A Long Hump Day

Today was the classroom portion of the privacy certification process, with the exam coming up on Friday. The day was full, with the first half going from 8am until 1pm with one short break, and then the second half from 2pm until 5pm. Let me tell you, this exam is going to be more difficult than I expected! At least it's the Canadian version, and not the one for our neighbours to the south. Canada has a more comprehensive (read all-encompassing) legal framework and comparatively fewer laws that I have to study. The American model required 8pt font for all the laws to fit on one PowerPoint slide! (At least that's what it looked like to me.)

Anyway, after all that, and much too much coffee ingested by yours truly, I sped off for home while Mon rounded up the troops in time to take Malcolm to his T-Ball practice. I stayed with both boys for the session while Mon went off to do some groceries (how do you "do" groceries, anyway?). Then, upon her return, I was able to run home. It is rather convenient that where they practiced is almost exactly 5 kilometres from our house, which was the distance I'd planned to run.

From all the sitting and stuff over the course of the last two days my foot was not feeling very good and I didn't know what to expect when I started running. In fact, I wasn't so sure I'd be running today at all. As I started out it felt tight and the bottom, right under the arch, felt like someone was lighting it on fire. I've become accustomed to this feeling, and waited patiently for it to start to subside. As it did I was able slowly pick up the pace. Given that this Friday will be a really late day with the privacy exam and then Owen's tryouts for a "select" baseball team in the evening I will likely not run at all that day (not a bad plan given the race on Sunday) so I wanted to get my legs moving a little bit tonight. I ended up negative splitting each kilometre and felt pretty good for the most part. My heart rate was all over the place, and I think the chest strap was having issues or something. I can't believe that I hit 185bpm in the first part when I was running slow! If that is the case I am in real trouble for the race.

Anyway, here are the splits:

1. 5:40 (9:08/mile)
2. 5:17 (8:30/mile)
3. 5:03 (8:08/mile)
4. 4:51 (7:48/mile)
5. 4:34 (7:22/mile)

The 5km took me 25:27 to complete, for an average pace of 5:05/km (8:11/mile). I won't bother mentioning the average heart rate on account of the monitor snafu described above.

Garmin don't lie.

Short and Sweet

Today was another day that sure felt like summer and I was rather sad to have to spend the entire time planted firmly in a chair staring at a computer screen. I had a lot of work to do since the rest of the week will find me attending two different conferences: one on information management, the other on privacy.

Tonight, after playing catch with Owen for a bit, I managed to sneak out for a short recovery sort of run that in a past life would have felt like a workout, but now feels hardly worth mentioning. I ran a nice and slow 3km at an average pace of 5:34/km (8:58/mile) which took me 16:43 to complete. My heart rate should never have cracked into the 130s, but I felt really sluggish and out of gas the entire time so it actually hit the 140s for a bit. It averaged out to 137bpm, and I suspect that I still haven't totally recovered from yesterday's long run. I have two short runs planned for the rest of the week leading into my 10k race on Sunday morning and I think that this little jog around the neighbourhood will help work the junk out of my legs.

Also, this boosted my monthly total to exactly 100km, which is nice. It's the third month in a row that I've been able to hit that number. If the foot ever gets better I will be able to work my way up to that type of monthly distance in miles rather than kilometres, but that will be a while yet.

Garmin don't lie.

Long Run To Cap Off A Busy Weekend

Yesterday was definitely one of the busiest Saturdays we've had all year. Two baseball games, one that I had to coach, a birthday party to attend by one boy, then a friend coming over to the house to play with the other one, and a coaches meeting for another baseball league. Whew! The weather was fantastic and I did get a bit of a sunburn on my arms. I guess putting sun screen on my face was a good idea, but why didn't I do my arms? It's not so bad, so I'm OK with it.

Today was filled with catching up on things like mega loads of laundry and grocery shopping for the week. In the afternoon the family went to a driving range and had a blast, though I forgot to bring a camera. The boys got some good hits, as did Monica. Me? My irons were going really well, but I totally suck with the woods.

