A Strange Trip

Today was a strange day indeed. We were originally going to go cross country skiing and then head out to Ottawa after lunch. Instead, after checking the weather forecast, we decided to forgo the skiing on account of the snow that was supposed to be coming in, and head straight to Ottawa. The previous plan would have called for us to drive all the way using small single lane roads which were unlikely to be very clear should the projected snow begin to fall.

Anyway, we started off at about 9:30am and everything was going great until about two hours into the trip. All of a sudden I started to feel this strange vibration from the car and wasn't quite sure what it was. I slowed down a bit, but that didn't do anything. In fact the vibration got worse. Just when I was considering pulling off the highway to see what was up the rear tire on the driver's side lost all air pressure - busted!

So, there we were, on the side of the 401 in -15C and tonnes of traffic blasting past us with a flat. I got out of the car to inspect the damage and here's what I saw (although this picture was taken long after the incident, you can imagine my surprise at the condition of the tire when it was still on the rim):



Not sure if that picture does it justice, so here's a closeup:



The thing completely disintegrated, as you can plainly see.

Well, it was not too much fun putting the miser on with traffic blowing past us and freezing cold. We, of course, had to unpack the entire trunk to get to the miser and then pack it back up to get on the road. I was so cold that I even forgot to tighten the lugnuts on the miser! Luckily, I realized this fairly quickly, pulled over again, and finished the job none the worse for wear.

We then drove (slowly) to the nearest town (Trenton) and had the tire replaced at the Canadian Tire (for those not in the know, this is a store that is as Canadian as hockey and can be found in pretty much every community throughout the country). The service was great, we had lunch and the car was ready by the time we returned.

Now we're in Ottawa and tired. It is time for dinner and then chill out for the rest of the evening. Tomorrow we'll be skating on the Rideau Canal!

Keeping the Faith

This afternoon I was contemplating yet another skipped run (in this case tomorrow's) on account of the knee pain as well as the technical and logistical issues that would inevitably arise with me trying to transfer this blog to my new domain. As far as the run goes I think it is likely off since my knee is still not well, but the website was a pleasant surprise. I thought that the process would take days and a lot of wrangling with tech support to get everything from the old domain to the new. In the end the fine folks at Stormweb made the whole process easy as pie. (Now, I've never baked a pie from scratch, but making one using one of those frozen ready-made crusts is pretty easy indeed!) If anyone is looking for reliable, affordable, and helpful hosting services check out this company - you won't be disappointed.

Anyway, as you may already see, the old wonky domain now redirects to this slightly less wonky one. For those who come and read my blog on a regular basis I very much appreciate you taking the time to do so and hope that you will update your readers to the new address. Your continued support is in no small way responsible for motivating me in this running and general health endeavour, especially through all the aches and pains that seem to continually plague my inferior skeleton.

As far as running goes I choose to think positively about my knee ailment, which kept me from running last night. This is a typical case of runner's knee, where I feel the pain right in front just under the kneecap. I can run through the pain, and in fact as I warm up it goes away, but I know that this is not a good thing to do so I am staying off of it right now. I may even have to skip tomorrow's run, with my next one hopefully planned for Sunday when we are in Ottawa.

With all that in mind, I managed to do some other exercise related stuff yesterday evening. I did some push ups (45-55-35-50) and sit ups (50-50-50-50), as well as a bunch of hip flexor stuff that I should have been doing all through December. Stupid me! It was the perfect time to get my core in shape for my return to running, and now I am paying the price. Oh well, live and learn. I still have lots of time to prepare for the Around the Bay race at the end of March (or at least I keep telling myself that I do).

Today I managed another lunchtime swim. As mentioned previously it is getting more and more difficult to stay motivated for these sessions, but I know that as long as my legs keep me from running as much as I would like the swimming will at least help to keep my heart in some semblance of "shape". I managed another 1500m in 22:30 and then had to get back to work on account of the all popular conference call for which I'm sure you all share my affection...

Tonight, in between folding clothes and flipping channels on the TV, I did some more chin ups: 5-5-5-5-5 pull ups and 6-6-6-6-6 chin ups. I don't know when I will ever get to 20 in a row, but for now I have decided to pay more attention to my legs. When my knee is better I will get into doing lunges and squats on top of doing the hip flexor and ass strengthening routine.

Changes are afoot...

I am in the process of changing my domain name, which is wonky like my ankle, to www.wonkyankle.ca. Everything here will (with some blood, sweat, and tears) be transferred to the new domain sometime soon and I hope to give a heads up to all readers as to when they should update their readers and such to the new URL. I apologize in advance for any pain in the ass "404 error" type messages that may result as a consequence of my technical ineptitude and deficiencies!

