The Marathon Itch

Since the end of April, I’ve been trying to exercise again, but I’ve been hit with more stumbling blocks. I’m at least cycling again to a normal speed and pace, but my endurance is still lacking. I’m guessing that my lungs give out at around 75% of what their normal past efficiency was. Damned pulmonary scar tissues are still being a nuisance to me. Cycling has been the only hardcore physical cardio activity I’ve been able to tolerate throughout the month, as there is less shock from it. Back pain due to a pinched nerve for the past few weeks has limited me to just that. Of course, this impedance restricted my ability to run. However, I’m finally feeling like I’ve recovered from that. All this while, it has been aching me to see so many people out there running, yet I couldn’t be among them.

I went to the Saskatchewan Marathon Expo yesterday. I wasn’t registered, but I was collecting a race package for someone who was. When I arrived at the Expo and reached the bike valet station, I was given a ticket with the big bold number of 007. It was a reminder that I had the smarts, discipline, and resilience before to adopt the “Bond” attitude before, and I’m sure I could put myself back in that place again. As I was cycling back home the downtown, I was lost in thought about what it will take to put me back into the shape my former self was in, and what kind of time and energy I could devote to it. I now have a goal, but I needed real science and numbers and figures to help guide me. So, like James Bond, I decided to scope out some of the course of the Saskatchewan Marathon, and covertly follow and use some real people as targets to assess some realistic metrics and information to fashion some running hacks.
I could hear the ruckus and commotion of the setting up of the Marathon all the way from the Exhibition grounds where the race starts this morning. The dog and I walked towards the starting gate, and I used the GPS on my phone and the stopwatch to get some data. Here is what I tracked down and found:

·         The stretch along St. Henry Avenue between the corners of Ruth and Hilliard is 0.211 km: that’s exactly 1/100^th of the distance of a half marathon (1/200^th of a full one). That’s convenient and useful for making a quick mental tachymeter calculation when I’m running through that section of street.

·         I found a target guy amongst the runners who was about my height, age, weight and build. I timed him and followed him between those two points. (1’ 52.62”, or 112.62 seconds)

·         Voila, I have what I need to determine realistic average target pace, at least initially.

·         Now, calculate that time and distance to a time/km figure for my slowest LDR pace (8’ 53.4”/km), and then go for a run try to hold that pace, and see how far I can get before pulmonary fatigue kicks in to get a baseline. I use that to work on extending my distance beyond that, progressively working up to the 21.1 km mark, and try and not to get too hung up on going faster.

I went for a trial run later after breakfast, which took me through some of the Marathon course. It was great to use the open road for a course way, and even though I wasn’t part of the race, the cheering bystanders were very motivating.

Using Graph Theory, Creepy Tent City

It was just too hot to sleep last night; I slept like crap, and I woke up too late this morning to take advantage of more tolerable conditions for running. It's climbing up to the mid-thirties today temperature-wise: even hotter than yesterday. So, I'm going to relax today and recover from the strain of the gym work and running around I did yesterday. I was a bit too ambitious and overworked my arms. I can barely straighten them now. If I did hit the trails later today, I'd be destined for heatstroke and cramping. I have to smarten up and start healing right.


My scribbled out algorithmic representations
 of this city's trails and bridges.

Since I did my hard work Friday and Saturday, I thought I should do my smart work today. It was one of those good moments when I got the chance to blow the dust off of some obscure knowledge of discrete mathematics and graph theory locked up in my memory somewhere, and making it somehow meaningful. Extreme insomnia is often the cause and reason for jolting me into these deviations into harmless, yet eccentric, numerical explorations. I thought I should apply myself to it before my already too-tired pulpy mush of brain softens up even more from today's heat. I played around with some Hamiltonian circuits and weighted digraphs. I used that stuff to figure out the optimal path between points along my running routes which would constitute the most effective and ideal half-marathon training course for the sake of my own safety and efficiency. I should have been using this analysis ages ago, which could have spared me some agony, but I've been procrastinating. It's stuff I think I'll be using more often in the future to avoid some other negative extremes in training and personal logistics.

Speaking of extremes, the other observation my half-cooked mind is noting is how weird the vibe has switched over in the neighbourhood with the presence of some glaringly conspicuous newly erected monument to piety. The Seventh Day Adventist school across the alley from my building has went through some considerable effort and expense to set up sort of temporary compound of plain white large tents and awnings, all surrounded and visually shielded by a two meter high white tarp-draped fence. The sign outside of it calls it a "tour of the history of the bible"* or some such thing. There is this structure with towering gold-painted columns that especially looks freaky: like fucking Caligula was camping there. It's the noise element that's creeping me out most, or rather the lack of the noise you would expect and associate with entertainment when you see such structures. If you didn't know that this was some attempt by these people to fashion some kind of  'Jesus Circus', you would think it was a refugee camp, or that an emergency battlefield hospital was set up there as if an outbreak of some kind of plague was happening. It's very unsettling. I won't dare enter that place, no matter how curious its presence is making me. The weird setup of the fence makes it look ultra-secretive. The only impression I gather of what religious activity might be going on in there is the kind where cult members have their finally stop to drink their cyanide laced Cool-Aid. It's a disturbingly ominous looking setup, and I'll be glad when this thing gets all knocked down by the end of the month.

