When it comes to safety, some things are within your control

By

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May 5, 2010

I try not to rant too much on this blog, particularly about traffic – we could probably start a whole forum about the scary things we’ve seen on the roads. But I have to tell you, I saw something the other day that was so stupid, I can’t not share it. In this story, the runners are the villains – exactly the kind of thing that makes the rest of us look bad.

I was running down a gravel road where the speed limit is 80 kph. A bit of background for those of you who don’t encounter gravel roads that often: in the spring there is often a LOT of extra gravel laid down to reduce the muck created by the spring thaw. At best, it can be very uncomfortable running since the big rocks poke into your feet and you get very little traction to push off; at worst it can be downright treacherous. Of course, paths are created through the gravel by the vehicle tires tossing the gravel aside, and sometimes there are only 3 tracks, instead of the expected 4, due to traffic staying towards the more solid centre of the road.

Off in the distance I could see 2 figures side-by-side in the northbound tracks but was too far back to tell what they were. Then I saw a pick-up truck coming north (I was headed south on the northbound side of the road, facing traffic, of course) that crossed over to the southbound lane to pass the figures. I thought to myself, how inconsiderate of them to hog half the road.

When I got closer, I realized they were runners, and not only were they running in the middle of the road, they were running north in the northbound lanes. They probably didn’t even know the truck was THERE until it was too late to move over, so it’s a good thing they were in a spot with a clear line of sight, and the driver was paying attention.

But wait, it gets better. One of the runners was a young girl, maybe 12 or 13, and the other was a woman (a coach? parent? family friend?). What? You are running with this girl, being a role model of some kind, and this is what you’re modelling? Seriously, folks, there are enough hazards on the roads if you ARE following all the rules, why would you go out of your way to make it worse?

Goodbye, overuse injuries. Hello, sleep deprivation injuries.

By

Jessica Aldred

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May 4, 2010

Injuries from over-training, I’ve had a few – strained hamstrings, wonky IT bands, stress fractures. But this is the first time I’ve had a goal race jeopardized by injuries sustained due to lack of sleep.

It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon last week, so my husband and I decided to take our baby girl for a walk along the canal. We were all feeling a little peaked, as Alex’s recent growth spurt meant we were up every two hours every night the week before – sometimes every hour, in fact. But the sunshine (and the big, ol’ coffees we obtained at Starbucks prior) promised to cure all that ailed us. It was a little warm, so I started to slide my hoodie down my shoulders to take it off and put it around my waist. And just like that -bam- I’d rolled my ankle in about the only pothole in the history of Ottawa’s obsessively-maintained canal path, failed to steady myself with my hoodie-occupied arms, and landed shoulder-first on the ground. Well, technically, both my knees and right hand took a lot of the impact, but my shoulder was the real clutch player, saving me from smashing my face right into the asphalt. (Although, of all the people ideally suited to have a concussion, the new mom waking up every two hours with a hungry baby is right up there!) Apparently, as I lay, bruised and bleeding on the ground, I managed to holler “don’t let the stroller roll into traffic!” at my startled husband…good to know I can still bark orders from the prone position!

I assessed the damage as I limped back home: Two skinned knees and the beginnings of a nasty bruise on the right knee; road rash on my hand and shoulder, and pride that might never heal if I missed race day because of a pratfall. I skipped my run that day for obvious reasons, but the next day managed to hobble my way through what should have been a 10k tempo run. (I managed 10k, but the “tempo” best resembled that of an elephant marching band.) Thankfully, the sore spot giving me the most trouble – a tweaked right knee – was sufficiently mended by my Sunday long run that I managed to pull off my longest training run yet – 21.1k (precisely), proof positive that I can go the distance on race day, even under less-than-ideal conditions. And I’m now quite certain that, if I ever manage to string together more than four consecutive hours of sleep sometime before my daughter heads off to university, qualifying for Boston will be a breeze.

A Soggy 8

By

JRoundel

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May 3, 2010

Ahhh Spring!

It is such an amazing time to be a runner when it’s spring (unless you have allergies). It’s like all the trials and denials of winter running just wash away with a little spring rain. I don’t know about the rest of you but it takes me a while to figure out what to wear so as not to be too cold or to overheat.

I’ve started working out with a group on Tuesdays in the Arboretum/Experimental farm, great to be in a big group of runners again, such social creatures we are!

