Friday, February 27, 2009

Wonky Ankle - yes. Wonky Data - maybe.

Today started out like a potentially great day for running home from work. When I left the house in the morning with the boys it was +9C! Very warm indeed. When I went out to grab some food for lunch around noon it was still very warm. Then, mid afternoon or so, I decided that I needed to get a quick haircut and once again ventured out. This time there was a bit of a bite in the air and it was definitely getting colder. The forecast said it would not start to get cold until the evening, but I guess the weather had other plans. By the time I split for home on my run it was -4C, and windy as all Hell!

My Garmin has more trouble getting a satellite signal downtown than at home, on account of the tall buildings I suspect, and I nearly froze standing there waiting for it to let me start running. I know, this can't be a completely healthy addiction, but I can't justify running without the statistics offered by my Garmin.

Anyway, as I set off I was frozen solid, and I guess I started running faster than intended. The first split of my 7km run registered at a much too fast 4:30. The second was also too fast at 4:50. Then I got a stitch in my right side (just like last Friday on the way home) and had trouble keeping pace and staying warm. The wind was really strong too, and on this third kilometre I was running straight into it for a while, finishing the split in 5:42. Once the stitch went away I was able to maintain a decent pace for the rest of the run with my splits coming it as 5:12, 5:19, 5:21, and 5:08. My average pace for the entire run was 5:09/km and I completed the 7km in 36:04.

I question the accuracy of the stats that my precious Garmin produced today since I don't think I am able to run that fast at the beginning and maintain a low heart rate (which averaged 126bpm for the first kilometre and 142bpm overall). When looking at the maximum speed attained I definitely think something wonky was going on. Take a look at the splits (this time in imperial units, for my American friends):



Can I seriously believe that I was able to run, for even a second, at 29.5mph? Ummmmm, I don't think so. Garmin must have been fooled by all the glass towers that I had to run between at the beginning of my trek.

In any case, the run was damn cold, but relatively easy. I now look forward to the long run that awaits on Sunday which will be 18km in length. Also, I passed the 100km mark for the month of February, just barely, coming in at 100.5km exactly.

And lastly, another milestone of note: this is my 200th post! I guess this running "fad" is not such a fad after all. Here's to another 200 days of running and blogging, for that will not only mean that I am still alive and kicking sometime in September or October, but also running!

Garmin don't lie, though it may sometimes stretch the truth.

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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

5km Descent

Thanks to all who left advice on what worked for them as far as hydration and such on my last post. I think I will try the Gatorade powder mix and go from there, perhaps moving to the gels and gu when my runs become long enough to warrant it. I still find it weird that I used to be able to train for 6 hours each day without ingesting anything during exercise. Grant it, this was in the pool, but I ate a tonne of food each day so I must have been burning a lot of calories. The training wasn't easy either and ran the gamut of aerobic, anaerobic, lactate threshold, VO2 Max, etc. Running can't be that different, but then again what do I know?

Tonight's run was a lot of fun, but it didn't start out that way. As usual these mid-week runs are designed to get in some more mileage in preparation for the long runs that I am doing each Sunday. I try and run easy and relaxed, and just go on feel. At the beginning I was not into it and my pace was nice and slow (right on 6:00/km over the first split). I then began to loosen up and with each passing kilometre it became easier and easier to go faster. My splits kept going down, and my heart rate slowly went up. In the end I was quite pleased at how fast I was able to run while keeping my heart rate relatively steady. At no point did I feel out of breath or winded. I ended doing the 5km in 25:57 for an average pace of 5:11/km (or about 8:12/mile). My average heart rate was 140bpm. The last kilometre I was flying (at least by my standards) and completed this lap in 4:20, which translates to a pace of 6:59/mile. I hit the sixes and I didn't even know it!

It's fun to run fast, that's for sure. During the last part of the run I was really into it and didn't stop to see who it was when I heard someone say, "Vava?" as I passed by. I can't figure out who it could have been, but it was kind of neat to have someone recognize me and to surprise them perhaps because me running, and at a decent pace, is still pretty out of context for most people who know me. (Boy, what a horrible sentence! If you can decipher it, then I am impressed. It might help to read it with a teenaged attitude, like you know?!) The best part is that on a night like tonight I feel that I could run even faster, but maybe that's just my brain trying to write cheques that my body can't cash. Whatever the case, it was a blast.

Garmin don't lie.

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Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Newbie To Hydration, Oldie to Swimming

Not much to report today really, just a “business as usual” kind of day. I swam at lunch for a total of 1500m in my usual time of 22:30, and it was fine. My left shoulder hurt a bit from the allergy shot I got just before going swimming, but nothing to worry about. I would have probably swam another 500m, but I had to get back to work and didn’t have time.