What little I know about the Seventh Day Adventists is this: they hold a more literalistic interpretation of the Bible, and more staunchly conservative (puritanical) than most other Protestant Baptist denominations. They abstain from alcohol and tobacco, they don't dance, and don't approve of immodest dress. Like the Jews, they observe Saturday as the Sabbath, and there is following the Kosher dietary laws (no pork, shellfish, etc.). I have no personal qualms with them. When it comes right down to it, I wish more of the dope dealing assholes would move out of the neighbourhood, and more Adventists would move in their stead. What does sicken me though about this setup of this Messiah Mansion, is that this too is proof of just how likely they are, as with any other religious group, to resort to using such a tawdry display as a meme-warfare tactic, despite appearing outwardly more conservative, to attract more followers . . .  of what amounts to be mythology. So many other things could have been done with that money and energy for real charitable work than wasting it on setting up this tacky showpiece; which I must add, has been largely vacant since it arrived here.

On Saturday, I was shamelessly sun tanning on my deck, less-than-modestly attired, in full view of the people running this show, drinking my beer, and snacking on some spare ribs and smoked oysters. In my own way, that's how I've been rebellious and defiant to the presence of this monstrosity.

*-  I highly doubt that this history includes a case for evolution. As kindly and civil as they may appear, when it comes to literalistic followers of scriptures in Abrahamic religions: be it Biblical or Koranic, I have no desire to waste my time with people stupid enough to actively refute the scientific evidence of evolution, and too sanctimonious to even bring it into question.

Holy Lord T'underin' Jumpin' Jehovah!. . . Too Many Rollicking Frolickers, My Son!

I came close to covering a half-marathon distance in training today, just three kilometers shy of it. I did OK for the run itself, however the decision to do it was rather spontaneous, and I failed to have a sufficient carb and mineral intake to prepare for such a feat. Afterward, I was suffering with a bad migraine for much of the afternoon and early evening, either because of extremely low blood sugar or screwy blood pressure due to electrolyte depletion. It's finally starting to settle; just in time too, since my walls are starting to shake from the Newfie sea shanties blaring from the concert grandstand tonight*. Either the Ibuprofin or the bowl of salty popcorn I'm having for my late supper is making the experience tolerable. They are playing quite well actually. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have enough wits to stand the commotion of a 5000 person 'sociable'. Sadly, I can't enjoy a beer while listening to it right now; a shot of pickle juice will have to do (helps prevent lactic acid build up/cramping . . . it works instantly too).

The Newfoundlanders playing down the block, the brief visit with my relatives visiting from Victoria, the more extreme of the distance I ran today, and re-reading a comment in a past entry about the scale of our nation made me put all my accumulated mileage into perspective with respect to our geography. I calculated that the accumulated kilometers from all my recorded runs is a bit shy of the distance between St. John's, NFLD and Thunder Bay, Ontario. If I recall correctly, it's just about the same distance Terry Fox made it to before his demise from cancer taking the rest of him. It's a depressing realization; I hope doesn't serve as a harbinger for some sort of impending disaster. So, I'll track my progress starting from Victoria instead. I'm reckoning that by following the Trans-Canada, and then down highway 17 through Ontario, that my current placement would be somewhere between/around Sudbury and North Bay**. That's a better thought to have, since I know someone lovely who lives around North Bay. I should have something special in store for me like a celebration if or when I achieve the kilometer number what covers the distance from between Tofino, BC to St. John's: basically the breadth of the nation. I figure that would be around another 2,800 kilometers left for me to do.

There's just one more night of the left before they start packing up Sunday. I hope Saturday night passes without getting as crazy as all the other years.

*- Great Big Sea is playing tonight at the Ex.
**- The roads through the Shield get a little more bendy and hence makes my estimates less accurate.

The River Run Classic 2013: 10 km Results

The Night Before: I made Spaghetti alla Vongole for supper, fell asleep around midnight. It was fitful. I was awoken not by ambient noise, but by the stench of a smelly old skunk waddling somewhere around the neighbourhood close to my place. The stink remained in the air a long time after I shut the windows.

Wake up/Breakfast on Day of Race: Alarm set at 6:00, hit snooze once. Breakfast was a plain white bagel, with almond butter, and a banana.

Ten kilometer race start time: 7:30 AM, arrived 20 minutes early. Biked there, and grateful for the valet station for cycles.

Weather Conditions: It was only 7 degrees when I arrived there before the start, and it deceived me in thinking that I was hydrated enough. The temperature rose rapidly after 7:00 AM.

Start Position: I was probably somewhere between the 40th and 50th person to cross the starting line.

The Goal: To try to beat my time from the Saskatchewan Marathon 10 km race from earlier this year. It would be great if I could put my time under one hour.

Most Challenging Part of the Race: Getting a strained knee after the sixth kilometer, it became tough to just charge up the inclined stretches of roadway beneath the University and Broadway bridges coming back to the timing gate. I would have done better had it not been for that stupid knee.

