will last - certainly not 2 years, and likely less than 7 days.

In the meantime ... I'm grateful for anyone who reads my prose - thank you for showing up. Now go stretch your legs, read over your program, maybe get a drink at the (overpriced!) concession, and them c'mon back for the second act ;-) See you soon!!

A New Beginning ...

It seems to me that I once posted a blog entitled "... Time Flies ..." I would be hard-pressed to argue that point, given that it's been roughly 18 months since my last post here. When I logged into "Blogger" this evening, I was actually just a wee bit surprised to discover that my blog still exists! In any event, I have returned (with little or no fanfare!) and I am "planning" (emphasis on "planning") to make much more regular entries here.

The fact is that in the last year or so, my running routine has (mostly) ceased to even resemble a "routine" and has in fact become the exception now instead of the rule. Admittedly, I had a very successful training and racing year in 2008 and the early part of 2009. Over the course of 2008, I set PR's at 5K, 8K, and 10K, along with personal bests at both the half and full marathon distance. I even ran my first (possibly my only) 50 K Ultra-Marathon event in May 2009. I ran a respectable time against a fairly seasoned field, and still pulled off a third place overall. Not too shabby, right? Well, from a "results-only" perspective, I can't complain! However, I have learned that training at that level, for that length of time can wreak havoc on many aspects of one's life.

Last year's 50K took place on May 2nd ... I was probably at my peak of endurance and personal fitness (ever!) on the morning of that race. I had planned on some serious recovery time, and had no immediate plans for my next race. A few days after the event, I got an e-mail from David Milne of Peninsula Runners, inviting me to the Oak Bay 'Kool' Half Marathon on May 24th. Instead of politely declining, I (very foolishly!) accepted the invite, and toed the start line for the race, having had a mere 22 days to recover from the 50K!! Needless to say, I did NOT run a PR that day. Although I didn't injure myself (dumb luck as opposed to planning!!), I did something far worse ... I pretty much burned myself out. It's been over a year since that event, and I gotta tell ya - I don't feel like I've ever really recovered. I still managed to race a full marathon last fall - I ran my "next-to-slowest" finish time (3:21) - frankly speaking, I think I ran the event simply because I couldn't get a refund on my entry fee. I knew going into the event that I wasn't completely prepared.

I have discovered that endurance training can be habit-forming ... Toward the end of 2008, and leading up to the Ultra Event in May '09, I think I became (somewhat) obsessed with running. My priorities shifted, subtly at first, then more obviously, so that running became more important to me than work, or sleep, or even my relationship with my wife. My waking hours were filled with training, planning my next run, or pouring over the results of my most recent outing. At one time, I was maintaining 3 different training logs, along with this blog, and I began to neglect my personal relationships. I had heard from many sources that running could be habit-forming ... I never expected that it would take over my life in the way that it did. By the time I got to the start line of the Ultra, running had become the most important aspect of my daily life. Fortunately for me, I have a very patient and devoted spouse. Michelle has always been my biggest fan, and greatest supporter. (In 2004 when I first started training, she used to follow me around in her car, for fear I would pass out!) In hindsight, I can see the evolution of my running addiction. Michelle stood by me throughout, and for her faithfulness, I will be forever grateful. Thank you Michelle.

In August of last year, my youngest daughter, Tanisha, moved in with me. Prior to her arrival in my house just 2 days after her 13th birthday, we had never lived together before. Needless to say, a period of adjustment ensued ... is still ensuing ... will continue to ensue ... I'm sure you get the point. In all seriousness, I am thrilled to have my daughter living with me. I would like to keep running, no question of that ... Tanisha has helped me realize that family comes first. I'm still working on balancing family and personal needs - like the rest of my life, consider it a work in progress. Thank you, Tanisha, for teaching Dad a lesson (or two!)

I haven't raced anything since the RVM last fall. I can't even say that I have really trained effectively over that same time period either. There are a myriad of reasons why I'm not training at the same level. These days, I can't seem to find either the time or the motivation to strap on the shoes and head out the door. I am working split shifts now, and my workday starts before 7 AM, 4 out of 5 days of the week. For years, my daily routine consisted of rolling out of bed, having a coffee and light breakfast, then heading out for a run. I have yet to figure out a running routine that fits into working the split shift. More importantly, I seem to have lost my mental "edge" ... I feel perpetually burnt out. In 2008, I woke up every morning, just dying to get out there ... these days, I can't seem to string together more than one or two runs a week, and even those runs feel "forced" - almost like "I'm gonna go running now cuz I have to" ... where did my Joy of Running go? With any luck, Dear Reader, we'll find it somewhere in the days and weeks to come. I sincerely hope that by re-visiting my Blog, I will recapture some of the motivation and joy that I felt a couple of years ago. Assuming that someone other that Michelle and Tanisha will read this, I'd love to hear any suggestions you have. Please post them as comments! Thank you for reading - this was a long one ... Goodnite all :-)

Marathon of Hope 2009

Just a quick post today ... this entry isn't about training, or racing ... it's about a chance I have to participate in the Marathon of Hope 2009. This program is being put together by CBC Television with the support of the Fox Foundation - they are going to assemble a team of 12 runners to start in St. John's NL on April 12th, and have them follow Terry Fox's original route and daily mileage, arriving in Thunder Bay ON by Labour Day. With the help of a very talented friend, we have created a YouTube video as part of my application to participate. You can view the video here.

