Pushing Up

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

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

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

A Quick Update

It's been a great Christmas in our house and everyone had a great time, especially the kids. They were, once again, spoiled beyond all sense and reason, but given that we and their extended family love them so much it is no longer a surprise. Things are going fairly well for us right now and we can afford to let them have a few things that maybe we won't be able to afford in more lean years.

I haven't done any push ups or chin ups this week and have written off the attempt at the century for the moment. Next week I will redo Week 6 again and then (hopefully) be ready to get 100 in a row the following week. The foot is still hurting a little, but I know that if I stay off of it for a while longer it will completely heal. It certainly isn't as bad as it was before, and I continue to wait for that elusive pain-free state before contemplating running again. Starting in January we'll be cross-country skiing every Saturday, with the boys taking lessons and us off on some much needed cross training. It should be a blast, and with it being low or no impact, the workout will pay off in the long run cardio wise.

Not sure when I'll get back on the computer (and the only reason I have it on right now is because I had to call the hot water tank people to get a new rental unit installed since the one we own is starting to leak), but I wish everyone a safe and happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

All the best to all who celebrate the Holidays this evening (us Europeans I suspect) and/or tomorrow! Also, same wishes to everyone who doesn't celebrate Christmas specifically, but enjoys the Holidays based on their own traditions and beliefs.

I considered attempting the 100 push ups last night, but was feeling too weak and tired to do so. I cranked out one set of 50 just as a test, but it wasn't all that easy. I think I will do some more sets over the next week and get back in shape and then attempt the century. The chin ups have fallen off as well on account of the stomach virus, but I'll have to get back into that as well.

I keep seeing people running through the snow and am appropriately jealous, but the foot is not yet 100%. It has been feeling better, but with all the walking I've been doing (shopping and all) and then the three snowstorms we've had to shovel the foot has flared up again. This morning I spent an hour shoveling super heavy snow, which fell over night and then turned to rain making for great snowballs, but crap crap crap for lifting and throwing. I guess that's cross training or something...

What a scattered post! The New Year should get this whole running and blogging endeavor back on track, but for now it's time to celebrate the Holidays with the family and reflect on a great 2008. All the best everyone!

Aftershock

The stomach flu, it seems, has not finished running it's course. Malcolm was sick in the middle of the night and I spent the day with the poor little guy at home. On top of all that his cheek started to get really red and inflamed, hot to the touch, which meant only one thing to us: infection. Off we went to the doctor and sure enough that's what it was. Now he is on antibiotics for the first time in his life and I hope he doesn't have any adverse reaction to the medication. A long time ago when Owen was on antibiotics for an ear infection his whole personality changed while taking the drugs, and that was a bit weird to witness for us first time (at that time) parents.

Anyway, Malcolm seems to have rebounded quickly and he was good enough to go to his Junior Kindergarten Christmas concert. It was so cute, and I managed to take some video clips which I will post here at some point.

Before going to the concert I managed another Week 6 Day 2 routine of the hundred push ups challenge. I did 22-22-30-30-24-24-18-18 and then maxed out at 70 for a total of 258. The max set included Malcolm climbing onto my back at the 40 push up mark, which forced me to put my knee down and get him off, so 70 was a good surprise given all that.

Foot still hurts, and I think this tendinitis, plantar fasciitis thing is just going to take a while to heal. Damn!

The Battle Continues

Well, my little family continues to battle the flu as now my wife has come down hard with the illness. At least the boys, on better the other yet to get hit (and hopefully not at all), were able to go to school today.

The other battle is the one concerned with keeping this blog going while waiting to run. Last week it seemed like the foot had taken a turn for the better, but after the weekend of walking, skating, shopping, and other activities involving moving boxes of books up and down stairs it seems to still be hanging around like an unwelcome foul odor. Three weeks and counting...

That is pretty much why I've taken to push ups and chin ups - my physiological and psychological sanity. I am redoing the same sets as last week once more and tonight I went through the Week 6 Day 1 routine (45-55-35-30) and then maxed out at 60 for a total of 225. Tonight was tough going, managing only 60 and all, but I still think the 100 is well in sight. (I think the flu going through the house has something to do with it...) The bigger challenge will be to keep up with the push ups afterwards, and perhaps that is the real reason why I am putting off the attempt at 100 in a row until next week. Anybody out there who completed the challenge find it easy or hard to continue doing push ups? Or did you just stop cold turkey?

Swimming and Dripping

Yes, I've managed to catch another cold (that's the dripping part, BTW). Bummer, but I suppose things could be worse.

That didn't stop me from going swimming at lunch, though I was pretty tired and weak and had difficulty staying motivated to swim the entire planned 2000m. I managed in the end, but had to break up the second 1000m after completing the first 1K straight. I did some "easy on the brain" descending sets with about 20sec rest in between - 400m-300m-200m-100m - and then got out of there...