Things I'm Most Pleased About:  I met my goals, 3 minutes and 49 seconds under an hour, and beat my time from the Saskatchewan Marathon 10 km race by 11 minutes and 44 seconds. Although it didn't feel like it during the last three kilometers, the numbers show that I'm improving. At least I wasn't last in my age/sex division.

Final Results: 



 

• Time:  56:11
• Rank: 83rd out of 166 racers, just within the upper 50 % 
• Average Pace: 5'38"/km
• Average Heart Rate: no reading taken
• Place in my Age/Sex Division:  9/10   

My reward(s): Finally taking a road trip out of town, and finally getting to test my car's performance on the highway. Getting to reunite with an old friend. Seeing how happy Ella became when visiting her Grandma and Grandpa. An afternoon nap, and having a beer with my Dad.
 

Saskatchewan Marathon: 10 K Race Results

I initially registered for the Half Marathon, but then decided to downgrade to the 10 km race given the bits of adversity I had to contend with in the past couple months.

 

SRRA Pasta Supper

The Day Before:  Attended the Marathon Expo at Prairieland Park. Ran some drills and a light 30 minute run with MJ. Napped. Went to the SRRA Pasta Supper at 5:00 and listened to talks from two Canadian Olympic Marathon runners. Soaked in Epson salts, and watched TV for the remainder of the evening. Ate more carbs in the form of bread and popcorn. Went to bed at 11:00. Very fitful sleep. Maybe the material from the documentary I was watching was giving me nightmares.

Wake up/Breakfast on Day of Race: Alarm set at 6:30 but was awake by 6:00. Breakfast was a banana, and orange chopped up in Greek yogurt with a scoop of Kaizen Protein powder, and one cup of decaf coffee. About 480 calories.

Ten kilometer race start time: 8:00 AM, arrived 20 minutes early. Thankful that I was walking distance to the event. Traffic access and parking was hell for those who drove there.

Weather Conditions: I thought they were perfect: only 11 degrees Celsius, cloudy and cool, no wind. There was a sprinkle of rain the previous evening that tamed down some of the dust. The humidity was ideal for my best conditions for breathing well.

Start Position: I chose the 1 hour  to 1:15 goal part of the pack.

Most Challenging Part(s) of the Race: The nagging fact in my head that I'm eight to twelve pounds over my ideal body weight. The only thing notable that was a challenge was dehydration after 7.5 km, but I did OK with managing it.

Things I’m most pleased about with my performance: I initially gave myself a goal pace of 7' 00" to 7' 30" /km to work around; I exceeded that. I didn't stop, nor did I walk at anytime throughout the course. This race was the best running performance I had since the year began. Neither the injured foot, nor twisted ribs, nor erratic heart rate, nor respiratory bugs, nor the recent food poisoning, managed to conquer me. My resilience prevailed, and after this, I feel even more driven to take on my full regimen of training for the Half Marathon of the River Run in July.

Final Results:

• Time:  1:07:55, last year I was  55:49
• Rank: 753rd (out of 1306 racers).
• Average Pace: 6'48"/km (honestly, better than I expected after doing so little training).
• Average Heart Rate: 168 BPM
• Place in Sex Division: 269th (out of 393 men racing).
• Place in Age Division:  54th (out of the 71 male runners in this race who were between 40-49 years old)

Post Race: Soaked in the tub, started blogging a bit of this, and pursued my rewards.

What I’ve Learned: The great exercise in patience in trying to heal.  Even the best have upsets when trying to reach goals, as in the case of last night's Olympian speakers.

My reward(s): Planning on checking out a Sunday matinee (Star Trek: Into Darkness) with a leisurely walk to the downtown ( to keep from stiffening up), dining on some spicy protein, grabbing a beer at Hudson's. Given that extra distance in walking to there and back in addition to what I ran, I can say that I did actually then do a half-marathon distance today.

Thankful for: A relatively flatter course compared to last year; exceeding my expectations, the ideal weather, the close starting point,

 

First Outdoor Run of Spring, Sports Psych Workshop

I cycled over 14 kilometers yesterday, and woke this morning without too much tension and cramping today. So, I gave myself permission to try running again. Today was the first run outside I had since I was injured.

Goals/Objectives:

1. To head out and return home without re-injuring myself
2. To at least break a good working sweat
3. Target: to make it to the Bessborough and back on the Meewasin Trail
4. To burn over 500 calories
5. To cover 5 km of distance, under 45 minutes (realistic given my degree of injury)
6. To keep my heart rate under 170 BPM
7. To reactivate my "muscle memory" in my legs after such a long lapse

Challenges/Discoveries:

I expected that walking was going to be more prevalent than running for today. What I discovered that was even more debilitated than my foot and leg was my breathing. I still have very under-trained lungs, that are filled with a winter's worth of stagnancy. My breathing was impaired even more due to the fact that there still is a high degree of tension in my shoulders, back, and ribs. It didn't take long to stress my heart enough to get up to 170 BPM. The reason to keep the rate below that level is to avoid the chance of serious lactic acid build up. which would consequently and adversely affect my calves and foot. This was a back-to-square-one feel out session; primarily to jar my legs and lungs back into regaining their memory for this sort of rigour.

