As a Chiropractor in Vernon, I see a lot of runners. I am sure this is the same for most Vernon Chiropractors, but this is something that is often over looked. In this article, Dr Alex Hueston shares his experience transitioning form road running in his training to a trail race.

Written by Dr. Alex Hueston. Chiropractor at Young Health Management in Duncan, BC (Vancouver Island). www.younghealthmgmt.com

Hey Team!

We are back from running the Thetis Lake 20 KM Relay Race last week, on Remembrance Day. To honour those that have served for our country I felt it was appropriate to refrain from any social media. Running with Ceevacs has been a blast and running with a 4-person relay team in a distance race was a first for me. The race itself was structured with each member running a 4-5km loop around upper and lower Thetis Lake to combine for an overall 20 KM long race total. One of the cool parts of the race was that you were able to have multiple teammates run at once, which became very helpful for me without ever having run the route.

The track itself was quite challenging with a high degree of focus needed for your footing. With a lot of navigating needed with rock sections and high root areas, speed on the downhills was limited to your ability to quickly navigate the technical sections. On top of that, it was some of the heaviest rain I have been in for quite a while so definitely a type-2 fun kind of day. 

Leading up to the race with my 80/20 running it had been challenging with weather and scheduling to get out and run everyday. With that I supplemented in a lot more cross-training using many concepts implemented in Ben Patrick’s ATG principles. More on that in the future!

I also ran a V02 max test on myself to get a baseline of my current level of fitness that I will go into more detail on in future posts. What I gathered from my fitness testing and cross-training was more information on how I can perform at close to a max effort which is important when you are usually running at 90%+ of your capacity in a 5 KM race. My runs gave me the confidence that my cardiovascular system was in a good position and my strength training gave me the confidence that my legs would hold up on some more extreme slope sections if they should show up in the race.

How did it go?

Looking at my data on Strava my time over my ~4 KM loop was 21:38 with an average 5:19/KM pace, 178 avg. HR (peak HR of 189!) and 178 avg. cadence. 

Key Take-Aways:

• Trail time and road time can not be compared over the same distance. Trail running is all about how quickly you can adapt and recover from different running conditions. Forget the consistency that can be present in road running and learn to accept and even love the variability trail running can bring. 

• When on trail, run by feel first, metrics second. Through this race my heart rate went as high as 189 which is close to my theoretical max of 191 and pace was anywhere between 3:00-7:30/km pace! What was consistent was that I felt like I was in control of my breath, I felt strong and that I could maintain my perceived exertion for the length of the race. 

• Extreme slopes means extreme changes in speed. With this track the downhills were paramount to making up time and needing to push hard on the climbs. This is where the hill training/speed work pays off. 

• Running with an experienced person is invaluable. When looking to perform in a scenario with a lot of unknowns a simple solution is to run with somebody who has experience with those unknowns, whether that is pacing, running approach, equipment choice, route knowledge. It makes a race as simple as trusting if you can stay with that person you are going to get a good outcome. 

Big thank you for all the support from all the people who came out cheering us on, for all the volunteers that made it possible and for Ceevacs Roadrunners giving us propane fires and cover to keep us warm and dry. Lastly, a personal thanks to my teammate Rob Grant for leading the way for me and giving me the confidence to push at the finish.

If you have a pain or condition that is holding you back from engaging in activity, book an appointment, book a free discover call today: www.basecampclinic.janeapp.com

If you are looking for community weekly runs, running clinics and coaching, or even triathlon training be sure to go check out:

Bush Babes and Bros Trail Running for training

Starting Block Vernon for weekly group runs (all levels)

Be sure to keep an eye on the registration for the Thetis Lake Relay (link here) next year. I’ll see you there!

Author:

Dr. Alex Hueston is a Chiropractor in Duncan, BC at the Young Health Management clinic. www.younghealthmgmt.com