Tonight I still did some chin ups, once more keeping the exhaustion sets out of the equation since I am feeling run down and weak. The sets went 6-6-5-5-5 pull ups, and then 6-6-5-5-5 chin ups for a total of 54 "ups".

Doing pretty much nothing but push ups, chin ups, and swimming is great and all, but I really can't wait to get back into running, you know!!! All the great race reports I've been reading from the running bloggers have got me really itching to get back out there, but alas I am weak below the ass... The foot better start behaving and get better, though I do think that in the last two days it's been getting slightly, just slightly, almost imperceptibly, agonizingly, annoyingly, infuriatingly, confoundedubadebadibidily better...

Not Much... Other than more push ups

Nothing much going on here in my little world. The foot is still footy, though I am cautiously optimistic that in the last day or so it has taken a turn for the better. Stay tuned.

The car mods continue: tonight I wired up a secondary power socket in behind the dash only to find (afterwards) that the fuse was blown. I have no idea when that might have happened, and it could have been something that occurred a long time ago since I've never tested the socket before and wasn't smart enough to test it before I started wiring. Anyway, I have to go pick up a replacement fuse and see what happens. I really hope that there isn't a short somewhere, and I'm pretty certain I didn't introduce a short with my mod.

I am definitely sick now, though I think the worst is yet to come. I still did Week 6 Day 2 of the hundred push ups challenge thingy, though I felt pretty weak. The sets went 22-22-30-30-24-24-18-18 and then I maxed out at 60 for a total of 248 push ups.

Tomorrow I hope to get to the pool for a swim, if I make it to work that is...

Just Git'R Done!

The paper, though technically due tomorrow, has been submitted! I am not very happy with the actual paper, but very pleased to have the bloody thing finished. I decided to submit it a day early because I knew I'd have no interest in working on it tonight. Why? Because I had some soldering to do!

Yes, the car needs an auxiliary input, and I will oblige. So, I purchased a special kit from this place on the interweb to convert the CD Changer input on the back of the stock radio to an auxiliary input (so that I can plug in my IPod or satellite radio and not have to replace the entire radio). Anyway, I bought a panel-mount 3.5mm input at the local surplus store for a buck, cut one of the many RCA cables I've managed to collect over the years, and soldered the two together with much success. This thing I ordered to plug the RCA ends of this contraption into arrived same day as shipped (amazingly!) and now I have all the pieces I need to start dismantling the dash and installing this. I didn't take pictures of the soldering process, for fear of burns as a result of distraction (ie. laziness), but might document the whole dismantling process. I'll do so not just to share with all the Honda owners out there who are pining for an aux input, but also so that I can have some evidence of how the dash was taken apart in case I have trouble putting it back together.

On the exercise and injury front, the push ups were hard and the foot still continues to hurt. It has been more than two weeks and still I am not pain free. I am getting worried that this may be a much longer layoff than anticipated.

The push ups were difficult partly because of the number and partly because I didn't get to them until after 10pm (and after eating a pretty hefty steak for dinner). As per the hundred push ups challenge program for Week 6 Day 1 I did 45-55-35-30 and then maxed out at 65 for a total of 230.

Gross Shower Guy, and More Pushups

A couple of (potentially) sick people have requested further details on the gross shower guy that so rudely invaded my fortress of solitude while I was cleansing the chlorine off of myself after my Tuesday afternoon swim, so I feel compelled to give a few details against my better judgement. Since I am still shivering at the thought of what transpired I'll give as much as I can, but will not go into specifics since I averted my eyes as much as I could during the entire ordeal, but obviously without total success. Although the term "shock and awe" would have sufficed for me, here is what I can offer to you (apologizing in advance for those who do not wish to sleep tonight with this imagery carved into their brains):

• 6 (at least) bottles of lotions/soaps/gels/goopy crap only found in girly stores
• shaved area that (in my humble opinion) should not be in contact with any sharp object, EVER!
• loud grunting, moaning, breathing so as to draw attention to him(it)self
• much naked squatting (Seinfeld was right - there IS "good" naked and "bad" naked and this display was firmly and exclusively a sick, twisted example of the latter)
• much naked lathering (any other context, this might qualify as "good" naked, but I suppose anything can be sullied beyond redemption)
• much naked smiling (ditto)
• much swim suited vomiting (by yours truly, if I had had anything in my stomach that is)

Tonight I did some more push ups. I am now on Week 5 Day 2 of the hundred push ups challenge, and I am still making progress. Tonight I had to take a few breaks (holding the plank, but resting for a few breaths is what I mean) on my max set, but not because of the pecs giving out. Instead if was my shoulders and whatever muscle it is that lifts your leg up on the front of my left leg. I initially felt a twinge there when I sneezed rather mightily a few weeks back while sick in bed, and the pain has been up and down since then, but has never gone away entirely. Getting old sucks ass!

