Football fans (soccer in North America) will have to forgive my laissez faire attitude when it comes to football.  But I figured out why I like running so much. 

I decided that since I was going to England, I should do what British people do.  So I started watching Coronation Street.  And love it.  I was fortunate enough to find a magazine while I was there that had stuff coming up on Coronation Street.  And since we are about a year behind here in Canada, boy will I ever be prepared.

And with the very first hotel I stayed in being right beside the Chelsea Football pitch, I decided to give football a try too.  I almost bought the Gazelle a Chelsea football shirt.  But didn’t.

But it was while watching the game between Liverpool and Arsenal that I figured out why I LOVE running.  No rules. 

Ok, some rules.  Like you have to start and stop at the line.  Oh and you can’t take a cab when you are doing the Boston Marathon, unless you want to be disqualified.

But other than that.  Those are the rules.  I can run as many times a week as I want to and no one is going to point out the rule that says I have to run 3.957 times a week.

And there is no rule that says I can’t enjoy the scenery when I’m running.  I’ve said it before, but what an experience running in Hyde Park.

And my favourite non-rule.  I can make friends where ever there are runners gathered.

Oh and for the record the Liverpool and Arsenal game ended in a draw.  Who knew there were even special football words.  I always thought it was a tie. Excuse me while I go work on a fartlek.

A typical marathon training program might last from 16-18 weeks. It usually has a mixture of long runs, hill repeats, tempo runs, speed work on the local high school track, and some other easier paced runs thrown in for good measure.

Of all the runs in a training program, for me one of the most special ones is the last long run prior to marathon day. It’s usually 3 weeks out from race day and typically is around 32-34 kilometres long. Many runners treat it as a “dress rehearsal” for race day. I’ll eat the same breakfast and wear the same clothing as on race day. I’ll fuel up along the run the same way as I will for the first 32km on race day. If possible I’ll run a good portion of the last long run on the race course.

If you do some of your runs in a group setting then you’ll know that at the end of a workout it’s common to exchange high fives, fist pumps, or handshakes of some sort to acknowledge the shared company. After the last long run before a marathon, however, the handshakes and fist pumps hold extra meaning. After we put the last long one in the bank, we know the toughest part of the marathon training is over and that the next couple of weeks will be about tapering and getting our bodies rested for race day.

Sunday will be the last long run before the 2009 Ottawa Marathon. After that, the countdown to race day is on.

Get your attention?  No I am not running a race this weekend, at least not an official one.  But I am heading to Parry Sound to see my family and if you remember a week or so ago I mentioned that my son had been running with my wife.  Well it’s on this weekend!  I am going to challenge him to run the whole trail again like he did the other day.  Now don’t get me wrong I will make sure it is a fair race.  I will be pushing a stroller with my daughter in it and I will give him a little head start. But trust me there is something to prove and a reason for me challenging him!

So we will see who is the fastest over the 1.4km trail, me someone who has run 5 ½ marathons and considers himself to be on his way to a full or my son, someone who’s energy level resembles that of a monkey hopped up on Mocha Gel packs and Red Bull!

Stay tuned for a full recap of the race, including photos!  🙂

On a side note: my training continues to progress.  I have been out a total of 3 times this week and ran a total of 26km! Things are looking up!!

 I heard on the news today that things might actually be starting to turn around.  That we might start the long slow climb out of the recession we find ourselves in.

What does that have to do with running you’re asking yourself.  And maybe even scratching your head.  Well, the recession oddly enough has a lot to do with running.

I have heard stories about how during recessions, people tend to flock to running in droves.  And races suddenly find themselves filled to capacity with runners who want to run. 

The Around the Bay road race was completely full this year.  I don’t recall it filling up while I’ve been doing it.  I’m sure it probably has, maybe during the last recession. And I’ve heard of other local races that are filling pretty quickly.

Esther is hoping to get huge numbers for her Road2Hope in a few months.  And given the fact that lots of races have been filling up, I’m sure she will get huge numbers too!

The really cool thing about running is that it is pretty cheap.  But the results are well worth the small investment you have to make in a couple of things to get yourself going.

A good pair of shoes is a must, a good pair of shorts or pants depending on the weather is necessary and a good shirt are all you really need to get running.  Plus a positive attitude.

A cheap investment for years of pleasure and a great way to make lifelong friendships.

I’d like to say that I am sad that tomorrow will be the last day that I get to work with Sarah and our Purple Shoed Friend. 

Before you judge me an uncaring person, let me explain.  I am not sad, just like I am often not sad at funerals.  It is a chance to celebrate!  To be happy that you had the opportunity to get to know someone.

So I am not sad that they are leaving.  I am celebrating the fact that I got to know two really special women.  And I am celebrating the fact that I got to watch them grow as runners.  I got to see them move from runners who were a little hesitant about running their very first Around the Bay race.  To coming back after having run the race confident in their abilities as runners. 

My Purple Shoed Friend ran with Sarah for a bit and then realised she could run faster than she thought.  And told Sarah that she was going to run a little faster and did it. 

They were gracious enough to listen to me telling them the same running story over and over.  And they pretended on more than one occasion that they were taking my advice.

I wish I could say I had a hand in them becoming such confident runners.  Sadly I can’t.  So all I can say is, I’ll see you at the next Subaru Running series race.  Please go easy on me.

I was talking to a friend of mine who was down in Boston watching her husband run the marathon last week and it got me thinking about the qualifying times needed to run that race. So I ventured to the website to see what I would have to do if I ever wanted to do the famous Boston Marathon. 

The good news:  I am at the lower end of my age bracket (35-39) 

The bad news:  The qualifying time for that age bracket is 3:15.  3:15 for a 42.2km run!  That’s a 4 min 37sec km!  I could probably do one km at that pace but 42? C’mon!  If I were to think about my best ½ marathon time (1:51:53) and make the assumption that I would be able to continue the pace for another 21.1km I would come in at 3:43:46.  That’s a smoking 5:18km and a fair ways from 4:37!  Hmmm something tells me that my current training regime of running 3-4 times a week, drinking more than the occasional pint and eating whatever I can is not going to help cut the required 41 seconds per km off my pace. 

So all I need to do is increase my training, cut out beer and cut down on eating………easy right?  Not when the NHL playoffs are on and my family is still 5 hours away giving me more freedom to head to the pub to watch a game or two! 

So at this point what do I have to do to qualify for the famous Boston Marathon?

Answer: strap rockets to my feet.