Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet and a Big Rookie Mistake Bummer

This morning I biked with Owen over to his school for his regular 8am cross-country running practice. The grey clouds in the sky looked like they would hold off until mid morning, so I figured Owen would have a good workout outdoors instead of in the gym, and I'd get to work dry, ready for my all-day meeting. Instead, not two minutes after I left his school the sky started pissing on me hard! I stopped and pulled on my rain pants, but I did not have the right footwear. By the time I got to work my feet were totally soaked. Damn Damn Damn! Didn't bring extra socks...

Oh well, that's what you get when you bike to work I guess... I sat through the morning meeting with wet socks in dress shoes, and that just felt so lovely I can't even begin to explain how happy it made me...

At least the weather cooperated on my way to the pool at lunch time as it was no longer raining. I got there a little late since the meeting went well past it's scheduled lunch break time, and the lanes were clogged with swimmers. I vented on this subject before, so I won't do it again here. I jumped in and was ready for an uninterrupted 1500m, navigating others of course.

The swim was fine even though I had to stop a couple of times when I was hampered in my efforts to pass others. I completed the 1500m in 22:20 and then did another 300m to bring the total to 1800m in about 27 minutes. Then, got out, got dry, got wet socks back on, got on bike, got back workin'...

At the end of the workday, my marathon running manager said that he'd registered his family for the October 18th Zoorun and that he would use the 10k as a warm up for his marathon at Niagara Falls the following week. Excited by the news I went online to finally register myself for the event, and was totally bummed out to find that the event was SOLD OUT!!! Man! I'd been so looking forward to running this event, and made a rookie mistake by not registering early. I was overly cautious with the ankle and knee and didn't want to commit to something until I was more sure that my body would allow me to race. Won't do THAT again...

So, now I had to find a backup plan. The Niagara Falls race looked interesting, and it would be cool to see someone I know run the marathon. So tonight I registered myself and my wife for the 10k race on October 26th! I have no idea how this will work out, where we'll stay the night before, who will look after the boys, or anything else really, but I don't care! I'm going to race!!!

And, of course, I had to rework the training plan a bit.

Prior to the above Internet magic I managed some weights at the gym. It was fun.

• 10 minutes stationary bike warm up
• Chin Ups 8-7-5-4
• Incline Bench Press 12-12-12 115lbs
• Dumbell Rows 12-12 40lbs
• Lateral Dumbell Flys 12-12 20lbs
• Seated Dumbel Biceps Curls 12-12 30lbs
• Dumbell Triceps Extensions 12-12 20lbs
• Bicycle Crunches 50-50-50

8k Run, Trying to Hold Back

As per my last post, I am trying to ease back into running after taking a week off to let the ankle simmer down. Tonight I'd normally be going out for an 11k, but I changed the plan and shortened it to an easy 8k. After getting home from work I headed out into an evening that promised darkness by the time I returned. This time of year always gets me down a bit, and I wonder how running outdoors will work out in the winter when sundown comes at 5pm...

I walked for the usual ten minutes, and the ankle felt fine. I have taken to wearing a sleeve on that foot mostly to help reduce swelling and not so much for support, and so far the thing's been helping out. The blog proved its worth once more as I looked back to my last 8k run and, voila, had a ready made route all set up! Brain, I don't really need you tonight...

The start of the run is really my least favorite part, the body aching and trying to work out the kinks. I try and run as gingerly as possible through the first little bit, and I'm sure that to passersby I look like someone trying to cross a field of broken glass. Whatever...

The intended pace was 5:30/km as long as my heart rate was in the 150bpm or less, and I could tell that this was not going to be a problem. Even after taking the stairs down into Taylor Creek Park my pace was close to 5:30, and within another half k it was in the 5:20's.

The first 5k was done in 26:59, for an average pace of 5:24/km. The fact that the last bit of this section included the hill leading out of the park was gratifying, especially since my heart rate only went up to a reasonable 163bpm. In the past this hill put me in the mid to high 170s!

The last 3k was pretty flat and I was holding back a bit, wanting to keep that heart rate low, and I finished with a pace of 5:26/km and a total time of 16:18.

The totals for the whole 8k are: 43:17, average pace of 5:25/km.

Garmin don't lie.

The Garmin watch messed up or something and combined my run with Monica's from the day before. As a result I am not bothering to link to the google image of my run. I guess Garmin does f'up sometimes afterall! Perhaps it is also not so trustworthy, and I really am faster than it says? ...or slower.

Rethinking the Plan

Today was spent doing homework, buying a new bike for Monica, setting it up, and rethinking the training plan. On the school front, all I can say is motivation continues to be lacking in this last course of the program. .......and enough about that.

On the bike front, I had bought Monica a bike three and a half years ago to replace an ancient ten speed she had been using for probably twenty years. That old Raleigh was so undesirable that she had left it outside of her apartment in Montreal for a full winter, with the lock through the spokes of the front wheel only, and nobody took it. Montreal, for those that may not be aware, is a major bike theft capital. Anyway, I remember also that when she tried to unlock it in the Spring the lock was seized, so we just took the rest of the bike and left the wheel. I think within two days someone stole the wheel!

To make a long story short, the bike I purchased for her birthday did not really work out. It kept having problems, and finally, after about five flats in the space of two weeks, we decided to replace it. I found her a nice bike, but had to venture pretty far to pick it up. I did so today, and managed to get everything set up except the basket at the back. That's a minor thing... If anyone wants a really shitty bike, let me know! As far as the new one goes, it is inexpensive and rides real nice - perfect for Toronto, where bikes get stolen all the time. Since we both ride year- round to work and back, and pretty much everywhere else, it's imperative that our bikes work well, but are not too nice to be targets for theives. Mine is a total Frankenbike, but Mon needs something more conventional:On the running front, I have been reworking the training plan to take into account the mileage I've missed as a result of my ankle setback. Originally, this week I was supposed to run 11k on Monday, the usual 5k on Wednesday, and then another 10k on Saturday for a weekly total of 26 kilometres. Now, since I missed a week of running my mileage for the last two weeks went down considerably, 14k and 16k respectively. I think it would be unwise to jump straight up to 26k and so I am wondering what to do. I'd like a balance between decent mileage and low risk of aggravating the ankle. For now I plan on 8k tomorrow, 5k on Wednesday, and 10k on Saturday. However, that adds up to 23k, a jump of 7k from this past week's total. What would you do?

In positive news, I procrastinated a bit today looking back at the last month of training and notice that I've progressed quite a bit. No longer does a 5:30ish pace per kilometre spike my heart rate into the mid 90% range! It's getting pretty close to the point where my training runs will be going over the 1 hour mark, and given that when I started 10 minutes was a workout in and of itself I am simply amazed. Of course, I realize that the marathon runners out there do a heck of a lot more, but still it is gratifying. I've never been able to run for that long a period of time before, both due to physical limitations and, for the better part of my life, mental blocks. I used to hate running! So weird to think that now...

My First 10K!

I've been looking forward to this day for a long time now, and finally I reached the point where I felt confident venturing out on a 10k training run. The fact that I mistakenly set my alarm for 6am, and not the intended 7am, did not trip me up. I lay in bed for about a half hour, then got up and slowly woke up with some stretching. This was a good idea as I felt much better about the prospect of having a good run once I headed out the door at 7am.

I walked, as usual, for ten minutes to get the blood moving a bit. I also decided to do a counterclockwise version of my now familiar loop, thereby avoiding a steep downhill portion near the beginning of the run which I was afraid would hurt my body in various places. After walking east for the prescribed ten minutes I started into my first ever 10k.

The ankle felt OK, as much as I expected it to, and the normal creaking and groaning of my lower extremities were evident as always in the first 1-2 kilometres. I kept the pace in the 5:30/km range for this section as I eased into the run. In fact I tried something new: given the fact that it was very drizzly and chilly I wanted to get my heart rate up faster than usual, and also I wanted to be as light on my feet as I could on account of the ankle, so I started of with a higher cadence than normal and smaller stride length. This worked quite nicely as within the first kilometre my heart rate reached 160. I will have to remember this technique prior to the race, or perhaps in the first portion of the race...

Anyway, after about 2k I was starting to feel good and began to lengthen my stride a bit until I was running in a form that is now familiar and comfortable for me. Not too long in the stride, not too much pounding of the pavement, and concentrating on keeping my shoulders level and relaxed. Slowly my average pace began to drop one second at a time until, at the 5k mark when I pressed my lap button, it read 5:25/km with a total time of 27:08 for the distance.

