iRun Radio – June 17th, 2018

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June 17, 2018

On this week’s show, three women who are rocking it in their running communities. First, Jennifer Dawson has grown a neighbourhood running club in Ottawa running that is getting children and their parents moving more. Then, a teacher who is passing on her love of running for the next generation, and getting her students to see how as in life and running the stronger you get the more you grow. And you’ll get a sneak peak into an upcoming issue of iRun with chiropractor Brittany Moran a contributor who will talk about the everything the mental side of training and racing.

July iRun Digital

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Rob Eady

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June 17, 2018

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Protected: KeenDemo_Start

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Rob Eady

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June 17, 2018

Bring More Balance To Your Training With Chi Running

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Training

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June 12, 2018

By Pamela Mazzuca Prebeg HBSc. Kin, Athletic Therapist

As a runner you’re accustomed to pushing your body to the limit, kilometer after kilometer, while your body endures the pounding force of your feet hitting the ground. You are mentally tough, you can run for hours; even when your body wants to quit you can keep it moving. Let’s face it running is hard, if it wasn’t everyone would be a runner. And most runners, on occasion, have to battle injuries and motivation.

Fortunately running doesn’t have to be that harsh, you just need to integrate the principles of Tai Chi into your running to balance things out. According to Eric Collard, a ChiRunning instructor from Ottawa, “ChiRunning takes the principles and mindfulness of Tai Chi, which is moving with the laws of nature, and applies it to the biomechanics and physicality of running.” ChiRunning uses the forces of gravity to facilitate your running, making it easier and you learn how to train smarter, not necessarily harder.

What is ChiRunning?

Created by Danny Dreyer in California 15 years ago, ChiRunning began to take on popularity in sort of a cult fashion. Over the years it has grown and gained credibility as seen in an one-year study out of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which concluded that ChiRunning causes less impact than traditional sports running. As well, the study showed that there are less injuries, less stress on the joints and supporting structures and an increase in running efficiency among those who integrate the principles of ChiRunning compared to rearfoot strike and forefoot strike runners.

How does ChiRunning differ from tradional running?

First it’s posture – it is all about posture and proper form. Posture for ChiRunning is shoulders stacked on top of your hips, which are stacked on top of your ankles, creating a plum line. “Next, while keeping your core engaged, lean forward slightly at your ankles as if you were falling forward and then your foot strikes the ground in front to prevent you from falling. This allows the ground to become your treadmill, doing the work for you,” explains Collard. Ground contact should be made with your midfoot, as this will help prevent shin splints. Other benefits of ChiRunning include decreasing the impact on your joints, maximizing the engagement of your core, and keeping your peripheral muscles supple and relaxed, while also improving your cardiovascular and aerobic conditioning.

Why give ChiRunning a go?

ChiRunning form improves you will decrease the impact on your body, decrease the risk of impact-related injuries, prevent fatigue, improve motivation, improve recovery time, and become a more efficient runner. And you will cross the finish line feeling better than ever before.

Krista DuChene’s New York Diary: 3 Days, 1 Race, 1 Field Trip

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Ben Kaplan

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June 11, 2018

Yesterday, Krista DuChene competed against 8,000 women in New York’s Central Park at the New York Road Runner’s #mini10K. What’s it like to spend a weekend in Krista’s Sauconys? We asked her to keep a diary, and she told us everything—except her finishing time and place, which was 35:50, eighteenth place, and less than 40 seconds behind Des Linden. DuChene will next lace up this Saturday in Toronto at the Waterfront 10K (and then take a little break).

