Category: running

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Half-Marathon Training Week 1: Winter Wonderland

When I finalized my training plan for the Chilly Half-Marathon, I knew it meant starting right away… the Christmas holidays weren’t over yet, and order had not yet been re-established.  Whatever, no fear, no excuses.

Shark Boy had done a great job of mastering downhill skis from the safety of our backyard (with his wonderful mother’s excellent tutelage and supervision) and we had wanted to take him to Centennial Park for some more advanced training… possibly even get him on the magic carpet.  The training plan said do 11.2km on Sunday, but since I knew Sunday would be a write-off with driving to Collingwood, Saturday would have to be the day.  Plan A was to run with the Lightning Kid in the Chariot during Shark Boy’s ski lesson but when we arrived at the ski area, we were surprised to find that they weren’t open and we would not be permitted to try skiing nearby even without using the lifts…

I was frustrated; it was only day 1, and my plans to run (which already took a great deal of effort and organization) were already in the trash.  I wanted my wife to be able to take a nap after a rough night of kid wake-ups, and I didn’t see how it could all work… and we were still looking for a way to give the kids some fresh air and activity.  Taking Shark Boy tobogganing was a good option for him, and pulling him up the hill was good exercise, but not the same as racking up the miles I needed.

He wanted to pull it up himself… twice out of what felt like 100 times.


By the time we’d gotten home and had lunch, we got Shark Boy down for a nap, and I decided to take Lightning Kid out on the sidewalks (which were only partly cleared of snow) and do my best.  Out the door we went.  He fell asleep fairly quickly; but I found the going difficult.  Not only was pushing the extra weight an extra effort, but I had little traction, and the wheels of the Chariot would get stuck in deeper snow – getting unstuck from a snowbank or three gave Lightning Kid a rude awakening.

In the end, it took me an hour and 20 minutes to get 9.2 km done… 2k short of my goal, but given the extra challenges, I put it in the win column.  That’s going to be a theme this week, if not the entire winter season.

Long Run: Finished!


Sunday was spent driving north to Collingwood in search of even more snow; we made good time and tried to find the tubing hill at Blue Mountain for some family fun – this hill apparently no longer exists though Shark Boy and his mother got to do a few runs on a borrowed snow saucer-type deal.  We thought we were experts on the area, as we came up a lot when we were dating and early in our marriage, but either 1.) there have been changes, or 2.) having kids screws with your brain, especially the memory parts.  By the end of the weekend, I felt better oriented in case we try it again, but I’m getting ahead of myself.  We stayed with some friends who have a chalet there, and also a baby, so no-one was too shell-shocked by diapers or crying and whatnot.


On New Year’s Eve Day, Shark Boy got a real skiing lesson on the hill complete with magic carpet lift.  The Lightning Kid slept in the car, and just as he woke up, and I started putting the Chariot back together for a little run, I got a text message that Shark Boy and his mother were heading back so that he could have lunch and a nap… best to stay ahead of the fatigue when downhill skiing, I always say.

Once everyone was back inside, I got the chance to do a run. Our hosts told me about a trail I could access; they figured there had been enough people tramping it down to make it feasible for running. Again, I tried to take it easy and manage expectations. The trail was beautiful, but it did get difficult where it was actually marshy beneath the snow – I had to use my dance-y feet to keep from busting through ice into deep puddles.


Getting to the trail meant running on slushy roads, which wasn’t any easier. Still, the air was brisk, and I was accomplishing what I set out to do.


New Year’s Eve was quiet to say the least. While we stayed up to midnight, I started getting a little infatuated with the idea of falling asleep in one year and waking up in the next…

For New Year’s Day we opted to get our cross-country ski on, just before making the return trip home. I’ve skied with the trailer behind me lots of times, but I was finding it much harder so I did a little math. I used to count 20 pounds for Shark Boy with another 22-25 pounds for the Chariot totalling around 45 pounds or so. Now, I’ve got an 18 lb Lightning Kid to add to the load with Shark Boy coming in closer to 35 lbs these days. I was really digging in my edges and using all my strength to get up the bigger and steeper hills. Before I got this week started, my wife asked if cross-country skiing could/would count toward weekly mileage for running and I said no… only running is running, and while cross-training is beneficial, counting it instead of the runs I’m supposed to be doing will lead to me not doing much running at all. Still, I can’t help but think there’s more than a little cross-over between the two sports, and I’m struggling to get every prescribed kilometer…

Wednesday I was back in the office, and I brought plenty of warm gear (including a Specialized cycling jacket my wife gave me… kept me feeling good!) and managed to get my 7 km. Keeping my footing on the trail was challenging, and I found my upper body making a lot of lateral movement to compensate. It was also slow, of course.