I definitely felt strong at this point and cardio was not an issue. My heart rate was in the low 150s, right on target. For the second 5k I decided to push a little harder and wanted to negative split as much as I could without spiking my heart rate past 160bpm all that much. I had entered Taylor Creek Park by now and it was quite peaceful, a great atmosphere. There was almost nobody else around, just a couple of walkers, quite a few squirrels, and no other runners! I thought this was strange, but perhaps everyone is going to the Toronto Waterfront Marathon or something...

Anyway, at about the 6k mark I was heating up and pulled off my long-sleeved t-shirt, which would remain bunched up in my right hand for the rest of the run. There's got to be a better way, but I have no experience to guide me as far as attire goes. I was concentrating more on my form and my pace, and was maintaining a 5:12/km pace at this point. As I continued to run through the park I was still feeling strong and thought it might be fun to get the average pace for the second half of my run under 5:10/km, so I attempted to lengthen my stride rather than actually push harder. This worked and I steadily took seconds off my average pace for the rest of the run. The second 5k was completed in 25:35, at 5:07/km average pace. Mission accomplished! I had finished my first ever non-stop 10k run, and it felt good - no injury problems as far as I could tell.

The total for the 10k looks like this: 52:43, 5:16/km avg pace.

Garmin don't lie.

The google image of my run.

After icing and showering, then scarfing down some food, we headed out the door to Ashbridges Bay Park so that Owen could practice running through the 1km cross-country course with his school team. Of course, I ended up jogging with the kids against my better judgement, coffee in hand for the first portion! I had taken a couple of Ibuprofen after showering and my ankle was feeling awesome as a result, but of course I was concerned to not hurt it. I don't think I did any damage, but I will ice again now that I am home. Owen ran another lap with his friend Aiden for a total of 2k: way to go guys! Here are the proud kids, a little bushed, with Malcolm taking part in the picture:


Have a great weekend everybody, and All the best!

Day Off, and a New Coffee Maker

Yes, yet again I find myself with a day off, and it feels good. The ankle is a little bit sore today (more than yesterday, which puzzles the brain), but I am still optimistic for my 10k tomorrow.

While waiting for this network migration thing to really hit the fan at 5pm, I decided to walk to the local Sears and pick up a little coffee maker for my desk. I've stopped buying coffee at various places around in an effort to reduce this expense (man, this addiction can really add up over the year!), and have been drinking (yeah it's pretty bad) INSTANT COFFEE!!! Blaaaaahhhhh!!!

Well, those days are behind me now that I have one of these sitting beside me, complete with percolating sounds that sooth my jangled nerves:


It's small, comes with a mug, and a reusable filter! I am enjoying my first cup from this little machine right now, and the results are good.

Now I should also mention that, although this $20 purchase is the highlight of my day, we also blew almost a grand on a new dishwasher since our current one sucks major ass. We end up rinsing, then putting the dishes in the dishwasher, and then washing them again upon completion. Ummm, yeah... I cannot revel in the glory that will be a new dish washing slave right now since delivery and installation is not for another couple of weeks to accommodate our work schedules - damn it! Work getting in the way again! I'm sure y'all can identify with this, especially in the context of appliance delivery. Who the hell is willing to wait while the delivery people show up sometime in an 8 friggin' hour window!!! We arranged for evening delivery and weekend install, so it's all good, but we have to wait.

All the best to those running marathon and half-marathon races this weekend! Stay loose, and have fun above all! I look forward to a flurry of reports come Monday.

Another Day Gone Swimmingly

Work has been a little nuts as we prepare for a major network migration, and I am the lead for the project so stress, stress, stress... That wasn't going to keep me from my lunchtime swim, though I probably should have stayed back and monitored the situation. What's 45 minutes, I figured? In the end that won't make any difference.

Today I swam 1500m straight in about 22 minutes, once again maintaining a 1:30/100m pace. It was a bit harder than on Tuesday mostly because my shoulders were tired. I then managed another 200m warm down for a total of 1700m in about 26 minutes, then got back on the bike as fast as I could and headed back to the office and the myriad of messages, both voice and electronic, that awaited me there.

On the ankle front, I am quite pleased with how this gimpy appendage feels today. I certainly expected more pain, but it seems to be holding up well. I think if things continue like this I will be able to get that 10k run in on Saturday morning! I have been slowly adding one kilometre per week since the beginning of August to get to this point and feel like 10k is a great milestone. I would like to keep adding onto the distance until I am running my longest in the 15k range, but that depends on how the body responds. This winter the theme will be getting the legs stronger so that next spring I can avoid as much of the nagging aches and pains that I think are attributable to my relative weaknesses in this area. For now, I am happy with how things are progressing and keep telling myself to hold back.

Saturday, I will be taking Owen to Ashbridges Bay Park so that he can run the cross-country course that he will be competing on with his school in a couple of weeks. This is a great idea by the kids' coach, who will be there to help them (and us parents) out. I will have to get my run in pretty early, or in the afternoon should I sleep in too late. In any case, this should be fun for all, and perhaps I will be introduced to another good running spot.

Lastly, you may have noticed a subtle change to my stated goal at the top of this blog. I have changed "to get back in shape" to "to become a runner". I feel like I am in pretty good shape now, having sustained a good routine of at least three workouts per week since last January, shedding about 20lbs of useless flab in the process, and feel like I have reached this first goal. Now I have my sights set on something else, to achieve enough proficiency in running to call myself a runner.

Tonight, another weights routine awaits. Until then, keep your sticks on the ice!

The weights update:

• 10 minute stationary bike warm up
• Bench Press 12-12-12 135lbs
• HS Seated Rows 12-12-12 180lbs
• Dumbell Shoulder Press 12-12 40lbs
• Chin Ups 5-4-3-2-1 (yikes!)
• Biceps Curls 12-12 60lbs
• Triceps Kickbacks 12-12 15lbs
• Captain Chair Crunches 20-20-20-20 (WTF!!! These kicked my ass!)

And Thanks Marcy for your comment - You are too kind!

Back in the Saddle

After another sleepless night, and this time I really don't know the cause since there was no wine or any alcohol with dinner, I missed the planned morning return to running. Instead I squeezed in a tester of sorts after work. The ankle is up and down, sometimes I feel a twinge when I walk and it makes me worry a bit, and then for a couple of hours here and there it seems perfectly fine. Well, as fine as my ankle is ever likely to get... The increased swelling as the day progresses has gotten better, but it's not yet back to normal.

I had to get out quick after picking Owen up from school since Malcolm's school was hosting Curriculum Night, and we had to make an appearance. Once M&M showed up at about 6pm I said "see ya" and headed out. This left me about an hour to run, then shower, and still make it to the school on time. Dinner and icing would have to wait until later...

I walked for five minutes to warm up, a little concerned that the full 10 minutes I've been used to was really the way to go. But since I biked quite fast to get Owen and then biked back home with him I figured my warm up could be shortened a bit.

The run itself started off a little bit on the hesitant side, the first couple of kilometres I was "working out the kinks". I wonder if the other 30 and over runners out there also find that it takes a little bit to get going, joints creaking and grinding a bit. For me this is the least enjoyable part of the run. After about 2k I started to loosen up, though I was pretty cautious with the ankle, constantly testing out my stride and how my foot was landing on the pavement. By the time I dropped down into Taylor Creek Park I was starting to really enjoy running for the first time in a week and saw that my pace was quite a bit faster than I had anticipated it would be. Also, the hill leading out of the Park was less of a challenge than in the past, which means my cardio maintenance in the pool and on rollerblades has been paying off.

When I reached the planned 5k mark I pressed the lap button and saw I had completed the distance in 26:49, a 5:21/km pace. I also decided to run another kilometre just because I knew I did not have time to walk the entire 2k back home and still have time to shower. This sixth kilometre was completed in 5:13 for a total of 32:02 for 6k (a 5:20/km, or 8:35/m pace overall). Not bad for a return to running, and it remains to be seen how the ankle responds.

Garmin don't lie.

The google image of my run.

Stopping is for the weak!

As my muscle stiffness finally begins to dissipate I am faced with a question about training that, in one shape or another, has been on my mind for years. Ever since I was a skinny kid starting out in competitive swimming, and especially after tasting some success, I have equated training with muscle pain. In fact, I cannot break out of this mold and feel like I somehow am getting cheated if I DON'T feel some pain. Looking back on the past nine months while on my quest to get back into shape, I realize that this may be the number one reason why I bounce from one injury to another like a pinball. The ankle will always be a maintenance project, but since January I've had a variety of ailments, all due to over training and none of the acute kind. Is it possible to break out of this cycle of torture? Will I ever get to the point where I am satisfied with just going out for a long, slow jog arriving back home not completely exhausted?

