A Bumpy Flight

My oh my, how did April 2nd happen?  The year so far seems to have just flown by, though to be fair it has been a bit of a bumpy flight so far!  Firstly, please excuse if there are a few typos in this post but two weeks ago I was commuting on my bike to get to a massage therapy appointment when 'bam!'  A car abruptly cut in front of me, I slammed on my brakes to avoid hitting them and before I knew it I was flying over my handlebars, hitting the tarmac and going in an ambulance to ER to find out that I had three broken bones in my hand.  Left hand typing is hard!  Darn, I never did make it to that massage appointment but I did make it to surgery four days later for a whole bunch of metalware to be put in my hand as it turns out the breaks are pretty severe.
 

Not conducive to running!

I LOVE my bike!

                             
This week I was meant to be in Mallorca for Salomon Advanced Week, but instead my surgeon made me stay home for some follow ups and hand therapy.  Boo :(  But do check out Salomon Running on Facebook to see some awesome pics of what my team mates are up to and what cool new products they are testing.  I'm so honoured to be part of this team and looking forward to Advanced Week 2016!

Salomon Advanced Week

Before the injury, I started out the year as I often do with the Fat Ass 50k here in Vancouver.  Having not run much in December (end of season down time) it was a bit of a slow sufferfest of a day but I had the company of great friends Kim and Sammy, who refused to let me drop back and so good chatter was had great times shared.  Thanks guys!

with Kick Ass Kim and Super Sammy

January was then all about build up and return to speed and at my run club workouts I sometimes found my groove, and I sometimes didn't.  But I've been running long enough to know that I just need to keep plugging away and so that is what I did.  VFAC interval workouts are a guaranteed sufferfest, but shared with great friends we all smile at the end and come back every week for more.  In mid February I raced the Pacific Road Runners First Half Half Marathon and was reasonably happy with my 80min finishing time, slower than the year before but good enough and a great workout to progress my fitness.  Once again Sammy and I found ourselves side by side, and then around 15k we picked up our friend Dave and he jumped aboard our little pain train to the finish line.  There is nothing like running the last 5k of a half at your absolute fitness potential to know what suffering is about :)

First Half (credit Jay Klassen)

post speed interval workout with Tim

               

Of course with the current state of running (none until my surgeon gives the green light) who knows if the Comrades will be a-go in less than two months time.  I am not naive enough to think I can win with this interruption to training but the Comrades has never been about winning for me.  I love the Comrades with an absolute passion and if I feel I can put on a respectable performance on May 31st then I it will be an honour to represent Salomon and Nedbank through the Valley of a Thousand Hills.

with Amy after Comrades 2014

I will be participating at the BMO Vancouver Marathon on May 3rd in one form or another.  On April 30th I'll be speaking at the race expo (about the Comrades), on May 2nd I'll be hanging out at the Clif Bar booth at the expo, and on race day I'll either be running, cheering my Kintec/ NSA clinic runners, or helping out the race organizers.  Keep an eye out of my Facebook page for details, I'm looking forward to chatting to many runners over the race weekend.

And one final note - I have a great deal if you are looking at buying some sunglasses.  My super sponsor, Sundog Eyewear, are offering 25% off sales on www.sundogeyewear.com until April 30th if you enter code ELLIE25 (US & Canada only).  They will also provide me with a 15% kickback from any of these sales which will be a great help for medical costs associated with this darn broken hand.

Kristin and I wearing our Sundogs whilst we are a mobile aid station for our clinic marathoners-in-training

Oh, and one very final note - a huge thank you to all my sponsors and friends, who have been so helpful and understanding when I can't run :)  Ok, time to sign off now - that was a long post for typing with my 'wrong' hand!


Happy trails,
Ellie

"Embrace your biggest disappointments, build on your greatest achievements, keep your head held high and you cannot help move forward".