By: Nikki Reiter

The time to return to school is just around the corner and you’ve spent all summer training and chasing personal bests on the roads and trails.  Did you also realize that establishing these habits is also going to make you smarter?  More specifically, aerobic exercise (such as running) has been shown to have positive effects on our ability to reason and process thoughts.  Dr. Paul van Donkelaar is a professor of neuroscience at the University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus in the school of Health and Exercise Sciences, met with me to discuss how exercise leads to improved cognitive functioning.  Once an elite rower, Dr. van Donkelaar is now an avid runner who likes to train and race for health, to be social and enjoy the occasional beer 😉

Cognitive Function and Aging

It has been shown that a higher level of aerobic fitness later in life is positively associated with cognitive functioning.  The mechanism for this ‘better thinking power’ is due to increased oxygen-carrying blood flow to the brain, which usually declines as we age.  Furthermore, decreased brain blood flow can decrease our motor performance, or our ability to perform tasks with our body.  Decreased brain blood flow means that less oxygen and nutrients are making their way to the neurons and astrocytes of the brain, making it more difficult for them to process information. When we process information more slowly or inefficiently, our behaviours – whether they are movements, thoughts, feelings, or emotions – start to suffer.

So Why Does Exercise Help?

The cognitive changes associated with decreased brain blood flow don’t often affect every day functioning; however, they may affect the ability to learn new skills, or those that require a fast response.  Most importantly, it’s thought that exercise may be able to ward off cognitive disorders such as vascular dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.  Other benefits include improved long-term memory and spatial abilities.  Simply put, aerobic exercise helps our brains maintain the ability to better adapt and respond to the demands we place on it.

Good News for All Generations

Researchers have shown that young to middle aged endurance-trained individuals have higher resting levels of blood flow to the brain.  This is highly encouraging for immediate gains, such that maintaining a regular exercise regimen could potentially lead to improved learning and exam writing performance.  Of course, long term gains include a potential lifetime of strong mental health.

The other good news is that otherwise sedentary elderly people who start an exercise program can attain some of the same benefits in brain blood flow and cognitive function that are observed in people who have exercised throughout life – so it is never too late!

Happy Running!

***

Nikki Reiter holds a master’s degree in biomechanics and is a Mizuno Running Brand Ambassador and the Women’s Cross Country Running Head Coach at the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus in Kelowna, BC. She is also the Laboratory Coordinator in the School of Health and Exercise Sciences at UBC Okanagan where she facilitates undergraduate laboratory learning.

By: Karen Karnis

Brian Michasiw has been interested in running shoes since he was a kid. While his friends had pictures of cars and celebrities on their walls, he had pictures of running shoes.  When he was 14, he talked the owner of a local running shoe store into giving him a job as a stock boy and janitor. Through high school he ran track, cross country, road races and triathlons.

Over the years, he worked his way up to a management position in that running shoe store, and after high school, decided to keep working full time while going to university. However, he found his economics class dreadfully boring and ended up failing.  It didn’t faze him, though; after all, he had already figured out what he wanted to do with his life.

So in 1991, Michasiw and his girlfriend at the time, Debbie Harksen, opened their own running specialty shop: Brainsport in Saskatoon, SK.  Michasiw describes the first few years as “lean,” since there weren’t many investors willing to take a chance on two twenty-somethings.

While the romance didn’t last, the business partnership continued until 2000 when Michasiw bought out Harksen, who continued to work there until 2004 when she moved to Edmonton to start her family. Meanwhile, Michasiw found love at Brainsport’s Run Club, marrying runner Elizabeth Stack. The two have a son, Oskar (7) and two daughters, Lydia (4) and Harriet (6 months).

As time went on, Michasiw noticed that despite the fact that Brainsport carried walking shoes and sandals, many non-runners were reluctant to come to the store since it was “for runners.” So in 2004, he opened Pedestrian Shoe Fitting Centre in the unit next door to Brainsport.  Pedestrian caters to walkers, hikers, and anyone needing casual footwear; it also hosts an evening walking club and a weekday morning stroller group.

In 1992, Michasiw ran his first marathon, winning the Saskatchewan Marathon for the first of what would eventually be five times – so far.  His most recent win was in 2010, but 2011 was a pretty impressive race as well; not only did he come in second, but he set a new personal best at 41 years of age, 19 years after his first marathon.  He credits his recent improvement to working with a coach, Jason Warwick, but says that Warwick hasn’t just helped him with his running.

In 2007, Warwick, also a writer, was travelling to Kenya to work on a documentary looking at why Kenyans run so fast – and why Kenyan runners give so much to their communities – and he invited Michasiw to join him. Michasiw says:

We stayed at Kip Keino’s High Altitude Training camp near Eldoret. We brought new and gently used running shoes to give to the athletes. My goal was to fit the athletes in the camp the same way I would fit them if they came into the shop. I fit several marathon runners, whose times ranged from 2:21 to 2:09(!). I also fit a young athlete named Asbel Kiprop who went on to win a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.

Michasiw says that the trip truly changed his life, making him see how lucky he is to have the life he has, and the ability to run for pleasure, rather than using running as a route out of poverty.  While Brainsport had always accepted donations of gently used running shoes, the store was inundated with donations after Asbel Kiprop won the gold medal in Beijing.  “We now redistribute about 5,000 pairs of shoes a year,” says Michasiw. “Some are sent overseas, but many stay here. I think it’s important to remember that people here are also in need,” he adds.

Over the years, Brainsport has been recognized multiple times by the Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce, including winning the 2011 Saskatoon Business Excellence (SABEX) Business of the Year award.  The Independent Running Retailers of Canada (IRRC) also recognized Brainsport as their Canadian Store of the Year in 2008 and 2009.  This is due, in part, to their community involvement, as well as their ability to provide excellent service.