Case in point, today I made it to another lunchtime swim. This is the start of my third week of swimming, so I am not anywhere near in swimming shape (nor do I delude myself that I ever will reach swimming shape with two short swims per week). In fact, I am slightly embarrassed at how slow I am because the training and racing times I used to be able to do are still etched in my head and I compare myself against these. But I digress...

Today I decided to try and swim longer before having to stop and take a short break. So I jumped in and off I went hoping to reach 600m before "adjusting my goggles" (a clear sign of weakness, like a gimpy leg on an adolescent zebra being stalked by a lioness). The first week I only managed 300m and then my shoulders were burning - mission accomplished from a training perspective, though slightly emasculating. This time I was quite happily swimming not too fast, lost in my thoughts, when I decided to check my time while executing a flip turn at the 500m mark - 7:30, which translated to 1:30/100m splits (for competitive swimmers this is exceedingly slow, at best a warm up pace, but for me this was a clear challenge!). By now my shoulders were starting to feel the burn, but the splits made my brain believe that I wasn't working out hard enough, and so I did not stop at 600m, or 700m, or 800m, or... You get the picture.

Upon reaching 1600m I ran out of time and had to get back to the office, "saved by the bell" or I might have gone for a nice round number like 2000m, or more, and ended with biceps tendinitis.
Anyway, I am just wondering if anyone else out there suffers from this "not getting my money's worth" syndrome when training? I simply can't hold back as much as I plan to. Is it possible that I am not as mature as I think I am? (My wife is not allowed to respond to that question!)

For good measure I plan on doing some weights tonight as well; you know, I've once again grown fond of muscle pain...

Dryer Vent Update:

And oh yeah! We also figured out why the fruits-of-me-loin were pouring water down the neighbour's dryer vent hole!!! In their infinite wisdom, they were simply trying to wash out (cover up) the huge amounts of grass clippings that they had stuffed down said hole earlier in the day! Ahhhh... Can a Dad be any more proud? Well done, you freakin' kids! But the huge wad of grass that came back up the pipe once the neighbour started her dryer kind of gave it all away... At least the dryer seems to be working, for now.


Tonight's weights:

• 10 minute stationary bike warm up
• Incline Dumbell Bench Press 10-10-10 55lbs
• Seated Rows 10-10-10 140lbs
• Dumbell Shoulder Press 10-10 40lbs
• Lat Pulldowns 8-8 145lbs
• Biceps Curls 10-10 65lbs 10 45lbs
• Dips 12-12
• Bicycle Crunches 50-50-50

My Muscles is Hurtin Me!

Is it possible that the 36 hour rule is just a cruel myth created to provide a tantalizing glimmer of hope to those suffering from muscle pain? I am now well past hour 48 and continue to wallow in butt/hip/groin crapitude (no pun intended)!!! It's almost like I've decided to do squats real heavy after many years off, didn't stretch before or after, and then tried to stand up the next day. If anyone out there has done weights too heavy you know what I'm talking about...

On top of that today was such a drag at work. Not the work itself or anything, I just felt ultra sluggish and couldn't get into it. Perhaps it is the after effects of my sleepless night finally catching up, but I did have a great sleep last night so what gives? I almost always eat my lunch at my desk, and did so today, but by 2pm I was on a major low energy wise and had to go searching for food, and fresh air. In the last week or so I've had major junk food cravings, and today was the worst. I am not giving in since I am afraid of another gastrointestinal issue like last week, so I headed out in search of a healthy snack. I managed to snack on two bananas that I found at a grocer around the corner, but even this felt like it was too sweet somehow. The walk was great; sunny, cool and crisp.

And for the parents out there, and to neighbourly relations as a general rule, my boys in all their brilliance decided to pour buckets of water down the dryer vent of the house bordering our driveway! Yes, boys and holes are a dangerous mix - the holes are just too tempting, and the boys are just too... We may be buying a new dryer in the near future, but not for ourselves. Many things ran through my mind as our neighbour was explaining the flood in her basement and the potential damage to her appliance, but on top of the list was "where the hell were we during all this?" You can't leave them alone for a second!

In any case, neither my lethargy, my stiff muscles, or my offspring are going to slow me down. The ankle may do that all by itself quite effectively, thank you very much! But not muscle pain et al. I went out rollerblading again and am hoping that this will work out the kinks, and give me some respite from those unruly kids who my wife simply must get under control, and I must stay out of the way while the child rearing occurs... The ankle is still feeling a bit off, but I am hoping that by Wednesday I will be able to run again. I forgot to bring an ice-gel pack to work today and was not on the icing routine, but seem none the worse for wear.

Anyway, back to the rollerblading (man is this ever a scattered post!)... I went back to the same track to do another hour or so of rollerblading, but this time I wanted to get my heart rate a little bit higher than last. It was a little tough getting into it since I was so sore, but I cranked up the all AC/DC channel on the satellite radio and started to move faster as "Whole Lotta Rosie" came on. It's amazing how swinging your arms will get that heart rate moving up. I guess doing that forces you to take longer strides, or something. Whatever it was I was moving faster and got my heart rate up to a max of 163, and an average of 135. I managed a little over 18k in about an hour and this was definitely more of a workout that last time. As much fun as this was and all, I'd rather be running and hope to do so on Wednesday.

Garmin don't lie.

And a final word: could the Yankee Stadium sendoff have gotten any more gushy and melodramatic or what?!?! I did love the Roger Clemens snub though! And the guy who sang "God Bless America" is just freaking unbelievably good - chills on the last note. Chills.

A Little Sore

Well, rollerblading definitely works out different muscles than running. I am sore in so many places today I can't even believe it! (And No, that is not a picture of me over on the left. I'm not that muscular, and I don't do jeans with no belt.) It's a good kind of sore, and definitely highlights where my weaknesses are. Hips and butt we already know about, but I also feel it in the small of my back, the obliques, the groin, hamstrings, quads, and even the outsides of my lower legs. I definitely recommend this to anyone as a good cross-training activity. Of course, I've only been once but plan on doing this again and definitely doing some ice skating in the winter.

Last night I just couldn't sleep. Not sure if it was the muscle soreness, or the wine, port and a little scotch I had when we had a couple of friends over for dinner, but I woke up at 2:00am and could not get back to sleep. I decided to catch up on some schoolwork, thinking that this would make me drowsy in no time, but ended up working until 4:00am! I'll probably crash tonight, and may even have to squeeze in a nap this afternoon (unlikely to happen given family and stuff). In any case, it was tough waking up this morning, but the kids made sure I didn't sleep in and waste away the morning. Thanks guys!

NOT!!!

Tomorrow I will contemplate running again, but the chances of this happening are slim. The ankle issue is still lingering and I don't want to push it. I will likely rollerblade again and hopefully work out some of these tight spots.

Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday of running or a well deserved off day!

16k Rollerblading, and On the Mend (I Hope!)

Dusted off the rollerblades this morning for a little cross-training action. I used to rollerblade to work everyday a number of years ago, and got pretty good at it, but I was not too sure how comfortable I'd be getting back into it after a long layoff. I figured that the ankle would be OK since what really was hurting me was the push off part, and in skating this doesn't happen the same way. The blades also go quite high up the calf so support was not going to be an issue.

After literally cleaning dust, bits of leaves, and who knows what else from inside my blades, I strapped on the Garmin and headed out. All I wanted to do was an hour or so of cardio-ish type activity to keep the training plan somewhat consistent. Today was supposed to be a pretty fast 10k run, so about an hour was what I'd have ended up doing anyway. I was curious to see what muscles would start to hurt first, expecting the hip flexors and ass muscles to be the ones.

Anyway, it was fun! I decided to just go around in circles on the local high-school track cuz I have no stopper left and, given the years of not blading, I wasn't about to tackle hills having to drag wheels to stop. As expected my hip flexors were the first to feel the burn, but I had some trouble getting my heart rate up. I averaged 129bpm, but did get it into the 140s sometimes. I was amazed that I was only able to maintain a 3:20 - 3:30/km pace while on blades (3:35 overall, but in the 3:20 ish range on the track), which once again adds perspective on how fast some people can run. For the last ten laps a runner came onto the track and kept up with me! He was fast (duh!), but I was amazed at his form, which made him look slower than he was. He ran on his toes, heels never touching the ground, and his feet landed in an exaggerated supponated position which for me would snap my ankle like a dry twig! His upper body was so straight up he looked like he was leaning back a little, and his hands moved as if he was clawing at the air in front of him, and his stride was short with a relatively quick cadence but not what I would describe as fast. Nonetheless, he was FAST! Very impressive indeed. As much fun as blading was, I'd rather have been running. There were others on the track and I was very envious...