Wednesday
6:45 am: up without alarm, breakfast and coffee, prepare kids’ breakfasts and lunches
7:20 am: drive son to school for field trip
8:12 am: drop other two kids off at school, 30 minute pool run, easy 25K trail run, purchase and put away groceries
1:00 pm: lunch, shower, nap, computer work
2:20 pm: volunteer at kids’ school
3:30 pm: help with kids’ after-school routine of homework and emptying out back backs, dinner prep
5:30 pm: dinner, unusual activity-free evening, household chores, assist daughter with piano practice
7:30 pm: quality time with daughter—painting our nails together and reading books after her tub
9:20 pm: goodbyes to family, to bed early for an early start in the morning

Thursday
4:20 am: up with the first alarm, peek at each sleeping child, tip-toe around the house
4:34 am: laundry, coffee, check messages
4:48 am: 8K run with 4 x 2 minute pick ups
5:37 am: dishes, kids’ lunches, eat oatmeal and drink green smoothie (use blender in garage to avoid waking others), shower, pack last few items
6:37 am: drive to airport with coffee
10:10 am: board flight, resisting coffee in order to nap on plane on route to NYC
12:08 pm: Uber to Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, check in
1:51 pm: lunch with other athletes and guests in hospitality suite, signing in
2:45 pm: settle into room, have short nap, text hubby and kids, respond to messages
5:45 pm: head to lobby to walk to speaking event with fellow 2018 Boston podium finishers, Des and Sarah, and New York Road Runners (NYRR) crew
6:30 pm: Q&A speaking event with ESPN, NYRR, and over 200 people in attendance
7:45 pm: sushi dinner with Des, Sarah, and NYRR team members
9:00 pm: back at hotel for anti-doping whereabouts

Friday
8:00 am: easy 8K run in Central Park with Sarah Sellers and USA Olympian Carrie Tollefson
9:30 am: breakfast
10:30 am: shower, rest, check messages
12:30 pm: lunch
1:30 pm: massage
2:30 pm: USADA information session
4:00 pm: technical meeting
5:30 pm: walk to Whole Foods for dinner
8:05 pm: welcome sister to NYC
9:30 pm: bed

Saturday
4:30 am: first alarm
5:15 am: breakfast
6:42 am: walk to Central Park for race
7:10 am: 20 min warm up with other pro women
8:00 am: start historic Mini 10 km race with 8,000 other women
9:00 am: 30 min cool down run with other pro women while looking for my sister’s finish, enjoying race atmosphere
11:00 am: back to hotel to shower and change
12:30 pm: lunch with pro women and their family/agents and NYRR crew at Becco Ristorante in the Theatre District
3:00 pm: tour NYC with my sister
9:15 pm: Ray’s pizza, shower, pyjamas, and back in air conditioning at the Sheraton

iRun Radio – June 10th, 2018

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Why I Run

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June 11, 2018

This week Mark speaks with Natan Obed, president of the Inuit Tapiriit about the beauty and solitude of running in Canada’s north. Then twenty-three year old Jordan MacTaggert explains his motivation for running marathons and beyond. Plus, Kirsty Duncan the Canadian Sports Minister shares her love of running.

A Parents Guide to Getting Up And Running

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Anna Lee Boschetto

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June 7, 2018

Family sport jogging through field — Parents with children sport running together through forest

How to be a better runner, in less time— and keep yourself, and your family, sane. We wrangled together a crew of running experts to weigh in on questions ranging from the physical and mental health benefits that can be had from this sport to the fitness and nutrition ones.Then we asked for their best time-saving and excuse-busting methods for getting it done. Each one is a runner and a parent, so they definitely get it. Here’s what they had to say.

THE EXPERTS

MARKBAYLEY MD,UniversityHealthNetwork KELLYARBOUR-NICITOPOULOS PhD,Assistant Professor: Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto CATHERINEBARRY Canadian&OntarioMaster Sprinter, Head Coach of The Gazelles Track & Field Club: Clarington, Certified Personal Trainer TRISTACACURLEY RegisteredDietitian HAROLDROSE USATFEmergingEliteCoach, Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach

iRUN: How can running benefit new parents?
MARK BAYLEY: Improvement of cardio fitness along with prevention of heart disease and strokes. It can also contribute to mood improvement and act as a mood treatment
for mild mood disorders. In addition, run- ning can improve cognitive function as people age—regular exercisers have a better memory and larger brains, which is stimulated through a neurotransmitter activated through aerobic activity, like running. With more parents hav- ing children at an older age, running can help prevent diabetes because being active helps your muscles metabolize sugar.

