Ending My Thirties With a Whimper

Tags

injury, recovery, running, training

I hate being injured. Really, really hate it.

After having my hamstring cramp quite badly during the Hypo Half and again during my only run during the week I somehow thought that still doing the Valentine’s Day run in Amherst was a good idea. Turns out it was not. Less than halfway through the race, I felt a pop in my left leg which resulted in me walking far more than I would have liked.

I had a pretty good idea with the cramping and residual tenderness that running 40km on my birthday (tomorrow – the 16^th) was not going to happen. Even if I somehow managed to do it, the strain and wear on my legs at this point in the year AND the wonky hamstring would likely have resulted in having my season compromised even more so than it is at this current time.

I really had been looking forward to entering my forties in style – I was going to break the 40km into a couple of different runs. Part of the total was going to be with friends who have helped me with my training and life in general over the past little while and part was going to be solo – a time to reflect, be grateful for what running has added to my life and to just be at peace.

Overall, even with this hiccup I really do feel that this year will be just as fun as last year and that, more likely than not, I will see more improvements in my running. There is a lot of time left 2016, and my forties haven’t even started – a new decade to tackle!

I received a perfectly timed kick in the ass from Michelle yesterday who reminded me that there is a) plenty of time to recover from this injury b) lots I can do to prevent a relapse once I am healed but most important of all that there is a lot of strength and cross training that I can be doing (and should have been doing all along, admittedly) so that I won’t lose any fitness and may actually come back stronger than before.

So instead of celebrating by running 40km, I’m going to start my forties by planning my recovery, scheduling my cross training workouts and reaffirming my dedication to my spring goals. Tomorrow is just the start of another chapter and one I am excited to write.

2015 – A Look Back

Tags

racing, running, year in review

So here it is. The first Monday of 2016 and I am trying, once more, to be an honest to goodness blogger. I’ve mentioned on more than one occasion that writing things out helps me to stay organized, focus better and keep track of goals.

Like pretty much everyone else who has a fitness/running/lifestyle type blog – I’m going to go the easy route and start off the year by looking back at last year. I didn’t really keep the blog up to date on the year as it progressed – instead I stuck mainly to the social media standbys of Facebook and Twitter.

I’m not going to do a month by month account, but rather highlight certain things, lessons I’ve learned and just give myself and hopefully any readers out there an idea of the big picture. Make sense? Probably not. Andiamo!

 

Races

I’m not even exactly sure of the number of races I did last year, as not all had medals, etc – but it was definitely a less race filled year than 2014. My third Hypo Half, the Lorneville Loop, Not Since Moses and possibly one or two more happened, as well as the highlights below.

I raced my first 10k in forever at the Fredericton Marathon weekend – didn’t die and actually kinda enjoyed it.

Placed second overall at Run St. Andrew’s 5k – for which I won a really nice print by a local artist.

Won the Fredericton Wine Run 5k.

Set a half PB at Johnny Miles (1:42.28) and then again at the Cobequid Trail Half (1:39.11)

Most importantly, crushed my marathon PB by 21 minutes and achieved my pie in the sky goal of being sub 3:30 at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfrom Marathon (3:28.23) – due in no small part to the masterful pacing of my friend, Peter Lawless.

 

Training

My “Garmin mileage” was over 2200 km for the year, including my first month of over 300 km. Including treadmill and runs without my Garmin I feel like I was likely very close to, if not over, 2400km total for the year. In preparation for Toronto, the vast majority of my running was done on paved roads.

Last winter marked the first winter in which I actually made some effort to cross train, having invested in a TacX mag trainer. I didn’t log as many hours as I should, but I feel as though it was beneficial to my overall results. Yoga was also integral to my physical fitness and maintenance for the first half of 2015. It lagged once the summer arrived but I really enjoyed it and felt it was a big part of me staying injury free through the winter.

 

Still running, but not quite training

A new aspect I took on in 2015 was leading some local running clinics in my hometown of Sackville, NB. I had no expectations when I offered to do a 5k clinic in the spring, but demand was so high that the town had to offer two clinics.

The clinics definitely helped me maintain fitness through some periods of low motivation and the people I met were very inspiring to me. Many of the have kept running, some of them completing as much as a half marathon since. Some of them signed up for a fall 10k clinic I led as well, and the results were just as positive.