Speaking of not having time, today just didn’t work out to go headphone shopping. I also have to buy some Gatorade powder or some such thing for my long runs now that they are well over an hour in duration. This is uncharted territory for me and I know absolutely nothing about powders, gels, beans, gu, bars, or any other such thing designed to keep you going long and strong. I guess this will be a trial and error type of thing until I come up with something that works for me, but I must admit that I do not look forward to the process in the least. Therefore, my plan is to start by mixing a pretty dilute Gatorade and water solution since I find Gatorade on its own way too sweet. Is there something other than Gatorade powder, or a specific type of Gatorade powder, that is recommended? I’m shamelessly looking for advice on this since, as explained, I KNOW NOTHING!

This evening I also did a bit of a routine of strength training (or a fair representation thereof) using a yoga ball and some exercises that I took from the RunnersWorld website. It was ok (situps, pushups, squats, and chinups), but I lacked energy. I'll try to do something strength related twice a week as that part has been suffering lately in favour or running.

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Monday, February 23, 2009

Recovering Nice'n'Easy

No, I'm not dying my hair or anything (but whatever did happen with that Nice'n'Easy hair goop? I don't think it ever was nice or easy, but I'm also not sure why I think that. All I know is those ads used to bug the hell out of me cuz they were on all the time, the model's hair always looked awesome, and I always suspected that whoever was endorsing this product wouldn't actually be caught dead using it. Then again, most ads bug me...). The nice'n'easy refers to the recovery run that I did tonight. Two weeks ago, after my fist ever 12km training run, I ran 3km to work the stiffness out on the Monday evening and it was not easy. My legs felt like lead, and it was pretty much just a "get it over with" kind of thing. One week ago, after my first ever 14km training run, I ran another 3km recovery jog on Monday evening and things felt better, but it was still a matter of being stiff and getting the blood flowing.

Tonight, after yet another milestone as far as training runs go (16km yesterday morning) I set out on a 4km easy jog to, once again, work out some residual stiffness. However, my legs didn't feel very stiff at all and so this little run was a total blast: short, easy, and easy on the brain. I did it in 22:15 for an average pace of 5:33/km, which is way faster than my other recovery jogs. In fact I kind of negative split this run without even trying: 5:55, 5:43, 5:19, and 5:16. I was listening to some Traveling Wilburys (yeah, bring on the "old" jokes! I'm a big Dylan fan, and the others are decent musicians in their own right, so that Volume 1 thing is still relevant, in my opinion.) on the much underused IPod and didn't notice the time pass by. It really was quite effortless! The average heart rate was 143bpm, right in that 75-80% zone.

The thing that I have to get is a good pair of headphones since I think music will be a good thing on my increasingly longer runs. My ears don't seem to work with any earbuds that I've ever tried, and I've tried a lot, so I have to get something else that will stay on my head properly. Does anyone else have this earbud problem? I am always envious of runners that can just wear any old earbuds that came with their MP3 player and have them snug enough that they never fall out. Are my ears that different or something I wonder? Anyway, I have to find something that's not too heavy or big, that works for running with all of its nuances (sweat, etc.) so any advice would be much appreciated.

Garmin don't lie.

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Sunday, February 22, 2009

16km - And Another One Bites the Dust

Another long run, and along with it two more personal milestones: longest training run and total weekly mileage.

I didn't manage to get out as early as I would have liked, but it allowed my wife to go for a nice 5k so that made the wait worthwhile. The snow that delayed our return from skiing yesterday amounted to little more than a few centimetres and the sidewalks promised to be in decent shape for my run. My wife said that she found a few spots where the footing was not very good, so I knew I'd hit a patch here and there on my way.

I set off at a nice easy pace at about 10am. It was sunny, a little bit windy, and about -1C at the time. I wanted to run nice and easy, and I had a water bottle with me strapped into that hip thingy that Owen won. It took a few kilometres of running before I figured out a suitable solution: strap it pretty tight right around the hips to prevent it from falling down or riding up and bouncing all over the place.

The 16km took my 1:27:25 to complete and there were some nice stretches and some rough ones along the way. At about the 5k mark I thought to myself that there was nothing I'd rather be doing since the running was going so easily. I hit some pretty bad snow between kilometres 7 and 9 and even had to run behind, and eventually pass, a sidewalk snowplow at one point. I'm not sure what that thing was accomplishing, but it wasn't dropping any salt and sure didn't seem to be plowing any snow either.

Probably the toughest stretch of the run came toward the end, and really that's no revelation. After 12k it was all mind over matter as my legs began to tighten up and started feeling really heavy. There were a couple of pretty challenging hills to traverse, with one really steep section at about 13.5k that kicked my ass. The last couple of kilometres were tough but I was glad to finish strong. My overall average pace was 5:27/km, which is almost ten seconds faster than the average pace of my previous two long runs. I don't think I was pushing too hard on the pace, and I wasn't watching the Garmin while running for anything other than distance, but I notice that my heart rate could probably have been a bit lower. The average was 155bpm and I think it would have been better in the high 140s. Perhaps next long run I will pay a bit more attention to this.