Today's Results:

• Made it to the Bess and back; minimal aching, and most importantly, no limping
• 8'44"/km average pace
• Calories burned: 729
• Average heart rate: 154 BPM
• Time: 44:40

Future Goals/Decisions:

• To bring 5 km pace back to 30 minutes or less by May 19th
• To build up a range of 8 km or more of steady running by May 19th
• To set my operational maximum heart rate at 170 BPM by May 19th
• To regain medical clearance, or to avoid re-injury by May 19th
• If all these criteria are met by May 19th, I will retain my registration for my spot in the Saskatchewan Marathon

Thankful for:

• Finally having a beautiful sunny day to try all this out
• The inspiration I got from the duathelon I watched yesterday
• The valuable bits of info from the SRRA workshop
• Seeing the ladies on the trail wearing shorts, and Lulu Lemon athletic wear again. Who ever invented this stuff deserves to be awarded the Order of Canada medal

The SRRA Sports Psychology Workshop:

Yesterday's SRRA (Saskatoon Road Runners' Association) workshop was about sports psychology. Typically, I find the act of running more mental than physically: except for this year, now that I'm overcoming being injury stricken. It was important for me to attend it because it's impossible to reacquaint my body to the activity again without having a congruent mindset as well.

There was a review about goal-setting, cool. However, I listened a little more attentively to the process of guided imagery: using some sort of image or scene to help you focus. There was encouragement to allow ourselves to imagine becoming something fast and powerful during the process of running a race, like being an unstoppable train, or a cheetah perhaps. I tend to think of things of the natural world when I willingly bring to mind things that are the extremes of being fast, agile, and focused. My inspiration comes from the birds of prey, despite the fact that their movement doesn't even involve running.

Here's one ideal example of creative imagery. The Peregrine Falcon: nature's version of a heat-seeking missile. It's a very sleek and balanced looking bird. Air Forces of the world actually hire ornithologists to study the flight patterns of these creatures in depth with hopes to use the findings to improve aerial combat tactics. When I think about an animal that symbolizes fast, I'll opt for a falcon over fast terrestrial animals, like a horse or cheetah, every time.


However, more realistically, if there was an even more fitting bird-of-prey anima figure that actually did represent me as a runner now, it would probably be the Grey Owl, in both appearance and performance, compared to a falcon. It's the much more portly of the two species, much slower, with a huge fat fluffy grey head mounted on a stockier body. Not so intensely focused looking, like the falcon, but more inquisitive. It's more like nature's version of a stealth drone.

I'm hoping that my progress in going from owl to falcon won't take too long. May 19th is the date set to examine all this again, and to make that critical decision.

The Boston Synchronicity, Baby Turns Seven

I think I'm about 90% healed; still walking with a slight limp. After a couple extra days of healing time, I'll have an indoor trial around the track to see how much my foot can handle the rigours of a casual jog, and then amp it up to a harder run if it's tolerable; all within half an hour to start. The adage of "No pain, no gain!", doesn't apply for proper training in running. The adage of "Once there's pain, settle your ass down", does apply if one ever hopes to temper oneself enough to last through at least 10 kilometres: what I consider as the marginal point between the end of being a casual runner, and the beginning of being a long distance runner.

It's kind of strange to introduce the subject of long distance running in light of what happened yesterday at the Boston Marathon. Strange, in regards to the way in which the convergence of things happened that I was involved with yesterday, just before I found out what happened there. I had the day off, and given that I finally felt free of being under the influence of pain medication, I decided to at least catch up on my correspondence, as I relaxed to watch a movie for the afternoon. The movie I selected was The Hurt Locker, a movie about everything bomb related, from diffusion, to their degree of destruction, to the stress imposed on those dealing with them. At the same time, I was messing around online, dealing with changing some details with my registration at the Saskatchewan Marathon. Then, just as I was closing that matter up, I received the newsflash on the CBC app on my phone about the explosions at the Boston Marathon. This experience of noticing these three normally independent things in the news and media related to marathons and/or bombings, all at the same time, was just too much of an eerie coincidence for me to ignore. I'm not superstitious, nor do I believe in the supernatural, but that realization at that moment made my hair stand on end. I hope the event series of cause and effect of the result of extra policing and reprisals doesn't become too much more dramatic or tragic than that.


She finally found the first patch of grass large and dry enough
 to roll on today. The best way to start a new year of life.

It just dawned on me that my dog turns seven years old today. Time sure does fly. Given that I'm more mobile, we'll celebrate it with a trip to the dog park, finding new chew bone for her, a few head and belly rubs, and a couple beers for me, now that I don't have to worry about more goofy side effects. It will be at least a day of contentment, and being thankful and happy that we at least live in a place where people aren't so crazily driven with the intent to harm others with indiscriminant mass destruction.

The Saskatoon River Run Classic: Half-Marathon Race

The Day Before:  Received Ella's friend , whom I'm babysitting for a couple of days. Walked to the Farmers' Market, and then to Remai Arts Centre to pick up racing package. Stretched and used foam roller to fix the remaining knots in my leg and back. Tried napping in the early afternoon, since Saturday is typically the busiest day at the Ex, with the most hooligans touring around the streets, as witnessed yesterday as I watched two cops chasing a youth who escaped them (he was running from them with his hands handcuffed behind his back). Napping was futile, so I worked on other correspondence. Made a beef stir fry for supper, listened to some of the Collective Soul concert from my deck, waited until the fireworks passed before even trying to prepare for bed. Fell asleep sometime after midnight.

