Category: family

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Impromptu Backyard Workout

Normally after Shark Boy and I get home from daycare/work respectively, we have about 20-30 minutes to kill before dinner is ready.  He likes to be outside so we often take walks to the park or he rides his glider bike around the neighbourhood.  It’s an opportunity for me to be slightly active, in that I walk with him (occasionally running to catch up), but it’s not exactly a workout; I’m still in my work clothes.  I dress casually, but I’m not in suitable shoes for running and I get hot wearing jeans in summer (or Indian summer) weather.

Today I tweaked it a little though.  Shark Boy had asked to play in the backyard this morning, and we had to get him to daycare (and me to work), so nothing doing.  Still, he jumped at the chance to get out there this evening.  I promised to join him once I changed to shorts and a t-shirt and grabbed a few extras.

Knowing time was short, and that situations with kids were fluid at best, I didn’t have high expectations for my workout, but the truth was I was still sore from a Gravity Machine workout the day before, so anything that would break a sweat without being too gruelling was welcome.  I’d grabbed a jump-rope and a 6lb medicine ball that we got for my wife a while back.  I hadn’t put on shoes, but hoped I could jump rope in the grass.  That didn’t work so well; the rope slowed down in the grass and threw off my timing.  Next time, I’d wear shoes and do it on the patio.

The medicine ball was more appealing – I haven’t used it since we bought it, but I’d found a good set of exercises here.

 I started with their ‘Log Toss’ and simply threw the ball into the air.  That way, if Shark Boy wanted to get involved I could simply claim that this was *my* ball and he was welcome to do the same with one of his.  Our backyard has plenty…

It was a great move for explosive power through the legs in the squat portion, along with a swing in the shoulders, much like some of those kettlebell moves you see these days. I did about 10.

I moved into Medicine Ball Slams.  These always scared me because I worry about what happens to the floor or walls that they’re used on.  Most demonstrations seem to occur in industrial spaces with cement walls.   That’s not like my house or my gym, but I figured our lawn was up for the abuse! 12 to 15 reps of this (I wish I’d kept better count, but the kids distracted me!)

I paused to grab a picnic blanked and bring the Lightning Kid out to watch us play.  Then I lay down beside him and did some crunches while holding the medicine ball above me.

Papa, that’s not how you play ball.

Before Shark Boy finally demanded my attention, I fit in about 14 pushups while alternating the ball from hand to hand.

We’re signing Shark Boy up for a Kids-of-Steel Duathlon, so I thought I’d try getting him in mental shape for the idea of racing; I know he’s got the fitness, endurance and iron will, I just hope he doesn’t get confused or overwhelmed.  Anyway, I challenged him to race across the yard.  With my longer legs it wasn’t that challenging or that much fun for either of us.  Then I gave him a head start halfway across the yard, and did a sprinting charge complete with “I’M GONNA GET YOU!” and monster sounds.  That ramped up the fun and sweat!

To round it out a little before dinner, I managed to get the Lightning Kid involved too.  I ran a little (fairly slowly) while carrying him, and also some lunges with him on my shoulders.

Shark Boy gets in on the lunging action

While I couldn’t tell you how many calories I burned, I broke a definite sweat and had great fun with my boys.  I’m motivated to try this kind of thing again, in fact I’m motivated to get back into training for the off-season.  Thanks boys!

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Impromptu Backyard Workout

Normally after Shark Boy and I get home from daycare/work respectively, we have about 20-30 minutes to kill before dinner is ready.  He likes to be outside so we often take walks to the park or he rides his glider bike around the neighbourhood.  It’s an opportunity for me to be slightly active, in that I walk with him (occasionally running to catch up), but it’s not exactly a workout; I’m still in my work clothes.  I dress casually, but I’m not in suitable shoes for running and I get hot wearing jeans in summer (or Indian summer) weather.

Today I tweaked it a little though.  Shark Boy had asked to play in the backyard this morning, and we had to get him to daycare (and me to work), so nothing doing.  Still, he jumped at the chance to get out there this evening.  I promised to join him once I changed to shorts and a t-shirt and grabbed a few extras.

