I finally ran the other day and of course, it felt great.  It was cold and windy, but those conditions kept me alert and in the moment.

Anyone who has experienced a lapse in running frequency has said, “I never want to forget how good it feels to run”.  Yet, it happens to many runners, as I have learned from the many people who have reached out to support me in my recent slump. And I know that there are probably even more run slumpers who read my words and just thought to themselves “been there”.

The shiny, little hidden gem here is the fact that we get back at it. That falling off this wagon, or any other wagon we ride, does not equal failure. It is simply a bump in the road and the road can be long or the road can be short for any one of us. We don’t know how much time we have here on earth to run or jump or play or drink or anything, so…after we are done being displeased with our most recent, self-identified failures, the best thing we can do is reassess, make a plan and move in that direction. Can I get a “Hell Ya”?!

When I slump at anything, I usually fall hard, but the great thing about me, is that once I realize what’s going on, I bounce right back. I have the ability to be my own worst enemy, but I also love myself and have confidence that this too shall pass. So, I live knowing that mental health and addiction obstacles are a clear and present danger to my wellbeing, but I also know I have strength of character, commitment, dedication and a huge support team in my corner for the tough days.

Last month, I fell off the running wagon, but I didn’t fall from the sobriety wagon. When I opened my eyes and looked at the picture beyond the self-loathing I was stuck in, things looked amazing. I had not run consistently in over four weeks. During that time, I was without the safety net that I had so desperately erected to keep me occupied and feeling good, in order to remain estranged from my former bff, Cold Beer. I did not run, but I also did not drink at a time that I was being very hard on myself.

I can make it seem light and funny, but I am shedding tears as I write. I will never be free of the love sickness I have for alcohol, but maybe I am healing, maybe it’s not so raw, desperate and fragile anymore. I shake with fear at admitting this because I never want to let my guard down, but maybe I have gained strength against this addiction. Maybe running has made me stronger in multiple ways. Maybe I can loosen my white knuckle grip on running and truly just enjoy it for what it is. Maybe running is just running now, maybe it’s not therapy or a safety net or what’s keeping me sober. Maybe the strength I have to stay out of the liquor store is just coming from me, from some deep, strong permanent place inside of ME.

What an empowering thought to carry into the New Year; a New Year already full of mile markers. On New Year’s Day, I will celebrate my 40^th birthday (without a New Year’s Eve hangover). I will think of my Mom as it’s really her day; she did all the work forty years ago. My celebration will include the Orillia Snowflake Series, New Year’s Day 10k and hopefully a few friends running with me and waiting for me at the finish.

January is also a time for me to recognize two years of being alcohol free. Two years sober. Two years of a new way of being. Who knows, maybe a new way of being will include being the new “Running Blog Idol” in the cards for the year to come. If not, I will still continue to write because I love it; maybe set up my own blog space. If anyone has any ideas or connections in the writing world, I could use the advice.

Lastly, but possibly very significant to my life, as I turn 40, I will enter a new running age group. All those local buggers who have been placing ahead of me in my current age group (yes, Kate Rheault, this includes you :p ) will no longer be my competition. Instead of being among the oldest runners in my age group, I can now look forward to being among the youngest.

Happy New Year to all of you and thank you for all of your comments and support!

Cheers (my glass has sparkling water in it)!

*a quick note: to celebrate the past two years, my 40^th birthday, the years to come and to always have a reminder of the simplicity of the run, I got a permanent visual reminder, yesterday. This was also given to me as gift by my lifelong friend, Paula Vollick. Paula was also my sounding board and provider of constant encouragement when I initially decided to enter this contest.  Thanks bunches, Polly Wogg!

Somehow Christmas has come and gone in a blur. And the haziness wasn’t due to wine or rum (not this year anyway), but rather the flurry of activity that comes from thinking and planning and then neglecting to start actually doing anything, including decorating the house, until December 22.

I am suffering a massive food hangover. The blood in my veins has been replaced by caffeine and bubbly and I’ve gotten into a bad habit of thinking gingerbread men are a perfectly balanced breakfast (there’s protein in the eggs, right?). No wonder people vow to eat salads for all of January under the label of “resolution.” I prefer to call it penance for a month of committing the most offensive of nutrition sins.

I used to be a believer in resolutions until I realized it’s actually the French word for “failure” (very loosely defined). However I always like to reflect on the past year so I can think about longer-term plans for the upcoming one (plans that don’t fizzle by January 9). In order to properly focus on 2013, it’s important I look back at the highlights of 2012. So here goes:

– 5k race completed at 37 weeks pregnant.

