Canadian National Championships

The Canadian track and field national championships were this weekend in Edmonton, and first and foremost I want to thank everyone who reached out and supported me. I received lots of texts, emails, etc, as well as words of encouragement from many people in person at the meet. No matter the medium, it means a lot to hear from all of you.

The 2 weeks leading into nationals had been pretty tough. My Dad went in to hospital in Campbell River, and was then ambulanced down to Victoria and ended up having to have a quintuple by-pass open heart surgery. Needless to say it was a fairly stressful time for me and my Mom.

He had his surgery on Monday, June 9th, and I left for Edmonton the next evening. I was able to see him on Monday, but he was still knocked out from the drugs. Luckily my flight to Edmonton wasn't until 6pm Tuesday evening, so I got to see him for most of Tuesday afternoon.

Despite his horrible cardiovascular system, the surgery went really well. He was sent home after only 5 days, and he's now back in Campbell River relaxing and recovering at home.

All of that to say, my head wasn't totally in the game in Edmonton and I walked away with a less than desirable finishing place. I knew I'd have to fight hard for it, but I knew I had a shot at the bronze medal. When it came down to it, the fight just wasn't in me on the day and 5 other runners were able to dig deeper.

I flew from Edmonton to Toronto, where I am now and will be until the 8th. I'm then flying over to Belgium to get in a few races in Europe before calling it a season.

I'm really looking forward to getting over there, having some fun, and running fast!

Road Trips, Running, and Really Good Hydration

Well, it sure has been awhile since I paid any attention to the old blog. Truth be told, I kind of went on a social media hiatus.  As some of you would have seen on Facebook, I was actually planning on deleting my profiles. However, no matter how loud my inner-hippy talks, I can't deny that it is a great way to stay in touch with friends and keep everyone up to date.

Speaking of which, a lot has happened since my last post. Reader's Digest version is: I switched back to Wynn Gmitroski as my coach. I made the decision in late August, I made a trip out to Victoria in October, and then at the end of November, I packed up the car and drove from Toronto to Victoria.

It was a long, but really great road trip! I did the trip alone, but did a good job of planning my stops to be with friends. In Chicago I stayed with a family friend's of Kate's parents', plus I connected with an old friend, Wynand Nel, whom I hadn't seen in WAY too many years. The next stop was Bismarck, North Dakota, which was the only hotel I stayed in.  In Missoula, Montana, I stayed with the wonderful Dianne Cummins. I happened to roll into town on American Thanksgiving and arrived right around dinner time, so I was greeted with a wondering meal and great company after my long drive. I stopped in Vancouver for a few days to watch the National Cross-Country Championships before finally arriving in Victoria.

After spending half of December in Victoria, and the other half up in Campbell River with my parents, I drove down to Scottsdale, Arizona for some warm weather training. Kate flew to Vancouver Island to spend a few days with me and my parents just after Christmas and joined me on the drive to Arizona.

I spent January in Scottsdale, then back to Victoria for February, before heading back to Scottsdale for March. At the beginning of April I went up to Flagstaff for some high altitude training. I currently still in Flag, and will be here until May 12th. It's been great being back out west training in British Columbia and Arizona. Definitely a lot easier to get in high quality, injury free training in the warm weather, and soft surfaces to run on. The coldest I've had to deal with this winter was probably somewhere around 5 degrees celsius (40F). Which is a heck of a lot nicer then the freezing temps and ice-storms of the winter in Toronto. No more 10mi (16km) runs on an indoor 200m track!

While training in the heat and altitude of the desert, hydration is key. That is where my new partner comes in. Ultima has been taking care of me and keeping me well hydrated. I've been starting every day with a glass of Ultima, just to jumpstart hydration. I also end every day with a cup to make sure I don't get too dehydrated while I sleep. I'll often throw in another serving somewhere in the day, especially after a hard workout or long run.

I'm a big fan of their product as it's all natural. They're soy-free, gluten-free, MSG-free, stimulant and sugar-free, plus they stay away from any GMO's. Outside of their mineral content, which is the widest range on the market, their ingredient list is about 7 items long. Added bonus, they're all words you can pronounce!

I ran a couple races so far; in March, I ran a 3000m at the Baldy Castillo invite at Arizona State in Tempe, Arizona, and a 5000m at the start of April at the Stanford Invite in Palo Alto, California.

