It’s been a tough year for Dylan Wykes, but thanks to a little patience and a lot of positive thinking, things are looking up for 2014.
When 2013 began, Wykes was recovering from a stress fracture; in March he developed a second one. “I got pretty down,” he admits. But the key to staying positive came from redirecting his focus away from all the running he wasn’t doing. “I had to focus my energy on the rehab and on other things,” he says. “I used some of that extra time and energy to work on a big goal to learn French.”
He’s getting back into some racing and says it’s been refreshing. He ran with Team Canada at the Chiba Ekiden, a mixed-marathon relay, in December. The race itself did not go the way he had hoped, however, he’s got some big changes in progress that are cause for optimism for the 30-year-old Olympian.
After spending the better part of a year in the Ottawa area, Wykes has returned to Vancouver where he’s running with Coach Richard Lee and the fairly recent BC Endurance Project (BCEP). “It’s pretty exciting,” says Wykes. “In the past I’ve done most of my training alone, so it will be good to train with people like Kelly Weibe, Lucas Bruchet, Rob Watson, and others. There’s also a bit of funding for things like training camps and travel to races.”
Wykes’s most important goals for the upcoming year are to get in consistent training so he can continue to get stronger. He admits that the marathon is still his favourite distance for a number of reasons. “I love the methodical approach. The long block of training where you can see progress – you don’t start out ready to run it and get faster, you work towards it. And the 5K and 10K are more difficult,” he laughs.
He’s focused on being patient and consistent because he knows it will pay off in the long run – while he isn’t saying much about his upcoming races after his up-and-down year, he’s got his sights set on returning to the Olympics to run the marathon in 2016. “Sure, it’s been tough, but you just have to grin and bear it,” he says.
To stay up to date on Wykes’s activities, follow him on Twitter, and be sure to check out his blog.