As far as running goes Monica went out a ran a nice 14k this morning, and then it was my turn. I headed out into the wind and wanted to run a bit faster than last weekend's long run. It ended up being a bit of an up-and-down run. When I started off I felt like it was going to be a struggle all the way, then the middle went really well and the splits were flying by nice and easy until the last few kilometres when it once more became really tough. The foot felt tight the entire way, but I've become used to this over the past six months. I wonder just how much time I will have to take off to clear up the plantar fasciitis issue. I hope to make it through to the Fall before taking any time off, if necessary. I'm also considering another shoe switch back to Asics of some sort. The SuperFeet insoles have definitely provided for more cushioning and support, and the exercises I've been doing have helped to strengthen the muscles that support the ankle, but my foot continues to bother me.

Anyway, in the end I ran the planned 15km in 1:19:03 (almost seven minutes faster than last weekend's run of the same distance) for an average pace of 5:16/km (8:28/mile). The heart rate averaged out to be 153bpm, 4 beats per minute higher than last weekend's run. I also included the hill up Pottery Road in this run and it was tough, but somehow not as tough as before. It was my slowest kilometre at 5:38, but not the 6:14 that it took me when I ran this at the end of my 10k two Friday's ago. In short, this was a good long run. Now that I am one week away from my next race the next few runs will be relatively short and I will really try to make them slow and easy.

Garmin don't lie.

Get It In Whenever Possible

My last post spoke of the busy times that have arrived for me and my family, and today was a case in point. After a late night watching the Jays (BTW, they are crushing the White Sox 7-0... wait, make that 8-0 as I write this) I had trouble waking up and so the morning was more rushed than usual. After encouraging Owen to run all the way to the school bus pickup so that we wouldn't be late I rushed to drop my bike off at the store where I bought it for its 6-week tune up. Then I managed to get to work by 9 and had tonnes to do. I did meet up with Mon for lunch and pigged out at an all you can eat Indian buffet restaurant, which was awesome since I was super hungry. Then, back to the bike store, pick up my ride, and rush home to get my running gear (um, 9-0 Jays right now) while Monica was on her way with a birthday present for a friend of Owen's. I got ready in 10 minutes, (um, Jays just scored a couple more and are now up 11-0), even shaving my right knee in order to tape it up, and jumped in the car once she arrived to go get Owen.

Once I picked him up we drove straight north through all the traffic (12-0 now) to get Owen to Chuck E Cheese's for that birthday party. Once he was dropped off I went back to the car to get ready for my run. And that is why this post has that title: I had to fit my run in and this was the only way it would work. The party was in a part of town that I certainly never frequent, and thank goodness for google maps satellite imagery or I might have been stuck running next to 8 lanes of traffic the entire way (White Sox are finally out of the inning after the Jays scored 6 runs), but I noticed a trail that I thought would be worth trying out.

Anyway, I totally forgot the tape for my knee so shaving it was useless, and the rain was pouring down when I got back in the car to get ready. I waited it out for about 15 minutes and then headed out. The one thing I didn't figure on was the elevation I would have to deal with: straight downhill in the first 3k, up and down a bit for the middle, and then (since I was doing an out-and-back) straight up on the way back. My initial plan was to run conservatively, somewhere in the 5:10 - 5:15/km pace range. As soon as I started and hit that decline my plan went all to hell and I was just trying to figure out how to run downhill without killing my quads. The Sporting Life 10k next Sunday will have a lot of downhill running, so I suppose this was good practice. However, by the time I reached the flatter section my left quad was pretty tight and I told myself to just run pretty easy for the rest of the way.

When I hit that trail I was surprised how nice it was. I wish I carried a small camera of some sort because as I entered the trails the rain had stopped and the sun came out. It was beautiful! I saw only three other people along the way and had the place to myself, and there were tonnes of birds chirping and flying about. Robins, a lot of Red Winged Blackbirds, and even some Cardinals. No Blue Jays though. I guess they were preparing to smoke the White Sox in Chicago...

So, long story short I had a good run in the end, even if my quads are sore and all that Indian foot was trying to climb its way out my mouth for much of the time. I actually did learn something about running downhill, but really surprised myself on finding a good rhythm on the uphill too. I really thought that the way back would kill me, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I managed the 10km in 52:11 for an average pace of 5:13/km (8:24/mile), right in the target zone. Though if you look at my Garmin splits you will see that the pacing working out the way it did is a total fluke. I did have to stop for a bunch of long red lights along the way, so I suppose that provided me with some rest, but I actually hate stopping and think it totally breaks my rhythm and usually screws me up. My average heart rate ended up being 149bpm with a max drift at 167bpm.

