Category: running

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Gear Corner: Jaybird Freedom Bluetooth Headphones Review

I had bought these headphones as a replacement to my Motorola S9 Bluetooth headphones (seen here) that had long since broken… beyond all repair.  I had worn them once right out of the box and found that they didn’t stay in my ears well.  The guy who recommended them to me further advised me to try some of the ear hook accessories.  






I tried the ones that are intended for the middle ear (which is how my friend wears them); I did this the night before my run and needed both the illustrated instructions and a bathroom mirror to figure out how to best implement the correct fit.  I went out the next day for a fairly brisk 8 km in the freezing cold; this meant the Jaybirds had the added advantage of being held in place by a hat!



The Jaybird Freedom was easy to pair with my Blackberry.  I wanted to use Endomondo’s (my running and exercise tracking app) built in access to music to play my running playlist, but the audio option for ‘BT Stereo’ didn’t work, and when I used ‘BT Handsfree’ the sound quality was terrible.  Once I accessed the music from the normal Blackberry Music App, things sounded great.  So this is more of an Endomondo problem than a Jaybird problem.  After mucking about with the controls for so long, I finally got going.  The instruction manual requests that you wear your phone/media player on your arm and not in a pocket for best reception.  This is annoying because tucking the thing away would have been one of the benefits of having wireless headphones.  I compromised and clipped the Blackberry to my belt.

The way out (4km) was blissful.  No skips, and the buds stayed in comfortably – I even liked the pace I was keeping (which is neither here nor there).  Things got a little worse on the way back and not just because I had trouble keeping the same pace due to fatigue.  My current theory is that my ear canals shrink due to expanded blood vessels, because in-ear buds always exhibit the same behaviour – they seem to get popped out like a bar of wet soap out of a squeezing fist.  The ear-hooks (and hat) did a decent job of keeping them from falling right out, but having to mind where they were in relation to my ear and occasionally push them back in to secure them became a minor chore.  I also started experiencing some skips… but I think I can say that on that front their better than any other Bluetooth product I’ve run with.

To make the earbuds maximally secure I decided to add the over-the-ear hooks.  One problem: I couldn’t find the ones that were sent with my original package.  Jaybird sells replacements, but I got lucky in that the friend who recommended these said he didn’t want or use his (in fact, he wasn’t aware he had them until he dug through his gym bag) and so I got his.




The next time I took them out on a run was for a quick 5km.  Unfortunately it was cold, so I wore a hat again, but I did get a lot of confidence in the buds’ ability to stay in.  The other problem was that I had opted to try an armband I found.  This thing was large enough to hold my Blackberry Bold 9900 as it was designed for an iPhone 4, but I had a lot of problems with sound when I wanted to wear the armband; my suspicion is that buttons were being pushed causing the volume to go up and down, the music to skip ahead to the next track (or back to the previous one).  I ended up giving up on wearing it on my arm and sticking the whole mess into my jacket’s back pocket – expressly against the recommended use instructions.  Thus… more skipping.  I would have to try one last configuration on Friday, the day of our company run group’s 10km race – not ideal for experimenting with an optimal set-up  but I want to find something that will carry me through this winter’s many long training runs.

Well, as luck would have it, everything came together on Race Day.  I had the Blackberry in its holster clipped to a water bottle belt, and I experienced no significant skips.  The ear hooks kept the buds in place and I was able to focus on my pace and not have to fiddle with them… much.  One small exception was that if you look at the photo above, the cord connecting the two buds is draped across the back of my neck, which got more than a little sweaty.  This caused the cord to stick to the back of my neck, and put a little pull on the buds when I’d turn my head, which I have to admit, I did more than the regular amount since it was a race, and I was being chased by someone who is usually just a bit faster than me on training runs (I beat him!).  More on that race in a future post; but at the end of the day I found I could have a great run with wireless Bluetooth ear-buds, and I’d even credit them with a better than expected time, since I was *really* feeling the music.

Beyond their performance, I also like that they came with a hard-shell carrying case, which should spare them the fate of the S9s… being smashed up in my gym bag.  And here’s the kicker… my boss just brought me a replacement phone to keep me up to speed with the rest of my team… The Blackberry Bold 9900 will be replaced by a Samsung Galaxy SIII (LTE and Android).  Which is something else I’ll address in a future post.  

Looks like this review will have a sequel once I get the new phone up and running (no pun intended) to see how the Jaybird Freedoms play with an Android phone. Still, with the caveats of a steep learning curve and time spent getting acquainted with the product, I’d recommend the Jaybird Freedoms as a pair of running earbuds for those who want to be free of the wires.