Oh yeah, the sets: 19-19-22-22-18-18-22 then the max was 60 for a total of 200 push ups. The double century!

Another Regular Day

Yup. Nothing much to report other than another regular lunchtime swim and a set of chin ups.

The swim was status quo: 2000m in 30 minutes. My left hand totally cramped up at the end, which was a bit weird. Why not the right? Gross guy in the showers also put me off a bit, and that's where I'll leave that little story, in your collective imaginations...

The chin ups were done while my wife (whose taste in most things I respect, but in this I simply cannot!) was watching The Biggest Loser. Guess how I felt given that I'll never have that time back? The chin up sets: 10-10-10 wide grip overhand, 10-9-8-8 narrow grip underhand, for a total of 65. I go to failure with each set, and it seems odd that I can go to pretty much the same failure point each time. Perhaps I need to rethink this and do it more like the push up challenge with some sets that are shorter and easier and then the last one to failure. I am making strides, though, so maybe I shouldn't mess with it at all. Mentally it would be easier to not have to go to failure with every set.

Foot still hurts, but the pain doesn't really set in until late in the day so I guess that's a good sign. Before it just hurt all day long. I guess I'd better go stretch and ice a bit now...

Swimming and Pushing

This morning I made up my "missed" swim from yesterday (on account of another High School meet bouncing me from my usual lunch time sojourn). I was a little late leaving the house, but managed to bike to the pool by about 8:15. I was on deck five minutes later and ready to go. On Friday mornings only half the pool is open for drop-in lane swimming and the "fast" lane had six other people in it. The other half of the pool I can only assume is reserved for the UofT swim team, but today it was totally empty. Navigating the other swimmers was going to be a challenge also since a couple seemed to be pretty quick and the others slower than me. In the end this was not much of an issue since I could only manage 200m at a time before my shoulders screamed for rest, and that allowed me to let the faster folks pass and to find a suitable spot to start again on another 200. I think the chin ups from last night were the reason for my shoulder fatigue, but I was not expecting this at all! I managed 10X200m in 35 minutes and made it to work a bit late, but glad to have gotten the workout in.

When I arrived, my manager dropped by my desk and gave me his extra copy of Run Less, Run Faster, which was very cool. I read this book a few months ago, and now have a copy of my own to follow throughout 2009. As good as that is, it does have me thinking of some goals for the year, the first of which is to try and get my 10k under 42 minutes so that I can dream about achieving a BQ time in the marathon of 3:15. Yeah right! The book does state that that's the equivalent time for the marathon distance, but my body may have something else to say about the whole thing. For the time being I am committed to taking the rest of the year off and waiting two weeks after my foot is completely pain free before starting to run again.

Tonight we watched Monsters Inc. with the boys, and I snuck off to do my push ups and catch the end of the Raptors game on TV. The Raptors are looking OK this year, though they are continuing their historic pattern of win a few lose a few, never stringing more than three or four wins together at a time. Chris Bosh is playing like an MVP, but I'm worried that the extra minutes he seems to be playing just to keep the team around .500 will result in injury as they did every other year he's been asked to play this much.

On the push up front I completed Day 3 of Week 4 of the hundred push up challenge thusly: 29-33-29-29 and maxed out at 50 for a total of 170. I'm definitely feeling stronger with this program, and am quite confident that I'll be able to do 100 in a row by Christmas. The question that comes to mind is will I be able to keep it going afterwards? Not to do more than a hundred, but to maintain that level of strength. It seems easier somehow to work towards a goal rather that aimlessly "working out"...

At the Crossroads

I've come to a point where a decision must be made, and it pains me to no end to have to do this. As much as I would like to run the Boxing Day 10 Miler in Hamilton, I think that training for this race (keeping in mind that I would only run it to complete the distance and not all out) may impair my ability to train properly for the entire year of 2009. This realization comes from the fact that my foot, even though it's been OK to run on, is simply not improving.

Now, I could run through this pain, and have done so for over a month now (with that two week break after my race), but I think that a 10 miler has the potential to put me out of commission for a long time if I am not careful. My tolerance for pain is pretty good, but this works against me. Also, the guilt I feel at not training has the effect of forcing me to push through, all the while believing that things are bound to improve.

Well, they haven't. So my options, as I see them, are thus: stop running right now until I am totally healed, even if it means taking the rest of 2008 off (and here's hoping that's ALL I'd have to do!), or train until Boxing Day, run the ten miler, and then take all of January off.

I am leaning towards option #1 because:

a. I am hurting now.
b. I have to finish my Masters Degree in the next two weeks, and have to focus on my last paper. c. I have access to the gym for the rest of the year and can at least do some cardio on the stationary bikes or something.
d. I will need as much injury free time as possible to prepare for the Around the Bay 30k at the end of March.

