Ean Jackson's blog

My calf muscle first went "boing!" on a 30-minute run around the neighborhood before dinner one Saturday evening in late January.  There was no "pop", just what seemed like a low level cramp in the muscle between my heel and my calf.  (I think the technical name is soleus muscle.)  I ran through it, but it got worse, so I hobbled home.  No pain the next day, but I figured it would be good to give it some rest. 

As the closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics approach, I was reading Sylvie's report of her adventures at the STORMY 100-miler. She made mention of Advil, a brand of ibuprofen, also commonly known as "Vitamin I" to endurance athletes. A couple of the more experienced 100-mile runners I know shared their thoughts with Sylvie in the comments section. Since doping is in the news with the Olympics and the Tour de France, I figured the subject was worth taking a look at from the distance running perspective.

Today was a gorgeous Canada Day. (If you're not from Canada, Canada Day is Canada's birthday... a national holiday and an opportunity to wave the maple leaf and celebrate in the great outdoors.)

Congrats to Shay, Vanessa, Angus and John who kicked some serious butt and came home with the hardware in the 15th annual Marathon Shuffle in Powell River, BC this past weekend!

Here's an article on the Marathon Shuffle from the Powell River Peak.

This ~35K run is one of the most fun, low key events I've ever participated in.  It's in a beautiful part of the world and the people of Powell River really take care of you.

Sometimes I get a tune in my head that I can't shake. I'm a big fan of Willie Nelson and today was one of those days... especially because I've been injured for a while and have been missing the trails. So with a tip of the hat to Willie, here's something to hum the next time you are on the trails!  (Yes, I do karoke at race finisher parties.  See my agent  =;-)

On the Trails Again
by Ean "Back in Action" Jackson

I truly prefer to keep things upbeat and positive, but every now and then something happens that ticks me off so much I feel compelled to tell the world about it.

It happened to me today, in fact. Yup, 17 years down a rat-hole.

You see, I moved to British Columbia 17 years ago. My first home: Whistler, BC. It was a lifestyle choice... go to the biggest and best and ski 'till the snow is all gone.

Today was an epic day. But it started out on thin ice. Wader called late last night with a very tempting offer: "Tomorrow morning. I'll be at your place at 7:00 am. We're going back-country skiing at Cypress."

I immediately fell into the morass of analysis paralysis.

The cons: It's going to be icy. My ribs are broken. Wader will kick my ass. I don't know how to use the gear. I'll have to get up early. I'm out of shape. I'll get further behind at work. I just about froze in the fog up on Grouse last night, so I'll freeze for sure tomorrow morning. I'll fall down a tree well and die a cold, slow and miserable death.

The pros: I love Wader and I've not seen him in a while. I really, really want to try back-country skiing now that I've got the basic gear. It might have snowed on Cypress last night. I have to chat with Wader about the Western States 100-mile run soon anyway, so going back-country skiing with him is wayyyy cheaper than going drinking with him. It's supposed to be sunny tomorrow. I can work in the afternoon and all night. What if I get hit by a bus tomorrow morning, anyway?

First it was my calf. For some reason, in late January when I was in fact feeling strong like bull, something in my calf muscle went "boing!" and that was that. Every time I went for a run of more than 15 minutes, I could feel my muscle tear again, ripping kind of like a piece of paper under my skin.

My buddy Steve Deller sent me this link yesterday. A new 60K trail that has probably never been run. http://www.wildcoastmagazine.com/NorthCoastTrail.htm

First bagger bragging rights are special.  Anyone interested in bagging this with me?

I've hiked the Cape Scott trail. It's flat as a pancake. The beach is awesome... I found a really cool blue glass Japanese fish float there.

Why, go out and buy skis that are guaranteed to get you even deeper into the pow, of course!

It's been quite a few years since I hit a telephone pole in a dual slalom race in Park City, Utah, and broke 7 ribs. I'd almost forgotten how much it hurts to laugh with a messed-up rib cage. If I've not seen you on the trails lately, now you know why. Shit happens in 3s. Next what?