That evening I noticed my legs felt a little thrashed, and the next morning there was a lot of stiffness in my lower back and hips. I wasn’t sure if I was going to take a rest day as my ‘X’, or find a lighter way to cross-train. By lunch, I opted to do some weights for strength, but instead of the usual where functional movement recruits a lot of lower body and core, I did simple old fashioned weight lifting to focus on my chest, back and arms.

Friday was tempo run day, and given the havoc the snow had been wreaking on my pace and technique, I opted for the dreadmill/treadmill.

Pros:

  • I had the water I needed without needing to ‘carry’ it
  • I hit the paces I wanted on both Warm-up/Cool Down (7:27/km) and the main set (5:30/km)
  • I got to use my iPod Classic.  It has a hard-drive so it’s usually no good for running, but it has WAY more of my music on it than any other device.  Putting it on the console shelf worked fine, and I got to listen to this: Conscience Killer – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Cons:

  • Boredom.  It kicked in before I had finished my first mile.
  • Danger! The boredom resulted in me looking at the TV Screens above.  Well, there was a good chance I was going to do that anyway.  While staring, I drifted laterally and nearly flew off the thing!  While breaking my neck falling off a treadmill doesn’t seem like the MOST humiliating way to die, I really don’t want it to be because I was checking out highlights of sports I don’t follow or even worse… Kimye.


Let’s look at the week’s summary compared to the plan:

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Total
date 12/30/2012 12/31/2012 1/1/2013 1/2/2013 1/3/2013 1/4/2013 1/5/2013 km
actual km 9.25 4.5 X 7 X 4.66 OFF* 25.41
planned km 11.2 5.6 X 7.2 X 4.8 OFF 28.6
comment actually saturday xc ski 6.5km weights *See below 29.9 with skiing


I came up a little short on kilometers, but overall, I’m pleased not to have missed any workouts, and do be doing what I set out to do.  Saturday is supposed to be a rest day with next week’s long run occurring on Sunday, but given my plans for Sunday (stay tuned! I’ll give you a hint, it’ll put the Cross in Cross-Training) I may move my long (12.8km) run to Saturday and take Monday off.  Wish me luck!

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Building the Half-Marathon Training Plan

Back when I signed up for the Chilly Half Marathon, the only goal I gave myself was to make sure my running mileage was on the rise.  Let’s see how I did…


Not great, but I seem to be OK with 15km a week, which has been the starting point for a lot of half-marathon plans I can remember seeing in the past.  Though I couldn’t think of any specifically, and I wanted lots of room for strength training or other triathlon cross-training, I started with one I came across from Mary-Liz Johnson of Oh To Have The World On A String seen below:





Her Wednesdays have a mile of Warm-Up and Cool Down (WU & CD) along with a tempo run.  Also, 2 days a week of strength training.  Nice, but it’s in miles!  Metric system please!

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Total
1.5KM WU & CD
4.8 6.4 X 6.4 X OFF 6.4 24
4.8 6.4 X 6.4 X OFF 8 25.6
5.6 6.4 X 8 X OFF 9.6 29.6
5.6 7.2 X 1.6 X OFF 11.2 28.6
5.6 7.2 X 2.4 X OFF 12.8 31
6.4 7.2 X 3.2 X OFF 14.4 34.2
6.4 7.2 X 4 X OFF 16 36.6
6.4 7.2 X 4.8 X OFF 12.8 34.2
5.6 8 X 4.8 X OFF 16 37.4
5.6 8 X 6.4 X OFF 19.2 42.2
5.6 8 X 3.2 X OFF 8 27.8
4.8 2.4 X REST 30MIN 20MIN Rest 7.2


Ah, that’s better.  I’ve replaced “Strength” with ‘X’ for cross-training.  Here, X can be:

  • Swimming
  • Yoga
  • Rowga
  • Strength Circuit (especially the Matrix!)
  • Bootcamps/Exercise Classes


You’ll notice that Tuesdays are primed to be Trifecta Tuesdays with cross-training.  The plan is starting to take shape.  When I attended the TRX class with Ignition Fitness, Tommy Ferris advised me that the best thing I could do to improve running (with a view towards increasing mileage to the half-marathon level) given a family man’s limited schedule would be to have easy runs every, single, day.  Which was pretty much the opposite of what I wanted, but still, the idea stuck in my head.  What I would like to try to do is add 10-20 minutes on the treadmill after every cross-training/strength session I do at the gym.  This will mean having to be efficient in my strength sessions (which I’m all about anyway) and this kind of ‘brick’ structure to the workout comes naturally for a triathlete anyway.

