We’re back from Boston!
What a day. What a race!
More to come…but the good news is that Kiska and I did not melt out there on the race course! As I am sure you have heard, it was one hot day, indeed!
We managed to pull ourselves together and look like pro’s for this lovely photo (how triumphant)!!
So this morning when I was out for my run, a car pulled over. For me, this means:
If conditions 1 and 2 are not the case, I ignore the car because 99% of the time, it has nothing to do with me. So in this morning’s instance, I continued on my way. Then, there was a honk. This could mean:
Now, something else non-runners need to know is that 99% of drivers that honk at a runner do so because they are either (a) Angry (about 95% of cases) or (b) Creepy (about 4%). Only 1% of the time is it because (c) the runner actually knows the person.
I think you can all see where this is going…in my defense I would like to say that I run without my glasses. I can see where I am going just fine, but I can’t read signs from far away and people are blurry.
Back to this morning…when I heard the horn, I turned to see if it was (a) or (b) above, not thinking that it could be (c), and there was a blurry person waving a blurry hand in a slow kind of way. So of course I assume it is (a) above, and angry person is being polite enough to use all fingers instead of just one, so I wave back with attitude and keep going.
Then the car pulls up closer and rolls down the window and the driver says, “Don’t you recognize the car?” Of course as soon as the driver got within speaking range and spoke to me, I knew EXACTLY who it was (again, in my defense, I had only seen the car once, and it was in the driveway when we went to visit, so I didn’t even have a neuron-pathway formed that connected him to the inside of the car. Also, this person lives in a town 40 km away and works in a city that is even farther and in a different direction, so I didn’t really expect to see him on a side street in my town at 7:00 on some random Wednesday morning).
We had a little chat (turns out he was on a work field-trip to another city like 3 hours away, and in retrospect, probably only turned down that side street when he saw me in the crosswalk of the more major street and wanted to wave) and he went on his way.
Now this left me with mixed feelings. First, I was all excited in that how-nice-I-got-to-see-this-person kind of way, as well as the get-to-go-home-and-say, “Hey, guess who I saw today!” kind of way. But the flip side of it is that I felt like a moron and a bit of a jerk for not recognizing him.
I guess what I am trying to say is, don’t be offended if your runner doesn’t recognize you while they are running. He or she has learned not to respond to people to avoid those awkward “wasn’t waving at you” moments and “don’t you smile at me, you are nothing more than a gigantic impediment to my morning commute!” moments – and you are out of context. In fact, you should be flattered – after all, you are part of your runner’s 1% – and not in that bad “Occupy” kind of way!
I made this for Easter dinner last week at my mother’s house and it got raves. The original recipe comes from The Cooking Light Gluten-Free Cookbook.
Ingredients
4 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1.5 pounds)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt (I omitted this, like always)
4 large shallots, peeled and halved
1 (1/2-inch) piece peeled fresh ginger, thinly sliced
2 1/2 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
2 tbsps chopped fresh chives
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a roasting pan or jelly-roll pan; toss well. Bake at 375 for 50 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Cool 10 minutes.
3. Place half of squash mixture and half of broth in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large saucepan. Repeat procedure with remaining squash mixture and broth. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Top with chives, if desired.
Yield: 6 servings (serving: 2/3 cup soup and 1 tsp chives).
In Chi Running you move our center of mass in front of your ankles so gravity pulls it downward causing you to fall forward. The momentum of the forward fall pulls you horizontally. This works well on the flats but when you encounter an uphill, you need to not only move forward but also upward. You can continue to use the forward fall on the uphill to create horizontal momentum but you also need to create vertical momentum and you want to do this without using the muscles in the legs and feet. Vertical momentum is created using both posture and arm swing.
Posture
You first push upward with your posture. This creates a vertical force in the opposite direction of gravity to make you lighter on your feet.
Try the following drill to learn and feel how this works:
(1) Completely slouch your posture and drop your focus into your feet and feel the weight on you the bottoms of your feet and arches. This is your body weight due to gravity.
(2) Now image your head is a balloon and the rest of your body is a string. Push your head upward until you are as tall as you can be, as if the balloon is pulling up on the string to straighten your posture. Do this and feel the weight lessen on your feet and arches.
Perform the drill a number of times to really convince yourself … slouch your posture, note the weight on your feet and arches and then push upward with your head and feel the weight lessen once again. When you feel less weight this means you are lighter on your feet and will have an easier time moving up the hill in a vertical direction. (Note: Your posture should be aligned and tall whenever you are Chi Running and you should just be re-verifying it is correct on the uphill).
Arm Swing
The next thing you do is change the way we swing our arms to create additional vertical momentum.