The ankle was fine throughout and having walked down to the park with the kids, and back again, I am cautiously optimistic that I am finally on the mend. I don't know if I will be able to run on Monday yet, but we'll see. I will err on the side of caution, as much as my dumbass (weakass?) brain will allow.

Garmin don't lie (except on the calories burned...).

Day off, Ankle Stuff, and Calorie Burning

Today is an off day for me: no swimming, no weights, and definitely no running. The ankle is perplexing me a little. Sometimes I think it's starting to feel better, and then I do something standing up for a bit, like washing dishes, and it swells right up again. I think that I'll go buy one of those support sleeve things for it just to keep the swelling to a minimum, not expecting anything else from the contraption in the "support" category. I have a proper ankle brace, but I actually think it did more damage than good when I was using it in my Ultimate Frisbee playing days. The more I used it the more my stabilizing muscles atrophied and eventually I was way worse off.

Tomorrow is supposed to be my first 10k run, but this is not to be. Instead I will strap on the old rollerblades and go for a bit of exercise that way. I remember reading in a cross-training for runners type book (the book is Runner's World Guide to Cross-Training) that rollerblading or skating is the best cross-training activity for running because it uses the mirror image muscles to running, those that tend to cause knee and IT band problems when you ignore them. My knee has been feeling better as I've been improving my hip flexor and glute strength, so this activity should not hurt. And yes, I will head home if I feel a twinge in the patella!

I also was checking on the calorie burning front with a calculator I found on the web how rollerblading compares to running, and it seems they are very similar (based on time spent doing the activity and not distance). Also, it looks like my 20k or so of biking each day from home to work and back again burns more than I expected (500-600 calories), which perhaps explains why I always seem to be hungry. (Isn't it lunchtime yet? I am starving right now!!!)

On that note, I am going to find some food. Have a great weekend everyone, in particular those taking part in races!

Managing Expectations, Swimming, and Ankle Issues

My current ankle ailment has forced me to re-evaluate my running expectations. Looking back, I was sidelined for two years, unable to do any load bearing exercise while waiting for surgery. Then, I took things into my own hands and started to diligently stretch and strengthen the ankle to a point where I though doing a little bit of jogging was reasonable. As I continued to improve and my mileage increased I became more and more addicted to running, and over the past month have really pushed myself. In retrospect, the ankle flaring up should not have come as a surprise. I am still very disappointed and hope that I recover fast enough to make that 10k race on October 18th, but have also resigned to try (and this will take some effort) to be more realistic as far as expectations go. I am not wired to hold back and be happy with just the bare minimum, and I lost sight of the ultimate goal: the potential for playing sports with my sons as they grow up. Instead I started to think about how fast I could run. What a joke - I'm a swimmer not a runner, and should have known better...

On the swimming front I managed another lunchtime outing today: 1500 metres done in 500-400-300-200-100 sets with 30 seconds or so rest in between. All free, no kick. The weird part was getting hand cramps near the end! I haven't felt those since my swimming days, and then only when we had long sculling sets. I am really enjoying these lunchtime swims these days, in particular given that I have to stay off the ankle right now. On that front, the pain is not exactly getting better. I sure hope that I start to feel like it's healing soon or I will begin to worry about stress fracture issues, and those take a long time to fix.

Tonight the plan is to get back to the gym for a short weight workout as per usual. It's going to be tough getting this done since my wife has a meeting for this years Beavers (little scouts, for my 6 year-old) and those last somewhere in the waaaayyyy too long range (ie. 7-9pm +). If I get it in I will try and remember to update this post (for my reference, I realize nobody else is interested in how much weight I can lift...)

Now, back to another icing session!

Weights tonight:

• 10 minute stationary bike warm up
• Dumbell Bench Press 12-12-12 55lbs
• HS Seated Rows 12-12-12 180lbs
• Military Press 10-10 105lbs
• Lap Pulldowns 10-10 140lbs
• Dumbell Biceps Curls 12-12 30lbs
• Triceps Extensions 12-12 60lbs
• Captains Chair Abs 30-30

That's all I had time for tonight...

Also, thank you for the kind comments on this post. It certainly helps to put perspective on the ups and downs on training.

Hurtin', Hurtin', Hurtin' 5k

What a bummer - I went out this morning for my usual Wednesday 5k and it was not good. The stomach issues are now a memory, but much more worrisome is the ankle pain that has returned with a vengeance. It's like I am reliving the same crap that happened two and a half years ago! I didn't go over on the ankle or anything, but it just started hurting and continually got worse and worse until I was seeing a surgeon and contemplating going under the knife. Now, I'm not ready to say that what I am feeling is the same as before since it is in a slightly different location on the ankle, but I can't help but feel very depressed about this whole situation. I brought an ice pack to work and will ice a few times today... Of course, I will have to rethink the whole running/training plan over the next few days.

As far as the run went, let's just call it "slow and painful" and leave it at that...

Garmin don't lie.

The google image of my route.

To perk me up a bit I made the mistake of searching google images with the keywords "ankle" and "injury"... I came up with the following on the first page of results and am NOT going further. Although I feel good that it wasn't me (the poor bastard! I expecially like that camera guy with the, "...That's a shame..." look on his face), I am now completely nauseous. There is not enough Pepto in this world to shock me back into coherence...

Also, if you want to watch Dean Karnazes run on a treadmill live (until 9am, Thursday, September 18th on Live with Regis and Kelly) go here. Can you spot the poo breaks?

Swimming, and The Return of the Ankle

Another lunch time swim this afternoon, and no weights tonight. I managed to squeeze in 1500m in the pool in the midst of an all-day meeting, and was considerably late getting back from the planned 30 minute lunch since I had to eat after getting out of the pool and then make my way back to the boardroom. Oh well...

I have a conference call to do with my course this evening so no time for weights. (Boo!)

My ankle has started acting up again, with some not unusual pain (for me), but more intense than I've felt it in months. I don't think this will stop me from running just yet. However, it certainly was a surprise to feel it at the beginning of yesterday's run since the ankle has been a good little joint for a while now. The pain is right where I tore the ATFL (anterior talofibular ligament in medical speak), which is odd given that this ligament is completely torn! I was hoping that today I'd be OK, but that was just wishful thinking. In any case, given my plan to scale things back a little this week the timing is not so bad. On the knee front, I continue to improve though slowly. I still feel a twinge now and then when I walk and with the odd step when running. Perhaps a couple of weeks of easy running after the race in October will cure all my ailments.

And lastly, after talking to some people, and getting a helpful comment from Marcy on my last post (GI issues) I am convinced that my elevated level of sugar intake was the culprit behind my stomach pains. I am feeling better today, thankfully. Tomorrow I will have to get my 5k run in before going to work (I never had to do this before, but scheduling is forcing this upon me) and hopefully everything will be back to normal by then, at least on the gastrointestinal front.

Sugar Sweet Weekend, and 9k LSD

So, this weekend was definitely not of the nutritionally sound variety. Malcolm's birthday brought many treats, not the least of which was his Geo Dude cake, and then on Sunday my Mom brought us a huge slab of my favorite cheesecake from a Polish bakery across town. It's a good thing this place is across town or I'd be partaking of the cheesy goodness much too often! In short, Monday was much more sluggish than usual, and with my 9k run set to go in the evening I was wondering what the after-effects would be. Of course, there is still a decent piece of cheesecake left in the fridge with which to drown my sorrows...


Mid-day training thoughts:

I am still not sure how to proceed with this week's training. The plan calls for the 9k tonight to be LSD-ish (6:00/k pace, or about 9:39/mile). Tomorrow I'll be swimming, but may miss my usual weight workout on account of a conference call that is scheduled (in)conveniently at 8pm. Wednesday I will do another 5k "maintenance" run, but may back off a little and keep the pace slowish, somewhere in the 5:30/k (8:51/m) range. Thursday is another swim day, and weights. Friday is off. Then Saturday... Saturday calls for a 10k at a fast pace, and that is what I am considering modifying. I may do this as an easier run just to get the distance in, but I am afraid of pushing myself again. Cardio-wise the gains from these tempo type runs can't be discounted, but my leg muscles are feeling the effects. I may have to decide day-of rather than plan to slow it down in advance. I'd love to be able to do this 10k under 50:00, though!