– April 9 – Tore every shelf out my refrigerator including one I didn’t know could be removed, and scrubbed it top to bottom. Also, had a baby the next morning.

– Discovered that severe sleep deprivation made me forget which lever in my vehicle controls the turn signal. Don’t worry, I got it right the third try.

– My first post-birth run, a short 3k six weeks after giving birth. Cursed myself, my husband for his role in my becoming pregnant in the first place, my doctor for giving me the green light to run again, Adidas for supporting my feet, but not having the foresight to develop cushioning for my girly bits, and whoever thought of expanding running into a pleasurable and sometimes competitive endeavour rather than simply a necessary tool for hunting food. I think I can hold the Greeks partially responsible even though the Olympic Games probably seemed like a good idea at the time.

– June 23 – My first 10k race since before having Little Dude. My misplaced anger was replaced by mild annoyance that there wasn’t a postpartum category for racers that yielded a get-of-jail-free-card, or at the very least, a chauffeured golf cart to the top of the deathly hill around the 7k mark.

– Nailed the perfect stretch of time between nursing, having a glass of wine and nursing again.

– July 10 – An editor from iRun contacted me to let me know I was a top 10 finalist for Blog Idol 2.0. They were kind enough to announce it exactly 10 days before my birthday (I’m just narcissistic enough to believe it to be true), providing a worthy distraction from my annual mental breakdown over no longer being in my 20s.

– September 29 – Half-marathon completed with the assistance of family, friends and obscene levels of caffeine.

– U.S. election. This wasn’t really a personal accomplishment per se, but worth noting for the entertaining drinking game Mr. S and I came up with based on every Republican reference to family planning and every Obama reference to his role in Bin Laden’s death.

– November – Vegas. If I couldn’t eat it, drink it, gamble it or run it, it wasn’t on the agenda.

Looking back makes me equal parts excited and terrified of what the new year may hold. If the past 12 months is any indication it will hopefully include new (and old) friends, milestones, first steps, new races and challenges, and maybe a new bottle of sparkling rosé.

In less than 24 hours the world is supposed to go to hell in a hand-basket. Think about it. These could be the last words I ever write. Whoa, right?

Or everything will be tickety-boo in the morning and you’ll wake up to read this and be like, “Dude, why was she up so late? Did she want a front-row seat to the fire and brimstone?” Simple answer: yes. I’ll only be able to write a best-selling book if I witness something spectacular. Or if I devise some poorly written S&M for bored housewives. Given my current mental state I will call it 50 Shades of Crazy: The Mom’s Guide to Fooling Regular People Into Thinking She is Well-Rested and Doesn’t Drink to Forget Tantrums.

So what does one do on her second-to-last day here on earth? I should probably have been stockpiling toilet paper and merlot in case of emergency, but I woke up late, walked to Starbucks with my daughter and then took advantage of my kids napping simultaneously (if that isn’t a sign of the apocalypse, I’m not sure what is) to dash out six kilometers. I did run yesterday and haven’t run two days in a row since half-marathon training a couple months ago. But I figured if this was going to be my last day on earth, I should do my favourite things. So I didn’t set an alarm, drank too much caffeine and took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and headed out, where a friend spotted me waiting for a train and took the photo above. The only things I did not do: finally finish reading The Grapes of Wrath (I’ve been working on it since Grade 12) or clean my house (if I thought there was the slightest possibility even one of the Four Horsemen would admire my clean floors, I might have gone to the effort).

However should the world continue until Saturday, I suppose I should revel in the future and make lofty claims, such as “I will find time and energy to train for a full marathon.”

And now I sort of do hope that heaven rains fire shortly so I am not held accountable for my words. Yes, I will take my chances outrunning zombies over waking up at 5 a.m. on Saturdays for four-and-a-half hour training runs.

See you all on the other side of December 21! Or will I?

Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Truman Capote, John Barrymore, John Bonham, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Jack Kerouac, Bon Scott, Amy Winehouse, Hank Williams…

Creative people throughout history have reached for the bottle to inspire them to write, act and sing. Alcohol has always been touted as an enabler of clever and imaginative thinking. A freer of inhibition, resulting in inspired discovery of thought.

I am not a great historical writer, but I could use a bloody drink or six to get the creative juices flowing and produce some results. I put the pencil to the paper. I write a few sentences and then I scribble them out because it’s not funny enough or poignant enough or on topic enough. It’s just not good enough.

