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.

“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!

“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!

With race weekend just over a month away (gorp!) and my mileage starting to ramp up in earnest, I’ve been trying to squash the temptation to set a totally unrealistic time goal on what should just be a feel-good, half-marathon-distance romp – a celebration of the fact that I can cover 21.1k in running shoes less than 5 months after having a baby. (And let’s face it, since it’s a precious window of time where I won’t have to change a diaper, rock anyone to sleep, or – hopefully – get puked on, I should probably be aiming to drag it out as long as possible.) But sadly, that’s not the way I roll.

The question becomes, then, how to set a motivational-yet-realistic goal when I’m 1000% certain that I’m not going to be back in prime racing form by race day. “Prime racing form,” as defined by my pre-baby personal best, is a 1:42 half-marathon, though I considered anything in the 1:40’s to be a strong racing effort. These times were typically run during peak marathon training, though, when I was about ten pounds lighter and logging nearly double the mileage I am now – approx 70-80k a week, vs, the 35-40k of the present day. Oh, and those training miles were WAY faster.

To re-work my expectations in an appropriate way, I’m starting from the place of knowing that WHATEVER time I run on May 30th will be what my friend Tori terms a PPPB – a Post Partum Personal Best. I love the notion of the PPPB because it acknowledges how much our physical and emotional lives have been transformed by having a baby, and how any race effort thereafter is an unquestionable personal best. If I show up at the start line, I get a PB. And given how little sleep I’ve been getting lately, it will no doubt be one of the hardest fought PBs of my life.

That said, I always like to have some sort of number in mind. So, in order to make things interesting, I fed my 5k time from when I was 6 months pregnant (26:55) into the McMillan Calculator, and it’s given me a projected half-marathon time of 2:04:25. I figure as long as I can run faster than I did heading into my third trimester of preggo-ness, I’m doing alright. And if it takes me longer – well, you’ll know I decided to take the scenic route in order to dodge one more diaper change.

Anyone who has ever endured the mean, cold and dark streets of Edmonton in the middle of January likely knows a thing or two about what it takes to survive. With sheets of invisible black ice, dry air that hits the lungs like sheets of sandpaper, and blistering winds that can reach up to 20-plus kilometers an hour it takes a brave soul to venture outside.

Okay, so perhaps there is a touch of exaggeration in those opening statements. Truthfully, the streets of Edmonton aren’t that mean and between the hours of 8 a.m. and approximately 4:30 p.m. from November to March it isn’t exactly dark out – though it is a good day if the sun is shining. And as for cold, well I suppose in January the more accurate term would be “freezing.”

So who in their right mind would go outside under such severe temperatures if they didn’t need to, and for what possible reason? Runners of course! Who else is devoted enough, passionate enough and crazy enough to hold the opinion that a little bit of sleet, snow and ice shouldn’t keep them from honing their craft?

Darren Deveau, a 36-year-old who stumbled into his love of running two years ago, remarks with a quick wit and sarcastic humour about where his own drive to run in the winter comes from.

“I don’t do a lot of other sports and I dislike the treadmill. With the exception of getting fat, I am not sure what I would do if I didn’t run in the winter.”

While Deveau cracks jokes about his dedication to the sport, he also makes humble mention of his accomplishments. Deveau has lost forty-five pounds, finished fifth in his age group in one of Canada’s 5Peaks trail races, and completed three half marathons and one marathon.

Deveau is not the only Edmontonian with some exceptional gusto for the sport. The running community in Edmonton – or Alberta for that matter – is home to some of the most dedicated runners out there.

“I love winter running,” said Allison Stewart, 41. “I love that the air is so crisp and clean. I love that I’m not dripping in sweat or having my energy sapped by the heat. I love that my average pace is about eight seconds faster per kilometer in the winter. I love how beautiful the trails are when the trees are covered in frost. I love how the stars seem more brilliant on winter nights.”

Stewart’s affection for winter running might be unmatched, but in a city that has eight long months of winter and a mere four short months of summer, if Edmontonians didn’t learn to love (or at least tolerate) winter running, they wouldn’t have a whole lot of time left to train for race season. Fair assumption, right?

Think again. Edmonton’s running community seems to be unique in more ways than one. For instance, Edmonton’s Marathon Weekend is held at the end of August every year, unlike Vancouver, Ottawa, and Halifax, whose marathon weekends are in May.

While he can’t say for sure, Brian Torrance, the race’s elite athlete coordinator, believes the race’s date originally had more to do with trying to coordinate with other major events, such as the World Masters Games and the World Commonwealth Games, than trying to schedule around Edmonton’s drawn-out winters.

Indeed, the cold is but a mere afterthought for this northern city. Torrance believes that the race’s timing has more to do with celebrating Edmonton’s summer months and vast river valley then avoiding the threat of winter.

“Having the marathon in August is perfect, as it allows for a full summer of training,” said Torrance, remarking on Edmonton’s beautiful and long summer nights as ideal training times. “I would also rank the Edmonton river valley among the most beautiful trails in the world. They are endless and allow a training marathoner to get lost in their miles.”

Torrance describes Edmonton’s marathon as “first class”, and as one of Canada’s biggest second tier marathon events – with an overall yearly attendance of 3,500 – it appears he is not alone in this statement. Though, for runners like Deveau and Stewart, their dedication has less to do with sticking to a training regime and more to do with a lifestyle.

Both Deveau and Stewart agree that a deep love of running is where they find their strength to run year-round and soldier on through even the harshest winter months, and they have been rewarded for their dedication.

“Winter running has definitely increased my self-discipline.” said Stewart, “Having made myself run through an entire winter, including some days [this year] when Edmonton was the coldest place on earth except for Siberia, I find it easier to get out there on those tough days. I tell myself: ‘You ran when it was freakin’ cold out, you can do this too!’”

While it is true that not all Edmontonians are as brave or tolerant of the cold, opting to run the winter months away on the “dreadmill” or an indoor track, Deveau likes to point out that winter running “really isn’t that bad” with the proper gear. He strongly advises anyone thinking about trying winter running to wear a wind-blocking layer, adding quite eloquently: “To keep the wind off my nether regions. In my book there is no worse pain than the pain from a frozen junk.”

I can’t help but wonder though, if Albertan Westerners are conquering snow drifts and blistering winds by protecting their junks, how are the British Columbian Westerners defeating the puddles and rain storms? Rubber boots?

Whatever the case, don’t let it stop you from reveling in your runs, long or short, for training or fun.

In Life & Running,

Christina Weichel