When you go to Brainsport for a new pair of shoes, they start with you – not with the shoes.  They’ll measure your feet, assess your gait, and discuss your training, goals and injury history.  “We are committed to extended sizes and widths,” says Michasiw. “Our more business-savvy competitors see that small or large sizes don’t generate much profit, but we are determined to fit all shapes and sizes of feet.”

Michasiw says his customers love Mizuno.  “It is perceived as one of the most technical running brands available. It’s a perfect fit for a running specialty shop,” he says.  His favourite shoe is the Wave Musha 4.

Twenty-one years after starting Brainsport, Michasiw is still as content as ever with his decision to open the store instead of finish his degree.  He delights in helping customers find the perfect shoe – especially if it is the one factor stopping the customer from achieving a goal.  But he also remembers how it all started, saying, “As silly as this sounds, I love to organize the stock room.”

By: Magi Scallion

Sometimes you don’t get to run all the events and you’ve got to crew or volunteer.  It’s not so bad – quite fun actually – and a great excuse to spend a day outside.

Today I was a course marshal captain for the SeaWheeze half marathon in Vancouver.  The best part of the day was watching 7500 runners ascend their final hill before running the final 2 km to the finish.  However, the sweet golf course I got to drive about in was also nice!

The event started in downtown Vancouver – right by the Vancouver Convention Centre – before heading across the Burrard Bridge to a loop in Kitslano, back across the bridge and then around the seawall in Stanley Park.  The route… and weather… could not have been better!  With 7500 runners and over 600 volunteers there was some great energy in the air.

The event was all about setting and achieve goals – so all of the runners were treated like winners!  Prizes for the top 3 were limited (I think they only gave an award to the first place male and female) but everybody got to have an amazing experience – manicures, massages, organic fruit at the rest stops… and more.  There were two great bands – Hey Ocean and Fun – that played at the post event concert and sunset yoga on the beach in Kitslano.

What a day!  I enjoyed volunteering… but I needed to go for a run when I got home, as I was so inspired!

***

Born in Nova Scotia and emigrating to British Columbia via Ontario and Alberta, Magi has been running the entire way. Primarily defined as a cross country ski racer, Magi has competed nationally and internationally in that sport. The highlight of her career was competing in the World University Games and the World Cup races in Canada in 2007. Cross country skiers rely heavily on running for cross training and Magi has become an accomplished trail and mountain runner, representing Canada at the World Mountain Running Championships in 2005 and the winning numerous national championships medals.

Today Magi runs for fun… and it’s a lot of fun! Epic mountain runs, city cruises with friends, and more keep her happy and occupied outside of work and school.

Yesterday, I posted about how hard easy was.  Well, here is the other end of the spectrum.

How hard is hard?

I use the terms hard, tempo, up tempo and easy purposely because they are vague—each is different for everyone, and they changes every day as a result of many factors.  I try not to get too caught up in numbers and prefer people feel their way through some workouts.   When I want something specific, I ask for it.

The short answer to how hard is hard (and how easy is easy) is: it depends.

More specifically, it depends on how long the workbouts are, as well as the workout, and how much rest is involved.

Notice, I use the term workBOUT and workOUT.  Do not confuse them.

Remembering that the longer the running component it is, the lower the intensity ought to be, but the more rest you get, the higher the intensity should be.  It’s kind of like 1 step down the intensity scale for each minute longer of workbout duration and 1/4 step higher per 15sec more rest.  As an example, 8x1km will be run at a lower intensity than 40×200 even though they total the same distance—shorter workbouts and rest more often means you should go harder.   Armed with that piece of knowledge, you can simply follow this guideline: look at the length of the workbouts, the total workout volume, and how much rest is involved, and then assess your efforts based on this information.

The longer answer expands on the previous answer:  the longer the workbout, the lower the level of intensity, and the shorter the workbout, the higher it should be.  For example, a hard workbout of 2min should be harder than a workbout of 4min, which should be harder than a workbout of 6min.   At the same time, the rest interval has a lot to do with how recovered you are, and therefore how hard you can push.    In running, 45sec rest is not much after a kilometer, but it is sufficient for a set of 5-10 times 200m moderately hard.  That said, the harder you go, the more rest you would have to take to achieve similar levels of effort.  Conversely, the more rest you are assigned, the harder you should go.  During that rest period, the less energy you expend , the more recovered you will be, so the harder you will be able to go when it is time to.  This lazing around recovering has to be balanced off with staying loose and in the mental groove, so laying down or standing around chatting may not be as productive a use of the recovery time as walking, running really easily (almost walking) and/or shaking the legs out in the final seconds of rest.

Similarly, a workout with a total volume of hard stuff of 5k should be harder than a workout with a total volume of hard stuff of 8k.

The actual difference in how hard you can/should  run for most lengths of intense workbouts is only 1-5 percent from short to long, so it is not much easier the further you go.  The table below shows the difference in paces for a 60min 10k runner doing 200’s, 400’s and 1000’s.

200m—5:40/km or about 1:08/200m

400m—5:50/km or about 1:10/200m

1000m—5:55/km or about 1:12/200m

Like I said, it’s not much of a difference and what you should take from this is the effort, not the time.  It’s almost as hard, but not quite.

All of this, of course, assumes good and safe conditions.

The main thing to bear in mind when assessing how hard to go is that you always want to A) finish the workout, and B) finish it in one piece.  You also do not want to go so easy that you feel unfulfilled when done, so the volume of running will help dictate how hard you go, at least in the beginning.  You can always wind things up as the workout progresses.

All that said, no matter what the workout, you should always finish like you could do another piece of hard work, but quite happy that you don’t have to.

Rick