There are weeks when you wonder if you’re doing the right thing, the right way. Generally speaking, this is applicable to all aspects of your life, but right now I’m talking about my training.

Tired legs, slower runs, less motivation. I ran on Sunday, legs still tired from my long run on Friday. I ran on Monday, legs slow and heavy. And I ran again on Wednesday. I thought long and hard about not going, because the wind and the snow and the ice and just, ugh, you know? But anyway I did and while it may have been the run that shook away my frumpiness, I’ve put off my 26k today by a couple of hours in hopes that the mercury will at least get above -10C (it’s not looking good).

Anyway! So with all my negativity, I figured I’d try to focus on some positive things. This will both kill some time while the sun creeps higher in the sky and help get me excited about running today.

One of the biggest things I’ve learned this winter-running season is that I had been overdressing. This was actually the first year that I invested in winter running tights. This negated the need for long underwear. Sure my legs got cold sometimes (keep in mind, Halifax winters aren’t the same as prairie winters), but even on my long runs, I never felt the need for a second layer on my legs. I also kept it lighter up top this winter, too. I wore a tank, a t-shirt and my winter running jacket. On a couple of very cold days, I wore a long sleeve technical t-shirt.

Of course, I’ve been wearing a toque and mitts all season, as well as a balaclava for a few weeks. Also, two pairs of socks. One very thin pair and one thicker (Smart Wool, I think) pair on top. Those meshy holes in the tops of sneakers are the nemesis of all winter runners!

On the whole, less clothes left me feeling lighter and more free. Without a second layer on my legs, they felt easier to move. Without a heavy shirt on my torso, I didn’t overheat or feel like I was being slowed down at all. I’ve heard for years and years the rule of thumb to dress as though it’s 10 degrees warmer, but this was the first year I actually bothered to heed. Turns out, there’s validity in it!

This marathon training has enough people thinking I’m crazy. If they start hearing that I’m wearing less clothes and taking ice baths in winter, they’ll really believe that I’ve lost it!

What about you guys? Any lessons you’ve learned the hard way? And old/bad habits you’ve managed to break?

I participated in the ‘First Half” Half Marathon for the first time on Feb 13th. I’ve wanted to run this race for several years now, because it is a Mizuno sponsored event and because when I lived in Ontario I would look for any excuse to get out to the west coast, especially in the winter. Now that I am living in Vancouver it was very convenient and I made sure to fit the race into my schedule this year.

We (myself and the 2,000 or so other participants) got lucky with some very good weather on the day; about 6 degrees, with very little wind, and no rain! The race went well for me. From the gun I was in the lead. I tried to set a reasonable but really aggressive pace. I wanted to see what my competitors would do in the early going. When it seemed that they weren’t going to try to run my pace I put my head down and charged on. I built up a bit of a lead by the 2 mile marker and things would remain that way for the entire 21.1 kilometers. But, it wasn’t easy going as I was pushing the pace the whole way, running against the clock in an effort to break the course record (of 1:04:44, held by Ryan Hayden of Richmond). I was pretty familiar with the course as I’ve done a lot of running around Stanley Park the past 5-6 months. But, usually I don’t have two policemen on motorcycles driving ahead of me! For awhile it looked like I was well ahead of record pace, but I knew things would get tough after about 7 miles. Going along the north side of the park and under Lion’s Gate bridge I still felt really good and thought I would be able to get the win and the record. But, over the final miles I started to slow down and had to work very very hard to maintain my pace. In the end, with a last ditch sprint effort over the final 400m, I managed to squeak in just under the record in 1:04:39!

Afterwards there were some fantastic post-race food/refreshments and awards. There was a mad sprint between men to make it to the stage first to claim one of the draw prize. It was very funny. I think they ran harder at that moment than they did in the race! And everyone got to check out some of the great new shoes and gear Mizuno is coming out with too. I am very excited for the new Wave Ronins!

All in all it was a great day.
Dylan Wykes

Now its important to understand before you read this that I am a planner.  That is not a description of my personality but it is my profession.  I am  a Professional Land Use planner, which means I am trained in how to physically lay out a community and organize the space that we humans live in.  This entails thinking about what makes a good place for people to live and working to achieve that.

