Mile Showdown

The Mile. Amongst the most grueling physical activities ever designed by man. On Wednesday October 21st, 2009 the UBCTC will be running a Mile on the UBC Track.

There is much speculation as to how it will unfold. Will it be a predictive victory, or will a dark horse prevail?

Already the taunting has begun. No matter how much is said, it will all be decided out on the field.

To commemorate this awesome of evenings, a social gathering will be had at the Gallery after the event where stories can be told to describe the pure athleticism that was seen that night.

To elevate the excitement around the mile, I present to you the Miracle Mile, run not 20 kilometers from where we will be running 55 years ago.

I have already mentioned many times that I would try and run a fast mile. Each time I've declared this, I've either been sick or had work issues which have prevented me from even stepping up to the line.

Tomorrow that all changes. I don't know if I will be able to run sub 5 tomorrow. At this point I think thats a little too ambitions. But one thing is certain and that is that it will hurt.

Quack

I'm always disappointed when something like this happens. I was cooking dinner, potato pasta or gnocchi if you would prefer. This is a meal I have never made, so I decided that I would follow the instructions. It said one package would serve 2-3. Sounds good. It looked small but who was I to judge. Plus, I've already eaten dinner, this is just a snack.

Sure enough I cook it up, fills a plate and I finish and am STILL HUNGRY. 2-3 servings, for what? children? Was I satisfied?

In the words of Will Ferrell in Blades of Glory, "I'M NEVER SATISFIED!"

Keep that in mind Derek, 2-3 servings not enough to feed me a late night snack. THAT is the hunger of a CHAMPION!

I decided to see what my competition was eating.

Derek, there must have been an easier way of doing that

Um... No Not quite there

Well, your hitting your mouth now, but I don't think you want to eat that...

Oh No Derek, haven't you heard about eating late at night? Check Link

Quack!

Erich's Odyssey Part 4/5

To learn more about Erich check here

Day 5
1.5hr bike, 2km run immed after, 1.5k open water swim, 90s night at the bar.
Days till: 6

I think, if I concentrate hard enough, I can vaguely feel one or two running muscles. The beginning stages of adaptation. Just in time? Nope, way too late!

Day 6
Rest.
I need this.

Training day 7:
1hr bike, 3km swim
4 days to go!

My strategy for this race has gone through several revisions lately. First, it was draft off the other guys like there is no tomorrow on the bike. Well, apparently drafting is illegal. Fuck. Next up was the strategy of going hard for as long as possible to keep up with them aka the "balls to the wall" method. I learnt my lesson last friday. The lesson is: that can and will only end badly.
After my day off I think I've come across the perfect strategy. Flawless and nearly foolproof in it's simplicity. Lower my expectations. Or as I like to say, set the bar low so that one can step over it!

Day 8:
40 min bike, 6km run
3 days to go... just like a boat, this shit's fo real!!!

Taper time. ooooooo yeeeah. After all the hard training, then endless miles, the gruelling workouts I've endured alone for the past, oh lord how long has it been?... Oh that's right, for the past week, there's still nothing like taper time. Puts that extra lil' spring in your step.

Also being introduced today: the carb load. And let me tell you, I can carbo load with the best of em. At the moment I'm so full of pasta, ice cream and strawberry shortcake I'm reduced to waddling like a duck around the house. Now this is some training I can get used to!

Erich's Odyssey Part 3/5

Part 3

Training day 3.
1 hr bike, 8k run immediately after.
Days till half iron: 8

My hamstring is so tight you could string a bow with it... a mythical bow that shoots lethal arrows, piercing the hopes and dreams of any try-athlete who thinks they're gonna beat me a week from now.

Training Day 4.
3 hr recovery hike. 3km swim. 1 hr broken bike ride. 6k run immediately after.
One week till doomsday.

It's a scientifically proven fact that there's an inverse correlation between the amount of training you've done and the amount of trash you talk (American Journal of Science, Vol. 276, November 1976, P.1096-1119). So it's no surprise that I've been spewing competitive filth a mile a minute whilst my buddies/competitors, aka those I will soon CRUSH, have been relatively quiet. So at the moment, according to "science", it appears Derek is going to be the man to beat. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some garbage to type on other peoples' Fb walls...

Big Talk

Erich, Nick, Pat,  Derek. This message is going out to you.



Most specifically from 47 seconds on. Don't mess with me man. This Sunday, its going down.

Watch your children boys