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New Horizons and Straight Talk

I turned 39 this year, and next year I’ll be racing in the 40-45 age category; since triathlon rules will be deeming me a 40 year-old, I thought I might give myself a 40th birthday present and sign-up for a half-Ironman.  You know, take things to the next level.  In triathlon training though, you always need the support of your partner, and when the training volume increases and longer runs/rides start cropping up, this is even more true, so I approached my wife with the idea.

She is supportive, especially when she knows it’s something I really want, but she asked me a straightforward question: With the way things are with the kids, do you see yourself being able to train for a half-Ironman in the coming year.  That stopped me in my tracks.  That past week, the kids had been sleeping well, and showing a lot of development so I think I had projected that into less dependence on me as their parent, and got all caught up in my own ambition.  You see, my wife knows me better than most, and she’s seen me get disappointed before; I don’t always take things in stride, and tend to blame myself in a somewhat destructive pattern.  Goals are important, but the best goals are realistic and measurable and all that, so some good straight-talk is worth a million ‘rah-rah! you can do it!’s.  Still when presented with an either-or ultimatum, the Iron Rogue way is to take a third option.


So many of my favourite bloggers (including, but not limited to Fit2Flex, Healthy Tipping Point, Fit Mom…In Training) have been training for or completing half-marathons that I couldn’t help but catch that fever.  I figured (and my wife agrees) that stepping up my running endurance would be a good pilot project to see what our life can handle in terms of training volume.  When I saw that Fitness Cheerleader was signing up for the Burlington Chilly Half-Marathon, I had my inspiration –  I signed up! I’ve already gone on some longer (for me) runs with the Lightning Kid in the Chariot, and I hope to increase running volume all the way to Christmas.





After that, I’ll need to adopt (at least semi-formally) a training program; I’d prefer one that is heavy on the cross-training which not only aids my triathlon ambitions, but fits my ‘Fitness ADHD’ personality… which also has me interested in trying new classes and programs for increased strength.  Overall, it’s an exciting time, a season to look to new horizons; I don’t see any reason to wait until the new year.  Stay tuned to the blog for new adventures….


Epilogue: Since having that conversation with my wife, we’ve gone through several nights of less than 3 hours sleep due to the Lightning Kid’s teething (not to mention when Shark Boy wakes up too), as well as a daytime visit to the Hospital for Sick Children minor surgery to put tubes in his ears.  I think I have a pulled core muscle of some kind and an eye infection, and there seems to be an inordinate amount of coughing and sniffling going on in the Iron Rogue Den of Iniquity household.  The chaotic elements in our lives reared their heads again, and the decision to make smaller, subtler changes to my training regimen appears to have been the right one.

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Race Recap: 5 Peaks Championship at Albion Hills – Strictly for the Hardcore!

Another 5 Peaks Trail Run in the bag!  The final race of the season is also the Southern Ontario Championship for all those who acquired points in the series during the season, but it also has a nice ‘Everyone is a Champion’ open event.  It took place at Albion Hills.


Due to the pre-Hurricane Sandy weather, I think the organizers cancelled a lot of the extras that made April’s Season Opener so attractive – there were no kids races, exhibitors, etc. (not that I blame them), but the main event was on like Voltron.






Racers all gathered under the only real shelter available – a roofed picnic area.  I had expected rain, but the icy wind made the weather extra nasty – getting right into the thick of the crowd was the only option.  I found I was dressed a little warmer than some – I saw plenty of shorts!  Sign #1 that trail running is masochistic.
One of the race directors, Erin Sheard, announced the course would be 9km (it had been described as being 7-9km; that big a variability might seem intimidating, but since you don’t know exactly what you’re going to get in terms of terrain, it’s good to be trained for something beyond the maximum).  I groaned inwardly, as I had been somewhat hopeful that I could just get the thing over with as soon as possible and get home, dry and warm.  She went on to explain that some of the early feedback they had gotten showed that some people felt that Albion Hills would not be ‘technical enough’ terrain wise, so they had done their best to compensate i.e. through the length, and also, according to her, the weather.  Sign #2 that trail running is masochistic.

They divided up the crowd into four waves: 1.) Competitive Men (i.e. shooting for a podium finish) 2.) Competive Women 3.) Age Group Competitors (looking for a top 3 in their age group) 4.) Average Joes/Everyone Else.  Definitely Wave #4 for me… due to work schedule and injury I hadn’t been killing it in training, and I was not confident.