Still, the program isn’t right yet.  Taking Fridays off doesn’t make a lot of sense, and weekends with the kids sometimes interferes with long runs.  Then I read Fitness Cheerleader’s training plan and she points out there’s only 10 weeks left, not 12!  After shuffling and croppiing out the first weeks:

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Total
1.5KM WU & CD
12/30/2012 11.2 5.6 X 7.2 X 1.6 OFF 28.6
1/6/2013 12.8 5.6 X 7.2 X 2.4 OFF 31
1/13/2013 14.4 6.4 X 7.2 X 3.2 OFF 34.2
1/20/2013 16 6.4 X 7.2 X 4 OFF 36.6
1/27/2013 12.8 6.4 X 7.2 X 4.8 OFF 34.2
2/3/2013 16 5.6 X 8 X 4.8 OFF 37.4
2/10/2013 19.2 5.6 X 8 X 6.4 OFF 42.2
2/17/2013 8 5.6 X 8 X 3.2 OFF 27.8
2/24/2013 REST 4.8 X 2.4 X REST OFF 7.2
3/3/2013 RACE




Uh-oh.  I should be getting in almost double the mileage I currently am (I wish ‘kilometrage’ was a word) doing weekly  While these workouts don’t have much in the way of designated structure (speed work, hills) that’s OK  because those objectives can be tough to achieve in snow and ice anyway.  Knowing me I’ll incorporate small amounts to keep myself entertained whether it’s Fartlek (speed play) during the weekday runs or taking on an extra hill here or there.

Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point advocates a flexible training plan.  I’ll need elements of this, because the demands of the kids and work (never mind my own health being under threat of cold and flu season) will cancel some workouts.  Shifting them around from one day to the other will help, and any extra distance I rack up on the treadmill on ‘X’ days needs to count.

I want to finish in two hours (2:00:00) so according to this handy pace calculator, these should be my paces:

Your easy run training pace is: 6:35/km
Your tempo run training pace is: 5:30/km
Your VO2-max training pace is: 4:58/km
Your speed form training pace is: 4:36/km
Your long run training pace is: 6:35/km – 7:25/km
Your Yasso 800s training pace is: 4:06 / 800m


The easy and long run paces are the only ones of real interest.  Wednesdays I can either use the ‘Tempo’ run pace or my actual planned race pace which would be more like 5:42/km; it’ll have to depend how I feel.  If we get any cross-country skiing done on weekends, I’ll have to count that as an ‘X’, get some kilometers in on a Tuesday or Thursday instead (see? Flexibility) and then hope for the best come race day.

Whew! Figuring that all out before the new year felt like more work than actually running the plan!  Maybe not…

Do you like using a plan that someone else has figured out for you, or customizing? Or are plans for chumps?

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A Winter 10k Race

I’ve mentioned before on the blog that I participate in a running group at work.  Each season’s session ends in a race, meant to be the culmination of the now-complete training regime.  I was looking forward to the race just as much as I always do, though I knew I’d missed more training runs than I would have liked.

The race was scheduled for Friday, December 7th, and on Thursday night I dreamt of running.  I was going fast, and it felt good… effortless.  Which is a great way to head into a race day, I have to tell you.  I was still struggling with the right way to wear my Jaybird Freedoms, but I did get lucky, and though I was nearly late for the race start, I got them locked in, and was able to focus on running instead of fiddling with electronics.

We started the race, and I got off to a fast start.  Maybe a little too fast, but it’s hard to beat yourself up (even after the fact) because I was having fun.  Around the 1.8km mark (the course is approximately 2.5km out and back performed twice) this unfortunate scene was visible.  Luckily, I had seen the crime scene tape on my commute in, Googled it, and warned everybody that it would be there so nobody would waste time rubbernecking.

Completing the first leg, I still felt good, though I realised my speed would need to be adjusted to keep from crashing. I also took off my hat and gloves and had a few sips of water from the cups provided (I was wearing a water belt, with an empty water bottle – OOOPS).  Off I went on the second half; I soon realised it was only men who were braving the 10k – BOO!  One of our faster runners Mr. N (who recommended me the Jaybird Freedoms) had been acting as a pace bunny for another runner, but apparently that was only for 5k, so he soon passed me; what are you going to do? The guy’s an Ironman!  I had been chased by Mr. B for the entire race.  Mr. B has been faster than me on just about every training run, but our speeds are comparable, and I like and admire the guy because he doesn’t seem like a ‘natural’ runner and has built up his speed through hard work… he’s gone from being a non-runner to 10k in a little over a year (I think).  At any rate, I still wanted to beat him that day.  

For me, being chased is better motivation than being the chaser, so I managed to keep a lead.  Mr. B told me later that he felt like he was 100 yards behind me the entire time – from my perspective the lead varied more than that, still we were both happy to finish around 49 minutes… me just under that, him seconds over.

It was a great day to be outside running, a day when all the little elements you need for a good run (body, music, gear) came together, and the perfect springboard to launch into training for the Chilly Half-Marathon!

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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!