Getting Bumped

The makeup lunchtime swim did not happen because of a high school swim meet that was going on. I didn't even think of checking the schedule online, so live and learn. I got bumped by a bunch of high schoolers!

We watched The Polar Express with the boys tonight, and enjoyed it very much. We've had this movie out before, but for one reason or another I'd never watched it. Both of my guys really liked it, but the younger one especially since he didn't remember watching it a couple of years ago when he was only two. Now that he's four he really understood the movie and was riveted throughout the whole thing even though it ended way past his bedtime.

The only exercise I managed today was push ups as part of that whole getting to 100 by Christmas thing. The sets went 22-30-20-20 and then I maxed out at 46 to end the first week of the plan. Tomorrow morning I'll be heading out for an easy 8k, and then we're off to pick up the "new" car. I received a call from the dealer today to update us on the results of the safety inspection, and was pleased to hear that the tires did not pass so they put a new set of Michelin's on for us. I must admit that even though it was obvious as anything that the tires were pretty much devoid of tread I was expecting the mechanic doing the inspection to pass them. Perhaps I have become too cynical or something, but used car dealers have a bad reputation and this experience seems to be the exception to the rule. They also changed the wiper blades, did an oil-lube-filter job on it, and although they couldn't fix the cable that runs from the lever by the driver's seat to the trunk lid in time, the part has been ordered and once it arrives they will install it for us. So far I have nothing but positive things to say about Pickard Lane Leasing of Bolton, Ontario. I just hope the car proves to be a good one.

Unintentional day off, sort of

This morning I woke up to learn that the roads were really slippery since the plows and salt trucks are not yet working, and so decided (partly at the urging of my sweet wife, who is concerned for my safety for some reason) to not bike to work. This is all well and good, except it meant that I would not be able to go for my usual lunchtime swim since the walk is too far and the whole process would take too long. Tomorrow I will make it up, but the pool will be short course (25m long, for those not in the know) rather than my preferred long course (50m). Lots of flip turns I guess...

This evening I am awaiting a person who answered my classified add for a set of four old steel rims and tires to come by and (hopefully) buy them. We've had these things for years from a car previous even to this one that we just traded in, and it's about time I got rid of them. I'd rather they go to someone who will use them rather than give them for nothing to the dealer.

While waiting I did my chin up routine. In case I didn't make it explicit, the goal I've set out for myself is to complete 100 consecutive pushups and 20 consecutive chin ups by Christmas. Tonight's set was 8-6-5 overhand wide grip, and 8-6-5 underhand narrow grip, for a total of 38 chin/pull ups. I'm suprised I was able to do more than I managed on Tuesday, and figure it's mostly improvement in technique. But hey, that's important too!

Now I just have to find some reason to motivate myself to do more sit ups! I find them exceedingly boring, no matter what variation I've tried. If anyone has any good tricks for ab workouts that are not necessarily easy, since that would defeat the purpose, but at least easy on the brain I'd love to hear about them.

A Snowy 5K

This morning Monica and I drove out to Bolton, a town about 45 minutes northwest of Toronto, to check out a used car that we spotted online. Long story short, we liked it and bought it. It's a 2001 Honda Civic with only 59,000 kilometres on it! It's going through a safety inspection and emission test over the next couple of days, and if all goes well we'll be picking it up on Saturday. Yay! Sorry, no pics of the new wheels since they pulled the ad off the Internet, but if I feel inspired I'll take a pic once we bring it home.

In my post from this past Monday I wondered if running in -2 Celsius temperatures (and the dark I might add!) counted as a winter run. Laurel from Lily on the Road commented that in fact this did NOT count, but I wonder what she would say about my 5K this evening? Once again the temperature was somewhere in the -2 Celsius range, but this time it was snowing! Yes, by the time I got home all the sidewalks and roads were covered in snow, and it was still coming down. I got dressed, strapped on the Garmin, and headed out as fast as I could given that the snow was not slowing down and I didn't want to run on anything deeper if I could avoid it. The footing was slippery, but I stuck to the sidewalks even though the accumulation there was thicker since the roads were much more slippery, especially where cars had packed the snow down and turned it into ice underneath the freshly fallen snow. The stuff was coming down pretty good and it was getting in my eyes the entire run, but I had a great time! No accidents, lots of strange looks from many people that I passed along the way, got cut off by a couple of cars and one bus (dumb ass! you totally saw me, and did it anyway!), and made it home unscathed.

