Monthly Archives: January 2010

Benefits of Running

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2010-snowshoe-race4After a good week of training (14 + hours), I should thank my wife, Rochelle, for letting me go out and play so much. And in case you think I’m a deadbeat dad or husband, most of these runs happen late at night once my son has gone to bed. During the week, I usually rush home after work, cook supper for the three of us and then play with Kieran until his bedtime. So, I try not to let my training interfere with my family responsibilities.

I think running makes me a better husband and father. While my wife relishes opportunities to meet up with friends and to attend large social gatherings, I find large groups and social activities particularly draining. Running offers me the silence and solitude I need to recharge my soul. As well, I’ve found that most problems or concerns can be figured out by the end of a good run.

Of course, there are the obvious health benefits that come from being physically active. In addition to feeling healthy, I’m glad that I’m setting a good example for my son. With rising obesity rates among young people, I hope Kieran learns the importance (and fun) of regular exercise. Rochelle also takes him to the gym with her during the week, so he sees both parents making physical activity a priority.

While the weather has been bitterly cold this week, the trail conditions have been pretty decent for running. Of course, water bottles freeze within minutes, but a little dehydration isn’t a big deal. Although most weeknights were spent on the roads, I did get in a night run on the trails, which was cool. I’m trying to get in at least one night run on the trails every week or so, just so that I will feel comfortable running at night with a headlamp in my 100 milers this year.

In addition to hill work during some lunch runs, I also started incorporating some hill sprints. Keith sent me the workout info, so I’m giving it a try. Essentially, the short workouts build muscle strength and also increase the power and efficiency of your stride. In my first session Wednesday, I did two reps of eight-second sprints up a hill. That didn’t feel too bad. Today I ran four reps, and really felt the burn. Kind of nice, actually. We’ll see how much stronger I get over the next few months as I gradually increase the reps. Continue reading →

First Snowshoe Race

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I ran my first snowshoe race on Saturday. Hosted by Spafford Health and Adventure (thanks for all your hard work, Derrick and family!), the 8 KM (or maybe 7.3 KM) race was held at Frontenac Park. Including this race, I’ve only run in snowshoes on four occasions, three of which have been at Frontenac. It’s a beautiful place to visit, so I appreciated the opportunity to participate in the race. Rochelle came along as well, so while I raced, she went on a hike along the Doe Lake trail. She is now a fan of Frontenac as well.

I had fun racing, but I didn’t feel too smooth on the snowshoes and managed to bang up the inside of my left leg quite a bit. After the first few minutes of hanging behind the lead pack, I settled into a more comfortable pace and cruised along for the duration of the race. While there’s no way I would have been able to challenge the top finishers, I feel like I wimped out a bit by not pushing myself a bit more. And since I went out for a run later that afternoon, I obviously didn’t exert myself too much out there. I’m not sure what I need to do to develop some more mental toughness. I’m a bit of a wuss when it comes to pushing myself in races and tough workouts.

It was very cool to meet Derrick and Keith at the race. Keith gave me some great tips for speed and hill work, so I’ll try to incorporate them into my schedule.

I’m running a 50-mile race in just over 11 weeks (and then a 100-miler in just over 17), so I need to get in some serious training. This weekend will be the start of the long runs, as I’ve kept all my runs for the past few months to four hours or less. It’s time to start ramping up.

Weekly Total: 7:26 (0:45 trails; 6:01 road; 0:40 snowshoes)

Recovery Time

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After last week’s long run, my feet needed some recovery time. I think I overworked my arches by running for four hours in racing flats (NB MT100s) without any screws or YakTraks along snowy and icy trails. The last hour of that run began along a section of the ravines that had experienced significant water drainage and had then frozen. I had to grab on to tree branches just to keep upright. Then, for the final 30 minutes, I ran along some slanted single track that was quite slippery, so my feet were working overtime just to keep my body upright and balanced.

I was a bit worried that I had injured myself, so I decided to take Monday off and stick to flat roads for a few runs this week. Unfortunately, due to a big thaw later in the week that led to muddy and icy trail conditions, I spent the whole of the week running on the roads. I also took Friday off, so I only ran on five days.

I’ve had no problems with my feet or arches since last weekend, so I think I’ve recovered okay.

On Thursday night, I included some speed work into my run. This is a significant area of weakness for me, so I really need to be intentional this year about planning speed sessions. This week, I did a 25-minute warmup followed by one kilometre tempo repeats. I ran six repeats, with 400-metre recovery jogs in between. I ran them at around a 3:50/km pace. I ran the fifth one down a long hill, which didn’t feel too great on my knees. I had to pull back half-way through, as I realized things were getting out of control. Continue reading →

Back to the Grind

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After two weeks of holidays, I returned to my regular routine. This meant readjusting to evening runs during the weekdays, and fitting in a long run on Saturday. I thought it might be hard to get motivated again, but I had no problems whatsoever.

This week I threw in two lunch-time runs of about 40 mins. Not sure what benefit they were, but it seems fairly easy to fit in two or three lunch runs a week. I’ll maybe save these for weeks where I know I’ll be out late in the evenings.

I did a lot of running in racing flats this week. I probably increased my mileage too quickly with these, so I’ll cut back a bit this coming week.

I had a great hill session on Wednesday night, so will incorporate this into my schedule again. It was a late-night run, but I didn’t need a headlamp as the city lights reflected off of the snowy trails. This was my favourite run of the week.

I also did some snowshoeing on Thursday, but ran a boring and repetitive route.

On my Saturday long run, I ran on snowy and icy trails without any extra traction (ie screw shoes), so my arches and ankles were working extra hard on hilly and uneven surfaces. In the last five minutes of my run, I twisted my foot and felt some sharp pain. The pain went away fairly quickly, but I was a bit worried about it for the rest of the day.

I took it easy on today’s run, and only felt one twinge on the foot when I landed awkwardly on a curb. I’m fairly hopeful that I’m not injured, but I might be a bit bruised up. Will take Monday off and then check things out on Tuesday’s run.

Weekly Total: 14:27 (6:09 trails; 6:50 road; 1:28 snowshoeing)

Running Goals for 2010

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After a couple months of solid running, I’m ready for a fun year of training and racing. And while I don’t expect (or even want) to become a competitive runner, I do plan to make a concentrated effort to run well this year and even push myself a bit in a couple of races. In the past, I’ve always trained to just finish races, but this year I hope to take a few risks and see what I’m capable of. As such, here are a few things I need to explore:

1. Spend more time on my feet. If I want to be a better runner, I need to spend more time running. Seems logical to me. So, I need to try for six-day weeks whenever possible, and keep the runs as long as is reasonable (ie family, sleep, over training). I will also explore the option of incorporating some 30-40 min runs during my lunch hours at work.

2. Pick up the pace. I’ve never had a problem with long runs, but for some reason I avoid fast-paced running or speed work like the plague. I know this is all mental, and involves training my mind as well as my legs, so I just need to keep at it. So, I will schedule a specific speed-work session once a week, and will also choose one or two other runs a week to run a bit faster than my usual turtle pacing.

3. Run more hills. At least one run a week needs to include some significant hill work. I don’t live in the mountains, so this means a lot of hill repeats. Boring, but necessary. Continue reading →