Knowing time was short, and that situations with kids were fluid at best, I didn’t have high expectations for my workout, but the truth was I was still sore from a Gravity Machine workout the day before, so anything that would break a sweat without being too gruelling was welcome.  I’d grabbed a jump-rope and a 6lb medicine ball that we got for my wife a while back.  I hadn’t put on shoes, but hoped I could jump rope in the grass.  That didn’t work so well; the rope slowed down in the grass and threw off my timing.  Next time, I’d wear shoes and do it on the patio.

The medicine ball was more appealing – I haven’t used it since we bought it, but I’d found a good set of exercises here.

 I started with their ‘Log Toss’ and simply threw the ball into the air.  That way, if Shark Boy wanted to get involved I could simply claim that this was *my* ball and he was welcome to do the same with one of his.  Our backyard has plenty…

It was a great move for explosive power through the legs in the squat portion, along with a swing in the shoulders, much like some of those kettlebell moves you see these days. I did about 10.

I moved into Medicine Ball Slams.  These always scared me because I worry about what happens to the floor or walls that they’re used on.  Most demonstrations seem to occur in industrial spaces with cement walls.   That’s not like my house or my gym, but I figured our lawn was up for the abuse! 12 to 15 reps of this (I wish I’d kept better count, but the kids distracted me!)

I paused to grab a picnic blanked and bring the Lightning Kid out to watch us play.  Then I lay down beside him and did some crunches while holding the medicine ball above me.

Papa, that’s not how you play ball.

Before Shark Boy finally demanded my attention, I fit in about 14 pushups while alternating the ball from hand to hand.

We’re signing Shark Boy up for a Kids-of-Steel Duathlon, so I thought I’d try getting him in mental shape for the idea of racing; I know he’s got the fitness, endurance and iron will, I just hope he doesn’t get confused or overwhelmed.  Anyway, I challenged him to race across the yard.  With my longer legs it wasn’t that challenging or that much fun for either of us.  Then I gave him a head start halfway across the yard, and did a sprinting charge complete with “I’M GONNA GET YOU!” and monster sounds.  That ramped up the fun and sweat!

To round it out a little before dinner, I managed to get the Lightning Kid involved too.  I ran a little (fairly slowly) while carrying him, and also some lunges with him on my shoulders.

Shark Boy gets in on the lunging action

While I couldn’t tell you how many calories I burned, I broke a definite sweat and had great fun with my boys.  I’m motivated to try this kind of thing again, in fact I’m motivated to get back into training for the off-season.  Thanks boys!

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Race Report: Levac Attack!

The third annual Levac Attack is in the books!  While we are still awaiting some final donations, it looks like this year’s total will be in the order of $30,000!  But I don’t want to get ahead of myself.  Let me tell you the whole story for the day of Saturday, August 25th, 2012.

We got up on time for once, and were able to get the Chariot packed in the car, along with Shark Boy’s glider bike and various and sundry baby items.  The Lightning Kid was wearing a onesy from last year’s event, and I had my morning coffee in a mug that was my finisher’s “medal” for last year.  We made our way to Brampton and parked at a high school a couple of blocks away.  As we rounded the corner we could see a crowd with an electric energy, as everyone had been looking forward to this for some time.  My mother-in-law greeted us, wearing this year’s t-shirt a bib, and raring to go.  She was going to tackle the 5.6 ‘Diet Coke’ Event, though she was flirting with the idea of walking the 11.2 km (Coke Zero) instead – that kind of crazy can be found on both sides of our family, I’m afraid.  She ended up taking care of Shark Boy mostly for the day.  More on that later, but take note of how the different generations are all able to participate in this event; it’s pretty special.


The race had 59 Adult participants, 11 kids/babies, and 21 volunteers.  Almost everyone changed into this year’s race t-shirt in a show of solidarity.  Unfortunately, racing in black cotton on a hot summer day was a recipe for extra suffering, but at least we were all in it together!

Lorna is sporting the T-Shirt from the 1st Levac Attack

As John and Lorna (race founders and directors) addressed the crowd pre-race, I started trying to get our final setup ready.  The Lightning Kid was feeling tired and fussy since it was right around his usual morning nap time… and we had left the soother in the car.  Nothing like a quick sprint prior to the race to get warmed up, right?  I missed some of the giveaways/door prizes (including Toronto Raptors tickets, and mall gift cards), and the race had started without me as I neared the starting line, soother in hand.  The good news is I think LK was asleep by the time the Chariot had completed one revolution of its wheels!

