So I think that I mentioned I’ll be training the TNT winter team here in Halifax for the Disney Princess half and the Madrid Rock and Roll Marathon, right?
I’ve done some coaching through the Running Room, but nothing as long as a half or full marathon. My own personal running experience combined with the coaching experience I have leaves me feeling mostly confident about my ability to help the team cross that finish line.
However, I wanted to get in some reading before the clinics get underway early next month, so after browsing for a while online, I ended up buying two “light” reads. Daniel’s Running Formula (this book is written by the man who holds the TNT coach certification clinics, so I figured it was a good resources for my own TNT clinic) and The Lore of Running (this bad boy is almost 1,000 pages long!).
I flipped quickly through the first chapter of each book and while there seems to be a lot of talk about skeletal muscles scientific sounding stuff, I think they’ll be a great resource. Let’s face it, I’ve pretty much memorized my other book on running and need to move onto something more detailed.
So, my request from you, iRun readers, is to leave a suggestion of good coaching resources (or even good running reads!) here in the comments. I have three weeks to get my running read on and learn all I can learn about running… stuff…
(Also, Heart Rate Monitors. Yay or nay? I know I’ll be getting some questions about them and since I’m not a user myself, I need input from those of you who are. And if you are very persuasive, I may even ask Santa for one for Christmas!)
Where to begin…the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon takes place at Walt Disney World in Florida at 10:00 pm. Yes, you read that right – with me being an early morning runner, the race start was right in and around when I would normally be in bed reading trying to gear down to sleep. And of course, I was at Disney World, so I didn’t exactly spend the day resting. While I did go back to my room to put my feet up for a few hours before the race, let’s just say I’d had a long day.
So when I arrived at the start area, I had no expectations at all. I was pleased that the weather was cooler than it had been – I am not really sure what the temperature was as I don’t speak Fahrenheit and can’t remember what numbers were being kicked around, but it felt good anyway. This was the first race I can remember being at where there was actually entertainment at the start – it was brilliant – I only went to the bathroom once because I was distracted enough not to think I needed to go every 2 minutes.
As with all runDisney events that I have heard about, they started us off with fireworks instead of a gun or an air horn – but the best part is, they didn’t just start the race that way – they started each corral that way. With each wave starting 5 minutes apart, I felt pretty special that we got our own fireworks!
As we headed off into the darkness, the pack eventually began to thin out, and we passed several entertainment stations. I was most impressed by the people on stilts giving out high-fives – or to them, low-fives – it’s a wonder no one got knocked down! We also passed several characters (the line ups to have your picture taken with the characters throughout the race were 3 times the length of the port-o-let lines, so I never stopped!), a live band and a couple of floats from the Electrical Parade before heading into the Animal Kingdom at approximately 3 miles.
The route through the Animal Kingdom was the same as it had been for the Disney Halloween 5K that morning, but it looked completely different at night – the Tree of Life and Mount Everest features were lit up, and they had soft lighting throughout so as not to disturb the animals.
We left the Animal Kingdom and headed back the way we came for a few miles before arriving at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. As you might expect, the lighting throughout the park was downright theatrical – from the creepy purples at the Tower of Terror to the Christmas lights on the streets of New York, the giant Sorcerer’s Apprentice hat to the bright lights of the Lights, Motors, Action stunt track. At the stunt track they had a camera that was broadcasting the race to the Finish Line Party so spectators could look for their runners, but they also showed the feed on the track’s jumbo screen. Throughout the park there were lots of characters to see, from Buzz Lightyear in the Pixar area to Darth Vader outside of the Star Tours attraction.
We finally left Hollywood Studios at around 12 miles, and I was starting to feel pretty tired by then. As if the video wasn’t doomed enough by my inexperience, the footage from my wee onboard camera just kept getting worse – but of course I wasn’t to know that until I reviewed it later. Hey, if I were doing a documentary on pavement or my own elbow, it would have been award-winning footage!
We ran along the water, then along the Boardwalk, past the Team in Training cheering squad, and headed towards Epcot. This is where things started to get a little dicey. In building up excitement for the finish, they were playing music like the William Tell Overture and the themes from such films as Superman and Rocky, while course marshals frantically yelled things like, “you’re almost there! Just straight that way!” That sounded great, so I picked it up – finishing kick and all that.