 

Not actual running, but still running related

Doing fewer races meant seeing a lot less of the friends I have made throughout Atlantic Canada. The trip to Toronto was a boon for actually meeting some of my social media friends in person for the first time as well as reconnecting with many of the amazing folks I met during my 2014 visit. Too many folks to mention, but a couple of pictures will give an idea.

The @RunAtCan twitter chat has continued to grow and I actually maintained the commitment of moderating the chats almost every Sunday night of 2015. The connections I’ve made and seen others make via the chat and meet ups has continued to be a huge positive for me.

The Bluenose Marathon actually had myself and a few other people from the twitter chat lead a panel discussion about the influence of social media on the running community. It was pretty well attended and definitely a different experience.

Life in General

In 2015, my older son Caleb entered high school and my younger, Tolkien, started what I would call junior high (in the olden days – yes, I said it). Stacey has entered her third and final year of law school and only has one semester before graduation and then she begins her articling year.

In April, I started work (part time) as the Executive Director of Triathlon New Brunswick which led to a whirlwind summer of (re) learning the ins and outs of multi-sport events. The learning curve has been sharp but my experience being around so many running events in the past couple of years as well as having been in involved with triathlons when I lived in Corner Brook, NL definitely helped.

I’ve been doing some other social media things locally as well, but being a full time dad with a wife away at school has kept me pretty busy. Overall, 2015 has been a challenging year but I feel as though I’ve learned a lot about myself.

Comments? Questions? Love to hear from you – comment below!

Training Log March 9 – 15

Tags

running, training, winter

Well, winter continues to beat me down mentally and hamper some of my training plans, but I shall persist!! Even with another couple of snow days swooping in on us, I feel as though I can see a light at the end of the tunnel! Here is how last week looked for me training wise. One run skipped voluntarily, as I’m still focusing on cautiously building up mileage and the added stress of more speed work

Monday, March 9^th

1 hour yoga

5 km running

Tuesday, March 10^th

10 km running

Wednesday, March 11^th

10 km – (2 X 3km at  4:50 – 4:59/km pace)

Thursday, March 12th

1 hour yoga

Friday, March 13th

5 km running

Saturday, March 14th

16 km @ 5:40/km pace

Sunday, March 15th

Yet another stupid G.D. blizzard. Several hours cursing the weather gods.

46 km total and two hours of yoga. Not too shabby – definitely want to get regularly past that 50km/ week total and keep building from there. The speedwork has been enjoyable so far, but I’m still feeling a little paranoid about hurting myself. Frustrating to always have that concern in the back of my mind, something to work on mentally I guess!

Hope you’re all doing fantastic as well. Keep getting out there and giving winter the one finger salute – we’re almost there!!

Happy running!

5 Ways to Survive a Snow Storm

Tags

humour, reading, running, sport suds, winter

Blizzard season is upon us and many runners find this time of year quite physically and mentally challenging. Alongside the media promoting we are experiencing weekly “Storms of the Century”, the reality for those of us in northern climes, is that there are obstacles we must compete with to stay on top of our training. To help you keep your sanity and perhaps even give you a smile, here are some ways for my fellow runners to survive the next (and next….and next…..and next) snowstorm!

 1. Plan a dream race-cation!!

Want to give Jack Frost the old middle-finger? What better way than to plan a warm weather destination race? It doesn’t have to be for this year, or even within budget – but it could provide a pleasant distraction as well as something to work towards. Think of it as planning your escape route! Start with google or even by throwing the question out to your running friends – getting your mind thinking of more positive days ahead is a good way to avoid the winter crush.

Great Wall Marathon, perhaps? This could be you!

 2. Consider taking up a running related craft or hobby

You can turn old race shirts in to a blanket of bag. Recycle and re-use those bibs! Build elaborate sculptures from your empty Nuun containers and Body Glide sticks. The possibilities are endless! You could even make a life-like voodoo dolls of the weather person who continues to ruin your life by telling you about all of this horrible weather. Don’t they know you’ve got to get those miles in???

