Ramping up slowly

I'm slowly ramping up the miles. This week I ran a tad under 40km for a total of 4 hours of running. On Sunday, I drove up to Uxbridge for a short run in the Durham Regional Forest trails. I definitely need to do more trails. My usual route is so flat compared to trails, no wonder I bonked at Haliburton. I will try to get to a trail at least once a week. It's hard though, because it takes so much time. I better get used to it since it will probably be the only way to get decent snow for snowshoe training this Winter.


This week I'm starting my formal training program with Derrick. He's got me all setup on Training Peaks, where he can post my workouts and I then post what I've actually done. This week is going to be similar to last week as far as volume (4 hr). The big difference is that Derrick just happens to be a strong believer in core work, so I will try to make myself do the exercises. This is an advantage of having a trainer actually look at what I do. My previous training programs did recommend core work, but I never actually did it. It's all Jack Daniel's fault. He's not a big believer in cross training; he thinks that the best training for running is running, as long as you don't overtrain. Anyway, I'm going to have to drink the Kool-aid on core work.


My feet are doing ok. Both side are equally sore in the morning and then I'm pretty much fine for the rest of the day. My calfs are feeling much better. This should be a good week.


I look at the upcoming months and I can't believe I won't be running any long races until March. Although I know my body needs the down time, I read other people's race reports and I crave that feeling of going beyond the limits we set for ourselves in training. I miss going long.


Speaking of going beyond your limits, I just finished reading "Everest" by Reinhold Messner. It's a detailed description of his ascent of Everest without oxygen. He was the first person to go up Everest without the use of bottled O2. Basically, doctors told him that they (he and Peter Habeler) would probably suffer from brain damage and die up there. Good read. Translation is much better than "A Climber's Life", making it a bit easier to read. Now I'm out of books. Suggestions are welcome.


That's it for now.