The 3000m was very much a rust-buster. There were only about 4 or 5 guys in the race and it was not very fast. The 5000 at Stanford was a much better race, and I ended up running a few tenths of a second off of my personal best.

I'll be heading back to Stanford to race at the Payton Jordan Invitational on May 2. Training has been going really well, nothing mind-blowing, but consistent, solid work. Payton is known for it's high quality distance events, so I'm excited to get there and see what I can do!

I'll be attempting to keep this a little more up-to-date. If nothing else, I'll try to make sure the schedule/results page is updated. So make sure to check back and follow me on my various medias for updates!

#WeAreAC

I just wanted to take a few minutes to thank both Rob Guy and Peter Eriksson, the CEO and Head Coach, respectively, of Athletics Canada.

After looking over the newest carding list, I had a few separate conversations with other athletes from around the country about a particular athlete being on the list. I figured, if I am having this conversation with a few different people, I'm almost certain many other people are as well.

I decided to email Rob and Peter about the concern. I sent my initial email at 9:30pm on Nov 4. I woke up to a reply from Rob sent at 6:15am the next day, and around 10:30am I received a phone call from Peter to talk about the issue.

Both interactions were very informative and productive. I suggested to both of them that a document explaining how each athlete made it on to the carding list might be beneficial in helping people understand under which criteria each individual was selected. Within 2 days of this suggestion, that exact document was released in a newsletter and posted on the website.

For those of you who still think that the higher-ups at Athletics Canada are the bad guys, you are mistaken. Everyone at Athletics Canada recognises the old stigma that has been attached to the governing body for the last number of years, and are truly doing things to change this.

They have been holding meetings all across the country explaining their new direction and regularly mentioning things in the newsletter. I have made a point to be a presence at all of these meetings in my area, and read everything they have published. It's disappointing for me to say that at the meetings I have been to over the last year, Kate and I were either 2 of very few athletes, or the ONLY 2 athletes there.

I encourage all of you to make a point to read the #WeAreAC newsletters, as well as anything else you may find in your inbox from Athletics Canada; there is some really great information in there. I also plead you all to make sure to go out to any meetings that they may hold near you.

As athletes, we are always keen to raise problems and complain to one another. While this may be a good release for some, it's the least productive way to go. Please, reach out to the Athletics Canada with any questions or concerns you have. Peter and the rest are always happy to hear from you. If you don't feel comfortable going straight to the top, there are always the athlete representatives, Inaki Gomez and Jennifer Joyce, who we as athletes elected. This is their job, and I know they will be happy to aid in any way they possibly can!

I truly believe that Athletics Canada is trying to change their ways and break down old walls, but if we, as athletes, don't believe that, do our part, and meet them halfway, nothing will ever change.

Just like in politics, if you aren't involved, you can't complain!

#WeAreAC

Jian, Stigmas, and #BeenRapedNeverReported

*I haven't read this over, I have done no editing, there is some swearing, and I can't promise it makes sense. I have been feeling so angry and frustrated all of today. I didn't know what to do with those feelings but I couldn't sleep and I thought writing might help.

I barely read the news; I find it’s usually just frustrating and annoying to read. There is never anything good in there. Given that I really enjoy(ed) The Q, when I heard about Jian Ghomeshi, I felt compelled to investigate and read some articles.

The first thing that I read was his essay on his facebook page on October 26 (You can read here). Now, Kate will back me up on this, immediately after reading it I did say that I did feel a little weird about his post. There were a few red flags that left me wondering if he was just trying to cover his tracks a little bit. I thought it was a bit weird how many times he mentioned his father’s passing, it seemed like a reach for sympathy and not very relevant to the message. But I have to admit, despite the red flags and weird feelings, that after reading it I was kind of on his side.

My side quickly turned as more and more women came out with allegations of assault by Jian. I think it’s safe to say that most people are no longer on his side.

Obviously this particular case is shocking because it’s someone who I had respect for and really enjoyed his work. But the bigger issue is how often things like this happen and nothing is done.

