How To Keep Your Training On Track While On Spring Break

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March 15, 2013

By: Nikki Reiter

Most individuals will celebrate a vacation; however, along with catching the sights, going out for meals or keeping up with the kids’ activities, runners tend to feel a bit guilty about skipping out on their regular training routine. Getting in at least 30 minutes of cardiovascular activity each day should help you ward off detraining and allow you to return to your normal training schedule refreshed – isn’t that what a vacation is all about?

Try the following suggestions to help you feeling good about your training:

Plan Ahead – Try to use your vacation as a recovery cycle so you can be at peace with missing your runs knowing it’s time for regeneration.

Do Some Research – Check out where the locals run or talk to the concierge at the hotel. Better yet, search for the local running group to have someone to join on a group run and find out more about the area you’re visiting. Don’t be nervous, runners are a welcoming bunch!

Prepare – Headed to sunbathe and afraid it will be too hot? No problem. Try deep water running. Headed to a winter wonderland with poor footing? Try other aerobic activities such as cross-country skiing or snowshoeing. Worst-case scenario, find a hotel with a treadmill and practice running some intervals or a tempo at a goal pace.

Prioritize – Get your run done early in the day and get out of the way. With spending all that time with friends or family, it might be nice to wake up and have some alone time and then be ready for the day’s activities.

Mix It Up – Use your surroundings to switch things up. Running on the beach is much more difficult than the pavement, so you can go shorter and still get in a great workout. Try other forms of cross training to get your heart rate up. There are fitness gains to be made by changing up your workout

Race – Search the Internet to see if there’s a local race happening in your destination. You won’t feel as bad taking a few days off if you’re going to put in a race effort at some point during your trip.

In the end, remember that time away is great to regenerate both mentally and physically. Don’t worry too much if you miss a run or two – it’s vacation now isn’t it!

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Nikki Reiter is a Mizuno Running Brand Ambassador from Kelowna, BC. She holds a master’s degree in biomechanics, coaches Cross Country at UBC Okanagan and is the founder of Run Right Gait Analysis Service (run-right.ca).

Olympic Runners Dominate Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award Nominations

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UpToSpeed

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March 11, 2013

It’s possible that the Award for Sportsman or Sportswoman of the year could go to an Olympic runner at today’s Laureus World Sports Awards in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Five out of the possible 12 nominations for Sportsman or Sportswoman of the year have been handed out to Olympic runners including Usain Bolt, Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis, Allyson Felix and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

The Laureus World Sports Awards celebrate the achievements of athletes from across the world while also showcasing the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation – an organization carrying out projects that help tackle issues like gang violence, lack of education, racial intolerance, and HIV/AID, through sport initiatives with young people.

You can check out some of the cool work the Laureus Sport for Good foundation has done here.

Bolt and Farah are up for Sportsman of the year in a category with Bradley Wiggins(cycling), Lionel Messi (soccer), Michael Phelps (swimming) and Sebastian Veelel (Formula One).

The other contenders for Sportswoman of the year include Lindsey Vonn (skiing), Missy Franklin (swimming), Serena Williams (tennis).

Last year, Vivian Cheruiyot took home the award for 2012 Sportswoman of the year after winning the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres gold medals in the 2011 World Championships in Daegu.

Bolt is the first athlete to hold both 100 metres and 200 metres world records since electronic timing was introduced (photo courtesy of creative commons)

Breathe some new life into your running routine

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UpToSpeed

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March 9, 2013

There’s a bit more spring in the air this weekend and we’re dying to trade in the salt stained winter running gear for something lighter and fresher.

It’s that time of year when you feel re-energized with a fresh bolt of energy – new running plans, new running goals and looking ahead to the new season.

If you’re craving a change it could also be a great time of year to switch up the music you’ve been running with all winter long.

Have you tried Songza yet? It’s a great (free) app that you can run through your Android or iPhone. You can search for pre-made playlists that are ready to be plugged into. It’s an easy to use resource (find it through the “app store” on your phone) for the time-strapped or the runner who’s looking for something new.

Here are a few of the options that are particularly upbeat and will help you get outside:

What do you think? Would you consider using Songza for running? Do you like to run with music? Let us know in the comment section below!