When I went straight that way, you know what I found? A curve. With more course after it. Keep in mind that by this time, it was after midnight, and I was getting pretty tired and delirious. I was wearing my Garmin but all I could see across the screen was a LOW BATTERY warning – no time, no distance. It never even occurred to me to think about when I might have seen the 12-mile marker to try and guess at how much farther I might have to go before encountering the 13-mile marker. No, I just followed twists and turns through the darkness, reading signs that said things like, “now it’s time to wine and dine!” wondering, just where is this mythical finish line, anyway? I was so relieved when I finally saw the 13-mile marker – while I completely lacked the capacity to calculate how many metres were left, I knew I really was almost there.
I crossed the finish – which I have to say, after all that build up, was a tad disappointing – it was just a flag at either side of the course that said “Finish.” Somehow I expected something more – glittery lights or balloons or something. But at that point I was too tired to care, and I was overjoyed when I was given the opportunity to select a cold beer out of a wagonload of ice.
Unfortunately, however, in all the excitement of running at Disney, I didn’t take in all of the carbs I had planned to en route, so I felt slightly sick and dizzy – and in no shape to drink beer. After I found my husband, we wandered (well, he wandered while I hobbled) around the International Food and Wine Festival – the whole while I clutched that can of beer thinking as soon as I felt better I was going to drink my victory drink! In reality, I managed to choke down some Powerade, a banana and half a bagel before insisting we go back to the hotel so I could shower and go to bed. But really, can you blame me? By this time it was 3 o’clock in the morning and I had just run a half marathon.
When all was said and done, I had a spectacular time. It really was like running through a Disney movie – or more accurately, a medley of Disney movies on speed. It was completely surreal to have the parks to ourselves in the night, and I was truly shocked and slightly giddy at the moment I noticed we were halfway already. Those folks at Disney sure know how to throw a party – this was truly one of the best runs of my life.
That's not the camera - I actually was blurry by 2am
In Chi Running you align your posture and lean forward to move your whole body weight in front of where your ankles contact the ground. If the muscles in your lower legs are completely relaxed so there is no tension in the ankles, you will fall forward. You use the momentum resulting from your forward fall to pull you forward so you don’t have to use the muscles in your legs and feet to push you forward.
The Unicycle Drill described here is a very simple exercise designed to teach you what it feels like when you have properly setup the forward fall and are moving under its momentum rather than using the muscles in your legs and feet to push you forward. This is first practiced as a walking drill. However, at the end of this document is a description on how you can use this during your runs.
Introduction to Drill
When an unicyclist wants to move forward he doesn’t start by first pedaling the wheel, instead he leans forward slightly and begins a forward fall. Then he starts pedaling the wheel slightly behind his center of gravity to keep up with his forward fall. The wheel is not what’s moving him forward, it’s the momentum of his forward fall. He is just pedaling the wheel behind him to keep up so he doesn’t fall on his face. If he did
not lean forward to move but instead began by first pedaling the wheel, he would have fallen on his back.
The same principles are used in Chi Running. When you want to move forward you don’t start by moving your feet, instead you lean your entire aligned posture forward slightly from your ankles with limp lower legs and begin a forward fall. As you begin to move forward you start picking up your feet behind your center of gravity to keep up with your forward fall. If performed correctly your feet are not moving you forward; it’s the momentum of your forward fall that is moving you forward. You’re just moving your feet to keep up with the rest of your body so you don’t fall on your face. In fact while you are in the forward fall you feel like you cannot stop moving your feet! The feeling that you cannot stop moving your feet is what you use to determine if you have properly setup the forward fall and are using its momentum rather than using the muscles in your legs and feet to move forward.
Execution of Drill
There are three elements required to create the forward fall: (1) aligned posture; (2) lean; and (3) completely relaxed lower legs so there is no tension in the ankles. If you miss any one of the three elements then you cannot create the forward fall. The steps of the drill below are executed to demonstrate the importance of performing all three elements.
When instructed to align your posture in this drill, simply push up the sky with the crown of your head (to lengthen your spine and straighten your neck) and use your lower abdominal muscles to pull your belly button in towards your spine (to level your pelvis).
When instructed to lean your posture forward in this drill, put a finger on your lower abdominal muscles to better sense the location of your center and move it forward just slightly in front of your ankles so that your whole body weight is in front of your ankles. Leaning forward by focusing on moving your center in front of your ankles prevents you from bending at the hips when leaning, one of the most common mistakes made by beginner Chi Runners. Engaging your lower abdominals by pulling your belly button into your spine prevents you from bending at the waist when leaning forward.
