The organizer of a Toronto running club that takes runners on an art tour through the city streets. Then, one competitor shares the ultimate endurance event, after completing seven tests of his endurance in six days. Finally, a runners talks about the emotions that run high when crossing the finish line at the iconic Berlin Marathon.
Our new issue is being released at the dawn of the end of cannabis prohibition. It’s the same inspiring editorial, tips, gear guides and hero profiles that we always offer, but we also have a story on a runner—and former BC health minister—who works at a cannabis company, and so the new issue is available in two versions.
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In a few weeks, Canadian marathon runner Reid Coolsaet will be running Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon (STWM)—nearing 40 and a father of two, the Olympian never stops reaching for his personal best. It’s his dedication, commitment and spirit that drives Coolsaet to never settle, never quit. And it’s that elite inspiration we could all use from the moment we toe the line straight through the pain, to crossing the finish line.
Go get ’em, Reid. And godspeed to you, iRun Nation, wherever you are, whoever you are, whenever you race.
There is no finish line.
Pearl Barely with Kale & Navy Bean Soup
Barley and navy beans give this vegetable-based soup added protein and fibre that makes it a hearty and quick meal in a bowl. Serve it with whole grain bread or a warm kale salad on these cool fall nights.
By: Pamela Santaluce
INGREDIENTS:
DIRECTIONS:
ONE: Bring 2 cups pearl barley and 1 tbs salt to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 25-30 min.
TWO: In a separate pan drizzle olive oil, adding garlic and onion and sauté over medium heat until slightly brown. Add 2 carrots and kale and drizzle more olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
THREE: Sauté until carrots are softened and kale is cooked. Once barley is fully cooked add kale and carrots and beans to barley.
FOUR: Add vegetable broth if you prefer more liquid. Stir and enjoy!
Pamela Santaluce is a Toronto-based certified personal trainer, holistic nutritionist and healthy eating advocate. She offers holistic nutrition and writes more about health and wellness at EatFitLife.com.
Between now and October 21, iRun is joining forces with New Balance and elite superhero marathon runners Reid Coolsaet and Rachel Hannah to help you run the race of your life. Each week, we’ll present a new instalment from either Hannah or Coolsaet about how to improve one aspect of your running life. But wait, it gets better! Because New Balance also sponsors Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, where Coolsaet will be racing and where we’ll be making a special limited-edition race magazine after the race! Want us to profile you and your run? Simply tell us what you do in response to the phenomenon our race Gods are describing. Make sense? For instance, here’s Coolsaet on how to calm the brain mid-race. What do you do? Let us know, and be included—picture and all—besides our cover stars.
Mental focus during the race is a obviously key. Consistency throughout the year, especially in the last three months, all important, but during the race, you need focus.
Ideally you’ll be running in a pack, and I’m thinking about negotiating that and staying with it—even though I’ve never had a marathon where I was able to do that the whole time. Towards the end, when I’m really fighting to not slow down, if I’m checking out the scenery—which I’ll do all the time—I really want to focus, because if I don’t, I’ll slow down when the pain sets in.
So how do you not do that? You override the negative thoughts. You keep your mind on running fast. Sometimes it’s just about thinking of proper form. Better that than, ‘you have an upset stomach,’ or ‘your quads are burning.’ So instead I’ll think: drive your knee. Or else I’ll make myself focus on ‘quick steps.’ You control where your mind goes. My cadence might drop toward the end of a race, so I focus on that, not the pain. The best thing to do is focus only on one kilometre at a time. Don’t think of the whole thing, just the next thing. And if you slip, don’t panic. Don’t try and make up for it in one go, just get back on pace. You do that and your race will just come back to you naturally. The first thing that pops in your head when you start hurting will be negative. So arm yourself with some positives that can override it.
Control your race. Don’t let your race control you.
Sharing the journey and the camaraderie with members of the Canadian military is just part of the joy of running the Army run as Member of Parliament, Mona Foriter talks about. Then, a cancer survivor shares his first half marathon experience at the Canadian Army Run. Plus, get race day planning advice from Olympic marathoner Dylan Wykes.
It’s no secret I did not finish the Berlin Marathon, my first attempt at the distance.