In summary, this was the longest training run I've ever been on and it pushed my weekly mileage to 31km, also a record.

Garmin don't lie.

I'm also experimenting with the MapMyRun thing. Not sure if I like it yet, but I'll give it a chance. It allows for more accurate elevation readings than the Garmin, which seems to be all over the place and I really can't rely on it.

Update: The MapMyRun image seems to take forever to load, and I don't like the way it looks anyway so I am changing things up a little bit. The reason why I still like putting up an image of my route is because I like looking back on my routes and as they grow in number it will make it easier for me to pick where I want to run rather than having to map it out every time. Anyway, I'll try this for a while.

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Saturday, February 21, 2009

Almost 15km on Skis

Today was the last day of the Jackrabbits program for the boys at Hardwood Hills and even though it was a bit chaotic and somewhat disorganized the boys had fun:



Each got a few little prizes, and Owen even won a water bottle belt thingy that his Dad is sure to borrow for tomorrow's 16km run! SCORE!!!

After a morning where I watched the boys and pretty much followed them around while they had fun I got to hit the trails in the afternoon on my own. Since my poles started disintegrating last weekend I was forced to use my wife's today. They were a bit short, but at least the massive amount of wax I caked onto the bottom of my skis made for some awesome grip! The downhills were not very fast, but I was flying uphill for a change. I ended up doing 14.8km (hiergo the almost 15km in the title) in 1:30:54 for an average pace of 6:07/km. This is a pretty good clip for me when on skis, and I must admit that I was pretty happy with my cardio improvement since the last time I went about this fast when cross country skiing my heart rate was a lot higher than the 145bpm average that I managed today. As the season for skiing comes to a close (and I hope we can get out a couple more times, but our weekends are quickly filling up with other activities) I look back on some great fun with a fantastic cross training bonus from all the skiing we were able to do.

Garmin don't lie.

We got out of there a bit late as well and got stuck in the snow storm that was predicted for the city. The trip took us an extra hour and a half, and now we're all beat. It will be interesting to run that 16k tomorrow through all the white stuff!

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Friday, February 20, 2009

7K Home from Work

Had a great run home from work again today, though it was super painful at one point. This rarely, if ever, happens to me but at about the 2k mark I got this massive cramp in the right side under my ribs. It really slowed me down and I contemplated stopping and letting the pain subside for a bit. I didn't end up stopping and managed to change my breathing pattern enough to make the pain slowly go away. While it was going away it moved to the left side, but mercifully never became as intense. I was carrying a fairly full and large backpack with all my work stuff in it, so maybe that can explain the stitch, but somehow I doubt it.

Anyway, after the cramp went away I was able to get back to a nice pace and finished the run strong. I managed the 7km in 36:05 for an average pace of 5:09/km. My slowest kilometre was 5:30 (thanks for nothing, Mr. Stitch!), while my fastest was the last one, which ended up being 4:37. It's kind of intimidating to think that even at that pace I would not BQ! I'd have to run 4:36/km for the entire marathon in order to qualify, and that really puts the whole Boston Qualifying accomplishment in perspective. Naturally I am not in line for this achievement, but it was fun to run almost fast enough for a whole kilometre.

Garmin don't lie.


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Thursday, February 19, 2009

Back in the Pool

Last week I wrote about my issues with the beast, commonly known as the University of Toronto, and how they all of a sudden decided that I was no longer a student, making my regular lunch time swims at the Athletic Centre impossible. Thanks for the heads up, dumbasses!!!

Well, I've gone through a week of being bounced from the Graduate Services office to my Faculty and back again just to find out that, indeed, I am no longer considered a student and, therefore, my membership at the athletic centre was inactive. It turns out that they are refunding me half my tuition (for the Winter term), which is nice of them and all, but then they will charge me, in a separate transaction, a "balance of degree fee" that is about $300 more than the refund I am so generously to receive! What a Fruitin' joke!!!

Today I decided to go back to the pool and buy a membership as a 1st or 2nd year alumni, which entitles me to a reduced fee. You can imagine my surprise when I was informed that I was not eligible for this reduced membership fee since technically I won't "graduate" until June, and so I have to pay a different alumni fee, which is more than the 1st or 2nd year alumni fee (where I should friggin' fit in since I JUST FINISHED!), but at least a little cheaper than the "anybody off the street" fee. My question, which resulted in a stonefaced dumbfounded look on the three robots behind the counter, is how can I be considered an alumni when I haven't technically "graduated", but not a 1st or 2nd year alumni when their own system tells them that I just finished my last course in December?!?! Naturally, they came up with zero by way of explanation. The best I can come up with is that you can be considered an alumni by this fine institution even if you drop out (probably so they can send you letters begging for money), but when you "finish" is only determined by the School of Graduate Studies and their confirmation of convocation.

AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!

Long story short, I paid for a 4 month membership, rented a "non-student" locker (and had to move all my crap for fear of them cutting my lock within seconds, a warning the robots were quick to administer), and swam 1500m in 22 minutes.