We soon caught up with Shark Boy and his Omi.  Thanks to his stubborn independent streak, they’d end up short-cutting the first lap, and eating Timbits (doughnut holes to you non-Canadians) at the starting line (in fact: doughnuts are race director and Ironman John’s favourite mid-race fuel, so Shark Boy is in good company).  I was annoyed at first, not because I expect a toddler to finish the race, but because I want him to understand that if you want to reap the rewards of any offered opportunity, you have to participate in all of it.  I was pleased to find out they went out for a second lap after that, and we’re going to credit them 5km, OK?

The race course is a 2.8km ‘loop’ that does a lot of doubling back on itself to stay on the small residential streets so no-one has to close a major intersection.  It might seem a little confusing, but every turn has a marker and we had volunteers biking and rollerblading the course.  The great part is you end up running across (i.e. in the opposite direction of) other runners who are doing a greater/lesser distance, who are faster or slower the entirety of the race, giving everyone plenty of opportunity to cheer each other and share smiles, high-fives, whatever.

Taking water and walk breaks and keeping an eye out for Shark Boy every possible juncture did not make us the fastest racers (I think we might have been last to finish the 11.2 km course), but we finished with big smiles on our faces.  The Lightning Kid woke up around the 8km mark, but did not make a peep of complaint the entire race.  He’s got a promising future as an endurance athlete – part of the Iron Rogue Junior Brigade – The Scoundrels of Steel!

My wife referred to him as the youngest person with Down Syndrome to complete a  11km race.  I know we can’ t prove that, but why not?

There were a few participants who did the 22.4km (Coke Classic) event which is on the order of a half-marathon.  Some of these were pretty special as they had competed at Iron Man Mont Tremblant only the week before!

Levac Attack prides itself on having the best possible post-race food.  Your post-race drink, of course you could drink out of your finisher’s ‘medal’:  this gorgeous glass stein.

Burgers (including veggie), chicken, hot dogs, salad, Kraft Dinner – a full on barbecue! And if you’re a sweet-tooth like me, the deserts are the main attraction.

And that includes Ironman cupcakes and cookies!

Other special things that bear mentioning is that we were paid a visit by Miss Teen Brampton, Katherine Kenny.  Not only was she doing her duty to support community events and charity, but she benefited from Mount Sinai’s care when she was born pre-maturely.  Way to give back!

N.B. She did not run in those heels.

And our friends Paul and Leslie show up every year.  Paul is an accomplished triathlete, but that’s not what we’re going to focus on.  Let’s talk about Leslie, and I’ll borrow my wife’s words here to tell the story:

One of our star participants this year was Leslie Rogers!! Leslie walked 2.8 km for the first time since she suffered a massive stroke over 10 years ago. Here’s a video of her crossing the finish line! WAY TO GO LES!!!

That’s Paul’s voice you hear cheering on his wife, and generally being awesome.

If you haven’t picked up on it through reading the post, I am immensely proud to have been part of this event that not only helps a good cause, and helps families like the Levacs become what they are meant to be but includes young and old, people of diverse backgrounds and abilities.   I know we’re going to do it even bigger and better next year, and I hope to meet a lot of new faces when that time comes!

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The No Show

This past weekend was somewhat of a misadventure. On Sunday, I was supposed to do the Bracebridge Olympic Distance Triathlon; the Sprint Distance had been held the day before, and was (according to the reports I read) very challenging due to the rainy weather, but ultimately successful.

Keeping the kids happy at the race site for the duration of an Olympic is always challenging, so this time we made the safe bet of having my wife stay at the cottage with them while I went onto the race in Bracebridge. The plan was for her to have extra help with the kids in the form of their grandmother; but after grandmother #1 and #2 both cancelled. My wife resolved to muddle through a Sunday with the kids as best she could…trapped in the cottage due to the continuing rain and the fact that our only vehicle at the cottage would be with me.

