Category: fundraising

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Kids Triathlons

Since I last posted, we’ve been in two 5 Peaks trail runs, and two kids’ triathlons.  Rather than try to catch up with 4 distinct race recaps, I thought I’d pair them up by race type – that means you’re going to get an overview of the kids’ triathlons we’ve been involved in this time, and the 5 Peaks races next time.

Furthermore, I’m going to combine observations from both races on a per kid basis; they’re only 2 years apart, but in triathlon, their experiences are very, very different in terms of what the event expects of them, and what they expect of the event.  The races were the C3 Kinetico Kids of Steel and Nicola’s Triathlon (for MFM Research).

 

The Lightning Kid

Swim

The Lightning Kid is currently at the ‘Crocodile’ level in his swimming lessons; that means they’re teaching him to roll from back to front, and combining the front crawl arm stroke into the motion.  He makes forward progress for a bit, but he’s not really staying afloat or getting his head above water to breathe more than once, so for a triathlon he wears a life jacket (at the C3 Kinetico Kids of Steel) or water-wings (at Nicola’s tri) and I get in the water with him to coach and cheer.  For the C3 Kinetico KOS, it was 1 length of the pool for the 6-7 age group (groups are determined by the age on Dec 31st).  It would have been 2 lengths for Nicola’s Tri, but we asked them to bump him down to the lower age group, which aligns better with his physical size anyway.  At both events, he kicked and doggy paddled gamely, and was only slowed down by his need to take in the scenery and ham it up for the crowd – as usual.  I stayed a couple of meters ahead of him and tried to keep his eyes on the prize – or at least the end of the pool lane.

I heard reports that some parents were pushing or pulling their kids through the water, and obviously I’m not going to get bent out of shape about it at a young age like this, but I will say the point of these events is endurance and that getting the job done (i.e. making it to the end) is the bigger goal, not how fast you complete it.  I’d rather have my sons come in last, having earned every inch of the achievement themselves – who knew I was so hardcore about this stuff?

Nicola’s Tri took place 2 weeks after the C3 Kinetico KOS and I was blown away about how the Lightning Kid took to transition, running out of the pool area along the red carpet to his bike like a kid possessed.

Bike

While we have been getting him to practice on a pedal bike without training wheels, we haven’t been brave enough to let go of the handle yet, especially since he seems to steer pretty erratically, and we figured he’d be freaked out during the race if he had a fall shortly before the big day, so we selected the balance bike for both races.  And yes – it’s pink.  The bike leg has a lot of the same Lightning Kid hallmarks, good speed, big smile, hamming it up for the crowd.  Unlike adult races, I think the kids’ events could stand to have longer bike legs – if only because I think it would favour my kids (while longer bike legs in adult races only penalize me and my lack of bike fitness). They were both basically a lap around the parking lot with me running alongside.

I do help the Lightning Kid put on socks and shoes which is extra challenging with wet feet; he did not want to forgo socks, in spite of my advice.   I have to get my own shoes on during transition too so that I can run alongside (or ahead) and cheer and coach (again as usual).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Run

The Lightning Kid has improved his running the most in the last year – it surprises most people.  He’s also gotten familiar enough with triathlon that he knows when you get off the bike the race is nearly done and he gets what Germans call Endspurt – a final burst of speed to finish the race.  With only about 500 m to run, it’s over so fast, it’s hard for my wife to get caught up and grab a picture.  The best we can do for pictures is the finish line.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shark Boy

Swim

Every year, the swim length seems to double for Shark Boy.  We knew he’d have to manage 100 m this year, so we took to the pool for the 4-5 weeks before the race (on weekends) and tried to increase his skill and endurance.  Every week, he’d have to pass the swim test of 2 pool widths before venturing into the deep end for more practice.   I drilled him in breast stroke, as I feel it’s  a more endurance paced stroke; make no mistake, front crawl/freestyle is faster once you can manage it in a sustainable pace, but plenty of people starting out seem to prefer it, and I know it’s the stroke of choice for recreational swimming in Europe.  Too bad some lifeguards here don’t seem to feel it’s a valid way to swim – I had one lifeguard arbitrarily try to say he hadn’t passed the 2 width swim test for using breast stroke where his face wasn’t in the water enough, and during the Nicola’s tri he was forced to use a flutter board, which slowed him down more.  I know I have to defer to a trained volunteer when it comes to safety, but I do feel there is a bias there.