I was a bit surprised by my pacing upon uploading the data since I didn't look at the Garmin during the run, preferring to watch the road and my footing instead. I completed the 5k in 25:32 for an average pace of 5:06/km (or roughly 8:12/mile). This was a bit faster than intended, but it felt good so I'm not going to worry about it. I iced the foot down while eating dinner, and will do the whole ice water/hot water routine later after my push up routine. I think the plan calls for sets of 20-25-20-22-MAX, so we'll see what happens.

Garmin don't lie.


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Update: I had the push up numbers a little wrong as I was going on memory, so tonight the sets went 20-25-15-15 and then I maxed out at 40. Tomorrow, chin ups, pull ups, or something resembling the two as much as I can manage...

A Mostly Uneventful Day

Not much to report other than:

1. I got my flu shot today, and my shoulder feels like someone punched it a little bit.

2. I got in the pool at lunchtime again for another 2000m, this time in about 29 minutes.

I should mention that last night Monica and I started our own little 100 push up challenge. I did 14-18-14-14-35. The goal is to loosely follow the 100 push up challenge of Internet fame and to achieve 100 by Christmas.

Added to this I have started doing lots of pull ups since I put the chin up bar in the door to our bedroom (is there a difference between a "pull up" and a "chin up"?) Pretty much every time I enter or leave the room I do 5, though this is not likely to continue. However, I did a set tonight that consisted of 7-5-4 wide grip overhand, and 6-5-5 close grip underhand. Later I will get some ab work done, and do another easy and short set of lunges. The last time I did this (sometime last week) I only did 10 lunges on each leg and I definitely felt it the next day. Pathetic, I know! But that is why I have made a commitment to improving my leg strength over the winter.

Right now I have to keep moving my foot from ice water to hot water, so g'night! Tomorrow? Another 5k, perhaps even in the morning...

A Rare Morning Run

First, I must admit to some Garmin inadequacies, though I don't think user error was responsible for all my data magically (tragically) disappearing from Training Center. (I managed to get it all back by exporting each workout from Motionbased as a .hst file, saving it onto my computer, and then importing it back into the Training Center software to rebuild the history.) What a pain, but at least it's back. I've just been tipped that the software stores the data in some proprietary format as one file somewhere in the dark depths of Windows, so I will have to look for that and back it up once in while...

This morning I dragged myself out of bed and went out for an easy 5k in below freezing temperatures. Does this count as my first official winter run? Who knows, but it wasn't that bad and the run felt pretty easy save for the first kilometre, which I took at barely a jogging pace in order to get the blood moving. Here's where the Garmin dumbness comes in: I forgot to reset the watch from Monica's run the day before and the thing thought I was just adding distance to her 15k run! For a moment I thought the watch was frozen from the cold and wasn't moving, but then realized the "time" wasn't stuck at 2:02 (minutes and seconds), but rather was displaying the hours and minutes that elapsed from the beginning of Mon's run. No secret here, she's likely getting her own 305 from Santa...

As mentioned above, the beginning of the 5k was really slow and my first K took 6:24 to complete. After that I settled into a nice pace right around the 5:30/km mark and finished in 28:34 for an average pace of 5:42/km (roughly 9:10/mile).

The only issue with this run was that I didn't have time to ice afterwards, and my foot felt a bit tighter than normal all day. Nothing to worry about, but I might have to leave even earlier to work that into the plan if I am to do more of these dark morning runs.

Garmin don't lie.

Here's the running route, combined with Monica's 15k as a result of my Garmin SNAFU:


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Sun"Day" Off

Last night I was feeling pretty good from my 7k run, but I was super tight in the muscle(s) on the right/front side of my right leg. I think it's the one that pulls the foot up into dorsiflexion and also acts to absorb shock when you land. I've never experienced shin splints so I don't really know what they feel like, but I must admit that I was somewhat worried that this may be what I was experiencing. I massaged it, I stretched every muscle I could from the hips down, and even got creative with trying to get that particular area to feel a good stretch. I then popped a couple of ibuprofen before bed and hoped for the best in the morning. Luckily today the muscle feels almost back to normal, so maybe I dodged a bullet. The body adapts to everything without me noticing it and I think that's cool, but I sure wish it would just hurry up and adapt to letting me run pain free for a while!

Also yesterday I found my chin up bar that's been packed up in the garage since our move back in May and installed it. I also blew up our yoga ball and am starting to get prepared for home workouts when my gym membership expires in January and I no longer have access to weights in the same way. The gym that I go to is called Frog's Gym, and it totally sucks. The people running it don't care about it at all, the place is always dirty, running out of paper towels and spray for cleaning off machines, and the treadmills are always breaking down and not getting fixed. Last year my wife and I prepaid one year's worth as a way of making a commitment to exercise, but I think the running has us inspired enough to continue without the gym in the picture. In short, they haven't earned my repeat business. I figure that between push ups, sit ups, chin ups, lunges and stuff I will have enough resistance exercises to keep me fit in the upper body and support my running.