Now with this disclaimer, I want to complain about how we organize our cities.  I just started a new job in Halifax on Monday, and needed to go for a run today at lunch time.  As I commute about an hour to my job, which starts at 7.30 and I knew that I would be tired and hungry when I got home at 6.00 so I needed to run during my lunch hour.  I dutifully dressed  in my running gear and as I headed out of my new office, people were looking at me strangely.  Finally someone asked me if I was going to go for a run.  When I said yes, they said that there were no sidewalks and traffic was dangerous and that I needed not to get injured as they did not want to go through the hiring process again.

As a planner, I can honestly say that many places are not designed for anything but car traffic, making it noisy, smelly, dangerous and totally unrelaxing for runners, walkers, bikers etc.  Cities and municipalities control the standards that allow new development to occur, development companies build them and we use them.   In this day and age of unhealthy living where most of the population does not get enough exercise, we need to plan our communities, our cities, our rural areas and our business parks to encourage activity not to discourage it.

So, I encouage people to participate in the public conversation about good planning.  The politicians and the developers will listen, but you need to partipate.  We also need to be seen on the streets so that it become apparent that sidewalks and trails need to be constructed, buffers erected to provide a safety barrier between cars and pedestrians, bike lanes built and road sholders property maintained.

Specific actions you can take to support good urban planning:

• read your local paper to see what is going on and think about these issues
• participate in community meetings on planning issues
• when you are thinking about buying a lot in a new development, ask about trails, sidewalks and green spaces.
• Encourage your local politicians to retrofit areas without sidewalks and bike lanes
• Protect yourself when you run in badly planned areas, and run in a group.   The more of you that run there, the more the drivers will get used to seeing walkers, runners and bikers on the road.
• Write a letter to your local Council about the links between health and planning.
• Educate yourself.  The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia has some great information on the links between planning and health. Follow this link   http://www.heartandstroke.ns.ca/site/c.inKMIPNlEiG/b.6021481/k.CF30/Healthy_Living__Shaping_healthy_active_communities_toolkit.htm

With so many compelling stories submitted for the iRun Makeover contest, you may be asking, why were Aleks, Brock and Chrystal selected?

iRun wanted to find runners from different regions of Canada who had dreams of becoming a better runner and were facing challenges which would resonate with large segments of the Canadian running community.  As we reviewed the submissions, it became clear that coaching and nutrition counseling were critical needs for runners.  At the same time, the cries for help appeared to fall into a number of categories.  A large group of runners simply wanted to get started again after illness or injury or overwhelming life challenges.  Others wanted to run faster, in some cases faster than a tortoise and in other cases faster than a Boston Qualifying time. A strong-minded bunch was determined to challenge the next race distance and go longer.  Within these stories, I could see that aging, medical conditions, lack of support, body image, and busy schedules constrained some runners.

Aleks is a 47 year old rookie who is going to challenge the marathon distance and chase a Boston Qualifying time.  To date, she has enjoyed followed her group of running buddies with no clear direction but suspected that she  had more in her.  Aleks will have to take ownership of her program.  She will have to learn to run alone as her running buddies won’t always want to do that hard tempo run or 25+km weekend long run.  Technology must become her new best friend to help track her progress.  Aleks will help the new runner and potential 4 hour marathoner demystify the training process to get to the Ottawa Marathon start line.

If you read Brock’s iRun Makeover contest submission, you will see that it was not about him.  I was curious about this guy who would reach out and speak primarily about the runners he supports.  A Google search revealed Brock’s website and his excitement at hitting the revered sub-4 hour time goal at the 2010 NYCM.  I wondered if Brock was giving so much of himself to others that perhaps his own running dreams had not been pursued.  Before the Makeover, Brock had set a spring goal of running another PB marathon.  I challenged him to try something new by getting off the marathon merry-go-round.  Follow Brock as he redefines himself as a 10k & half-marathon speedster this spring en route to a breakthrough fall marathon.

Chrystal has her life in control.  Chrystal is accomplished.  Chrystal is an athlete.  Chrystal is a very frustrated runner.  Chrystal wants to run 59:59 at the Bluenose 10k.  To Chrystal, running a sub-60 minutes over 10k is the indicator that she has joined the ranks of the ‘fast’ runners.  The key to Chrystal’s success will be getting her head and body to feel the speed, to learn what ‘fast’ feels like.  Over the next few months, Chrystal’s program will challenge her to become comfortable in her own runner’s skin.

Good Morning, everybody ! My name is Aleks Spalvins and I am honoured to be one of the three people in Canada selected by iRun Magazien to take part in their “experiment”  to help me to run better, faster, higher, longer …ohhh…you get the idea. 