I am a pretty mild-manner guy and don't get worked up about too much. The one thing that makes my blood fucking boil and heart rate rise is hearing about a guy putting a woman into an uncomfortable situation. Now, before people blow up on that, I realise that it’s not only men that put women in bad situations, women do it to women, women do it to men and men do it to men. I know that and I should say that I hate when a person puts another person in an uncomfortable situation regardless of gender, because I do. However, for the sake of ease, I’m forgoing political correctness and just going with the overwhelming majority of cases of abuse, sexual, physical, or otherwise, which is a man against a woman.

I'll be honest is saying that “not so pure” thoughts have crossed my mind, but never have I ever felt or come close to acting on anything, it was never an option. Up until about 2 years ago I lived in ignorance just assuming that that’s how everyone thought and how the world worked. After meeting Kate she really opened my eyes to the prevalence of abuse, especially sexual abuse. I recently read a stat that 9 out of 10 women have been sexually abuse in some manner, and that 9 out of the 10 that have been assaulted never report it, and often never even talk about it at all.

Starting this morning after reading that 8 women have come out with stories about Jian, 3 of which met him at a book signing, I have been very angry. The book signing is significant because Kate has openly had a celebrity crush in Jian for a long time and a few years ago at the CBC’s Sounds of the Season met him at a book signing. In a different life, she very well may have connected with him and given her crush been one of the women reporting these allegations.

Kate and I actually had a long conversation about this this morning and she was the one that actually pointed that out. Our conversation quickly moved from Jian onto the simple fact of what I stated earlier, that abuse and assault happen ALL THE TIME, literally, and most of the time it goes unreported and these men get away with it. A lot of the time the women that it happens to brush it off by saying things like “Oh, it wasn't really that big of a deal anyway.” PLEASE STOP SAYING THAT! It is that big of a deal, in fact, it’s a HUGE deal. If two guys follow you into the bathroom at a bar, and one guy corners you, and makes advances at you but nothing “sexual” actually happens, but it leaves you feeling scared and violated, THAT’S A BIG FUCKING DEAL.

I use that example because in the conversation Kate and I had we talked about how that actually happened to someone we know, and this person's response was just what I said earlier, “Nothing actually happened anyway, it wasn't that big of a deal.”

Fuck that, those guys got away with it and now probably feel like they can do it again. This time though, there is kissing and they get away with it again. Then there is fondling, and still no reporting, next time is a full on rape and you know the sad part, the stats say they will probably get away with that as well.

There has been a big push lately regarding mental health. Clara Hughes has been the woman to really pioneer that frontier on the Canadian scene with things like her Bell Let’s Talk campaign. Regardless of who is leading what movement, the idea has been that we need to break down stereotypes and stigmas about mental health and get people talking about it. We need mental illnesses to no longer be taboo, we need to have it openly talked about and understood.

I agree wholeheartedly with this movement, and I think the exact same can be said for sexual abuse. It shouldn't be taboo, and it shouldn't be scary. As a woman you shouldn't have to feel ashamed or that if you contact law enforcement that they aren't going to believe you and take the man’s word over yours. Just as with mental health, the doors need to be bust the fuck down and we need to have open and honest discussion without judgment or prejudice.

I've been toying with the idea of writing something down for no reason other than not really knowing how else to get rid of this ball of anger and frustration that has been curdling in my chest. What finally spurred me to sit and put this jumbled mess of words together was the trending hashtag on twitter #BeenRapedNeverReported. As silly as I think social media is most of the time, it has its little moments like this. I don't know if this Jian thing has spurred this movement, or if it’s just a coincidence, either way I think it’s amazing and I hope it’s not just a quick thing that soon gets forgotten.

Whoever you are, regardless of gender, if you have ever been assaulted or abused let’s work together to break down the stigmas and taboos and make dialogue an acceptable thing to talk about. As we have started to do with mental illness, we need to make this topic more regularly talked about and set up much better support systems for care and access to help for victims.

Seriously go to the Bell Let's Talk website and change “mental health/illness” for “abuse/assault”.

Hop City Brewing Co. - Big Mouth Pale Ale

First attempt at a video blog. Will add a written review soon. Let me know if you prefer one over the other, or any suggestions/constructive criticism.

Christmas Shopping

Christmas is but a week away. I have had a few comments on twitter and instagram asking about how best to beat the cold and get your runs in as the temperature drops. I thought I'd outline a few of my go-to items for winter running.