Try the following to learn and feel how this works with the posture drill:
(1) Completely slouch your posture and drop your focus into your feet to feel the weight on you the bottoms of your feet and arches. Now start throwing punches straight downward towards the ground and feel the increase in weight on your feet and arches. The downward punching is meant to demonstrate how your arms can be used to create momentum. However, momentum in the downward direction increases the weight on our feet and arches and is counterproductive.
(2) Now push upward with your posture, completely relax all the muscles in your legs and feet and start driving your arms not forward but upward towards the sky. It is more than just moving the arms in the upward direction. You need to drive hard enough to generate an upward force so that you will feel much less pressure on the bottom of your feet with each punch. In fact if you drive hard enough and with completely relaxed lower legs and feet, you can generate enough upward momentum to cause your heels to lift off the ground with each forward arm swing. Wow, you are so light on your feet they actually leave the ground!
Putting it together
How do you put this all together for an uphill? As you approach the uphill you:
(1) Push upward with your posture;
(2) Increase you lean into the hill to ensure you are not leaning backward where gravity will actually pull you backward.
(3) Decrease your stride length
(4) Relax all the muscles in your legs and feet
(5) Keep your heels down when your feet are in contact with the ground so you don’t come up onto the balls of your feet and engage your calf muscles
(6) Drive your arms upward towards the sky and feel the vertical momentum pull you up the hill. The steeper the hill the more forcefully you drive the arms.
You may actually be breathing hard from the amount of work performed by your arms. This is OK because the intent is to save the legs and feet from expending additional effort to climb the uphill.
Hello runners: Arrived at 8 am and got my presss pass and my early finish pass. Got to chat with Emanuel Mutai and Mary Keitany (the winners from last year’s Virgin London Marathon) and their pictures will be posted when I return.
Also got to chat with Dave Bedford the RD for the London Marathon.
He has invited an amazing talented fast group of runners.
The weather is shaping up to be almost perfect. unlike Boston.
The Canada Running Series booth at the expo is up and almost ready for the crowds. We don’t have power yet, but hope that gets rectified.
Tomorrow(Wednesday ) the rest of the field will be available for more questions.
The usual questions. do you want to win London or get picked for the Olympics.
The answer ” I want to win London and hope to get chosen to run for my country”
just like the runners I am Getting excited. This will be different, to watch the race without running it.
By: Andrea Moritz
As runners from coast to coast are preparing for spring races, Ottawa runner Andrea Moritz is preparing for a special kind of run. There will be no cheering spectators, no aid stations, no chip timing, no balloon-arc finish line, no medal and no Boston qualification.
Her start line will be a cinder block in the rural community of Koina on the Gambia’s Eastern border. Her race course will be a dirt road that follows the Gambia River across the West African country all the way to its Western coast on the Atlantic Ocean. Her adversaries will be the extreme heat and oppressive humidity.
Andrea will make the 424 kilometer solo journey across the Gambia over the course of 14 days by running more than 30 kilometers each day. Her goal is not measured in time or pace, but in dollars. Andrea’s run is a fundraiser in support of a Canadian national charity, the Nova Scotia – Gambia Association. (NSGA), which has been working with West Africans for over 25 years to keep kids alive and communities strong.
“The HIV/AIDS rate in the Gambia is seven times higher than that in Canada and each year, over 1000 children under the age of five die of malaria. Both these diseases are not only preventable, but also treatable,” said Andrea. “The programs of the NSGA save lives by making children and youth aware of these important health issues and of how to protect themselves,” she added.
Andrea’s support crew will consist of two employees of the NSGA who will arrange logistics and will keep her fed and hydrated throughout her run. Members of the crew may also keep her company during parts of her run. But the company of kids from the villages through which she will pass can also be expected from time to time – after all, a tall, white woman running through rural Africa is likely to attract her fair share of attention!
Andrea’s motivation is simple: ‘‘I have travelled to Africa on a number of occasions and had a fantastic and enriching experience each time. The spirit of the people is just amazing and Love4Gambia is a great opportunity for me to give something back to a place and the people who have given me so much,’’ she said.
If you would like to get involved, you can join the Love4Gambiacharity team in Ottawa Race Weekend, the Blue Nose Marathon Weekend or the Chocolate Race. For more information, see the race teams tab at www.love4gambia.com. You can also make a donation and follow Andrea’s progress this summer through the Love4Gambiaweb site.
Mizuno is proud to support Andrea’s run across the Gambia this summer and wishes her all the best!
It’s almost race day!! I can’t believe in just 2 sleeps I will be boarding the shuttle to Hopkinton…
The week leading up to the race has been a tad emotional to say the least (it doesn’t take much to bring out my sappy side, but I have been in emotional overdrive)! I sent an email out to my colleagues the other day, encouraging them to track my progress during the big race via the BAA website (if I know there is a chance that people I know are watching my progress, perhaps I will run harder?). So many of them took the time to congratulate me ahead of time. It has been quite amazing, the amount of support everyone around me has shared throughout this process. The build-up to race day is coming to an end, and therefore I think that is the cause of this bundle of emotions!