Being the slowest in his wave (though not the slowest swimmer in his age group, from what I could see) discouraged Shark Boy, even though I tried to explain before and after the race that the overall time is what counted, not when you crossed the finish line (he was in the last wave of the Kinetico Kids Of Steel).  I’m proud of his swims regardless, because through hard work, we took him from not being unable to finish 100 m of swimming to more than capable.

 

Bike

Shark Boy has gotten a hand-me-down mountain bike that has gears in anticipation of a bike camp he’ll be participating in this summer, but though he’s been warming up with it, he wanted his gearless one for the races.

For the Kids of Steel race, he seemed OK on the way out, but I noticed it was taking him a long time to complete.  As I had mentioned before, he was in last place in his own imagination, and I think he got discouraged and lacked motivation.  It was also very hot that day.

For the Nicola’s Tri event, we had a major problem or two.  The course is looped, and though Shark Boy must have listened to 4-5 briefings where the volunteer had the kids repeat back that the bike course had 3 loops, I’m not sure the info really took hold.  I couldn’t follow him through transition, so once he was out of the pool I raced to a spot on the bike course.  I saw him struggling to gain momentum while pedalling furiously, and I knew what the problem was: his chain had come off.  I ran over, had him dismount and showed him briefly how to fix it, then sent him on his way.

Of course this meant I was out of position to tell him to stay on course when he completed the first loop and went straight back into transition….

Run

…and furthermore, he somehow took a short cut on the run course and crossed the finish line after less than 200 m.  He knows how long a 1 km run should feel like (especially from 5 Peaks races of the past), so I can only surmise that he was discouraged to the point where he just wanted this thing over with.

Though he was given a medal, the official results showed ‘DQ’ as his time made no sense in relationship to his competitors who went much further.  It took some serious mother and father pep talk to cheer him up the rest of the day, as we’ve all had results that we weren’t happy with (including my own DNS) that weren’t always the results of bad performance.

For the Kinetico Kids of Steel event, there was no disaster, but he did walk segments of the run course, and I’m still attributing that to discouragement and heat.

He’s placed better in 5 Peaks trail races, than in triathlons so far.   I guess I’m a little discouraged myself to think that at age 7 (meaning he competes with 8 and 9 year-olds) he’s at a level where the training and mental game have to be already pretty high, but it’s actually a good thing for someone who’s had a lot of things come to him fairly naturally (e.g. riding a bike without training wheels by age 3) to learn about the benefits of practice and work ethic.  I just hope he’ll continue to view triathlons as fun.  In addition to being well versed in the technique of transition, he also knows how to blame his equipment in order to justify further spending – he’s been bugging me to get him a road bike which will ride faster than the mountain bike.

Miscellaneous Event Details

Both events are great days out for the family with bouncy castles, face painting and barbecue.

The volunteers do a lot to make the participants and their families feel welcomed, informed and safe.  I love doing triathlon, but I love it even more when the whole family can get involved!

 

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A September of Family Races Part Twofer: 5 Peaks Trail Run & Terry Fox Run

The folks at 5 Peaks were nice enough to let me transfer my race entry for the cancelled Yeti Snowshoe race in February to a race much later in the season.  I picked the Heart Lake event (at the Heart Lake Conservation Area); this was the first year they had used this venue.