Step 1 – Walking with aligned posture, relaxed lower legs but no lean
In this first part of the drill align your posture, do not lean, relax all the muscles in your lower legs and start walking forward with a very short stride length. Keep your mental focus into your lower legs and feet. After about 20 steps or so, try to stop moving your feet to stop your forward movement. You should be able to easily stop. Since you are not leaning forward, you are not properly falling forward and your feet are still responsible for your forward movement.
Step 2 – Walking with aligned posture, lean and tensed lower legs
In this next part of the drill align your posture, purposely add tension in the muscles in your lower legs so they are not relaxed. Lean your posture forward slightly and start walking forward with a very short stride length. Keep your mental focus into your lower legs and feet. After about 20 steps or so, try to stop moving your feet to stop your forward movement. You should be able to easily stop. Since you have tension in the lower legs you are not properly falling forward and your feet are still responsible for your forward movement.
Step 3 – Walking with aligned posture, lean and relaxed lower legs
In this last part of the drill align your posture, purposely add tension in the muscles in your lower legs so they are not relaxed. Lean your posture forward slightly and start walking forward with a very short stride length. Keep your mental focus into your lower legs and feet. After about 20 steps or so, completely release the tension in your lower legs. At this point, if done right, you will feel a sudden change in the feeling in your legs as you are now moving under the momentum of the forward fall. After another 20 steps or so keep your same angle of lean and try to stop moving your feet. You shouldn’t be able to if you are doing everything right because your legs and feet are not controlling your forward movement and they need to keep up with your forward fall or else you will fall on your face.
If this is not working properly for you at first, (1) ensure you are really releasing all tension in the lower legs and feet, (2) your posture is aligned; and (3) you don’t subconsciously decrease your angle of lean to come back upright when you try to stop your feet. You could even have a friend walk beside you with one hand on your shoulder to keep you from subconsciously decreasing your angle of lean.
Unicycle Drill while Running
If you want to use this during your runs, then while running with aligned posture, lean and relaxed lower legs, simply try to stop moving your feet. If you can, you are doing something wrong and you should check that your posture is truly aligned, your center is ion front of your ankles, and that you have completely relaxed lower legs and ankles.
If you can’t stop moving your feet then you know you are in the forward fall and using its momentum. Once you can get to this point your whole thinking should change. You should now realize that your feet are not required to move you forward and can now try to let go of any remaining tension in their legs and feet since its wasted energy.
This recipe was sent in by iRun reader, Caela. She says: “My mother concocted this recipe to give my Dad and I the necessary fuel we need for races. They are nutritious and easy to digest – a perfect pre-run snack. Substituting chocolate chips for blueberries makes them kid-friendly.”
Fenton Power Muffins
Dry Ingredients:
4 ½ cups whole wheat flour
1 ¾ cups bran
1 ¼ cups ground flaxseed
3 cups brown sugar
4 ½ tsp baking powder
3 tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp salt
Wet Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
3 tsp vanilla
3 ¾ buttermilk
3 cups mashed bananas (approximately 6 large bananas)
Add-Ins:
3 cups chocolate chips
OR
3 cups frozen mixed berries
Directions:
1) Whisk together dry ingredients in a very large bowl
2) Whisk wet ingredients together in a separate bowl
3) Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Add in the chocolate chips or fruit.
4) Stir until combined – don’t over mix.
Bake at 350 degrees in a greased muffin pan or in paper cups. Bake for approximately 17 minutes (depends on the size of the muffins). You’ll know that they are done when the top springs back when touched. Makes 6 dozen muffins.
So I’ve been digging into the relaxing wonder of trail running lately. Well, perhaps I should say that I’ve lightly scratched the surface by about 5 kms.
I’m not good at floating between goals. I enjoy it alright, but then a few weeks pass and I wonder why I’m running or the high from my last race wears off and I wonder What else? what else? It’s been (almost) two weeks since the Army Half, and I’ve done some short runs in the woods behind my house. I’ve done some medium runs on the streets through my city. And I’ve signed up for a 10k in November.
This makes me very excited for two reasons: It’s been over two years since I ran a 10k race (I know!) and I am so much stronger and faster, I’m bound to get a great PB. Also, yay for a race that doesn’t require me to bring gels!