On the running front, I am not going to run today. We are in the middle of yet another snowstorm, and my knee is not pain free. I will take tonight off (as much as shoveling snow can be called "off") and see how it does over the next day or two.

Getting Poked and Pricked

Yes, I know. The title doesn't sound very lovely, but that is what I was subjected to this morning as I went for the second of seven allergy shots and for the bloodwork that the Doctor ordered as part of my annual check up. I am not a fan of needles, but understand that they are a necessary evil. With respect to my allergies, the immunotherapy has been a major help. The bloodwork I could do without, however. It kind of makes me feel like they are stealing, seeing those vials fill up with the blood that my marrow worked so hard to create. I'll piss in a cup anytime, they can have that liquid for free, but shouldn't I get a cookie or something for my blood?

With that done, and feeling suitably violated, I managed to get to work a bit late and then (finally!) eat something after a 12 hour fast. (I'm such a lightweight when it comes to abstaining from food, I'll admit it!) I did make it out for a lunchtime swim at least, but due to the fact that I had less time than I would normally have I only managed 1500m in about 22 minutes and had to get back to work. Still, I've so far managed pretty well with getting in two swims a week since September, and I'm sure that will help with my running as I venture into my first full season of racing.

Tonight was more hip and ass exercises, and I am still feeling the runner's knee on the right side so I might have to (regrettably) skip the planned 5k tomorrow, but we'll see. I really have to stop feeling guilty when I miss runs due to aches and pains, but find this very hard to achieve. As a competitive swimmer I NEVER missed a practice, no matter what. Sick, hurt, tired - nothing mattered. I made it to all workouts all the time. Now that I am no longer in that competitive world I really have to stop thinking the same way...

But a tiger can't change his stripes, and I was born in the year of the tiger...

I also did some chin ups: 5-5-5-5-5 pull ups, 5-5-5-5-5 chin ups. The quest for 20 in a row has stalled in a major way, but someday I will get back to it.

I'm Committed

Today, on the last day that this cheap bastard could still take advantage of the savings available by registering for a bunch of events at the same time, I committed myself to four running races here in the Big Smoke. They've been listed in the sidebar for a while, but now I can go ahead and put "registered" beside them! The four I chose are:

• Toronto Sporting Life 10k (May 3)
• Toronto 10 Miler (July 19)
• Toronto Waterfront Marathon (September 27)
• Oasis Zoo Run 10k (October 17)

Naturally, given that I've never even come close to the distance in a week's worth of training, I reserve the right to downgrade to the half marathon in September without shame or regret...

Whatever happens, this should be fun. And hey, even though I spent almost $200 I saved $20 for registering 4 events at the same time! I don't really get the logic of spending money to save money, but I'm not going to question this right now. Legs don't fail me now! (or for the next 10 months)

Speaking of legs, my hip feels like Rocky's face at the end of Rocky I (or any one of those movies, for that matter), but there is no sign that I even fell. Then again, it doesn't really feel like anyone caked copious amounts of cheap makeup onto my ass, but it just hurts. The knee is sore after yesterday, but I think it was more the 4 hours of house cleaning rather than the 8k. I may have to skip Wednesday's run if it continues to hurt.

Tonight I did some other stuff:

• Push ups: 45-55-35-30 (why is it so hard to keep doing the max set???)
• Sit ups: 50-50-50-50
• And a bunch of hip and ass strengthening things that I've neglected for far too long.

Weekend Recap - Skiing, Falling, Running

Saturday: A freezing and not exactly fun day of cross country skiing. It was -19C, sunny, and (by all accounts) should have been fun to go skiing, but it simply didn't work out that way. One of the reasons for this is that the wax on my skiis was not working, despite the fact that I specifically chose one for this temperature and spent the evening before cleaning and preparing our skiis. The uphills were hell, and even the flats were tough going since there was no grip with which to push forward. I set out on the Sochi 12km trail, but cut off the last loop and managed a pathetic 10.7k in a terribly slow 1 hour 22 minutes. I also fell a couple of times on my left hip on account of the rock hard, frozen snow (no way to dig the edges of my skiis into this ribbed concrete like substance when transferring from one set of tracks to another at trail merging points) and my general lack of equilibrium. It hurt quite a bit at the time, especially the second time I fell on it, and definitely hurts today.

Sunday: Despite the hip I decided that this bruise was not going to derail my plans for a run. It was -10C and sunny, and as I found out rather windy, as I headed out for my planned 8k. I wasn't sure how the hip, or the knee for that matter, would react and I was ready to bail if these started to hurt too much. In the end the run went ok, and I was relatively pain free. At about the 3.5k mark I ran past a park where the boys were supposed to be sledding with Mon, but they had already bailed by then. As I started up Broadview Ave. I found out why - it was WINDY as hell! The wind blew right through me and I was chilled despite the fact that the hill also spiked my heart rate up into the 150s.