As I'm sure you all know, the key to winter running is layering up!

TOP HALF

First and probably most important is a good base-layer. My go to this winter has been the Mizuno Breath Thermo base layer. This material is absolutely crazy. It actually uses the moisture from your sweat to create heat and keep you warm. I have been doing workouts in High Park with just this base-layer and a t-shirt on top in negative degree weather and been perfect. It’s really a great garment.

The next most important is a mid-layer. For that I have been leaning towards my Brooks Utopia Thermal half zip. I find it’s a perfect weight. When I’m going out for a recovery run and want to be just that little bit warmer, this works perfectly. The only downside is when it’s not all that cold, but really windy out, it doesn't have any wind protection. For that, I go for my Running Room RRX Wind Front Half Zip. It just has the added wind protection on the front, which really helps cut the bite on the windy days.

Next layer would be a top-layer or shell. This is when it’s super cold, or rain/wet snow is coming down. I don't often put on a top-layer; I get pretty warm when I run. When I do, I default to my Running Room RRX Extreme Run Jacket or, for added safety, Extreme Reflective Run Jacket when it’s dark outside (which is most of the time).

BOTTOM HALF

My three main layers that I go with are a base of short tights, then a long tight, and if need be, I put a pair of tapered pants on top.

Base-layer is pretty basic, tights are tights. You can get running underwear, or "runderwear", that have a wind protection bit that covers the family jewels. For men, this can be a nice feature on those super cold and windy days and help prevent certain body parts feeling like they are going to fall off.

As far as long tights go, I'm generally fine with just a normal pair of long tights. For the chillier days, I've been going with Brooks Utopia thermal tights. They are fleeced lined and just add a little extra warmth. For the REALLY cold days, or days I just want to pretend I'm somewhere tropical, I run in my Sugoi Sub-Zero tights. These babies are really warm. You can always look for tights with wind protection on them as well, it never hurts to have, but does reduce breathability, making them a bit warmer.

Then when it gets ridiculous outside, or I'm just going for a short recovery run and know I probably won't warm up too much before I'm done, I'll put a pair of looser fitting tapered pants on top. Many of these have the wind protection on them. I hardly get to the point of wearing these, except for when I'm warming up for workouts.

Extremities

Hands, head and feet. A lot of this is just based on personal preference and how cold these parts of your body get. My hands get really cold, so I generally run in a pair of pretty heavy mitts. I always have a toque on. Running Room has a huge selection of mitts, gloves and toques depending on what you need.

Lately I haven't left my house without my new favourite piece of running equipment, my 100% Merino Wool Buff. Merino Wool is an amazing material, it does a fantastic job of keeping you warm, and the best part, you don’t need to wash it. Just rinse it in the sink when you're done and hang dry.

Speaking of Merino Wool, SmartWool socks are a great thing to have if your feet get cold running out there. As I said, it’s an amazing material and really helps keep you warm.

Another great, but less intuitive thing about merino wool, is it actually helps keep you cool in the summer too! Garments made from merino are generally a little more expensive, but due to their diversity, I definitely think it's worth the cost.

Everything I have described in available at any Running Room location. The Breath Thermo top is sometimes hard to track down as it’s an incredibly popular piece.

Happy running, and keep warm out there!

Make sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram.

You've Come A Long Way, Baby

The other day I Googled my friend, Matt Norminton, to try and find his marathon PB; along with finding his PB, I also found a very interesting article from 2007. The article is from canada.com and is called “Edmonton Marathoner Stuck in Limbo.” The article is mostly about how Matt has dual Canadian/UK citizenship and how he wanted to run for Canada internationally, but Canada made that hard. You see, back in 2007 Canada would take the standards that the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) set as the qualifying times for championship events, and make them harder.

In the article, Athletics Canada head coach at the time was quoted as saying “Our mandate is to take a competitive team. Basically we ask, what is the world level?” He went on to say, “There is no sense to bring people to an Olympic Games that won’t go through round 1. It’s useless. You’re going to destroy them.”

That last quote can’t be any farther from the truth. That totally goes against who athletes at this level of competition are. I can say with great certainty that if you bring someone to a World Championship or Olympic Games and they get their ass kicked; they are going to go home and train harder and with more determination than they ever have!

That’s who athletes are. We don’t crumble in the face of defeat; we rise up and bring ourselves to the next level.