Sorry @turbona…nothing personal 🙂

 3. Read a running related book

If you’re like me, you likely have a pile of running books sitting on your shelf or floor – or both. Maybe you’ve read them all and maybe you haven’t, I don’t judge. I have a lot of running related books to catch up on and need to find the time to read them, so a snowstorm seems like a good time to do that, don’t you agree? If it is about a new philosophy or training approach, I may learn something that is going to help with my training. If it’s motivational or inspirational, it’s going to lift my spirits regardless and help me focus on how great the next run will feel, rather than to mourn for the run I’ve lost due to weather.

Time for a reading marathon

4. Organize your running gear or do running laundry

Come on….admit it – you’ve secretly got a mishmash of running related items somewhere, don’t you? Whether it’s the drawer filled with medals, bibs and safety pins, the pile of sneakers of various (and often dubious) conditions or the pile of laundry that is threatening to go for a run without you, we’ve all got one (or more) of these messes. You can feel productive, keep running at the forefront of your mind and maybe even recall some forgotten but fond memories of running to keep you smiling through the storm.

So pretty…

5. Go for a run anyway

Badass miles count for at least double. Plus, you get to take those selfies with icicles hanging from your nose and post them all over the place. It’s also fun to run in weather and wonder what is going through the minds of the people in vehicles as they pass you. For the record, most of the time what they are thinking is some variation of “That person is an idiot.” And we are. But we’re also the happiest idiots in the world. Just wear lots of bright and shiny clothes, have proper traction, and be aware of traffic and it’s all good.

Yay, winter running!

Happy running!!

WCS Thinking

Tags

Mental Health, running, training

Mood, like training (or life in general) has an ebb and flow to it. For most runners, mood and training seem to have a highly positive correlation – meaning that when training is going well, mood is elevated. The flip side of this is that when training is NOT going well, or is interrupted, mood tends to plummet off a cliff.

I’m speaking in generalities of course. Not every runner I know feels such an intense connection to their training – but a lot of us do. For me, I have come to view running as the number one anti-depressant in my life, so any issue interfering with that brings almost instant anxiety. Being aware of this helps, but it doesn’t prevent the tailspin from happening.

I almost made it through the entire month of January without this happening, but an unfortunate (if not semi-hilarious) injury has kept me from running for a couple of days. I won’t get into details other than to say it involved repeatedly stepping on a cat while trying not to step on said cat and ending up a crumpled heap on the floor. It would make a spectacular video, I’m sure. The result is strained intercostal muscles in my ribs and a couple of days of taking it easy.

Again, logically I know that a couple of days (or even a few) isn’t going to have a detrimental effect on my overall training or goals. What I’m still working on is the “end of the world as I know it” thoughts that come along with the smallest hiccup. I have dubbed this Worst Case Scenario or (WCS) Thinking. It’s not catchy, but it’s not supposed to be.

Here is an example of how it works;

Time: Random Winter Day

Location: Anywhere it is considered normal to experience heavy snowfall or even blizzards.

Rational Thinking: “Oh, poo. I may have to run on the treadmill. Or cross-train. At least I have food, shelter and literally dozens of modern conveniences within my reach. An extra day of rest might actually help me as well.”

WCS Thinking: “The snowpocalypse is upon us!! The roads will literally never be safe to run on again. If I dare set foot outside of my house, I will surely be hit by a rogue Camry with all season tire on or devoured by a yeti. Or, due to slippery footing, I will catastrophically tear all the ligaments in my legs.”

Would you like a second example?

Time: Any time I cannot run due to pain, illness or life in general.

Rational thinking: “As soon as I am able, I will be back out there running. It’s not like I have the Olympics trials or I am unable to do other things to stay fit and active.”

WCS Thinking: “I am never going to be able to run again. There is no point in putting in any effort, as another injury or obstacle will always prevent me from achieving even the modest goals I have set for myself.”

The first example is a bit extreme, but the second is literally the type of thinking I deal with on a regular basis. Battling the voice that wants you to give up, that keeps asking “what’s the point?” and makes it so much easier to focus on the setbacks than the progress is exhausting.