Overall, it was a fun run though. I managed the 8k in 47:45, for an average pace of 5:58/km and heart rate of 144bpm. This was right on target for what I want to be doing at the moment, and that made me feel good - I didn't speed up on account of the cold simply to get the run overwith and to warm up!

Garmin don't lie.


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A Suprise Run in Daylight

This afternoon I had a but of a surprise as my manager was kind enough to offer us a mid-afternoon start to the weekend, so I got on my bike and headed home for a run in the daylight, which is a rare treat on a weekday. It was above freezing outside, though the evening would bring cold temperatures, and that too was a good thing to avoid. The snow/rain that was forecast for the afternoon never came and the sidewalks were relatively dry and clear, save for a few pretty big puddles that I had to jump over.

After my experience on Wednesday, where I ran a bit faster than I should have, I decided to really keep a close eye on my pace and stick to the intended 6:00 per kilometre. I was hoping that this would also allow me to run pain free in the knee. After feeling that twinge on Wednesday I felt fine, but I still didn't want to push it.

I managed the 6k in a time of 35:38 for an average pace of 5:56/km, right on target. My fastest kilometre was 5:51 and the slowest was 6:00. It's pretty hard trying to stay on a specific pace when running fairly slowly I find, especially when navigating all the pedestrains on the main streets. I find the elderly the hardest (with the dim witted couples in the early stages of courtship taking up the entire width of the sidewalk as they giggle in anticipation over slobbering on each other later in the evening coming in a close second), though they seem to fall in one of three categories: 1. the completely oblivious (don't see anyone else, don't care, just moving along), 2. the bitter (scowling at me as I run past, and likely at everyone else), and 3. the friendly (smiling at me as I run past, and likley at everyone else). I like the last ones the most as they are aware of their surroundings and curteous enough to get out of the way, all with a smile and a neighbourly nod.

Anyway, the run was fun. I didn't get to do any push ups or sit ups since I was busy watching a movie with the boys while Mon went out for her run, then cleaning and rewaxing our skiis, then preparing food for tomorrow, and now getting ready to do some much needed stretching. Tomorrow it's supposed to be -21C in the morning, and a high of -19C (which I think is about -2F) for the day, which will make for a freezing cold day of skiing. We'll see how much skiing will actually get done with the boys, but I am hoping to get at least one good trail under my belt.

Garmin don't lie.


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The Thrill is Gone

It seems that the novelty of swimming a couple of times a week at lunch has come and gone, and I now am faced with the prospect of talking myself into going through the routine of getting to the pool, changing, showering, jumping in the water, swimming, getting out,... you get the picture.

However, I DID talk myself into it, after I had an unexpected visit from my younger loin fruit! He was downtown with his Mom on an appointment close enough to my office building that they decided to drop in. It was very cool to see him in this context, and he entertained the entire staff for a while until we pretty much had to force him to leave. He wanted to stay with his Daddy! Aaawwwwwwwwww!!!!!!

Anyway, the swim was OK, as far as those things go. I decided to just go until I could go no more or I hit 2000m, whichever came first. The first 400m went by nice and easy, though by the time I got to 500m I was beginning to doubt my ability to go non-stop for another 1500m. It wasn't a physical thing, more mental for sure.

But I did do it (2000m) and it took me 30:30, so that means I averaged 1:33 per 100m. Man, I am so slow compared to my younger competitive days! Of course, back then I used to swim twice a day, 7000-8000m per practice! I must have had a screw loose...

The other thing I should mention is that I felt a twinge of runner's knee in the right leg last night after my run, so I'd better stay on top of that an get back to working on my weak hips and ass... The foot is status quo, not getting much better, but not getting worse either. I think I have to just keep taking it easy.

Cold Gone, Still Cold

Feeling well enough to run this evening I set off for another slow'n'steady 5k right after getting home (since the rest of the family had not arrived home yet, I figured what the hell!?!). Although the snot has tapered off and I only went through half a box of tissues today, I definitely had some more energy. And even though the temperature outside is warm by the standards set over the past two weeks (-7C when I took off), it felt colder somehow, probably on account of the damp air that's hanging over the city right now. It took me a while to get warmed up, and that perhaps explains my inability to stick to the prescribed pace...

This was evident on my run, though I didn't realize it until I plugged the Garmin into the computer and saw the details. As you know, my plan has been to keep the pace in the slowish 6:00/km range (9:40/mile). Tonight I managed the 5k in a faster than intended 27:59 at an average pace of 5:35/km (8:59/m). My fastest kilometre was 5:17, and the only one that was on target was the first, which I managed in 6:05. I guess I have to watch the watch a bit more for more than just heart rate (average: 142) and distance...

Garmin don't lie.