What turned out to be a beautiful day was a little tough to dress for, as the day started near single digit temperatures (in Celsius), but the sun ended up beating down to a degree that mid-way through the race I was wishing I had worn shorts.   More on my race later; first, we got both Shark Boy and the Lightning Kid to run the “Children’s Challenge” which was a 1 km fun run for the little ones which took place after a timed kids event (probably for slightly older children).

The boys are both #1!

The announcer explained the course and the parents held the kids back until it was time to ready, set, go!  I ran alongside Shark Boy to keep him motivated and running the best pace he could manage, and my wife ran with the Lightning Kid to keep him out of trouble.  The course went out under the start/finish arch, across a field for a bit, then down a big hill to a clearing they called ‘the bowl’, where we did a small loop and headed back the same way.

Shark Boy descends the hill into the bowl.

We’ve got a little more work to do about teaching Shark Boy how to pace himself for distance, and he’s a chip off the old block for not threatening the front runners for their podium positions, but he gave it a great effort and finished strong and out of breath and I couldn’t be prouder.

Shark Boy just before the finish line.

The Lightning Kid just before the finish line.

What can I say about the Lightning Kid? He got some help from his mom on the big hill, but I don’t think anyone had ever seen anyone that young and little finish a race like that, never mind with his gusto and enthusiasm.  We have Special Olympics aspirations for this one, but we’d also like him to attend as many sporting events for ‘typical’ kids as possible.

The brothers with their finishers’ medals.

There was about a half hour break between the end of the Children’s Challenge and the main race which was a Sport course (7.5 km) and an Enduro (15 km); the latter being two laps of the former.  Racers were asked to self seed themselves in waves, with the first wave being people who had a sincere chance of making top 3 overall.  From the numbers it was clear that some overestimated their abilities (or underestimated the competition), but the race announcers’ hinting and chiding had little effect on cutting down the size of that first wave.  In fact, with all the joking around I somehow got it into my head that there would only be two waves, and I would be fine in the back.  After the race was over, I chatted with a guy who was keeping a similar pace than me (and identified himself as more of a ‘hobby’ runner – like me – than a ‘serious’ runner – like most of the racers).  Luckily I stood at the back of the second wave so I wasn’t as big an impedance as I would have been in the front.

 After the first 50 m, the trail narrowed significantly for big downhill drop and the race turned into standing in line at the movies.  We had been forewarned of this and everyone was good-natured about it – it was too soon to have any real effect on anyone’s race.  Once the trail opened up a little bit, I started getting passed and as I checked my heart rate on my Garmin, I could see I needed to slow down the pace a bit.  The thing about trail races is they don’t give your heart rate much of a break unless you’re willing to slow down to a walk.

There were some fun ‘obstacles’ like logs to jump over including one you had to climb or vault (a hop would not suffice) especially early on – I loved it, but I think they still kept it within sane ranges unlike these obstacle course races that are practically masochistic in nature.  I kept getting passed though, and I began to wonder if I was in dead last when I stopped seeing people behind me for a bit.  It happens to me a little on the bike in triathlon so I don’t stress out about it too much.  In fact, I had passed one or two people too.  I took a little video of the trail, if you’d like to get a feel for what the race was like.


I had noticed that the kilometre markers came earlier than my Garmin was claiming, so when 6 km was done, I decided I could try and risk it a little more and really started pushing the pace; driving my heart rate well north of 90% of max.  I passed 3 people who had a similar pace than me, but were making it look easier.  I had a feeling they could and would catch me again before the finish line… and that was when I encountered a bit of funny luck.

The trail veered left and suddenly we were basically facing a wall of dirt.  Imagine the steepest hill you could theoretically climb on foot.  I think the others just stopped and laughed and resigned themselves to walking up carefully.  I, on the other hand, have daily conversations with Shark Boy about Spider-Man, so I hustled up using hands and feet like the wall-crawler himself, and you know what? I wasn’t passed again before the end of the race, even though there was another gut-busting climb out of that same bowl we used in the Children’s Challenge.  I crossed the finish line with lungs burning in just under 45 minutes.  I had projected an hour to my wife – I think both the course was a little easier than the last time I did a trail race, and maybe I’m in a little better shape.