Tonight's 9k:

Back to the business at hand - what would be the consequences of my sugar intake over the past two days? I thought that I would most likely feel sluggish, especially as the run progressed. However, and I have no experience to draw from when making this conclusion, the result was something else and totally unexpected. Instead of feeling sluggish I felt fine, except for the bowel pains I began to feel at about the 2.5k mark and only got worse. Yes, I've finally got something of this variety to post about. I've read more than a few things in the blogosphere on gastrointestinal issues as they pertain to running, but have never experienced anything negative until tonight. As I ran I wished a toilet had been strapped to my ass and it became harder and harder to keep going and maintain my pace. Although walking would have likely relieved some of the "discomfort", this was not an option since running meant I was getting closer to home and the bathroom contained therein. What the hell did I eat? I don't remember anything funky, but it sure feels like I drank a quart of curdled milk or something. I really hope this is a very temporary thing, but sitting here I am not exactly totally recovered, and this is now two hours after my run!

As far as the run went, I was quite pleased. I kept my heart rate under 150 for the most part and on the perceived effort front I'd say this was pretty easy, perhaps a 5 out of 10. My pace surprised me a bit since I was aiming from something in the 6:00/km (9:39/m) range, or maybe a tad faster. Instead, I managed to hold 5:30/km (8:51/m) pace for the entire run and it felt really easy. I'll have to re-evaluate my training since this type of pace was supposed to be more difficult... It was a bit chilly out, and I'm thinking that had something to do with it.

Garmin don't lie.

The google image of my route.

Day Off, Making Plans

So, today is an off day, and my legs are in serious need of this. The last week was quite intense, in retrospect, and it will definitely pay off down the road, but I need to recover. Still haven't decided what to do for the coming week - stay with the routine of increased distance and intensity or back off a little bit? Also, I have to get to work today on my grad course or risk falling behind early, creating much unnecessary stress down the road. It's the last one in my program and I am finding motivation hard to come by...

As I sit here typing this, having turned the computer on so that I could upload my wife's morning run stats from the Garmin, I am wondering what to do with the kids this afternoon? The forecast says rain, lots of rain, but right now the sky looks pretty clear. It was an indoor day yesterday on account of rain and I'd like to avoid another one - we're all bouncing off the walls a little bit and getting stir crazy. Perhaps another trip to the zoo is in order... Scope out the Zoorun route... We'll see.

Anyway, hope y'all are having a great weekend, running and otherwise. For any racers out there all the best and here's hoping you meet your goals!

9km Tempo Run, Malcolm's Birthday Party

I was able to get up at 6:30am for my run, with a certain level of apprehension for I was still feeling the effects of the week. My shoulders were super sore and I was wondering why: was it the swimming, the golf, the baseball, the bike accident, or a combination of all? The bruised knees had me a little worried, but I figured those were only surface type injuries and I'd be OK. I started off on a long warm up walk that would take me into the Don Valley Trail network since I wanted to avoid running down the steep hill at the beginning of my 9k on account of the lingering knee issue. It's definitely getting better, but I am still not 100%. The air was heavy and really humid, but at least the temperature was nice. I could tell this run would be a struggle near the end and the route I mapped out would also include one long hill at about the 6k mark. Once my walk was finished I set off...

My goal was to maintain faster than 5:05 pace for the entire 9k. As such, I also wanted to push it for the first 5k partly to see if I could break last week's time (24:36) and partly to bank some time for that long hill that would likely send me over the edge and slow me down. My legs are definitely feeling the effects of the past week of training and they felt tight as I started my run. I managed to hold a pace in the 4:50's at the beginning through sheer will and definitely had thoughts of bailing on the entire run. After about 2k I was starting to get into the run and things were starting to feel better. My breathing became rhythmic and I was enjoying the feeling of maintaining a fast pace. By about the 2.5k mark I had brought the average pace down to 4:50 and was determined to stay as close to this as possible for the 5k as this would definitely give me a best time. I did manage this pace exactly and completed the 5k in 24:14 (7:47/mile pace)!

Of course, now I had 4k left and that hill looming. As I continued to run through Taylor Creek Park I was faced with a couple of spots where the asphalt path was totally washed out and I had to run way around these spots through grass and mud. I almost fell over at one point when the ground slid out from under me, but managed to stay up. The pace was becoming difficult to maintain and I hovered around 4:55/km (7:55/m) at this point as I approached the hill. As expected I was definitely struggling up that incline and my pace started to slip as my heart rate raced into the high 170's. The entire hill is about 3/4 of a kilometre long and not super steep, but it never flattens out. At one point I was almost ready to start walking and could barely take in enough oxygen to keep going, but didn't let myself do this because I was afraid this would spell the end of the run. When I got to the top my average for these last 4 kilometres read 5:12 (8:22/m). I knew I'd have to recover and pick up the pace to finish strong.

Luckily I was able to recover enough after about a kilometre more to start picking up the pace. This was not easy but I really wanted to see if I could hold a faster pace for these 4 kilometres than I did for the last 3k that ended my last tempo 8k run. Last week my pace was 5:09 for the last 3k of my 8k run, and I really thought this was a good target for today. As I continued to run I steadily made progress and with 2k left in the run my pace was back to 5:05. Now I decided to really push towards the end even though my body was screaming for relief. The last kilometre was difficult, but by now I had my average pace down to 5:03 (8:08/m). As I glanced down at my Garmin at the end and pressed the lap button I was more than happy with the 5:03 pace for the final 4k.

In all I ran the 9k in 44:26, which translated to a 4:56/k pace! In mile pace that is under 8:00, and for me that is a great accomplishment. I won't make any time goals for the 10k Zoorun race on October 18th because that course will be hilly, but on a flat course the 50:00 barrier is definitely in jeopardy.

Garmin don't lie.

The google image of my route.

Given how my body is hurting I am considering gearing down a little for the next week and then ramping up again after that until about a week before the race. We'll see how I feel, but I think this might be wise - just some long slow runs for the week maintaining the same distances as usual adding a kilometre every Saturday, a couple more swims, and some weights. Tomorrow is, at least, a well deserved day off.

Malcolm, the youngest of my two, is 4 today! We had a small party for him at home with a few of his friends from the daycare that he just left as he's started Junior Kindergarden. I'd like to think that he can "keep in touch" with these little guys, but it's not realistic. Everyone had a great time, the noise was unbearable, and the cake was wayyyyy too sweet. They're now gone, and I'm exhausted. Special kudos goes to my wife for making yet another Pokemon cake (it was Pikachu last year for Owen's birthday). Malcolm requested Geo Dude, and I think she did a wonderful job:
Enjoy your weekends everyone, and run hard!

Day Off, and My Little Guys

Recovering from my bike accident and, happy to say, I don't feel as sore today as I thought I would. Tonight will be spent preparing for my son's Birthday party (Malcolm's turning 4 tomorrow) and I hope to have enough done to fit my 9k run into the morning before kids start arriving. The weather is looking clear up until mid-morning or so, and I'd like to continue getting myself used to the morning run on Saturdays. If this doesn't work I'll just have to go in the afternoon and run through the rain, not a bad option really.

Nothing else to say really, except to proudly report that my older boy has now finished his first week of cross-country running and is enjoying it. Not only that, but he seems to be running through the optional walking portions as well! The coaches hold up a green card when the kids are supposed to run and a red one to indicate that they can walk. Owen told me that he has only had to walk once, while I am repeatedly telling him to pace himself. Anyway, I'm very impressed with the little guy. Wish I could claim that my recent running has been his inspiration, but he was talking about this since the first week of last year when he was in grade 1 and could not participate. Go Owen Go!

A Little Swim, a Smidgen of Weights, with a Dash of Bike Accident

Got into the pool just as it opened up today so I was free and clear of any crowds for at least the first part. I managed 1500m, of which 400 was kick, in about 25 minutes and then had to get back to the office. I really like having all my stuff inside a locker at the gym - just remember my student card and keys, jump on the bike, and off I go! Easy.

Weighed myself again while there and the scale stopped at a more reasonable 190.25lbs. I guess my previous trip to the scale at the pool was ultra light because I was uber-hungry.

However, my day took a bit of a downturn on the way home. Somehow I managed to hit an invisible pothole just around the corner from my younger one's school and I went right over the handlebars of my bike, sprawled onto the asphalt. I must admit that the only thing that ran through my mind as it was happening was whether or not I'd be able to make my run on Saturday, which I guess means I am bordering on obsessive or something. Anyway, I managed to walk away with some bruises on both knees and my left wrist, as well as some skinned knuckles. (How the hell did I land to get skinned knuckles, anyway?) My bike was not as fortunate and I had some repairs to get to once I did manage to hobble home, son in tow.

I didn't feel like it, but managed another weight workout despite feeling like I'd been punched repeatedly. I wasn't too sure how the left wrist would hold up and my shoulders felt really tired from the swimming so I decided to go light and play it by ear. In the end it was a largely uninspired workout...