Most importantly I got my run in on a busy day and evening that threatened to force me to miss it altogether. Unfortunately, the birthday party went so late that Monica was in no mood to go for her run.

Tomorrow is going to be an even crazier day: Malcolm's T-Ball game at 9:45, Owen to another birthday party at 10:45, Owen's first game (and my coaching debut) at 12:30, a coaches meeting for another league at 2:00, and a friend of Malcolm's is coming over to play in the afternoon! Not sure when I will get to eat, or breathe for that matter... (Jays are now up 13-0)

And lastly, I will consider the first 4 miles of this run as part of Marci's Reese's Run. I checked my watch at the 6.44km mark and it read 32:52, so that is what I will submit. Head on over to Marci's blog to learn about this great fundraising event in support of the Arthritis Society of Canada.

Good night everybody! Have a great weekend.

Garmin don't lie.

A Busy Busy Thursday

Today was super busy on my end, but I still managed to get some exercise in. This morning was spent with the younger son as he had an appointment that I had to take him to, and we had a lovely time. It's so nice to just hang out a bit sometimes, even if there is some other stuff that gets in the way. I really should just take a half vacation day here and there when there isn't some other pressing reason...

Then, after I dropped him off at daycare, I sped off to the pool for a swim before going into work. I was one of the first out on deck and got to swim through still water for a few hundred metres before others started jumping in. It was awesome! I managed 1500m in 22:31 and headed off to the office.

The afternoon was also quite busy as things at work have really ramped up recently. I am also studying for a professional certification exam at the moment, so time outside of work is tight as well. On top of all that I had my second baseball practice with the team this evening. It went quite well, the kids were happy, the parents were happy, and our first game is this Saturday.

This evening, as I watched the Jays win their fifth series in a row to start the 2009 season over the Texan Rangers I managed to do the old strength routine. 3X50 sit ups, 3X35 push ups, and 3X8 chin ups. I also did most of the ankle/foot strengthening routine, which I have to post about sometime. It's pretty involved and takes a long time to complete, which explains why I haven't had the time or energy to write about it. Some of the things I have to do are difficult to describe, so a camera and pictures will have to be involved. It will be time consuming to do this post, I can tell, but I'd still like to manage it.

Now, back to reading up for next week's exam.

Back At It

After several days where I've been busy enough, and brain dead enough, not to have anything to blog about I finally have something to post. But before I get to that let me say a few words about that little marathon that took place a couple of days ago in an obscure place called Boston. I watched this race on the web and was riveted the entire time by both the women's and the men's contest. So much drama, and such a contrast between the two. A year ago I would have thought that watching an entire marathon would be akin to the classic "watching paint dry" analogy. Now that I have gotten my feet wet in running it is so much more interesting. Imagine how much more I'd enjoy it if I actually cared who won!?!

Also, I tracked three fellow bloggers as they ran at the very same Boston Marathon and would like to extend congratulations to them. I apologize to those that I did not track and later found out were running the race - next year I will track for sure! But to Frayed Laces for a gutsy effort, to N.D. for a terrific race only two short months removed from giving birth to a beautiful baby boy, and to The Running Laminator for an amazing race I would like to extend my most heart felt congratulations. You guys are truly inspirational! I tracked all of your splits online and must admit that I got pretty nervous waiting for each one to pop up. So glad all of you finished, and I look forward to the stories.

As far as my running goes, I continue to chug along, foot pain and all. I went to another massage therapy appointment and the focus was once again on my hips, with some hamstring work on the right side put in for good measure. Apparently I was quite "congested" in the front of the hip and the MT thinks that releasing this area might help with the plantar fasciitis somewhat, though I can't really follow the reasoning. Something nerve related is what he said.

Anyway, tonight Mon took both boys to Malcolm's T-Ball practice and this gave me the opportunity to go for a run while it was still light out. I planned on going to the track to do some intervals, but as I started running the foot was feeling fairly tight and while approaching the track I made the decision to skip the intervals and simply run more of a tempo type workout. So I headed right on past, all the while thinking how much fun it will be once I can get on that track and do some fast laps around it. Someday... someday...