Truth to tell, I am SO excited but a bit terrified, too !  By the time I run my first marathon, I will only have been running for 2 years…yep..that’s all and I feel like a real newbie. In fact, it has taken me all of this time to even call myself a runner and for the first year, I felt like an imposter; what am I doing here with these people ? They are probably alot better runners than me etc.  But, I persevered, and realize now that runners come in all shapes and sizes, all ages, all demographics and all educational backgrounds but they all seem to share one thing : the love of running ! I had no idea that running could be so gratifying – it’s my sanity; my connection to my physical self and my stress reliever.  Now, I’m hooked and thinking that I have gone as far as I can on my own and needing  some help to “take it to the next level”.  That is where Tania Jones and iRun Magazine come in and I can’t wait to see what unfolds on this journey that we are embarking upon together. 

So far, I have gleefully accepted my new shoes and clothes from Adidas Canada (thanks, Adidas!) and also their miCoach, too.  I am set in the gear department.  I also speak to or e-mail Tania Jones on a regular basis – every day – are you sick of me yet, Tania ? – and I am SO glad that she is in my corner. The most important thing to me right now at the beginning of this training is that I know that she supports me and thinks that my running goals are attainable.  I cannot emphasize enough how much of an impact that has upon a new runner – knowing that someone is backing you and they are NOT your friend/ husband/ wife/ sister/ family etc – they are a professional that has been running their whole life and have seen many many other runners and see the potential in me. Wow ! It makes me want to train even harder. 

While the weather in Toronto has been pretty bad lately (snow, rain, warm, cold, wet, slush) all in the space of seven days, I know that springtime is around the corner and that there will be lots of time to run in good weather. So far, I am running four times per week and will go to five times per week very soon.  Watch out, Danforth ! Get outta the way ! Aleks is running ! LOL

Stay tuned for the next update…..

It seems to me that fear plays a big role in running and why some people don’t do it.  Fear of looking like an idiot, fear of being the last one to finish, fear of hurting yourself, fear that you can’t do it, fear that the spandex pants have a big hole in the ass or even worse, that your behind is not capable of sporting spandex at all.  For some, it’s a fear of being alone with your own thoughts and the longer you run, the more alone with your thoughts you are.

My conclusion is that fear should also be a big motivator to run.  Fear of gaining weight, fear that I might not be able to go for a bike ride in a few years or if I do I won’t enjoy it because I might have a heart attack, fear of health problems from lack of activity, fear that I might get too stressed out if I don’t take a little “me” time.  Fear that I won’t have any alone time to sort through my thoughts.

So those of us who are not the fastest or the best, and who fear running to some degree or another, perhaps we should make fear a motivator and use it.  I feel a bit like Yoda from Star Wars telling you to “Use the force” but perhaps he was right.  Make fear a motivator not a paralyzer.

However,  I will still fear icy roads and falling on them.  That is just plain smart.  I have the bruises to prove it too.

The streets of Edmonton are much more suited to downhill skiing than running today, there’s about 5cm of fresh powder covering every trail, sidewalk and path but I just got home from my Long Slow Distance run as prescribed by our awesome Make-Over Coach Tania Jones. 22km in all (well ok, 21.46 according to the lovely voice in the Adidas miCoach) through the wind, snow and cold. Luckily 7.25km of it was spent leading my Team in Training group on their 3rd “Group Training Session” – these kinds of runs are always more pleasant in a group.

A few weeks ago I was laying in bed, checking my email on my phone wishing someone would bring me a coffee when I saw I had an email from Tania Jones. The name rang a loud bell but I wasn’t sure why. A quick Google search later and I was out of bed, giggling like a schoolboy, getting my wits together before I replied.

I had a vague memory of submitting a paragraph to something about a marathon make-over but had figured it was long over and gone so hadn’t thought of it in a while. Plus I never win anything… ever.

When I got off the phone with Tania, being the social media internet nerd I am, I immediately jumped on FaceBook and Twitter to spread my exciting news. That was quickly reeled in. I wasn’t to talk about the contest until the February issue of iRun was published. It was an excruciating time. Not as excruciating as the workouts I was soon to embark on… but I will save that for another post.

For now, I just want to thank iRun for this amazing opportunity, Adidas for all the wicked gear (it fits perfectly and makes me look FAST), and most of all Tania for all her guidance and encouragement. It’s only been a few weeks but I can literally measure the progress I have made.

I can’t wait for the weeks to come.