You know what, even if they do crumble, at least you have given them the chance and found out their full potential.

I’d like to take a minute right now to highlight a few things Canada’s performance at the World Championships in Moscow, Russia this summer. This was the first year in a long time that Canada didn’t set the standards any harder than the IAAF standards, and allowed “B” standards to go.

Guess what happened? Highest medal count ever! We won as many medals in Moscow than we did in the previous four Championships combined.

Another thing that is ingrained in us as athletes is we’re going to compete! Put us on the stage, and we’ll perform. If you bring the people that qualify on a “B” standard, they’ll perform. The two best examples I can think of are Geoff Harris at the 2012 London Olympics and Kate Van Buskirk in Moscow this summer.

Geoff qualified for the Olympics on a “B” standard. Actually, he qualified on TWO “B” standards. Canada still had its “Rising Star” rule in 2012. To be a “Rising Star” you had to have never been to a World or Olympic Games before, no one else in your event could have run an “A” standard, you had to run a minimum of two “B” standards, and come top 3 at nationals. So as you can see, they made it really easy.

Geoff hit his first “B” standard relatively early in the season. If Canada went with the guidelines IAAF set out, he could have relaxed a little bit at this point and hope no one ran an “A” standard. Since we had “Rising Star,” he had to go chasing another “B” standard. He almost didn’t get his second “B”, but squeaked it in right near the end of the qualifying period. He then went on to win Nationals, and qualified for the Olympics.

Geoff was ranked 45^th out of 63 men going into the Olympics. Only 27 men make it through the heats and into the semi-final. That means he would need to beat 18 people, that on paper, he shouldn’t be able to beat. He was put on the stage, and he performed. He knew full well where he ranked and that the odds were stacked against him. He knew that only 2 people were ranked behind him in his heat of 9, and that he had to finish in the top three to automatically move on to the semi-finals. Geoff toed the line at the Olympics and ran a new personal best placing 2^nd in his heat and was on to the semis.

Kate is another great example. She had a huge break through year. She started the year with a personal best of 4:11.45; 2.45 seconds slower than the world “B” standard. She ran PB after PB throughout the year and finally ran 4:08.34 on her home turf in Toronto, two weeks before trials. Two women had already run “A” standards; under the old rules, she wouldn’t have been able to qualify for worlds at all. However, this year Athletics Canada decided to drop the “Rising Star”, adopt the rules the IAAF set out, and not make it any harder than it needed to be for athletes to qualify. So all she had to do was go to nationals and be top three and hope that the only two women who beat her were the two with “A” standards. Instead, she just won the meet and punched her ticket to worlds with no questions asked.

She went into Moscow ranked 34^th out of 37 women. The top 6 from each heat in the 1500m automatically qualify for the semi-final, and the next 6 fastest times. She was ranked 11^th of 13 in her heat. She finished 7^th, but still qualified through on time. In the semi-final she performed. She ran a new personal best of 4:07.36. In the end Kate finished 15^th overall. Two women also competed for Canada who had run “A” standards; one finished 14^th and the other 27^th.

Back in 2007, it would have been believed that there would have been no point in bringing Kate or Geoff to these major championships; they would have been destroyed.

Now, I know this is where people are going to say, “But Peter, you’re example athletes didn’t medal. In Moscow, the people who won medals all qualified with “A” standards. This proves that if you want to medal, you need to be capable of an “A” standard.”

Granted, neither Geoff nor Kate medalled; but is that all that matters? Being at championships like the World and Olympic Games has an immeasurable affect on athletes. Not only by gaining championship race experience, but by the opportunities that open up to them as athletes afterwards, regardless of a medal.

The experience competing at major championships provides is absolutely priceless and hugely beneficial for an athletic career. Kate and Geoff weren’t ready to medal this time around, but they gained incredible race experience so when they are ready to medal at a World or Olympic Games, they will have that under their belt and be better prepared.

Not only is the race experience huge for these athletes; competing at major championships also opens a lot of doors in the way of sponsorships, working with world-class agents, and getting into world-class track meets. It also helps in regards to government funding, which allows these athletes to continue to focus solely on athletics and continuing to get better.

As a side note, with the exception of Dylan Armstrong, everyone who did medal in Moscow had previously been to games before, all on "A" standards, and no medals.