The other upside of the membership is that I will have access to this fancy new outdoor race track when the snow melts, where I will be able to do some speed workouts when I get to that point in my running plan. It should be soft and cushiony to run on this:

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Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Sloppy and Slow 5k

Tonight's run was performed in by far the worst footing of the entire winter. All day it had been either snowing or raining, so by the time I got out at about 8:30pm there was a solid inch of slippery crap on top of everything. Coupled with the steady rain that was falling it made for the slipperiest (is that a word?) conditions of my long, illustrious (ahem, ahem...) running career.

As the title suggests, this was a slow slow run, and I was just glad to get the 5km done without spraining an ankle. I finished it in 31:28 for an average pace of 6:17/km, but that really doesn't matter. The heart rate thing was once again puzzling as my Garmin indicated that my ticker was beating in the 150s at the beginning of the run before finally settling into what I think is the more accurate mid 130s. As per the kind advice of Melanie and Marcy, I will have to check to see if the battery inside the chest strap thingy is corroded and/or call the Garmin folks to get an explanation. It is weird how it seems to eventually settle into what I think is the right reading. Tonight I made sure to get the sensors a bit wet and everything!

And I've crossed the 100km barrier for the year! Small victories, people. Small victories, but victories nonetheless. (I just wanted to put three words together.)

Garmin don't lie.


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Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Registering and Planning

I've decided to change my original plan and register for the 5k during the Ottawa Marathon Weekend races in May instead of the 10k. I figure that variety is a good thing, and my time from this race will also allow me to better use the FIRST Run Less Run Faster program to train for the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in September since all of their training paces are based on your best 5k result (I find this a little puzzling because throughout the book they keep repeating that the 5k is the worst predictor for marathon finishing times, for obvious reasons). I also think that running a 5k will be a blast - just giv'r and it's over so quick!

Also, I reworked my training plan based on a Monday-Sunday week. I've always thought of weeks as starting on a Sunday and ending on a Saturday, but apparently running plans do not view calendars the same way I do. Now I have a training plan that is taking shape for the entire calendar year based on this more acceptable convention. If all goes well I will run over 1600km this year, which translates to just over 1000 miles. That will be a good milestone for sure on top of any racing achievements.

And lastly, I am rethinking my original goal for this year (that being to run a sub 45 minute 10k). Now that I am trying to (slowly and carefully) increase my mileage I can't concentrate on both distance and speed all that much as that would likely lead to more injury. If I happen to run that fast in one of the two 10k races I've signed up for, great! If not, I won't worry about it since it is more important for me to run healthy and long this year. I'll think about my goals a bit more, but it's looking more and more like my main goal will be to finish a marathon and not to run fast(ish) in a 10k.

Oh yeah, my wife has registered for the 10k in Ottawa, and I've also registered Owen in the Kids Marathon (which traces the last 1.2k of the marathon route and lets the kids finish in the same spot as the main event, making for some exciting times to be sure). This should be a fun weekend for all of us, though it is still a bit of a ways off.

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Monday, February 16, 2009

Recovery Run on Family Day

Today is Family Day in Ontario, a new holiday that started last year. It's a bit of a weird one since some people, like my wife, do not get a day off, but I still took advantage of it and ran a quick and easy 3km to recover from yesterday's long run. My legs feel better after the 14k than they did after last week's 12k, but I wanted to do this short recovery run anyway since I think it helps to work the stiffness out better than sitting around doing nothing. It was -7C and sunny, and I ran pretty slow, which was the point. It took me 18:52 to do the 3km, for an average pace of 6:17/km. The heart rate is not worth talking about since the Garmin was not behaving properly - it was telling me that my heart rate was in the 150s as soon as I started the run! Come to think of it, the same thing happened yesterday when I reached my max of 185bpm at the very beginning of the run. I wonder if the battery in the chest strap is dying or something? Does your Garmin do this to you, and what is the solution?

Garmin don't lie.


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And lastly, here are the boys on the boardwalk at the Beaches yesterday afternoon. It was a beautiful day and, as I said before, I will include this venue in my running in the future:

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Sunday, February 15, 2009

14km - Another Record

Today was yet another milestone for me in my brief running "career". I went out for a 14km run, which is 2k longer than my previous record set last Sunday. I mapped out a route using Google Pedometer that took me down to the Beaches, a wonderful part of Toronto that is nice to visit for us, but way too pricey to ever actually contemplate living in. There's a great boardwalk down there, and though I didn't end up running on it this time I will definitely incorporate it into future excursions.

The run was pretty good, all things considered, though I must admit that the motivation was lacking for some strange reason. It was a weird feeling actually - a part of me was very into the run, or at least the satisfaction that I knew would come with completing it. Another part of me was having real trouble with the whole getting out the door, and the distance was a bit daunting too. I finally told myself to just start running and not think about it too much, and that did the trick.

