EZ Run / Spiritual Direction / Courtesy Birthday

Today is a busy day for me. I'm off on an easy run right now, then I have to quickly shower and eat to get my bum into a car and travel an hour to Niagara Falls for Spiritual Direction. Then when we come back I cut the lawn that has been growing crazy after being fertilized. Then we go to a birthday party of a person I don't really know because she's my wife's sort-of friend.

Anyway ... I prefer the stress of so many other things instead of having this many scheduled (Can't be late) things to do.

2:50 pm: Back from Mt. Carmel (today at the seminary pictured above). Hey Captain, thanks for spending a little bit of this glorious day alleviating my worries. But you should be gardening or something, no? :) Here's a picture of my garden from my home office window. [I get to spend a few days more here as my office Internet is being switched to another provider this week.] That's Boston Ivy around the window ... it's growing like crazy and we have two wasp nests in the branches. Not a lot of fun when we BBQ and some guest decides they are not going to live in harmony with nature and start swatting them. I'm going to cut the lawn now and think about how much meat I eat ... :) and think about how much more fun it would be to hang out in the garden today.

BTW, you need to start a blog and talk about your marathons, long distance running, your coach and training. And especially your motivation. Then others (not only I) can benefit from your years of experience. Blogs are a little time consuming ... running blogs without enough info quickly degrade though [... usually change to discussions about the garden and going to Mt. Carmel ...]

Ran an energy-drained 4.5 k today - but that's according to plan ... today and tomorrow I carb back up for my distance on Monday morning.

5:07 p.m. lawn mowed, showered again, waiting for wife to write birthday card then a 1 hour drive into Erin somewhere on some Sideroad #X and Trafalgar Rd. It will probably be raining and the home will be smelly - and I will have to be pleasant for 4 hours then I will be released to drive everyone home again. I guess there could be worse things - like stress fractures! Did I mention I do not know this person?

11:19 p.m. Home free! Not it! No touch backs! Back in my comfy bed beside my angel :) Good night everyone ... I made it Wendy [ and I like your new profile picture! ]

4.8k - Holy Sheet Batman I Have a Secret Weapon

4.8k in 34:41

1k Split	6:32
2k Split	6:58
3k Split	7:28
4k Split	7:36
5k Split (projected from 4.8k)	7:56

I felt like I had a lot of energy through at least 2.5k. At about 3.5k and then intermittently until the end of the run my alarm was showing me above my target heart range. I'll need to recalibrate the watch as it's initial settings are for couch potato, not rolling potato.

My secret weapon is about 425 calories of pasta and sauce, and about a 180 calorie bowl of popcorn (1/4 cup un-popped kernals). Here's the sauce recipe: Prego original, sliced peppers, sliced onion, chili flakes, basil, oregano, sugar. Instructions: Cook

Yes, Wendy, man does not live by potatoes alone! Thanks for the lead on not having a cream sauce Captain. I would have loved to chow down on a Fettuccine Alfredo.

Kick Ass Race-Pace Run!

Hydrated and ate my pasta and a 1/2 a bagel last night.

0.5 k Split - 2:45

1.0 k Split - 3:14 (uphill) / 5:59 !!!

1.5 k Split - 3:30 (uphill) .... this combined time for 1.5 k matched my earlier race-pace time

2.0 k Split - 3:32 / 7:02

2.5 k Split - 3:24 (downhill)

My wife kept me going by urging me on to hit my goals! The first 800 metres or so were the fastest running I could do, and then I slowed down. Hydration and eating seem good for this race. I did feel a little bloated from the pasta last night. But still felt better today than lots of other days. I'm going to keep tuning this for next Wednesday.

Interesting how nutrition helped with my times just separated by two days.

	2 days ago	today
1k Split	7:20	5:59
2k Split	7:32	7:02

Little Complex Carbs the night before 4k

I had one baked potato yesterday

1k- 7:20

2k- 7:32

3k- 7:55

4k- 8:36

pretty crappy ... absolutely no energy

One good thing is that I drank 1 litre of water last night before bed and felt decently hydrated today.

Sunday - better late than never

Mass today was a lesson in persistence. The persistence of prayer and the compassion of God. Plus at 4 p.m. the Vicars blessed every mode of transportation possible with St. Christopher's blessing. Again a running theme - persistence in training will pay off and feet are blessed!