Other than the foot I was feeling pretty good tonight and was running fairly fast, for me at least. The splits for the run were as follows:

1. 5:19 (8:34/mile)
2. 4:51 (7:49/mile)
3. 4:35 (7:24/mile)
4. 4:30 (7:15/mile)
5. 4:44 (7:37/mile)
6. 4:41 (7:33/mile)
7. 4:33 (7:19/mile)
8. 4:31 (7:17/mile)

The total run was 8km done in 37:49 for an average pace of 4:43/km (7:36/mile). My average heart rate was 155bpm, and I think that's pretty good considering this is the pace at which I ran my 10k PR last year and at that time I was in the 170s the entire way, dying for breath. All told this was a fun run. I think I will slow it down for the remaining runs as I head into my next race, which is now less than two weeks away.

Garmin don't lie.

15k LSD, then the Jays TCOB

It's been a fun weekend, full of great weather and lots of activities. Yesterday I repaired our BBQ, and then Mon went off on a 2.5 hour search for propane. Since last year, when a big propane facility exploded, a lot of the places that used to refill tanks have been closed down as the City does it's safety thing. Many of the other places that do tank exchanges were totally sold out, so I guess we weren't the only ones taking advantage of the summer like conditions to have our first BBQ of the year. In the end, we managed and everything worked out.

Today was back to business as far as running goes and I headed out early in the morning (well, early for me), hitting the road at about 7:30am. I planned on running pretty easy given the fact that my two previous runs were pretty intense and my quads were tighter than they have been in weeks. The weather could have been a little warmer, but it was sunny and clear, not very windy, so I wasn't about to complain. I ran a figure eight that allowed me to run a good portion in the Don Valley and Taylor Creek Park trail system, which was very nice. No cars or traffic lights to worry about.

I managed the 15km in 1:25:59 for an average pace of 5:43/km, or 9:13/mile. My heart rate averaged out to 149bpm, and it only spiked on a couple of uphills. I also walked the long stairs leading me out of the valley and so my 13th split was quite a bit slower than all the rest at 6:47 (10:56/mile pace). It was a pretty good run, though as I mentioned the quads were super tight. Also, my right foot was quite fatigued by the end of it. I'm not running again until Wednesday and I hope the two full days of rest will be good for recovery on all fronts.

Garmin don't lie.



After the run we headed off to see the Jays play the A's in the rubber match of their three game series. The Jays have been surprising a lot of the so called experts, who predicted a last place finish in the AL East for the team. Coming into this game they were 9-4 and boasted one of the best offenses in the Major Leagues. Today's game was not a hit fest, however. Instead we were treated to a pitching duel. The Jays prevailed 1-0 and have now won all four of their mini series to start the season. Their pitching is mostly young and unproven, but so far so good. They will likely cool off a bit in their hitting, but they showed me something today in winning a close game with a rookie on the mound. The boys had a great time as well, and since we got group discount tickets from Scouts Canada we sat pretty close to the field up the first base line. Here are some pictures from our great day:

The boys before the start of the game:



Malcolm likes popcorn A LOT!:



BJ Ryan (aka. "Cardiac Arrest") delivering a pitch in his save attempt:



After the game Owen bought a new ball with his allowance money, and Malcolm angled for a new hat:



Malcolm's game face, with the new hat (scary, huh?):

Spring Is In The Air!

Man what a beautiful day this Friday was/is! Yesterday was almost as nice, but it wasn't a running day. Instead I swam at lunch (1500m, 22:25) and then held my first ever baseball practice as coach of a good bunch of boys and girls in the 5-7 age group. The "practice" was really more of a getting to know the parents and kids kind of thing, but next week will be more about playing the game and learning some skills as we head into the first game of the season on April 25th. By the time I got home my right shoulder was more than a little sore. I think the swimming coupled with all that throwing tweaked something so I didn't do any push ups or chin ups. I did a few sets of sit ups and my usual foot routine (about which I will come up with a post sometime soon, I promise!).

Today was back to running, and all day I was bouncing off the walls to get this run in. Like I said, the weather was amazing - almost +20C and sunny with not much wind to speak of. Also, after my really fun 5k run on Wednesday I was feeling really positive about my running and how my body seems to be responding to all the stretching and exercising that I've been doing. The foot seems to be improving slowly, the hip is no longer an issue, and my runner's knee on the right side is definitely better. In fact I have to hold myself back to make sure that all of those things keep going in the right direction.

