Well it seems like is has been awhile since I last wrote….and it has.  Again I am experiencing challenges with time management.  Here is the difference though, unlike other times when I have been really busy I am making time to run! Yeah Me!!!  My new house is still NOT ready and my family is still in Parry Sound so I have been spending most of the weekends there, which as I mentioned before is a 5hr drive away. (10hrs in the car really eats into your weekend) That plus work being busy is a challenge.

Anyway, onto the running, I have been getting out and I have been going further!  While in Parry Sound last weekend not only did I race my son as mentioned in the last post but I also went out for an 11km run. Now here is the difference between an 11km run in Parry Sound and an 11km run in Ottawa…hills!  No matter where you run in Parry Sound you are running up hill and they are long and steep.  So I would equate it to a 14km run at least! Regardless it is my longest run in a long time, add in a 7.25km run on Wed and a few others and it brings the weekly total to up over 30km!  Still a long way to go for a full but definitely moving in the right direction.  

This weekend I am planning on running both days and going further than the 11km I did last weekend. How far will I go?  Not sure, I will see how it goes but I am hoping to hit the 13km mark.  The next step for me is to pick a fall race and then start following a training schedule for the next 16 weeks or so.  Hopefully that structure and pressure will ensure that I am finding the time to keep the running as part of my daily routine even when I get my new house and my kids are back in Ottawa…..I think I may need to start running early in the morning! 🙂

I think my Mom might be a little angry with me when she reads this.  She’s already a bit angry with me right now.  I usually go for a run and leave the Demondog with her.  I figure since she is almost like another grandchild, my Mom would like to babysit.

So before I went to run tonight, I thought I mentioned that I was going to be a bit longer today.  Esther mentioned that there were going to be two nice guys who were going to be giving a talk about stretching and injuries.  I’m always up for learning as much as I can about the sport I love, so I was going to go.

I walked into the gym behind the store.  Which is full of weights and big yoga balls and other exercise stuff.  There was a nice guy named Damien, who was operating the video camera.  And his partner in fitness, Eric.

They run an exercise business called Xelf.  They are more than personal trainers.  They are trying to get the message out there about exercise and how it impacts every aspect of our lives.

They are starting a new program (new for me anyway) called Get Fit to Run.  It is an eight week supplement to running.  It is designed to work with running as a lifestyle.  Eric and Damien will teach  runners all kinds of great stuff.

Like how to use a foam roller to eliminate trigger points.  Eric says it is like giving yourself a massage everyday.

Hmmm, I think they can count me in.  Just don’t tell my Mom just yet.  Let me get flowers and chocolate and butter her up first.

I might have mentioned it a time or two, but I have to say it again.  I love my running family.  And I love the fact that we take care of each other.

Before the run last night, Esther stood in front of our of growing running group and announced that she was doing something she hadn’t done in a while.  She had brought in Arnold from Mizuno.  And he was going to talk to those interested in learning a bit about Mizuno. 

I was supposed to leave right after my run, to take my parents out shopping.  But I got back to the store and Arnold was there setting up.  And I have to admit, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to plug my blog, so I sashayed up to him.

Ok, not really sashayed, more like huffed and puffed and announced my arrival.  But Arnold was great.  I explained to him about the plantar fasciitis that has been troubling me for a bit.

And he was just amazing.  He didn’t try to sell me a pair of shoes, just because.  He took the time to explain about the thing that makes Mizuno so special.  It is a wave.  That is built right into the shoe.  And what makes this wave so cool is that it can actually help reduce over pronation.  And help keep the foot in the proper form for running correctly. In the end he suggested I wait before even thinking of buying new shoes.

He educated me and the growing number of people surrounding me. 

Tomorrow will be the really nice guys who do personal training.  They will give a talk on injuries.  Making sure that this running family is well taken care of.

I cut my lawn for the first time yesterday.   Now is the time for cleaning and getting rid of stuff that is no longer useful.

I suppose I should have done inside stuff while the weather was cold.   Running a couple days outside in the cold, seemed a much better choice.  But now, I’m paying for it.  Instead of being outside in the bright sunshine, I’ll be inside trying to do my spring cleaning.

There is one particular area which I am not going near.  I decided last year that I have way too much running stuff.  Ok, actually you can never have enough running stuff.  But you don’t know you have too much running stuff if you have it all over the house.

So I cleaned out a drawer in a chest of drawers for my running stuff.  All the long sleeved shirts could be stored there when the weather was warm.  And vice versa in the winter. 

Since I routinely misplace my running gloves and balaclava, I decided that I could put them here too.

In theory it was a great plan.  Then I tried to put all my running stuff there.  I needed another drawer.  And then another.  Soon it had reached three drawers.  And that didn’t include the assorted stuff like water bottles and my spi belt.