Waves 1 through 3 went off about 3-5 minutes apart, then it was our turn.  Racers were asked to seed themselves according to their own estimation of their relative speed; always important, because so much of the course is too narrow for passing, and it should be kept to a minimum.  Off we went!



I slid in some mud within the first 100m, so that was my warning.  The wet terrain (not to mention fallen leaves and mud) made for slippery conditions, but not only did I not take any serious falls (only once – I had to put my hands down on the ground, but didn’t leave my feet), I didn’t see anyone else do so either.  Obviously a course like this has a lot of ups and downs, but I was still surprised to notice that my lungs were burning early on.  I checked my pace and it was slower than 7 min/km closer to 8 or even 9 for most of the time.  I was already almost 3km in before I thought to check my heart rate instead of my pace – 90% maximum.  Oops.





I still got the first 3km (i.e. the first third of the race) done without thinking I had been too aggressive, and I settled in for the middle third.  I had opted for a baseball-style hat which I never wear because I think it makes me look like a dork, but it was a better choice than my winter hat I use for winter running: I was warm soon enough, and the baseball brim kept rain out of my eyes and face.  In fact, I hardly felt wet at all, as long as I was running.



Somewhere near the 5km mark, I noticed I was doing more stepping on/over obstacles rather than leaping or bounding over them.  There just wasn’t enough ‘spring in my step’ and though I was able to keep moving, it lost the dynamic appeal for me.  I’d been doing more strength training lately, so it was a little unexpected, but maybe I didn’t have enough pre-race calories, or my cardio capacity should have been better.

The 5km area was just a crazy web criss-crossing the same ridge; in a road race, seeing other racers coming your way means a turnaround is near and you may be reaching a significant milestone (like the halfway or at least quarter-way point), but here, it just got confusing and disheartening: “I’m just going to keep seeing this same ridge again and again from slightly different angles!”.  Still, the mountain bike trail based course offered a lot of fun, especially on downhills.  I found myself banking into turns as if I was on a roller coaster!

I heard some complaints afterwards that the last aid station was not where it was supposed to be (it was supposed to be at 5km, it might have been closer to 3km).  I was wearing my Salomon hydration pack, so I didn’t really notice.

Near the end of the middle third, I stopped to take off my hat for a bit.  I noticed I was struggling more and more to keep a pace, and I realized I was overheating.  Some cool raindrops on my scalp was enough for me to put the hat back on and pick up the pace.  Obviously I was more tired than ever before, but after about the 7.5km mark, I realized the course was taking us back, and from the noise levels, I must be close to the finish.   I started to pour it on, and had another racer within site and made it my mission to catch her.  The last marshal said “Get in there!” or something like that, and it was good encouragement… I was getting really close, and it was going to be a tough call as to wheter I would catch her or not.  Suddenly, we both cried out “WHOA!” because we both hit the same patch of slippery mud at the same time and did a little surfing.  The last 10m of running switched to a kind of tentative ‘walk on eggshells’ stride and she finished the race just in front of me.  We shared a low five and went to get our recovery food.

Another finisher crosses the line!



I was smiling from the fun I’d just had and my smile would only widen as I helped myself to watermelon, bananas, cookies, bagels (with jam, cream cheese or Nutella available). The best thing I saw though… was JELLY BEANS!

They’re under the jube-jubes… you can’t trick me!



Once the high (and warmth) of having finished the race was wearing off, I looked to figure out if the race kits/swag would be handed out. Some people asked and were told “soon”. I think they wanted everyone to finish, and hand out all the awards at the same time as the finisher packages. I’m sorry to say, I lost patience; I had dry clothes in the car, but not a rain jacket to stay that way should I decide to walk back to the race site. Once I found myself shivering, I headed back to the car, changed, then drove away. This is my only real criticism of the race, making it hard to get the swag, but I understand that they don’t exactly have a ton volunteers to handle this kind of thing.  

I’ll happily do this series again next year!

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How I Rolled This Weekend

So many ideas for new posts, so few opportunities to get them done.  Some of these ideas will take a little research, so for now, I thought I’d just tell you about the weekend, or at least the fitness/active parts.

We celebrated both boys’ birthdays with a kids party this weekend, and for some of the parts of the weekend, we did a little divide and conquer with the boys.  That (and the beautiful weather) gave me my first opportunity to go for a run with Shark Boy in the Chariot.

I hadn’t been doing a lot of running these past weeks due to 1.) work schedule 2.) trying to manage my Achilles tendonitis, but I do have the end of season 5 Peaks Trail Run coming up, so it was good to get out there again.  Taking it easy, and not a long distance, but at least I was running.


