Category Archive: running logs

Starts with one step

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Wed. April 27, 2011

The idea is simple: I need to get back into running. Preferably sooner rather than later.

I’ve been on a break since the race at the beginning of March. It’s been great, but I feel like something is missing from my life. Running has always been a way for me to de-stress. With post-run endorphins going I tend to feel like my problems are smaller. Without that outlet I almost feel like my moods have been lower on average. It’s not good.

I’m slated to take up coaching again in June. Yay! I can’t wait until that point though to start up again. I need to ramp up again and feel comfortable getting out there. If I don’t feel comfortable myself, how can I inspire others? So yes, I plan on reappearing in store on Sunday. I’ll make it work! It all starts with one step.

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Struggle and triumph

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Tue. March 8, 2011

Life’s all about cycles. Old things end, and new things come in to take their place. For me, today marked the end of another cycle of coaching. For 17 weeks I guided a group of about 30 individuals through a training regimen that would prepare them to run a half marathon. Most of them ran their event this past Sunday. As you know I ran it as well, but really the important reason I was there was to support my group. Everyone ran a good race despite the weather and gross conditions. This evening was our final celebratory get together. Everyone had stories of how their races went. There were as many moments of struggle as there were moments of triumph. Most of all, there was a pervasive sense of pride and accomplishment tying everyone together. I personally took the night as a chance to overindulge in food. I wasn’t really planning on going that far overboard, but I just have poor sense when it comes to picking something healthy off a menu. I ended up eating 3200+ calories in that one meal, which really amounts to 1.5 days of eating. Ah, but on such an occasion that’s kind of forgivable.

So yes, that’s another notch on the belt. I did my best and everyone recognized it. It’s all I can ask for. I can rest easy knowing that people achieved their goals under my watch. Damn it, it feels good.

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Slushy half

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Sun. March 6, 2011

Early on in the week prior to this race I was looking at the forecast on a semi-daily basis just to get a feel for what conditions might be like on race day. I paid more attention to the temperature and not to the weather but it looks like that might have been a good idea. Then again, it’s not like I would have avoided the race due to bad conditions. I knew there would be snow, but I hoped it would be manageable. I figured that the roads would be cleared fairly quickly and that the one hour drive over to Burlington would be simple. Oops. As I drove down the Don Valley Parkway I saw multiple cars in ditches. There was one fresh collision that blocked the two left lanes. By the time I made it down to the Queen Elizabeth Way the roads were still bad, and they got worse once I cleared Toronto. At one point the car ahead of me had to slow down suddenly. The car spun out of control. Luckily I had enough distance to slow down enough, but man, the driver had no idea how to regain control and fishtailed like mad on the snowy roads. She’s lucky there wasn’t anyone in the right lanes; those lanes were covered in snow and no one wanted to use them at all. When I slowed down I don’t think the car behind me expected it and narrowly missed rear-ending me. Yeah, the drive in was a rough one. After all that though, I figured that the run wouldn’t be that bad at all.

How’d I do? Find the race report after the jump! Read the rest of this entry »

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An aching man

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Sun. February 6, 2011

Just a few words. I’m currently working through a bit of an injury. My right knee and left ankle are aching as a result of plyometrics class on Saturday. I think I landed hard on one jump causing my knee to start aching. And my left side has been compensating for the problem on the right and as a result my left ankle has started to ache too. This morning, I wasn’t entirely sure how much it actually hurt, so I just came to run club anyway. I went in with intentions of completing the whole 18K that was on schedule. As I started going though, I knew something was off. The sidewalks were covered in thick snow and slush making for a lot of uneven running. My pace slowed down to significantly. I kept telling myself that I’d keep going and turn around if I felt it was appropriate. By about 4K I got to a section that was downhill and slippery. I didn’t have any power in my legs. I just didn’t feel like I could continue without putting myself in danger. That’s when I made the call to turn around and walk back. So running four kilometres isn’t so bad, but walking that same distance took forever! I tried starting up a run again a few times during that walk back, but I couldn’t maintain anything. It was pretty rough. So yeah, I’m trying to rest the legs and recover quickly. I’m not going to let this prevent me from racing in March.

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Show must go on

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Tue. February 1, 2011

Well, this would make the third time that one particular guest speaker has had to bail on my group. Yes, it’s frustrating, but all the same I’m not as angry as I thought I would be. The first two cancellations were health related while this third one was related to the snowstorm. Due to a good review I kept on rescheduling her, trying to get her to fit into the schedule. At this point I just can’t do it anymore. I actually got the email saying that she couldn’t come in 15 minutes before my clinic started. We ended up doing an open forum.