Please wish me luck. Thank you again for taking the time to read my blog. Cheers!!

Taking the plunge

It's official. After months and months of fence-sitting and fretting, I finally did it. I coughed up the entry fee and signed up for for the 5th Annual Triathlon of Compassion. I've been somewhat negligent in my swimming workouts of late, having remained far more focused on running instead, so I'd better "get wet", so to speak, and reacquaint myself with the joys of consuming chlorinated water while trying to stay afloat (ie. my version of swimming).

Seriously, though, I am very excited about this event. Not a word of a lie, I think my pulse rate went up to over 100 bpm while I was filling out the entry form! I started talking about competing in a "tri" over a year ago, and to be perfectly honest, I've (not so) secretly wanted to complete an Ironman-distance triathlon for many years ... I guess I've gotta start somewhere, right? This is a good race to choose for a first time event for me ... it's close to home (the Esquimalt Rec Centre is the hosting venue - about 1 mile from where I live), and as such, I know the area and the pool well. The bike and run courses are both familiar to me, and most importantly, as a "triathlon newbie", I'll feel right at home. I understand that many folks use this triathlon as their first attempt, so I won't feel too intimidated by my fellow competitors. On the other hand, I was just checking out last year's results, and there were some serious contenders, too. Given my lack of experience in the sport, combined with a lack of training in the swimming/cycling department, I have no expectations about my performance in relationship to others. I'm just excited to take on the challenge.

To that end, though, I'd better get off my duff, and head over to the pool. I'd like to get a least a few swimming sessions in before the big day. Thanx for taking the time to peruse my pages. Cheers!!

Here we go again ...

I guess I wasn't kidding when I titled my last post ... six bloody weeks ago!! It isn't really practical (or even remotely interesting!) for me to detail out 6 weeks worth of workout material, so I'll just try to hit the highlights.

As I mentioned in my last entry, I was preparing for the Oak Bay KOOL 1/2 Marathon. I've gotta give a shout out to Dave Milne and his staff at Peninsula Runners for putting on a great event. Race day (May 25th) dawned calm and cloudy - perfect racing conditions! I took off at the start maybe a wee bit too fast (3'49" first km) but settled down and hit the 10K mark at 39'59" - bang on projected pace. The second 10K has a bit more "up" than "down" in it, so I wasn't tremendously surprised with 40'55" for the second 10K split. Official finish time ... 1:25:03, which was fast enough for a 14th place overall finish, and a (surprising!) 3rd place in my age category. The full list of results is here. One other point of interest for this race - having run most of the course on my own, I was lucky enough to hook up with 2 other runners for the last 4 km's or so (is 3 runners considered a pack?). We traded off the lead several times, and with just a few hundred metres to go (most of which was uphill) they took off and left me in their wake. I just didn't have anything left in the tank for a solid finish kick. Kudos to them both for pulling me along those last few km's - thanx Jordan and Greg.

This year, so far, has been a banner year for me in the running department - I've set PR's at 5K, 10K and half-marathon distances, and have thus far remained mostly injury-free. All the signs are pointing to another PR this fall at the Royal Victoria Marathon in October. There are no guarantees at the marathon distance, tho .. last year I started the race feeling totally pumped for a PR, and ended up not even finishing (see this post for a full recap). This year, I have chosen to follow a (very ambitious!) training program designed by Bruce Deacon. I'll try to keep you posted on my progress - I'm finding it very hard to squeeze in "blog time" between work and running and the rest of my life.

I did hit one major milestone earlier this month. Before I get there, I have to digress into a bit of history... Although I ran in high school and military college, I drifted away from the sport in 1990. For the next 14 years, I didn't pay much attention to my health ... I smoked for over 10 of those years, and tried quitting several times before it finally stuck. There were a couple of failed attempts at returning to running in earnest as well. I marked my official "quit date" as August 28th, 2004. My "return to running" started (painfully, if memory serves) on October 1st that same year. Since that first run, I have been faithfully logging my workouts, and keeping track of my total mileage. On June 3rd, I officially passed the 8000 km mark of cumulative distance. I haven't figured out how many training hours that translates into - lots and lots would be the short answer!

One last bit of news ... Michelle and I are looking forward to July 1st - we're both participating in the HBC "Run for Canada" here in Victoria. I'm running the 10K event at 8:00 AM, then Michelle and I are going to do the 3km walk together at 10:00. We're both very excited - it's a great cause and a fun way to spend some time together, too!

That's enough for tonight (that's more than enough you might say!) I'll try to post shorter, more frequent entries, but I can't promise anything. For anyone who stuck around to the end of this post, thanx for taking the time to read.

I can't believe how fast time flies!

It's been 10 days since my last post - where does the time go? I've got lots of info to pass on so I'll try to keep it brief - try being the operative word. Anyone who knows me, or has even read some of my previous posts knows that me and "brief" are virtually complete strangers.

