Moving house, still training

I moved house last week. 

There's always that question of what to discard and what to keep. 

Not being able to find things I might need in the first 2 weeks: inevitable. 

As running is what matters most, I labelled the boxes properly. To be sure of not having a mad scramble to find things, I took the race day approach to moving: I prepared a small box containing 3 sets of run clothes, drinks, whey protein, garmin, and Stick. Having it and my shoes placed by the bed meant I was training ready no matter the clutter. 

The sunday before was 34k, managed it ok. Sunday after was fortunately 26k, so wouldn't be too hard to do with moving fatigue. 

Boxes. There are never enough. The wednesday was going to be weights/ core. Finishing packing happened instead. It's lifting. 

Thursday was supposed to be tempo run day, but it was moving day. 

I did the tempo on friday instead. Rather stiff in the hips, I cut it 2k short. After that, I helped get our old place ready for tenant move-in. Cross training of a kind, just way less fun. Saturday would've been weights and core, but more housework beckoned. 

Sunday, stiff as a board, I cranked out that 26k. Monday's cross training was yet more screwdrivers and paint brushes.

Tuesday, back at work. I stand at my desk, and getting back to that from being an amateur contortionist was most welcome. The following day I went to the chiropractor. All kinds of crunching and popping had me actually say "that's good s&!t" out loud at one point. 

Today's (thursday) tempo was excellent. 13k at 4:30 pace. The only few times it felt tough? When I looked at my watch to see I was going too fast. Moving certainly made me lighter.

50k: 5 days to go and marathon 1 year on: how's the toenail?

A badge of honour so say some, my right foot's big toenail ran into trouble at last year's Calgary Marathon. Here it is a couple of weeks later, being inspected by a cat at a bookstore in Seoul, Korea. 

My toe became swollen right after the race, bled underneath the nail and became detached. Advised to leave well alone, I did. The new one has slowly grown behind, and partially over it. 

On the eve of my first 50k exactly a year later, the old nail is just about gone, no longer a double nail. What's waiting for me next? Just like the race itself, it's a mystery. In a race, we all experience many sensations, including discovering something unknown of oneself. 

"No race begins at the startline," as Haile Gebrselassie once said. Toenail trouble or not, it will confirm another of the great man's adages, "running gives you everything". 

Calgary Marathon - race planning

You never forget your first race. My first was the half marathon in Calgary 2009. It was a great day. Here are a few tips to make yours great too. 

A few things I've learned over the years have helped me be more fully race ready at the startline. 

A couple of weeks out, maintain a good amount of stretching and yoga if it's part of your routine. Plenty of sleep will also aid in boosting recovery from workouts. As training load reduces on the lead-in to race day, these 2 things will be of great help in being fresh and flexible for the race. 

Dietary: "carb loading" is quite a big subject on its own. I will just say here to avoid overdoing it. A few extra carbs 2-4 days prior should be fine. 

Study the course so you know exactly what's coming, and which direction the next corner takes. This way, the runner won't run a metre further than needed. I find that the brain doesn't function much on a conscious level during a race, so it's best to pre-load it with course info and race plan. 

Day before: have everything you'll need ready for race day. Pack your bag, put your race clothes in a pile to put on as soon as you're out of bed. Check the hourly weather forecast. Try to dress for the race rather than the startline: in other words, not too warm. While it might be 5 degrees at sunrise, by 10 am it could be 15 degrees and rising. 

Race day, allow plenty of time to get to the start. Early is always better, leave 15 minutes earlier than planned. I wear my race shoes on my way there to allow my feet to get truly settled into them and ensure no hurried re-tying just before the starting horn. 

Biological matters. Every runner has at some point sung the section from Bohemian Rhapsody "let me go!", including myself during my first marathon. To avoid this, I go: as soon as I wake up, after breakfast, just before I leave home, as soon as I arrive at the venue, and once more before the lines start getting long. This is a lot of visits, however it means starting with greater confidence that there's one less thing to worry about. Furthermore, for marathons, most runners will be finishing mid-morning. 

I also try to steer clear of heavy foods the day before. 

Race - have an aim and pace in mind, as it's easy to go too fast, especially at the start. Embrace the day and encouragement from the crowd. It might however be better to ignore anyone who says "nearly there!" unless there's less than 1km left. 