My wife and I went to Shakespeare in the Park - Romeo and Juliet. The girl that played Juliet was an excellent actress and the guy that played the nurse was fantastic (with excellent comedic relief). We sat on our as*es for an hour and 45 minutes but I did get a chance to stretch my knees in new and unusual ways to avoid kicking the lady in front of us eating her Bree and sipping her Rosé. There were loads of metro-sexuals with purses and girlfriends that never stopped talking about "developing their interior decorating skills." There were several older couples like us at the performance that would look to each other and us to illicit some support at being in this sea of Axe. Where's the old spice guy when you need him?

I do have to nod my head at the humor in Axe commercials as well, and below is one that's pretty funny.

EZ day and the same distance

Just completed my EZ day run. What I'm finding is that this day, following the longest run of the week has more discomfort in it than any other day in the week. I think it is because my body has been drained of stored energy. I've also found that my heart-rate increases as I get hotter, not necessarily when I exert myself more. That would mean that making some choices on getting cooler clothing would help me exert myself less. Plus resting a day or two before a race is completely necessary.

... also the baking powder in the shoes look like it's not effective enough to be noticeable. Adam mentioned I could remove the inserts and dry them with a hair dryer - plus some cedar inserts for shoes. I will try drying the insert of one shoe and leaving the other one to dry in the shoe.

4k run in the Rain (starting to get worried)

1k Split:	6:46
2k Split:	7:04
3k Split:	7:47
4k Split:	8:06

My wife on a bike and me on my feet - we did a decent 4k run in less than 30 mins in the pouring and dribbling rain. No runners anywhere. I saw most of the ghosts that pass me when I was driving to work. They obviously waited for the rain to stop before going out.

I wonder if I should worry about this too? Actually I wonder if I shouldn't be worried about more things? I'm still enthusiastic and I really want to run EVERY day ... [screw the friggin Hal Higdon training schedule with all those rest days!]

I'm reading about 33-year-old runners with gout, 29-year-old runners recovering from knee surgery, 45-year-olds recovering from foot surgery. I read that one guy does not run outside if there is a 40% chance of precipitation. Why the frig is this passing me by? I want to be a friggin runner. I run like a castrated bull with two wooden legs and a paralyzed ass! I have had people stop in their cars in my neighborhood and ask if I need a lift somewhere [... like a hospital].

Shouldn't I be worried about something?

[P.S. Skipped the tight pants today (see vulcan nut pinch). Baking soda makes no difference after one day of use in the left shoe. Will use it today as well (see fart suit).]

Race-Pace Run

What's the term I'm looking for?

I started to run my pace much faster than my target knowing that I'll gradually slowdown at the end, but I began to slow down a lot as I had no energy left. I ate some pasta last night, but it wasn't enough. I want to fill up with the complex carbohydrates, but my family has for many years been against carbs of any sort and so the dietary change is as difficult as pulling teeth.

Ran at a 6:42 pace but wanted to run below 6:00. I started out good: first k was 5:45, the next 500 m was a cool 2:12, and then I ran through about 2 k of poured concrete! I did feel like I was pushing myself, but to hit a wall after 1.5 k? I am on a calorie reduced diet, but I don't believe it's that reduced.

Getting the Stink Out

I've been looking at a number of sites with ideas on keeping the stinkiness out of my closet. [I enjoy the smell of myself. In fact I had a special suit designed just so that I could enjoy the smell longer ...]

Before this degrades totally, I've been looking at getting my shoes to smell less like me and more like the stinky plastic on day one after purchase. There are a good number of suggestions on the web, and I will try them all and then hold a smell off after each. I'll leave one shoe as a control case and will perform all the operations on the other shoe. I've found the following solutions that seem plausible:

1. Wearing non-cotton running socks (about.com)
2. Foot powder like Gold Bond
3. Putting Dr. Scholl's or Ceder insoles in (wikihow.com)
4. Store shoes in a cool, dry place
5. Alternate running shoes (howtostartrunning.com)
6. Wash your inserts or whole shoe
7. Putting a dryer sheet or baking soda in them after running (about.com)
8. Put them in a freezer (answers.com)

Today was a great cross-training day and I did my regularly scheduled weight routine! Tomorrow is a race-pace 2.4k run! I can't wait.