After picking up Owen and getting home I hit the streets. My allergies to tree pollen have been kept in check for the past three seasons due to immunotherapy (which I recommend to anyone who suffers the way I used to as a result of pollen) and all I feel is this tickle in the back of my throat telling me that the trees are doing the nasty on account of the nice weather. Reproduce away, I say! Your all out, anything goes orgy cannot keep me cooped up indoors anymore.

I didn't really have much of a plan in place for the run, but after a tough week at work and with the great weather it felt very good to be running. As a result I didn't want to just jog and started off at a nice pace based on feel. Since I've been doing pretty much nothing but low heart rate stuff for a while I have no idea how my body will react to being pushed a little bit. This is why I did those faster splits on Wednesday, and probably why I ran a bit faster than I probably should have tonight.

Here are the kilometre splits (since I do not have the energy to describe them in prose):

1. 5:16 (8:28/mile pace)
2. 4:46 (7:40/mile pace)
3. 4:40 (7:30/mile pace)
4. 4:38 (7:28/mile pace)
5. 4:34 (7:21/mile pace)
6. 4:37 (7:27/mile pace)
7. 4:57 (7:58/mile pace)
8. 5:07 (8:15/mile pace)
9. 5:03 (8:07/mile pace)
10. 6:14 (10:01/mile pace)

Yes, I pushed it quite a bit there for a while and surprised myself with how long I was able to hold a decently fast pace. Laps 4,5, and 6 in particular were pretty much out of this world for me, all in the 4:30s per kilometre. Again, not that I am deluding myself into thinking that I have a shot at it, but this is how fast I would have to run for an entire marathon to come close to a BQ standard for my age group. (Scary!) In the seventh kilometre I hit a bit of a rut in the form of a side stitch, which slowed me down considerably. I also ran straight into the wind for kilometres 7, 8, and 9, making it really tough to pick up the pace even after I was able to force the side stitch to dissipate. Then, as I was nearing the end, I realized that the last kilometre would include (should I choose to take on the challenge) a significant hill in the form of Pottery Road. Basically, this presents a steady, fairly steep incline that goes for a half-kilometre before starting to level off. Needless to say, as you can tell from my last split, it was really tough and shot my heart rate up to 179bpm at one point.

In the end, however, I am very pleased with this "tempo" run. I managed the 10k in 49:55 for an average pace of 4:59/km (8:02/mile). My average heart rate was 165bpm, which was fine, but definitely high for a tempo run by a few points. All that being said it was gratifying to be able to break 50:00 even with that slow last kilometre on account of that hill (and my running out of gas). My next run in a planned 15k on Sunday morning and I will have to force myself to go really slow on that one so that my body has a chance to recover from the last two speedy runs.

Garmin don't lie.

A Relatively Speedy 5K

I've been running slow as molasses recently, so tonight I thought it would be fun and interesting to push the pace a little bit. The plan was to do something resembling intervals going fast a kilometre here, slow a kilometre there, and so on.

It was beautiful weather today, and when I got home the temperature was still in the low teens (Celsius, that is, for the other would mean it was extremely cold). If anything I totally overdressed and should have simply gone with shorts and t-shirt, leaving the sweatshirt at home. I regretted my mistake as I started to overheat within the first third of my run.

I decided to just have fun and run on feel for the first kilometre. At the end when I heard the Garmin beep I was pleasantly surprised to find that my first split was 4:51 (7:48/mile pace). I picked up the pace for the second kilometre on account of the interval plan thing and managed to complete it in 4:21 (7:00/mile pace). I then slowed down since my heart rate had gone up to 171bpm and managed the third split (I'll call it the recovery split) in 5:10 (8:20/mile pace). Then I really wanted to push it a bit on the fourth split, and let me tell you it hurt. Definitely overheated on this one, and reached a heart rate that I haven't seen since I was a young swimmer. I managed this split in 4:10 (6:42/mile pace) and the average heart rate was 174bpm, with a max of 180! I then took off my sweatshirt and cooled down on the last kilometre, which I finished in 5:29 (8:50/mile pace).

The entire 5km took me 24:02 at an average pace of 4:48/km (7:44/mile pace). The average heart rate was a bit high at 160bpm, but I think that was partly due to the lingering effects of that cold I had over the weekend and the overheating.

But it sure was fun to try and actually "run" rather than jog. We'll see how my body reacts, and now I have to go do some foot stretching and strengthening stuff to make sure that I don't have a setback on the plantar fasciitis front.