Anyway, this is more difficult for me than I thought it would be, and I must admit that I am totally bummed out right now. Even though the weather's been totally crappy today I was still planning on a 5K this evening while biking home from work. It was then that I really started to think about the potential consequences should I continue down the path toward the 10 miler and beyond, and so I did not go running this evening. In the end the desire to be pain free, after almost two months of suffering from this plantar fasciitis, won out.

But hey, at least I can do push ups and chin ups! Tonight I managed 21-25-21-21 and then maxed out at 45 for a total of 133. I am a bit surprised that my max was lower than what I managed on Friday of last week (46) given that I had the weekend off from push ups.

8km Run, and a "new" car

This morning it took me a while to get out of bed, mostly because I was not rushed to get running and partly because it was -9 when I woke up. I guess that's somewhere in the teens Fahrenheit, and I certainly had never run in that kind of temperature. I figured it wouldn't be that bad, though, since I've skied and biked in much worse. Anyway, I finally got outside at about 8am and started in on my planned 8k. The foot doesn't hurt at all while I am running, but certainly has been achy in between, and this keeps me from pushing too hard since I know it would mean more pain. I basically just ran on feel, and discovered that I layered too much since the last few kilometres I was overheating a little. The inside of my old jacket was wet around the ends of the sleeves, and for a guy that doesn't sweat at the best of times this came as a real surprise. It will take me a bit of experimenting to find what works as far as attire in winter goes...

The run itself was fine. I completed the 8k in 42:45 for an average pace of 5:20/km. My fastest split was 5:12 (the last kilometre) and the slowest was 5:30, so I kept the pace pretty even. Given that it was really cold and my legs felt very tight at first I am a bit surprised that I managed the first K in 5:29, but I guess it was just my body trying to warm up.

The foot is hurting a bit now, but I attribute that more to the fact that we pretty much spent the entire day in the car than anything else. After my run, and breakfast, we cleaned out the old car and drove up to Bolton to pick up the 2001 Honda Civic. Paying for it took a bit of time since we had to call our bank and get authorization to make a debit payment above the daily limit, and that process was a bit of a pain. By the time it was all completed an hour at least had passed.

A bit of an aside: The new car seems to be running great! The dealership put a new set of all-season Michelin tires on it and they improved the already good ride that we experienced on our test drive. When we picked up the car we were presented with a copy of the safety inspection certificate, and emission test, a newly cleaned car ready and waiting, and the salesman went out and transferred our plates without even us noticing! My opinion of Pickard Lane Leasing couldn't be better at this point - a real pleasant surprise every step of the way.

Then we drove to Barrie, about an hour away, and had lunch with the Boys at an OK Chinese buffet restaurant. On our way there we stopped in Alliston, coincidentally where all Canadian Civics are assembled, and bought some floor mats at the Canadian Tire since the car didn't come with any.

Lunch completed, we drove to Hardwood Hills, a cross country skiing venue, and enrolled the boys in a season of lessons! Monica and I got a stack of passes for ourselves and we'll be going every Saturday morning for the entire winter as long as things work out. Should make for some great cross-training, not to mention a lot of fun!

This evening I did another chin up routine and now I must off to ice the foot. The chin ups went 9-7-6 wide grip overhand, and 7-7-6-5 narrow grip underhand for a total of 47. The first set of reps underhand was a low number, but I got distracted by my 4 year-old and couldn't maintain concentration. It's amazing how that can affect your ability to do this exercise!

Garmin don't lie.


View Larger Map

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:


View Larger Map

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.


View Larger Map

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

5k Test Drive

I'm not really 100% as far as being pain free in the foot or anything, but I think I am on the way to recovery enough to start back slowly into running. The added motivation of my new pair of shoes also had me itching to run, and so I hit the gym and it's treadmill today. I had to test drive the new sneakers, after all. And since I can return them as long as I try them out indoors, the treadmill was my only option.

I walked for ten minutes to loosen up and then started off at 6.2mph on my planned 30 minute run. This equated to a 5k at 6:00/km pace, also known as nice and slow. It was certainly not a cardio workout or anything, but at least it was something two weeks to the day after my first race. The foot felt fine for the first twenty minutes or so and then started to tighten up a bit. The shoes felt great, and I did not feel like they were forcing me to pronate the same way that the New Balance 1062s did, which I still think was the cause on my foot pain in the arch. In short, I think the Mizuno Wave Inspiration 4s made a great first impression, and I will hit the treadmill again this week to continue to test them out during the return/exchange period.

Afterwards I spent about a half hour dipping my foot in ice water for a minute, then hot water for a minute, etc... I think this helps, though at the beginning it certainly was not what I consider fun. I can't imagine sitting in an ice bath!

One last thought: does anyone else feel like they are neglecting their Garmins when using a treadmill? I sure do! Nothing to plug into the laptop, no metrics, no graphs... Feels like I've only half-ran or something.