Because I am a woman

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Karen Karnis

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March 8, 2013

Earlier in the week, I read the story of how the Gaza Marathon, an event organized by the UN, was cancelled because the Hamas rulers banned women from participating. Of course I wholeheartedly support the UN’s decision to cancel and would not have it any other way.

How to describe how I feel about the whole situation…it is a gigantic, complex web of issues. The best I can do is to say I am shocked, outraged, and incredibly sad – and that does not do it justice.

The shock comes directly thanks to my luck at having been born in Canada – where I have never had to even think about not being allowed to run a marathon. Be cautious about where I run and fear for my safety during training, yes, but I have always been allowed. It’s always been my right to pay my fee like everyone else, pin on that number, and run that race.

But then I remember that even here – in Canada, the US, the Western World – this wasn’t always the case. Every year on International Women’s Day, I think of the heroic women that I know, and that I wish I knew personally – and naturally, because I am a runner, women such as Silvia Ruegger, Joan Benoit-Samuelson, Kathrine Switzer, etc., etc., etc., are among them – but even more so this year.

I had the privilege of meeting Silvia when I was in elementary school. I listened to her talk about dreams –the Olympic Marathon was simply the example she used to illustrate her point – and I was inspired. At the time, becoming a runner didn’t even cross my mind, so I had no idea how directly she would impact my life.

In January, when I went to Disney World to do the Goofy Challenge, I had the privilege of meeting “Joanie” at the Social Media Meet-Up/Tweet-Up. She was one of 6 people on a panel – one of two women – that included people like Jeff Galloway, Bart Yasso, and Dick Beardsley. I have to tell you, while people clapped politely for the rest of the panel, they roared and applauded with a fervour you rarely see when Joan came up. I know this had a lot to do with the number of women in attendance, but it was very clear that all of the women there knew how directly she had impacted our lives.

I am hoping to meet Kathrine this June at the Niagara Falls Women’s Half Marathon, as she is scheduled to be there; and if I do I will thank her for directly impacting my life.

If it weren’t for these women, among others, marathon running would not be a common activity for average women like me. Never once, as I learned to run, did I ever have to ask myself if my chromosomes, muscle mass distribution, centre of gravity, hormones or reproductive organs would stop me from running a marathon.

Did I doubt I could do it? Of course.

But never because I am a woman.

Pamela Dransfield finds the GOrun2 provides a great sense of balance – and adventure

By

TheBuzzonGear

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March 8, 2013

“iRun to age with strength and grace.” ~Pamela Dransfield

The following is a guest post by Pamela Dransfield who tested the Skechers GOrun 2.0.

Pros: These shoes are beautiful to behold and a pleasure to wear. I have never received any comments from passersby (or those I have been passing) about the appearance of a shoe, but often get compliments when I am running in these. They are so light weight and comfortable all the time. My feet are not passengers in these shoes. Because of the minimalist design, my toes get to participate on uneven terrain, which gives a great sense of balance and adventure. Even after long runs, they dry really quickly.

Cons: I really have nothing negative to say about these shoes. It has been a great experience running in these and other than some initial adjustments, I experienced no problems and find no drawbacks to the design or performance of this shoe.

Overall: I wore these shoes (with socks) entirely outdoors, on pavement, gravel, dirt road shoulders, and soft groomed trails. Nanaimo is a very hilly city, so I had the opportunity to run both uphill and downhill on every run. While the shoe was great on my usual stomping grounds – pavement – it was way more fun when I was “off-roading” as the low profile allowed me to use and feel my feet more as I ran, which was a really refreshing experience. I ran in sun, rain, and on a bit of ice and slush one day, though we do not have snow here generally speaking. I was cautious on the snow day, but didn’t have any issues with grip. My runs varied from 5 to 12 km and my feet felt great at the end no matter the distance or terrain. Overall, I am a true convert to this minimalist shoe.

About Pamela Dransfield:

A runner of only the past 4 ½ years, I am still learning to discern what I like and don’t like, what works and what does not work for me in the world of running gear.

Jennifer Pevec tests the GOrun Ride

By

TheBuzzonGear

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March 1, 2013

“iRun because I can and that was not always the case! It makes me feel great – adding years to my life AND life to my years!”~ Jennifer Pevec

The following is a guest post by Jennifer Pevec, who tested the Skechers GOrun Ride.