Garmin don't lie.

T-Ball Practice for the Littlest One

This evening was Malcolm's first ever T-Ball practice, and it was a blast. I really hope he enjoys playing this year and has a great time while learning all the important things - sportsmanship, sharing, cheering, making mistakes, getting better, etc. He's so cute (though I recognize I am totally not objective here)!

(Gotta love that ready position!)

As far as my situation, the cold is almost gone. I say almost because it is lingering in that ultra-annoying stage where I feel like I am constantly in an airplane and my ears just won't pop. Even swimming this afternoon at lunch didn't seem to help much. I managed 1500m in 22:42, but the airplane seems to work under water for some strange reason.

After the T-Ball practice I managed another strength routine consisting of 3X50 crunches on the yoga ball, 3X35 push ups with the yoga ball, 3x8 chin ups without any yoga ball. This is a short and sweet routine that seems to be working pretty well for me. I absolutely have to involve some leg strengthening stuff, but given that I have a lot of exercises and stretching to try and cope with the plantar fasciitis and (to a lesser extent) the lingering hip and runner's knee I can't really start anything right now. Tomorrow I plan on heading out for a nice 5k and if my body cooperates I would like to pick up the pace a little bit for at least a small portion of it. Less than three weeks to go until the Sporting Life 10k, and even if I am running this one for fun only it would be nice to go a bit faster than training pace.

12km Run in Ottawa

First, Happy Easter to all!

I finally found myself on the other side of that nasty cold that really hit me hard on Wednesday evening and was up for a run along the Rideau Canal in Ottawa. Since we had ready and willing baby sitters in the form of grandparents of the boys, Monica and I were able to head out together for the second weekend in a row. My initial plan was to go 15k, but like last Sunday I ended up cutting it short on account of the hip. The good news is that my hip was nowhere near as much of an issue this time around. Last weekend it started to really hurt at the 8k mark, but this week the pain was much less intrusive and I was able to run nice and easy, all the while managing to keep it under control.

The weather was cold and windy though. We ran a bit of an out and back tracing the route of the 10k that Monica will run at the end of May. On the way out we ran directly into the wind, which made the -2C feel more like -8C. I really wished I'd had a pair of gloves with me on the first half of the run. The way back was so much warmer, that's for sure.

We managed 12km in 1:18:37, which translated to a comfortable pace of 6:33/km. Again, all this slow running is getting to me, but at least I'm out there so I have to count my blessings. I guess working out all the kinks from the Around the Bay is taking longer than I'd hoped. My heart rate, according to Garmin, was all over the place, but for the first half of the run it remained in the 120-125bpm range, and for the second half it was steady around 135bpm. Overall the average was 137bpm, but I don't trust that reading since the Garmin was very erratic for the first few kilometres and said I started out in the 160s with a max of 188bpm for the first split. I must not have moistened the chest strap enough or something.

It was a good run in the end, even though neither of us really had much energy. Most of the time it felt very sluggish. That cold really took a lot out of me.

Garmin don't lie.

A Chameleon in the Land of Bruise

WARNING!!! I don't even know what to put as the warning on this post, but suffice it to say you've been warned! This blog is PG all the way, and nothing below changes that in any way, but I would feel somewhat guilty if I didn't put in at least a half-assed effort at a disclaimer. You can perhaps tell from the title what you might be subject to below...

So, since I had that hip pain in my left leg leading up to and during the Around the Bay road race I've been going to a massage therapist to try and get my body back into whatever shape it has to be in to allow me to continue running without recurring injury. The hip issue in particular was the impetus for my recent visits and the culprit was deemed to be a very tight ITB as well as tight quads and hamstrings. As it turns out stretching doesn't work very well at all on muscles, but rather improves the range of motion in joints. However, when all that tight tissue limits the motion of the joint in question no amount of stretching will help to solve the resulting problem, which in my case manifested itself in a painful hip.

All that being said, I admit that the massage therapy has already helped. In my first run after the race I managed about 3 or 4 kilometres before feeling pain in the hip. Last weekend I didn't feel the pain until the 8th kilometre. And this past Wednesday I didn't feel any pain at all on my 5k. I didn't run today partly because we spent the day driving to Ottawa, but mostly because I've been laid up with a really bad cold since Wednesday night. (I am hoping that I'll recover enough to go for another long run this Sunday while we're still in Ottawa - the weather is supposed to be great and I love running along the Canal!)