I love distance running. Not because I’m fast or bound to win any race, but because long runs are the place where I dive back into myself and look around at what’s there. Long runs are the hours I spend alone that I find God and speak to him her. Long runs are when I tap into my strength, my beauty. And I don’t mean the physical – I mean that beautiful light that shines within all of us. The flame that we can feed and fan and watch grow until it takes over the other parts of our life and shines a light on them too. Long runs help me see beauty and feel compassion and empathy and love. Long runs are the time when I center myself, so that I can give again to others and feel the pleasure from it.
But long runs are tiring, and when my race is over, I’m always happy to leave them behind for a while. I’m getting better at reaching that peaceful place inside of me without putting two and a half hours into my sneakers, but that’s because once you find a place, it’s often easier to go back.
I’ll be running another half marathon in early December, so my current break from the long run is short. But until I decide it’s time to pack my gels and water bottles and resolve to push through a little pain, I’ll be enjoying the quick, short and fun trail runs in the woods.
The title for this article, “Running From Start To Finish” means a lot to me. When I got started in running, the book by the same title as written by John Stanton, was a staple for me as I went from a couch potato to a runner by following along with John’s tips and the Running Room training schedules. It got me through my first half marathon back in 2006 and then my first marathon, in Ottawa, in May of 2007. Since then I have run 23 more marathons plus countless half marathons, 30, 10 and 5k races. Many times thoughts from that book pop into my head reminding me to never forget the basics. If you do not have this book around the house, I suggest you pick one up and let your child have a peak at it from time to time.
Writing these articles has reminded me of the time when I was not a runner, and not in overly impressed that our eldest son, Josh, had decided to join the Cross Country team at school. Until then, my wife and I had encouraged him to play hockey and soccer and he became a relatively competitive athlete in those sports so it was no surprise that he excelled at running as well.
This was about 8 years ago and I do look back with regret that I didn’t support him as much as I did with other sports. Little did I know I was missing out by not going to all of his XC events thinking it was too much to travel across the city for a race that lasted only 20 minutes. I did make it to one race and was enlightened by how many kids were there, from all ages in all high school grades. After that I was looking forward to more events but unfortunately Josh turned his ankle over quite badly and didn’t get back into running again until just recently at the age of 22 (This is still a youth to me!).
With our next 2 children, we were much more supportive of their adventures of getting into running. I will share with you those stories another time. For now, I have a challenge for the moms, dads and kids out there. I hope you’re all up for it!
The Challenge: Are you a runner, or do you have a child that runs? I am looking to gather some stories for a future article. Whether your child is either just getting into running or really into the sport, either for recreation or competition, I’d love it if you could have them write about how they got started, why they like running and what their future running goals are. And for the adults out there, if you ran in your youth, I’d like to hear form you too. There is no minimum or maximum length for the stories but if it is a child, it should be in their own words and include their age and hometown. Adults, you can leave out the age part if you wish but do note what age you were when you ran as a youth. Some entries may be edited for space purposes.
Optional: Include a photo, stationary or on the run for inclusion on this blog.
There is no prize for how fast your child is but there are some fabulous iRun apparel prizes for the ones chosen for inclusion here. (Prizes will be determined shortly)
Email stories and photos to dave@beachesrunner.com
Your voice counts as well – If you have any questions or topics you’d like to see addressed please leave a comment or email me at dave @ beachesrunner . com
iRun has been chatting with the lovely folks at Run Disney – you may recall the September 3 edition of iRun: The Running Show where Mark Sutcliffe talked to Faron Kelley of Run Disney – and they suggested that the best way to learn about Run Disney was to experience it.
So when they sent an email inviting us to send someone, I was fortunate that no one read the email all the way through to be offered the opportunity to attend on behalf of iRun. Yes, it’s true: I am leaving for Disney World tomorrow to run Saturday’s Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon and Halloween 5K.
Now I should stress that I am not racing either event. This is my first time running destination events, and come on, they’re at Disney World! My number one goal is NOT to get off the course as quickly as I possibly can, but rather take as much time as they’ll let me and enjoy every minute – even if that means I will be less-than-fashionably late to the Finish Line Party. Of course, my secondary goal is to successfully run with a camera without destroying it – hopefully my tiny point-and-shoot is more durable than it looks.
