what's been up...

        I find it difficult at times, to find balance in my life. It takes great thought and organization to work full time, spend time with Jen, my wife and our 2 and 3 year old boys, as well as my 21 year old son and to find time to train for ultras!! I don't think that I do much else. Anyway... It is a struggle at times, but it is worth it in the end. I am a much happier person when I run, and that is what is important... being happy.
         Last week, i ran a total of 40 miles, only 9 of which were on the road. The rest of the time was spent ripping up the trails at the Delta Watershed. It is a really fun place to trail run. It has tons of single-track, and the terrain is a lot like the North Shore (only not the vertical!!).  It is hilly, but the climbs are relatively short. That being said, I can manage to get about 2500- 3000 feet of vertical gain and loss in a 1-2 hour run there.
         This week I have run twice. Yesterday I got a 10 mile run in at the Watershed, but I felt really sluggish, and grinded it out in 1:30. Today I ran 8 miles in the shed in my new balance minimus trail shoes and it was AWESOME!! My legs were a bit tired  at the beginning of the run (from yesterday) but my feet felt great the whole run. It is fun and liberating to wear these shoes! It is also a really great way to keep my running form in check. With the 4mm heel drop and great ground feel these shoes keep me on my toes! Hopefully I cam get a 12-14 mile run in tomorrow on the road (boo!!)  I would love to be able to head over to the shore and run for 4 hours, but my family would kill me!! I will run from home, and consume less time away from my family, whilst still getting some mileage in.      

Just getting started...

This is my first post here on my blog. I got in to the knee knacker this year and I thought this would be a decent way for me to keep track of my training, for the future! I would love to one day run a 100 mile trail race, it is a dream that I will one day realize. Right now though, my focus is on training for the Knee Knacker with the thought that it would be one of my last long training runs before the Stormy 50 mile trail race in Squamish. This is my "A" race for the year. I've never ran 50 miles, and am excited to see what my body (and mind) are capable of. I plan on heading out for a nice 10-12 mile run a bit later. That's all I've got for now. Happy trails...