I wish this post was more about how this thinking is getting rarer for me or the tools I incorporate in my routine to quickly get back on track – but it isn’t. It’s just sharing the thought process as well as the difficulty it creates. I find it more than a little ironic that I have a hard time applying skills or habits I developed through more than a decade as a professional personal counsellor to my own situation. That being said, I did find an interesting resource here.

There are days that the WCS Thinking is the only thinking that I can focus on. And there is always the fear that it could be right. I’m very fortunate to have an amazing partner who helps me on these days, as well as some close friends and even the online running community. If you deal with this type of thinking or know someone who does, the only thing I can tell you is that –at least so far for me – that voice is a big fat liar. Remind yourself of that and identify the people or other resources that can help you when the thoughts get so loud that they crowd positive thinking out.

If you read this because you follow my blog, you follow me on Facebook or Twitter or somehow a search engine happened to bring you here, I want to thank you for taking the time to read this post. I also want you to know that if you ever need to talk about your own WCS Thinking, I’m willing to listen and talk to you as well.

Take care of yourself – and happy running!

The Treadmill – You Know You (Want to) Love It

Tags

running, tips, training, treadmill

With winter running comes the inevitable post about treadmills. So what makes this post different? Other than being written about me, I’m not really sure. But let’s pretend together that what I have to say is equal parts enlightening and humorous. Ok? Ok.

I will confess that I actually made peace with the treadmill last winter – a grudging truce, so to speak. I promised to not complain too much about the treadmill and even be thankful that it was an option. In return, I would never again fall down and be thrown off of a treadmill. I don’t have anything in writing but so far so good.

If you have a difficult time getting jazzed for a treadmill run, here are some of my suggestions for ways to stay a little more positive about it.

1) Get to know your treadmill.

If you are very fortunate to have your own treadmill, then it’s worth reading the manual and learning about the features and functions of your specific machine. Even if you’ve gotten a second hand one that came without the manual or use one at the gym, the internet will have lots of info. If you’re more of a hands on learner, take some time to play with the buttons and setting and see what you’ve got. Knowing how to do a variety of training focused workouts on your treadmill will make it easier to maintain momentum, even when weather or road conditions have other ideas.

2) Add music or at least have a nice view.

One of the biggest complaints I have about treadmills is how monotonous a run can feel. Anything past 30 minutes and if I don’t have something else occupying my mind, then things get weird. Music can be helpful for that, especially if you have a specific playlist made for running that is up tempo and energetic. At home, you may actually use the treadmill while watching television or by setting the treadmill up near a window.

3) Appreciate it for what it is

As someone who needs to be outside for the sensory benefits of running, I used to be fairly resistant and even resentful of treadmill running. An approach I have been taking with many aspects of my life is that when I am feeling negative or critical about something I ask myself to focus on the positives of whatever it is. If that doesn’t work, I then ask myself to focus on how privileged I am to be complaining about something other than hunger, shelter or safety. To have the option of running on a treadmill when the paved roads around my house are less than ideal makes me extremely fortunate.

4) Variety is the spice of life

Treadmill running is much like running outdoors if you do the same thing every single time. Running the same route, the same direction and same pace every day will likely lose its charm after a while. Reduce the scenery and the same routine becomes next to impossible. Changing tempos or incline, using pre-programmed workouts or creating different workouts on your own can really make the experience enjoyable. You probably have a variety of workouts you do outside, why should the treadmill be any different? You’re only as limited as your imagination!! Like this guy…

 

Do you dread the tread? Or is it one of your best winter running friends? I’d love to hear your thoughts or questions about treadmill running.  Share them and comment below!

 

Happy running!

Life Balance

Tags

chat, Life Balance, Mental Health, RunAtCan, running

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” – Stephen Covey

This Sunday night, the #RunAtCan chat I have been hosting on Twitter for the past few months is going to be about the challenge of life balance for runners with multiple other commitments. These other commitments include work, family, volunteer opportunities and (gasp!) other activities we are involved with on a regular basis.

Ahead of the chat, I thought it might be helpful to put my own thoughts together on the topic – at least partially (it is a HUGE topic, after all). Life balance is close to my heart – having been a mental health professional for many years, I know how common a struggle it is as well as how difficult it can be to achieve. Ironically, while I feel as though I had a good professional grasp on what it took for a person to work towards improving their own life balance, it is something that I was unsuccessful at in my own life.