iRUN: Is it risky for a new mother to take up the sport?
HAROLD ROSE: If you’re a woman who has had a child, you have a pelvic range that is loosened and poor spinal stabilization. You may have people who are new runners who used to play soccer and may have an overuse knee injury, so you may want to start out a bit slower.

iRUN: How can running benefit new parents?
MARK BAYLEY: Improvement of cardio fit- ness along with prevention of heart disease and strokes. It can also contribute to mood improvement and act as a mood treatment
for mild mood disorders. In addition, run- ning can improve cognitive function as people age—regular exercisers have a better memory and larger brains, which is stimulated through a neurotransmitter activated through aerobic activity, like running. With more parents hav- ing children at an older age, running can help prevent diabetes because being active helps your muscles metabolize sugar.

iRUN: Is it risky for a new mother to take up the sport?
HAROLD ROSE: If you’re a woman who has had a child, you have a pelvic range that is loosened and poor spinal stabilization. You may have people who are new runners who used to play soccer and may have an overuse knee injury, so you may want to start out a bit slower.

iRUN: What do you say to parents who are in the position where children are making life unpredictable?
CATHERINE BARRY: The first step is establishing those small goals—you have to give a little but not punish yourself for it. You have to fit it in somewhere. The ones who make a real lifestyle change and a commitment for yourself, it’s difficult when you’re working. Moms and dads both have a lot going on at the same time, so being accountable to someone else helps. HAROLD ROSE: There’s a guilt mindset if you miss a workout. But you really should be thinking of it as an opportunity to create the routines that help you create the pocket of time you need. The baby is not always going to be waking you up, so planning around and making adjustments is key.

iRUN: When it comes to nutrition is there a way to structure your meals, post-children?

TRISTACA CURLEY: You only have so much bandwidth in the course of a day. When it comes to fueling for activity, get snacks in at the times when we work out. As parents we are good at feeding our kids, but not so good at feeding ourselves. So in terms of strategies, feed your kids what you eat. Plan one supper, not a different one for every member of the family. When I pack lunches, I do it at night and I get the kids’ stuff out, and for myself and my husband. When I’m taking food out for their snacks, I’m doing it for me, too. Our planning has to be with our kids because we aren’t going to forget to feed them.

iRUN: What are some nutrients that you need to be mindful of as a parent?
TRISTACA CURLEY: The nutrients aren’t as im- portant as the timing of those nutrients—when you get them is often an issue. You need to keep in mind that you’re fueling for performance. For example, 30 to 60 minutes prior to your run, have fast-acting carbs such as a piece of fruit, and after a run eat some quality protein that will help muscle repair into the next day. Being mindful of where we place those nutri- ents is key.

iRUN: What about hydration, are there strategies that can help parents remember they need to drink?
TRISTACA CURLEY: We’ve probably all had that experience where we haven’t drank enough, so we downed a lot of water because we were thirsty, but then we feel that water moving in- side our body. That’s a sign that we’ve basically dehydrated ourselves all day, then we drink a lot of water and our body doesn’t know how to absorb it. Drink regularly throughout the day. It becomes a scheduling thing: eat every two to three hours and drink enough, so your body is an efficient fuel machine.

iRUN: What is the most challenging piece for new parents to remember as they get back into running?
HAROLD ROSE: Joint integrity is a tough one as we get older. When we have good joint integrity, we can run and jump, and plyometric exercises can really help with this. For runners especially, you need to have the musculature around your core, you need glute and hip mobility. Many times you can have lower back pain, or if you had sciatica pain during preg- nancy, it can re-occur because the muscles are not well balanced. By strengthening these areas you will have less spinal degeneration and lower leg injuries over time.

