May 5th, 2011
Every day I head out the door with my sunglasses. Winter, summer, spring, fall. Now there are two reasons for this. The first being vanity. I don’t want a bunch of crows feet around my eyes caused by squinting into the sun. I figure that aging is already working against me, I don’t need to help the process along. The second reason is for protection. Gusts of wind can blow up dirt into your eyes that not only cut your walk short but have the potential for scratching the cornea of your eye. So everyday my sunglasses come with me.
 Last week I returned home from a walk to discover that the rubber nose piece of my Nike glasses was deteriorating. I suspect caused by a combination of age and the chemicals in the sunscreen that I use. Now I do admit to loving my Nike glasses. I purchased two pairs years ago. Although expensive, they were super comfortable to wear! The best part about them was the ridged rubber nose pads. Even when you are sweating up a river the glasses don’t slide down your nose. The first pair had their demise last summer. I forgot that they were on my hat and when I took the hat off, the glasses hit the floor in just the right way to take a chunk out of one of the lenses. With the second pair being canned last week I found myself without eye protection and mourning the loss.
There are lots of glasses out there for athletes. I have tried many over the years but my favourites remain the Nike ones, followed by an Oakley pair that I had prior to the Nike. Both companies provide attractive styles, but most importantly a comfortable fit that works when you are active. Unfortunately both have starting prices at $140. A tad expensive. That said when you get to wear them year after year, barring any stupid actions such as dropping them on the floor, they are a good investment!
 I was resigning myself to having to spend lots of money to get a new pair when I dropped into my local Running Room store to see what they had. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to check out some other brands before I committed to another pair of Nike glasses. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they carried a line called Ryder that had really affordable prices – $40. Gleefully I checked pair after pair and liked so many that I had to do a systematic comparison of each pair to finally settle on the winning pair. The winning pair had a ridged rubber nose piece and rubber grips on the arms at the ears. They wrapped nicely around the sides of my face and the arms didn’t pinch into my head. Bonus they are polarized. (There is another pair that has caught my eye, so there may be a trip back for my back-up pair.)
Here are some things to consider when purchasing sunglasses to train in:
1. Wrap around lens You want the lens to wrap around the side of your face. This protects your eyes from sun coming in the sides and also provides protection from dirt blowing around or a flying branch if you are off-road training.
2. Ridged Rubber Nose Piece I specifically say ridged because a smooth rubber nose piece will slide down your nose just as quickly as a smooth plastic one when you are sweating.
3. Correct Width Everyone has a different face shape so you need to check lots of pairs to get a pair that fits your face well. The glasses should curve around the side of your head but not brush into your cheek bones. Also, trying glasses on in the store for a few minutes may not warn you that the curve of the arms will annoyingly press on your head at the ears. Compare arm widths on different pairs to find one that fits the size of your head. Smaller head need to ensure the arms aren’t too far apart, while larger heads need to select a pair with a gap wide enough to ensure that a long training day won’t end with a headache.
4. Correct Height Many of us wear hats with a beak with training. If your glasses have too much height for your shape of face, your hat will press down on the glasses causing discomfort over time. If you have a shorter forehead and tend to wear a billed hat, bring it with you when looking for glasses to ensure the glasses will clear the hat.
5. Good Colour We all tend to have favourite colours for frames, but don’t forget to check the effect the colour of the lenses has on the scenery. Sometimes the wrong colour will give you head aches. My preference has always been with browny-grey tones over brown tones. Not sure why, but my eyes just seem to be more relaxed with these tones.
6. Grips on the Arms If you can find a brand that puts rubber grips on the arms you’ll be ahead of the game for comfort and staying power. There is nothing more annoying that having to constantly adjust your glasses because they are shifting under the sweat. When you are out training you want as few distractions as possible.
7. Have a Back-up Pair If you can afford a back-up pair I highly recommend investing in a second pair. You never know when you will need them. When traveling to a marathon, I have always carried a second pair just in case. And if you train everyday and break a pair one day, you are still good to go until you get a chance to replace the first pair. Better safe than sorry!
April 23rd, 2011
The Hook
I have been very lucky in that while coaching I get to meet lots of interesting folks who are leading exciting lives. A few weeks ago a runner with Team in Training, Heather, told me about an adventure that she was embarking on this July. She is part of an Oxfam Trailwalker 2011 team. Her team had an opening and the hook went in – I was totally intrigued with the idea. I plied her for information and what I learned…well let me just tell you that this is no sunny afternoon walk in the woods. Trailwalker is an endurance event in which a team of four must complete 100K within 48 hours. Sounds cool eh? I was so hooked. I felt that this could be my big event for 2011!