Last week we were out (in the rain) and here is the workout:

-18min warm-up to the arb

-another 15min warm-up with the group

-4 strides

-4x ~2km with a 3min jogging rest

-(@ 6:22, 6:19, 6:26 and 6:09)

-20min cool down

So it was a rainy night and I of course over dressed by 3 layers. Anyway great running with people again I always forget all the little things about group running: someone is breathing heavy, some one has a click in there ankle and of course the never ending array of bottley functions.

It certainly is nice to run in peace and quiet, I’ll be the first one to admit that, but every now and then I encourage you to find a group to run with especially if your doing speed and take note of all the noises that you encounter around you I bet you’ll have a little chuckle.

More to come on the speedwork I will be hitting a few hard sessions over the next few weeks to prepare for the Race Weekend 10k!

Vancouver Marathon Results

By

UpToSpeed

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May 3, 2010

Tampa-based Kenyan Thomas Omwenga ran away and hid on the field at Sunday’s BMO Vancouver Marathon, winning by just under 9 minutes (2:16:55) over BC’s own Jason Loutitt. This is Omwenga’s third win, adding to his ’07 and ’08 titles. He has enjoyed a fair bit of success on the Canadian circuit over the years, having also won the Around The Bay 30K last year and the Niagara Falls Marathon in 2007.

The women’s marathon was won by Emmah Muthoni Kiruki (2:37:16) over BC’s Sharleen Jackson (2:50:12) and Suzanne Evans (2:52:58).

Each champion took home $2000. This year saw over 3400+ marathon finishers.

The half marathon’s 6500+ runners were led by Lethbridge’s Kip Kangogo (Kan He Ever!) in 1:06:33. Kangogo is a former NCAA All American who once trained under legendary Ed Eyestone at Brigham Young University, before transferring to Texas Christian in 2004. Kip’s younger brother Ed posted a 9th place finish (1:13:29).

On the women’s side, Ontario’s Krista Duchene (1:16:40) won easily. Duchene was third at this spring’s Around The Bay 30K and won both the Hamilton and Mississauga Marathons in ’09. Lisa Harvey edged Heather Gallagher for second place and the extra $250 in prize money ($750 vs $500). The two finished with identical 1:19:15 chip times, but Harvey started 2 seconds ahead of Gallagher so she also finished 2 seconds ahead. (In major road races, awards go by gun time, not chip time.)

Congratulations to all who braved the elements for yesterday’s races!

Pre race meal, and my first multi sport race of the year

By

the-running-chef

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May 2, 2010

Going into this weekend I saw my first multi-sport race of the year on the horizon. I needed to fill up all those glycogen stores for Saturday morning’s sprint duathlon. Plus I was going to be racing with (most certainly not against) our own Speed Blogger, Josh(Fast Forward).

So what to eat on Friday night. Well, I figured pasta was a sure fire solution. So what could we make that would be both tasty and easy. Penne with sundried tomato puree and sauteed broccoli with seared sirloin. Sounded good to me. We make a sun dried tomato puree (not quite pesto) at work for many different uses. Add to it some broccoli and beef, and you have a great easy meal. And with the fact that the puree lasts weeks in the fridge, you’ll be pulling it out for all kinds of uses. Some of my faves are; as a condiment for all manner of sandwich, on grilled vegetables, used in making dressings and vinaigrettes, and obviously as pasta sauce.

Here it is:

500gr sun dried tomatoes. I prefer semi dry, very red coloured tomatoes.

5 lg cloves of garlic, smashed

1/2 cup parmesan

1 cup (approx) good quality olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste.

You will notice there is no pine nuts in this mix. Which is why we don’t call it a pesto. I have found over the past couple of years the numbers of people with nut allergies is ever growing. We leave it out of this paste in order to be able to serve it to everyone. Feel free to add 1/3 cup nuts of your choice. You might need to adjust the oil quantity though.

Put all the ingredients in a food processor using only half the oil. Blitz until coming together. Add the remaining oil with the machine running. You are looking for a nicely mixed and slightly chunky mix. Now depending on what you’re using it for, you can process it more or less. It’s up to you. With so little ingredients though, you’ll want to source quality tomatoes and olive oil.