I cramped. I had cramps in both legs from the top of my pelvis through to the tips of my toes. When the cramps struck it did not just feel like my legs would not go anymore, but that they were failing. And in a sense they did, I ended up a crumpled mess on the ground.
Like any runner, so many questions went racing through my head: ‘Why is this happening? Why is this happening to me? Why is this happening to me right now!?’
I was taken to a nearby hospital shortly after collapsing via ambulance. Immediately they did blood tests to see what was going on. I was offered a muscle relaxant and pain reliever to help deal with the cramping as the physicians looked to the lab report searching for answers as to what was causing the cramping and why I was in so much pain.
In the subsequent days following the marathon I started to ask myself ‘How did the cramping happen?’ I did not have the answers and I sought out the experts.
Historically cramping was believed to be caused by dehydration or an electrolyte imbalance1.
We now know that’s not true. Well, in some cases it is not true. Dehydration can cause cramping. However, the whole story with cramping is that’s one of your body’s last lines of defence; cramping is caused by your body trying to protect itself.
Think of it this way, you are willing yourself forward. ‘No, head, my legs are not tired. No, legs, you are not tired.’ You repeat over and over again: ‘I will push forward.’ If you really push yourself to your physical limits your body may eventually push back.
Here some facts from my day to dispel the myth that I cramped due to lack of glucose or hydration:
So what might have caused my cramping? I have a few theories, which thanks to those experts who have walked me through what have happened I can share with you.
At 5km into the race a pace car got behind us and was honking it’s horn repeatedly and aggressively such that it could pass us. When I did not at first hear the car coming up behind us, the sound of the horn startled me, causing my heart rate to spike (the spike went from ~140BPM to ~175BPM). This wouldn’t necessarily be catastrophic, but my heart rate never again dropped below ~160BPM. Likely what happened was a period of anaerobic effort that caused me to perform at a higher HR. As a result, I may not have been able to clear or buffer the blood lactate.
The second contributing factor may have been the surface I trained on over the summer. I spent my summer up at the cottage, which sits nestled at the bottom of an escapement on the beaches of Georgian Bay, it’s spectacular. It is also mainly dirt roads and the roads that are paved are a thin layer of asphalt atop granular (#EngiNerdAlert!). During the race, it felt like substantially higher forces going into my feet and up through my legs. Yes, it is anecdotal, and just a feeling, but even if that was the case, we have the science that says psychology is just as powerful as physiology2. But it likely wasn’t just psychological. I likely was suffering physically due to the pounding of the higher forces of denser pavement; Alex Hutchinson makes a similar comment about his marathon in Endure3.
The failure of this event is still very raw for me. Trying to understand what caused the cramping can only bring some comfort. Every day it gets easier to move forward; I’ve learned so much about my body in a marathon and cramping along the way. Thinking about all the positive things that happened during the race and training make it easier.
Marathon I’m not done with you, I’ll see you again one day again.
_______
Let’s just get right down to it. Is it time to dump your beloved old Garmin?
In just three short years, Apple has made a significant push into the wearable space with Apple Watch. Apple’s path to wrist ubiquity has been an at times bumpy one, releasing an initial watch had great ambition, but ultimately felt very much like a napkin sketch of a future idea. In retrospect, we probably got to witness a beta testing in public. It was actually a risky and maybe even brave move by a company (and its shareholders) that doesn’t have much room for big missteps. Series 1 set the table for the brilliant Series 2. Apple Watch has come such a long way in such a short period of time, and the company has never been content trying to move aging units, instead immediately going back into development and producing another, better version in short succession—even if it meant cannibalizing old stock sales. And for those of you wondering when it would be time to pounce, Series 4 feels like “the one.”
No one ever enjoyed the shackle that was the phone running armband. Apple Watch Series 3, which came out about a year ago, was such a sleek, functional revelation it seemed like it was uniquely designed by and for runners. It had GPS, loads of runner-specific features and apps, and it realized one of the great prognostications of science fiction: cellular capability. Being able to make a call sans phone is of value more so for runners than just about anybody else. Think about it: you can now phone home for help when you realize you’ve run too far and need someone to come pick you up. Finally, we live in the future!