5 Peaks always has great post-race snacks including bagels, bananas, apples, orange wedges, chunks of power bar (I think), cookies and kettle corn.  The Vega tent also gave out free samples of plant-based recovery drink – I’m glad turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties, but it’s not something I’d normally put in a drink… They also have Kicking Horse coffee, but I’m never ready to drink coffee immediately after a race, and by the time I get ready, it’s all gone. One of the costs of being a back of the pack (14/18 in Men 30-39 which I qualify as for another 3 days) athlete I guess.

And that was our Saturday… on to Sunday!
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 We got the kids packed up to do the Terry Fox Run at West Deane Park after a pancake breakfast.  I knew I was going to treat the day as ‘active recovery’ – nothing too strenuous, just jogging.  Unfortunately, I found I had tweaked a weird muscle the day before.  I don’t know which muscle it is, but let’s just say I’m not willing to put ice there.  It was going to be a little more challenging than I thought!

 The Terry Fox run is such a great event for families; there’s a bouncy castle, live music, a hot air balloon (that takes you only a little bit up and down, but still), fire engines for the kids to look at, a barbecue, and a great playground.  We were joined by my father-in-law and his wife.

They ended up taking the kids for the most part, while my wife and I did the run according to the planned route.  We did not break any speed records but proceeded north at a friendly pace while stopping to read Terry Fox quotes that were written in chalk on the path.

(I know that one’s not in chalk, I should have taken pics of the other ones as we encountered them).  The northern turn around point was only about 2 km out from the start, so I knew we’d end up with less than 5 km if we stopped at the start/finish line.  It turns out the kids and Opa and his wife had taken the southern arm of the route, so we went to meet them, but I confess we did a lot of walking as there was fatigue build up for both of us.


 By the time we met them, I had gotten a bit of a second wind, and I wanted to burn off a little extra energy, so I went ahead with Shark Boy to finish the route at a run (with him on his bike). He had wanted to get off the bike and run, but I convinced him to stay on it since it was a little far for him.  Keeping up with him on a bike is speed work (as I learned in Germany), and we had fun racing each other.  Before next week I have to teach him that filling his bike with pretend gas isn’t a great idea during a race, though.  With only a few hundred metres left, I could hear the band, and I said I’d carry the bike and helmet so he could cross the finish line on foot.  He doesn’t know it, but he did a brick workout!  Bring on next week’s duathlon.  

We all met again later and the kids had some good playground time and snacks.  I’m really happy to make this an annual tradition and we even raised a little money for cancer research.

Because we are crazy and insatiable, the kids had swimming lessons that afternoon too.  Our family is what my friend the Pavement Runner calls “That Kind of Crazy“.

Did you grow up in a crazy active family?  If not, do you wish you had?



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A September of Family Races Part 1: Levac Attack 2013

It was the day we had long been waiting for; now an annual tradition for the whole family – the 2013 Levac Attack!  We saw both the weather forecast and the sky itself, and managed to throw a bit of rain gear in along with our Chariot, a bike and helmet for Shark Boy, camera & tripod as well as a boom-box that would play the special “Levac Attack Playlist” I had put together the night before.  What we didn’t pack were dry clothes…

On the way to Brampton it was pretty clear that this would be a rainy day; no hope of sun peeking out or clearer skies anywhere in our future.  I pulled up to John and Lorna’s house to drop everybody off; luckily they have some big trees in their front yard in addition to the tent set up on the driveway so they could stay dry while I went and parked.  Of course, that meant I’d be putting the Chariot together in the rain, along with gathering together the rest of our gear.