I believe that the majority of us have a tendency to focus outwards and examine how the other important people in our lives are managing their day to day habits. We feel a responsibility to care for those around us to our own detriment. While this seems like the normal (even noble?) thing to do, what we are doing is ultimately very unhealthy for us. It seems counterintuitive, but in order to truly take care and be there for our loved ones we have to take care of ourselves above and beyond anyone else.

Taking care of yourself so that you are in the best physical and mental state possible is NOT selfish. I really, really cannot emphasize that enough. Being selfish is making decisions or taking actions regardless of how they affect others – you are solely focused on how it makes things better for you. Making decisions to keep yourself physically and emotionally fit enable you to care your loved ones long term. It also models healthy habits to your loved one that may then emulate – which also helps them as it is a lifetime change rather than a temporary assist.

What are some things that you can do to evaluate and improve your life balance? Here are a few suggestions – although it is by no means an exhaustive list.

1. Prioritize!!! Before you do anything else, ask yourself who are the people and what are the things that bring you the most joy in your life. Make a physical list of what is important to you and do it with complete honesty. If you’re going to bullshit yourself, you may as well just stop here. Think of your list as a recipe for happiness. The list can also be referred back to if you find yourself wandering or losing perspective.

2. Track your time. Balance doesn’t mean paying equal attention to each aspect of your life. It means paying adequate attention to each aspect. If you don’t have a good handle on how you are actually spending your time, it is harder to adjust things or make educated changes. Getting solid, representative data about where your daily, weekly and monthly time is spent is really useful. Real life is complicated and unexpected things happen, but a few days or a couple weeks of tracking your time will help you immensely.

3. Compare your priorities list with where you actually spend your time. For most of us, it can actually be quite shocking to see these two things compared. Obviously, we can’t spend all of our time doing our favourite things or being around our favourite people (unless we are extremely fortunate) but we can certainly look for ways to include more positive things in our life.

4. Look for things to eliminate. Another benefit of tracking our use of time is that we get to see how much the little, insignificant things eat into the really important things. How much time do you spend watching tv? Staring at your smartphone? Playing video games? There is nothing wrong with leisure activities – but if they are NOT on your priorities list, why do most of us spend so much time doing them?

5. Ask for help or input from others. This doesn’t mean you need to seek professional help (although it is certainly an option) but it means that you are more likely to be successful in making positive changes when you involve others. Ask a family member or friend to be a workout or accountability partner. Talk to people who you see as more organized or balanced how they do it. Go online and read about life balance. If you feel that things are not going as well as you would like, then it’s worth trying something different. It can be scary and it’s almost never easy but things rarely change on their own – you have to put some effort in yourself.

Those are just some of my thoughts. I hope you’ve found this helpful. I would really love to hear from you. If you have any questions or any resources or tips on life balance you’d like to share, please leave a comment below!!

Happy running – and happy mental health!!

Last Minute Stocking Stuffer Ideas

Tags

FlipBelt, gift ideas, GU, roadID, running, stocking stuffers

Only a week to go until Christmas Eve and I actually have all of my shopping done (I think). Being so productive, I thought it may be useful to share some thoughts of last minutes gift ideas for the runners in your life – or for yourself (hey, you deserve it!!).

Energy gels – for non-runners, these little packets of goo (or Gu) are the most disgusting and confusing things. However, for many runners they are tiny parcels of delicious joy. It’s a nice way to try out new flavours (if you’re adventurous) or just get a few extra gels.

My personal favourite!

KT Tape – Taping is something that you see more and more these days. From my limited experience with it, the product is great for various nagging issues. There are also plenty of youtube tutorials on its use as well, and it’s a nice thing to have in your handy dandy runners tool-kit (which if you don’t have one, you should).

So many colours!

FlipBelt – This is a product that I got to try out recently thanks to the folks at BibRave, and I love it. I often have to run with my car keys and my phone, which jingle and bounce around and generally annoy the heck out of me. With the FlipBelt, I can carry my keys, my phone a bank card, spare change, gels and any other number of things and I don’t even notice them. The belt holds things in quite snugly and is very comfortable. It can also be made quite compact, which makes it perfect for the stocking!!