The first half of the run was pretty easy and it was either flat or downhill. Perhaps that's why I was having reservations, for what goes down must come up, right? Anyway, I am still amazed how much ground one can cover in 14km, and it will be pretty cool to be able to run clear across the entire city and back when I work up to those really long 30k+ distances. The second half of the run presented me with a lot of hills, a couple of which were quite steep. The second half of the Around the Bay 30k has a big hill in it, so this type of thing will be important to do in preparation for that race. The hills slowed me down, naturally, but I recovered better than expected and in the end I managed the 14k in 1:19:01 for an average pace of 5:38/km. My fastest kilometre came in at 5:19 (the third one of the run and down hill for sure) while the slowest one was 6:02 (up hill, and the only one that went above 6:00 pace). The average heart rate was still in the 140's at 149bpm, and the max was a pretty high 185bpm thanks to one of the hills.

In sum, the run was great despite my waning motivation at the beginning. It was sunny, not windy, and pretty decent temperature at -6C when I started. By the time I finished I think it was closer to -2C. I ended up taking the boys down to the Beaches in the afternoon for a few hours because it was so nice out and we had a great time throwing rocks in the water and such.

Garmin don't lie.


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Saturday, February 14, 2009

X-Country With Just One

This morning my alarm went off at 6:30am and I must admit that the motivation to go cross country skiing was lacking. However, I didn't feel right just letting Owen's last lesson go without a try so I woke the little guy up and without too much struggle the two of us were on our way, minus M&M since the other little one was still much too sick to go.

The weather was just perfect for skiing - sunny, -6C, and not windy at all. Once Owen was set up with his gear and off with his class I hit the trails, this time choosing the 15km "Lillehammer" option. My wax was working OK on the sunny spots, but was almost useless in the shade - I guess the temperature difference was enough to affect my skis that way. I still had fun, though one of my poles kind of broke about a quarter of the way into the run up by the handle and I had to jimmy rig a knot to keep the strap on the pole the rest of the way.

I managed the 15km in a relatively decent (all things considered) 1:42:18 and my average heart rate was 135bpm, qualifying the whole thing as a good cross training workout. The last 4 or 5 kilometres were super hilly and made for a good workout, though I thought I'd be late to pick Owen up from his lesson and got a little frustrated for a bit given the whole wax and pole situation. In the end I made it back at a minute past noon and crisis was averted.

Garmin don't lie.


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Tomorrow I have a 14km run on tap, which will be the longest ever for me. If things work out according to plan I should be setting a new record every Sunday until the end of March as I prepare for the Around the Bay 30k. Also, last week was my highest mileage week ever as well at a measly 27km, but I figure we all have to start somewhere. That too should be improved upon every week for the next little while.

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Friday, February 13, 2009

Freakishly Flexible Five K, for Non Runner Nancy

Just a short report since the respiratory nastiness is raging on in our household, with fevers, coughs, phlegm and such to keep us busy. After spending the day at home with the sick wee ones I was determined to get to this 5k in honor of Non Runner Nancy despite the fact that my throat is now hurting and I've started coughing.

It was chilly tonight, but otherwise quite pleasant for running at about -5C. I could have picked a less travelled route, but decided to run along the main streets (in particular the Danforth, which gets super busy on Friday nights given all of the greats restaurants and bars to be found there) and so I had to navigate a lot of pedestrians. Pretty much all of these fine people were quite nice and we navigated each other respectfully, though I was forced to run left and right in a serpentine fashion quite a bit. It was fun though.

I managed the 5km in 24:34 for an average pace of 4:54/km, or about 7:50 - 7:55 per mile I guess. I had intended to run a lot slower, telling myself that I was stupid to run any faster than 5:30/km pace, but I guess the added motivation of running a virtual race for a fellow flexible runner currently suffering and not able to run put a little bit of jump in my step.

Nancy, if you are reading this, I hope you get better soon and good luck!

Garmin don't lie.


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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

7K Between Sick Kids

The last couple of days have been a little rough on the young'uns in our household as both boys got hit with respiratory nastiness. On Monday Owen got a fever and a major cough that had him down in the dumps, and home in bed, all of Tuesday. Today he was still nowhere near better, and the fever hit Malcolm overnight. Mon and I traded off the parental duties (after she bore the brunt of the lack of sleep during the night) and I stayed with the kids in the morning while she went to work. At lunch she came home soaking wet from biking in the rain (we had record temperatures and are currently under a massive rainfall warning) and I headed off to work.

An hour or so after arriving at work Mon called to say that Malcolm was having trouble breathing and that she was taking him to the pediatrician, so stand by for more news. I continued to work and then a couple of hours later another call, this time it was Owen on the cell telling me that they were heading to Sick Kids Hospital emergency on the orders of the pediatrician and could I meet them there. Of course I could, and it is lucky that I work just down the street from the Hospital.