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Now I am feeling up to doing some push ups and sit ups. Although I am in the middle of the sets here I feel confident that I will do the usual routine before signing off for the evening.

Push ups: 45-55-35-30
Sit ups: 25-25-25-25-25-25

Boy, it is nice to be running again!

Cold in the Head

Last night was supposed to be an evening spent doing push ups and sit ups, but I was not up for it. Seems that I've contracted another cold - nothing serious, but I had absolutely no energy at all. It's hard to listen to your body when your ears are (or at least feel like they are) clogged, but I did the best I could and went to bed early. I think it's all that public transit I've been forced to use recently on account of the snow and my bike being on the fritz. At least now I'm giving back what I've been given as I stuff myself onto the subway train mere inches from all sorts of seemingly healthy bipeds.

Today I woke up feeling not so great, but good enough to go to work and fit in a swim at lunch (and continue to spread the love via public transit). I was going in with a plan to swim 1500m, but also would cut it short if I started sucking chlorinated water. In the end I did do 1500m - 5X200m on 3:00, 5X100m on 1:40. As an added bonus, the water cleared my sinuses a bit. No such luck with my general snottiness clearing out the slow arsed swimmers from my lane though...

Perhaps tonight I will feel up to doing some other exercise related stuff, but I'm not counting on it. I am planning an easy 5K tomorrow and don't want to miss that.

Catching up on a great weekend of skiing and running

Not much time to write a lengthy post, so I will just be brief and update what I did as far as exercise goes...

Saturday morning was freezing when we piled in the car at 7:45am, a nose hair stiffening -17.4C (I think that's right around zero on the "alternative" scale...). We were layered up and ready for some x-country skiing.

My Mom came with us and she took Malks for his class, giving Monica and I a chance to hit the trails together for the first time this season. We chose the Sochi trail, which I did last week. It was a fun and decently tiring 12 kilometres.

After lunch Owen wanted to try the 8k Nagano trail with me, so off we went, this time with my Mom joining us. Unfortunately, the little guy was pretty tuckered out after his two-hour class and didn't make it very far before saying he was ready to head back. We managed a slow 2.7 kilometres together.

After dropping Owen off at the lodge, I was able to hit the trails on my own and I chose the Nagano trail since I figured 8 kilometres was enough after skiing 15k up to that point. This was a tough go for me as I totally ran out of gas at about the 3k mark, absolutely no strength left in my arms and I was totally sucking air. I did manage to finish the 8.5 kilometres in about 51 minutes, and the total for the day amounted to 23.3K, a couple more than the Half Marathon!

Needless to say, when we got home I was totally wiped. Luckily we missed the snow that was starting to fall as we drove home...

Which brings us to this morning. We woke up to about 15cm of snow on the ground, and decided to get out there to shovel it as a family, then head out to a local restaurant for breakfast. If shoveling snow can be fun, this was and we managed in good time and spirits.

After dropping the boys off at their grandfather's place for the afternoon, Monica and I hit the snow-covered sidewalks for our run. The going was slow and sloppy, but we managed the planned 7 kilometres in a slow'n'steady 49:16, translating to a slushy pace of 7:01/km.

And that completes my weekend of working out. Now I have a LOT of laundry to do!!! (and some football to watch...)

Garmin don't lie.


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Nuts for Sanity

Is one nuts if one, upon learning of an extreme cold weather warning, takes off early from work just to get a 5k run accomplished in -15C weather before going to get both kids from two different schools? Well, if that makes one the proud owner of a questionable mental state, then I guess I'm headed for the asylum. (I just hope they have a place to run!)

Yes, -15C and I was out there! It was great. I have to say that I enjoy cold weather running quite a bit, certainly way more than wet weather running. The footing is not good and all that, but it kind of makes it seem like trail running in that I have to watch every step and change my running pattern accordingly.

Anyway, I managed the 5k in 29:40 at an average pace of 5:56/km. This was a bit faster than I should have been going, as my aim is for 6:00 kilometres or slower, but given that I was not watching the Garmin and felt pretty easy. I didn't have a chance to stretch right after given that I had to take a quick shower and then rush to get the boys, but I hope this doesn't mean I will feel anything achy or strainy. Tomorrow will be a cold cold day of skiing, but I still look forward to a good workout that gets the blood moving and works out any kinks left over from this evenining.

Garmin don't lie.


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I also did some push ups and sit ups tonight: push ups were 45-55-35-30, and sit ups were 25-25-25-25-25-25, all while watching The Jungle Book with the boys, one of our favorite movies.

Keeping it all in...