Wake up/Breakfast on Day of Race: Awoken at 4:00 AM, by some idiot honking a car horn down the block, and couldn't go back to sleep. Read and replied to e-mails. Breakfast at 5:00 was an English muffin, two poached eggs, eight strips of bacon, two large cups of coffee (with creammilk and sugar). I could only eat half of it, anxiety/excitement was making my stomach flip.

Half Marathon start time: 8:00 AM, at River Landing.  I arrived an hour early. I cycled there slowly, and used much of that time to stretch before the starting gun went off.

Start Position: Middle of the pack. There were only 121 runners registered (108 recorded finishing) for the Half Marathon, so not a really dense crowd to move through.

Mental Preparation: I avoided all instances of watching and being obsessed about my pace time, as I'm sure that it would have been too distracting. I set up only the distance traveled on my GPS watch. I told myself that, given the circumstances, pain will be inevitable, and used a lot of controlled breathing to try to make it dissipate.  My thoughts were focused on being so determined to just getting past that finish line: no matter if I ran, walked, crawled, or even was face down on the pavement trying to drag myself there by my lips. I trained too hard and sacrificed a lot to get this far; to just throw in the towel and quit was not an option.

Pre-Race Weight: 194.4 lbs (88.17 kg)

Post-Race Weight: 190.4 lbs (86.36 kg)

Most Challenging Part(s) of the Race: The course was made up of sections I've already ran through and am familiar with, but it served no advantage for me with the sciatic problems. I noticed the stiffening occur at around the 12 km point. I forced myself (for my protection) to walk up the hills and inclines by the bridges, and was limping badly at this point (18 km). I had a spike of reserve energy for the last 500 meters before the finish line, I wish it was there earlier.

Things I’m most pleased about with my performance: As pain stricken as I was, I managed to stay more or less in the middle of the pack for the first 15 kilometers. I managed to stay disciplined enough to avoid red-lining, and risking greater injury. Happy that my pain-tolerance has been quite elevated since I've started running. I'm happy that I had the wherewithal, and fulfilled my commit ment to start and end this trial. Happy to be not the last guy in the standing of my Sex/Age group. 

Final Results:

• Time: 2:11:34
• Rank: 77/108
• Average Pace: 6' 15"/km
• Place in Sex/Age Division: 13/14
• Fastest Pace: 4' 51"/km at 2.5 kms into race
• Most Brutal kilometer: Between 18 and 19 (just about collapsed)

After the Race: Gently and slowly cycled back home. Finished my breakfast. Bath and stretching. Ice packs on hamstrings. Emptied two liters of Gatorade to replenish myself. Attempted to nap to catch up on Zzzz's after the lousy sleep from last night, and to rest for a date I have this afternoon before the Ex noise starts up.

What I’ve Learned: Never sleep on the ground just after receiving chiropractic treatment. Bring and drink more electrolytes with this degree of injury. No matter what kind of fancy, space-age wicking material they are made of, black sponsor provided T-shirts are a bad idea. I learned how to pace myself through pain better than I did in my trial runs since getting treatment. 

My award and reward(s):

This award felt very hard earned, but worth it in the end.

Considering how close I came to hitting the pavement, perhaps a practical reward should be getting a Road ID bracelet. They were one of the sponsors of this race.

Grateful for: The volunteers of these races never get enough thanks for their time and energy for helping to get these events set up and running smoothly. Extra thanks to all of them. My special thanks to my best friend for giving me this goal to work towards; I wish I could have been in better shape to honour this gift.

To Strain to Train through Pain Again

“It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then victory is yours. It cannot be taken away from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.” - Buddha

The pain I’ve had is gradually fading away, but I’m still not anywhere near the condition I wanted to be in for contending with the race this coming Sunday. I took a trial run yesterday. I only did about three kilometers to gauge the pace at which was tolerable for me to take on a 21.1 kilometer run, and to check and see the degree at which I’ve recovered. I managed to get a pace around 5’ 30” /km within the first 700 meters, which was the target average pace I wanted to have for the whole race before this injury occurred. My performance worsened, getting to 6’ 15”/km, a dramatic drop after one and a half kilometers once the stiffening and inflation started to set in. I don’t expect to break any personal records if this keeps up. My goal now has been reduced to just being able to start and finish this whole  ordeal. 

This tapering off process and session of injury treatment before my race day is driving me crazy as well. Tapering off is very necessary to avoid excessive stress and wearing of connective tissues, and to allow the body to rebuild and strengthen the muscles needed for the day of competitive racing. However, after all these months of effort, sitting still to rest has become totally counter-intuitive. It’s tiresome and boring to be stranded at home using ice-packs, a foam roller, and stretching. With this amount of personal downtime, I usually retreat into my kitchen to cook and eat; and now I can’t just eat whatever and whenever I want*. I’m really aching to be back outside on the trails, to be in the sunshine and fresh air. I miss greeting, and being greeted by the fellow runners (especially the lovely Lululemon clad athletic women) on the trails. Doing cross-training on my bike and upper body strength training is tolerable, but not the same. They don’t invigorate me like running does.