These are well-made, comfortable and lightweight performance shoes at a great price. There is an amazing choice of fun, bright colours (and laces).

The first thing I noticed when I put these shoes on was the curved bottom which feels like a bump. It does take some getting used to but that ‘bump’ feeling went away after a while. I already am a mid-foot/toe striker but felt these shoes guided my gait at first in a way that made my running feel unnatural and I had to think about my form. But after a few runs, that was no longer the case. Now my runs feel effortless and are fast!

I really liked these shoes and will continue to train in them, especially for tempo runs and speed work. They make me feel fast like Meb Keflezighi (still nothing could be further than the truth)! But I probably will not make these my go-to marathon shoes because I miss the cushioning other shoes provide on varied terrain when heel striking on downhill stretches or on walk breaks. They are super comfortable – no slipping or sliding, plenty of cushioning and therefore no blisters. Used these shoes inside on the treadmill, and outside in all kinds of weather conditions – sun, wind, rain and snow!

About Jennifer Pevec:

Back of the packer training for Marathon #8 in the spring. Enjoy half-marathons, swimming & cycling events.

Read Jennifer’s post on Running for a Reason!

How another easy winter has turned me into a giant wimp

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Karen Karnis

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February 28, 2013

Sure, we’ve gotten a lot of snow in the past few weeks, but realistically, as Canadian winters go, this has been another pretty easy one. While not as easy as last year, I think you’d be hard pressed to find a span of more than three weeks where the temperature did not get above freezing where I am in Southern Ontario.

snow at home 20130228 — Yes, that is a tree sticking out of the snowbank. And yes, the neighbour 3 houses down still has Christmas decorations up.

And to be frank, this has been a bit of a problem for my running.

My winter has looked a little like this:

Random cold day: Hmm, it’s really cold and windy out. Oh well, maybe I will run on the treadmill today; it’s supposed to get warm again in about 5 days.

5 days later: Wow, it’s really wet and gross out there. Maybe I will run on the treadmill today; I need to find out what’s going to happen in this TV show.

2 days after that: Yikes! It’s below freezing and all those puddles from two days ago are making surface conditions really treacherous! I don’t want to break any bones, so I think I will run on the treadmill today.

Rinse, repeat.

Take today for example. I got dressed in my running gear and went out to shovel the driveway. It’s a gorgeous +4C out, but when I got to the bottom of the driveway and l saw that the roads were still buried in a good six to eight inches of wet, heavy snow – you know, the kind that builds up on the bottom of your shoes to the point where you have to knock it off every 8-10 steps and you start to look like you’re rehearsing a number from the Wizard of Oz – I retreated back into the house.

Meanwhile, in those winters where “cold” is the rule rather than the exception, you wouldn’t find me in my basement more than once a week – and that was only when it was too icy for outdoor speed-work.

So there you have it. It’s been a light winter and I have no right to complain. I am bored of the treadmill despite being addicted to a TV series I have seen twice from beginning to end; yet I am in a rut and I don’t seem to have the mental energy to get over it and get out the door.* Anyone else having this struggle?

I am ready for more daylight, clear surface conditions and fewer layers. Yup, I am ready for spring. How about you?

*A fact that is even worse when you consider that I do run outdoors with my beginner clinic. It doesn’t count as a workout for me because I am busy trying to keep track of everyone, but you would think if I could deal with wet socks and dangerous surfaces with them, I could do it on my own…

Michelle Boyer tests the Skechers GOrun 2

By

TheBuzzonGear

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February 22, 2013

“iRun because it keeps me balanced both mentally and physically.” ~Michelle Boyer

The following is a guest post by Michele Boyer, who tested the Skechers GOrun 2.

The things I love about these shoes are how comfortable they are and how they convinced me to reconsider my stance on minimalist shoes being just a passing fad. Normally when I break in a new pair of shoes, or change brands, my body takes a bit to get used to the change, but these shoes there was no getting used to them, they felt like they were made for my feet specifically. The only way to describe this is that my body was craving to run in these shoes each and every run.

The only downside that I found is that I couldn’t run with Yaktrax on them. They are so light weight that the Yaktrax just didn’t fit and hurt my feet. I am an outdoor all season runner so I am trying to look at different options to see what I can do to wear them in the Ottawa winters.