Alright, what the hell was that warning about at the beginning of this post, you are likely asking yourself. Well, remember that massage therapy I was talking about? It's not the kind where you lie down, listen to some new age music, and chill out. This type hurts like crazy, though in that good kind of way. However, never in my experience has it resulted in any sort of bruising. Until now, that is.

While working to get my quads and ITB to release a particularly sensitive area up at the top of the thigh was subject to some pretty good pressure, and here are the results (and the reason for my warning for those who might be a little squeamish):

First, hours after the massage:

Second, two days later (ie: this morning):


I didn't bother taking a picture this evening, but let's just say that the area looks like a bunch of different colours of play dough all messed up together and is definitely on the gross side. Sure, my range of motion has improved, but is this going too far? The massage therapist said there may be some bruising, but should I be worried? I feel like I'm the therapist personal science experiment or something. Has anything like this happened to anyone out there as a result of a massage? I never would have suspected that I'd put myself through anything like this for the sake of running, and yet here we are...

BTW: The other thing I learned while engaging in this embarrasing exercise is that it's REALLY hard to take a good picture of a bruise. The above are the best I could manage that come even close to doing my pain proper justice.

An Exhausted 5K

Tonight I attended my first coaches meeting for my older son's softball team, and have spent the better part of the last hour crafting an email to all the parents on things like games schedule, proposed practices, etc. I am totally exhausted!

Before I did that, however, I did manage to go for a quick run in the dark. I have had a sore throat for the past few days and today it sort of became a low grade cold. I hope a night of sleep will make it go away, but how likely is that, really?

Anyway, I did do the 5km in 28:56 for an average pace of 5:47/km. It was like moving through a cloud of yogurt, and I feel like I've regressed a great deal in terms of my pace over the past month. It wasn't that long ago when I was running long training runs in the 5:20/km range, and now I am dying just to stay under 6:00/km. At least my heart rate was still on the aerobic side, averaging 139bpm. I picked it up a bit on the last kilometre, which I completed in 5:25, and at an average heart rate of 145bpm, but let me tell ya it was tougher than it should have been.

On account of the email and softball thing I didn't get to do any foot strengthening stuff, which is a drag, but now I just want to sleep. G'night!

Garmin don't lie.

It's a Bit Hectic Right Now

Man, the time is flying by and I can't seem to find the energy to do much these days. Between the demands of two energetic boys and things really picking up at work there's not much time to cope with my foot pain, running, and all that stuff. I've been very diligent about doing my stretching and exercising and such and I hope that all of this will help the plantar fasciitis to finally start it's long awaited journey off of my right foot. I am sort of planning to do a post on what exactly I am doing in the next little while since I think it might be of interest to anyone who is either suffering from plantar fasciitis or this other thing I just learned about (and think I have) called sesimoiditis, but I simply don't have the time right now.

Today was one of those busy busy days, and the weather has been so crappy this week that it somehow makes things even more difficult to deal with. The gear I have to wear and trek around with in order to bike to work is such a hassle and I can't wait for those warm sunny days when I can just jump on the bike with short and t-shirt (and for the kids out there, a helmet of course), but for now it's a matter of staying warm and dry. I did manage to get myself back on the bike at lunch and jumped in the pool for a quick 1000m in 15 minutes. I wanted to do more, but had a prior commitment to sit on a panel on information policy for an old professor of mine who asked me to speak to her class. Crazy! I guess that makes me an adult or something...

Tonight I did the whole strength routine and managed a good amount of stretching and strengthening of the foot. Actually I am working on both feet since I figure if I fix one then the other will take its turn to kick me in the ass. Tomorrow I will try to get a short run in (5k range), though I have to attend a coaches meeting for the first of two baseball teams that I will be coaching this year. Just when I thought things might get a little less busy! Should be fun, though. I never played this sport, and coming from Eastern Europe baseball was a real oddity to me when my family arrived in Canada, but now I think it's great. BTW: the Jays had a nice comeback win tonight, so it's all good.

12K on a Sunny Sunday

This weekend went by wayyyyyy too fast, but this morning was a glorious time to go for a run. The thermometer read 5.5C in the shade at 11am when Monica and I headed out together for our first run together in quite some time. In the sun it felt more like a balmy teens kind of day.