Tomorrow calls for another easy 5k, and I am considering getting it done in the morning before work. We'll see if I can drag my ass out of bed in time!

Oh I forgot! I picked up the Tom Jordan book Pre on Friday and finished it that night. Over the weekend I read it again, and it's obvious that I enjoyed it. Although I still can't put my finger on just why Prefontaine continues to garner attention, and he certainly has mine, but I think at least a little of the fascination is a result of his dying at such a young age. No doubt he was a terrific athlete, and his approach to racing, charismatic personality, and dogged fight against the corrupt AAU are part of the complete picture as well. The biggest impression I was left with after reading the book is that Pre was such an energetic person, always doing multiple things as fast as possible, trying somehow to fit more into the day than anyone else - it's almost as if he subconsiously knew that his time on the planet was limited and he had to get as much done as possible before it was too late. Anyway, if you haven't read the book check it out. Though it is mostly an account of his races from high school until his death, included are numerous personal accounts by people who came into contact with Pre that help to paint a picture of the person and not only the runner.

Back Outside Running, Losing Data!

I finally stopped neglecting the Garmin and got outside for a run today! My foot is slowly (too slowly for my liking, mind you) getting better, and I am now convinced that the footwear was to blame. While out and about looking for cars last Tuesday we stopped by an Outlet Mall and I picked up another pair of running shoes, making me feel a little like I am getting too obsessed with running shoes. The deal was too good to pass up! Even though they were a couple models old, the Mizuno Wave Nirvana 2's felt so good that I had to get them. On top of that, they had then in 12.5 so I figured it was meant to be. You can't really go too far wrong at $69.00 either...

Anyway, these were final sale and, while I am still considering keeping or returning the Wave Inspire 4's that I bought a week ago, the other new shoes allowed me to head outside in the rain for an easy 7k. It's been raining here since last night pretty much non-stop, and I was sort of waiting for the rain to stop since I didn't really feel too hot about the treadmill yet again. By mid afternoon I just decided to run in the rain, and it was great - the run felt really easy, the foot was fine, and I got pretty wet but was not cold. I managed the 7k in 38:56, for an average pace of 5:33/km. I wasn't paying attention to the Garmin while running and was shocked with the final time and pace since I felt like I was running in the 6:00/km or slower range. The average heart rate for the run was 154bpm, and that too surprised me since I wasn't breathing hard or anything. Looking at the data I was under 80% of max HR for most of the run, so that means I was in the right zone.

The other thing that happened, which I only just realized, is that the Garmin Training Center software seems to have completely lost all of my training data! It's all gone, and without the screenshot I took of today's run when I uploaded this afternoon I wouldn't know the above details. Has anyone else have this happen to them? Were you able to get the data back? HELP! A total bummer for an otherwise good day of running...

I never managed to discuss my racing schedule for 2009 yesterday, but there is tonnes of time to get to that. Just too busy to really note my thoughts on the matter in blog format. I will get to it at some point, and also discuss the training plan for the year to coincide with the schedule for advice, etc...

Garmin don't lie.


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Without Limits (Except when it comes to facial hair)

Last night I watched the movie Without Limits. I picked it up on Tuesday while grocery shopping for $5! How could I lose, right? Naturally, I couldn't and the movie did not disappoint. I enjoyed it very much, though I would not call it cinematic genius or anything. I could have done without the whole college crush angle, but the race scenes were great and Billy Crudup is Pre reincarnate - the resemblance is eerie! My main impressions were that Steve Prefontaine was a tremendous runner (duh!), Donald Sutherland is great and still Canadian (duh?), Monica Potter shares a first name with my wife (duh?), and I can't grow a mustache so will never be able to play Steve Prefontaine in another movie about his life (d'oh!). Yes, that's the only reason why I couldn't play Pre. What? Lack of speed? No muscle tone? CGI people, C.G. friggin' I.!

(I do realize that facial hair is easily done with makeup, but that would cheapen the whole thing don't you think?)