Hi-yo, Silver, away! The Lone Runner

Ran a pretty slow first half - then I started hacking and coughing. I'm certain it's from too little hydration. Really, really need to work on getting lots of water into me the night before. I eat a lot of BBQ on the weekends ... lunch, dinner, breakfast (need to flip the cereal fast because it runs through the grill!) ... and I was thinking of a quote by Albert Einstein "Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." BBQ is also accompanied by beer - which dehydrates. I foresee a comment from "The Captain" on the Einstein Quote.

Ran 3.2k in 25 minutes without my cute pace runner. Probably could have run it in 1/2 a minute shorter if she was there running faster at the start. I'm optimistic since I am still making progress over these longer runs.

I update my progress graph every time I run. I do see some progress even though it is a little erratic. But of course I want to run fast and every time I run slower I have to look back on the progress that I made and be happy with that. But it's all a matter of desire!

Martha and Mary

Good homily today. Martha working away in the kitchen complaining to Jesus, while Mary is sitting at Jesus' feet. The idea is showing us the different ways to have a relationship with God. What can apply to running in this? I get from this that I don't need to freek-out about schedules, times, maps but need to lay back and enjoy running - that enjoyment will get me the right answer while being anal about times, techniques and equipment will not.

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I think I lost my running partner for tomorrow. She's a little pressed for time in the morning and her knees hurt. I suggested she ride along on a bike since it's only a 30 minute outing, but she won't be able to. We'll see how I do on my own.

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Checked out a rather expensive 2/4-bottle fuelbelt this weekend. I'm getting a little parched at the end of the longer runs and I'd like to start running with a belt and all that sloshing water. ... still looking.

Find a compatible runner

I found this goofy site that you enter in your name and then the name of another person to see if you are compatible. My full name is "Albert Andrew Opala" if you are wondering if I am compatible with you! :) I was actually looking for finding running partners in my area and this is one of the sites that popped up.

My wife is 60% compatible with me if I use my last name in her name but only 50% compatible if I use her maiden name in her full name. This is good news that she's more compatible when she is married to me!

Don't know how the algorithm works but I'm still trying to figure out how to get it to make me run faster!

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On another note my wife just handed me the book The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs. It looks like a funny read. This is the author talking at TED.

Port Credit Again

Ran a very leisurely 3.31 k in 30 mins along the boardwalk and streets in Port Credit. A very very light run as today is an "EZ" scheduled run.

I'm noticing a lot of improved breathing technique, stamina and enjoyment from running. Then I also have this terrifying ability to sprint after about 2 km of running at a very fast pace. It seems I am all warmed up and my body just wants to take off! I did a 100 m in the middle of the jog in about 11 seconds!

Where is this energy coming from? And why do I feel so good running?

On the right you have a few little pictures of Port Credit that we run through. The top is the light house in the harbor that only turns on to blind drivers going over the bridge, and the Adamson Estate below that is now a Royal Conservatory of Music venue and a place for wedding pictures.

4k and the Vulcan Nut Pinch

I ran 4k with my wife today. Did it in 30:01 mins. The pace was exactly 7:30/k. Felt pretty rancid afterwards: stomach ache, p.i.t.a., diarrhea. Drank my chocolate milk and then a couple of glasses of cold water and then showered.

Unfortunately, I'm on my last belt hole and I thought I could drop down a size in pants for work today. So I pulled out a nice pair of slacks. A little tight so I had to dress to the left, to find a spot for everything. Got all spiffied up, picked up my briefcase and went to the car. As I was getting in though ... I received a terrible shock from the packed goods. My pants had given me a "Vulcan Nut Pinch". It was not really a pinch, it was more a grip, grab, clamp, then WORLD_SHAKING ELEPHANT STOMP. [I immediately mind melded with the steering wheel.]

Pulling deep within my soul I pressed my back against the seat and my feet as firmly as I could on the floor and made the adjustment while levitating above the seat. I thought I was tired after this run, but I had enough energy to rescue future generations!

X-Training Day and Congratulations Adam

Did my weight training early in the morning and even managed to drive my nephew to Canadian Tire to buy a tube and tread for his bike so he could make it to work on time - all before breakfast at 8:15 am. Ok, as this may be the most boring post in the world, let me spice it up a bit - cayenne!

[Work with me people!]