It has occurred to me that I never set a reward for myself for accomplishing this next race. I know what I’d really want, but it’s nothing I can simply buy. It’s a wish that’s too personal to express here.

*- I purposely emptied my fridge for camping and left it that way when I came back home, to avoid mindless eating. I’ll grocery shop when I get back into the swing of work and re-training once sufficiently healed.

My Next Fitness Goals

Category: Running
Specific: Run half marathon distance under  01:56:33
Potential Problems: Injury and heat exhaustion as training goes into hotter summer months
Acceptable: The time, 01:56:33, was the men's 40-49 division average of the 2012 Saskatchewan Half-Marathon
Gift/Rewards: Nike GPS sport watch with heart monitor
Hard Enough: Biggest challenge is coping with the heat above 15 Celsius. Must work on proper balance of hydration/electrolyte intake.
Evaluate: Achieved 2:01:00 on June 24^th. It’s my current personal best.
Tangible: This current personal best surpassed the median time of SK half-marathon by seconds (2:01:06)
Time Line: Before end of July 2012
Inspiration: Refer to Zen and the Art of Running

Category: Strength
Specific: D. Craig Workout, plus extra core, upper body work.
Potential Problems: Injury, work schedule conflicts.
Acceptable: Good balance of staying strong, yet trim; not to bulk up too much for running.
Gift/Rewards: Fittingly, to see the next James Bond movie, Skyfall, in 3D in theatre in November
Hard Enough: Hardest part of routine is pull-ups, due to old shoulder injury. May need to find substitute drill for this. To do on rest days from running (Tues & Sat)
Evaluate: Once mastered, work on doubling reps, and increasing weights by 10%
Tangible: Have home gym set up for drills: therefore no excuses.
Time Line: Ongoing
Inspiration: My Celebrity Fitness Role Model

Category: Weight Control
Specific: Maintain bodymass between 185 -192 lbs, BF percentage between 14-18
Potential Problems: Accounting for hidden carbs/calories, too many hot days (bad appetite fluctuation, drinking too much beer).
Acceptable: There are lots of healthy foods that I really like. I'll keep lots of those in stock.
Gift/Rewards: Cheat Day Saturdays, better fitting clothes.
Hard Enough: Challenge to automate the menu plan, because I like so much variety.
Evaluate: So far on par with objective.
Tangible: The weight loss/mass change so far has been very motivating
Time Line: Ongoing part of lifestyle
Inspiration: Tim Ferriss' blog and books

Category: Running
Specific: Achieve Full-Marathon distance (42.2 kms)
Potential Problems: Potential overtraining, plus increased potential of same issues as half-marathon training
Acceptable: Motivation to continue training over winter
Gift/Rewards: Ticket for Rush Concert in September
Hard Enough: Have reached 27 kms as maximum distance so far. Will probably use holiday time to train for this.
Evaluate: Working on half marathon first, increase load after Aug 12^th
Tangible: Unknown
Time Line: Before or by my next birthday
Inspiration: Ray Zahab, who ran across the Sahara Desert. Compared to that, this challenge kind of looks easy.

Results of the Bridge City Boogie: 5 km Race

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The Day Before: It rained for most of the day on Saturday. I did strength training for most of the morning. I collected some gear at Brainsport, and had lunch at Szechuan Kitchen. I had a small nap before I began my shift at 3:00 PM. Very low energy for the rest of the day (I blame the dreary weather), and some cramping (from the workout earlier) later in the evening. My carb-load for today was mostly made up of bread, rice noodles, and kvas (Ukrainian rocket fuel).

Wake Up/Breakfast:  Up at 5:30, did some upper body exercises. Breakfast was a protein smoothie: 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, 4 large strawberries, 1 measure Kaizen protein powder, 1 tsp Ruby Reds nutritional supplement, blended with 1 cup Kombucha tea. I skipped out on making coffee (wish I hadn't).

5 Kilometer Race Time: 8:30, beginning at PotashCorp Park. Rode bike there to spare myself the misery of finding parking. It rained heavily all morning. I was thoroughly drenched before the race even started.

Starting Position: In the first quarter of the front of the 5 km runners' pack.

Most Challenging Part of the Race: As with the last race, I was confined by the major crowd congestion at the beginning of the race. I did a lot of puddle-dodging to try to keep my sensor from being saturated with water. Being completely drenched from head to toe with rain meant that I was carrying probably an extra 3 kg of water on me. I honestly didn't think I drank that much, but it felt like I overdid it with hydration this time: carrying too much water internally as well. My last two kilometers were difficult with an overloaded bladder needing to desperately be emptied. My iPod wasn't working properly with all the extra moisture and my shirt sleeve slapping against its touchscreen was screwing up pause and start times, thus negatively affecting my data. It was hard to "boogie" without any tunes as well, since I turned them off to free up the working memory and save my dwindling power on the iTouch to allow it to process the run.