Anyway, after that movie I am even more motivated to run, and visit Oregon again cuz the view from Bill Bowerman's fictional home was awesome! However, I am sticking to the new plan and did not run today. Instead, I made my way through the rain on my bike to the swimming pool for another lunchtime swim. The process can be summed up with "wet-dry-wet-dry-wet-dry". I sound like a broken record here, but once more the thing lasted 2000m in 30 minutes, and I am NOT getting any faster... Maybe if I could grow a mustache like Mark Spitz then I might be able to play him in a movie, and gain some speed? Hmmm... Damn lack of facial hair has been holding me down all this time and I am just waking up to these shackles! But at least I save on expensive razorblades. Is it just me, or are these things made of oil or something because the price of a set of blades has gotten ridiculous! I say they're the reason the economy is tanking like the Exxon Valdes, not sub-prime mortgages. Unless, of course, you have to borrow money to buy disposable razor blades...

This afternoon I was supposed to get another treatment at the chiropractor's, but they had my office phone number noted incorrectly and so I never got the message that he was sick. Two issues with this thing: 1. for some reason, to them my "4" looks like a "5" on the form I filled out (and apparently it's my fault!), and 2. they can't refund the charge onto my credit card for the prepayment I made for the session! Say what? Your swipey machine thing is somehow missing the minus sign or something? There is nothing that sours me more on a business than poor customer service. Good impressions last until the next visit, bad impressions last forever and some people just don't get that.

Anyway, tomorrow is another off day, and perhaps I will try to elaborate on my developing racing plans for 2009. If you haven't noticed, the list on the right side of this page is growing and I am getting more and more excited about the prospect of running lots of races next year. The question remains, how much is too much?

Another 5k on the Treadmill

Today my wife and I enjoyed a day of freedom on account of it being Remembrance Day. Although only government employees like us get the day off, I think a lot of places were closed until noon to let people honour the memories of those who serve, served, and especially those who lost their lives in battle. In case some are not aware, Remembrance Day is celebrated on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month every year and has its origins in World War I. Naturally, we paused for a moment of silence at 11am.

Other than that, we spent the day driving our crappy car around the GTA to various dealerships as we are scouting out a replacement for our current automobile, which is dying a painful and noisy death in its 12th year of existence. We didn't buy anything, nor did we expect to on our first day, but we got our feet wet in the whole negotiating and dealing with car salesmen realm. I cannot express how much I loathe the entire experience...

Once we returned home I headed off to the gym for another slow and short run on the treadmill, and then some weights. I once again ran for 30 minutes at 6.2mph, which translates to 5k at 6:00/km pace. I think my body is still working out the kinks that have been left over from the 10k race a couple of weeks ago, but it felt pretty good all things considered. As much as I hate the treadmill, I am happy to be running again. Also, I am committed to listening to all of your kind comments on taking it easy and plan on running slow and short, adding a little bit of mileage each week as I go. I really hope that the foot continues to improve the way that it has been, but if I have a setback then I will take more time off. I committed to that 30k race at the end of March, but not the 10 miler on Boxing Day so I guess I really don't have to run that one if it comes down to a decision between staying healthy or racing...

I really hope I don't have to make that decision!

My short weight workout was quick and light:

• Dumbell Bench Press 12-12-12 45lbs
• Lat Pulldowns 12-12-12 115lbs
• Rope Triceps Extensions 12-12 40lbs
• Dumbell Flys 12-12 20lbs
• Dumbell Biceps Curls 10-10 20lbs

Making a Commitment

Although I am not really ready to start heavy training, and am hesitant about starting back into some easy running, I have made a commitment to a race and distance that just a few weeks ago I would have though was unthinkable. No, I am not planning on any marathon or anything, but I have registered for the Around the Bay race in Hamilton in late March, 2009. 30k here I come!!! I'm going right past the half-marathon distance for some unknown reason! This may be nuts, but I am not willing to miss this opportunity by waiting until the last minute only to be disappointed because this race has an entrance limit. This is the oldest distance race in North Americe and also very popular, so I decided to pull the trigger now. In the same spirit, I almost registered for the Boxing Day 10 miler, also in Hamilton, but because that is a lot sooner I thought I'd better see how the foot feels over the next two weeks and then make that decision. I am still fully committed to running in this race also, but for some reason I don't have the same sense of urgency to register right now.

Tonight I am not running on the treadmill, or doing anything else. I have some schoolwork that I need to finish and submit, and then I will do the whole ice bath thing on the foot. My treatment this morning was positive in that the doctor said I can start running nice and easy since that won't do any more damage to the foot, but also painful as hell when he worked on some muscle stiffiness I've had in my upper hip / lower back area. It was one of those experiences where I couldn't help laughing because the pain was so crazy! Someday this body of mine will adapt.

It HAS to!

And lastly, my lovely wife forced me to hobble up the stairs to check on the boys and here is what I found: my 4 year-old fancies himself to be some sort of Aquaboy! Do we take the goggles off and risk waking him up, or leave them on and risk him having massive circles around his eyes all day tomorrow?