KELLY ARBOUR-NICITOPOULUS: For parents it may be more about time management, and having time to yourself makes you more pro- ductive in the day-to-day activities.

iRUN: What should new moms or expectant moms who want to run keep in mind from a health standpoint?
MARK BAYLEY: Maintain moderate exercise— anything that keeps your leg and abdominal strength during pregnancy is key. In your first trimester, we don’t know that you should be at full effort. Your second and third are maybe a bit different. I wouldn’t avoid running, but keep the intensity in mind. Also, as you go through your pregnancy Relaxin is secreted and your joints, such as your pelvis and lower back, are not as stable. Try pool running or swimming.

iRUN: What about new dads who have been sleep-deprived as much as moms?
MARK BAYLEY: They need to be aware of how much they were exercising prior to the baby arriving. As a runner, if you have interrupted sleep twice during the night, you will feel not recovered. For example, you’ll find you won’t be recovering as quickly from an interval work- out and may still feel it two to three days later.

iRUN: As far as energy, what do we know about gaining more energy through running?
MARK BAYLEY: What a lot of people don’t real- ize is that when you run, you get adrenaline, serotonin and endorphins that make you feel better, you feel less pain and more energy. From personal experience, when you become a par- ent, you need to make strategies, like get a baby jogger. As they get older and as they get into activities—when my kids are warming up, I’d go for a 30 minute run and be creative.

iRUN: What can you tell us about the mental benefits of running?
KELLY ARBOUR-NICITOPOULUS: We see immedi- ate changes in our mental health state. From a parent’s perspective, running is a chance to go outdoors, which can give you more clarity and the ability to evaluate a situation better. Even in 10 minutes of running you’ll see a reduction in stress and anxiety.
HAROLD ROSE: Running in itself is its own re- ward and an escape for many people, especially parents. That reward of challenging yourself, competing and that you’re back out there, you have a more positive outlook on life when you are accomplishing goals, big or small. Every- thing feels good and leads to longevity and success, on and off the running course.

Melissa Bishop on Training during Pregnancy and More

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Training

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June 7, 2018

Day Eight - PM — IAAF World Track & Field Championships Beijing 2015. Day Eight PM, August 29,2015. Photo: Claus Andersen

“We had always thought we wanted to start a family but there was no set time,” says Bishop. So when she did get her doctor’s confirmation that she was pregnant base training had just begun and she was gearing up for the season ahead. Needless to say, the focus shifted pretty fast for the mom-to-be. As she moves into her second trimester, Canadian Olympian and mom-to-be Melissa Bishop shares her new training routine, nutrition woes and what it’s like getting into mom mode.

iRun: What was it like finding out you were pregnant?

Melissa Bishop: Looking back, not knowing I was in the first one, there was some food aversions and nausea and now in the third trimester we are almost ready for baby. I thought it was something I ate or I wasn’t feeling it on that day, but it wasn’t bad enough to think that I was pregnant. It was a slow start to the season because I had just gotten married in October, we had our honeymoon in November, so a lot of life events were happening at the time.

iRun: So if you didn’t notice before, after finding out you were pregnant, did you notice a difference at all?
MB: Honestly, I didn’t feel a difference until after Christmas. At that point, I hadn’t put on any weight there was really no change. But I realized that I needed to change because, you know, I’m growing a small human.

iRun: Any food aversions or things you have had to adjust?
MB: None since the first trimester when I didn’t know why I didn’t want to eat chicken. The hardest part has been getting enough food. I’m still working out and while I don’t need a lot more food maybe 300 calories, I get really full quickly so it’s planning small meals really frequently which is hard. I’m used to downing a plate of pasta, not breaking it up into two smaller meals. It’s an adjustment.

iRun: As you’re moving into your final trimester, what’s your training looking like?
MB: It’s very much day-to-day and really not a lot of running, mostly cross training because it’s what feels right, right now. Right now it’s a lot of pool running. I was on the elliptical for a while, then the bike and I don’t enjoy these activities because these are not my forte. I can go for a 30 minute run and not think twice, but it’s learning a to love these activities, I’ve got to work extra hard.

iRun: What has been your biggest surprises physically with being pregnant?