Today, it was pointed out to me that I might be revealing more about myself and my family in the pages of this blog than I might want to. You see, I work in the world of privacy and am very much aware of what the pitfalls are and where they lie with respect to subjects such as identity theft, profiling, data mining, etc. However, as I've carried along with this blog my general cautiousness has slowly eroded to the point where I perhaps am faced with a re-evaluation of the purpose for which this thing was started in the first place: track my progress in running. It's been a great tool to keep me motivated and accountable, and I don't want to lose that element. But I also like the whole journal element, where I can look back and see not only what I was doing on a particular day exercise wise, but also what was happening in general.

As such, I am wondering how others out there feel about this subject? I've found that I enjoy blogs that have a personal element to them more than others and this may be the reason why mine has "loosened up" a little bit. At the same time I don't ever wish to place my family in a compromising position as a result of my hobby. Not a lot can be gleaned from any one post, but when one puts all the posts together a terrific (and perhaps terrifying) amount of information is there for all to see. (In a barely related matter, I seem to have received my first hit from South America, the last continent, not counting Antarctica, to join the party. Person in Peru, welcome! And who is that in the middle of the Pacific, west of Hawaii? And while we're on the subject, who's up there by Hudson Bay, most likely freezing their asses off?)

Anyway, I will have to think a little bit about this and see what happens. As a first step I am considering registering a domain name specifically for this blog and keeping everything related nice and tidy, ready to be eliminated and/or shut down at a moments notice. Then I might just have to stop with the family stuff...

Enjoying the Cold

Today was another cold day in the Big Smoke - a crisp -19C this morning! When I went out this afternoon for my lunchtime swim it was -13C and I have to admit that it felt absolutely perfect. It's all about perspective I suppose. It also looks like it will be about -13C on Saturday when we once again venture north for some x-country skiing and I wonder how that will feel. Isn't it funny how the same temperature can feel nice in one context and really not pleasant at all in another?

I had extra motivation for swimming today as well - I had received a couple of emails from UofT stating that I would have to move my locker by the 16th or they would have to cut my lock and move the contents for me on account of some maintenance that would be happening in the area directly above my locker. Now my new locker is in a shitty location, down low by the floor with no bench in front of it and far away from the showers. Oh well, at least I still seem to have access to the pool.

The swim went OK, though my shoulders were tired. I did 5 sets of 200m on 3:00 intervals, and then 10 sets of 100m on 1:40, making sure to come in at least on the 1:25 and getting a 15s break. It was easier on the brain to break it up into sets I found, rather than doing the whole 2000m straight.

Tomorrow I hope to venture out in the cold for another 5k run, and then do more push ups and sit ups before getting everything ready for skiing on Saturday.

Free At Last

I've been sequestered in a room with a bunch of others going over an RFP for the past two days, but now my section of the review is over and I am free so I thought I'd post a quick update...

On Monday I did some more push ups in an effort to keep that going and have decided to keep doing Week 6 of the plan. Though I didn't do the max set this time I managed 45-55-35-30 for a total of 165. Then I started some sit ups just to see how that part of my body is doing and managed 6 sets of 25. I am contemplating that 200 sit up challenge, but we'll see if that happens. Right now I'm keeping an eye on my foot in hopes that I can keep running...

Yesterday I did NOTHING! (Well, now that I think about it, I did a few sets of 25 sit ups while watching a movie, but I didn't keep track of how many. I think three. Not really worth mentioning.) Oh yeah, the weather forecast had called for a snow storm as well, but that never came. I ended up not biking as a result of that and just missed the bus after dropping Owen off. I ran for probably over a kilometre to catch that bus a few stops down the road in my boots, and it felt OK though I was concerned about the foot. It doesn't seem too bad today so I guess I dodged a bullet there.

That brings us to today. It is C-O-L-D here! -21 Celsius, or -5 Fahrenheit for our American friends. I didn't bike to work on account of the cold and the sober advice of my lovely wife, but would like to try and go for a run this evening. We'll see if that happens. While waiting for the streetcar I did see one person out running, so it's definitely possible.

An evening update:

I braved the chilly weather and made it out for my second run of the year. It was fun, even with the -13C (9F in American) and the frozen slush all over the sidewalks. I'm happy to report that my slow and steady plan was in full force as well: 5K, 33:12, for an average pace of 6:38/km. Pedestrian yes, but I was out there!

Garmin don't lie.


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Afterwards I did some more push ups and sit ups. No max set, but the push ups went 45-55-35-30 (total=165). Sit ups were 6 sets of 25 (total=150), trying really hard to maintain a slow pace and proper form. Nice burn in the gut was had for sure!