Take onboard fluids with electrolytes regularly, and start early, especially with the longer distances. 

When the going gets tough towards the end, studying the course can come in useful. Memorial Drive may provide difficult moments for many runners. During my first marathon, I broke down that last 10k into sections, telling myself to get to the next bridge - some 1km apart, others a lot closer. 

After finishing, try to avoid sitting down as long as you can. All your leg muscles want to do is contract, remaining on your feet will lessen the effect. This has worked extremely well for me over the years - walking is so much harder if you sir for a while soon after the finish line. 

A decent lunch can be guilt free - if you've run the marathon or ultra, any and all food is good for you (IMO). 

There's nothing like race day, let's go get it. 

Extending the limits

The runs are getting longer and faster, it's getting warmer and windier, and my trousers are getting looser: it must be April. 

While the first week of May is peek training before tapering, for annual participants in the Calgary Marathon it is April that sees the hardest work. 

Training is all about getting in better shape, for race day or otherwise. Going about it the smart way involves runs that challenge you, and get you to go a little further still. Each time you do this, the body adapts that little bit extra. Come race day, your limit is beyond where it used to be. 

Gearing up for a 50k, my extreme endurance ability needs work. Last year I trained using Hanson's method. 6 runs per week left little space for core work, or any other work. It also puts the longest long run at 26k. The point is more about accumulated fatigue. 

This year it's the First/ run less run faster program. The 3 easy runs (out of the total of 6) are replaced with 2 cross training workouts (rowing machine and exercise bike in my case) and a core workout. Each of the 3 runs in the program is a challenge - a truly long run, a tempo, and punishing speed work. The thinking is to work harder on the runs and include one that's closer to race conditions, all while promoting fuller recovery between them (though still working hard on non-run days). 

In each of the 4 marathons I've done, my right hamstring (or both) has seized up. I PB'd last year by 5 minutes due to managing that problem smartly, even though it did still happen. Still, this time around on my way to my first 50k ultra, sundays feature more 30k+ runs than ever before (5 to be exact, along with 2x 29k, 2x 26k, a 27 and 2x tempo half marathons). 

The length of these sunday outings allow me to link together old routes from before I moved house with current ones. From brush, to streetscape, to alpine. I like the sound of "I ran Fish Creek Park in its entirety." 

My legs tend to feel toasted by about 27/ 28k. Changing to a more shuffling style to protect the hamstrings, I've found I can keep going at target race pace. It's at about my fat-burning pace I have found: legs feel awful, but I can keep going. It has often produced a mental image of a steam train fireman shovelling coal as fast as he can. Or buckets of fat. 

Speed runs have me running, or for the first month of the plan flailing and gasping, at higher speeds than ever before. Despite using a gps watch, it's hard to get the right speed. Frequently, I start off too fast. For example, a recent 6x 800m: I'd do the first 500m 20 seconds per km too fast, then cling on. Misjudgments like that make the final intervals hard to complete, but if it's difficult, it's doing you good. 

My tempo runs are less strenuous, though the shorter ones are rather high speed and burn a little at the end.

Amongst all of that, and moving house at the end of this month, I've still found time to make it to a few Calgary Marathon events. Honorary Chair Chandra Crawford, an Olympic gold medallist in cross country skiing is tackling the Half, and has a strong message about perseverance with fun. That is what it is all about - every runner is a case study in the triumph of the human spirit. 

Saint Patrick's 5k - off to the races

Pacing myself for the first race of the season and especially a short one: not my best skill. A few seconds per km quicker when closer to the limit of your breathing make a much larger difference. Too fast, too soon and you'll finish sounding like a fire-breathing dragon without the actual flames. 

So, back to racing for the first time since November. That was also a 5k. In quite a damaged state, I had struggled across the line in 20:58. 4 months earlier I had set a PB of 19:18 which I remain pleased with. 

I've been increasing kilometrage and speed only since January. Add to that a Saint Patrick's Road Race course with a couple of tricky bits of gradient and plenty of corners, and I could rule out the low 19s, but I was hoping to guide/ inspire/ grind/ drag myself to a sub 20.

A touch chilly, the roads were clear and good for racing. This event, it almost goes without saying, always delivers a great vibe. 

Benard Onsare, a many time winner of the Calgary Marathon, placed 3rd in the 10k. He probably let 2 others finish in front of him. 

