Happy New Year!

So as always, a New Year means creating new goals, new training programs and deciding on which races I will race (some people could argue that according to my race times, all my races are run for fun, but that is a topic for another day!).

There has been some sharing and discussion on the Trailrunner Facebook page around the pros and cons of cross-training in a running program. Some runners are all for cross-training and the benefits it can offer and others are not convinced that doing anything other than running will improve your running.

I have no strong opinion for either side of the debate, nor do I have any research or scientific theories on which I base my training decisions; I use my own trials and tribulations and the knowledge of my physical capacity to find a training program that will work for me. I know that I grow bored of a program that doesn’t offer a challenge, variation or a specific outcome.

This is the program that I am following for the first 12 weeks of 2012. It offers cross-training as I know that in the dead of a prairie winter, I will need some indoor options to running outside.

Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
1	5k	45 min Spin	Yoga	5k	45 min Spin	rest	5k – slow
2	5k	45 min Spin	Yoga	6k	45 min Spin	rest	6k – slow
3	5k	45 min Spin	Yoga	6k	45 min Spin	4k	7k – slow
4	5k	45 min Spin	Yoga	6k	45 min Spin	4k	6k – slow
5	5k	45 min Spin	Yoga	6k with 3x60sec uphill	45 min Spin	4k	8k – slow
6	5k	45 min Spin	Yoga	7k with 4x60sec uphill	45 min Spin	6k	9k – slow
7	5k	45 min Spin	Yoga	7k with 5x60sec uphill	45 min Spin	6k	7k – slow
8	5k	45 min Spin	Yoga	8k with 5x75sec uphill	45 min Spin	6k	10k – slow
9	5k	45 min Spin	Yoga	9k with 6x75sec uphill	45 min Spin	6k	11k – slow
10	5k	45 min Spin	Yoga	9k with 7x75sec uphill	45 min Spin	6k	12k – slow
11	5k	45 min Spin	Yoga	8k with 8x75sec uphill	45 min Spin	4k	8k – slow
12	5k	45 min Spin	Yoga	4k	45 min Spin	12k trail race	Rest day

Not many rest days, however I have planned that my Friday spin session could easily become a rest day if my body/mind need it. As you can also see, this program is light on the km, nothing that would get me ready for  an ultra, but enough km to get my legs in running condition.

There are 6 races I would like to race, 1 I would like to complete and numerous others that I will run just for fun or training purposes.  I have already registered for 3 out of the 5 (if it wasn’t for my work schedule it would be all 5!) Central Alberta 5 Peaks Trail Racing series races. I will be racing these races:

·         May 19^th – COP enduro

·         June 16^th – Canmore Nordic Center enduro

·         August  18^th – Nakiska Delta enduro  

The Saskatoon Road Runners have also planned a 3 race trail race series that I am committing to race:

• May 5^th – Sutherland Beach
• July 21^st – TBD
• September 22^nd – Blackstrap X-country ski trail

And I have still yet to decide on the 1 ultra I would like to complete this year. I would really like to do a trail ultra, if scheduling and training permit. My first choice would be the Lost Soul Ultra in Lethbridge, AB slated for September 7^th & 8^th. The race organizers are using a lottery for the 50k race this year, so I am hoping that I will have some luck and get one of the 140 spots.

If I am not lucky enough to get one of the coveted spots, then my second choice would be the Canmore Grizzly 50k Ultra, October 7^th. The course looks fantastic for this race; however I am a little afraid of the altitude and the elevation gain of the course. Don’t forget, I am a flatlander as well as a Clydesdale! I am also a little afraid that if I wait too long to find out about the Lost Soul’s Ultra, that in the interim, this ultra will fill up.

 My third choice would be the Saskatoon Road Runners 50k Ultra. A great race, well organized, well attended, but as I have already ran this course twice, I would prefer to attempt a different race.

Let me know what you think of the program and the race schedule. It would be great to have some of you join me on my adventures!

À la prochaine,
SK Clydesdale