Baby Steps

The weather people forcasted "less than 1cm" of snow overnight, but we got a lot more than that! After shoveling the boys had a great time playing in the snow (though my photography skills leave a lot to be desired...):

After that I attended to many chores (cleaning both mone and Monica's bikes, fixing the front brake on mine which had seized from all the snow and salt, laundry, etc.). Not too exciting, and after a bit I was getting bored. My legs are pretty sore from yesterday's skiing, but this kind of pain is what I believe we all live for so I am happy. In response to the Happy Runner's question posted in the comments after my announcement that I'd accomplished the 100 push up challenge, my muscles feel fine. Since I was getting close to the century doing my max sets and didn't have to rest and try and have a go at it I really feel no different. I think I could have done the 100 a while back, but decided to keep trying to achieve the goal as part of the training plan rather than trying to focus on it as a separate thing.

Anyway, as I was saying I got bored this afternoon and decided to take my first steps towards getting back into running in over a month and a half. I headed out into the cold and snow not knowing what to expect, but I kind of thought of a 5k or so as a return, nice and slow of course. As I ran I felt pretty good and kept on testing the foot, where I still feel some discomfort. I think as long as I go really slow and focus on gradually building up the mileage at the expense of speed my foot will be OK. I think it was a combination of the wrong footwear and trying to run fast that lead to this injury, and now my goal is to run slow and steady and (eventually) long.

In the end I was having a great time but cut my run a bit short given my proximity to the house at the 4k mark. I managed 4.25KM in 26:12 with an average pace of 6:10/KM. Not bad for the first trial run of the New Year! It feels so good to be able to get back out there, and I am trying not to get my hopes up about running in general in case I have a setback, but I very much enjoyed this tiny run, snow and all.

Garmin don't lie.


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A Great Day of X-Country Skiing

Cross country skiing is very quickly becoming one of my favorite activities. We spent another terrific day with the boys enjoying the great outdoors and the Canadian winter, and on top of that I got a great workout. Who could ask for more?

The day started early as we prepared for the longish drive up to Hardwood Hills. We arrived at 9:30am with plenty of time to settle in, get the boys equipped with rental skis, and get Owen to his 10am class. Monica then went off on her own and I took Malcolm to his lesson, which is parent assisted. We had a great time playing games like basketball and soccer with skis on, singing songs, drinking hot chocolate, and then practicing going up and down little hills. At first Malks was a bit scared and I had to straddle him and keep him up while we went down hills. After a couple of tries he let me ski beside him, holding just one hand while we glided down. At the very end he did the smallest of hills all by himself and I was so proud of him! He was very pleased with himself and couldn't wait to tell Monica his "secret", making me promise that I wouldn't tell her first. Owen also had a great time, and his skiing is getting so good, as I would find out later on. I haven't been bringing the camera, but really have to change that since they are so cute on their skis!

After lunch it was my turn to go off on my own and I decided to try the 12km "Sochi" trail this time. All the trails are named after the host cities of recent Winter Olympics. Last week I did the "Nagano" trail (8k), the week before that it was "Torino" (5k). Again, I brought along the Garmin for the ride and it was definitely a good workout since my heart rate was almost immediately in the 150s, finishing with an average HR of 159bpm. The total was 12.21km, which I completed in 1:11:37 for an average pace of 5:51/km. Not bad for a newbie! Most important of all it was a total blast.

Garmin don't lie.

Here's the satellite image of the winding trail:


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Afterwards I met up with the gang and Owen was really excited to go with me on the "Nagano" trail, so Monica went off with Malks and I hit the trails again. It was slow going here and there, but Owen has really learned a lot in two lessons. His technique has gotten so good that he even got more than one compliment from adult skiers who passed us on the trail. In the end Owen was quite bushed so we cut off the last loop of the trail and ended up doing 7.3k in about 1hr 50min. Amazing for a 7 year old!

I'm too tired after all that activity to think about what I will do next now that I've accomplished the 100 push up challenge, but I have to find a way to keep doing push ups. It's amazing how many muscles are required to do proper push ups, especially when one gets up into high numbers and sets. I must get back on the chin ups since that is also a great compound exercise, and my abs have been neglected for too long. On top of that I have to start doing some leg strengthening as well, though the skiing is definitely a step in the right direction as far as getting all of the muscles working. It really is an amazing sport and I would totally recommend all runners to try it out if you haven't already.

I Did It!

What else is there to say?

Sets: 26-26-33-33-26-26-22-22.

Max: 100! Total: 314.

A Busy Day

It was sloppy, wet, and cold today, making it a less than pleasant experience biking around the city. It was going to be difficult to get everything done in time using public transit, so I biked anyway.

It allowed me to swim at lunch. I did 1000m straight and my shoulders were aching something fierce. I then decided to do 10x100m on 1:40 intervals, and that was good except for the Bahama short wearing guy and Mr. No Goggles, both of whom apparently self identify as "fast" and parked themselves in the same lane. Aaarrrrgggghhhhhhh.... The total was 2000m in about 33 minutes, and my lats were pretty close to cramping at the end.

