Gatineau

I'm officially moved into my place in Gatineau- have been since Saturday in fact. In my last post I actually referred to Ottawa instead of the city across the bridge, but I'm basically a stone's throw away from the Parliament buildings- there's not much difference. 

Training is going okay, not perfect, which is probably how I expected it to go given the summer I've had, so I'm not crushed with the realization that cross training will be an essential piece to the puzzle this fall. A bit of an ambitious progression run on Thursday banged up my left foot, so I had to substitute in some biking around Gatineau Park on the weekend. The good news is that the park is fantastically hilly and so aerobically I was doing alright. 

I was disappointed to realize last week that my plans to attend team training camp wouldn't be very feasible (rides to camp would be possible…rides home not so much). So it seems like I'll just have to put myself through my own paces around here and wish the rest of the team a great weekend. They'll have a blast! 

In other news, my current first-world problems relate to greeting people when I run/walk by them. You see, in all the places I have previously resided, English was my go-to language of greeting. Now that I live in Quebec, I have doubts as I run by people. Which is their language of preference? Will they mind if I say hello, or would they prefer something en Francais? What if I attempt to greet in French, despite obviously being an  anglophone? The one time I tried an "allo" I felt like an idiot. Oh the dilemma. 

This has grated me more than you might think. Because if I'm judging on first impressions alone, Ottawa-Gatineau is an incredibly fit area- I've encountered oodles of runners and even more cyclists each time I've been out and about. And each time I encounter a person, I must resort to a nod, or worse, no acknowledgement whatsoever! Oh the humanity! What happened to the solidarity I felt as I encountered others on the roads and trails? 

Regardless, I'm loving Ottawa/Gatineau right now. There's plenty of stuff to occupy my time until I start work next week, and it feels nothing like Toronto. Glorious! 

Back on the (t)rails

Exams are done and I'm back in Mount Hope until next weekend, when I head to Ottawa for my final co-op term. I'm pretty psyched about the move to Ottawa- it's a fantastic city and from looking at maps of the area surrounding my place, there will be a bunch of options for good running. This is especially exciting because running this week has left me more optimistic than I've felt since May. 

Unfortunately, a lot of potential miles were not run this summer because of the niggles I struggled with. I started this blog with a goal of logging the most volume I ever have during the summer months, but in reality this was probably one of the lowest mileage base phases I've run in the past 5 years. The good news is that I don't feel completely out of shape, and as a result my confidence isn't completely shot. Part of this comes from experience- two years ago my summer base phase was inadequate as I spent my time keeping afloat during a school term. I ramped things up in late August and came into the 2010 season with low expectations, but surprised myself with good runs in Guelph and London in September, and eventually coasted off my unexpected good form to land a spot at CI's (where I ran terribly as a result of the same foot issue that has plagued me as a late). 

As of today, there are 12 weeks until the CIS Cross Country Championships. I want to be on the start line in London, and I want six of my teammates there with me. I can't say what kind of team performance it will take for us to get there, but I know individually I will have to be in the best shape of my life. Is this possible given my limited timeframe? I'm not sure, and my expectations have been tempered by the setbacks I've had. But I remain hopeful! 

My tentative racing schedule for the fall is as follows: 

Sept. 15: Queen's Invite @ Queen's 

Sept. 29: Don Mills Open @ Waterloo

Oct. 13: Vic Matthews Open @ Guelph

Oct. 27: OUA championships @ York

Nov. 10: CIS championships @ Western 

I've decided that making the trip down to London the third week of September simply isn't worth it. It's a long bus or train ride down just to run while I'm unfit, and I can use the weekend to continue building my fitness. As I already known the generic features of the Thames Valley course, I also don't feel like I'm missing out by avoiding an early season preview. 

I expect my first two races at Queen's and Waterloo will be underwhelming, but I'm hoping by Guelph things will be coming together.  If the season doesn't pan out as planned, I'll have 12 weeks of good training in my legs in preparation for the indoor season.