This is a theme in my life when I am faced with success. I buckle under the pressure. I sabotage myself by becoming passive and unproductive. In the past, this would be the time for a bottle of wine to drown my fears of inadequacy. It has, however been established that this will not be my means of coping (somebody, please have a drink for me, and if many of you are reading this, maybe I will vicariously be having many drinks…red wine, please).

Running has become my “go to” for release, for therapy and for distraction. It has even produced many moments of creativity. Clinging so tightly to running as a tool to keep me off the hooch has produced many positive side effects, including, strength, speed and endurance. I have improved to the heights of above average finish times when compared to other age groupers in my category. Running has saved me and given me hope for sustained alcohol recovery. It has allowed me a new way of coping with my demons (I imagine my demons as little grinning creatures drinking shots of tequila without the salt or the lemon, because, really, why bother with that, just get to the firewater).

Recall, if you will the earlier confession of self sabotage, and prepare to be disapointed…

…I haven’t run but twice in the last four weeks! No running, no writing…I am sabotaging this blog contest and I am sabotaging my sobriety. I am messing with a good system here. I don’t know what to do to make myself understand that I deserve all of the success I create. It’s all within my reach, but I am about to just let it go out of habit and not knowing what else to do.

I just need some belief in myself, some confidence, some inspiration, some validation… that doesn’t come in a brown bag or a case…

                                                                                                                                                                        …to be continued…maybe…hopefully

 (my apologies for the pathetic post…I’m struggling).

A certain Canadian marathoner (let’s call him “Reid C.”…No, that’s too obvious…Let’s say “R. Coolsaet”) has trained for months leading up to a big marathon. He’s running very well through the first half, and is on pace for a personal best time. But just past halfway…uh oh. He feels something no runner wants to feel mid-race. He has to go. You know…#2. With no porta-potty in sight, he quietly ducks behind an electrical box and does his “business”. Luckily (and impressively), the stop doesn’t take long and he is back running in no time. He grits it out until the end and still comes away with a personal best time!

So what happened to our unidentified marathoner friend? Did he eat too much spicy food the night before the race? Did a rival competitor spike his sports drink? And how did he still manage a personal best even with the pitstop?

This particular marathoner, along with many of his marathoner friends, has started to experiment with an exciting new performance enhancer: Beetroot juice. It’s fully legal and natural, and there has been a ridiculous amount of good research done in the past 5 years that indicates it will improve performance. As you can glean from the above story, the evidence is so convincing that many runners are willing to risk some rather “unfortunate” side effects to get that extra edge!

So how does it work? What would drive an athlete to take such risks? Jamie Whitfield, a PhD student at the University of Guelph who is currently researching beetroot juice and other ergogenic aids, gave this summary:

“Beetroot juice is a dietary source of nitrates, which are broken down in the mouth and stomach to become nitric oxide. Nitric oxide expands blood vessels and increases blood flow. But what’s really impressive about beetroot and dietary nitrate supplemetation is that it lowers the amount of oxygen you need to run at a given intensity.”

Why is that so impressive? Well, the amount of oxygen needed to work at a certain intensity is normally constant. It’s not affected by age, exercise training, or even erythropoietin (EPO) use! 

In short, beet root juice can help you run faster, or run longer without tiring. So it has implications for the runner looking to improve on a 5k time, as well as the runner looking to complete a marathon! Check out this video if you want more information or if you’d rather not read any more.

How much beetroot juice do you need? And where can you get it? The usual dose is 500mL within 2-3 hours of exercise. You can buy beetroot juice at many local health food stores, or you can try to make your own at home. If 500mL sounds like too much, a more manageable alternative is available from a company called Beet It. It contains the same amount of nitrates in a much smaller amount (70mL). And if you really don’t want to get technical, simply include more nitrate-rich vegetables in your diet: beets, spinach, lettuce and celery.

One final piece of good news for those runners who may not be aiming for Rio 2016: It seems like beetroot supplementation helps recreational runners more than it helps elite runners! Studies using recreational athletes have consistently found improvements in exercise efficiency and performance, whereas studies using highly trained athletes haven’t always found positive results. It seems that elite athletes may already have higher levels of nitric oxide “precursors” in their body, so supplementation may not have the same effect. And in case you’re worried about some of the side effects: Not everyone who takes beetroot juice experiences issues like our friend RC (whoever he is). Just make sure that you try it out in training first and see how your stomach handles it. From there, get ready for some seriously good runs!