Things I'm most pleased about with my performance: Just happy to be able to scrounge up enough energy during these dreary and drippy couple days to allow myself to commit to this. I think I did actually better than I thought I would given the less than adequate racing conditions and weather. From my Nike + readout, I seem to have wasted less energy and distance passing people this time: making a conscious effort to minimize my lateral movement. I just found out the results; I'm happy that I just made it into the sub 24 minute category (the one with the readings in weird short format).

Final Results:  Official results acquired from this Star Phoenix link.

• My Time: 23:56 (one of the 133 runners that I roughly counted that made it across the line within 24 minutes)
• My Average Pace: Calculated to be roughly 4' 47"/km
• My Ranking: No ranking breakdown provided. It is as yet uncalculated due to the complicated time listing format here. My rough reckoning is that I'm 132nd. Format note: times under 24 minutes are listed as mm:ss; times between 24 minutes and 60 minutes are listed as mm:ss:00; times 60 minutes and 1 second and over are listed as hh:mm:ss.
• No Age or Sex division statistics provided. I counted 2219 racers listed in the 5 km event.
• Overall, I finished within the top six percent. 

After the Race: Collected my gear (from the very chaotic valet station) and had a slow and soggy bike ride home. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't find the rest of the fellow runners from my workplace afterward who took part in the event. I was scheduled to run an extra 23 kms as part of my training commitment.  However, I already proved to myself that I can run in these adverse conditions, and seeing that I still needed to work this afternoon, I didn't think it wise to completely drain myself of energy. Plus, since I have no confirmation yet that my cohort at work will be able to trade tomorrow's night shift with me it would be foolish to press things too hard. I just wanted to shed off my smelly, drenched gear; then jump into a hot bathtub, to prevent any cramping. I did just that. I then made some coffee, started blogging this; while trying to regain some energy for work later this afternoon.

What I've Learned: Double check new supplements that I'm experimenting with for any possible diuretic side-effects. I think I hit on a sensible pattern for tapering down activity before a race. From being a little more relaxed during these past couple days, I see how badly I'm risking over training. Seeing that Nike + has totally botched up it's system, and completely trashed the automated coaching program, this is probably a good time to revamp the one I'm on now: finding one that provides a better outcome for necessary rest periods and sensible mileage goals.

My Reward(s): I went for a Super Bean Burrito at Taco Time. A kind of a stupid reward, I'm sure, but I welcomed the break from having to cook for myself. I only had enough time for fast food, and I haven't been at this franchise in 15 years (I forgot how much I liked their hot sauce). What I'd really like is enough quality time off to enjoy the stuff I already have (puzzles, literature, my dog's company, etc.) that's here that entertains me.

Grateful for: No grief from a sore knee like the last race; Sport Shield compound (no blisters or chafing, one less thing to irritate me); seasoning myself to more harsher racing conditions; that the amount of effort I put into this didn't completely drain my energy from me.  

Getting Ready to Boogie

This weekend is the Bridge City Boogie, and I'm entered in the 5 km race of the event. I'm still at that stage where I'm focusing on trying to burn off more fat rather than building up my speed. When comparing my weight stats from June of last year, I'm seven pounds heavier now than I was back then. However, through the course of training this year I'm reaching and surpassing distances now that I wasn't able to achieve until late July/early August of last year.

This race coming up this Sunday is only five kilometers; what makes a shorter race so challenging is that they are faster paced, and I don't think I have come close to a level of amping up my speed yet. The other thing that is a trial for me now is setting a proper interval for tapering off activity before a race day. I (stupidly) did some new form of interval training, mostly uphill, mostly against the wind on a day when it was the windiest day I ever tried running through. My legs were totally butchered after more than eight kilometers of acceleration trials and fartleks*. I squeaked in 16 kms today, but I don't think it was a bright thing to do after yesterday. For tapering down, I'll just be doing some light cycling, some upper body weights for cross training, and relaxing as much as possible before Boogie day.

The other big issue is (has been) getting enough refreshing sleep due to the rising heat during the season. Overworked muscles don't heal and build up without adequate sleep. Sometimes I really wish I didn't have such a thermogenic metabolism.** When seasons change, I can easily make the physiological adjustment from warm to cold quite well; it takes me forever though to get acclimated when it starts getting hotter. I remember a few years ago when I lived in the topics once for a six month stint. I pretty much never slept during the first two months I spent there. I just seem to be pre-conditioned to need to live in a cooler climate; it seems to be in my blood.

The only other thing to add is my disappointment with the Nike plus website. I don't know what kind of monkeys they have been training for "enhancing" their site, but ever since they switched the format of the site over I've had nothing but trouble with my profile information and it's fraught with other errors and bugs that could misreport/misrepresent my running data.*** The coaching schedule I was using is totally gone, and there is nothing there as a replacement application for it. It matters because the next gift for myself (for running the Bridge City Boogie) would have been a heart monitor that is compatible with Nike + apps, but I won't be getting it now if all I can expect is malfunctioning due to this programming ineptitude.

What I'm sure I'll enjoy most about Boogie Sunday is seeing some of my co-workers, and people I serve, getting involved as well.

*- Fartlek - it's a word of Swedish origin, adopted into runners'-speak, describing a training technique which roughly translates to "speed play"; not anything to do with running related gastro-intestinal methane expulsion.