Getting Shark Boy to ride in the Chariot involves stopping at a park so he can play a bit, it’s just part of the deal.  It had rained that morning, so the equipment was wet, and I had done a little upper body strength work the day before, but I got some squat and lunge variations (and a few inverted rows) done on the playground equipment.  No one was there to see, but Shark Boy seemed intrigued… maybe I can rope him into doing workouts with me in the future!

I also found out that he would have preferred to ride behind the bike instead of being pushed while running, which set us up to go biking the next day!

While I’m still annoyed at how Bike Trails in Mississauga can dead end or even worse, spit you out onto busy roads without a means of connecting back onto a bike network, I managed to put a small ride together in limited time.  That time was subtracted from with, you guessed it, another playground visit.




Hope you had a good weekend too…  Days are getting shorter and colder, so get out there while you can!

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Our First Terry Fox Run

It’s weird that someone who

  1. has been as affected by cancer all too often.
  2. likes running
has never been part of a Terry Fox Run.  Most years it seemed to creep up on me and be over before I could get my plans together.  That’s what wives are good for – we were signed up a few days before and figured we could incorporate the kids like we did in the Levac Attack.

On Sunday, after taking Shark Boy to his first soccer program (no rest for the wicked!), we quickly stopped in at home to get changed and packed for the race.  Making it to those commitments meant skipping the Mississauga Cycling Tour, but you can’t be everywhere at once.

Ready to Rock!

When we arrived at West Deane Park, to be greeted by all kinds of interesting and family-friendly sites including a Remax hot-air balloon and a fire department bouncy castle.  We weren’t sure what to expect, but once we got sorted out at the registration desk, we headed out to run.  As we found out later, we ended up using the ‘South’ portion of the overall run.  With Shark Boy on his bike (and maybe a little tired) we made slow progress which failed to put the Lightning Kid to sleep – the first little while was a bit of a struggle.  We didn’t see any course markers at first, and the only thing that kept us thinking we might be on the right track is that we kept passing other participants wearing Terry Fox shirts and ribbons.  Shark Boy took a little spill near the 2km point and opted to finish in the Chariot. From that point on our walk evolved into a run. We reached the turn-around point and got some nice cool water to refresh ourselves and have a nice chat with one of the volunteers.  He explained the course a little so that I learned we could have done the ‘North’ part had we wanted to do 10km (after a near sleepless night, we did NOT).

Somewhere along the way back, I realized why we hadn’t spotted course markers – we were used to looking for temporary signs… this course is in the park permanently!  There were people walking, running and even biking the course; lots of jogging strollers too.

The event ends at 1:00PM, so we just barely managed to finish the run, buy lunch from the BBQ, and give Shark Boy some time in the Bouncy Castle.

The Terry Fox Run is not only a great tribute to a great, heroic man, it is both a good cause and a nice way to be active for the whole 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 Things Trail Running Has Taught Me

I’m not sure if I can call myself a ‘trail runner’. I always liked the idea that as soon as you run, you’re a runner, so according to that logic, I can. I run on trails during training and I’ve completed a trail race. I prefer being under shady trees to being beside houses and buildings, and the natural earth is easier on my Achilles’ tendons than pavement or concrete.

Through running on trails, I’ve changed as a runner, both mentally and physically.

  • Pay attention to the environment.  Both trail races and triathlons disallow headphones while running, so it pays to get used to running without music.  Instead, you listen to the birds, the wind through the trees, and potential threats too (fitmomintraining has a great series on running safely here and here; being able to spot potential threats is part of it).

  • Pay attention to the terrain.  When you’re on an uneven trail, every step counts, so you end up taking in what your next 5-10 steps are going to be.  I found this paying off on inclines and declines.  Not the big steep monsters you fear (though trail running helps with these physically), but the subtle ones you tend not to notice.  The inclines have you slowing down and wondering how this got so hard if you don’t notice them; when you do notice, you can accommodate or compensate for them.  The declines give you a chance to get a free speed boost, if you know how to run downhill (which trail running gives you lots of practice for) and again, if you notice the decline. 
  • Be ‘present’/’in the moment’.  Running is an opportunity for us to let our minds wander – every runner I know tends to use it as a form of meditation.  Still, most new age/zen wisdom preaches the idea of  being ‘present’.  If we start thinking of all the things we have to get done next week (the future) or beat ourselves up in regret of things that have already happened, we miss the wonder of  now. 

If you want to read more about trail running (maybe from a ‘real’ trail runner 😉 ), then head over to Mountain Kait‘s post here.

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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.