In the afternoon I had to jet on back home, pick up the car (after shoveling out the hard packed snow at the front of the driveway), grab the kids skates, head on over to Rack Attack to get the last piece to the roof rack I bought last weekend, go get Malcolm and meet Monica at the daycare, drive back home to find Malcolm's helmet, head over to the rink for his skating lessons (while Monica was off to get Owen)... I had a good time on the ice with Malcolm, though he is not completely sold on the concept as of yet.

Then, this evening, I spent two hours putting together the roof rack and installing it on the car. We now have a great way to transport our skis, though it was super fiddly getting this thing, which explains the two hours spent trying.

No chin ups this evening since it got pretty late and the whole lat cramping thing, and I have to get some sleep. I'm wiped!

Snowy day to tie a shoe, then shove it in my mouth...

We've been getting more wet snow than you can shake a stick at, and it looks like some back breaking shoveling is in the cards... Given that there's nothing more annoying that your shoelaces coming untied when you are in a groove throwing snow off to the side (or running for that matter), I was intrigued to learn that I've been tying my laces wrong my entire life!

Based on this video from RunnersWorld.com I've learned that what I've been doing since I was a little kid is called a "granny knot". Instead, I have to change the last step of the process to achieve the desired "reef knot" for comfort and (apparently) more security. I haven't really had any issues with my knots coming untied, but I'll try and use this better knot from now on and see what happens.

On a funny note, as we were walking our younger one to school this morning we passed by this Ford Aerostar van that's had a sign in the window for months advertising that is is "For Sale - $1000. No reasonable offer will be refused." Of course the only "reasonable" offer for this hunk of junk would be to give it a mercy killing, but that's another story. Anyway, as I passed by this van I commented to Monica and Malcolm, rather loudly since they were behind me and we were all wearing hoods/hats on account of the snow, "You wanna buy this crappy van???" As I finished the last two words, I passed to the far side of the van and noticed that it's current (unlucky) owner was standing there, and could totally hear what I had said! I felt a little bad, but in the end I figured this guy knew his van was crappy. No offense to any 1996 model year Ford Aerostar owners, but seriously - you can't claim that this is the pinnacle of automotive engineering or quality, can you? Also, if anyone had passed by our shitty Volkswagen Golf before we upgraded it and called it out, I probably would have laughed and agreed with them.

Tonight's push ups: Week 6 Day 2, and I was hurting! Perhaps it was the swimming, or the chin ups, or maybe the shoveling of the heavy and wet snow... I don't know, but I did not feel very strong tonight. I managed the sets OK (22-22-30-30-24-24-18-18) but was not looking forward to the max set. I completed a painful 75, but it was not pretty. The total was 263.

Also on a bit of a strange note, my ankle (the wonky one) was really hurting this afternoon. I didn't do anything that I can think of to it, but around late afternoon the outside above the ankle joint just started to ache like you wouldn't believe. I hobbled between streetcar and bus, and then home. I even did some shoveling (as mentioned above), but the pain was just awful. (My wife forced me to go inside and then, by a stroke of luck, a couple of teenagers came by and asked if they could shovel the driveway for some cash! Who knew that teens can sometimes actually be useful!!! $13 later the driveway was done - nice going Monica!) It doesn't feel so bad right now as I write this, and perhaps it was only some sort of a cramp, but I wonder what the hell is going on a little. We'll see how it feels tomorrow I guess.

Back in the Pooldle Again

First, I want to extend a belated congratulations to "the Dude" at The Longest Run who has completed a full calendar year of running at least one mile EVERY SINGLE FREAKIN' DAY! Unbelievable!!! Can't wait to see what he'll choose as his challenge for 2009. I really hope that continuing to run is in the cards.

As for me: Yup, the first swim of the year! I wasn't sure if they would let me into the gym (since the University of Toronto's School of Graduate Studies says I graduate the moment I finish my last course and, therefore, the tuition I paid, which is enough to last me through the Winter and Summer sessions of 2009, is no longer valid. I paid a full Athletic Centre fee with my P/T fees, so I might fight for my right to use the gym until the end of the semester, but little ole me against the big institution might not be enough to keep me swimming through the winter, at least not at the UofT pool). Anyway, I DID manage to get through the electronic turnstile and put in a solid 1600m. I did a sort of inverted pyramid: 400-300-200-100-100-200-300 and was planning on another 400 to cap out at 2000m but my shoulders were hurting and I had to get back to the office. All told it was a decent swim, and the first one in three weeks. I'm planning on another one this Thursday, especially since I will be working off-site next week and won't be able to get to the pool at all.