Next time: Some cool information about winter running!

Reference:

Bailey SJ, Vanhatalo A, Winyard PG, Jones AM. The nitrate-nitrite-nitric oxide pathway: Its role in human exercise physiology. Eur J Sport Sci. 2012;12(4):309-20.

Thanks to Reid Coolsaet for letting me share his story from the 2011 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Reid and fellow Speed River athlete Eric Gillis both used that race to qualify for the London Olympics.

By: Karen Karnis

As volunteer president of Athletics Alberta, Tim Berrett was elected to represent the interests of Athletics Canada’s provincial branches on the National Team Committee (NTC). In a nutshell, this committee is responsible for selection criteria and standards for national team events and athlete carding.  In addition, the NTC is working on evaluating the national team coaching system post-2012 Olympics.  Berrett says, “In my contributions, I always try to have the best interest of the current crop of athletes at heart – trying to ensure that they are treated fairly and with respect.”

Berrett is an extremely appropriate person for these tasks, considering he has represented Canada at numerous national and international competitions, including nine IAAF Athletics World Championships – a record equaled only by two others in the world – and five consecutive Olympic Games, beginning in Barcelona in 1992.  His sport is race walking, most commonly the 20K and 50K, with a few track events for good measure.

Think about that for a moment: five Olympic Games, at four years apart…equals an incredibly long and amazing athletic career!  It all began in England, when his high school coach told the running team that they must either help out at a local race walking event, or participate in it.  After finishing 3^rd overall in the 3K, Berrett went on to place 11^th at the English schools championships a few months later.

Despite several more successes, Berrett says he didn’t consider competing internationally until after he had moved to Canada to pursue a Master’s degree at Queen’s University in 1987. “It took 5 more years of consistent training until I achieved the athlete’s ultimate dream of competing in the Olympics for Canada,” says Berrett.  “But even that hung in the balance until the 11^th hour as my citizenship application had to be expedited in order for me to be named to the team.”

As a race walker, Berrett encountered a lot of the same challenges as any runner.  The biggest one, he says, is “maintaining focus during the long, lonely hours of training for an event that lasts 3 ¾ hours.” Just like in running, it takes years to develop a race walking career, and there isn’t a whole lot of money in it.  Berrett says, “I was fortunate to have been supported during my career by Mizuno, who supplied me with high quality training and racing shoes and apparel.  In covering up to 8,000km annually in training, I used to go through about 10-12 pairs of shoes every year, so Mizuno’s assistance was not insignificant.  I was also ‘carded’ by Sport Canada and received a monthly stipend to help pay the bills.”

Other factors contributing to his success include his coach, John Fitzgerald, a support system of massage therapists, physiotherapists and chiropractors, staying injury free for the most part, and indoor facilities that allowed him to train through the harsh Alberta winters.  Most importantly, however, Berrett says “I would not have been able to continue my career without the ongoing emotional and financial support of my wife, Tara.  Without her backing, it would have been impossible for me to continue to train and compete at the highest level in my sport.”

Now that he’s retired from competition, Berrett continues to contribute to the world of Athletics. In addition to his involvement with Athletics Alberta and the NTC, he organizes a program called AthletiKids, a twice-weekly before-school program for elementary school kids. It is a modified version of Athletics Canada’s Run, Jump, Throw program. “I do this because I believe that the importance of physical fitness is often overlooked despite a mandated 30 minute daily activity in Alberta schools, and because I would like to provide an opportunity for youngsters to get exposed to the sport that has given me so much,” says Berrett.  He adds, “The ultimate goal is to fine-tune the program to make it easily delivered by the non-expert instructor in schools across Alberta and beyond.”

Berrett also enjoys running for 45 minutes to an hour daily with Ozzie, his Portuguese Waterdog.

Q & A with Tim Berrett:

What is your favourite anecdote from your competitive career?