Final registrations were done, and we got our fabulous Race t-shirts and bibs on.  It seemed like everybody was eager to get going (or at least get it over with!) and the door prizes were quickly drawn.  The horn sounded and they were off! Between setting up the stroller and herding 3 generations, we always start last, but I suppose that keeps us from having to get passed by everyone (though getting lapped is common on this course anyway).

I had tried to impress upon Shark Boy the importance of finishing the race you set out to do, and that I wanted to see him finish 2 complete laps (for 5.6 km) on his bike.  There is an even more important lesson for him though, and that’s to stick by your family and respect your elders.  Since his Omi was walking the course and it was pouring so hard, I don’t think they got the complete ‘Soft Taco’ course done, but I’m glad they stuck together.

Speaking of sticking together, in spite of her protests that she was in no shape to complete the 11.2 km ‘Hard Taco’ course (due to missed training runs), and also in spite of the miserable weather, my wife kept up the run for the entire four laps, and I couldn’t be more proud to cross the finish line with her at my side (and the Lightning Kid was in the Chariot too, of course!)

You can see some video of our race below.  Sorry about the raindrops on the lens, but, you know, the weather is out of my control.






I was surprised and pleased to see what the finisher’s “medal’ was…. something snazzy and useful, though I waited till I was home to take my modelling pic…
Sweet Visor…
The usual awesome post-race food included fajitas, hot dogs, but I was especially impressed by some of the desserts… one was very tasty, but I don’t know how to describe it… the other was a red velvet cookie with white chocolate chips.  Yum!

As an event, we raised close to $30,000 for Mount Sinai’s Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Health Complex for Women and Infants’ Health.  You can find out more about the cause and event at LevacAttack.com.

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Will Tri for Beer

There are two kinds of athlete: those that fuel themselves with nothing but the best nature and/or science can offer in the quest of squeezing better performance out of the machines that are their bodies… and there are the “Will Run For Beer” types.  Count me in the latter category, only I guess it’s “Will Tri For Beer (or cookies, ice cream, chicken wings, burgers…)”.

I’ve always wanted to participate in one of the “Drink-Up Link-Ups” organized by Janine from The Purple Giraffe, and my recent trip to Germany gave me an opportunity to do a roundup of my my favourite beers that I drank over there.
How can I do a post about German beer on the 4th of July?  Well, did you know that if it weren’t for a single vote, German would be the official language of the United States?  If you didn’t, good for you, because it’s bunk.  I can’t actually rationalize it too well.  Anyway…

I’m far from a connoisseur of beer, and I seem to be out of touch with the rage over hoppy beers (notably all the India Pale Ales) out there.  I guess my German heritage makes me like beers that hew closer to the Reinheitsgebot (Purity Law – only ingredients can be water, barley, hops [and yeast]) and that typically means lagers (in my experience and largely uninformed opinion).  I jump at the chance to drink a nice Pilsener, and warmer temperatures (which were rare on my trip) give me cravings for Wheat Beers.

Wheat beers come in 3 varieties: Weiss (white), Dunkel (dark) and Kristall (Crystal/Clear).  The Kristall is filtered and you can see through it – it has the cleanest taste.  The white is lighter and fresher tasting than the dark, but they’re both refreshing thirst quenchers and the dark isn’t that similar in taste to dark beers or stouts.

My favourite wheat beers:

  • Schoefferhofer – I had more of this in Berlin
  • Maisel’s – I had all 3 varieties of this one, it’s my brother’s favourite.

My favourite Pilsener
  • Schultheiss – this was my go-to beer while eating out around Berlin.  A simple, straightforward Pils.
I have a note that I drank ‘Kronenberger’ but the only thing on the web seems to be Kronenbourg 1664, which I have tried, and is decent, but I refuse to further discuss a French beer in a post about German ones.

Special mention for the Jever Alcohol-Free beer; we got this by accident but I didn’t hate it, and I found myself willingly drinking it if I thought I was still going to try to fit a workout in that day; that way I didn’t get lazy/sleepy from any beer buzz.