New Shoes, a bit of a Suprise

This morning we were on a mission to get haircuts for the boys, and as is typical of our family this little adventure took a bit longer than expected. By the time the boys were trimmed and we were ready to take on the rest of the day, it was lunchtime! The little guys were great, and I can't say they were solely responsible for the entire morning being devoted to accomplishing one thing. They are also looking very cute, but I realize I'm less than objective here...

The second thing I wanted to accomplish was to check out some running shoes, and hopefully buy a new pair. After their haircuts, the four of us went into the Running Room in the Beaches. It was not busy at all, and the store was smaller than I expected. I knew right away that the chances of me walking out of there with a new pair of runners was slim to none. Nevertheless, I tried on a couple of pairs of shoes, though they both were size twelve and obviously too small. It was worth stopping by, I suppose, but the young girl working there did not seem to have much experience or confidence in here abilities to recommend shoes. Too bad...

After lunch we piled in the car and headed off to Markham to visit Running Free. This store was much bigger with a great selection of shoes, as expected. I was helped by another young lady, but in this case she definitely seemed to know what she was talking about and was a great help. I tried on seven or eight different pairs of shoes, did some running on the treadmill in the store, and took a good long time trying on a variety of shoes: Asics, Saucony, New Balance, Mizuno, Brooks were the brands I tried, and a couple of different models in a few of them. In the end it came down to a pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire 4's and Saucony ProGrid Ride's. Miraculously, the Mizunos were available in size 12.5, and although the Saucony's were 13 they fit really well. The Brooks Adrenaline's were a close third, but they felt like there was not enough cushioning in them for the long haul. The Saucony's had probably the best cushioning, and I would have taken them had the Mizuno's not felt so good. In reading up on shoe selection, I continuously came across advice that said you should look for shoes that make you feel like you aren't even wearing anything, and these hit the mark. On top of that, they felt awesome when I was running on the treadmill, and they are super light. I will test them out on the treadmill at the gym before deciding whether or not they are keepers since I can still return them as long as they are not used outdoors, but I can't see why these won't work. They have the right balance of cushioning and stability, with a little bit of arch support and I am hopeful they will be THE ones. It's funny, I never would have considered Mizuno in the past, but going into this ready to try anything and not wanting to limit my options I think I ended up with a potentially great shoe.

As far as the foot is concerned I am still feeling pain, but I think things are slowly getting better. I think the key for me to getting back to running is to take it easy and keep my pace really slow for the foreseeable future. I hope to begin this week, starting with a test of the new shoes on the treadmill, what will become my winter of base building. I also want to get into some leg strengthening, but I think I will hold off on that for another couple of weeks while the foot continues to heal.

Movie Night with the Boys

We watched Kung-Fu Panda tonight, this being the not too uncommon "movie night" for the boys, and it was a lot of fun. I don't know how much of the movie either one of them actually got, but there were plenty of parts that they absolutely found hilarious. Lots of physical humour, as much as that is possible in cartoon form. I also found it quite funny. On a more serious note, the one line I think I will always remember from this movie is, "Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, and today a gift. That is why they call it a present." Hmmm...

On the running front I have no news. The foot is sore, but mostly from the plantar fascia that the good doctor rubbed the hell out of yesterday. I am looking forward to finding some new shoes since the more I think about it the more I am convinced that my current pair is not helping matters, but rather exacerbating the problem. Also, thank you all for your kind comments that reinforce the idea that the right footwear helps to prevent injuries. There are some articles out there about the myth that expensive running shoes are better than cheap ones, but these "studies" are debunked by some sound arguments. In the end, a cheap shoe may work for you, and if so then great. It's kind of like a good cheap wine to a wine drinker - if you like it then the lower price just makes it that much better, but has nothing to do with the taste.

G'night!

What a Night!

An historic election in the US, and I am very pleased with the result. Being Canadian, and unable to vote, I was still pulling for Obama to win, and I was hoping he would do so handily so that there would be no questions over his legitimacy. It'll be great to see what his leadership can bring over the next four years, and, if worthy, four more after that. Canada could sure use an intelligent and charismatic leader as we haven't had one in a long long time...

Other than that I find myself wondering what to write about these days. I am in r'n'r mode, waiting for things to heal up, and am unable to report any running activity on what is a running blog. That being said, I am thinking that perhaps my foot issue can be attributed to footwear and am wondering if perhaps my New Balance shoes, nice as they are, may be doing more harm than good. More conscious than ever of my running "style", if you can call it that, I notice that these shoes force my foot to pronate more than the Asics I was wearing before. This can be attributed to the super shock absorbing material that is on the outer edge of the sole of the shoe, which does not compress very much. I guess it is normal to go through different models of shoes before finding the right one, or is it? I am considering ordering the current version of my Asics shoes and seeing if they make a difference. I say ordering, of course, because I am in the minority with my 12.5 size feet and must "special order" with a "down payment" anything that is not in stock. I have to find a store that carries all the major brands in 12.5 so I can actually try them on rather than working blind.