• Monday April 28th - took the bus out to Saanichton to go for a leisurely bike ride with my daughter. It was such a nice day when I left Victoria - it started raining by the time my daughter and I left her house to bike to Sidney. We made it there without getting too wet, then bused back to her house. I decided to ride home - 23 of the most miserable biking kilometers I care to recall. It was raining, cold, windy, and I was seriously under dressed for the conditions (not to mention still sore and supposedly recovering from the TC 10K race the day before!) All in all, not a stellar day, nor a stellar workout.
• Tuesday April 29th - in the interest of recovery, I went for a very easy 500m swim, then paid a visit to Elements of Health Centre for some much-needed massage therapy. Asta Kovenan is a Registered Massage Therapist, and a recent addition to their staff. She spent about an hour working on my legs, and helped me find all the sore spots that I didn't know were there! I only just started working with Asta, and I plan on continuing to have treatments with her on a regular basis.
• Wednesday April 30th - easy recovery-paced run, about 7 km's at about 4'42" per km.
• Thursday May 1st - rest day (from running), but ended up working overtime - loooong day on the bus!
• Friday May 2nd - unplanned rest day - too tired to work out.
• Saturday May 3rd - back at it - 14 km in just over an hour, last 2 km's in 4'12" and 4'02" for a nice strong finish.
• Sunday May 4th - decided to do a dry run of the Oak Bay "KOOL" 1/2 Marathon course (for a course map, click here). My original plan was to run the course in around 1 hr 40 min, just to check it out, and not to try anything too hard. I ended up completing the route in just over 90 minutes instead - something closer to marathon race pace! *sigh* Apparently, I have problems taking it easy - in my defense, Sunday morning was absolutely gorgeous running weather, and I hit the street feeling like a million bucks. Can you blame me for going too hard?
• Sunday May 4th, evening - softball with the BC Transit Softball team (still no name - we're working on it!) It turns out that I can't run the bases like a kid anymore - I managed to pull a muscle in area of my upper left quadricep, just below the TFL. I came home limping, and got a decent tongue lashing from my wife for over doing it! Silly me...
• Monday May 5th - rest day, with some ice a couple of times in the evening on the sore leg.
• Today - went out for a nice 40-min ride on the Trek before taking it in to the shop for a tune-up. When I went back to get the bike, Don spent about 15 minutes with me tweaking my riding position and giving me some tips on pedal dynamics. I'm looking forward to my next ride!

That's plenty for this post, I think - the next few weeks, I'll be focusing on preparations for the Oak Bay Half. This will be my first race at the 21.1 km distance - I'm looking forward to the challenge. In the meantime, happy running to all :-) Cheers.

39:12!

Well folks, the title says it all for today's post ... a new personal best at the 10K distance!! Today was the 19th annual running of the ever-popular Times Colonist 10K event here in Victoria. I hit the street this morning at 8:00 AM sharp along with close to 11,000 other runners and walkers. The weather was perfect for a 10K event - not too cold, but dead calm and slightly overcast. I started near the front of my predicted finish time, and ran the first kilometer slower than my projected race pace (4:03). This represents a huge achievement for me, because I tend to shoot off the start line like a jackrabbit, and inevitably pay for it later on in the race. I picked it up for km's 2 and 3 (3:49 and 3:46 respectively), then calmed down and maintained a sub-4 minute pace for the rest of the event. I would like to say that I ran the last km faster than any other, but the best I could manage by that point was 3:55 - still nothing to be disappointed with for me! All in all, I am very pleased with this morning's race. Apparently the combination of distance training and speed sessions that I've been employing over the last 2 months paid off HUGE today!

Enough about me already! Congratulations to everyone who came out for today's event. I was very pleased to see a number of my 10K clinic participants running strong right up to the finish line. Well done! You should be very proud of yourselves! (For a full list of race results, click here.) I was especially pleased to see Brenda S. finish in 57:09 - she put in so much hard work and dedication during the clinic this year. We had planned for her to run "under 60 minutes", although we never quite agreed just how far under 60 minutes we were shooting for! Apparently, she was right and I was wrong - good for you, Brenda!!

I gotta cut this short folks - I start work soon, and I can't be late! I'll be writing more in a couple of days - it's time to start planning for the next race... As always, thanks for stopping by!

Just a quick note (for once!)

I just wanted to pass on a bit of news before hitting the hay tonight ... yesterday, I took another step toward my competing in my first triathlon - I picked up a really skookum pair of Nike bicycle shoes, and a set of Shimano SPD clipless pedals. The folks at Fort St Cycle (where I bought my bike about a year ago) were a tremendous help, assisting me in choosing the gear, then installing it on no notice in under an hour! Then, they set me up on a wind-trainer so I could get the hang of "unclipping" without having to endure the pain and humiliation of falling over on a busy street corner. It took a few tries (let's face it - I'm not always a fast learner!) but I soon got the hang of it. The hardest part for me was figuring out how to "clip in" ... getting out proved to be much easier.

Over the past 6 months or so, I've been considering going "clipless", and I've picked the brains of any cyclist I could get to talk to me. They all told me the same thing - you'll be amazed at the difference it will make to your riding (instantly!), and you'll wonder why you waited so long to get them. I gotta tell ya - everyone was totally correct - I just can't get over what a difference it makes! Admittedly, my longest trek since yesterday has only been 5K, so I suppose I should wait until I've had the chance to really hit the road before declaring them an absolute success. Nevertheless, I'm very pleased with how they feel, and with how quickly I am adapting to them. Stay tuned for further updates!

One last quick note - I want to give a shout out to Pano at Trainharder.com ... he was kind enough to add my blog to his site - apparently at least one person other than me has read my blog after all! There is a TON of material on his site, so if you're looking for tips, tricks, or stories, go check it out!