The other interesting thing about the race is that the half marathon doesn’t start until 10:00 pm – which means I literally won’t be done until Sunday. I have often joked about it, but this is the first time I can honestly say it took me till the next day to finish a race. With the 5K starting at 7:00 Saturday morning, that should make for a very long day – hopefully I won’t look like too much of a party pooper if I doze off in my wine glass at 2 o’clock in the morning!
Anyway, as soon as I stop panicking over the fact that I can’t seem to complete the advanced check-in with my airline, I am sure I will be able to relax – I am really looking forward to the trip, and to meeting some fellow Canadians who are running! So if you’re running and someone at Disney PR is trying to contact you about your trip, it’s not a hoax – make sure you answer that email so we can meet up!
Today’s recipe comes to us from Renee of Ottawa. With this entry, Renee has officially won the What’s Cookin’, iRunNation? award of excellence for the month of September. We are now accepting entries for the October edition and let me tell you, the competition already looks fierce. Submit your best recipes now for a shot at glory (e-mail webeditor@irun.ca or follow the links from “contests and call-outs” on the homepage). Renee, your certificate will be coming to you shortly.
(Want to be the first to know when a new recipe goes up? Follow me on Twitter @Shufflersunite for all the tasty deliciousness 140 characters can convey.)
Serves 2 as meal-sized salads
Ingredients for salad:
1 sweet potato, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 medium beet, whole
3-4 cups spinach
4 tbsp goat cheese
2 tbsp candied pecans, chopped
1 tbsp dried cranberries
Ingredients for dressing:
Small piece ginger (1/4 inch), grated
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
Directions:
Bake or grill the sweet potato and beet for an hour or so at 400 degrees. (or, do what I did: slightly lower heat for the time it takes to run 10K and shower!)
Assemble dressing by whisking ingredients together. Adjust to taste, especially as I’m only guessing as to my measurements.
Skin beet and cut into bite sized pieces. Place in bowl with sweet potato. Coat with a small amount of dressing.
Place half of the spinach, half the root vegetable mixture, and half of each of the remaining ingredients on each of two plates. Drizzle with more dressing (there will likely be some left over).
This was inspired by an amazing salad my sister in law made this weekend. She made it with the same grilled veggies but topped it with toasted pine nuts and used some roasted garlic in the dressing – obviously, it’s a pretty versatile idea.
For the past little while, I have been watching with interest as the new Boston Marathon registration process has been underway. Gone are the days when a BQ was a BQ – either you qualified or you didn’t – after last year’s record sell-out, the new staged registration had left runners wondering for months whether they would make the cut.
From holding their breath to speculating in endless circles about the likelihood of their registrations being accepted, runners have been on pins and needles all weekend. And for me, it was like watching a live sporting event – even though the outcome would have no impact on me personally, I couldn’t help being on the edge of my seat.
Now that all of the acceptances and regrets have gone out, the running world has breathed a collective sigh – either of joy or disappointment – or even simple relief that it’s finally over. As the status updates began appearing on Facebook I found myself alternating between elation and devastation – mood swings of the magnitude I would usually save for my own taper. The magic number turned out to be BQ-minus 1 minute, 14 seconds, and 3,228 “qualifiers” were turned away – but at least they can take comfort in the fact that it wasn’t because their internet connection was slower than someone else’s.
To all of you who tried, all I can say is congratulations. Whether you got in or not, you are living the quest for running’s Holy Grail, and for that you have my utmost respect and admiration. Next year, it will taste all the sweeter when you get in.
So I’m home and it seemed that when the airplane landed on the tarmac in Halifax, my husband and I came screeching back into reality after our lovely long weekend post Army Run in Ottawa.
Packing lunches, walking kids to the school bus, dropping the other one off at pre-school, classes myself, laundry, etc etc etc. I guess that’s why vacations are so delightful.
That said, today I’m hunkered down at home reading some extremely dry text books and am planning on my first run post race.
I kind of love the post race slump because of the break in focus. I can go for 5k or 8k or 3k – whatever I want! I can trail run without the worry in the back of my mind that if I roll my ankle I’ll miss out on the race. I can take the dog and stop and let her swim at the lake without caring that my pace will not accurately reflect my run.
That said, I do easily lose motivation to keep running, so I find that I struggle with the balance of racing vs. just running.
It’s foggy here in Halifax today (no surprise there) and I’m planning on waiting until it burns off before heading into the woods with my dog.
What about you? What are your running plans on this Friday afternoon?
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