No activity today, but I am back into doing the ice water - warm water routine for the foot, which is good. In fact, I have to go do that now!

Swimming 2k, and the Lumbar Blues

Another lunchtime swim today - 2000m in 30 minutes. I think all the lying around in bed on the weekend, or the 30 minutes on the stationary bike last night, did something to my lower back cuz it hurts today. It's like I picked up one of my kids early in the morning or something, except I don't have that excuse. I'm not worried about it, as much as it really does hurt, because I suspect it was the stationary bike thing - I didn't spend much time setting up the bike properly...

The other thing that I really don't want to admit may be the cause of the pain is that we got a new mattress this weekend, and it's super nice. My wife loves it, and I like it too, but if that's the reason my back is seizing up then things are going to be a little strained on the home front. I'll be like, "Either that mattress goes, or I go!" And she'll be like, "Can I help you pack?"

Perhaps a good soiling will bring her onside???

I was planning on going to the gym for some weights tonight, but will have to see how my back feels when that time comes around. Maybe I'll go and just do a lot of stretching, some ab stuff (I've been totally neglecting core strength for the past three weeks, and that might be another reason for the lumbar blues) and maybe some lying down resistance crap. We'll see.

Then again, a couple of Robaxacets may be the thing to do for tonight, then just settle in and watch the election stuff, complete with mucho controversies to keep the advertisers happy no doubt.

Doctor Knows Best. ... maybe.

The foot still hurts, and it looks like another week of no running for me based on my assessment with the doctor this morning. Although I realize that the pain is squarely localized in the foot, I don't think you'd disagree with me if I call it a real pain in the ass...

Not wanting to go completely to veg, I got on the stationary bike at the gym and managed 30 minutes at a decent effort level. In fact, I even had beads of sweat on one of my forearms! Yes, just one, and I have no idea why only on one arm, but it was a bit strange. Also, I tend not to sweat much at all at the best of times, so it was also a bit weird on that account.

Now, I am watching the SNL Presidential Bash, and it is very funny, in a disturbing kind of way. Tina Fay's portrayal of Sarah Palin is priceless.

Sick in bed

Yes, I've been off the blog for a few days, having caught a nasty cold. I managed a half-day at work on Friday, tied up some loose ends, cancelled some afternoon meetings, then spent the rest of the afternoon in bed. Saturday, ditto. Now it is Sunday afternoon and I've been in bed all day yet again, though I seem to finally be coming out of it. Whatever this bug was, it was strong, that's for sure.

At least the foot got some more rest, not that I planned on running this weekend anyway, wanting to give it at least a full week after the race to recover. I have another treatment with the doctor tomorrow morning, and I am sort of planning to go for a 5k or so jog tomorrow evening if the foot feels up to it. At the moment I think it should be OK.

Given the fact that I've gotten nothing accomplished in the last couple of days, that's all I have for now.

R'n'R, and it's not cool kind...

I don't mean rock'n'roll, but rather the much more geriatric rest'n'recuperation, and that's what I am continuing to do as I await the healing of the foot to run its course. It's actually quite pathetic the pain that this seemingly simple 10k has left me with, and I can't even begin to imagine what it feels like after running a marathon. I am not yet bouncing off the walls, but I sure am starting to itch to start running again. I am not interested in speed or anything, but rather the slow buildup of mileage that I am looking forward to.

I figure that the winter will be taken up with adding one kilometre per week starting at something fairly short and manageable. This strategy, coupled with maintaining strict heart rate and pacing in the nice'n'easy range (we really should use 'n' more often, don't you think?), promises to keep me on my feet while minimizing the chance of any overuse injuries.

So, I will try and relax and keep this foot on the healing path. I did manage another swim this afternoon, and that is helping to keep me sane. 2000m in 29 minutes. No weights tonight, though, partly because I am writing this week off, and mostly because it is Owen's

7th BIRTHDAY!

... and that kept me busy for the evening, as you can imagine. Now it is late, and I am still to do some stretching and some foot maintenance stuff, so it's time to sign off. I've been so busy this week that I haven't really had a chance to catch up on all of the blogs out there, but things should get back to normal after this week at work, or at least I really really hope that they do!

Is this normal?

It's been a few days now since my first ever race, and I am still more sore than I thought I would be. I suppose that's what happens when you spend three quarters of an hour with your heart rate up in the 90-100% of max zone, essentially turning your body into a lactic acid factory!

On the foot front, I am not too worried. Yes, it is sore, but I have another treatment tomorrow morning and I am not planning on running until I am totally pain free. The quads are just starting to feel better, and I no longer have to clutch at the railing when walking down stairs, which is a relief. It's still a slow way down, and I can't really attempt to carry anything heavy while doing this, but at least I am moving in the right direction.