Of course, many still bow at the alter of Garmin, as they’ve earned runners’ trust by being the most reliable player in the game since the invention of the GPS watch. But here’s the thing about Apple’s watch: it’s about as good, and as innovative, as the iPhone was when it took over the fledgling smartphone market a decade ago. Yes, others did it first, but Apple are just doing it better. At first, that statement might not have much of an impact on you. But take this into consideration: in just three years, Apple has designed a highly reliable and accurate GPS watch, that can make and take phone calls, stream 45 million songs, store 8 gigs of music, take and send messages and use pretty much which ever running tracker you prefer. And it’s a legitimately gorgeous time piece. Oh, and it’s cheaper than its running-specific direct competitors. Still not sure you can part with your trusty old Forerunner? Let’s take a look at some of the new features Apple packed into Series 4:
Rolling Pace
One of the surprises of this device from the beginning was how straightforward yet robust Apple’s “Activity” app has been. Unless you’re a Strava or Nike+ Run Club devotee, the Activity app is more than enough for most runners. It has a clean, highly customizable display, which can include up to five numbers, such as pace, overall distance, heart rate, and other important metrics. The newest addition is something called “rolling pace.” The watch basically grabs a snapshot of your current average pace at any point in your workout, going back a kilometre from where you are currently in the run. It’s useful for making micro-adjustments to your interval, or explaining why you’re suddenly feeling cooked on what was supposed to be an easy run.
Cadence
This was apparently one of the big requests from the running community, and interestingly Apple seems to be very keen to please. Pretty much every serious running watch can now use the accelerometer to measure cadence (how many footsteps you take on average over the course of one minute). Cadence can be useful for improving efficiencies in your stride.
Challenges
One of the design masterstrokes of this interface has been the three-ring layout of the Activity challenges. If you know anyone who owns an Apple Watch, you’ve probably heard them obsessing about hitting their “stand goal” for the day, or “closing their rings.” Apple clearly understand game theory, and have employed it in Apple Watch to make you want to wear it, and succeed at closing the “move,” “exercise” and “stand” rings, which are all customizable for any level of personal challenge. The problem always was a lack of real interactivity. As runners, this social aspect can be particularly important as a motivator, and a major reason why apps like Strava have dominated.
With Challenges, Apple Watch wearers can set up a seven-day fitness throw down among friends. Winners are rewarded with neat little virtual awards right in the watch.
Walkie Talkie mode and smack talk
With the WatchOs 5 update packed into Series 4, there’ s a neat little feature that turns your device into a walkie-talkie, so you can communicate with a training buddy, or someone at home in short bursts of communication.
One of the funnest aspects of the aforementioned Challenges feature is the aptly named “smack talk” feature embedded within, where you can send over little verbal jabs (or, if you’re feeling less feisty, kind words of encouragement) to your challenger. It’s a playful little add-on which also reveals that Apple’s engineers are obviously heavily invested in making sure their native fitness app experience is engaging.
Bigger, sharper screen
Apple quietly snuck up the size of the watch face from 38mm/42mm to 39mm/44mm in order to significantly expand the visual real estate on your wrist. The improvement is subtle at first, as previous generations of the watch’s face were excellent (and perhaps the best of any running watch on the market). But this little nudge up in size doesn’t compromise the fit and feel of the watch on your wrist, and makes the touch screen much easier to use. Think of this improvement as the watch equivalent of the iPhone X and other premium smartphones heading closer to being all screen and no bezel.
A more accurate heart rate monitor
One of the other subtle yet substantial physical improvements with Series 4 is the optical heart rate monitor on the inside of the device, which scans through your wrist. Apple upgraded it to sapphire crystal in order to more accurately pull your exact heart rate.
Added health features
The fancy saffire crystal hardware improvement means that Apple can get more aggressive with its Healthkit related offerings. Series 4 can now do a mini-ECG reading, and also alert you if your heart rate is either dangerously low, or high.
Wait a minute… there must be drawbacks
So, is this the best Apple Watch yet? Even though this is a “first impressions” look at the device, its safe to say that Apple are dialling in to the product we’d all envisioned a few years back. Series 4 feels like a fully thought-out, tested and resolved creation. It also is clearly being designed by a group populated with passionate runners, as there are just too many great (and nerdy) runner-specific features tucked into each hardware and software upgrade.
Of course, Apple Watch Series 4’s single biggest strength is ironically also potentially its one major flaw: it’s locked into the Apple ecosystem.