But this isn’t a food/drink blog, so I need another rationale to link up with the Purple Giraffe, and I have a good one.  Janine also organizes a Virtual #RunForMemory to find a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease. Virtual Runs are fun ways that we can participate in a cause with online friends no matter where in the world they are. I try to pick some official event that can double its purpose; last time I wanted it to be a Snowshoe race for the Kyle’s Krusade, and though the snowshoe part didn’t work out then, I still wanted this to have a little something extra to make it challenging and meaningful.

 Well, our work run club was staging a race in some of the most hot and humid weather we’ve seen this year, and this was a mere 3 days after my Muskoka 5150 Olympic Triathlon experience.

Check out that temperature and humidity. The words I used to describe it to my wife were “Death March”. And yet it was worth it. I donated to the Alzheimer’s Research cause and you can too (just use the Donate button on the Purple Giraffe site).

We are on the cusp of having unprecedented longevity thanks to better scientific understanding of our bodies and better healthy living practices… yet it’s a terrifying idea that our minds could get left behind. Read the Alzheimer’s facts on Janine’s site.

I confess I have an ulterior motive; I want the Lightning Kid to grow old and live as independently as possible when my wife and I are long gone. People with Down syndrome are prone to dementia as they age, and there is considerable overlap in Alzheimer’s research that could apply to those individuals too.

I confess I have a second ulterior motive… a free Beer Koozy for participating. See how I brought it back to beer? That’s Synergy people!

Please consider participating in the #RunForMemory and/or donating to #EndAlz.

  • Register and Run 5k or 10k
  • Donate
  • Spread the Word using the #RunForMemory and #EndAlz hashtags.
The link for the site one more time is The Purple Giraffe.

What cause(s)/reward(s) do you run for?
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Race Recap: Kyle’s Krusade 5k Virtual Race

While I had initially planned on using the Yeti Snowshoe Race as my 5k for the Kyle’s Krusade Virtual Race (to Lisa of RunWiki.org’s great excitement), its cancellation left me looking for another 5k I could use.  The Training Plan said that Monday was to be a 5.6km run, so that would have to do.

The days had been cold of late, but my 16km run on Sunday had gone well so I decided to Race with a Capital ‘R’… even though there was no-one else there.  If young Kyle had to fight cancer, could I offer any less than an all-out effort?  I hoped for a sub 25 minute finish, but I had a few factors against me: I had left both my Garmin and my water bottle belt at home.  I’d be relying on my Endomondo app to track my pace and distance.  Figuring that I’d be working hard, I skipped a thermal layer, and didn’t bother with face protection.  I can’t say that it was a mistake overall, but it did make the start a little uncomfortable.



As I ticked off the kilometres, I stayed under 5 minutes per kilometre, which was what I needed to stay under 25 minutes overall.  My lungs were burning a little, and some of the sharp turns were not ideal for ‘racing’.  You can see the fatigue (and incline) kick in on the 4th kilometre, and for a few minutes I thought I’d have to overshoot my starting point due to some kind of miscalculation, but I heard the 5 km indicator right as I got to the intersection.  24:39, a personal best.

Me with my Race Bib after it’s finished


I want to thank Lisa for devoting her time and effort to such a worthy cause.  Not everyone wants to do this kind of organization and logistics for the enjoyment of others.  Kyle’s Krusade Virtual Races can be done all through February and you can do 5k, 10k or even a half-marathon.  Or you call simply donate… just follow the links!

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Race Recap: Kyle’s Krusade 5k Virtual Race

While I had initially planned on using the Yeti Snowshoe Race as my 5k for the Kyle’s Krusade Virtual Race (to Lisa of RunWiki.org’s great excitement), its cancellation left me looking for another 5k I could use.  The Training Plan said that Monday was to be a 5.6km run, so that would have to do.