MB: I thought that I could run until the day I go into labour and slide right through pregnancy. I was so wrong. There are so many different aches and pains you go through, and have to deal with. There are a lot of hormones coursing through your body that cause things to stretch. Cross training has been the best bet. I don’t want to injury something and then have to take more time off once the baby arrives to deal with an injury. Right now I’m just trying to maintain fitness.

iRun: You mention aches and pains, and joint health is important for expectant moms, so what about your joints, how have you dealt?
MB: Everything in my body is a more fluid, which is not necessarily for the better. Based on the way I feel during this second trimester, I could have been running every day. But then, I think had I been running, maybe I wouldn’t be feeling this good. Maybe it’s because I’m not doing a lot of weight bearing activities that I feel this way.

iRun: How difficult is it to mentally balance the athlete in you and the mom-to-be in you?

MB: There was a point early on in the pregnancy where I wanted to push the limits, but I felt I couldn’t do it for the safety of the baby. The athlete in me wants to push through this and feels the burn is good. But then the mom-to-be in me says no, you can’t, this could be harmful.

There was a huge learning curve. I think knowing the health of the baby is first and foremost, then my health, then the training. Some days I wake up and think I can’t do it and to me that’s okay. As an athlete for the past decade, my job has been to read my body and say, no you can go harder or stop, you need to rest or yes, push through the crappy feeling. That’s one of the pluses I know when it’s safe when it’s not and when I can push a bit more.

iRun: Have you spoken with any other elite runners who are moms and have gone through what you are right now?

MB: I actually just spoke with Hillary Stellingwerf who had her second baby a few weeks ago. After her first baby she came back to compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics and has said to enjoy every moment because it is such a miracle. She explained it as right now I’m no Melissa Bishop trying to break 1:50, I’m Melissa Bishop trying to start a family so just enjoy it.

iRun: Now that you’re in your third trimester so you think you’ll try to run?

MB: I am going to try. It will be day by day and how I feel. As it gets warmer, I would like to get on the trails. I’ve had training where I’ll go from the elliptical to the treadmill. Right now, it’s easier on the mind knowing that I can finish my training on the treadmill. I love to exercise and I get grumpy when I can’t so

iRun: For the everyday athlete going through pregnancy?
MB: Knowing this is not forever. It’s nine months. I know this won’t be a lifestyle after the baby so give yourself a break. Your body is working so hard and there’s lots going on to grow a baby so take it day by day and do what you can.

Roger Robinson on 50 Years of Chronicling Running

By

Ravi Singh

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June 6, 2018

Writing about running involves as much of a chase as running itself. It might be for something that we’ll never fully catch, but we persist because there are rewards and lessons learned along the way and the closer we get, the more richness we add to our self.

Just as runners search for the perfect race where a million variables within and beyond our control find harmony, runners who write about running are looking to “capture the sheer joy we have in moving over the earth and in interacting with it.”

That’s how Roger Robinson describes the mission statement of his new book, When Running Made History, and of his 50 year career chronicling the sport, years in which he’s, “been fortunate for my career to have coincided with the amazing growth of running from an eccentric niche activity to a global movement.”

Mr. Robinson describes himself as “quite a lot of people in that I’ve always wanted to have a balance of activities in life.” That balance has included a career as an athlete on two national teams, an academic career as a professor of English Literature, and decades as a running journalist and commentator.

“One common thing to all that is that I’m a wordsmith,” Roger tells me from his home in New York. “I wrote and taught literature and realized that all that I did with running had to do with words and trying to express its pleasures in writing.”

Robinson says he’s “hardly dewy eyed” and knows running is still confronting issues of equity and of course honesty at the competitive level, but argues that, “You’d be hard pressed to find a mass activity with such a positive mass effect with so much collaboration on a single day.” For that reason, Robinson has always found the sport to be fertile ground for moments and stories that emanate hope and a positive vision for the world at large.

Those moments are the basis for his new book, in which the author recounts 21 moments to which he was a direct witness. While there’s some arbitrariness to the selection, for Roger, these are all special moments because, “There was something more that was happening, when running wasn’t just running.”