After training, Coach Johnathon, who is on another Trailwalker team, told me more about the event. Johnathon had created the training program for his and Heather’s teams so he offered to send it to me while I contemplated joining up. I raced home all excited about the event and walked in the door chattering to Husband about it.
And the Dream Ends
I couldn’t wait for Johnathon to send me his email, so I did a Google search so I could dig further into this challenge. The site tells you that you cannot progress beyond a check point until all your teammates have checked in. (knew this). The course is off-road; that means uneven surfaces, water obstacles, and a bare minimum of amenities (knew this). Then they lost me…Where did the dream die? The website says that they do not recommend sleeping longer than 3 or 4 hours during the event. WHAT? 3 or 4 hours in 48? Are they kidding me?
Now I will admit that the night before I had had a bought of insomnia so when I was reading this I was totally exhausted. I felt as though I had just been on a hard core drinking binge. I was beyond tired after just one night of tossing and turning. How was I possibly going to be physically active for hours, sleep a couple and then do it all over again when I was in this kind of shape after one sleepless night and an easy training walk with the team?
On top of that where would I get this 3 or 4 hours of sleep…on the ground? I don’t think so. Forty-eight hours with one attempt to sleep that is only a couple of hours long? and in the woods…I can be crazy, but not that crazy! I am way to much of a poodle for this. My idea of roughing it is a hotel room.
So while I emailed the teams to let them know that I would not be joining in, I felt really disappointed so I also emailed a friend who does ultra-marathons.
The Diversion
Gailanne is an ultra-marathoner. (Here is her blog.) She is one of those crazy people who loves to go out to run a trail for endless hours. She is a mass of muscle and a wonderful yogi – if get a chance to take a yoga class with her in the Oakville area, take it! I reached out to Gailanne telling her of my desire to challenge an ultra. I knew that she was the ideal person to express my concerns to and she has more than enough experience to help me decide if this really is something that I can challenge.
My research tells me that there are ultra-marathons that don’t involve hard-core backwood runs, although not so many in Canada as in the USA. And I must admit that I am really not keen on on having to do trail training. While I used to hike a great deal, for me hiking is a more leisurely, take in the beauty around you, experience.
Now ultras have time limits and I am fortunate that my walking pace enables me to meet those pacing requirements – on the surface. Factor in a trail and I have no idea what the impact will be. This is out of my scope of experience, which is why I am consulting Gailanne. Gailanne and I will be catching up next week and I am excited at the prospect of finding an event that I can challenge. Stay tuned to see if the marathoner makes this leap to the ultra.
Are You Hooked?
If you, like me, are intrigued with the challenge of the Oxfam Trailwalker, take the leap! (assuming of course that you are not a poodle.) What an exciting experience it would be and for a very worthy cause!
Here are several things you might want to factor in when selecting your teammates for a challenge such as this:
- Runners vs walkers
- Endurance capacity
- Personality compatibility
RUNNERS vs WALKERS. You might want to make the decision to keep the team all runners or all walkers. I bring this up because early in the event, the runners will take off like the hares reaching the first checkpoint before the walkers of the team. Now this will mean that they will have to sit around to wait for the rest of the team to catch up. This is hard on the runners who lose momentum with this rest and it will be hard on the walkers who will feel pressured to not rest at all at the checkpoint.
ENDURANCE CAPACITY. The team must move forward together so you want to select individuals with similar endurance capacity. The weakest link on your team – the person with the least endurance capacity – will determine the pace at which you move forward. When you are a marathoner who maintains conditioning and you chose a teammate who does not regularly train for long distances you are setting yourself up for frustration. You do not have an equal endurance capacity in the beginning which will bring differing results from the training program. Completing the same training program will not put you on equal footing.
PERSONALITY COMPATIBILITY. Last, but definitely not least, you want to seek team members who will be equally driven by the need to successfully meet the challenge, regardless of the hardships the team may face. The last thing you want is to invest time and money into an event to have one person poodle up and stop the challenge for the whole team. When you are physically exhausted – and you will be – the need to cajole a teammate to push through can lead to frustration, resentment, and unkind words that you really don’t mean. Also if you are a person who is comfortable in silence, I really don’t recommend teaming up with the Chatty Cathys of the world. The constant babble will drive you mad!
April 5th, 2011
I think it is pretty safe to say that if you do any amount of endurance walking, at some point you will experience muscle soreness. Sometimes it will just be a mild muscle fatigue; other times it will ramp up to muscle pain. For those of you who signed up for walking and not for pain have no fear – sore muscles are not a regular thing. (And if it is you are doing something seriously wrong and need to get it checked out. ) The reality is that if you are putting in some serious mileage occasionally something will be out of kilter and the result will be some muscle soreness.