We’d called on friends with nearby cottages who might lend a hand to no avail.  On Saturday night, the Lightning Kid required three feedings; our best explanation at the time was that he was teething, I’m not so sure any more since he developed a bit of fever by Monday.  Still when it was time for me to get up, my wife said she wanted to come along merely for the opportunity to have a nap in the car.  It was still raining heavily, and showed no signs of stopping, and we tried to imagine how she could keep the kids happy in the rain.  Even nearby Santa’s Village wouldn’t open till 10AM, and it’s outdoors too, so no reprieve from the rain.  I didn’t want her to feel forced to come along, yet what kind of man would abandon his wife to fend for herself against a baby and a toddler within a non-baby-proofed environment sure to bring on cabin fever? I didn’t have much choice, and I believe I did what was right – I stayed with my family and no showed the race.

Of course, I was in a real funk the rest of the day.  The kids did things to delight me, but the smiles didn’t last.  With hours freed up, and the rain giving way to occasional bursts of clearer weather, I had opportunities to go shopping in Huntsville, maybe a swim or a run.  I didn’t feel like doing anything; I honestly think I was mildly depressed.  And ashamed of feeling that way to boot – Awww, so the triathlete didn’t get to run his little race, poor baby.  That might seem to have been my problem on the surface, but I had enough time to think about why it really bothered me.

In this life, we are not rewarded for failure, in fact, it is often treated as unacceptable.  A salesman can’t simply say: “The client didn’t want to buy” – they’re expected to close the sale through persuasion or whatever trick they can pull.  It’s the same in almost any work or academic environment – you don’t just get to throw up your hands and say “oh well” when things don’t go your way; you’re expected to have contingency plans, work-arounds, etc.. And I’m one of the kinds of people that likes thinking things through and visualizing before hand so that I’ll have a solution to a problem that might come my way, yet I’m not really very organized at executing a plan.  I should have been better prepared for inclement weather and had ways that the kids could be managed within the limited space of the cottage, and I should have sold my wife on those ideas, and I was going to beat myself up about those short-comings until I was too tired to do it any more.  And I did feel strangely tired; probably the depression at work.  I couldn’t believe I had planned on doing a tri that day; I felt too sluggish to go up and down stairs.

Though I love it up there, on that Sunday, I couldn’t wait to leave.  By the time we had the car packed and ready, we had somehow managed to get in some of the worst cottage-country traffic that day had to offer.  It was a long drive home, but luckily, the kids behaved very well, and being stuck in the car was enough to get me craving a little physical activity.  I had promised my wife that she would not get short-changed on her opportunity to get in a training run.  When we got back, I set up the Chariot and got Shark Boy onto his glider bike.  We went out on a 4km run as a family in preparation for the Levac Attack, which we will also be doing as a family in the same way.

Shark Boy rode nearly 2.5 km on the way out

… but opted for the luxurious route home.

It was a lot of fun, and a good proof of concept for what we can do as a family.  It made me feel better because my goal is not to race in a particular event, but to enjoy an active, multisport lifestyle that is compatible with my family.  Failing at a particular task happens to us all, the act of picking oneself up again is what’s important and that can be to try the same thing again or to fight another battle in the war (pardon the mixed metaphors).

Have you ever no-showed a race?  How did it make you feel?

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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.

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The Father’s Day Weekend

I just wanted to touch on what a fantastic weekend I had.  Training was a big part of that, but let me take care of some interesting incidentals.

While my wife took Shark Boy out kayaking, I walked around with the Lightning Kid dipping our feet into the water, when all of a sudden what should I see?  This:

Godzilla?

The most huge snapping turtle you would dare imagine! It swam away from us and spent the afternoon poking its head out from under the dock.  Later that day, I got to do an open water swim, but believe you me, I gave that section of the dock a wide berth when getting into the water (I later read that snapping turtles are generally docile in the water, the snapping occurs when they’re confronted on land.  At any rate, he was gone by Sunday).

Here’s the swim (take my word for it, it was all in the water!):

I hadn’t done any training in about a month at least, and my technique was garbage.  Yet somehow I managed the second best time I’ve ever done at the distance of 1500m (a pace of around 2:20/100m).  How is this possible?  The only explanation I can come up with is my new TYR Hurricane Wetsuit that I won last year.  Even though I know I’m under-trained for the Muskoka 5150, this gives me a lot of confidence.