Correct answers for the contest were (in any order):

"25:25 and man is still alive" - Zager & Evans

"head games" - Foreigner

"R E S P E C T" - Aretha Franklin

Congratulations Adam! Adamrisu has won my half ass contest by making a correct half-ass guess of Aretha Franklin and having no clue on the others. I have no prizes in mind for this contest, but I am willing to spend a dime on something that's legal to send through the mail system. So Adam, it's your call. What do you want? I have a really nice unopened Dave and Buster's Poker set, a nice souvenir golf ball set from Le Grand Vallon ... anyway I can see that you are all now quite envious that you did not enter the contest. I shall not continue.

Let me know Adam ... I have lot's of souveniree stuff from Canada too. Maple syrup, beaver tails, moose juice, igloo balls, ...

[envy! envy!]

Kinetic Energy and Speed

Here is some of my math reasoning about improving my speed.

The Kinetic Energy of an object moving at non-relativistic speeds is calculated as Ke = ½mv² which implies that speed is v = (2Ke/m)^0.5. To affect the speed I can either increase my body's energy output or lower my useless body weight. So if I lower my weight by one kilogram, but keep my energy output the same how much faster can I run?

So we see v_final = v_initial x (m / (m - 1))^0.5. So one kilogram weight reduction shows me I can increase my velocity by (m / (m - 1))^0.5 kph or in seconds 60/((m / (m - 1))^0.5). Finally, plotting in my current weight of 120 kg. I get that a 1 kg weight loss could make my pace increase by ¼ of a second, so 4 kg will drop my pace by a second. Since I feel I am about 40 kg overweight, that means I could drop my pace at this energy output to 10 seconds a km or 50 seconds on a 5k race! That's pretty significant. This means that I should try to lose weight consistently in healthy amounts over my training.

But because I showed today that I can increase my running pace with proper milestones and have a big result on the final time, I would consider weight-loss as a positive bonus in running, but more of a tuning "trick" to improve my time.

Yeehaa Jester's Dead

Did a very good race-pace today over a very short distance. My wife kicked ass! (mine). I ran a measly 1.68k in 10:35 giving me a 1k pace of 6:17! My wife was waiting at the finish line looking at the flora and fauna, doing her nails, yawning. Thanks for the motivation babe.

I must say - that was fun ... didn't like how the coughing was interfering with the breathing though. I think the strategy has to be: stop, cough up the horker, and start running again. Multitasking a la Adamrisu is not going to cut it when it concerns breathing.

****

CEP has offered to give Adamrisu's readers either a pair of compression socks or sleeves if you follow the rules to win on his blog.

Good luck!

CT day

Cross training day today. Did my free weights this morning using large muscle groups to work on my abdomen/back, thighs/legs/groin and chest/arms.

Tomorrow is a short race-pace 1.6 k. I want to accurately time the streets I pass so that I can get down to a 6 min pace. Mapmyrun.com seems to make slight errors in distance when you have lots of non-perpendicular streets and use the "follow roads" option. Regardless the map it produced is at the right.

Need to reach Westfield in 3 mins., then just before Jonathan in the count of 6 mins., and finally turn the corner at Duchess at the 9 min. mark.

So I have a bit of a race for myself tomorrow morning. Forecast for Wednesday morning is mainly sunny and 21°C.

The day after the night before

3.32k in 25:29 ... really had to sprint to even make this time ... didn't recover enough from our merriment at my nephew's birthday party ... my mouth has a case of the zaklies. [That's the kind of mouth you get when you eat and drink too much the night before and your mouth tastes zakly like your ass.]

Too bad Netherlands lost ... they were an underdog team I would have liked to have won. Robbin had two great breakaway's and no shots. And Van Persie didn't get a pass all night. Here's me and Van Bommel singing the national anthem together. I had no one to hold on one side so I was holding a beer (Grolsch).

Good Samaritan and Hup Holland Hup

The Sunday's Liturgy surrounded the question of "who is my neighbor?" and the Good Samaritan. Basically we are good neighbors when we approach the weak and show them mercy without wanting anything in return.

Spain has a fabulous football nation. They have a wonderful team, young stars, a great league, strong fan support, and an envious history in the world cup. They were at one time in history overlords of the Netherlands as well. (The English often offered the lowlands a good leveraging push to separate - for which the Spanish were never happy.)

I'm not much of a Dutch fan, but as a Good Christian I want to show mercy to the Spanish team. The only way that can happen is if they are soundly beaten by the Netherlands, robbed and stripped of their clothes and left for dead. Only then can I come and offer them my mercy - as a Good Christian. My faith has often asked me to accept paradoxes.