My training environment was not always what one might consider to be ‘ideal’.  On a monthly basis, my coach and I would arrange to meet in person – alternating between Edmonton (where I was based) and Saskatchewan (where he lives) to work on technique.  In the spring of 1993, it was my turn to make the trek to northern Saskatchewan just prior to competing at the World Cup of Race Walking that was to be held in Monterrey, Mexico.  On arrival in Stanley Mission past midnight, after having driven 9 hours from Edmonton, I didn’t notice that there were no paved roads in the town.  When I woke up the next morning and saw that the only roads were of the dirt variety, which (given the impending spring thaw) had turned to thick mud, I asked my coach where I was going to train for the next couple of days.  As usual, he had a plan…even though the town did not have a treadmill, or a gym larger than a volleyball court.  He drove me to a lake just outside town & informed m that this was to be our training venue.  I looked for the path around the lake that did not exist.  John checked the thickness and traction of the ice & deemed it safe enough to mark out a 500m course for me to walk countless laps around, while he kept a watchful eye from the middle of the lake.  Over the next couple of days, that was the only place for me to train, but the workouts were good.  So good, that I went on to have one of my best ever performances at the World Cup two weeks later (finishing 5^th).  Other athletes from around the world wondered what my secret training had been leading up to my breakthrough international performance.  I simply told them that I’d been walking on water (remember that this was the days before underwater treadmills)!

What are your favourite Mizuno products?

All of them!

Shoes: While I was competing, I would use lightweight racing shoes such as Wave Ronin and Wave Musha for both training and racing.  I also trained in lightweight trainers such as the Wave Precision and Wave Elixir.  Now that I am doing more running, I enjoy the additional spring afforded by the Wave Inspire, and the traction on the trails provided by the Wave Ascend.

Outerwear:  In winter, I rarely run without my Breath Thermo gloves and toque, as well as my Breath Thermo pants.  On windy days, I enjoy the lightweight protection from the wind provided by the Cabrakan jacket.

Performance clothing:  In summer, I’ll usually wear lightweight tee-shirts, such as the Aero, and fast-drying shorts like the Ascend.  In the winter, I’ll use a Breath Thermo mock turtle long-sleeved tee-shirt on cooler days, or, on very cold days, a Breath Thermo Stretch Crew.

By: Nikki Reiter

How do some of Canada’s best endurance athletes perform ‘on demand?’  It’s not a real secret, except that they plan well.  Having an annual training plan helps tailor training so that the best result comes at the most important competition of the year.

Gerry Dragomir is coach of multiple Olympic race walkers with Racewalk West.  Since its formation, Racewalk West athletes have come to dominate the sport of race walking in Canada at every level from Youth to Master.  Of course, this couldn’t be accomplished without proper planning.  Gerry offers his advice on how to best plan your own racing schedule.

How do you select the most important race of the year?  What factors should play a part?

Selecting your most important event of the year is all about what you want to achieve.

Novice planners start out trying to do their planning the “easy” way. The easy way works (or doesn’t work) like this:

• I want to run a marathon in 2:48;
• Chicago has a marathon.
• I’ll plan to do that one in 2:48.
• I have 14 weeks to the event.
• I’ll download a 14 week training program from the Internet, plan complete.

This method is very quick, very easy and very often results in failure.

A more reliable but more involved method works like this:

• Find someone to evaluate your current state of fitness.
• Based on the evaluation, determine the fitness changes that you want to make to improve your performance.
• Find someone to help you determine how long it will take to make your fitness changes based on your desire and capacity to train.
• Based on the estimate of time required to make your changes, choose an event that will be held around the time that the changes should be complete.
• Select a couple of lesser events between now and the BIG one to allow you to test your progress.
• Build your detailed program to fit the schedule you now have.

At a basic level, what is periodization? 

Periodization is interval training writ large.  The idea behind interval training is that you can do more work with more intensity if you put rest/recovery periods between the intense parts.  If you’ve ever done an interval workout you know what I mean. Periodization simply takes the concept of the rest/recovery periods and applies it to larger segments of time.  You can periodize weekly by mixing more intense and less days with days off.  You can periodize by training cycle where you may do a particular type of training for a multi-week period with the weeks varying in intensity over the cycle.  You can periodize annually where you time and include different cycles at the appropriate time of the year.  You can periodize quadrennially by mixing intensities between the years.  Finally, you can periodize over a career or even over a lifetime.

The athletes who are best at periodization are those that set records (personal or otherwise) at major events.

How can a recreational runner use the principles of periodization to plan their race schedule?

I’d say “just do it” but I’m probably breaking someone’s trade mark.  Start out simple.  Identify what is a hard day, easy day and rest day.  Mix them up during the week.  Identify what is a hard week, easy week and rest week.  Mix them up over a 4-6 week period.  See how that feels, did you make progress?  Experiment with different combinations during the week and between the weeks.

The process is very personal and there is no magic formula except for the formula that you discover that is right for you through trial and error.  Believe it or not, that’s how the pros do it.  Of course, we make it much more complex based on what we know but we’re still just guessing until we get the evidence that validates or refutes our beliefs.

***

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).