Alas, that is all for this evening ... 'twas an early morning on the bus today, and the alarm clock isn't gonna care if I stay up all night blogging! Until next time, thanx for stopping by :-)

A New Beginning ... perhaps

Nearly 6 months has gone by since my last post here ... hardly what you could call a prolific writer, by any standard! The fact that no-one seems to have noticed is only slightly demoralizing - I sometimes wonder if anyone other than me has even read this thing! It seems to me, though, that when I first started writing this blog, I chose first and foremost to do it for myself. I have been feeling the "pull" of writing here for some time now, tho ... perhaps after tonight, I'll stick with it. As they say, only time will tell...

It should come as no surprise to anyone who has read this blog to know that I have been running (gasp! really - it's true!) a fair bit. I've logged just over 1000 km since my last post, not to mention just over 46 km swimming, too! I'm seeing results, tho ... my aerobic fitness has improved quite a bit, probably thanks to the swimming more than anything else. I'm starting to see some results on the road, too. I recently ran the Esquimalt 5K "Fun Run", and won the event, setting a PR in the process. It was a new experience for me - I've never led a race before, so I got to be the guy chasing around the police motorcycle at the front! The course was rather hilly, too, so I was doubly excited to set a PR. There is a results page here. Unfortunately, this was not an "official" event, so there wasn't an "official" time. In any event, I finished the event almost a minute faster than my next-fastest time, so I can't complain.

One of my long-standing goals, from a running perspective, is to break the 40-minute barrier in a 10K event prior to turning 40 years of age. So far, I've come close - 40:35 last July in the HBC run for Canada - so I'm still working on it. My next attempt is coming up pretty soon - the 2008 Times Colonist 10K, here in Victoria. This year, for the first time, in addition to training for the event myself, I volunteered to work as a run leader for one of the 10K Training Clinics. We've been faithfully meeting Monday nights since January 21st. I would have to say that I've gotten the most satisfaction out of working with the clinic participants. I wish them all the best of luck in this year's event! No matter what time they cross the finish line with, I'll be proud of them all for coming out and completing the event.

So that's it for now ... I'd love to promise more frequent posts, but I don't like making promises that I might not keep. So I'll say "So Long" for now, and hopefully it won't be "so long" before I post again. Cheers!

Just when I thought it was safe to run...

I have suspected for quite some time that I am addicted to running - whether it be the act of running, the endorphin kick during the run (or post-run if I'm lucky), or some ephemeral, yet-to-be-discovered reason ... I can't nail down any one thing about it that I like so much, and quite frankly, I don't want to either. The "why" doesn't matter so much within the context of this post - for now, let's just accept the fact that I'm an addict.

One component common to all addictions is the "need" factor ... choose whatever euphemism suits your fancy: jonesing, craving, hankering, yearning, longing - by now, I'm sure you get the point. Another commonality amongst addicts is what happens to their emotional state if they are denied their "fix". Many of us experience negative emotions, such as depression, anger, general bitchiness and the like. After my disastrous experience in this Fall's RVM, the last thing I was expecting to experience was a strong desire to go running. Quite frankly, as I indicated in my last post, running was the last thing on my mind. Nevertheless, as the week post-marathon stretched out, my mood (which wasn't great at the beginning of the week) got worse and worse. The blisters on my feet healed up very quickly - pretty much painless within just a couple of days. Mentally, though, I still felt that I shouldn't/couldn't go for a run. I tried swimming, but let's face it - I've never been a very strong swimmer, and after 30 minutes in the pool, I was exhausted, frustrated, and no closer to resolving my nasty state of mind. As the days passed, Michelle started asking me, "So, are you going out for a run today?" I think she asked once on Wednesday, and maybe twice on Thursday. By the time Saturday morning rolled around, she was asking once every 15 minutes or so! Fortunately, I have friends who are much smarter than I am - that means just about all of you - one or two of you suggested I should just go out for a "fun run". Leave the watch, the heart-rate monitor, the pacing foot-pod, all the technical crap at home and just go running. Period. No time, no pace, no plan. Those of you who know me as a runner, or perhaps, even just as a person can attest to the fact that I'm a numbers kinda guy. How fast am I running? What's my heart rate? Is it faster/slower than yesterday, or last week, or the last time I ran this route? What's my pace? How far have I run? yada yada yada ... the idea of running without all that data should have occurred to me ages ago, but like most of us, I tend to get too caught up in my own shit to think clearly. I finally took everyone's advice, and nervously laced up the Adistars on Saturday morning. I headed out with only the clothes on my back, so to speak, and hit the trail ... the result? WOW!! I had an awesome run. I'm guessing it was around 16 km (I have run the route before) and I think that it took about 70 minutes, but that's all I know from the numbers side of the fence. More importantly, that 70-ish minutes of running bliss did what no amount of splashing about in the pool could do - it banished my "running demons" and proved to me that, yes, I am an addict, and yes, I can still run. I may have crashed out during the marathon, but lo and behold, I can still run. I want to shout it from the rooftops - I CAN STILL RUN!!! At least, as long as I'm not injured...

