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Volume VII. Kenyan Diaries – The FinaleHATC (High Altitude Training Centre), Iten, Kenya.Days 22-30. March 28-April 5, 2017. I have quite enjoyed journalling for iRun.ca while at the High Altitude Training Centre in Iten, Kenya. Here’s a list (with links) of my seven “diaries”, including this final one: Volume I  “My Worthwhile Struggle of Daring to Dream” Arrival to the HATC. Days …

Training at the HATC in Iten, Kenya. Days 18-21. March 24-27, 2017. I purposely saved the topic of training for one of my last Kenyan Diary posts so that I could share some numbers and have more to write about. I have two major benefits to my four week stay at the High Altitude Training Centre in Iten, Kenya: 1) …

In my first week at camp I was warmly welcomed by my friend and fellow Speed River teammate, John, and other fellow Canadians, Neasa and Kristina (Vancouver), and my roommate, Julia (Ottawa). They made me feel right at home, showing me around the camp and endless dirt roads. Prior to three of them leaving, I knew Julia would be a …

I’m nearly half-way through my stay, here in Iten at the High Altitude Training Centre. I have yet to post about my training and the other people attending the camp but thought I would post about the people in and around Iten and the HATC, first. The pictures give so many details and I definitely don’t have a shortage from …

One of the first things I ask when someone returns from travel is, “How was the food?”. I enjoy hearing about their experiences and embracing the local cuisine when I travel. I usually research the must-have dishes, which I enjoy after racing, such as waffles with ice cream and chocolate in Belgium after the 2015 Rotterdam Marathon, seafood chowder after …

It’s Sunday evening and I am feeling quite settled. It took about three nights to get used to the time change. The first night I slept because I was tired from the travel. The second night I didn’t get to sleep until about 4 am. And then I slept through until 4:00 am and 5:30 am the third and fourth …

Like my journey to the Olympics in Brazil, I thought I would share my journey for high altitude training in Africa. Many people told me how much they enjoyed it and some day I will appreciate looking back on the details of this experience. I will plan to post every few days, either on this blog or social media.   …

March 5, 2017 I must say I can hardly believe this day has come already. Back in early January I turned 40 and booked my first ever trip for altitude training. We had two local races on the schedule: the Re-Fridgee-Eighter (8 mile) in Waterloo on February 12 and the Chilly Half Marathon in Burlington on March 5. Then it …

January 9, 2017.  Today I am 40. I’m in a good place. A great place. I’ve achieved some incredible goals, which makes it a good place. And I am ready for more, which makes it a great place. I believe in setting the bar high, achieving, and repeating. I believe I can set personal bests at 40. As I mentioned …

I’ve been at this marathon thing long enough, 13 in 14 years to be exact, to pay particular attention to what my body says in the off-season. After the Olympics I took 5 days off then transitioned into Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon training with both care and risk.  I wanted to properly recover yet quickly ramp up the workload because …