On a bright note I didn't feel the customary pain in the bottom of my foot when I stepped out onto the hard tiled surface of the pool deck! This is a sure sign that I am on the road to recovery. Though I an itching to run again soon I will wait a bit more, erring on the side of caution. I want to be pain free for a few days at least before attempting my first run. Even then I will be spending the remainder of January doing a very conservative base building thing, starting with alternating walking and running ala ultra-rookie runner. Also, I am relying on my virtual running conscience in the form of BeachRunner411, who has managed to remain injury free with the wise "slow and steady" method of running, the one which I've tried to follow in 2008 but (obviously) failed to adhere to in a strict and rigorous way as I bounced from one injury to another. In my defense, though, I blame this foot thing on footwear and the inevitable trial and error process of finding the right shoes and not on my lack of conservativeness towards the end of the year. I think that taking all of December off, and then some, goes a long way to winning me over to the "listen to your body" and "look at the big picture" and "you're in it for the long run" stuff...

Also, back on the chin ups thing I did 5x5 pull ups and 5x5 chin ups for a total of 50. It was pretty easy actually, but I didn't want to push it.

Pushing Up

After a morning spent waiting while the "professionals" installed our new hot water tank in such a way as to prevent me from moving the dryer back into it's spot, then waiting another hour plus while they fixed the problem (you'd think that they would figure this stuff out, what with having to do these installs all the time!) I finally made it to work around 1:30. Not a good thing after a week and a half off, but what's one supposed to do?

I stayed late at work to make up a little bit for the lost time, and when I got home I got to the Week 6 Day 1 set of push ups. These went 45-55-35-30 and then a max set where I managed a more than decent 85 for a total of 250. I felt pretty weak actually, most likely as a result of the cross country skiing over the weekend. The most painful spots are the hips flexors though and I didn't anticipate any problems anywhere else. I guess in the end it didn't matter very much as I completed more on the max set than I thought I would.

Tomorrow it's back on the chin ups I think, and I am contemplating getting back to running soon. The foot, although I still feel something there, has reached a point where I now can call it a "discomfort" rather than pain. I am thinking of taking it really easy for the first few weeks, just running short distances (ie. 5k or so) and not faster than 6 minute kilometres (9:40/mile for my American readers). Then if all goes well I can start upping the mileage a bit more in February. I think the cross country skiing will do wonders for my legs as well since that seems to work the hip flexors that running tends to neglect.

X-Country Pics

Just thought I'd post a couple of pictures of the boys from our cross country skiing outing while I have a moment as our hot water tank is being replaced and I am forced to "work from home" for the morning...

The boys getting used to their skis:



Owen already kicking his Dad's ass:

Skiing with the Boys

First, I did some more push ups last night. It was the Week 5 Day 3 section of the plan, and I did OK, all things considered. I must admit that doing the push ups, even though I haven't accomplished the 100 consecutive thing just yet, has been gratifying and has kept me sane while I wait for the foot to let me run again. I will also have to get back on the chin ups workouts too since those were going well before getting sick derailed me for a while. Anyway, the sets went 20-20-24-24-20-20-22 and then I maxed out at 72 for a total of 222 push ups. It was hard, but it was also late into the evening and I was getting things ready for our planned cross-country skiing trip...

That happened today. We left at 7:45am with my Mom joining us in the caravan. Owen and Malcolm are both signed up for lessons that go every Saturday morning for eight weeks, and today was the first day. Hardwood Hills is a bit of a drive away (1.5 hours in total), but it is totally worth it. The trails are awesome!

We had a great time! Owen loved his 2-hour lesson and at the end had the rosiest cheeks I've ever seen. I assisted Malcolm in his lesson and he had a lot of fun, even if he didn't actually learn a heck of a lot. While the boys and I were occupied with lessons, Monica and my Mom went off on their own and put in a solid hour and a half of skiing.

After lunch it was my turn and I was really looking forward to a good (impact free) workout. I picked an 8km trail and was off. The Garmin showed that I am an awfully slow skier, but the heart rate jumped right up to the 150s so I knew I was giving my heart a decent workout for the first time since November. The 8k took me almost 50 minutes to complete and I was totally overheated by the end of this one.

Since Monica and Owen were still not back from their run, and my Mom was hanging out with Malks, I decided to get rid of one layer and hit the trails again hoping to catch up with M&O. This time I picked the shortest trail (5k) and was trying to go faster. The Garmin once again indicated that I am slow as molasses, but the heart rate proved that it indeed was a workout. I completed the 5k route in about 32 minutes and was drenched with sweat. Within about two minutes of finishing, while standing outside with the rest of the family (who had congregated outside by now) I was totally frozen and decided to head in and call it a day. All told it was a great experience and I look forward to the next 7 Saturdays! It was also great to pull the Garmin out of storage and make sure it was still working OK...

The foot feels OK after the skiing, at least better than I thought it would, but I'm sure that I'll feel all sorts of aches and pains in places that I haven't felt before. It's all good though since I think it will only be the good kind of pain.

Garmin don't lie #1 and #2.