...which leads to Tuesday of this week. I didn't run Sunday, or Monday - went back to the pool to keep trying. I played some badminton for a couple of hours on Monday night (another love of mine - haven't played in about a year - running took over) and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I got up early Tuesday morning to drop Michelle's car off at the repair shop, then ran home from the shop, covering just under 10km. It was a hilly course, and I felt that I worked hard on the hills, and got home feeling pleasantly tired. By late morning, I was starting to limp, and by about 1 o'clock, I could hardly put an weight on my right foot. I started to panic and called work to book off of Wednesday's shift. I tried to get in to see my GP for Wednesday morning - no joy - he's out of the country. I opted for a walk-in clinic ("hobble-in" might be more accurate!) instead, wanting to get a quick diagnosis just in case I couldn't work. Apparently, "quick" was not the order of the day - I waited almost 90 minutes to see the doctor. The actual visit was brief, but informative nonetheless. The doctor told me that I have "sesamoiditis" - inflammation of the sesamoids, which are two jelly-bean sized bones in the base of the forefoot, just behind the first metatarsal. Luckily, the treatment is very straightforward - rest and anti-inflammatory medication. The doctor tells me that I should be right as rain in just a few weeks. The downside? I'm back to not running - again. Let's hope that poor Michelle can put up with me long enough for my foot to heal. Anyone know where I can find a runner's detox centre?

The Return of the Blogger Virgin

So, a few months ago, I started this blog with grandiose plans of publishing daily. Then life took over, and I had to adjust my projected posting frequency to weekly ... then marathon training took over, and I had to resign myself to posting less frequently. It could be argued that once every 60-ish days hardly counts as even infrequently .. and you might be absolutely correct. In any case, I have returned (with no promises, I might add) and am happy to be back. I just wish I had better news to offer up in celebration...

As I mentioned earlier, my (sudden?) disappearance from "The Crinson Chronicles" can be linked to a dramatic increase in my training mileage, combined with a 6-day-a-week work schedule. All that training time was aimed at a very specific race - The Royal Victoria Marathon, which took place today here in Victoria (oddly enough - where else, nimrod!). I posted a note regarding my personal race experience on my Facebook account earlier today - here's a copy:

"It is with a heavy heart that I share these results with anyone who cares to know ... for the first time in my life, I didn't complete a race. I went into today's event mentally and physically prepared, but at some point, all the wheels fell off. I made it as far as about 35km before deciding to pack it in. The first half of the race went extremely well - I hit my projected splits at 10K, 20K and the half-way point almost bang on. At 26km, I suddenly lost steam. At 30K, I was only 2 minutes slow against my projections - even at that point, I thought it may have been salvageable. The next 5 km took roughly 35 min to complete (2 1/2 min/km slower than expected race pace!) By that point, I was walking more than I was running, and starting to get pre-hypothermic (for those who aren't local, the temp was cool, about 12 degrees, and it started pouring with rain about an hour and a half into the run). At 35km, I stopped and told a volunteer on the course that I was abandoning the race. After a period of time, I was picked up by a van, and driven back to the finish line to attend the medical tent. I wasn't suffering from any immediate medical concern, so they patted me on the back, gave me a hot chocolate, and let me go. Perhaps the worst part of my whole race experience followed leaving the medical tent - I found myself face-to-face with volunteers who tried to put a finishers' medal over my head! I had to graciously decline (no small feat, I tell you that!) and hobble my way through the crowd to make my way to where Michelle was waiting for me. All in all, a very disappointing day ..."

So ... "now what?", you may ask. I've spent a good chunk of time since deciding to abandon the race (what a horrible phrase - lemme know if you can euphemize me a better one!) trying to figure that very question out - now what? The blisters on my feet (caused, I think, by choosing to run in the wrong shoes for this event - Rod, you were right after all) will heal in probably a week or so. My wounded pride may take quite a bit longer to sort itself out, to say nothing of my confidence level! For the immediate future, I see the local swimming pool as my new training ground. When it comes to swimming, I have no illusions whatsoever about my (lack of!) talent - I have all the natural buoyancy of a stone, and only slightly more natural talent at propelling myself gracefully through the water. I guess I'll have to knuckle down and get some lessons on swimming correctly - I can muddle along for a few hundred meters at best, then it just gets ugly. Given the depth of my addiction to running, I can say with reasonable certainty that I will return to it, probably will run the marathon here in Victoria again next fall. For today, though, the prospect of lacing up my Adistars and heading out for even a light jog is a grim one at best.

One final note on today's race(s) - congratulations to all who participated - good job. I would especially like to thank all the volunteers who made the event happen - your selflessness in donating so much of your time, especially on a chilly and damp Thanksgiving weekend; cheering us all on, making sure that we all stayed on course, handing out blankets, finishers' medals, removing timing chips, helping out at the Expo ... we who run are indebted to all of you. Once again, a most humble and heartfelt "Thank you".

So much news!