It ballooned to four pretty quickly.

I’m planning  on getting rid of useless stuff that I don’t use anymore.  Who needs clean socks and unmentionables when you have running stuff?  And I figure if I accessorieze properly, no one will notice that I wear the same three shirts every week?

What a race it was!!!  As I mentioned before I was going to Parry Sound on the weekend and I was going to challenge my son on a race down the local fitness trail. When I got there and told him I wanted to race he was pretty excited and when I told him I was going to kick his butt he was very quick to reply “no, I am going to kick your butt!!”.  Good to know he has the competitive spirit even at 3 years of age. 🙂
So the big day arrived and my wife and I loaded the kids up into the running stroller and began the 2.0 km run down to the start of the trail where my son then jumped out of the stroller and the real fun began. After a quick photo opp at the start line we were off.  My son took off like a rocket and left me and the stroller in the dust!!  He ran full out (which according to my Garmin was an impressive 5:50/km) for about 150m and then stopped to catch his breath.  It took about 10 seconds for that to happen and then he was off again for another 150-200m at full speed followed by another quick rest.  And again he took off at top speed and again he had a rest after 200m or so. Basically I found myself in the middle of an interval workout instead of a steady run! He continued to do this the whole length of the fitness trail and led us most of the way not wanting anyone to be ahead of him!  He ended up running about 1.6km that day and had a blast doing it. As for me, well the next 1.2 km after the trail is all up hill and pushing a stroller with 58lbs of kids in it is not an easy thing to do, especially when there is hardly any air in the tires!! (Thanks Andrea! 🙂 ) Overall I would say it was a success, we had a good family run and it is always great to show your kids how to be active and lead a healthy lifestyle!

 As for who won the race, I am not sure who actually finished first, but since we took him to Dairy Queen later that day maybe he won……..however he was in bed asleep by 7:45 that night so I would say that I came out victorious! 

On a side note check this out.  Connor actually caught this fish with a kids Winnie the Pooh and Tigger rod!  I know it’s got nothing to do with running but still pretty impressive!!

This weekend was the opening weekend for Paramount Canada’s Wonderland.  Each year I think, this is the year I’m going to get there.  And then other stuff gets in the way of my going.  Stuff like cutting the grass.  Weeding the garden. Washing the car.

It got me thinking though, why hasn’t anyone come up with a running themed park?  Since no one has, I guess it’s up to me.  Let me warn you, I’ve already patented this idea, so if it shows up as part of say … Disney World, I’ll know!

So you would walk in through this giant gate that is shaped like the shute of an race.  There would be a starting time on one side and a finishing time on the other.  Each person could get their picture taken at the finish line and have it sent to them.   It would have their “running” time in the park on it.  As well as their bib number.

Then you could decide where you want to go in the park. You could go to the kids fun run – the 1 km fun park.  The place where running characters are available for pictures with the kids.  What kind of characters you ask?  Ben Aide – the special no hurt bandage.  And there would be Sally the Super Sock. 

For those without kids, you could go to Regular Joe Running Park or Eliteland for the elite runners.  And of course, we wouldn’t forget our friends the Masters of Running.

I still have lots of stuff to work out for my running theme park.  I am having a lot of fun dreaming up rides and games.  Even though we pretend we whine about running, we keep going back.  Kind of like roller coasters.  And why do we go back?  Because in the end, underneath the whining, we are having the time of our lives!

I’m not sure if you know this or not.  But when you are a teenager, your parents are pretty dumb.  And then a funny thing happens, you get older and suddenly your parents get smarter.   I’m not sure how that happens, but it does.  I know, it happened to me.  My parents went from being the dumbest people on the planet to being pretty darn cool.

I know they are cool by the company that they keep.  I was reminded today just how cool they are.  I took my dad to our local Chapters.  And he met an old friend today.  As a former bus driver, my dad can’t go anywhere without meeting someone.

And today was no exception.  But today … wow.  I can’t tell you how cool this man was.  My dad met this man while driving bus.  And this man has done all kinds of really amazing things in his life.  Including playing for the Hamilton Ticats.  Which in itself is cool.  But what really ramped it up on the coolness scale was the book he showed me with his entries for several running championships.

Scott Tyler holds the masters record for 60 m hurdles.  And he won the title not too long ago.  He is just a bit younger than my dad, but was setting records in his 60’s. 

I was pleased when he gave me some of the best advice I’ve ever heard.  Mr. Tyler  told me how to beat the plantar fasciitis that has been plaguing me for the last couple months.  But he gave me The Best advice ever.

He said to me, do you want to be set for when you get to be your dad’s age?  Do cows moo I said?  He said go running.  A mile as often as you can. 

Wow my dad really is brilliant, isn’t he?