However, the subject of this post is something completely different: the post race blues. I am itching to get back out there and run, but as mentioned above I am not going to until I am OK foot wise. It's the feelings of "can I do this again, and if so will I be able to push myself as hard?" that have me a little confused. The longer races I am planning on entering (Boxing Day 10 miler and the Around the Bay 30K) are so long that I am NOT going to actually race them, choosing rather to simply complete them at a decent pace that will allow me to keep training and won't leave me hobbling for a week afterward. How do you prepare mentally for another race (I'm referring to another event where you push yourself to the limit) when you now understand the pain that will be involved? Do the memories of pain fade with time to allow you to go hard again, only to be left with the same things to contemplate?

Anyway, it's heavy emotional stuff, and perhaps too deep for one of my shallow mental capabilities. Or maybe I am just having a tough time verbalizing the post race blues, but I've read about this phenomenon and I guess that's what's happening here. Some people take a long time off after a race (I know, I only did a 10k and not a marathon, but it still hurts!) and others like to get right back into training. If it wasn't for the foot I'd be running again already to work the kinks out for sure. Whatever the case, is there an inevitable letdown after every race, or only after those that you enter with a specific time goal? I can't imagine being too down after an event that you ran easy just to finish, but I'll find out soon enough.

And lastly, official race photos have just been posted from the Niagara Falls race. Here's a decent one - all the others make me look like I'm malnurished below the waist...


And oh yeah, an interesting article in todays NYT about what partners of marathoners have to deal with. I especially like one guy who purchased electrode therapy thingamajigs for $900, and justified the expense to his wife after they both agreed on fiscal restraint! Marathoners are a strange breed to be sure...

And as I write this - THE PHILLIES HAVE JUST WON!!!

My Inaugural Race Report!

Boy oh boy, where to begin? I've never had to write one of these, and must admit to some writer's block - so much to say, don't want to overwhelm... (ie. This is not going to be short...)

I had turned off the TV after the first inning game 3 of the World Series, and I probably passed out within minutes last night. We made sure to set the alarm and arrange for a wake up call, for obvious reasons, and I actually woke up on my own at about 6:20am, twenty minutes before the above "went off".

Monica did not have a great night of sleep, though I didn't know until she said so since I slept OK. We got up, got dressed, I scarfed down a piece of bread with some peanut butter, and we headed out shortly after 7am to pick up our race kits.

The weather was not too cold, and the rain that had been forecasted was nowhere in sight. I grabbed our race stuff while Mon waited in the car for lack of parking, and we headed back to the hotel to get ready.

We got all the gear we needed, strapped on the Bibs and I almost left without the Garmin! Luckily I remembered. I was decked out in the second-hand clothes Mon had picked up at the local thrift store, and we were off. Here's me with the Sally Anne attire, and apparently the angle of the shot was intentional!


Then, we headed back out to jog towards the starting area. In the lobby we were met with a great surprise - my Dad had arrived with his partner and our boys! Hugs all around, and we were off! My poor little Malcolm looked comatose - I guess he got a dose of his own medicine for a change since he's the own who typically wakes US up way too early! The other bonus of this chance encounter was that they were able to carry our after-race stuff down to the Finish area for us and we didn't have to jog with the bag in hand.

Here's a picture of the Start/Finish area that I took later in the day from a window in the restaurant where we ate lunch, but it seems to fit here as far as the post goes:


As we were running we came across another runner from Toronto who was also running her first ever race. Nancy, wherever you are, I hope you had a great race since we didn't see you afterwards!

Then, a quick porta-potty stop, and it was to the starting area. I shed the cheap-ass clothes (though we ended up finding them after the race and I kept the pants for future cold-weather races), and bounced around in the crowd of runners waiting for the horn. I lined up near the front, about five rows of people back from the front, not wanting to be caught up in the crowd mostly for fear of tripping - I am prone to accidents at most unfortunate times, and I figured this was the best strategy to minimize the chances of an occurrence.

Then the horn went off, and I was running!!!

It was chilly at the beginning, and although the running felt easy my lungs started to hurt a bit right from the start. I glanced down and the Garmin after about 300m and noticed my pace was below 4:00/km! Yikes! I immediately slowed down, for this is territory I cannot traverse as of yet. The first kilometre was finished in 4:32, 8 seconds faster than intended, but pretty well right on pace all things considered.

I don't think that this quick start hurt me much, but I sure started to wonder if I made the right choice running the 10k and not the 5k once I got about 2k into the race. My second split was still on target (4:38), but I was already labouring, and my heart rate was way higher than I thought it would be. I could tell this race would be a test of will as much as endurance, and I still had 8k to go!