Running with Monica is always fun and comes with the added benefit that I don't speed up too much since we tend to chat a bit throughout the entire run. We headed off towards Stan Wadlow Park and our entrance into Taylor Creek Park, which meant this would also be my first run on the trail system since last Fall. Everything was going nice and easy and there were a tonne of people out enjoying the beautiful weather. The path was washed out in quite a few places on account of the record rainfall we received on Friday (one of our skylights sprung a leak, so the saying "when it rains it pours" is very apt though a pain in the ass right now), but we were able to navigate around the wet parts pretty well. We even ran off the paved portion for a bit of trail running!

By the eighth kilometre my hip started to hurt in the same spot and although I had planned on running somewhere in the 15k range I decided that cutting it short was the smart move. And since Monica wanted to run 12k I thought I'd stop there myself.

We managed the 12k in 1:17:01 for an average pace of 6:25/km. My heart rate pretty much stayed in the 130s except at the very end of the run when we were climbing out of the valley up Pottery Road. The average was 134bpm.

That's all I have energy for as far as bloggage goes, and I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend of running and such. I might have to contemplate a slower return to running since I am still working out the kinks from the Around the Bay 30k, but we'll see how it goes.

Garmin don't lie.

Days off and ATB Race Photos

Yesterday I did absolutely nothing exercise wise. I had meetings off site, so no lunch time swimming, and then in the evening I felt totally wiped and couldn't even get the energy up to do my strength routine. Today I was planning on another easy 5k, but after more massage therapy (this time on the quads and ITBs - let's just say OUCH and leave it at that) I've decided to skip that too. Perhaps I will do the strength stuff instead...

But enough about that! I finally received the much anticipated email announcing that my race photos from Around the Bay are ready for purchase (um, yeah...). Here they are for your viewing pleasure, if you can call it that. Two observations I have:

1. I look like I'm in serious pain in every one of these.

2. And what's with the permanent "thumbs up" I seem to be flashing to all bystanders? I had no idea that I ran with my thumbs up in the air like that. Weird...








And lastly, can you spot me in this photo?:



What about in this one?:

First Run Post ATB

I've read in the comments of some blog or other in recent days about this product called SuperFeet. Since I hadn't ever seen these things for myself, and lean towards the lazy side, I emailed the Canadian distributor to find out who around these here parts stocked a good selection. Turns out a one-off store called BigFootWear, located just around the corner from my office, carried a good selection. How did I find out you ask? Well, another email of course! Why waste energy, right? Anyway, the fine salesperson at the store not only replied promptly to my question about the insoles, but also indicated that although they did not stock size 12.5 mens running shoes, he would order them for me without a deposit!

People, I think I've found my new favorite running store! I assured the fine gentleman that I am not in need of new kicks right at this moment, but that I will be back as soon as I needed to get a new pair.

Well, tonight's acquisition of my new orange SuperFeet insoles just happened to coincide with my first run post Around the Bay. Funny how that worked out, huh? Did I HAVE to leave work early to go the opposite direction from home and pick up the insoles?

Damn straight!

And so I ran a nice 5km at a leisurely average pace of 5:50/km, taking up 29:11 minutes and seconds of my otherwise fine day made finer by the run and the extra cushioning and support thanks to my new SuperFeet. As time progresses I will report on how these things are working out, and hopefully helping to bring to an end the reign of the dreaded Captain Plantar Fasciitis, who has invaded my right foot for the better part of the past half-year, waging a war of attrition that I've been unable to bring to a satisfactory conclusion.

Garmin don't lie.

Intervention?

How does a person with a sweet tooth get off of sugar? That is the question that I am contemplating.


Everywhere I read about the benefits that athletes derive from going sugar-free and I too would like to "taste" the fruit of this labour. But can I really go all the way? Think of the consequences of such a monumental decision:

• Coffee with only milk
• Cake with only plate
• Ice cream with only spoon
• Apple pie without the pie

Need I continue? What I need is an intervention of some sort for I recognize that my willpower, though strong enough to pull me through an injured, wet, and cold 30k is nothing when facing the sweet sweet stuff of culinary delights.

Oh, wherefore art though willpower!?
Are you made of gummy?
Was Sugar Ray Leonard sugar free?
Can I ever hope to be?