I coached the first night of my Run Clinic on Tuesday. I swam 1000 metres on Monday. I biked and hiked in the woods yesterday. I’m really enjoying the mellow environment (in my head) post-marathon.

Tomorrow is my first session with my personal trainer since the race, and I’m hoping it will result in me feeling a little more focused.

There’s a triathlon I’d like to do at the end of July. I’ll sign up for it soon, but I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around any sort of serious training program. Granted, it is “just” a Sprint Tri (forgive me, Karen) so I’m not going to need to invest an insane amount of time into it.

I guess I’m just enjoying not having a goal, to be honest. There’s a 10k next weekend and then the tri in July. I’m just planning on having fun with both of them, to be honest. Just exercising for the heck of it, instead of being crazy about pace or distance or weekly mileage. I imagine by the time August rolls around and I start upping my distances again for the Army Half, I’ll regain some focus, but for now, I’m looking forward to a summer full of Run Clubs, open water swims and the wind rushing through the holes in my bike helmet.

What about you? Are you always and completely goal focused? Do you relax in the summer or kick it into high gear?

By: Tania Archer

Staying in shape when traveling or while on vacation isn’t always an easy task, but there are simple exercises I enjoy from the comfort of my hotel room when I cannot gain access to a gym.

I NEVER leave home without my fitness essentials…Mizuno Athletic Bag, Mizuno Wave Inspire Running Shoes, Mizuno Meridian Sport Skirt, Mizuno Colt Sports Bra, Mizuno Jinx Sports Tank and a few other sporting items.

I’ve held faithful to a series of 7 exercises, which I repeat 10-12 times each across 6-8 sets, creating a 45-60 minute workout. I try to keep recovery breaks, if any, to a minimum to create intensity.

I try to warm up with a light jog, approximately 15 minutes, if possible and easy stretching.

My Exercises:

• Tricep Dips
• Lunge
• Seated Crunch
• Mini Band Walking
• Inverted Hamstring Stretch
• Reach Ups Crunch
• Jump Ups

#1. Tricep Dips: Using a bench or sofa cushion edge, I place my hands on surface, arms fairly straight at my sides, fingers facing forward. I lower my body until my arms are bent at a 90-degree angle. I push up. I repeat this action 10-12 times. Exercise works my triceps and shoulders.

#2. Lunge: Staying in the same spot, placing my hands on my hips, great posture, I take a deep step (lunge) forward; repeating and alternating legs I step forward with. Exercise works my thighs and buttocks.

#3. Seated Crunch: I sit in single chair with my buttocks on the edge. Grabbing the chair arms I lean back pulling my knees towards my chest, extending my legs fully just above floor. This exercise is great as it works muscles in thighs, abs and my lower back.

#4. Mini Band Walking: Placing a mini-band around my legs above my knees and around my ankles I walk sideways with wide steps, knees slightly bent, body upright, taking as many side steps to the right as I can bare, then move to the left. Exercise works my outer thighs and buttocks.

#5. Inverted Hamstring Stretch: I stand on my left leg only with arms extended at my sides. I bend over at waist and raise my right leg so it’s behind me and parallel to ground. This exercise takes great balance. I alternate legs when I feel stretch in starting leg. Great for my lower back and hamstring flexibility.

#6. Reach Up Crunch: Laying flat on my back in a soldier like position, reaching my arms upwards to ceiling, raising upper body, shoulders, off ground slightly while tightening abs. Exercise works and strengthens my lower abs.

#7. Jump Ups: I jump up, trying to touch ceiling from a deep bend position, keeping posture and body form in line, no twisting, extending from bended knee position fully. Exercise strengthens abs, buttocks, hamstrings and quads.

While these simple exercises do not replace an elite strength work out or supervised trainer workout they have helped me to maintain a good base when away from home.

To break the monotony of these exercises over a long travel week I like to add in a 45-60 minute run.

Please consult with your physician, trainer or coach about creating your own custom travel fitness regime specific to your capabilities and fitness level. I do not recommend attempting any of these exercises without seeking professional guidance.

Happy travels!

