“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”
― Haruki Murakami

GRANT: I finished reading Haruki Murakami’s book “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running”.  It is really great.  The second half of the book deals more with his experience with ultramarathons and triathlons.

It was interesting to read that he titled his book based on a book of short stories written by Raymond Carver called, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love”.  He doesn’t explain why and Google did not reveal any clues, but he got special permission from Carver’s widow so it must hold some meaning to him.

I think it’s hard not to enjoy Murakami’s writing style.  It is like a journal; so confident and with no pretention.  A very easy, laid back writing style even though it’s really a deep book.  He manages to talk about his difficulties with open water swimming mixing that with introspections on consciousness.

I had this book up at my family cottage over the weekend.   On Sunday I swam back from an island in the middle of the lake.  It’s about 3K.  I didn’t time it, but it probably took around an hour.  My dad paddled the canoe beside me.  It brought back a lot of memories.

A couple of years ago I did the same thing with my girlfriend.  She swims about 2 hours a day with a masters swimming club and finished about a half an hour in front of me.  I was definetly a lot faster and smoother this time.  I have to credit her with getting me into swimming and we’ve spent a lot of time in the pool over the past 3 years.  In fact it’s probably a major reason we got together.  In one of our first conversations she described how meditative it is to swim.  There is so much sensory deprivation in a swimming pool.  You can really focus in on your movements and she told me that she would chant Buddhist mantras while she swam.  She’s so lovely.

When I was swimming I also thought about my mother.  When I was about 15 (and so about 25 years ago) we had a terrible idea to swim out to the island and back.  This was in September and the water was starting to get cold.  About half way out we realized there was no chance of making it and turned to come back.  I got to the beach a bit faster than she did and then the next thing I knew my dad and my uncle were carrying her limp body straight to the car.  They jumped in and raced to the nearest hospital.  With no phone it took several hours for the neighbour to come by with word that she was okay.  That was a few hours where I was fairly sure that my mom had died and I will never forget it.  She had some kind of hypothermy and was hospitalized for several weeks.

This time around, my mother was there to greet me when I got out of the water.  A little tired, but otherwise okay and very thankful for my health and for the people around me.

I think the thing I enjoyed the most about this book is that Murakami has written it as an ode to running and to describe how much it means to him to be able to run.  I feel like I haven’t read that many books like that.  Here’s one final quote from this wonderful book:

“Long-distance running (more or less, for better or worse) has molded me into the person I am today, and I’m hoping it will remain a part of my life for as long as possible.  I’ll be happy if running and I can grow old together.  There may not seem to be much logic to it, but it’s the life I’ve chosen for myself.  Not that, at this late date, I have other options.”

June does not mean summer in Vancouver.  But there are enough sunny days to remind me how much I struggle to acclimatize the heat (I always feel slightly guilty for secretly wishing for cool, overcast days because that’s what I’m most comfortable running in). Vancouver runners don’t really get a chance to gradually acclimatization to heat, the weather abruptly changes overnight from rainy and overcast to summer.  So, after a week of rain, the forecast for the North Shore Longest Day 10k race was for sun; this made me nervous.  But it turned out to be a perfect evening for running: sun, clouds, and I was just a bit cold at the start line.  And just an aside – I love the new trend of having the timing chips incorporated into the bib, no more pfaffing about with your laces – awesome.

Since the race I’ve mostly just been running back and forth to work (depending on the amount of homework I’m hauling around that day) and I’m still impressed by the amount of forefoot cushioning the  has, they still feel like a new shoe.  And the silver gray mesh means the shoes hide dirt well and still look pretty new as well.  At work, I wear an older pair of Saucony Pro Grid Triumph shoes, and today I noticed they have pockets in the tongue too!!  Just when did Saucony start doing this?!  I’ve been wearing this brand since 2002 AND NEVER NOTICED POCKETS BEFORE.  Perhaps because of it’s odd placing; while you can fit a house key in the pocket, you can’t fit a car fob or a car key with a larger plastic end, which Google tells me is called a bow.

Jenn:

I liked the product quite a bit. A friend of mine, who is also a runner, tested it as well.

One of his concerns was the smell. He thought it was very over powering (but did agree that it smelled fantastic) I love the smell so I had no issue with it.

The next day, there wasn’t the usual stiffness that you get from other topical applications. And, I have a nagging hip joint issue on which it worked wonders.

I like the fact that it is wheat-free as I am trying to transition to that lifestyle.

Questions: Regarding application, how many sprays? Are you supposed to rub it in? 

A ‘spray’ is about enough for an adult’s forearm, you want to cover the skin of the affected area.   Spray on and use your fingertips to spread Pro Sports around the area. Wipe off any excess after a moment, the rest will absorb into the skin.  Wash your hands with soap and water after applying, there are some places on the body where the tingly relief feeling isn’t so relieving.  You can apply Pro Sports during a run, the oils will not sweat out like topical creams or rubs.