My cheer for today's game is "Hup Holland!"

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Here's my wife and I wishing David Villa and Fernando Torres well.

Good EZ Day

Walk/Ran the 3.2 k at the slowest pace possible on my watch. Kept the heart alarm turning on and off with this incredible slow jogging. [Don't ask me - that's what all the programs say is good for today.]

Here's an interesting graphic from dailymile.com. It shows how I've managed to make running a habit in the last 4 weeks. I really enjoy it, and I have had so much more energy every day because of it. And the last week each day has been plus 32°C and I've been super happy with it.

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I found this quote attributed to Alan Alda:

"Be brave enough to live creatively. The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. You cannot get there by bus, only by hard work, risking and by not quite knowing what you are doing. What you will discover will be wonderful; yourself."

I like the idea of experimenting and being creative. I have a number of things I want to experiment with - mostly on setting my pace, and setting a running strategy for achieving the best time. But also things like listening to motivational music, and special eating/drinking a few days before running. The biggest thing I want to develop is a desire to move through body warnings and pain to build up my abilities.

Songs in my rainy head

3.32 km in "25:25 and man is still alive"! Ran in a downpour and past only one other runner on the way. Had a big honking glass of chocolate milk after I came home! My wife is going to find me an organic one so that I will not get my naive self sick on this factory milk. She loves me so much.

The next lyric from this old man's memory is "head games". I need to run at my pace and not at the pace of the other runners. How do I do this? I naturally want to run beside my wife, but I started running at her pace and shortened my strides a bit so that we could hit the ground together, and then I got tired and missed my first milestone by about 30 seconds.

We also need to get a pact down that we stop the chatter by the end of the warm-up and start from where the map says we start. No adjusting the running on the fly to make up for walking part of the course. I'm the only one that is in training here. I need a little "R E S P E C T!"

Last idea for now:

If you can be the first to tell me the names of the musical groups or singers that sang the songs with the lyrics I have quoted ... you win something. Only thing is I don't know what, so you need to suggest something (baseball hat, t-shirt, postcard etc. - I'm in Canada so be creative). I'll mail it to you. I don't have any running garb but we can negotiate. Even guess one of them. I doubt there will be any takers.

The time limit is until someone guesses or this post moves off of the first page of posts, which ever comes first. I could probably just send all my readers/followers something! That would be like 3 prizes!?!

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Having problems with pace, I remember I took a picture of a device you put into your Nike shoe and the other piece you plug into your iPod and it tracks your running. I'd like to learn about this more as this could be very useful for me. I am also experimenting with a accelerometer in the iPod that can tell me when I am taking steps. It won't tell me the stride length, but I can find this out with knowing the distance run and then dividing by the number of accelerometer blips.

Sports Drink

I've found my sports drink for after working out: Chocolate Milk.

Here's some (biased?) sources:

[post exercise recovery ->] http://oakbrooksc.com/docs/stager_chocmilk_study.pdf

[Improved endurance capacity ->] http://article.pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/ppv/RPViewDoc?issn=1715-5320&volume=34&issue=1&startPage=78

[Stimulates muscle protein synthesis ->] http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Abstract/2006/04000/Milk_Ingestion_Stimulates_Net_Muscle_Protein.9.aspx

[better than soy ->] http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/85/4/1031

And there are some folks in my household that are not very happy with this choice ... they'd prefer I drink some multivitamin-supercharged green-tea-infused black-current-goji-juice-soy with Himilayan-Lama-nut-extract crap that costs more than our cable bill and tastes like freshly-cut-grass juice.

I hope that person doesn't read my blog, cuz I can kiss those massages goodbye!

I want to thank Rudy for the great link to the milk marketing board. We need someone defending the antibiotic-filled, over-crowded, cattle-torturing milk factories. I have one word for all you haters: "Moooooo!" I'm a convert.

Hair today gone tomorrow

I have a good friend who does multi-day cycle road races around the world. He's been shaving his legs for years before the race. [It's not that he has so much hair that it takes him years to shave but that he has completed shaving his legs before every race for many years.] It helps if he gets into a crash or when he gets massaged after each segment.

