Tag Archive: running

Forming October

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Thu. September 29, 2011

So, I’m in the process of filling in my calendar for October. I’m scheduling various parties, my fitness schedules, events, and anything else that comes to mind that might require a reminder of some sort. At the moment, I must say that I’m feeling a little bit apprehensive just looking at the whole month. Thursdays seem to be my only island of calm that month amidst a sea of classes and get togethers. I haven’t signed up yet, but I’m on the verge of taking on a CrossFit BootCamp class at my local CrossFit box. That’s going to occupy Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings. I still have improv practice and therapy sessions on Monday nights. I’m still coaching my running clinic on Sunday, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, right up until race day on the 16th. After that those days become free once more, except for the Tuesday right after the race which is scheduled to be a celebratory get together for my group. On Saturdays I have my baking class in the morning. There’s one weekend in there with a wedding. Later on in the month I’m planning on filling in my Thursday evenings with a 6-week core conditioning class. By the end of that class I should be able to kneel on a yoga ball.

So yeah, this is going to be my life for the next little while. It’s enough to make me worry; it’s enough to make me insane. I really have to focus on getting enough sleep and maintaining good health in this period. I had joked that I would collapse into a big heap by the end of this period, but someone quickly pointed out that I kind of live for this kind of thing. Heh. Yes. Yes, I do. I don’t consider myself an over-achiever, but I know that I can achieve a lot. We all have the capacity to do many great things. It’s up to us to figure out a way to fulfill our destinies, right? So yes, I’m going to keep working hard, and keep pushing myself. This last month of me being in my 20s is going to be transformative. I’m going to make it happen.

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Good at what I do

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Tue. July 5, 2011

As you know I’m once again coaching a half marathon clinic. To some extent I seem to be well received as a coach. I do my best to inspire my group and keep them motivated. Even though this is now my third time leading this distance, it’s not like my leading style hasn’t changed. My emails still remain consistent. My routes are characteristic–if someone in the know saw one of my routes they’d be able to point out that it’s probably mine. No, to me I feel like me speaking style has changed. I would guess that the first time I ran this clinic I must have been a little shy and visibly nervous. There must have been nights where the doubt must have been visible in my eyes. These days I almost feel like I’m more open and a bit more brash when I talk. I trust that I know what I’m doing. I have a lot of knowledge to offer, and I’m going to make sure people listen. If people are doing something silly I’m going to call them out on it. I know what I want for my clinic. My goal is to get to the end with minimal injuries among the group. I will be vocal to make sure people are paying attention. Heh, of course, this isn’t to say that I’m strict. Nah, I do my best to maintain my levels of positivity. If not me, then who else, right? What I’m saying is that there’s no reason for me to be shy. I’m good at what I do. I know that people will benefit one way or another.

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Listening to the signals

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Sun. May 8, 2011

So this was my last update to my Facebook wall from earlier today.

There’s a subtle difference between the body yelling “Stop, I’m a bit tired,” and “Stop, you’re going to do some damage to yourself.” The key is paying attention to the latter.

It’s a very good point if you ask me. There are times when the body is just fatigued but is capable of pushing onward. There are other times when the body really needs rest and pushing it would just be ill-advised. This morning I experienced something of the latter. On Saturday evening I prepped my stuff to head into the Running Room on Sunday morning. When the morning came, I just couldn’t drag myself out of bed. There was no pep. I just felt extremely heavy. By about 9 a.m., I figured that since I didn’t make it up north to RR I should at least run around my place. I put on my running gear, mapped out a 17K route and set out. From about 4K onward, I figured something was up. I was running, but it was feeling more difficult than it should have. Time seemed to drag on. I could feel my body going through the movements, but it just didn’t feel right. At the 8K mark, I decided to cut the route and head home. I felt almost disembodied. My mind felt like it was elsewhere because the body wasn’t doing what I wanted it to do. In the end, I still got 11K in, but it wasn’t what I had planned. Sure enough, about an hour after I came back I finally realized that I was running a bit of a fever. Oops. My body was under the weather. Good thing then that I stopped. See. That’s the importance to listening to the signals that the body is sending out, right? No big loss. In time I’ll be back out there and feeling better than ever.

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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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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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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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