In accordance with the incredible scope of Robinson’s career, those moments span Emil Zatopek’s 1948 Olympic triumphs, which “gave us hope for a non military future,” to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, after which a city and a global running community stood in defiance of an intrusion of hate into a space that celebrated inclusion and positivity.

Running’s next chapter, he hopes, won’t necessarily be a massive breakthrough in popularity or a major barrier being broken, but will rather mark a return to the inclusion that may be compromised as the sport becomes more popular and mainstream.

Robinson has also been impressed over the years by what he calls the sheer scale of running and the efficiency of big city marathons, but hopes that running will continue to be firmly rooted in the communities where it happens. “We often show up in a community to run,” Robinson says, “but don’t always put back into the earth we run on.”

There have been strides in that direction with the Chicago Marathon planting trees along its course and the New York Marathon working with the city to establish more natural, accessible playgrounds. Those are small but meaningful actions that Robinson hopes will once again see running take a lead role in imagining a better world.

Global Running Day: a Love Story

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Ben Kaplan

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June 6, 2018

Image courtesy of Toronto Beaches Runners Club.

It’s been the best time I’ve shared with my family. It’s been a transcendent time I’ve spent on my own. It’s been the pinnacle of my athletic career—a career I never even had until I started to run. Global Running Day? Sign me up. The sport has changed my life, introduced me to new people, given me a job, a book, a platform. I can’t even remember what I did before I started to run.

The thing about running that makes it special is that it’s open to everyone. A few weeks back, Reid Coolsaet, the second fastest marathoning Canadian of all-time, sent a tweet saying, in effect: whatever you’re racing, you’re racing. Don’t ever say, “I’m just running the half.” Everything is equal. Everything is a challenge. Everything is decided on a given day in a given setting in a given pair of sneakers—anything can happen when we race. Racing, and running, doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t judge. It doesn’t play favourites. Anyone can toe the line. And anyone can run around the block. And then run further. And further. And keep going. The bug catches us all.

Calgary’s Trevor Hofbauer was all smiles after winning the Centaur Subaru Half Marathon event at the Scotiabank Calgary Marathon at Stampede Park on Sunday May 27, 2018.

So what does Global Running Day mean to iRun? More than anything, it’s a chance for us to say: welcome. Welcome to the sport we love. The sport we choose. The hobby we have and the community we’ve made and the place we cherish—where we root for each other, engage in a healthy activity, volunteer, travel, raise money for charity, get B.A.A. tattoos, eat bananas and bagels, and know, more than anything, that there is no finish line. When you run, you run. Whether you’re Ed Whitlock, Sarah Hall, Krista DuChene or the rest of our people—the middle of the packers. The ones that come out for Sunday long runs and dress in two pairs of gloves when we attempt Around the Bay.

A salute to runners everywhere on Global Run Day. It’s a gimmicky thing and a weird notion that probably somewhere has some kind of marketing tie. But that’s OK. We’ll take it. We’ll run hills and fight swooping blackbirds. We’ll wear bright yellow shoes and use Port-a-Potties. We’ll drink Nuun and Gatorade on the run and race through rainstorm and heatwave and sign up again. Thinking about runners and running, we have to salute all the good we do—and by “we,” I mean: our people. We head to New York for the New York Marathon and then volunteer to help out in Staten Island. We run the Boston Marathon and then, when the bombs explode, we turn toward the carnage, use our race clothes as tourniquets to do what we can.

We’ve made our lives better through running. We have heroes, big and small, famous and not. The list is endless. Let’s just take a moment on Global Running Day and say the name: Terry Fox. And how about Lanni Marchant? Has anyone ever asked a Canadian runner for an autograph and a photo and been turned away? Even when, like Natasha Wodak at Ottawa last year, their race was only two hours away and they were competing for the Canadian Championships?

In short, Global Run Day is like Valentine’s Day. I don’t know how it started but that’s OK, I still like a nudge to get carnations for my wife. Have fun everybody and let’s see how many of us can work a run in. So many people are runners.

So many of us should feel good today.