**- I can comfortably run shirtless with temperatures around 10 degrees Celsius, that's how warm my body gets while I exercise or exert myself. I wish I could somehow convert all the extra heat my body makes into propulsion, or something else more practical or creative.

***-Enhancement would imply that it works better; it doesn't, in fact it functions worse. It almost looks like they probably used the same sweatshop labour they had to make their shoes programming their website. 

The Saskatchewan Marathon 2012: The 10 km Race, My Summary of It

This is my first competitive running race ever, so I have nothing to compare it to. Here are a few blurbs about what I encountered and did before, during, and after the 10 km Race of the Saskatchewan Marathon, just for my own interest and to see what worked for me, and what I’ll have to do as extra preparations for any future marathon races for which I may register.

My first racing bib number. I guess I can officially call myself a runner now.

The Day Before:  I did housecleaning and grocery shopping in the morning. I prepared slow-baked dry spice rubbed spare ribs, and crabmeat pasta salad for a bit of suppertime gluttony later (it was cheat day). Toured the course to study the elevation and where the water stations would be. I came back home, drank a litre of beer, then had a half hour nap. I walked from my place to the Marathon Expo to pick up my registration package. I walked back home, played with the features of my new wi-fi enabled blu-ray player. I had supper, watched a movie, drank a whole 2L bottle of kvas, read a couple books, had a long hot bath. I went to bed at 11:00 PM. I seemed to have opted for a lot of drinkable malt-based carbs.

Wake up/Breakfast on Day of Race: Alarm at 5:30; hit snooze and woke up at 6:15. Breakfast was a protein smoothie (one banana, ½ cup frozen blueberries, one scoop vanilla Kaizen whey powder, 1 cup kombucha tea); one grapefruit, two large cups of coffee (with creammilk and a dash of cinnamon).

Ten kilometer race start time: 8:00 AM, arrived 30 minutes early. The parking situation was totally crappy. Next time, come 45 minutes early. Thousands were there.

Start Position: I chose the 50 minute to 1 hour goal (middle) part of the pack. Next time I think I’ll pick the 45 to 50 minute goal position in the starting line.

Most Challenging Part(s) of the Race: The initial part of the start was very dense with people, and it was tricky to manoeuvre around some for the first half kilometer. I was stuck at the steeper downward hills near Red River Street. I use the hills to my advantage and speed down them, but I was stuck behind groups of people who were going down them too slow/cautiously. I wasted lots of time/distance/energy moving around sideways to bypass some of these people. The last kilometer was all uphill, and my right knee was showing signs of straining. I didn’t risk trying to charge up that last kilometer with that being so, and it was very draining as I came to the end.

Things I’m most pleased about with my performance: I passed a lot of people who looked a lot younger and fitter than I am, and kept them behind me (it was a bit of a confidence booster). Managed going uphill better than I thought I would. I managed to run OK without music. I didn’t injure myself. I also managed to finally discover a comfortable pace where I could run and rehydrate at the same time. I didn’t lose my tracking chip on my weirdly configured shoes (I saw a few of them that got shook off along the course).

Final Results:

• Time: 55:49 (the average finishing time for my age/sex division was 57:50)
• Rank: 277th (out of 1035 racers). In the top third.
• Average Pace: 5:35/km (sounds normal for me)
• Place in Sex Division: 150th (out of 315 men racing). In the top 50% range.
• Place in Age Division: 31st (out of the 58 male runners in this race who were between 40-49 years old)

The Age/Sex Distribution of the 10 km Race of the 2012 Saskatchewan Marathon
A man's interpretation of the graph: Hmmm...the odds are pretty good in finding a fit athletic woman at such an event. A woman's interpretation of the graph: More women than men for this sweaty challenge, that figures. . .Lazy bastards!

After the Race: The race may have been over, but my training schedule said that I wasn’t done running yet. I went home, grabbed a snack, walked the dog, and then charged out of the place to run 14 more kilometers. I at least got to listen to tunes this time. It actually felt really good to shake off whatever remaining adrenaline there was left in me from after the race. I ran back near the marathon runners’ course, and cheered a few on as I passed by them going the opposite way. I hope it served to be encouraging.

What I’ve Learned: The 10 km race is a great introduction to long-distance racing, but I seem to be built or conditioned in such a way where I need to go further than ten. I still need a bit more conditioning for a half-marathon.

My reward(s): Doing the race itself was the greatest reward, proving to myself just how far I’ve come in the past year and a half in improving my health. The tangible treat I gave myself afterward was a classic collectable Blu-Ray DVD for my new player, Das Boot: The Director’s Cut. For my little running and racing triumphs, I’m opting to treat myself with non-caloric forms of satisfaction.

Grateful for: Daring myself to do this. Having my supportive friend coming to cheer me on. Having the day off to do this (and using the remainder of it to rest and recover). Lastly, but not least, I’d especially would like to thank the designers and crafters of the figure flattering clothing that is LuLuLemon women’s athletic wear. If I couldn’t be ahead of the pack, I’m at least thankful for LuLuLemon for giving me a great reason to follow and keep up to those fine ladies ahead of me.