For my pasta I sauteed some blanched broccoli and added it to my pasta. I coated cubed sirloin with freshly ground fennel, coriander, black pepper, and salt. Seared it in a hot pan till rare and added it to the bowl with pasta and broccoli. Spoon some of your amazing sun dried tomato puree over and mix thoroughly. Top with some more parmesan and some chili flakes and serve.

Pretty easy, fast, and loaded with carbs, protein and nutirients from the broccoli (a super food). And you have a sure pre race winner.

As for my race. It didn’t make me fast enough to keep up with Josh, but it helped me shave 9 minutes off of last year’s time. Pretty happy with that. As I’m sure you will be of this versatile sauce.

Enjoy

Calling all members of iMom (and Dad) Nation! Send us your training tips, and they could appear in the next issue of iRun

By

Jessica Aldred

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April 29, 2010

When I posted my ‘New Mom Training Plan’ a couple of weeks ago, featuring a few of the tricks and tips I’d learned re. how to fit training in with a new babe at home, I realized that compared to many accomplished mommy (and daddy) runners out there, I’m a relative noob when it comes to the various tricks of the running and parenting trade. So step away from that slick-double jogging stroller for just a moment and share YOUR training tips for new moms and dads – they could be featured in the next issue of iRun, which will have an article on this very subject!

Email your responses to editor@irun.ca, including your name, age and hometown…or post your comments below if you prefer! Just remember to include your details and contact info if you want your post to appear in the magazine.

Our Next Book Club Selection

By

Vicky and Grant

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April 29, 2010

“The best pace is a suicide pace, and today looks like a good day to die.”
Steve Prefontaine

GRANT: Born to Run was a cool book. Now it’s time to decide what we will read next. I’m thinking we should pick a book that is the opposite end of the running spectrum.

VICKY: I like it. How about a book about Steve Prefontaine? You might not remember this but I had a Prefontaine phase last year where I rented all the DVDs about him.

GRANT: I’m sure you only watched those movies because you like Steve Prefontaine right? It wasn’t because Jared Leto and Billy Crudup were the leading men?

VICKY: Funny Grant but I must say Without Limits and Prefontaine were great movies.

GRANT: Who did you think did a better job portraying the running legend?

VICKY: To be honest with you, they were both great in different ways. The movies weren’t the same at all because they focused on different aspects of his life, which is why I really want to read this book so I can get the whole picture. The book I would like to suggest is called PRE: The Story of America’s Greatest Running Legend by Tom Jordan.

GRANT: This could work because there are many interesting topics we’ll be able to discuss. For example, the making of a running shoe (ie. the Bill Bowerman and Nike story), coaching, speed work, track & field and the Olympics and more.

VICKY: Ok now I’m excited. So when do we start?

GRANT: Let’s start reading next Monday, May 3^rd, 2010. Check back in a few days for the Book Bio and in the meantime, let us know what you think of our next book selection!

I am not immune to inferiority complexes

By

Karen Karnis

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April 27, 2010

The other morning I had a heck of a time getting out of bed. My muscles were still tender from my 32K weekend run, so a Monday morning “easy run” didn’t seem so easy. But I laced up and off I went, and I’ll tell you, it was a slog.

Now, I have been running in my little town for nearly 6 years now, so I’ve sort of gotten to know the folks that I see in the mornings, at least in that “the lady with the red coat and coffee cup” or “dude with the really well behaved yellow Lab” kind of way. You always notice if you see someone in a different spot, or there’s someone unfamiliar.

Of course, this day, of all days, would be the day that I encounter 4 (yes, four!) runners that I have never seen before. All 4 were skinny, had perfect morning ponytails and really cool pants, and they were fast. I mean fast. There were two women running together – my route converged with them for a short time before I could see nothing but their backs disappearing in the distance. We went in separate directions after while – I think; I turned to go around the block by the school, and (I assume) they turned down the hill.

When I finally got to the hill they had (presumably) gone down, I saw another runner coming towards me. Now, she wasn’t as fast, but to be fair, she was motoring up a really steep hill, and without missing a beat said “Isn’t it nice to finally have light in the morning?” with nary a pant to her breathing, and not a glisten of sweat on her brow – while all I managed was “lovely!”

When I got to the bottom of said hill, the first two ladies were popping out of a side street that I happen to know they’d have to have run a long way to emerge from that direction…in the same amount of time it took me to loop a short block. As I saw them coming towards me that second time, I was passed by yet another runner – like I was standing still. In fact, she might have broken the sound barrier because I didn’t even know she was coming until she blew past me.