I am so glad that Athletics Canada has changed their views since 2007. It’s great that we have people in charge of our governing body that can see the benefit of bringing any and all athletes who qualify to these championships. I believe it will have a huge impact on our sport.

Adidas and Nike Raffle

I acquired some adidas apparel and one pair of shoes that I have decided to raffle off as part of my fundraiser for my altitude tent. They are all brand new, fresh from the adidas headquarters here in Toronto.

I will be closing the bids on Sunday, October 20th at 11:59pm.

Unfortunately, I only have one women's item; sorry ladies!

I will list the items below with a number. If you wish to bid on an item, leave a comment below with the item number and your bid. I will keep a list on my homepage, and at the top of this post for the top bid on each item is.

Start bids as low as you want, any little bit helps! However, making things interesting, I have received a $350 bid for all the items. If the individual bids don't surpass $350, or any other bid for all the items, that person wins everything!

Item #1 - $50           Item #2 - No Bid     Item #3 - $30
Item #4 - $20           Item #5 - $20           Item #6 - $40
Item #7 - $20           Item #8 - $30           Item #9 - $35
Item #10 - $50         Item #11 - $60

Bid to get all items - $350

TWO NEW NIKE ITEMS!

Item #10 - Nike Zoom Matumbo, Men's size 9.5

Item #11 - Nike Zoom Streak, Men's 9.5

Women's Item #1 - adidas Response 3-Stripes 3/4 Tight, Women's Medium
Click here for official Webpage

Item #2 - adidas Energy Boost, Men's Size 9 (Fit's like 8.5)
Click here for official webpage


Item #3 - adidas SMT Jacket, Men's Medium
Click here for official Webpage

Item #4 - adidas TechFit T-shirt, Men's Medium

So new there isn't even a webpage!

Item #5 - adidas Supernova T-Shirt, Men's Medium

Click here for official Webpage

Item #6 - adidas Supernova Half Tight, Men's Medium

Click here for official Webpage

Item #7 - adidas Supernova 5" Short, Men's Medium

Click here for official Webpage

Item #8 - adidas Supernova Singlet, Men's Medium

Click here for official Webpage

Item #9 - adidas Adizero Singlet, Men's Medium (My personal favourite)

So new it doesn't have a webpage

OXY USATF High Performance Distance Classic

My time in California is coming to a close. I have spent the last 5 weeks training and racing here in California. It has truly been amazing. I have met some incredible people and made connections I hope will last for a long time to come. I have said it many times on this trip, I have felt more at home in my 5 weeks here than I have in my time in Toronto. I am sad to see this trip come to an end.

However, I am really excited for what the end brings. The OXY high performance meet at Occidental College in L.A. This meet is absolutely insane. With my 3:40.15 seed time, I am 38th of 49 entries. The slowest seed is 3:42.87 and fastest at 3:30.90. There is no other word other than insane.

Since my race at Payton Jordan, I have been tapping into a little more speed to be able to close out that last 300m. I have had 5 solid sessions between Payton and OXY. I am a lot more confident going into this race now that I have a few checkpoints and know where I am at.

As always, my goal is to beat as many people as I can and toe the line ready to compete and willing to hurt.

I'll be sure to give an update after the race.

As many of you know I am fundraising to purchase an altitude tent. Please check out my homepage for more information. 

Hypoxico Altitude Tent

I have been looking into purchasing an altitude tent for the last 6 months or so. My good friend, Rejean Chiasson recently offered to sell his altitude system to me.

Out of curiosity I called Hypoxico Altitude Training Systems to see what a new unit would cost. I was connected with a very helpful guy named Matt Formato. He provided me with tons of very useful information about their systems, as well is other information in regards to training and other useful contacts.

The benefits of altitude training have been debated. From my personal experience with going to altitude in Flagstaff for the last 5 years, I can honestly say that I see a huge benefit in my training and racing. Living in Toronto with an altitude system is the ideal. You want to live high and train low. So spending as much time in my altitude system at 9000ft, while at home, and being able to walk out my door to 250ft, is almost as good as it gets!