Details:

• 10 minute warm up on stationary bike
• Incline Bench Press 10-10-10 115lbs
• Bicycle Crunches 50-50-50
• Seated Rows 10-10-10 140lbs
• Lateral Shoulder Flys 12-12 20lbs
• Dumbell Biceps Curls 10-10 30lbs
• Rope Triceps Extensions 12-12 40lbs

Tomorrow is another off day, then I will tackle a fast (10k pace or so) 9k on Saturday morning. I have decided to modify my training plan slightly and have put the "tempo" type runs on Saturdays and the "LSD" type runs on Mondays. I figure since the race I am preparing for is on a Saturday morning my body will be better prepared if I push it on the same day of the week. Does this make sense? All the books I've been reading say the weekend run should be the LSD, but races are ALWAYS on weekends. I don't get it. Is it simply that these authors assume people don't have time mid-week for a long slow run? Maybe those plans are specific to marathon training and not for something short like a 10k.

Softball and 5k Maintenance Run

The workplace is on a "promote healthy lifestyles" kick, and as such I was involved in a friendly softball game this afternoon with the folks from my office. A little too much sprinting with not enough warm up and the knee is feeling it, but we won and got sweatshirts for our efforts. Nice!

After getting home, post picking up of the older loin-fruit, I headed out for my usual Wednesday 5k "maintenance" run. This would normally be a day of intervals, but I really have to wait until the knee is 100% before attempting those again. Anyway, what I try and do is a decent pace somewhere in between slow and race pace, which for today was in the 5:20/km range, give or take a little. I managed to complete the 5k in 26:33, a 5:18 pace (translates to about 8:30ish per mile pace), and it did not feel that difficult. This pace would have really been a test a month ago, so I know I am making strides. The knee was definitely more sore than it has been in a week, so that sweatshirt (and, more importantly, the bragging rights) came at a cost. Also, I was supposed to go by a grocery store on the way home to pick a couple of things up for dinner and ended up walking way more than expected. After the 5K I walked 1.4k to the store, and then about the same distance back home for a total of 3.8k of walking, including the usual warm up.

Tonight I'll be icing, then later stretching. I might even take an Ibuprofen if I still feel pain there before going to sleep. I hate taking pain killers, but this would be as per physio's orders.

Garmin don't lie.

Last thing, I added the pace conversion chart at the bottom of my sidebar. Now I will be able to easily understand (read: easy to find, not necessarily comprehend) the training and race reports of all the American bloggers that I read!

Update: Here's a picture of out winning softball team. I'm the tall dude standing up with the hat.

Pace Conversion Chart

The other day I posted a very basic pace conversion chart which was perhaps too basic for actual use. Therefore, while in the middle of a lull at a meeting, I worked out the following which perhaps may prove more useful for all. This is a rough conversion, mind you, given the fact that 1 mile is not exactly 1.6km, but it may help those of us in metric land to understand those in imperial land when posting training times, and vice-versa.

You can download the document here if you want to have a copy handy rather than referring back to this post. Enjoy, and train hard!

• 7:00/km = 11:15/m
• 6:55/km = 11:07/m
• 6:50/km = 10:59/m
• 6:45/km = 10:51/m
• 6:40/km = 10:43/m
• 6:35/km = 10:35/m
• 6:30/km = 10:27/m
• 6:25/km = 10:19/m
• 6:20/km = 10:11/m
• 6:15/km = 10:03/m
• 6:10/km = 9:55/m
• 6:05/km = 9:47/m
• 6:00/km = 9:39/m
• 5:55/km = 9:31/m
• 5:50/km = 9:23/m
• 5:45/km = 9:15/m
• 5:40/km = 9:07/m
• 5:35/km = 8:59/m
• 5:30/km = 8:51/m
• 5:25/km = 8:43/m
• 5:20/km = 8:35/m
• 5:15/km = 8:27/m
• 5:10/km = 8:19/m
• 5:05/km = 8:11/m
• 5:00/km = 8:03/m
• 4:55/km = 7:55/m
• 4:50/km = 7:47/m
• 4:45/km = 7:39/m
• 4:40/km = 7:31/m
• 4:35/km = 7:23/m
• 4:30/km = 7:15/m
• 4:25/km = 7:07/m
• 4:20/km = 6:59/m
• 4:15/km = 6:51/m
• 4:10/km = 6:43/m
• 4:05/km = 6:35/m
• 4:00/km = 6:27/m
• 3:55/km = 6:19/m
• 3:50/km = 6:11/m
• 3:45/km = 6:03/m
• 3:40/km = 5:55/m
• 3:35/km = 5:47/m
• 3:30/km = 5:39/m

Swimming Again, and Wasting Away

I managed my first lunchtime swim finally, and it was a bit tougher than I'd anticipated. The cardio was fine, but my shoulders are definitely not used to this and they were the first to feel the burn. I didn't have too much time since a morning meeting went a little late, and then I had to take about ten minutes to select and buy a pair of goggles (mine are packed away somewhere in a box still from the move last May). Once I got my stuff in the locker and was ready to go it only left me about 20 minutes to swim. I managed 1200m, of which 400 was kick. Man, I'm slow!

Vent: I will only mention this here and try my best to never bring it up again, but why do slow-ass people choose the FAST lane and then get the hell in my way??? There were like 2 people in the MEDIUM lane, and one in the SLOW lane! (I considered moving over, but didn't want to piss those people off.) Not only are these folks slow, they swim wide with inflexible arms that flail away like seagulls fighting over day old bread, giving the lane rope the widest berth possible for touching it would be disastrous, and pushing off the wall to do yet another slow-assed lap right as I am ready to flip turn and keep going on my merry way!!!! The lifeguards ignored the whole flailing arms thing of one guy who I'd have pulled out cuz he was struggling mightily at one point - it wasn't my wake that made him choke, BTW, but I almost wish it had been... then again, maybe it was, maybe it was...

AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

OK, that's enough of that. Perhaps it's just that there are too many keeners out there starting out a new semester with visions of attaining athletic physiques or something to that effect. I suspect many will drop out and return to their sedentary lives... One can at least dream, right?

On the wasting away bit, I weighed myself at the UofT gym on what I can only assume is an accurate scale - very big, very digital. As the machine was flipping numbers, slowly coming to equilibrium, I had a sick feeling that I was all of a sudden way lighter than I'd ever expected to be. Sure enough, the number shot out at me like a slap in the face:



188.5 lbs!


What the hell! Now I have to be worried about not eating enough rather than eating too much. My strength at the gym has not diminished so I figure that muscle mass is not the issue, but I can't believe I had that much fat to lose. Anyway, I'll have to monitor this a little bit and hope that it stabilizes because, if it doesn't, it won't be long before I start resembling a drought victim! Perhaps the scale IS wrong???

So, tonight I went off to the gym to do my usual routine, and also to test the scale there. This time with shoes, shorts and a t-shirt, as well as two large hamburgers in my belly, I topped the scale 192.5lbs. I guess I can average the two and come out at around 190.5lbs or so, which is still much lower than my target weight of 195lbs. I don't know what to make of this, but I'm beginning to suspect that my goal was set more with what I remember to be a good weight for me and not taking into account all this running. Anyway, I still feel OK, but I don't think I should be getting any lighter - you know, what with winter coming and all...

Details:

• 10 minute stationary bike warm up
• Bicycle Crunches 50-50-50
• Dumbell Bench Press 12-12-12 55lbs
• One Arm Dumbell Rows 12-12-12 40lbs
• Dumbell Military Press 12-10 40lbs
• Lat Pulldowns 8-8 145lbs
• Biceps Curls 12-10 65lbs
• Rope Triceps Extensions 12-12 40lbs

A Slow 8k Run

My last run report generated a couple of comments about the whole metric/imperial conversion issue, so to start here is my handy-dandy quick converter chart for everyone's (including my own) benefit:

• 6:00/km = 9:39/m
• 5:30/km = 8:51/m
• 5:00/km = 8:03/m
• 4:30/km = 7:15/m
• 4:00/km = 6:26/m
• 3:30/km = 5:38/m

The above certainly puts other bloggers' training times and PR's in perspective for me. Some of you people are freakin' fast!

Tonight I ran 8k again, but this time nice and slow. The weather was cool and the run was not too bad. The skies were so dark that I totally expected to be soaked the entire run, but it held off until I was nearing the end of my cool down walk. My knee held up and I think the exercises I've been doing are starting to pay off. Also, that calf-stretch contraption I built is also helping. I stand on it for ten minutes or more at a time and coming off of it is a trial because it definitely stretches the hell out of my calves and achilles. Best calf stretches I've ever had, bar none!