Malcolm was seen by a very nice nurse and doctor and he was administered some medication. We were told to go out for a walk and dinner and to come back in an hour and half or so. Well, we decided to take Owen home since he didn't need to suffer through hours of waiting in emergency, and since I had planned on running home from work I hit the streets while Monica drove the boys.

With all of that it would have been easy to be down, but the run was absolutely great! The city was blanketed in a thick fog and it wasn't actually raining while I ran. I didn't have my backpack either as I had shoved it in the trunk of the car so I was traveling light. Needless to say I went a little faster than I'd anticipated. My legs still felt a little tight from upping the mileage a bit over the weekend, but they loosened up pretty quick and the run felt really easy overall.

I managed the 7km in 36:54 for a speedy (for me at least) average pace of 5:16/km, which translates to a little under 8:30/mile. My last two kilometres were the fastest of the lot, 4:58 and 4:57 respectively, which in per mile terms hovers somewhere near or just under the 8:00 mark.

Well, when I got home I jumped in the shower, scarfed down an omelet that Monica kindly whipped up, and then Malcolm and I headed back to the Hospital. In the end the poor little guy was diagnosed with a bad case of the croup, had a mist mask thingy put on to breathe in for a while, and eventually discharged with careful instructions for us as far as symptons and such. As I listen to him sleeping and having trouble breathing I can tell you that I am still one worried Dad, but I hope that we don't have to make a return trip to the emergency department tomorrow.

And now I must get some sleep myself.

Garmin don't lie.


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Tuesday, February 10, 2009

The Behemoth Rears its Ugly Head

It was bound to happen, but somewhere in the back of my mind I was holding out hope that the University of Toronto would, in this instance, put the student first. Instead, when I arrived at the Athletics Centre and attempted to swipe my student card to gain entry the overzealous lifer behind the counter became all agitated and directed me (commanded is the better word in fact) to, "Go speak to someone at the Office! The computer shows that you are not a member! You are NOT a member!!!"

I felt like replying, "Lay off the amphetamines, buddy!", but didn't and went to the Office to discover that, indeed, I was no longer considered a student even though I'd paid Athletic Centre fees up until the end of this semester as part of my tuition.

With nothing else to do, and no backpack to carry the stuff I still have stored in a locker for which I also paid (this time as a separate fee) until the end of the semester, I decided to call on the School of Graduate Studies to see if there was any recourse available that may allow me to continue swimming until May. Yet again I was faced with an automaton whose sole responsibility seems to be to regurgitate the policies of mother ship UofT, which she did very well by the way, and for which she must be commended. (This institution never ceases to amaze in its ability to produce cookie cutter human byproducts in an endless stream of potential staffers as most of their employees on the administrative side seem to be former students who, for some strange reasons, find it appealing to remain indentured servants of UofT.)

Anyway, I have to go back at some point and run the gauntlet of robots stationed strategically at the entry to the gym in order to get my swimming stuff out of that locker, or decide to pay an extra fee and continue to swim a couple of times per week to support my running. I think the swimming is key for me as it provides for great cardio workouts without any impact to my wonky legs, but I am loath to pay any more money to this University for the very thought instantly brings on the bitter taste of bile. Of course, should I choose to keep my money out of their coffers I will then have to find another way to cross train, preferably during the day on my lunch break as this has been most convenient and leaves my evenings open to spend with the boys.

And on a lighter note, how much do you think this fool likes his candy?

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Monday, February 9, 2009

Short and Easy

Tonight was the first time I ran back to back, so it was appropriately short and slow. I didn't get to head out until almost 9pm, and the dinner sitting in my stomach worried me a little even though the plan was to go for only 3km and as easy and slow as possible. After a burp here and a belch there, I managed to run around the neighbourhood in 19:14 at a nice recovery pace of 6:24/km. The heart rate barely cracked the 140bpm mark (though it seems to have spiked up to 146 at one point, and I don't think the racoon that jumped out in front of me at one point was to blame) and averaged out at 130bpm. The legs felt a bit heavy, but that was to be expected. I must admit that it hardly seems worth it to go out for such a short time and distance, but it all adds up in the end I suppose. I think back to my early attemps at running in the Fall of 2007 when I would jog for 15 minutes and think that was an accomplishment! Boy was I out of shape then...

Garmin don't lie.


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Good Good Good, Good Vibrations

This morning I’ve gotten a great vibe from the running blogger world. I don’t know if it is the weather (which was wonderful for most everybody over the weekend) or what, but it seems like everyone is running well and having a great time! Congratulations to everyone, in no particular order:

First, and this must go at the top of the list for obvious reasons even though I said there would be no order, to N.D. and her husband on the birth of their baby boy Nicholas. Like she said, this beats any medal from any race!

Then for some amazing running from these fine folks that keep me inspired:

BeachRunner for his first over-an-hour training run!

D10 for pulling off a great HM as a training run!

Flyers26 for going from cold to hot and running at a pace that amazes me!

Andrew for his longest ever training run, with great pictures too!