Matt and the people at Hypoxico have been incredibly generous in offering to make the system more affordable. With their offer I would be able to get a brand-new system, with a warranty, and many additional accessories that would greatly help in my altitude training. For nearly the same price as their least expensive package; I would be able to get nearly every accessory as well as the largest cubicle instead of their smallest tent.

With the generous offer from Hypoxico, the total price would be nearly $4000. As most of you know, that's a little out of my price-range. I am writing this blog to reach out to all and ask for your support. Donations of any denomination will go a long way.

I will only be asking for donation confirmations until I reach a confirmed amount of $3000. After that point, I will contact all confirmed donors with options to either mail a cheque or transfer the donation either via paypal or interact e-transfer.

Donors will have the choice to remain anonymous or not. I will be making constant updates on my blog, twitter and facebook.

-Donations over $20 will receive a handwritten post-card from my travels, and their business logo on my "Sponsor" page. (Will be made shortly.)

-Donations over $50 will receive the previous, plus a Peter's Progress technical t-shirt!

Confirm donations by e-mailing me at peter@runpetercorrigan.com, messaging me on facebook, or DM on twitter.

Need for Speed

Last night was my 1500m season opener. All things considered, it went well. I pretty much ran even 60sec laps from start to finish. I felt solid and in control though 1200m, then I just didn't have any speed to close. That is exactly what I was expecting. I'm coming off a big base season and have only ran 1500m pace once before heading into this race.

I'm pretty excited that I can go out and run even 60s without any speed what-so-ever. It will be interesting to see what I can do once I teach my legs to go fast again.

Kate and I have extended our stay here in Santa Cruz, California. We will now be staying until May 18th so that we can head back to L.A. and race at the OXY HP meet at Occidental College on May 17th. Historically, this is an amazing event. Last year 3 sections went 3:35 or faster.

Time to put some speed in these legs!

Thanks for reading, remember to subscribe for faster updates. Follow me on twitter and facebook, and don't be shy to share my blog! Please leave any questions or comments below and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Looking Forward

Leading into this race I had only hit the track about 3 times all within 2 weeks of the race. Leading up to that point I had still been doing long strength workouts on the roads.

You know what, I started writing that paragraph to explain the last bit leading into the race, but I feel like I'm just making excuses. I'm neither ecstatic nor disappointed with last night's 5000m season opener. I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow I ended up in the fast section of the 5000m at The Mt. SAC Relays, and fast it was! Will Leer ended up winning the race in a world leading time of 13:21.55. In retrospect I kind of wish I had of contacted to meet director to put me into the heat below. That race was won in 13:41.90. I think I would have been up nearer the front of the pack actually racing, which I thrive off of more, rather than hanging on the tail end of the pack. In any case, I ran what I ran, I ran tough and hung on to a reasonably hot pace for 3000m. At that point I fell off the pack and the pace a little but and finished the race in 14:06.90, a 15 second PB. For that, I can't complain.

I've learned what I need to learn from the race, and now it's gone. I'm looking forward to next week where I'll be running my 1500m season opener and Payton Jordan in Stanford.

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Thankful

Tomorrow is the start to my outdoor track season. I’ll be racing in the fast section of the 5000m at the Mt. SAC Relays. I’ve done more miles and strength than I ever have and know that my body is ready to run fast. I just have to make sure my mind is on the same level and push through when it tells me to stop.

I’m extremely motivated for this race. The events in Boston were a number of different adjectives: silly, tragic, mindless, to name a few. For me, however, it has really opened my eyes. Along with the tragic stories came so many more of heroism, braveness, and example of how wonderful humans really can be. It made me realise how truly lucky I am. I have an amazing group of people supporting me, my very own integrated support team. From my parents, to my coaches, my sponsors at The Running Room, my friends, and my therapists, they are all behind me every step of the way and it’s comforting to know that. Of course, my extraordinary partner, Kate is a big part of that as well. She and I have both been so lucky to meet many people over the last while who are incredibly generous.

I could go on and on, but my message is this. I’ve worked hard over the last year to make my life and the people who surround me, positive. I think I have done a pretty successful job at this. Thank-you to each and every person that has been a positive influence in my life.

My race is tomorrow evening at 9:10pm PST. It should be a really exciting race. Mt. SAC has a live stream on their website, http://www.mtsacrelays.com/. Kate is racing in the fast section of the 5000m as well, she goes at 7:40pm PST.

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