Now I bring this up because on Saturday afternoon as I sat on the sofa with an ice pack on my leg, I realized I have never given any tips on how best to respond to muscle soreness. But first let me start with how my journey to the ice pack was inevitable. I knew it would happen; fact is I would have been surprised if it hadn’t happened.
Saturday morning I was coaching a walker and I decided to join her on her 15K journey. Now starting out I knew that her walking stride is different than mine. I knew that if I kept pace with her I would get sore – my body is just not used to moving in that way for 15K . A few kilometers – no problem. But 15K…No way. I also knew that a significant portion of this week’s route was on the narrow sidewalks of Oakville. (They give you lots of pretty grass along the road and then this narrow little sidewalk that barely holds two people.) Add to this that this sidewalk is sloped and you have a recipe for sore muscles.
So being the thoughtful coach, who wants to ensure a positive experience for my walker, I took the outside edge (sloped) of the sidewalk. And while I kept her moving at a pace above what she tends to while training on her own, the stride was far removed from my normal pace. It was a beautiful day and we thoroughly enjoyed our conversation and the time spent on the road together. We finished with a good time – she is well on her way to successfully challenging her first half-marathon well under her original goal time. Overall it was a great morning and as I drove home feeling a pain in my right leg I hoped that after a shower and a good lunch my legs would prove resilient and the pain would back off.
It was not to be though. On my way to the shower, I took two Tylenol for the pain. After lunch I was forced to put an ice pack on the quadriceps of my right leg and rest. And magical as ice is, at supper time I was right as rain!
While theoretically I could have avoided this, there are times when out coaching or training that the conditions will lead to muscle soreness. Here are some of the most common scenarios that will bring on muscle soreness:
- SHOE ISSUES. (Wrong shoe or old shoe.) Beginners frequently will buy the prettiest shoe they can find with little regard to whether the shoe is appropriate for their particular foot. Always have a reputable professional fit your shoes. Walking in the wrong shoes will bring pain. AND don’t forget to replace your shoes every 800K. When your sneakers are “as comfortable as slippers” your shoes are well past their expiration date!
- TOO MUCH TOO SOON. Much as we would all love to be able to just go out and challenge 21K or 42K, these distances cannot safely be achieved overnight. You need to train your body to go the duration. Slow is safe. Not completing all components of a training program, skipping a long training day, or ramping up the distance too soon will make your muscles sore. Repeatedly doing this will lead to chronic injury!
- TOO FAST – TOO SLOW. As we build our distance we typically build it at a specific pace. Consciously or unconsciously, whether training alone or with someone else, we head out at this pace and teach our body to go the distance at this pace. My body is used to moving at my specific pace and stride for hours. It has been moving this way for years. This is what my body knows and works with. So when I did 15K slower than usual, slowing the pace means that my stride is changing. My body is not used to doing 15K with that stride – ouch. Likewise, if you head out the door at a pace faster than you would normally do, you will find that your muscles will tire more quickly, leading to a change in your stride that will lead to muscle soreness across the duration.
- UNEVEN TERRAIN. Grassy surfaces, off-road trails, ice and gravel roads will all lead to the body moving in uneven patterns to accommodate the surface. Think back to just a few months ago when the roads were ice covered. Unsure of your footing you hold your body in a slightly different way. Your stride is more rigid as consciously or unconsciously you try to brace for an unexpected icy patch. Any uneven terrain will create this same effect and the longer you are on it, the apt that you will experience muscle soreness from your walk.
- SLOPPED TERRAIN. Sidewalks and the edge of roads are built with a slope for water drainage; the edge of a road being the worst. When walking distances on a slight slope your body strides in a different manner as one leg is perpetually hitting ground at a higher point than the other. I don’t recommend walking on the edge of paved roads – you can see the slope and to avoid it you must walk too far into the path of vehicles. Likewise the dirt shoulder of back roads will bring challenges. Sidewalks generally speaking aren’t too bad, but walking about your community you will learn the areas to avoid because the slope to too great.
So to get to the point of it all, what do you do when muscles soreness sets in? If you are experiencing mild soreness, as Daughter would say, “Suck it up.” A little discomfort isn’t going to kill you. Take some time to do some stretching or better yet, do some yoga and the tiredness will likely be gone the next day.
If you experience muscle pain – pain being the operative word here – as I did on Saturday, I recommend taking some ibuprofen which will handle both the pain and any inflammation. Then ice the muscle. I use a gel ice pack that is flexible to contour to the body. A bag of frozen peas or baby carrots works as well. Follow this up with rest. If the pain persists, or there is visible swelling, seek medical advice as extended rest, prescribed exercise, and compression may be required for full recovery.