 Sonja:

I have tried the Pro Sports Response on a number of occasions. I use it on my big toe and it does provide some relief.  I also used it on my quads after the Ottawa Marathon and it really helped in dealing with the muscle soreness I had in my quads.

While it won’t ‘cure’ an issue, it certainly is a great product that provides pain relief. I really like too that it is non greasy.  The only downside is the odor which I find a bit strong.  But as mentioned in the instructions, you can always wash away the smell while still reaping the benefits.

Question: What is your advice for anyone who finds the smell too overpowering?

The essential oils have their natural scent. They aren’t watered down so there is great fresh smell of camphor, menthol and eucalyptus.  If you find it interferes with your perfume or cologne you can wash the skin where it was applied about 20 minutes after applying.  The active ingredients have already penetrated the skin and are working to ease your pain.  Try putting it on first thing in the morning, having breakfast and jumping in the shower.  You’ll get the relief throughout the day and it isn’t interfering with the scent of your personal products.

 Nicole:

This product has a great smell and provides a cooling type sensation to the area which is sprayed and rubbed into the skin. It feels like it is penetrating below the skin surface.

My husband has chronic back pain from two back surgeries on a bulged disc. He works very hard on our acreage and comes in a night with a plethora of aches and pains. He has really given this product a test.

·         Swollen aching wrist – swelling went down within hours and felt great in the morning

·         Shoulder – restricted range of motion. For two days could not even raise arm up. Tried the Pro Response and there was a marked improvement in range of motion and pain relief. Took two days.

·         Back pain from overdoing construction work. Relief in the morning. This was amazing as nothing relieves his pain.

I have aches and pains from lots of running and working on our property as well.

·         Lower back pain from lifting – relief by the morning

·        Slight muscle ache on inside of thigh after a half marathon. Hurt to lift leg. Applied the product and also used my “stick” for self massage, got relief within a few days.

Questions: 

1) Does the product provide short-term or long-term benefits?

A bit of both.  Technically, Pro Sports is intended for short-term relief of pain and occasional use, much like regular OTC medications.  We have heard from users who found significant long-term effects, and it’s even lead to them using less Pro Sports because of the improvement.  Swelling may have decreased, and as a result of less pain and inflammation they may see an increase in their range of motion. 

2)Pro Response says there are 250 sprays in each bottle. My husband John and I have already gone through one bottle and it certainly was not 250 sprays. We were really trying to give the product a good testing and I am not mistaking sprays with applications?

We’ve tested this at the office, (we have a permanent cloud of the scent in the building, but that day was especially fresh) and come up with 250.  It’s based on the amount the pump should disperse on each ‘spray’ vs the size of the bottle.  Each pump might be slightly different, and it works out as an average. 

3) Very achy knees after long runs. Took no anti-inflammatories for a week. Applied the product to my knees, skin and area felt great, but absolutely NO relief of joint pain. Knees became very sore?

Unfortunately, there may be aches that Pro Sports Response can’t fix.  Some areas of the body (like hands and knees) require more than one application for Pro Sports to get into the joints.  It performs best in areas with flesh and muscle, encouraging blood and oxygen movement to the affected area, and hopefully speeding healing. 

By: Magi Scallion

You never know what will happen when you head out for a trail run.  Mine are normally pretty benign, albeit beautiful when I’m running at Nipika.  I didn’t expect today’s run to be anything different as I called my running buddy, Titan, to my side, grabbed a can of bear spray, and set out.

Within 2 km on the trail I see a deer dart off into the woods with Titan hot in pursuit.  It was a full grown deer that would have no problem out running Titan so I thought nothing of it and only called Titan a few times before letting nature play its game.

I shortly heard some bleating/barking sounds and called Titan a little more vigorously.  I was worried that Titan had either managed to get the deer, or was getting attacked by some larger animal himself.  There are a lot of bears in the area due to snow in the high country and the rivers being really high, too.  Deer can also be really aggressive if they’re protecting their young.

I was surprised and nervous to see Titan come trotting toward me, dragging a baby deer in his mouth.  The fawn was bleating loudly and struggling.  I started yelling at Titan to drop it while also trying not to look as I really can’t stomach seeing animals in pain.  The other major worry was the mama deer coming out to try to get her baby back.  So… there I was with the bear spray unsheathed, yelling at Titan, praying that the fawn was OK.  It felt like hours before Titan finally responded to my commands and dropped the fawn.  The little guy ran off and looked more or less fine.  I grabbed Titan’s collar before he could pursue and we quickly set off in the other direction.

The rest of the run was more or less normal – cruising the bluffs over the Kootenay River and making as much noise as possible so as to warn off other animals and avoid a similar encounter!  Titan was a real champ and I’m so happy that he was smart enough to listen to my commands against his animal instinct.

I’m looking forward to more, yet less eventful, runs with him in the future!

***

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.