For Sunday, I was hoping to get a good training ride in.  Rain was threatening the whole day, but when opportunity knocked (a.k.a Shark Boy took a nap), I was out the door.  Then I had to come back because I forgot the key to unlock my bike from the bike rack.  Oops.

I selected a route that would take me along Highway 35 between Dwight and Dorset.  Here I found my fitness and endurance lacking.  I couldn’t believe how low my average speed was, but I did note that I got faster after the turn around; I had been climbing overall, and the downhills obviously added to the average speed.  In fact, it occured to me at the turn-around that I hadn’t paired my new Garmin with the bike’s cadence and speed sensors.  That data was missing but they paired with the watch fairly quickly and seamlessly (more review material coming soon).


Besides just getting out there and riding, it also gave me a chance to scout out and plan new riding routes.  The old road (South Portage – which has traditionally been part of the Muskoka triathlon) seems to have a lot of construction and unpaved patches.  I know what I’m going to do next time.

I didn’t quite manage a 40km ride like I would have liked, but it was enough to build from.  Next time will be better.  Also, since the day didn’t quite have enough activity (and because I was jealous of my wife), I took Shark Boy out in the kayak on Sunday.

It was a lot of fun, and I hope to make a tradition of it every time we’re up North.  It might even be good training for the Logs, Rocks and Steel if I get to do it.

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Happy Father’s Day

It’s Father’s Day and only 5 weeks before my first triathlon of the season.  When I made my race calendar I committed to doing the Olympic Distance at the Inaugural Muskoka 5150.  While I never posted it in the blog, I had a loosely structured framework in mind that would allow me to be flexible enough to get to where I needed to be fitness-wise for the race.

I am nowhere close.  I won’t get upset: as they say, you can’t get upset at the results you got from the work you didn’t do (or something like that).  The usual thing to do is look at why you didn’t live up to your plan and figure out what excuses you were making or whatever kept you from making your commitments.  There is another point of possible failure though: maybe the plan wasn’t right for you and wasn’t really realistic.

It’s enough to make me want to throw in the towel on the whole season and say: “Next year I’m getting a coach, maybe online, with a daily plan that I have to stick to.”  There are so many resources and training methods out there – maybe a Master’s Swim Group, plus a Cycling Club etc. etc..

I’m not going to do that, though.  Why?  Because of my father (you didn’t think I was coming back around to Father’s Day did you?), that’s why.  I always wanted to be like my father.  He was an Olympic level rower at one point, and he always stayed in good shape with tennis, cycling, cross-country skiing and probably a bunch of other stuff I can’t think of at this hour.  He was a the kind of guy who could up and run 3 miles without getting sore the next day, in spite of not having run in several months.  A natural athlete – so strike one on my chances to be like him.

He handled so many household repairs and duties himself; taking as good care of his home as he did his body.  I already pay more people to do work for me than I’d strictly like, but I’m not giving up my passion and hobby to a professional.  During a time of extreme stress in exams, my father told me: “Your brain hasn’t failed you yet.”  So I’m going to keep doing things my way – DIY training is still the Iron Rogue way.

We lost my father to melanoma in 2000; and not a day goes by that I don’t miss him or think about him.  I doubt I’ll PR at any races this year, but Shark Boy tells me he loves me every day (in both English and German), and so does the Lightning Kid (with his eyes).  That’s worth more to me than any medal I could ever get.

And… not for nothing, but today I did a 1500m Open Water swim with about a 2:20/100m pace; that’s my second best pace for Olympic Distance Tri.

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When Your Partner Wants to Train

I hope everyone had a good Easter weekend! I was lucky to run into this blog post from Outside magazine, about how parents can train. Having a family makes training for running races or triathlons hard, but when your partner or spouse has their own goals, it can add yet another wrinkle.

My wife is training for her first race since the birth if the Lightning Kid, the Yonge Street 10k in April (maybe I can get her to guest write a race recap) followed by the Sporting Life 10k in May. Meanwhile, looking at the Race Calendar, I’ve got the 5 Peaks Rattlesnake Point trail run on the 28th.

