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?

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.