The 3rd and 4th kilometres I was able to maintain my projected pace (4:36 and 4:40 respectively), but I knew that the dream goal of running under 45:00 was not going to happen. Not only was I already in the 90-100% of max HR zone, but the wind was very gusty and right in my face. At certain points it was hard just maintaining stride, and I was chilled right to the core whenever I was blasted. At least coming back I'd have the wind somewhat at my back...

The fifth kilometre was a struggle for me. The course took us over a little bridge that forced us to do a 180 degree turn on the other side of a small part of the river (looking at the satellite image I now realize this bridge goes over the beginning of a canal), and that hurt. My fifth split was the slowest yet: 4:51. A little before the turnaround point there was a decent group of folks on either side of the road cheering on the runners, and I must admit that this helped a great deal to push me toward the 5k mark. I also knew that they'd be there on my way back, and it was somehow reassuring to have total strangers clap and cheer for us runners.

Anyway, by now I was just thinking of at least breaking my "optimistic" goal of 47:30 for the race, and I figured this was doable as long as I didn't think about how tired I was feeling, and how heavy my legs felt. I had been running alone since about the 3k mark, with nobody passing me and I not passing anyone, and all I could see was a guy about half a K or more in front of me. The knowledge that I was now more than half-way there gave me a bit of a boost and I managed the sixth kilometre in 4:44, right on pace for my secondary goal.

The seventh kilometre brought me back over the little bridge, where I had a bit of an altercation with a spectator. As I rounded the corner to get up onto the bridge this older lady, looking only to her right to make sure that she was clear of the runners still heading towards the turnaround point, stepped right out in front of me without looking right! I nearly crashed right into her, and I think she felt quite badly for her oversight. Although we did collide, I held up enough and didn't hurt her. That would not have been a good scene. I wonder if I had ended up hurting her would I have stopped to help or would I have kept on running? I'm glad I didn't have to make the decision...

The 7th kilometre slowed me down and I managed only 4:49 for the split. By now I was in a world of hurt, and my foot flared up something fierce right about at this point. Not only that, but my right calf felt like it was about to cramp up, something I had not anticipated since I have not been prone to cramping at all in training!

As I kept on running, trying to keep some sort of form that would minimize the pain in my foot and the potential cramp lingering in the shadows of my cramp, I consciously decided to focus on something else: the guy with the blue shirt that I could still see about 500m ahead of me. I wanted to try and reel him in since we'd been running at about the same pace since the second or third kilometre, and I was hoping that he'd start to labour a bit from his fast start. Unfortunately, the eighth kilometre split was another 4:49 and I started to feel like I had nothing left in the tank. At one point the Garmin read that my average pace was 5:10/km and it was a small victory just to bring the split back DOWN to 4:49!

With 2K left to go, the wind died down a bit, or at least it was more at my back than before, with sideways gusts not bothering me too often. As I continued along I noticed that indeed I was reeling the blue guy in. He looked around now and then to check on me, which was both good and bad: I sort of wished he'd been too tired to be aware of his surroundings!

Anyway, I just thought "one step at a time" and kept on getting closer. By the time I hit the 9K mark I was within a hundred metres of him. My ninth split, though, was just a hair faster at 4:45, and I was really hurting.

But boy is that last kilometre easy on the brain, if not on the body! With about 700M to go I could see the Finish area coming in and out of view as I headed down the winding road. Blue guy was getting closer, but he kept on looking back and I could tell that he probably had enough gas to hold me off. I tried my best, but he too was able to pick up his pace. My last kilometre was the fastest of the entire race, not surprisingly I suppose: 4:27.

It was really cool coming into the Finish pretty much alone since I got my own shout out from the announcer, name and all. I think he made a good natured crack about my long legs, but by then I was barely coherent and I may have only dreamt this. As I crossed the Finish line I saw my Dad, Taky, and the boys right there. That, more than anything else, made my day! Here's the picture my Dad took, with my finishing time in the frame (he made a crack that he cut the "1" off on purpose!):


Another highlight of the race for me was seeing Monica on her way to the half-way mark after I was already heading back. We slapped hands, and she said something about me not being allowed to kick her ass too much! We had made a decision that bragging rights would go to me if I managed a time ten minutes or more faster than hers, and she'd be able to claim that she "kicked my ass" if she finished within ten minutes of my final time. In the end she did awesome and finished with a PR of 59:23.4, so congrats, and I KICKED YOUR ASS!!!

We met up at the finish for some post-race pictures:




Then it was time for a Tim Horton's coffee for me, and a picture for posterity in front of the falls with the sweet caffeinated beverage (a bit dark, I know, but that's what the morning was like!):


We walked back to the hotel room for showers, to check our official times on SportStats.ca, and then it was off to lunch at the Keg. We lucked out with the best view of the Falls!


Now for the digits:

My official time was 47:16.9. I finished 17th overall, 14th in the mens category, and second in my age category by 4.5 seconds to that guy in the blue shirt! Man, I wish I could have reeled him in!

I will now end my ramblings by simply saying tha