I wore these shoes solely in outdoor runs which varied from dry to icy pavement. My runs ranged from 5K to 11k and I never noticed an ounce of pain from running in these shoes during my runs regardless of the distance. I did notice some calf soreness a day later on the first couple of runs but that quickly went away in the second week. Overall, the things that surprised me on these shoes is how well they grip the pavement in non-icy conditions, how warm my feet stayed at -20C despite the toe box being very thin material, and never suffering a single blister in them. These shoes always made me feel like they were custom made for my feet and I wanted to run in them each and every run. I can safely say that I am now a minimalist shoe convert because of these shoes.

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About Michele Boyer

Average person, mom to 5, who works in software QA and has a passion for running, eating healthy and staying in shape.

Follow her on Twitter: @boyerm

Running in the Windy City

By

Andrew Chak

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February 19, 2013

I did it.

I got in.

When I got to the website, the link wasn’t there. It said that registration was supposed to open at 1:00pm Central time, but the link wasn’t there. I had already booked my hotel in anticipation of this race, but that link still wasn’t there. I needed to find that link because today was the day that I was going to register for the Chicago Marathon.

I had been anticipating this day for a while now. In 2011, the race sold out in 31 days. In 2012, it took 6 days. I was expecting it to sell out even faster this year as marathoning interest is definitely at a high.

This race is flat, fast, one of the largest marathons in the world and is a world marathon major. This would be the big leagues and I wanted in. Apparently, many others felt the same which resulted in the registration site at Active.com not being available and temporarily removed from the Chicago Marathon website. I checked for frustrated tweets and Facebook posts which confirmed that many others were not being let in and couldn’t find the registration link.

Registration for the Chicago Marathon has been temporarily suspended — Uh-oh…

Not to be dissuaded, I looked for posts which would provide me with direct access to the registration and was able to dig up a link from a helpful post (thank you social media!). I clicked through to the registration form and got stuck with a “Site not available” message. I had to jump in and out of meetings and try to find slivers of time where I could try again. I would fill out the form, provide my personal information, hit continue, get locked out, and try again.

As one person put it, the “registration feels more difficult than the race,” but after a few tries and some anxious moments of fearing that I’d see a tweet indicating that registration was full, I got in. I was able to submit my payment information (I’ve never been so happy to pay $200 for something which is ridiculous) and I waited for my confirmation email. I searched for my name amongst confirmed registrants and was able to find myself (and yes, I’m that obsessively paranoid).

Your registration is complete! — So this is what I paid $200 for…

So Chicago Marathon, here I come! Now all I have to do is train and hope for a tailwind in the windy city.

In anticipation,

Andrew

P.S. Here’s the direct link to the Chicago Marathon Registration (use at your own discretion and good luck!).

Sue Wemp tests the Skechers GOrun Ride

By

TheBuzzonGear

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February 19, 2013

“iRun to expand my physical and mental limits.” ~Sue Wemp

The following is a guest post by Sue Wemp who tested the Skechers GOrun Ride.

Pros: These light weight shoes have a generous toe box. The midfoot strike aligns the body so your core is engaged prompting better run posture.

Cons: Can’t go slow in these shoes. Not good on gravel roads or muddy trails.

Overall: These neutral shoes worked well with my orthotics and the mid-foot strike only felt weird for the first 20 minutes of their first outside run.

I wore them on back to back long walk/runs of 13 & 26 miles (yes, miles) in preparation for the Goofy Challenge. While I did develop blisters on my 13 miler, I blame it more on my altered stride on the treadmill than the shoes.

They definitely prefer road or groomed trails. I noticed that I spent more time picking out large gravel than with other shoes.

My running form was better with my core naturally engaged as a result of the mid-foot strike. I was running faster without extra effort even on hills! I unintentionally had my fastest 5 & 10k training runs of the year in these shoes. They just want to go fast!

I LOVED these shoes!

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About Sue Wemp:

Back-of-the-packer with aspirations to qualify for Boston at some point in the near future, several marathons, one 50k and, as of 2013, Goofy Challenge finisher!

Follow her on Twitter: @MarathonSuzieQ