Aron for fighting through a tough first half of a 14 miler, and then kicking some major butt on the way back!

Felice for fighting through some downs to find the positives in her running again!

Marci for an amazing 7 miler at a pace that I can only dream of!

I'm sure I missed lots of other great accomplishments, but I only have so much time to read blogs right now as duty calls. Congrats to all who had a wonderful weekend of running - 2009 promises to offer all of us some great race reports I think.

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Sunday, February 8, 2009

A Long Run - At least for me...

On Friday I tried commuting by foot for the first time (running home from work). Today I once again tried something new - running across the city from my house to my Dad's place. The knee has been feeling better and better, and even though it is not yet 100% I am convinced it was my lack of attention to hip flexor strength that (once again) precipitated this problem. On another note, the plantar fasciitis is also not gone, but continues to improve. Perhaps that too is linked to my hips?

Anyway, I had planned on a longish run today, and the distance from my house to my Dad's seemed like a perfect venue. The weather was perfect - temperatures just above freezing, clear blue skies, and sunny. The first half of the run was easier than I'd anticipated, though I had to navigate the traffic on the Danforth and was forced to run among the cars a few times. At about the 6k mark the run ceased being easy and my heart rate started to climb while it became increasingly difficult to maintain the same pace. I was running faster than the slow'n'steady 6:00/km pace up until that point, but now I began to wonder if I was going to get to the finish at more than just a stagger.

I used google's pedometer to check the distance and it was about 10k, a couple short of the 12k that I wanted to run. At the 8k mark I had a decision to make - head straight for my Dad's and be satisfied with 10k, or turn uphill towards St. Clair Avenue to add the extra 2k by looping around. I decided to do the latter and headed uphill. Interestingly, this didn't spike my heart rate as much as I thought it would, and also had the added benefit of giving me a kind of second wind once I got to the top. For the last three kilometres I felt great even as my legs started tightening up. I have a long way to go to be able to complete 30k, but I think a run like this is a good milestone. After all, it was the longest training run I've ever done!

Long story short, I manage the 12km in 1:07:20 for an average pace of 5:36/km. My average heart rate was 153bpm, a bit higher than I'd like it to have been, but I never felt winded so I think this was OK.

Garmin don't lie.


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Saturday, February 7, 2009

A Warm Day of Sluggish Skiing

Cross country skiing is a wonderful cross training exercise, though it's been a few weeks since I really pushed myself when doing this activity. Today we headed up for some skiing and I was able to once again hit the trails with my wife while my Mom took Malcolm for his lesson. The weather was just a bit above freezing, which felt balmy in comparison to the other Saturdays when we've been faced with temperatures in the negative teens. As a result the snow was super slick and our attempts at finding the right wax were not exactly successful. Even a fellow skier's offer of the use of his wax in the middle of our run did not produce the desired result. I think the spirint of Saint Slippy, the patron saint of crappy grip, was with us the entire time. So, I didn't exactly push myself or anything.

The lack of grip didn't get us down or anything, but it did make for slow going (except on the downhills, where we felt out of control on more than one occasion). In the end I only managed 10km in a sluggish, but fun, 1 hour 14 minutes.

I had the option of going out again in the afternoon, but decided against it since I didn't want to over stress the knee, which has been feeling better and better despite the two runs I had this week. I will do some more stretching, icing, and hip flexor strenthening stuff tonight since I think those are really helping me. In fact, I think I will try and run from my house to my Dad's tomorrow for dinner, which I think is about 12k though I have to verify that with Google Pedometer.

But now, it's time to make dinner for the little guy (the other little guy is enjoying winter camp away from home with his Mom), do the whole bathtime and bedtime routine, and (of course) play with him a bit!

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Friday, February 6, 2009

Running Away From Work

I tried something new today: running home from work. I don't know why it was as much fun as it was, but this was the best run I had of the year. It wasn't particularly long or fast, but the weather was sunny and just below freezing, the sidewalks were clear, the knee felt good, and (probably a major factor) I was running AWAY from work!

Now, I actually enjoy my job quite a bit so this was not as much fun as it might have been had I been running away from work I really didn't like, but it still brought a smile to my face. It also felt pretty cool to be commuting by foot. I'd like to do this more often as it will allow me to increase my running mileage and serve a very practical purpose at the same time. I just wish my office building had shower facilities or I could conceivably run to and from work.

The run worked out to be exactly the distance called for in the running plan - convenient. I left the office a bit earlier than normal (Owen and Monica were heading off to spend the weekend at the Beaver winter camp so I needed to be home early anyway) and started my run at a little after 4pm. The sky was clear, the wind a little chilly, and the conditions pretty much perfect for February. I did the 7km meandering from the downtown core towards home and navigating the fairly heavy pedestrian traffic in 39:20, which translated to an average pace of 5:37/km. This was a bit faster than I wanted to be going, but I really didn't pay attention to the watch while I was running. My heart rate average was 144bpm, so I still was in the easy zone. As I mentioned above the knee (once again taped up) felt good, and wearing a backpack stuffed with work clothes and such didn't really pose too much of an encumbrance.