Although my wife is a Massage Therapist, my last massage was when she was in school 16 years ago! Plus I seldom crash when I run. So there is no reason to shave. I think cutting off my ears or at least duct-taping them to my head would help more. God knows I suck enough air when I am running to pull me along like a jet. But if I can scam a massage from my wife the first thing I'm gonna do is shave my legs!

Arnie or Donny?

I ran today and felt crappy - weak, tired, coughing, thirsty, hot. Thought I would have a miserable time ... did 2.4 k in 18:30. One of my best times so far! Reminds me of what one of my friends said about having a bad "feeling" about your run.

The watch is super cool - tells you how long you are in the "Zone" for calorie burning and what percentage of the calories are from fat. Plus the display is large enough for this grandpappy to read. I want to start reviewing my weight and tracking calorie intake as well. I see that tactical eating will help my muscles recover and grow, but limit my fat gain.

Listen to me now - understand me 2 wks from tomorrow

I'm gonna pump you up!

Let's see how I recover from a session Joe Weider would be proud of.

Polar RS100

Well one of my teachers has waded through all the features offered on different watches and suggested the RS100. So being the trusting person I am, and the fact that my old heart rate monitor is still flashing that my heart is going to explode; I went and bought one at the Running Room today after dinner. The cashier was overjoyed that I bought it or the Dutch had won, or something, and also gave me two free bags of nuts (a $5.99 value each).

[I've been programming it for the last three hours and I believe the date is correct now. Apparently the chest band will also work with my elliptical without the wrist watch. I have also noticed that the microwave turns on and I can change channels up but not down on the TV when I walk into the room. This is all good news because the remote is usually laying behind the TV set! Another interesting thing is that I got to page 16 of the manual when I realized I was reading the French instructions. I thought it was talking about New Orleans - everywhere there was "bouton rouge".]

The watch gets a test run tomorrow - so I need to figure out how to clear the tests, and start, stop and lap time.

I used the uplink to install a logo and set an alarm! Really really cool. I even downloaded the development kit to build software that can transfer data to the watch - we'll see what it can do!

I also need to visit www.polarrunningcoach.com ... finally!

Fusion of Donovan Bailey and Arnold Schwarzenegger

Today I "sort of" started my weight training. The training program is in my programs tab. I have always liked weight training because it didn't involve running. [Wait a second who's talking here!] "Sort of" started because I spent most of my allotted time cleaning up the weight room and trying to find a friggin broom to sweep the basement floor. Too tiring to run up stairs to get one from the closet so I found some old cardboard and tried to create a breeze and wave the dirt onto another card for about 8 minutes. [Work with me here people, I'm trying to express my bodybuilder alter-ego.] I ran through the routine with imagery and ghost weights ... blah blah blah. [Figure it out folks I wasted my time!]

I have loads of time this evening to workout in my cool basement. I read some stuff on this page, but definitely need to do more reading on this topic. I like the idea of coordinated movements rather than isolating muscles. Improving balance and power are also key things in this routine. The York system is something we all used on the various football teams I played on. [Don't forget I'll be 45 soon, so all the muscle knowledge was from body-building.]

I would really like to find out more about muscle loss and long-distance running. The info on the link above is a little creepy. I would rather become a short distance runner anyway - 100 meters ... even 50 if there is such a thing. [Really folks, look at the marathon difference in times between good and bad runners - 2 or 3 hours. 100 m dash - 4 or 5 seconds.]

BTW those two things on the right are my feet. I thought I would like to thank my Mom and Dad (both deceased) for giving them to me. They work great, they hang out with me all the time and I never leave home without them. [Please get a picture into this blog! Everybody has such nice pictures of things. Hopefully, after my first race I will have some action shots of me running and all dressed up in my race clothes. PS. I should be shedding soon.]

Also read somewhere (and did not save the link) that you can improve for 7 years and then you peak, while shorter distance runners can improve for up to 10 years. Need to do a little research on this since that would mean my best times will come when I am 52 years old.

Next Goal Started! - 8 weeks to go

One goal complete: finished my 21 day running course - now on to harder things - training for my first 5k.

Ran 2.4k in 19 mins. This 2.4k is going to be an anchor track for me - I run it on every Wednesday for 7 of the next 8 weeks. Was 23°C for the run at 7 a.m. Felt like I wanted to run a little faster and break out of the jog, did so sometimes and then jogged in place for my wife to catch up, and then she pulled away from me near the end!