Even though it’s my first trail run, this race doesn’t present an enormous challenge for me in terms of distance, while for her it’s really pushing the envelope for her current running ability.  Due to my longer legs I am the faster runner of the two of us, but in the years since we had kids, the difference in our running fitness has grown.  While parenting is tiring for dads, there’s no denying there’s a more direct physical toll on the moms.  So when we finally got a chance to run together like we used to, how did we handle it?


We did this run together; it is only a little over 4k – so it doesn’t represent a long run for her, nor me, really. Our paces would be much different considering distance alone. What we ended up doing is she kept up a pace suitable for a recovery run (or even over-distance/endurance pace) while I did a mixture of extras to spike my heart rate from time to time.  One trick was to stop for squats, push-ups or whatever Burbathlon-style.  The problem became that my wife wasn’t quite slow enough for me to do too many reps without her catching up to me even when I had sprinted ahead.  Which brings me to the other trick I used: Fartlek sprints, combined with either jogging back again or even backwards running, which uses opposing muscle groups to your run, and can be a way to cross-train and injury-proof your muscles.  So to sum up, sprint ahead, stop for strength exercises till she catches up.

To me, this run together was some of the most fun I’ve had on a run in a long time; I missed my running buddy, and I kept myself highly amused with the extra exercises.  To her, I bet it was a lot like taking a dog for a run… SQUIRREL!

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Best Laid Plans

“If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.”   – Woody Allen

After building this year’s Race Calendar, the next logical step was to build a training plan.  Obviously the way to attain goals is to stick to a plan that will build you up to the point where you can achieve them.  I wanted to write something up that was structured, and stand on the shoulders of giants by following or adapting something made by professionals.

I like the book Training Plans for Multisport Athletes by Gale Bernhardt.  Each chapter is a different training plan for a different scenario: they differ by athlete’s level of experience, the event type and length, and the athlete’s goals/expectations.  Looking into the book, I figured that my plan should resemble one of three plans:

  1. Faster Olympic Distance Performance.  This is basically what I want to achieve, but the plan involves 2 workouts in different disciplines a day, even in the General Preparation phase (where we basically prep the body for the training to come).  It just isn’t terribly realistic for my schedule and life, and most structured training plans look more or like this one.
  2. 6 Weeks to an Olympic Triathlon for Athletes with Limited Time.  This one is nice and simple and also geared not only to my race type/distance, but also my schedule.  I do have more than 6 weeks to play with, and the plan isn’t structured with regards to types of workout (speed, tempo, long distance/endurance).  I wanted to get a little better in regard to having more specific training sessions, so this one isn’t ideal.
  3. Multisport Fitness Plan.  This is my favourite as it is more of a lifestyle plan for athletes who like to do multisport, and allows for some cross-training (e.g. basketball, hockey, or jiu-jitsu in my case) in your schedule.  It isn’t geared for specific race goals, but it is 24 weeks long, which was just about right at the time I made my race calendar plan.

I struggled with trying to hybridize these plans as the structures got pretty complicated, but I liked the idea of a general preparation phase (of about 4 weeks) so I decided to focus on that.

Mon
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
Sat
Sun
Week #
DATE
27/02
28/02
29/02
01/03
02/03
03/03
04/03/
1
Main
Swim
Run
Spin
Rest
Spin
Run
Circuit
Backup
Spin
Circuit
Yoga
Pushups
Swim
Yoga
Bike Trainer
Sec. Backup
Jitsu
Body Blast
Circuit
Jitsu
Yoga
DATE
05/03
06/03
07/03
08/03
09/03
10/03
11/03
2
Main
Swim
Run
Spin
Rest
Spin
Run
XC Ski
Backup
Spin
Circuit
Yoga
Pushups
Swim
Yoga
Sec. Backup
Jitsu
Body Blast
Circuit
Jitsu

Knowing how chaotic my life was I tried to match each day to what might be available in terms of work schedule (meetings near lunch would eliminate lunchtime workouts), gym group exercise schedule (spin classes for bike workouts, spacing strength workout apart appropriately), and other extra-curricular considerations like when I would most need to be at home. Each day had not only a backup workout in case I missed my first shot (pool closures, bad weather, work related rescheduling), but a backup-backup workout. So every day had a primary, secondary and tertiary workout option. I included possible workouts like Yoga, the 100 pushups workouts, group exercise at the gym, and jiu-jistu. I tried not to plan rest days (the purple field is a tentative/possible rest day), because I knew they might happen unbidden (based on experience), but boy did I ever underestimate that!