Flipbelt!

Socks – Specialty socks made for running are another item I was sceptical about until I actually started using them myself. I swear by my running socks for comfort and keeping me (mostly) blister free year round. I actually really love my breath thermo Mizuno socks for winter running as well as my Pro Compression socks for longer runs.

Road ID – If you have a medical condition or have a loved one that you’d like to give a little more peace of mind when you head out for a long run, then a Road ID is a must have. Lightweight, customizable and comfortable, more and more runners, cyclists and other endurance athletes are investing in the bracelets.

Reflective Strips – Keeping with the safety theme, although a lot of running gear (especially winter gear) has reflective logos or stripes, for darker runs or poorly lit areas you can never be too visible. Whether it’s a roll of reflective tape or reusable velcro strips, they are practical and make a great stocking stuffer.

 

Bodyglide – Chafing is one of the major enemies of the long distance runner. Most of us have been chafed in places we didn’t even know it was possible to chafe. Body glide or similar products are terrific for cutting down on those super unpleasant memories formed when the shower water hits those spots you’ve missed.

Massage Roller/Ball – A travel roller or massage tool is a nice addition to any runner’s kit bag. There are a lot of varieties of roller both in the stick or ball style that are great to put in a carry-on bag or even keep in the glove compartment of your car.

Yoga Strap – As more runners add yoga to their routine or take stretching more seriously, they may need (or benefit from) some things to help them build their strength and flexibility. Yoga straps are versatile, relatively non-expensive and are very useful in assisting in many leg stretches that benefit runners.

I’m sure I’ve missed a lot of fun and interesting suggestions – what is on your wish list or what are other things you’ve seen and thought would be good for the other runners in your life? I would love to hear from you and also hear your thoughts on my list!!

 

Happy running!!

 

 

A Half Marathon in PEI and the First #RunAtCan Meet Up!!

Tags

challenge medals, PEI Marathon, RunAtCan, running, twitter

Back in the spring, I had registered for the full marathon at PEI with visions of a PB dancing in my head. The running gods had other ideas – I wasn’t able to put in the training required and finally (reluctantly) changed my registration to the half marathon only three weeks ago.

The culprit for my hip woes (at least in my own mind) was deciding not just to run, but to race the 5k event at the Bluenose Race Weekend only six days after completing a marathon in very tough conditions. More seasoned runners with many more miles under their feet may be able to get away with something like this, but I was not so lucky. Instead of listening to my body and resting or taking it very easy, I pushed hard and paid the price.

Ironically, one of the reasons I chose to check out the Bluenose was the three Atlantic Chip medal challenges – one of which came to a conclusion this past weekend in PEI. The Maritime Challenge involved participating in any distance at three events in the three Maritime Provinces – the Bluenose (in NS), the Marathon by the Sea (in NB) and the PEI Marathon (in PEI). If I wasn’t going to be able to race this summer, I guess I decided that I may as well at least check out as many events as possible.

To make a long story short, I found myself in Charlottetown this weekend with my co-conspirator Stefanie (aka @epileptrick) preparing to do the half marathon. Stefanie and I have run together at several events this year and travelled to a few of the various “challenge” events together. I’m not sure whose idea it was, but we are both seeing it through the final race next weekend at Legs for Literacy.

For PEI, I set myself a goal of 1:55 – which would be 3 minutes faster than I had run in Fredericton four weeks earlier on a much flatter course. The other part of my goal was to run it like a hard workout – not to push too hard – as I’m still recovering and building back up my strength and speed.

Just as important to me was a planned meet up for some of the runners I have gotten to know via Twitter this past year and who have been regular participants and supporters of the weekly chat I moderate, the Sunday night #RunAtCan chat. Knowing that us runners would want to carb up and also get to bed at a reasonable time the night before a race, I booked a table at The Old Triangle and hoped for the best.