It's been a busy week or so since my last entry ... There's lots of stuff I want to touch on, but before I get too distracted, let me give you the "by the numbers" breakdown of the last few running workouts:

• Sunday July 29th - 13 km, HR avg 136, avg pace 5'32"
• Monday July 30th - rest day
• Tuesday July 31st - 11 km, HR avg 138, avg pace 5'37"
• Wednesday August 1st - 13 km "Farklet" (alternating slow/fast km's), HR avg 150, avg pace 4'50"
• Thursday August 2nd - golf day, shot 109 (see note below)
• Friday August 3rd - 13 km, HR avg 139, avg pace 5'19"
• Saturday August 4th - 10 km tempo run, HR avg 162, avg pace 4'20" (10 sec faster than marathon pace)
• Sunday (of this week) - rest day
• Monday - 32 km long run, HR avg 142, avg pace 5'13" <-- for the record, neg split every 10K, neg halfway split, kicked last 2 km in 4'26", followed by 4'08"
• Today - easy 9 km recovery, HR avg 138, avg pace 5'16"

Further to my previous post, it seems that I owe Mr. Finlayson a HUGE thank you - at your leisure Jim, the Guiness is on me - just lemme know when! Even in a short 10-day training span, I can see my average HR starting to drop in relation to my pacing. In addition, the shorter stride length is feeling less forced than it did for the first couple of workouts. Admittedly, I'm still struggling to maintain a consistent pace for the duration of the workout, but it is getting easier. I found that during the second half of the long run on Monday, I felt more relaxed and fluid than I did for the first half. I still need to learn how to "listen" to my body, rather than rely on my HR monitor to tell me that I'm running too hard. As always, a work in progress...

If you happen to have tuned in just for running stuff, then you can safely skip the remainder of this post. (Thanks for stopping by! Check back soon!) As I mentioned above, I hit the links for the first time in a long time last Thursday. My friend (and former employer at Pharmasave) Darren invited me out to Ardmore Golf Course on the Saanich peninsula. So as not to completely embarrass myself, Michelle and I paid a visit to the driving range a few days beforehand, just so I could refresh my memory of how to completely screw up a golf shot without swearing out loud. As it turns out, a 3 year hiatus from the sport did nothing to improve my game - I know, I know, truly shocking - yet three years off didn't make me any worse, either. It seems to me that the last time I played Ardmore with Darren, I shot somewhere around the same score. In any case, he and I shuffled around Ardmore twice along with our friend Susan, also of Pharmasave fame. The three of us had a blast, we all made at least one amazing shot (Darren, of course, had many amazing shots - he has a handicap of about 21, I think), and we enjoyed a nice lunch and good-natured ribbing after the game. A day well spent, to say the least - I'm already looking forward to the next round!

Just this past Sunday, I (finally) had the chance to head down the Inner Harbour for Symphony Splash! I've lived here in Victoria for almost 20 years, and have never been before. Michelle and I were lucky enough to get a great view of the performance, although we did have to stand for the entire 2 and 1/2 hour show (ouch! my back is still sore). Next year, I'm putting out chairs! Speaking of chairs, I had a chat with a lady who was riding my bus the day before the event. She told me that she has never missed a "Splash" performance, and this year, she put her chair out on Thursday evening! Do ya think I've still got time to get my spot reserved for next year?

On a final note, let me officially proclaim that I'm tired of working spareboard. Thankfully, I've only got 4 more weeks to go. Last Tuesday, I chose my work for the fall sign-up period - I picked regular pieces of work, starting/finishing at the same time, week in, week out, right up until Christmas eve. Let's hope that I like the work, 'cause now I'm stuck with it for 16 weeks!

Folks, I'm running out of steam ... it's gettin' late, and I'm starting to see double. G'night, and thank you, as always, for dropping in. Until next time...

A Change of Pace

As the title suggests, this post is about change(s) ... apparently, I've changed the frequency of my posting, despite repeated attempts to the contrary. It seems that 10 days have gone by now since the last post - I started off trying to post daily so that I wouldn't end up posting "opus-length" entries. Oh well ... I'll try not to overdo it for today.

Yesterday afternoon, I paid a visit to Frontrunner's to look at some new shoes. I have been a die-hard Adidas runner for the last couple of years, and have happily purchased at least 5 or 6 pairs of the same shoe - the Adistar Cushion. As shoe companies do, every year they launch a new line, and if you're lucky, they won't mess with your particular fav footwear. Alas, my lucky streak has come to an unfortunate end - Adidas has re-worked the Adistar, and based on yesterday afternoon's test ride, it appears that I'm going to have to find a new shoe. Adidas has, in their infinite wisdom, split the heel portion of the sole into 2 parts, giving the shoe a much different feel on the street, IMHO. I would love to post a link to the shoe, but the best I can give you is the Adidas Home Page and wish you luck - my best efforts to find information about the shoe resulted in some decent photographs, complete with German text! Good luck!

One good thing that came out of my visit to the store was that I had a chance to sit down and chat with Jim Finlayson about the shoes, and more importantly, about training methods. I have always tended to train at a pace closely resembling my marathon race pace(4'30"- 4'45" per km), relying heavily on the excuse that I couldn't run much slower without altering the mechanics of my gait. Jim patiently explained that I could run slower without changing my mechanics by maintaining the cadence of my run while shortening the stride length. This is an entirely new concept for yours truly. I tried it today, and was quite stunned with the results. I ran for just over an hour, averaging a positively slothful pace of 5'30"! The bonus?? A mere 138 bpm average heart rate - easily the lowest (by about 10 bpm) average HR I've posted for any workout I've done since (at least) the beginning of this year, and the lowest ever for a running workout longer than an hour in length. The theory is that training at a low(er) average HR helps the body to become more aerobically efficient at that lower heart rate, resulting, over time, in increased aerobic capacity, and the ability to run faster while staying in the aerobic "zone". Given that running a marathon is supposed to be an aerobic event, it would only make sense to try to become as efficient as possible at aerobic running! I know this sounds like a truism, but when I reviewed my training records leading up to the 2006 Royal Victoria Marathon, I found that I spent approximately 68% of all my training time above 90% of my maximum heart rate. In other words, I spent two thirds of the time running anaerobically (muscles working without oxygen) while training for an aerobic event! No the wonder that I didn't fare so well in that race! If you like, go check out the results <-- take particular note of the difference between the 1/2 way split and my finish time. Over the next few weeks, I plan on continuing to put Jim's good advice to use. If only I could find a new pair of shoes...