If you’re not an iPhone user, the Series 4 watch is still a great running companion (and sharp looking everyday watch), but it you won’t be able to close the loop of interactivity and the vast wealth of apps and other bells and whistles on offer. In a sense, without an iPhone, running with an Apple Watch feels like… running with an old GPS watch, albeit a much prettier one. But, if you like the majority of smartphone users on the planet and are entrenched in the cult of Mac, then Series 4 is a no brainer. Dollar for dollar, it’s the best watch (for running or otherwise) on the market right now.
Some of the taper crazies are just that you feel anxious when training is reduced, but just remember that it’s all part of a structured plan. You put in your key long runs ahead of the taper—which could be two weeks or 10 days leading up to your race. Just tell yourself: I’ve done the work; I’ve followed the training, and repeat that leading up to your race.
You can’t really get any fitter moving into your race week, but you can do damage by doing too much. Still, at the same time, my last workouts before racing Berlin were enough so that you still feel sharp. The legs do still need turnover, so maybe at the end of an easy run I’ll throw in some marathon pace. I’ll be running reduced volume, but even a little faster than marathon pace is a good confidence builder.
The trick is, especially during race week, you don’t want to feel destroyed for the rest of the day. Really, to thwart the taper crazies, you should relax and take some well-earned time off, and foster a positive mental outlook. Don’t think about the sessions you missed. That won’t help you. Instead, focus on your best workouts and remember your key sessions. You can do this. Just try and remember all that you did right. Listen, I have some sessions once a month where I feel like garbage. Where it really does not feel good. But it’s never one session that you rely on for race day. Think about the good times. And remember, you’re lucky to be racing. And racing is fun.
Our family is back into the full swing of things with school, work, music, and sports, keeping me busy in the morning and evening. Fortunately the house is quiet for recovery in the early afternoon when I need it most after training. I’m pacing myself to get the necessary housework, groceries, and other tasks complete and am grateful for the part the family plays as team members. It takes effort to train them, but it is well worth it. One thing that I am really enjoying is that each child must cook one meal each week. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just food on the table. Even not having to be the one responsible for thinking about what we will eat is significant in lessening my load.
Now that I am coaching both the school cross country team and my daughter’s rep hockey team while working part time and training for the Scotiabank Toronto Watefront Marathon (STWM), I am often finding myself in bed before 9:00 pm. Like always, I go to bed without an alarm and wake up on my own feeling refreshed and ready to do it all over again.
Last Sunday was the Berlin Marathon. On Saturday I had run an easy 36K with some 200M repeats at the end, after completing a Friday evening VO2 max workout with the University of Guelph cross-country team. I didn’t set an alarm, but because Sunday was a planned day off I figured that if I happened to wake up, I would watch it then go back to bed. And I did. What an incredible world record setting performance by Eliud Kipchoge! And what an amazing day for Canadian women with Rachel Cliff’s 2:28:53 debut, Lyndsay Tessier’s 2:30:47 Canadian Masters (W40) record, and Catherine Watkins’ 2:40:11 Canadian Masters (W45) record. While it wasn’t Sasha Gollish or Rachel Hannah’s day, these women certainly raised the bar for the rest of us!
With the upcoming Chicago Marathon and STWM, it’s certainly looking like there will be a competitive chase for three women to book their tickets to Tokyo 2020. It’s very exciting for our sport.
Yesterday I raced the Run for the Grapes Half Marathon in St. Catharines. I was glad I could find a local race four weeks out from STWM because with our busy life at home I just did not feel like travelling. I put in a solid effort for 1:17 on a rolling course, including a start with cooler temps (but 99% humidity). I finished first woman and second overall with the first and third place finishers (men) ~5 minutes ahead and behind. The entire 21.1K was completely solo. Well, a few times a friendly guy ran alongside me, keeping me company. Thanks, Nick! (Sorry I’m not so chatty when I’m running). One of my fastest kilometres was with him. What a difference the company of others makes. Even having a lead cyclist would have helped me keep rhythm.
My race wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t fantastic, rather somewhere in between which can be expected at this point in training. I’m healthy, content, ready for a few more weeks of solid training, and very grateful that the course was well marked because I easily could have veered off course while in no man’s land.
Onward!
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