Cheers,
Tania

Tania Archer
Canadian Olympic Team Trialist (frm. Sprinter)
Mizuno Brand Ambassador
Motivational Speaker, Spokesperson
Esteem Team Athlete Role Model
University of Alabama Athlete Alumni
Supporter of The Wellspring Foundation Rwanda

Twitter @taniaarcher

You’ve gone through so many pairs of running shoes that the pair demoted to walking around and the pair demoted from walking around to cutting the lawn are both in good shape, but you still have a heap in the closet.

Now is the time to get rid of a few pairs!  If you are in the Ottawa area, Sole Responsibility’s annual shoe drive continues until Sunday, June 12!

Since they started collecting shoes six years ago, Sole Responsibility has distributed more than 21,000 pairs of shoes to the needy in Ottawa and around the world.  With your help, they can reach this year’s goal of 4,000 pairs.

Anyone having shoes to donate can drop them off at any Bridgehead in the city, Mountain Equipment Co-Op or Bushtukah store. They also ask that you donate a twoonie to help cover the cost of shipping the shoes to this year’s recipient nation – Kenya.

I went for my first post-marathon run on Sunday morning. It sucked. My knees were sore and I just wasn’t feeling it. But still! 4k is better than no k. Then yesterday I donned my swim cap and goggles and headed to the pool for 1000 metres. It’s been a while since I’ve spent any time in the water and it felt good. I can definitely feel it in my shoulders today, which I also love.

Tonight is the first night of the 10k Clinic I’m coaching at the Halifax Running Room. I had set this up a couple of months ago so that I would stay running through the summer instead of falling into a post-marathon slump.

In July there’s a triathlon I’m thinking of doing, then the Army Half (for which we’re crunching numbers to make sure we can go) and then! Team Diabetes offered me a spot on their trip to the Cayman Islands in December. I raised enough for Ottawa so cover the trip to the Cayman Islands so my fundraising is already done! How could I say no?

That will bring me to a total of three half marathons in 2011 (I ran Hypothermic Half in February) and one full. I have never, ever run this much, this consistently. I’m… let’s use the phrase “aware of avoiding injuries” instead of “worried about injuries” just because of the volume of kms I’ll be putting in over the next six months.

So tell me, when your kilometres are going to stay fairly high for a while, what’s the best way to avoid injury?

I tried twice to get to a 10K less in than an hour.  My first attempt left me at 62.21 but it was after a difficult few days.  So I thought I would try again and went to the Chester Cut and Run 5k/10K thinking it was flatter than the Bluenose Course.  It  fact, it was not.  My results for this was not significantly better, and I finished in 61.43.  It’s a new personal best, but I still did not make my hour.

I am not exactly sure how to feel about all of this.  I won this make over contest a few days after my best friend died of breast cancer.  A week or so later Mum was diagnosed with cancer, and the make over ended with her death.  Working with the iRun team turned out to be a very positive thread through a fairly dark time.  It was hard for me to stay positive and engaged sometimes, as Mum’s health declined and I needed and wanted to be more attentive to her. During this same time I started a new job with a long commute, making it difficult to get my runs in. 

What I learned is that if you want to fit healthy activities in, you can.  I ran at 5.00 am before I started my commute because I could not  do runs in the evenings.  My mind relaxed into the runs helping me cope with whatever needed coping with.  I also learned that it is vital to take care of my health, because it can turn into bad health in a second.  This process is not about being fast, its about protecting the thing on which the rest life rests, health.  I believe our socieity does not value important things, and turns to foolishness to feel better about difficulties.  Canadians complains about our quality of life, when we have so much that most of the world does not.  When my friend was dying of cancer, leaving her two little boys (5 and 2) behind, she was so annoyed when she saw others not taking care of themselves and squandering the gifts of health.

So even though I failed to achieve my goal, I suceeded in increasing my fitness and confidence, in managing life’s obstacles with healthy, reasonable choices instead of hiding in ice cream or other glutunous behaviors ( and I love glutony).  An hour is doable for me with more training, which is something I would not have said 3 months ago.

When I was running today, one of motivating factors was thinking of my mum in her last days.  Dying is hard work, especially if you want to leave in a way which exemplifies the way you lived.  Both Mum and my friend went out not in a panic, or angry but leaving memories of hard work and perseverance, of achievement in the face of obstacles, of fighting a losing battle with grace,  and most importantly to me, with humour.  Life can be hard, running is often hard but sticking with it to the end, regardless if the end is a personal best or if you are the last person across the line takes real character. I will never run a 10K inf 45 minutes (probably) but does that mean I shouldn’t try.  My character was built a bit by this experience and that is in part why I run now.  That and the fact that I need to work off the rhubarb crisp that is for supper tonight.