In the blink of an eye...

... or so it seems! I can't believe that an entire week has slipped past me since the last post. The days tend to run together sometimes ... maybe it's a sign of aging, or maybe I just don't pay enough attention to the passage of days. Whatever the case, suffice it to say (redundantly so) that a whole week has passed. Lemme hit the highlights...

• I managed to get in a few interesting runs last week, including one bike/run combo - that one was quite the eye-opener for me! I learned very quickly that I'll have to practice the transition from bike to run many times over if I'm ever going to attempt a tri-athalon (assuming of course that I figure out how to use my arms and legs at the same time while swimming!)
• Monday and Tuesday of this week, I had a couple of nice relaxing runs - Monday was 14 km along the water, and yesterday was about 6.5 km out and back on the Goose. Today is a rest day in prep for tomorrow's long haul - 30 km out to Sidney along the Lochside trail. I'll be posting details following.
• Work-wise, I've been doing OK this past week ... Friday's "marathon" on the route 6 wasn't quite as bad as the previous couple of weeks have been, although I did spend about 3 hours running late...par for the course, I guess. I managed to get a couple of easy short pieces on Saturday and Sunday, then a repeat of last Monday's work on the route 8. Yesterday was a very easy piece, with a short 15 minute split.
• Today is a long one - 4 hours this AM on the route 11, followed by 5.5 hours this PM on the route 75. On the plus side, it pays lots of OT. On the downside, I had to get my ass out of bed this morning at the ungodly hour of 5:15, and I won't be done work until 7:00 tonight. Ok, Ok .. I'll stop whining now.

I just checked my watch and realized that I have to be at work in just under an hour ... I better quit now so I can get there on time. As always, I appreciate anyone who has taken the time out of their day to pay me a visit. Thanx a whole bunch!

Hot enough for ya?

I know, I know ... we've all heard that question so much in the last couple of days that we all want to shoot the next person who says it! The heat has definitely had an impact on my activities this morning - I've spent a good chunk of time this AM trying to keep my cats cool! The process has involved wiping the cats down with wet towels, wrapping ice packs up in towels and getting the cat(s) to lie on the ice pack, and even (unfortunately for them) a quick dip in a tub full of water. Gryphen has a real hang-up with getting bathed, but today he didn't kick up too much of a fuss. Gandolph, on the other hand, fought rather gamely to avoid the water - he even bit my finger! If only they knew it was for their own good... Michelle and I have been doing our level best to stay cool, as well, with limited success. As I type, I'm sitting here wearing a soaking wet t-shirt (recently dipped in a tub of cool water), trying to avoid melting in front of the computer keyboard.

Yesterday's shift on the bus was a bit of an eye-opener for me ... I kinda get why a lot of the senior guys take nights during the summer. In spite of the lateness of the hour, the work I did yesterday was easier than some of the daytime stuff that I've been through recently. More importantly, things really cooled off on the bus after about 8:00PM or so - that last 4 hours of the shift was downright pleasant, at least as far as temperature was concerned. Tonight will be more of the same for me - starting at 4:30, and not done till the wee hours. Oh well - at least it's Friday for me. Am I ever looking forward to a day off tomorrow!

This morning's run was another Breakwater ... the first 10 km were actually quite pleasant - I made a point of drinking lots of water during the run, and took it very easy, pace-wise. There was a bit of breeze coming off the water, and the air was fresh. In spite of all that, the heat took its toll, and by the time I hit the final mark, I was feeling more like I had just finished a heavy hill workout, followed by wind sprints for fun! It was supposed to be an easy run - next time, I'll cut it shorter! In the meantime, I have sleeping cats to check on, and lunch to prepare. 'Till the next time...

Just a few words...just because.

How time flies!! It's been a couple of days already since my last post... where does the time go? I've had two decent running workouts, and a couple of easy days of work, too. Today's work was easy, I guess, but it felt really long. I spent just over 8 hours driving the route 8 (again). I have discovered that too much of a good thing spells boredom when applied to driving a bus. Enough about that!

On the plus side, Michelle came for ride on my bus today - it was a nice distraction to have her there. She visited a couple of malls in the process, managed to do a wee bit o' shopping, and apparently enjoyed the trip. She even brought me a nice cool drink to enjoy while driving (no - not that kind of drink!)

This morning's run was a nice relaxed 13K jaunt out to the end of the breakwater and back. It's a route I do regularly, and is likely one of the prettiest runs in my repertoire. This morning, the water was almost dead calm, without a cloud in the sky - sometimes the scenery is distracting from the task at hand! I ignored pace today and tried for a low heart rate - I was only partially successful. It would appear that I haven't fully recovered from last Sunday's 10K race. (If you're interested, dear reader, check out the results here.)

