Tag: My Journey
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Letting the body heal
When you’re in the thrust of the season, injuries quickly become a stressful part of the training process. This can lead to not only more stress, but trying to push the body past the point of pain either through continued running or cross-training. This is what I did for months in order to try and…
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Ending my year in September
I’ve long been an advocate that the year should start in September. But this time around, I am ending my year in September. No Bromont for me and no Defi des Couleurs for me.
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Post-race recovery periods
Since my first race of the season all the way back in April, I haven’t had a single period of more than six weeks without a race. Is it over-racing? Le Duh. Is it fun? Le Fun. If you’re an elite runner wanting to do your best, while also thoroughly enjoying your experience – which…
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Being the best is overrated
Let me tell you a secret. I’ve worked with professional athletes across a few different sports now. There’s something that they all share in common. They all think they’re not good enough. Guess what? Being the best is overrated.
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Hidden Gem #4 – Be where you are
I’ve done a bit of a 180 lately (famously my favourite move to do off the diving board). I’ve lived life in the slow lane, and by proxy of doing so in a foreign language, it’s been very much not in the comfort of normalcy. For the past two weeks, I’ve just really embodied this…
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How I trained for Squamish & Quebec Mega Trail without any mountains
Two weeks ago, I finished as the top Ontario athlete at the Canadian National Championships – Squamish 50K, behind a host of names from Quebec, BC and Alberta. Of the top twenty-one finishers, Steph and I are the only Ontario outliers. One of the reasons why it’s such a rarity to see any athletes outside…
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Lessons from the 2024 Squamish 50K
According to Strava, I’ve never raced harder. Racing toward a near top-ten finish at a National Championship through injury, I shouldn’t be surprised. But with so many positives to take away from the race, I wanted to detail a dossier of what worked and what didn’t. It’s a library of information for myself, that hopefully…
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The keys to recovery & celebrating the present
Training is so much more than the actual act of training. My hypothesis is that it’s about 70% recovery from training, and 30% actual training. If you don’t get the right… 1. Sleep 2. Hydration 3. Nutrition 4. Positive vibes You will not be recovering (and therefore training) to your full potential. These are the…
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Squamish 50K Recap – Front row seat
For the past two weeks, I had two main concerns: Not starting. Not finishing. I just did both. & had the most fun I’ve ever managed to do when racing on the trails. Here is my recap of the Squamish 50K – including my front row seat to the battle for first in the women’s…
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Writing for myself
I like writing best when it’s (almost entirely) for myself. It’s nice if other people get something out of my work. One small takeaway. One small laugh. One small eyebrow raise of utter confusion. BUT, I like writing best when it’s a library of educational content for myself.
Rhys Desmond 