As far as the run went, I wanted to go at about a 6:00/km pace, and was successful (5:57). The HR was average 148, with a max of 163 from a long uphill. The route was new for me as I ran further east in Taylor Creek Park than ever before, and was a little worried that my guesstimate of the distance would force me to run or walk a long way back. In fact, the run was feeling so easy that I had visions of running 9km, but in the end (hard as it was) I forced myself to stick to the plan. The plan has been good so far, and the knee is slowly getting better so why mess with it, right? Anyway, it was fun tonight, and that is always a good thing.

Garmin don't lie:



The google image of my route.

Tomorrow the plan is to get my stuff into the locker at the UofT pool and swim a bit. I will be swimming twice a week from now on during lunch time, but am a bit afraid that this will displace my weight workouts and I'll begin to waste away muscle wise. At this point, with my last course starting via distance ed, I still plan on fitting in two weight workouts per week while maintining two off days. I really don't want to go down to just one off day since my wife's exercise plans have to be taken into account when scheduling. We'll see what happens as Summer turns to Fall...

As I was searching for a picture of the UofT pool (and I'm not conviced the above link is correct, but it's close enough for rock'n'roll) I came accross a really cool sand sculpture picture:

And one last nugget, this from Yankee 3rd Baseman Alex Rodriquez when asked about the Toronto Blue Jays, as quoted in the New York Times: “I tell you what, a lot of people should be happy they’re not in the playoff race, because they’d be the scariest team." Thanks A-ROD for that unexpected moment of clarity on your part! (The Jays are currently a half-game ahead of the Yankees and on an 8 game winning streak. I know, I know - both are about as likely to make a playoff run as I am to run a sub 30 minute 10k, but it's nice to see the standings like this...)

A Soggy Sunday Over Par

Today I was part of a golf tournament that a friend of mine puts on each year for a charitable cause. Up until this morning the forecast was for sun, sun, and more sun. However, by the time I left the house it was clouding over and things were not going to improve. In fact, they only got worse. Much worse...

Mercifully (or tauntingly, depending on your perspective) the rain held off until all four of us had hit our first tee shots. We were near the end of all the groups, so it meant we'd spend the most time under water possible. At first the rain was a steady kind of light thing, but constant. Then, at about the third hole it just started to piss on us and did not let up until about the 14th hole. I was not ready for this (stupid me!) and had nothing on me but a long-sleeved t-shirt. Needless to say I was soaked through, freezing, and could not grip my clubs. This led to more than a few being flung around, but luckily nobody got hurt. I was surprised that play was not suspended on account of all the standing water. It was crazy to see the stream of water pouring off the ball as it rolled around on the greens! I guess my 102 (par was 72) was not bad given the conditions. I even had a par on one! My worst hole was the first, where I scored a terrible 9, but given that I did not get to swing any clubs at a driving range prior to the round, and this was my second time golfing in years (ankle, thanks again!) I wasn't that displeased with it. I thought 9 would be a GOOD score on each hole, and luckily 7 was the worst I'd do from that point on... Definitely the coldest and wettest round of golf I've EVER played. Still beats a kick in the head I suppose, though I didn't have the same kind of day as the old guy from Caddyshack (but am still alive, and for this I should be thankful):


I did not bring my camera (good thing since it's not water proof), but a few pics may get posted here in the next little while. The videos of me swinging may never see the light of day, at least on this space.

Anyway, after coming home and slowly warming up I am feeling my knee more than I was anticipating. Ice strapped to both the knee and ankle I am sitting waiting for the 8pm NFL game to start, and wondering how I'll manage the planned slow 8k tomorrow...

8km "Tempo" Run

Boy, did I ever have trouble waking up this morning! I don't know if it was the rain storm in the middle of the night that woke me up or the steak dinner I had last night, but I could not drag my ass out of bed before 9am (the Garmin Training Centre software shows that my run started at around 8am, but Motionbased shows the actual 9am. I have to check why this is happening...). I still made the morning run, but it was more mid-morning than I had intended.

It was a pleasant 16 Celsius, but quite rainy and very humid as I left. The 1km of walking for warm up was not too nice since that rain felt quite chilly, and when I started off on my run I really felt sluggish. My intention was to run at race pace (whatever that is since I've never raced), but glancing down at my watch after the first half kilometre I saw a pretty slow 5:43/km average. The knee felt OK, though some stiffness still lingering in there, and it was at this point that I had to make a choice: pick up the pace and fight through the sluggish feeling, or slow up and make it through the 8km at about 6:00/km pace. I decided to push a little to see if I could get the average pace down to 5:30...

After another kilometre I glanced down and saw that I'd managed to speed up to about 5:22/km and was starting to get into the run. Now I decided to see if I could go even faster and thought that 5:15/km was a reasonable goal. My heart rate was in the 160's, as expected, and the rain was starting to let up a little. As I made my way around Stan Wadlow Park and headed for Taylor Creek I again looked at the Garmin and saw I had managed to reduce my average pace to 5:12. Now I got really ambitious - why not see how close I could get to 5:00/km and hold it for as long as possible? I knew this would be hard, but was up for it.

As I ran down the hill into Taylor Creek Park I passed a few runners who waved hello. It's amazing how this camaraderie can put a little extra something in your step. At about the 3km mark I noticed that I had my average pace below 5:00 and was now determined to hold this for at least the first 5km since I was definitely starting to feel it. My heart rate was now over 170 and it was only a matter of time before I'd have to ease off a little.

Happy to report that my 5km time ended up being 24:38, at a pace of 4:55/km. This will be considered my record for the moment, though it was not race conditions or anything, and gives me a new standard for my training. My previous 8km run back at the beginning of August was similar in effort and the first 5km of that run ended up at 26:02 (5:12 pace). On that occasion I had to slow up for the last 3 kilometres, and those ended up at 5:38/km, though with a sizable hill included. This time I wanted to avoid the hill on account of the knee and wanted to manage at a minimum 5:30 pace.

After about a half-kilometre my heart rate returned to something approaching normal and my pace was fluttering in the high 5:20's. Now I had visions of bringing that down to the teens and started to pick up the pace again. I ended up passing some other runners which helped out and managed to complete the 3km in 15:27, a 5:09 average pace! The entire 8km run was pretty close to less than 5:00 per kilometre - a total of 40:05! I am not ready to run this pace for an entire 10k, but it certainly feels good to be able to run this far and get that close to 5:00 pace. I had a full 2km walk back home, so the total for the day (including all the walking) was 11.11km, which is a lot for me.

In all this was a great run for me and definitely felt like a workout. Tomorrow is another off day, then a slow 8km on Monday.

Garmin don't lie:



The google image of my route.

Day Off, Drilling In More Than One Way

This morning I was due to see the dentist for a cleaning and another checkup of a tooth that's been a little bothersome for the entire summer. The way I had made the appointment I was only supposed to get the cleaning and then have the dentist look at my tooth, expecting to have to come back in a couple of weeks for any fixing that needed doing. Instead, after the cleaning the dentist said he could fix me up right away - take out an old filling and put in a new one. Great... An hour later half my face was uber frozen (having to get two injections because the drilling was excruciating after only one), and then a major headache set in from some nerve that was hit as part of the drilling process. In all, this was still perhaps the best experience I've ever had at a dentist's office for a variety or reasons, but having to call in sick for the day was not fun.

After a couple of Tylenol and a few hours of rest the frozen face was no more and I was feeling a little better. Not wanting to waste the entire day I decided to venture out for a haircut. I hate getting my haircut almost as much as visiting the dentist, so you can imagine that it was time to go. Also, if I'm to start swimming then having shorter hair will be a must.

Anyway, I arrived at the hair place and was informed that it would be an hour and a half before my turn, so I sat there thinking what to do with myself. Go back and watch Jankovic vs. Dementieva? ie. sit on my ass again? um... No! Instead, I was off to get a coffee and the Home Depot to get going on the calf stretching machine. A piece of plywood, some screws, four hinges, and some non slip tape and I was out of there. Wow, in a Home Depot for less than four hours! A record for me.

So, after the haircut (nothing interesting to tell) I dug out the jigsaw and drill and went to work in the garage. Although the Home Depot did not have 3/4" ply in a small enough piece (I hate waste), I decided to get the 1/2" and make do. In the end I had to double up on the part where one has to stand so that the thing wouldn't bend under my weight. Here's the result:

I can't claim the patent on this thing or anything since I got the idea from a similar contraption at the physios, but she wouldn't sell me the thing even if I'd asked since she only has the one and it was built for her by some guy by special request. (Hmmm, perhaps other physios could use these things? Do I have the entrepreneurial spirit??? Hmmmmmm...)

Anyway, I set it up to go up on four different angles so it should be good to go for a while. I am supposed to stand on this thing for at least ten minutes every night. Having already done so to test the thing I can report that it definitely works! Soon I'll be as flexible in the lower extremities as a synchro swimmer... NOT!