After dinner, Michelle and I went for a short walk to escape the sauna that is our apartment this evening ... a little breeze would be lovely, thank you very much. The trick is to keep the windows open without letting the cats test the breaking strength of our screens! Nine lives or not, 6 stories of free fall isn't my idea of taking good care of our fantastic felines!

That's all for tonight ... tomorrow is a scheduled rest day (no run) and I ended up getting a really late shift at work tomorrow night. Oh well - at least I can sleep in without guilt and can spend some quality time with Michelle tomorrow morning. Until next time...

What a difference a day makes...

Wow - like the title says... yesterday, work was sooooo busy - for a solid 4 1/2 hour portion of the almost-8 hour shift, I didn't have the time to even leave the bus. I managed to get out of the seat for about 30 seconds or so each hour, but that was it. Whew! What a tough day - am I ever glad that's over. I was too tired when I got home last night to even post - in bed just after 10 PM (early for me) and dead to the world all of 30 seconds after my head hit the pillow. And, for the record, no, I didn't go for a run after work!

Today was comprised of one round trip and a bit on the 14 (which was totally dead) and then a few rounds on the 8, with almost 1/2 an hour of paid downtime between the two different routes. The route 8 is a nice easy sleeper of a route (at least it was for me today - I haven't driven it more than a couple of times previously). After work, I dropped by to visit with Michelle for a little while. She delivers pizza for Pizza Hut, and I spent a couple of hours riding shotgun with her. After a while, I succumbed to the temptation and ordered a personal pizza. OMG! I haven't eaten pizza in quite a while (can't remember the last time). It was so good! I shouldn't allow myself to get into the habit, though - I've got a marathon coming up this fall, and I can't really afford to carry around any extra "pizza pounds" as I slog around a 42.2 km course!

Speaking of running, I went out this AM for a great 13.3 km relaxed run. I was gone for just a shade under an hour, and thoroughly enjoyed it. For me, runs like the one I had today are the reason that I keep running. Everything worked well, the weather was gorgeous, and I even paced a fellow for about 1.5 km while we chatted about this and that. The most interesting thing about this guy was that he was running barefoot! OK - he was wearing something on his feet - I believe he called them paddle shoes. He said that he picked them up at Mountain Equipment Co-Op - check them out here. He said that he only wears them for protection from rocks and glass - basically to keep from cutting his feet. No cushioning or support whatsoever! Admittedly, his running gait was entirely different than my own, but he appeared to be quite comfortable and relaxed. If you're interested, check out this website for more info on barefoot running. As for me, I'll stick with my Adistars, thank you very much!

As always, thanks for stopping by ... I'll try to make it worth your while ;-)

Back at it...

So that was my weekend :-( Got up early this morning, thanks in no small part to a certain grey kitten nibbling on the ends of my toes ... Gandolph can be quite persistent when he decides it's breakfast time! Probably just as well, since I've been kinda busy ever since. Coffee, laundry (gotta have clean clothes for work!), making lunch, having breakfast ... Damn! I forgot to have breakfast!

I'm off to work for 10:30 this morning - the good news is an early finish; the bad news is roughly 7.5 hours of go-go-go bus driving! My Friday work is on the route 6, which, for those of you who don't know Victoria's bus system, runs up and down Quadra street, which is one of 3 main arteries running in a north/south direction through Victoria. It's a consistently busy route, with lots of stops, lots of passengers, lots of mobility aids (wheelchairs, walkers, scooters) and lots of baby strollers, too. It all adds up to a very busy day. Oh well, busy makes the time go by quicker, so they say - we'll see...

No run (yet) today - statistically speaking, if I don't get out there and pound some pavement before noon, I usually don't make it. By the time I'm done work, I haven't got the motivation left to go out and run. I will be cycling to work, so today won't be a total write-off, aerobically speaking.

Thanx for reading, TTY later on...

The Blogger Virgin Arrives

So ... this is my blog! In all likelihood, no-one other than Michelle (my wife) and possibly one or two of my friends will ever read this. Nevertheless, I've been contemplating a blog for a while now, if for no other reason than to get stuff off my chest.

Before I go any further, I have to give a nod of thanks to local running sensation, Jim Finlayson. Those of you who followed "The Finn Files" here on Blogger will have already picked up on the similarity in format of names between his blog and mine. I liked the idea so much, I felt compelled to copy it. They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery...

Today was my day off. I haven't had a really busy day, which represents a change for me. I tumbled out of bed at around 8 this AM, had some coffee and breakfast with Michelle, then went for a nice 13K run out to the end of the breakwater and back home. I got back from the run with just enough time for a quick shower, then back out the door to catch a bus to Canadian Blood Services for my bi-monthly donation. (I learned a valuable lesson today - book early, show up on time, and get done in about an hour!) I was home from the clinic by about 1:15 or so, and since then, I've been trying to relax. Most of the time, I struggle with the very concept of relaxation. I tend to spend my time away from work looking for chores to do, or running, or sometimes both at the same time! The idea of "just doing nothing" is so foreign to me that I can't even seem to unwind enough to go to sleep unless I'm completely exhausted. Perhaps this blog will teach me how to relax more - barring that, it may provide enough of a distraction to keep me from focusing too much on chores! In either case, only time will tell.

More to follow...thanx for reading.

Scott