I wonder if this is a sign of maturation, or a sign that I really have things under control. I think the old me would have freaked out or been nervous. It’s too bad, at this point it looks like that guest speaker won’t get invited back by anyone. Such is life. Show must go on.

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The body knows best

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Wed. January 26, 2011

The body is pretty good at signalling when it needs something doesn’t it? Last night’s 5K run was great, but it was tough. The sidewalks were covered in a thick layer of soft snow. The relatively warm temperatures caused it to have this semi-slush-like consistency. Running on that seemed akin to running on a beach. I felt my hip flexors and my glutes working overtime just to keep me from toppling over. By the time I got back to store I was kind of tired. Under more sympathetic conditions that 5K route wouldn’t be an issue for me at all. Well, anyway, by the time I got home, I was ready to just sleep. I was fine with that. I just wanted to get to bed so that I’d be ready to wake up early the next day.

I’ve got things scheduled such that I need to get out the door at a certain time such that I get to work early. Getting to work early means that I get to leave early. Leaving early means I get back home early. Getting back home early means I get to leave early for Running Room. It’s a long chain of things that need to fall into place. Unfortunately, this morning that all fell apart when I slept in. I just couldn’t physically get out of bed. It almost felt like a lead vest was covering me. By the time I got up my timing was all skewed by an hour. I wasn’t willing to leave work an hour early, so I just emailed my running group’s group leaders to make sure someone would be there to cover for me. Seemed like the responsible thing to do. Instead I opted to wander around downtown for an hour. Even though I was walking around I still felt like I was somehow recharging.

Anyway, in all honesty I was glad to have a bit of a break. To my group I’ve been an advocate for listening to one’s body. This is an example of a situation where it flat out forced me to take down time. The body knows best. It’s better to listen now than to wait for an injury to happen.

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Cold winds, warm thoughts

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Sun. January 23, 2011

I spoke about how I wanted my running group to have a story to tell once the clinic is over. I thought that last Sunday made for a good one, but today…holy crap. The night before, I got an email from one of my group members asking whether or not the run was cancelled. There was a bit of apprehension because the weather was forecasted to be -17°C/-30 wind chill. There were a lot of warnings saying that exposed skin could freeze in ten minutes. How could running out there be safe? Well, I’ve never had to cancel a run in the past, so I told her to show up prepared to run, but to also be prepared to have the clinic cancelled if the store manager says so.

This morning, I layered up really well. When I got in, I was a little apprehensive myself. Yeah, it was damn cold. Could I manage? Then someone reminded me that people in Edmonton probably have it much worse more often, and they probably still run. No kidding. So I put on a brave face for everyone. Sixteen kilometres! Whoo!

The run itself was tough. I didn’t have a balaclava so for some good chunks of the route I was pulling my jacket up to cover my cheeks. Whenever one part of me was feeling a bit too cold I focused my energy on warming that part up just to prevent frostbite. That was a real danger. When we got to the long north-south corridor part of the route the cold north winds were pummeling us. My fingers were going numb. I could feel my inner-thighs burning. It was rough, but it wasn’t permanent. As soon as we turned the corner the conditions got better as we got some protection from the wind from the houses in the area. Things eventually warmed up, and the rest of the run became tolerable. By the end I felt a great deal of relief.

This run was worthy of reflection. I mean, there were a lot of people who decided to stay home today. They didn’t want to risk heading out there for fear of being cold. Fair enough. Indeed, parts of the run were harsh, but it wasn’t representative of the run as a whole. Surviving the run wasn’t that much of an issue with the right amount of preparation. The only thing blocking us is our mind. Guaranteed, everyone that finished the run was happy to have done it. That’s the way it should be.

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Same amount of effort

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Tue. January 18, 2011

I’ve been meditating on something I told one of my half-marathon clinic members. See, she was also a member of the Learn to Run clinic that I did in July 2009. I told her:

Think about it. You are putting in the same amount of effort now as you did almost two years ago when you were just learning to run. See how much farther you’re running?

It’s true. I might even say that I was putting in way more effort back when I was starting out. These days moving doesn’t require as much. We’ve all come a long way. After reminding her of that she walked away smiling. We both understood.

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