The pair of ladies and I turned in the same direction again, and as their backs got smaller, again, I wanted to holler “I ran 32K on the weekend! I’m just on a recovery run! I’m still sore! Did I mention I ran 32K just two days ago? That’s 20 miles!” but they were gone.

Probably just as well. I mean really, that would have caused a scene. It’s not like they pointed and laughed – they were all quite friendly (except supersonic girl, but in her defense, there were 4 of us converging on the same piece of sidewalk at the same time, and at those speeds, you have time to avoid a crash or say hi, but not both). In fact, it’s probably downright self-centered of me to think they thought about me for one second longer than it took to say hello. We were all just runners, out for a morning run.

But just so you know, it was a recovery run, and I had actually run 33K two days before, but I couldn’t convert that to miles in my head.

Connecting with nature

By

Karen Karnis

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April 22, 2010

Since becoming a runner, I have inarguably forged a connection with nature that I didn’t have before I took up the sport. That might sound a little corny, but it’s true. There are a lot of reasons why that might be, not the least of which being the sheer amount of time I spend outside now, compared to my more sedentary days.

There’s a definite physical connection that comes from being out in the world – from smells that verge on being tastes, to taking a closer look at things you’ve never really paid too much attention to, to the feel of the wind on your skin and the ground beneath your feet.

Not only that, I end up visiting new places that I wouldn’t (or couldn’t!) have ventured in the car. I have found places that I may have heard of, but had never been. A classic example for me would be Belwood Lake. I had driven past the conservation area at least a thousand times, and I could point it out on a map, but until I ventured out from town along the Elora Cataract Trailway, I had never actually seen it. Now I have not only seen it, I’ve been there when the morning mists were still hanging over it and there was no one there but me and the fishermen.

While running, I also have the benefit of moving through the world at a much slower pace than when driving. I have the time to really look at things I had barely noticed before, like a house set back from the road that I drive every day, or the brook that runs under the narrow bridge. I’ve also learned things I wouldn’t have – for example, cows actually do a lot more than just stand and sit in fields – they also run, jump and roll; they’ll even respond if you talk to them!

I guess what I am trying to say is that I have developed a new appreciation for my environment since getting back out into it. I used to be disgusted by garbage at the side of the road because it was garbage; now I am infuriated because it pollutes the countryside. I used to enjoy sunny days because they were lovely to look at; now I love sunny days because they are incredible to be out in. I used to like listening to the birds because they sounded nice outside the window; now I love listening to the birds because they are a symphony surrounding me at 5:30 am.

Happy Earth Day!

A tale of toenails, trails and running

By

Vicky and Grant

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April 21, 2010

“Never does the human soul appear so strong as when it foregoes revenge and dares to forgive an injury.”
Edwin Hubbel Chapin

VICKY: This morning, I read Dana’s blog and I felt relieved that another woman runner had had a toenail injury such as mine. I felt like now, I could go public with my story.

GRANT: Oh my gawd woman, you’re obsessed with this toenail injury.

VICKY: Grant, this is serious. Our readers need to know that it can happen to them too. They need to know that simple little changes such as wearing the right sock, tying up your shoes a little tighter or buying shoes with more room for your toes can save their toenails.

GRANT: Vicky, your nail is likely going to fall off. Accept it and move on.

VICKY: It’s easy for men to say that because you don’t spend hundreds of dollars getting your feet pedicured so they look pretty throughout the year. You don’t understand. Women love their toenails. I love my toenails and I want to keep them. I’m not hardcore like Marshall Ulrich.

GRANT: You’re right, I had forgotten that in Born to Run the author talks about how some people are such hardcore ultrarunners that they have their toenails surgically removed for good.

VICKY: That is exactly what Marshall did. According to the author, Marshall is : “an affable dog food tycoon who perked up his times by having his toenails surgically removed.” I also found this really interesting article from the NY Times about ultrarunners getting their toenails surgically removed and they talk about Marshall and Born to Run. It’s actually quite interesting even though I would never do it.

GRANT: By the way, holy six degrees of separation! Did you know Marshall Ulrich is currently running the Sahara desert with Ray Zahab and the i2P team in Tunisia?

VICKY: Yes and he’s actually got a pretty cool blog set up to talk about the experience!