Here’s what happened.

Mon
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri
Sat
Sun
Week #
DATE
27/02
28/02
29/02
01/03
02/03
03/03
04/03/
1
Main
Swim 1500m
REST
Spin
Run
Backup
Sec. Backup
DATE
05/03
06/03
07/03
08/03
09/03
10/03
11/03
2
Main
Backup
Sec. Backup

I started off sticking to the plan, but by Wednesday, Shark Boy had gotten sick with a fever and throat infection which kept him miserable throughout the day and woke him up several times a night.  After waking up, he was generally inconsolable for almost an hour each time.  Through visits to 2 after-hours clinics and his pediatrician, we ruled out strep throat and ear infections.  The wake-ups continued when the fever was down through drugs, and when he had no fever at all anymore.  Without turning this into a family drama post, suffice it to say that sleep was hard to come by – to a degree I hadn’t experienced since he was a newborn.  The red in the table represents days I didn’t do any exercise at all – forced rest days.

I managed to get it together enough to attend a spin class on the Friday and on Saturday I decided I would use the scant time I had to do a tempo run.  My thinking was that since I couldn’t go long, I could at least go fast.  I had obviously contacted some kind of infection of my own; I was coughing throughout the day, but I had read that you can train with a cold, as long as it’s not in your chest.  Does having a cough count?  Apparently it does, because I was sick as a dog by Monday and took Tuesday off work.  I spent the rest of the week recovering and trying to help Shark Boy do the same.

I’m not sure when I felt physically up to training again, because mentally I had just about given up on the idea of committing to anything (even though I’ve paid for a couple of race registrations already – see the Race Calendar).  I was really down in the dumps, and I guess I needed the entire week to regroup.

The good news:

  • Shark Boy still wakes up a few times a night, but he’s much easier to get back to sleep again.  He’s feeling well and his disposition during the day is delightful; just like it used to be.
  • I lost about 3-4 pounds somehow during all this.
  • At the time of this writing I’ve gone for a run and a spin class this week already.

Getting back into training after a hiatus is an injury trap for me; I had to tell myself the following to make sure I eased back into it (yes, apparently I talk to myself on Twitter):

 I’m happy to be doing something physical again.  I don’t feel up to anything hardcore (or doing any strength work) yet, and I don’t have a structured plan, but I do have the desire again at least. 

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More Family Exercise

My main ‘go-to’ circuit/strength workout is the the Spartacus Workout from Men’s Health.  It doesn’t require much other than dumbbells, and I can get it done in around 40 minutes, though it gets me sweating and breathing heavily like anybody’s business.  Last time I did the workout at home, Shark Boy was having a nap, but the Lightning Kid (4 months) was ready to rock.  My wife went out for a run, so I was watching him. I managed to keep him somewhat entertained with the following modifications to the Spartacus Workout:

Mountain Climbers:

Push-up Position Row:

Lunge and Rotation:

He weighs 12 lbs… perfect!

And when I’m on the bike trainer, I let him watch me.  He seems to find the noise and motion of the spinning wheels fascinating.  The trouble is, if I find myself tiring, and the cadence backs off, he starts to squawk of boredom.  He’s like a little coach not letting me slack off!

The Lightning Kid is lying on the mat on the far side of the bike.

There hasn’t been much snow in Southern Ontario this year, but when we got some, we managed to take advantage with a visit to the Mansfield Outdoor Centre.  It was our first time out cross-country skiing since we grew to a family of four.  We didn’t get too much mileage in, as getting the gear and kids into the car, driving there, and still meeting somewhat of a sane nap schedule limits time a fair bit, but I’m proud that we’re still getting out to do one of my favourite activities as a family.

Shark Boy in the Chariot, the Lightning Kid in the backpack carrier.