 I have thanked iRun so many times, and Tania, Lauren and my other teammates, Brock and Aleks so much that it is now starting to sounds a bit over the top.  This blog has also been really helpful so I would also like to thank those of you who have read it, sent words of encouragement or said something nice to me over the last few months.  I believe in the power of community and there is a running community out there which I am just beginning to see.

Thanks everyone.

Chrystal

Last weekend I was lucky enough to be part of the Ottawa Race Weekend through my involvement with Team in Training. I was the on-course coach for the Prairie Region (Edmonton, Calgary and Saskatoon).

I love being on-course support. Not only do I get to meet a lot of wonderful runners, walkers and other TNT coaches and staff from around the country but I also get to help anyone on the race course who needs it. As an added bonus we coaches are given free access to the marathon course for the entirety of the race. This is akin to an “all-you-can-run buffet” for some of us.

I put on 50.15km during the race on Sunday at an average pace of 7:54/km. At the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco last year I put on 57km. That’s how it goes for some of us… but I digress.

I took advantage of my own presence in Ottawa for race weekend and cajoled Coach Tania into scrounging me a 10k race entry (forgoing a Team in Training event to run it… sorry ducklings). So, leaving immediately from the TNT Coach’s Meeting, I made my way down to the start line, downed a gel, limbered up (by jumping up and down trying to get Tania’s attention way up there in the elite corral) and be darned if I didn’t make another PB!

41:28 was my finishing time. That’s 93 seconds faster than my 10k in April (43:01) and over 4 minutes faster than the one I ran in March (45:19). Woo!

Truth be told, I was aiming for under 40 minutes and I was on track too… until about 6kms in. The humidity hanging in the hot/still air was just too much for this prairie boy. From 750 metres onward I was pretty much as sweaty and hot as I could possibly be and I paid the price in the last half of the race.

But, what the heck? Who cares? I was in Ottawa for another important reason and this race was just the “electrolytes in a very busy sports drink” so to speak. I had been up since 4am on a bus then a plane, I had walked around the race expo for 2 hours, ate pancakes and eggs with Tania for lunch and arrived at the start line directly from a meeting. What was I expecting? A world’s record? No. Just a PB – and I got one. Wait… let me rephrase that. I got ANOTHER one.

I haven’t really stopped thinking about those 12 minutes since Sunday afternoon. You know, the twelve minutes between my goal and my marathon time. The twelve minutes that made me cry Sunday afternoon. They’ve been rattling and rooting around in my head and I’ve been rehashing and rehashing the marathon over and over.

First of all, I knew that 4:15 was a really ambitious goal for me. My PB for a half was 2:05 (twice), so an extra ten minutes for an extra 21k is a stretch.

I’ve come to the conclusion that two things affected my race.

1) I didn’t speed train. Enough, or at all, really. I did for about a month in March, but not since. My knee started twinging at 25k and I haven’t had an IT band issue since the Hypothermic Half in February. Both incidents were out of the blue, and both were races. Meaning I was running faster than my body was used to. I think the two are connected. Knee pain cost me about five minutes I’d say.

2) I don’t think I respected the distance enough. I mean, I “remembered” that marathons were hard, but I’m such a different runner now than I was 20 months ago during my first marathon. I’m stronger, physically and mentally. I worked with a personal trainer all winter, I didn’t really have any overly difficult or painful training runs. I think I got a little smug. I thought it wouldn’t be as bad as last time/didn’t truly remember what last time felt like.

Steve and I sat on our porch last night watching the trees blow in the wind talking about goals. He said that if you meet your goal the first time you try, it wasn’t ambitious enough. I’m not sure that I agree with that 100%, because it comes down to long-term and short-term goals.

I could never run another marathon and feel like I’ve earned a “good enough” time. Except that I didn’t. Because what I really wanted, I didn’t get.

It’s bittersweet, I guess, because the high of a great PB is dampened by those 12 minutes.

So, yes, there will be another one. I’ve been eyeballing a couple different races for a few months now. PEI. Tofino. I don’t know when, but I know that the siren call of the marathon, of those 12 minutes lost, will pull me in again.