The days had been cold of late, but my 16km run on Sunday had gone well so I decided to Race with a Capital ‘R’… even though there was no-one else there.  If young Kyle had to fight cancer, could I offer any less than an all-out effort?  I hoped for a sub 25 minute finish, but I had a few factors against me: I had left both my Garmin and my water bottle belt at home.  I’d be relying on my Endomondo app to track my pace and distance.  Figuring that I’d be working hard, I skipped a thermal layer, and didn’t bother with face protection.  I can’t say that it was a mistake overall, but it did make the start a little uncomfortable.



As I ticked off the kilometres, I stayed under 5 minutes per kilometre, which was what I needed to stay under 25 minutes overall.  My lungs were burning a little, and some of the sharp turns were not ideal for ‘racing’.  You can see the fatigue (and incline) kick in on the 4th kilometre, and for a few minutes I thought I’d have to overshoot my starting point due to some kind of miscalculation, but I heard the 5 km indicator right as I got to the intersection.  24:39, a personal best.

Me with my Race Bib after it’s finished


I want to thank Lisa for devoting her time and effort to such a worthy cause.  Not everyone wants to do this kind of organization and logistics for the enjoyment of others.  Kyle’s Krusade Virtual Races can be done all through February and you can do 5k, 10k or even a half-marathon.  Or you call simply donate… just follow the links!

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Half-Marathon Training Weekly Recap: The Write-Off

Due to the capricious nature of cold and flu season, I missed running and cross-training from Monday to Thursday this week.  I don’t want to bore you with the details, but nights without sleeping sabotage both evening workouts and early mornings, and attending doctor’s appointments and such takes out my regular lunch slot too.

I tried to make up a little by running an indoor duathlon today.  I wanted to hit my tempo run from the plan, but I shorted the warm-up from a mile to half a mile before hitting the main tempo section.  Skipping the cool down, I jumped straight into a 40 minute spin class, then did another mile on the treadmill using a ‘random hill’ program in the Merrell Trail Glove/Minimalist shoes, to try and focus a little on form.

I haven’t figured out how I want to tweak this weekend’s schedule to make up for last mileage, and I’m also nervous about a race I signed up for before the Chilly Half Marathon… I’m doing a snowshoe race!  It’s going to be the Yeti Snowshoe Series ‘Sport’ Course (5k) at Blue Mountain.  The Race Calendar Page has been updated accordingly.

In the lead-up to planning this race, and signing up for it, my wife asked me: “When was the last time you snowshoed?” (I love that she didn’t ask me if I’d EVER snowshoed…). The answer? A sheepish “Junior High”.  I’m fully prepared to make a fool of myself on this event, yet according to this video from Canadian Running Magazine, as long as I’m careful, I should find myself getting the hang of it.  Starting off slowly and carefully is always standard operating procedure in a race.

I’ve chosen to use this race as a 5k ‘virtual run’ for a cause started by Lisa of RunWiki to help ‘Kyle’s Krusade’:

Kyle’s Krusade Virtual 5K, 10K and Half Marathon is a race anyone, anywhere can participate in. You can walk, run, push a stroller, do it with a group or by yourself. The registration for this event is $10 a distance, you can sign up for one, two, or all three distances. 100% of your entry fee will go to The Talbert Family Foundation’s Kyle’s Krusade fund. In turn, to assist with the exorbitant costs associated with having a child with Cancer, they give 100% of their donations directly to the O’Connor family. – From the RunWiki.org website.

Please consider doing a run (and donating of course) in February to help the O’Connor Family.