One stroller took on the 10k. 

It was soon time to line up and contemplate who had discarded a rather nice jacket. 

During my bouncy warm up, I could see a lot of guys who looked way faster than me standing still. 

Legendary photographer Neil Zeller took a few probably unpublishable extreme close-ups of me. 

I had gone under the tape to line up in front of runners with headphones, etc. A runner with music is especially dangerous at the start of a race.

Started the gopro and let whatever was about to happen, happen. 

There I am, jumping. Not actually 7 feet tall. 

Off we went at what seemed like 400m pace. 

One really quick 10k competitor came hobbling back having had turned his ankle a bit in a pothole. He decided to do the 5k despite not being in the best shape. You can spot him if you examine the feet above. 

A-Chang got a couple of great quad shots. Trailing leg extension on toe-off quite good, even if foot a little sideways. 

Me, cropped. 

The course is an out and back. First uphill/ last downhill was less steep than I remember from 2 years ago. The first downhill/ last uphill is however steeper, it's second visit coming at a key stage in the race.

2k sign and I was about 40 seconds ahead of 20 minute pace. My watch km splits were coming before the signs, earlier and earlier, though it's always going to be about completing the course rather than when a gps tells you to stop. Into a headwind before the turnaround, I slowed a bit as I felt I was burning too many matches. 

The leading lady's speed, just in front of me, was dropping more than mine. I overtook, knowing it's all too easy to settle into a pace-setter's slowing speed. The leader and race winner, who surely rode a bicycle some of the way, came flashing past. The injured guy came past wearing quite the grimace (camera zoom too wide to pick it up). 

Overtook one more at start of that incline. 

About halfway up, I overtook a kid who looked about 13, maybe younger. He'll be back next year with bigger lung capacity and leave me trailing.  

Past some gopro fans and the 4k sign after that last incline. I couldn't wave back, still recovering and trying to get my breathing rhythm back from that uphill. What is usually 3 steps per inhale and 3 per exhale seemed to swap places. 

"Be at 16 minutes at 4k, then 3:59 pace till the finish". So began the endgame. The last downhill helped conserve a little energy for the final few hundred metres. 

I could see the clock from quite a way off, and knew I had the sub-20 by the time I could read it. Easing up as I crossed the line, final time was 19:50. 

I had to push through a couple of barriers to get under 20 minutes again, however it shows that my speed and speed-endurance are gradually making a comeback.

Exhaustion arrived a few seconds later, level: hands on knees. 

I lost count of my place during the race, my 12th was actually 15th. No age group podium this time. 

Watch thought I'd done 5.1k. 

Irish stew makes for the best post-race food ever.

A-Chang was entertained by the various costumes, and welcomed not having to wait too long for me. 

She got this shot of me at the line, which through the magic of Instagram manages to convey much of what running means. 

The extra benefit

Just a thought. When runners think about the benefits of running, there are the obvious ones of the various ways in which health and fitness improves. We could also get into the psychological side of it. I could talk about that for days, literally without stopping, if only breaks to the little boys room weren't required. 

This week I was reminded of one more. On monday my stomach felt slightly uncomfortable. Back from the gym, I felt rather faint. It was time to go home and throw a sofa at the problem. 

I stayed home and cross trained on the sofa all next day. By early afternoon, my hands no longer needed to stay under blankets to be warmer than a frozen haddock. 

Quite simply, there you have it. A higher level of energy that helps with the everyday, including being channeled into a powerful immune response more potent than a sedentary person could ever hope to muster (as witnessed by my sofa). 

My little Korean secret

Meet Jung Da Yeon, age 48.

Mother of 2, she transformed herself from sedentary housewife to, well, think up your own adjective. 

Along the way, she became a fitness and diet guru, selling a great many books and DVDs in her native Korea and beyond. 

Some of her workouts just happen to also be a good mixture of cross-training, free weights and core work. 

She was introduced to me by my wife A-Chang. She does her workouts a few times a week. On mondays I join in for a bit of novel endurance strength training. 

Nothing beats running, however cross training and resistance work are a vital part of any exercise program. There are options out there that can both challenge and amuse. 

So I proudly announce that on monday nights I allow myself a sprinkle of fabulous with Jung Da Yeon and her entourage of dancing girls. & A Chang, best of all.