Wish I could make a joke about something today, but I'm just grateful for being able to run with a beautiful women through a pleasant neighborhood (and get healthier while doing it).

[To the three people that read this blog: I've added a few navigation tabs on the top of the blog, one for my progress, one for the program goals I am running on, one for inspirational stuff, and finally one for maxims I am starting to collect about running. If you know of any good maxims let me know - funny would be nice.]

Mission Sunday and day 21 of 21

I thought about running for most of the mass today. [That's a change as I usually think only about sex ... LOL. P.S. that's humor!] I wondered about how Jesus sent out the apostles armed with nothing - not even shoes - and asked them to accept the kindness of strangers they were to preach to. And now we have this religion that has about a quarter of the World's population.

It seems that equipment is not as important as desire ( ... and being blessed with the right group of people).

Speaking of the right group of people, I spoke with one of my running teachers and she told me about pre-race prep, when to pick up your bag of goodies, race t-shirt, chip, bib number etc. Plus she gave me the most common-sense piece of advice possible - go to a local race before the race you are going to run and just see how it's setup! She gave me lots of info about where to stand if you know what time you will run, etc.

I also found out that at least another of my classmates has decided to run regularly now that the MBA studies are over. Good luck to us both!

Will run my 21st day tonight ... couldn't find any cool time to run this morning, plus we have guests for a BBQ today. After 8 pm it should fall below 29°C in Mississauga.

[... 11 hours later]

Did our 30 mins of 5/1 x 5 and ran 3.55 k. Really wanted to run faster today. My wife was a little tired - she really missed that week she was in London. She will be able to catch up soon and be pacing me! Very very hot - still 29°C when we left for the run!

Tomorrow we start the 8 week program to run the 5k.

Run through Port Credit

Had a great run in the early morning sun, with a cool breeze coming off the lake in Port Credit today. We ran part of the 5k track from the Running Room. Saw a lot of runners at 7:30 in the morning. 1.86k 15 mins. of 2/1 x 5.

Then we came home and had home-made blueberry pancakes with maple syrup, scrambled eggs and fresh coffee. It can't get any better than this!

Day 19 of 21 of the bootstrap program

Jogged a decent distance with my wife. 3.71 k in 30 mins using 4/1 x 6. So my incorrect pace becomes 40:43 for 5k. I felt like I had lots of energy and could have ran faster. Took my wife to some new streets in our neighborhood!

Watched Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz in this fantasy spy thriller Knight and Day, but was pretty disappointed because they used violence and killing as the solution for every problem. My wife made a joke that I almost could be Tom Cruise since I knew how to run across the roofs of building, fly helicopters, sky dive, fly planes, race motor cycles, but that I didn't know how to shoot people. Then my sister piped up and said she could shoot people! [I guess you had to be there.]

I think after two years of not going out to the movies together we could have picked a better film, but Karate Kid had already started at 7 pm when we showed up.

So what does this have to do with running? I paid attention to the music matched to the action, and I wonder how much music and especially the beat can increase my activity level. Something else to experiment with.

Canada Day Part II

Not a bad workout - if anything I needed to keep my balance throughout.

Broke a sweat. [But I break a sweat taking a cold shower!] The hopping didn't seem very long, while the squats and step ups seemed matched in intensity. I guess the hopping needs to be increased gradually.

Taking the rest of the day off to spend with my family.

BTW forgot to mention it - but two nights ago I dreamt of a frog that bit my bum, and then when I tried to grab the frog and throw it away it bit my finger and left a lot of little tadpoles attached by their mouths to my finger. Quite a disturbing dream. [Maybe it's revenge for those Sichuan frog legs we ate the first night in Beijing at the red pagoda place with all the Mercedes outside.]

Canada Day - Cross Training

I've been reading this site about exercises that improve your stride length and your running power. There are some arguments made for and against some of the exercise programs. I can see that I will need to experiment with this as well and see what is the most beneficial. Since I am running to get fit, rather than win an Olympic race, I need to take some of these optimization exercises with a grain of salt and look at using my off days for:

• improving my over-all health
• general strengthening and flexibility
• inducing fat burning
• having fun

I will none the less try the three exercises (high bench step up, one leg squat, one leg hops) mentioned in this website today. I think they do fit within the 4 points I have stated above.

"Good morning! Good morning! We talked the whole night through ...."