I was really happy to see a solid turnout, as a dozen people all told made it out – some of them even bringing family or another runner, meaning we weren’t a scary group. Stefanie and I got there a few minutes early to make sure the table was ready. Ahmet (@10X10K) and his wife showed up first, followed by Chris (@turbona), fresh off the Chicago Marathon last week(!) and Nicola (@irishnicola). We were also joined by Myles (@irunmc) and his friend Dave from Truro, Renee (@rayvenevermore – who I actually went to high school with back in Newfoundland!) and Kendra (@kendra_shepp08) who brought her mother. Last but not least, Rod and Jo Paul (@rod_paul and @CasaJos) – who are killing it with half marathons galore this year, capping 2014 with their first full next weekend – were there as well. There was a lot of shop talk, of course, but overall it was just a nice and relaxing time. It was a perfect inaugural meet up for #RunAtCan and hopefully it’s something we can repeat at another race.

Chris, Stefanie, Nicola, Ahmet, Ahmet’s wife and me!

With the success of Saturday night’s get together really picking me up, I was really looking forward to the run on Sunday. I went through the routine of checking and double checking my gear – including the traditional “Flat Paul” photo.

The 5k, 10k and half marathoners all started together at 9 – a later start then I’ve seen this year, but the extra rest was welcome for sure. I talked to most of the folks from the night before as well as some other familiar faces including Andrew (@paris_andrew) another awesome supporter of the weekly chats – and his wife.

The race itself was very well organized and went pretty much as it had been described to me. The course is mainly on road, with some trail in the middle. There are some decent hills, both for incline and length but nothing too crazy. It is also a very scenic run and the volunteer presence was amazing. Traffic control in particular was done perfectly and runners were definitely in no danger from traffic at any point along the course.

I found the trail section harder than I expected and found the trails were where you felt the humidity the most. The road sections were much more open and the weather held off (yay for no hurricanes!). Crossing the line in 1:55:17, I felt very satisfied as I met my goal and didn’t push too hard or hurt myself in the process.

I definitely would like to return to PEI at some point to do the full marathon, as I feel it is a little bit of unfinished business now – it’s not likely going to be next year as other plans are in the works, but it will happen. For this year, I was proud to get a beautiful finishers medal as well as my Maritime Challenge medal – both well earned and among my favourites.

Happy running!

Eat and Run – Book Review

Tags

book review, food, nutrition, reading, review, running

For most runners the name Scott Jurek is a familiar one. Jurek is an American ultra-marathoner who dominated the sport at the beginning of the millennium and continues to race and compete at an extremely high level. To a lesser degree, he is also known as one of the first endurance athletes to train and compete entirely on a plant based diet. A while back, I took a couple of days to read his largely autobiographical book “Eat & Run” and if you’ll pardon the pun, I devoured it.

“Eat & Run” is different from any of the running books I’ve read before, as all of the useful training, psychology and nutritional info is woven into Jurek’s narrative. While he takes time to describe his own approach to running and diet, he does a great job of qualifying that information. At no point did I feel like he was criticizing other approaches or saying that his methods were superior. The most useful thing I took away from this book is that educating yourself on the finer points of physiology and nutrition leads to better results. Trying to understand not just what works best for you but WHY it works best for you is key if you really are committed to being as successful as you want to be. Basically, never stop trying to learn more – be a student of running at all times and be open to change if what you are currently doing isn’t getting you closer to your goals.

You can tell that Jurek is more interested in sharing his knowledge rather than converting you to his way of thinking about all the separate aspects of running. This makes it a lot easier to enjoy the information as it doesn’t come off preachy – more like you’re just listening to someone talk about the different topics.

In terms of the nutrition and recipes, this is where I found the book to be most interesting. Not only does he share some of his favourite and power packed foods with the reader, but he gives you some straight forward information as to their benefits as well as his personal experiences. There is no doubt that all of his food has been road tested – and while that doesn’t guarantee that you will get the same results, it’s always nice to know you’re not simply being sold a product.

Even without the nutritional information, Scott Jurek has a compelling book that runners of any level would enjoy. I don’t think you have to be an elite athlete or an ultra runner to be interested in what he has to say. It is clear that he has dedicated himself to being a phenomenal runner but it is just as clear that while natural talent is part of the equation – a passion for running and a thirst for knowledge and improvement are just as important.

I really enjoyed this book and give it a strong recommendation for any runners out there, from beginner to seasoned marathoner.

Happy running!