Tomorrow morning I'll be off for an 8km run to test the knee again. Tonight, it's more ass exercises for me and prickly boobs.

Peace!

Physio Knows Best, and Weights

So, I got the verdict from the physio and luckily the recipe does not call for a halt to running, at least not just yet. It would seem that I have two major issues that I have to work on, and both will take a bit of time to correct. In fact, I will be working on these forever I suspect! The first is weak muscles in the hips and ass area. (My wife has told me that she will no longer call me "Jackass" or "Dumbass", but rather "Weakass". Can you feel the love?) I have several exercises to perform daily to try and correct this assue. One of the exercises is particularly fun as my butt cramps up after about three seconds, and I'm supposed to hold it for sets of 15!

The other issue is inflexible ankles - very little dorsiflexion (lifting foot up towards shin) leading to an inability to absorb shock properly, which gets sent to the next joint up the chain, the knee. This is the problem that will be hard to fix since I am genetically built with little ankle flexibility in this direction. As such, I will be building a special contraption made of plywood this weekend to help in stretching out this area. When this project comes to fruition I will post some pics for your viewing pleasure...

The other thing that is kind of fun are these things:


Yes, that's right: Prickly Boobs! I am to stand on these things in a variety of ways performing several exercises in an effort to improve the sensitivity of my feet, or something to that effect. They are supposed to be somewhat excruciating (well, maybe that's a strong word, but they hurt the physio when she was showing me the moves) for most people to stand on, but for me they are a pleasant sensation, which is why I am supposed to "activate" the sensory thingamajigs on the bottoms of my feet. Don't understand how this will help the knee, but it should help the ankles and feet. Plus, I can wear them at Halloween!

So, I can keep running as long as my knee pain does not get worse or start to last throughout the entire run. The physio also showed me how to tape the knee in case I was interested in relieving the pain entirely while running. I am considering this, but am afraid to do more damage while pushing myself too much when not feeling the usual knee pain. We'll see if I use this taping thing, but for the moment I choose not to. At least my quads are OK and my IT band is plenty flexible, and this shocked the hell out of the physio! I like to do that whenever I can.

Did some weights tonight. Nothing too much different from the regular routine. I will be starting swimming next week, and have rented a locker at the athletic centre to store my stuff in. Now I will have no excuse to miss it once it becomes more of a chore than a novelty.

Details:

• 10 minute warm up on stationary bike
• Bench Press 12-12-12 135lbs
• Seated Rows 10-10-10 140lbs
• Military Press 10-10 105lbs
• Lat Pulldowns 10-10 145lbs
• Dumbell Biceps Curls 12-12 30lbs
• Dips 12-12
• Hip Adductor Machine 15-15 130lbs (this one proved the ass weakness for sure)
• Bicycle Crunches 50-50-50

Oh yeah, one last note. I weighed myself again: 194lbs! I'm wasting away! A couple more pounds and I'll have to hit the DQ for a Blizzard treat - YES!

5km "Maintenance" Run and Justifying Pain

The plan called for some interval type training on Wednesdays, and following the Run Less Run Faster model this would not be more than 5km of training (did the book say 5k or 5 miles?) I have been trying to stick to at least that distance. My knee cannot take intervals just yet, and I am afraid of overdoing it and then having to sit on my ass for a couple of weeks, or more! So, today I went out for what was supposed to be an easy 5k "maintenance" type run.

After work I met up with my wife at Malcolm's school as we had our parent-teacher interview for his Junior Kindergarden class. We got Malks and went to see his teacher. It was pleasant, and we already knew her as she shared the room with Owen's teacher when he was in JK a few years back (yikes!). Anyway, that went well. Then I had to walk home with my bike in one hand and Owen's bike in the other because we had cycled over to his bus pickup in the morning. His bike is small, my back is kinked, enough said...

Then it was off to pick Owen up at his school (he's in French Immersion at a different school, ergo the bus). I decided to fit the run in on my way and got ready to go. Even though I felt a little pressed for time I made sure to include the now mandatory 10 minute warmup walk, then started into what I hoped would be an easy 6:00/km pace. It was rather hot today, and quickly my plan to keep my HR lowish (mid 140s) was going down the drain. Also, as I picked up the pace a little I justified my effort by telling myself that it would be a shame to go see my physio tomorrow with no knee pain! I don't know if anyone else worries about this, but I do. I would feel like I was wasting her time if I showed up without the ailment that precipitated the call in the first place. Happy to report that after my 5k at 5:43 pace the knee is still acting up. As I sit here, post icing and watching the Williams sisters hitting balls, I am dreading the thought that the physio will force me to take time off. I really hope there is a muscle weakness issue or something that needs stretching which will allow me to keep running...

Garmin don't lie:



The google image of my route.

Injury Treatment Pending, Weights Later

I made the plunge and called my physio to see if she'd take a look at my lingering knee issue. As it happens, today is her first day back after Beijing, where she was as part of the Canadian Rowing team. My appointment is on Thursday, and I hope that she does NOT force me to take time off... I think I need to stregthen and stretch some stuff, but need guidance from a pro.

The UofT athletic centre is open again, my tuition is paid, and I will be starting swimming next week! Can't wait, not only because I (for the first time since my competitive days) am actually looking forward to swimming, but also because this will take some stress off the knee. I just hope I can fit it all in between my last course, family, etc... Should be doable, if that's a word.

I am heading to the gym for my usual weights tonight, but am posting now in anticipation of a busy evening what with the kids having finished their first day of school, the spouse planning a gym visit as well, and me being more tired than usual given that my bedtime last night was still on vacation mode it is unlikely I'll be up for computer shtuff after working out. Sad, but true...

Lastly, the New Balance 1062's I bought last week are working out great. They have more shock absorption than my Asics Cumulus 9's, though I would have loved to try out the Asics Nimbus 10's. The 12.5 foot size is a pain in the ass though, and NB are the only store in town that stocks it, so Asics (if you are reading this) you've lost a long-time customer.

Now, back to work!

Weights details:

• 10 minute warmup on stationary bike
• Dumbell Bench Press 12-12-10 55lbs
• HS Seated Rows 12-12-12 180lbs
• Dumbell Shoulder Press 12-10 40lbs
• HS Lat Pulldown 10-10 160lbs
• Dumbell Biceps Curls 12-10 30lbs
• Triceps Extensions 12-12 60lbs
• Ab Crunch Machine 15-15-15 125lbs

7km LSD, Stingrays at the Zoo

On the last day of the "vacation" (in quotes because it was not that exciting, staying in town for most of it and all) I managed to get another morning run in prior to taking the family to the Toronto Zoo for the day. I dragged my ass out of bed at a little before 9am and hit the streets with little motivation. I felt week and tired, on top of which the temperature was already up with high humidity and no wind to speak of. It was really tough starting to move after a 10 minute warmup walk, but I had no desire to push myself today so I kept the Garmin showing only the distance and heart rate. My plan was to stay in the mid 140's, which overall was largely accomplished since I averaged 147, but the last two kilometres or so were definitely in the 150's. My pace was decent all things considered, a pedestrian 6:19/km. The knee was definitely not cooperating for the first 2k and I think it would be wise to call the physio since she's bound to have returned from Beijing by now. I am managing it, but really cannot push myself as long as the pain lingers. I HATE the aging process...

As far as the Zoo goes, we had a great day. I am a big fan of the yearly family membership, otherwise days like today would seem like a bit of a waste of money. We didn't really see any animals, but we played at Splash Island for a while (this is a huge splash pad complex that is a big hit on hot days like today both with kids and parents), got some treats for the loin-fruits, took a couple of rides on the Zoo Mobile, and saved the best for last - Stingray Bay! I did not bring the camera, and regret this oversight. This temporary exhibit let us pet the thirty stingrays as they swam around in a large tank about a foot or so deep. There were 25 Cownose Stingrays and 5 Southern Stingrays. These fish are so cool, and soooooo soft! At first you think that they are a bit slimy, but that is not the case. They are also very sociable and playful. One Southern Stingray (which are bigger then the Cownose Stingrays, about three feet across) kept poking its head up out of the water right in front of us, and then would splash us with one of it's wings (flippers?)! It was awesome! Owen loved it, though Malcolm was a little scared. Definitely worth the price of admission and negotiating the long lines. If this exhibit comes to your local zoo, I highly recommend going. Also a bonus, I didn't interrupt any orgies either on my run OR at the Zoo.

Hope everyone had a wonderful, safe, and sexy Labour Day weekend!

Garmin don't lie:



The google image of my route.