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A Very Special Announcement: The Levac Attack

I wanted to take the opportunity to tell you about a special race that I’m doing this year and have done for the past 2 – as long as it’s been running.  The Levac Attack was started as the way for some friends of mine to give back to the hospital that has helped them come back from tragedy.  It’s not easy to write about, so I’m going to borrow the text of John and Lorna Levac’s story from the race’s fundraising web-page:

In January of 2010, we were so happy to learn that we were expecting our first baby! We had recently gotten married and wanted to start a family, so to find out we were pregnant was very exciting news for both of us. During the first trimester, Lorna found out she had developed a fibroid on her uterus, which is a benign (non-cancerous) tumour, about the size of a grapefruit. Her doctor monitored the fibroid, but was not concerned as it wasn’t affecting her pregnancy. This fibroid did cause other problems for Lorna. It put pressure on her right kidney, which then formed a very painful kidney stone. As a result, she had to be hospitalized for two weeks so that she could pass the stone. Her doctors kept monitoring the baby throughout this time and everything appeared to be okay.

At the end of the first trimester it was time for Lorna’s 20 week pregnancy ultrasound, to review all aspects of the baby’s anatomy. It was at this appointment that we were blindsided with a devastating report. Our doctor explained that the fetus had shown major developmental issues with the head and face and he wanted to refer us to Mount Sinai Hospital’s high risk pregnancy team. A few weeks later, we were scheduled for our first appointment at Mount Sinai, where it was conclusively explained to us that the fetus’ spine was not connected into the brain and it was only a matter of time until it would pass away. No one can even begin to imagine the grief and loss we felt when we received this sad news. A few days later at a follow-up appointment, the doctors told us that our baby’s heart had stopped beating and had passed away.

As we prepared for Lorna to deliver the fetus, her body was not reacting well to the hormonal changes and the fibroid was still very large, causing great concern as it impeded a safe natural delivery. The doctor and health-care team in the high risk pregnancy unit carefully monitored Lorna and even when it was deemed to be safe to deliver the fetus, her body went into shock and she was whisked away into Emergency and then recovered in the ICU. We each look back over the exceptional care that we received and will always be grateful to the staff at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Later on in 2011, Lorna’s fibroid was surgically removed at Mount Sinai and now in 2012 we are delighted to be pregnant! Once again, we are under the care of the doctors at Mount Sinai, but are considered a normal, routine pregnancy (but maybe with an extra thick file) and everything is fine both with Lorna and the baby. It has been important for us to give back to the Hospital, the staff and the future babies and mothers that need to be under the care of the high risk pregnancy program.



John is an avid marathoner, triathlete and Ironman, so creating his own race was a good fit when he wanted to fundraise.  He and Lorna mapped out a short (2.8km), flat course of their quiet Brampton neighbourhood, and made several race lengths available: 5.6km, 11.2km and 22.4km (2, 4 and 8 laps of the course respectively).  Endurance athletes like runners and triathletes have their own guilty pleasures/rewards so each year has taken on a theme based on these.

 




The first year was based on a Burger Chain, the second on a Coffee/Cafe you might have in your neighbourhood, and this year it’s a cola based theme – each race length has a different name.

As I’m on the planning committee for this year’s race, I’ve seen first-hand the level of passion the Levac’s have for making this event not only successful, but fun! Race t-shirts, finishers medals and post-race food is all part of the deal.  It’s also impressive that they are able to cover race costs via corporate donations.  Race participants are asked to raise/donate a minimum of $100, and every cent of that goes to Mount Sinai.

This photo was taken during the 2010 Levac Attack – a family affair!

Besides being friends with the race founders/directors and this year being on the planning committee, the other reason this cause is special to me is that being a parent and having a family is the most important aspect of my life, but the sad reality is that getting to this point isn’t always as straightforward for all people as we’d like.  Not all mothers and/or babies get started with all systems go, and it takes facilities, infrastructures and experts like these to make happy families possible.

The Levac Attack has its own web-site where you can find out more.  I’ll finish off with a request that you (especially if you are a running enthusiast in the Greater Toronto Area) do one or more of the following:

  1. Sign-up for the race!  We’d love to have you.  Use it as a stepping stone or training session  to your next big race.
  2. Donate!  You could always sponsor your boy the Iron Rogue himself… click right here to get started.
  3. Spread the word to others local to the event.  There’s the web-site, Facebook page, and Twitter is coming soon.