There is a term used to describe “brides-to-be” that sway in the direction of being self-absorbed, wedding-obsessed, and emotionally dramatic. We have all known our share of “bridezillas”. I feel like all of this Boston attention I have been enjoying as of late has turned me into a “marathon-zilla”! The training, the hard work, the all-consuming dreaming of the big day (while at times attempting to appear humble) has left me feeling like my friends and family are eager to see me cross the finish line sooner rather than later.
The nature of a milestone race can’t be fought. The preparation and build-up is inevitable, much like a wedding. The good news is that most bridezillas turn back into normal, strong women after the big day. They do appreciate their loved ones that made the big day a success. As a marathon-zilla, I appreciate everyone that has helped me make it to the Big Day. You know who you are…(here comes the Oscar speech) Mom and Dad, Papa, the boys, Michelle, (you know you love speedwork) Lori, Scott, Memere, coach Nicole, (thanks for the torture) iRun, Adidas, all of my friends and family that have offered warm encouragement from day one, and everyone I have ever had the pleasure to run alongside.
This is it. I am so ready to toe the line and earn that Boston jacket!
Mr. Shuffler was visiting last weekend so the quality of the cooking around here went way up. One of the things he made me was a Chinese dish called Mapo tofu, which literally translates to “Pock-marked Face Lady’s Tofu.” Sounds yummy, right? Original recipe can be found here. (Unfortunately, I’m having trouble posting the picture of the finished dish. Apologies for the technical issues!)
Ingredients:
Preparation:
Mix marinade ingredients. Marinate pork for about 20 minutes.
Cut the tofu (bean curd) into 1/2 inch (1 cm) square cubes, and blanch (drop into boiling water) for 2 – 3 minutes. Remove from boiling water and drain.
Chop leek or green onions into short lengths.
Heat wok and add oil. When oil is ready, add the marinated pork. Stir-fry pork until the color darkens. If desired, add 1 chopped sweet pepper. Add salt and stir. Add the salted black beans. Mash the beans with a cooking ladle until they blend in well with the meat. Add the chili paste, then the stock, bean curd, and leek or green onions. Turn down the heat. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes.
While cooking, mix cornstarch, water, and soy sauce together. Add to wok and stir gently. Serve with freshly ground Szechuan pepper
It has been confirmed that Dylan Wykes will be joining the Canadian field in Rotterdam this weekend to try to hit the Canadian Olympic marathon standard of 2:11:29.
Good luck to Krista DuChene, Lanni Marchant, Rob Watson and Dylan Wykes – we’re all rooting for you back home!
Chlorine is my perfume. ~Author Unknown
GRANT: Salut
VICKY: Salut
GRANT: Comment vas-tu?
VICKY: Très bien. Je vois que nous parlons français maintenant. Pourquoi?
GRANT: Total Immersion. Il s’agit d’un livre sur la natation que je viens de terminer. Il est le produit de l’auteur Terry Laughlin.
VICKY: Excellent! Je suis contente de voir que tu lis et écris encore. Mais pourquoi en français? Comme tu sais, je suis une francophone née et élevée au Nouveau-Brunswick mais nous avons l’habitude de parler en anglais ensemble.
GRANT: Oui, mais ce livre sur la natation m’a rappelé les similitudes avec le français et plus généralement sur l’apprentissage de quelque chose de nouveau.
VICKY: Qu’est-ce que tu veux dire?
GRANT: L’importance de l’immersion. Si vous voulez apprendre à nager, vous devez sauter dans la partie profonde. Comme Simon Whitfield nous a dit dans un blog plus tôt, il s’agit juste d’aller rejoindre un club de natation Masters. Vous allez nager 2 ou 3 fois par semaine et la prochaine chose que vous savez c’est aussi naturel que le vélo.
VICKY: J’ai essayé de nager, mais j’ai de la difficulté à respirer et l’eau pénètre dans mon nez.
GRANT: C’est la même chose qui s’est passé pour moi quand j’ai commencé à apprendre le français. Littéralement, je me sentais comme si je ne pouvais plus respirer. Mais lentement, tu seras à l’aise. Tu apprendras à te détendre.
VICKY: Ce sont d‘excellents conseils! Alors, as-tu aimé le livre?
GRANT: Oui il était très bon. Une bonne introduction. Il se concentre vraiment sur la technique dans le freestyle avec une certaine facilité simple à suivre les exercices. Obtenir votre corps à devenir simplifié est la clé.
VICKY: Excellent. Et comment est ton français?
GRANT: Pas aussi bon. Je utilise encore “Antidote” et “Google Translate” pour beaucoup de choses 🙂
VICKY: Eh bien mon ami, en sport comment en apprentissage, c’est l’effort qui compte!
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