In short: I had a blast!

Garmin don't lie.


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Thursday, February 5, 2009

Customer Service Please

I missed my lunchtime swim today because I spent the entire hour on the phone with my mortgage company trying to opt for an option that (to me) was clearly written in the contract and should have been granted without hassle. Unfortunately, this was not so clear to the company that offered it and the bulk of the time was taken up with discussion how one sentence was to be interpreted. Long story short, we got what we believed was our right to have as per the contract we'd signed, but I missed swimming.

Tonight I made up for it a little by doing some push ups and sit ups (45-55-35-30 and 4 sets of 50 respectively), some more hip flexor stuff, and stretching. The knee still hurts, and I am icing it and all that stuff, but I might try something new tomorrow: taking my running gear to work and running home!

Of course, that all depends on how the knee holds up. At least it's supposed to be getting warmer, which will be nice.

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Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Trying Out Some Tape

On the way home I stopped off at a pharmacy and picked up some sport tape. Last September, when I was suffering through a bout of runner's knee on the left side, I went to the physio and was told that I could use taping as a means of providing relief from the pain (as long as I did the hip flexor and butt exercises to take care of the actual problem). Well, I never tried this back then, but tonight I decided that it might be a good idea if I was to test the knee on a short run.

The first thing I did was to shave a 4 square inch patch right under the knee cap because I remember the agony of pulling off the tape that the physio had put on showing me how to do it. Then I applied the tape and it was amazing how much relief this offered instantly! My current ailment is at the stage where I don't feel any pain when I walk, even down stairs, but I feel a twinge when I tighten my quads and pull the knee cap up as high as possible. Well, once the tape was on even doing this didn't hurt at all.

So, with the knee secured, I headed out into the -13.3C temperatures to test myself on the road. I intended to run an easy 5k, but it actually ended up being 5.5km in 34:46 for an average pace of 6:19/km. My average heart rate was 136bpm, definitely in the "easy" range.

At the beginning of the run I must admit I had my doubts about getting the whole thing done. The knee felt a bit weird and I think I was compensating way too much for this, changing my natural running form in the process. As the run progressed I decided to just run on feel, though that was not easy to do *. I tend to over think the whole running form thing a little bit and perhaps that is doing me more harm than good. I want to be able to just run like a kid, not worrying about anything except moving forward from point A to B. This may never happen, but I will give it a shot.

* Of course, it was particularly difficult to run "on feel" tonight since my pants kept falling down! I couldn't find the belt that I usually use to hold up these things and decided that they'd probably get caught somewhere on my hips and not slide down too far. Boy was I wrong! I guess I have no hips, which may help to explain the lack of hip muscles. It was all I could do to keep the sweat on my...

Ummmm... On second thought, let's not even go there and just say that it was freezing cold out.

Garmin don't lie.


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Catching up

Boy, it's been a busy few days on my end and I am behind on the blog reading and writing. Since blowing a tire on the highway on our way to Ottawa we had a nice weekend of spending time with family and skating on the canal. Also, I caught up with a friend from my grade school days, who now has a three-month old baby boy and was brave enough to meet up with us for some skating in -14C temperatures on Sunday morning. Her little guy slept through the whole thing, nicely sheltered in a stroller!

The world's longest skating rink was nice and solid on account of the cold and we had a great time! There was no lack of space either:



We also hit a great bead store on Bank Street because Owen wanted to make a necklace for his granny as it was her Birthday. The necklace turned out awesome, though it was a bit tough for the little guy to choose the beads he wanted given the massive selection (and this picture captures only a fraction of what was available):



I took Owen back out on the canal on Monday morning as well to get some more skating in before hitting the road back home. There was one last piece of pie left from the weekend and (for some strange reason) someone (who will remain nameless) decided to pack it in a Ziploc bag for the trip back home! If you've never enjoyed a bag of pie, you've never really lived:


Monday evening proved busier than I'd anticipated as another old friend of mine, this time from my undergrad days, called last minute that he was in town from the west coast on a last minute business trip and could we get together? Unfortunately he was staying in the west end of the GTA, about a 45 minute drive in a part of Mississauga that I find completely devoid of any redeeming qualities, and it didn't make sense for him to stay with us for it would put him too far away from where he needed to be the next morning. I drove out to see him anyway and we had a good time catching up over dinner.

Then, on Tuesday, I was back at work and got in a lunchtime swim: 2000m in 30 minutes. I also did some chin ups (8-8-8 pull and 8-8-8 chin) and a few hip flexor things. I haven't run in over a week, but am thinking of heading out tonight as the knee seems to be pretty much pain free except for one spot right at the bottom of the kneecap where it hurts when pressed. Anyway, it's supposed to be freezing tonight, but I'd like to make it out for a short run and hope that it happens.

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