I once calculated that I have power walked in excess of 25,000K – I must be approaching 30,000 by now. So in this time I have become very familiar with aches and pains and know how best to respond to my body’s needs. Sunday morning I was right as rain and Puppy and I did a 10K at my regular pace.
A quick word about muscle fatigue. If you are always experiencing muscle fatigue look first to your shoes, next to your schedule (perhaps it is too aggressive), then reassess your route, and if it continues seek medical advice. Just as muscle pain is not normal, constant muscle fatigue is too a sign of something that needs to be addressed.
AND if you develop a muscle cramp STOP immediately and call someone to come pick you up. Treat with ice and rest and if the condition persists, consult your physician.
Happy Walking! JJ
April 1st, 2011
Spring is here! Yeh!!! I just love when the weather takes a turn for the better. I will admit that by the time March comes I am a little less than enthusiastic to get outside to train. I am tired of the cold winds, the snow, the ice and especially the extra layers of clothes needed to keep me warm. The lack of sunshine has worn me down and my feet feel heavy every day. With spring here training just becomes so much easier! No wind, no rain, no sleet, no snow! And a lot fewer clothes!
 These days I rush to get out the door so I don’t miss an opportunity to enjoy a spring training day! This morning was one such day! The sun was beating down and Puppy and I got to enjoy the beauty of the trail along the lake. It was an invigorating walk. We felt great at the end and have felt energized all afternoon. It could only be better if the trees were starting to get their leaves…soon.
So naturally, when spring comes I do my Spring Checklist to ensure that I am prepared for the season ahead. It gives me a fresh start for the new spring training season. I find that it helps to put my head in the right perspective especially since I am generally ramping up my walking program for May and June events.
I got new training shoes in December so I knew that I was good there, but I do need to replace my OrthaHeel insoles. For those of you who wear orthotics don’t forget that you should regularly inspect your insoles and have them replaced – they don’t last forever. I have changed up my routes so I am enjoying some new scenery and I also found one new hilly route – I love the challenge of a hill! In the dead of winter I created a new playlist, but now it is time to switch some out because I am finding a few a bit too slow. Clothes are good! I have my new Garmin watch, which I must admit I am enjoying. (A review to come.) And so I am ready to go!
So if you haven’t come out of your hibernation yet, now is the time to start moving again. But first get organized. Last spring I created a checklist for you so I will direct you to that so you too can get yourself ready. SPRING CHECKLIST
AND keep an eye out for some changes to this site; spring cleaning so to speak. Time to tweak things a bit – change up the look and add some new content. One thing you may be interested in…I am frequently asked for my personal walking program, so I will be posting some plans as I overhaul the site. Stay tuned.
Happy Walking! JJ
March 24th, 2011
So it is official. I am very excited to say that Puppy is now training for a half-marathon – 21.1K. When I got Puppy it was because I wanted a dog to train with. It has been a long time waiting for her to come of an age when I could safely train her for long distances. But the time has come! Yahoo! For the past two months, we have been training together for most days each week. And for the past two months there have been ups and downs. Issue here, issue there. Nothing that we can’t overcome, but it is putting a crimp in my training.
The first issue has been to train Puppy to stay at my side. I need her to be aware of where I am and more importantly where my feet are. The Halti has solved this issue to some extent. But I have found that my gait has changed in the process. Perhaps it is because I am not confident that she is paying close enough attention to me. Puppy has the nose of a retriever and would definitely prefer to be walking with her nose down checking out all the dogs that have passed before us. Consequently we have had a few run ins where I literally trip over her. Fortunately it just startles the two of us, but it has made me a bit jumpy so I don’t think that I ever fully relax into my normal gait. We clearly have to keep working on this and find our groove together.
The second issue has been Puppy’s strong desire to stop and play with every dog that we come across. We have been making great progress in this regard. Puppy now understands the difference between a training walk and a recreational walk. On a training walk we keep going and on a recreational walk we stop to socialize with the neighborhood dogs. So these days when we are on a training walk she will just look at the other dog and continue along with me.
It seems that Puppy identifies the type of walk we are on by the clothes that I am wearing. I have two training jackets. If I put one of these on she gets all excited and runs to the door to get my mitts and her Halti. She knows that we are going out to “work.” Interestingly, when I put on any other jacket on Puppy is reluctant to have her Halti put on and when we are out for our walk she wants to stop and smell everything and visit with whoever we come across. Another thing that I have noticed is that she wants to stop to play at the park. There is no just walking by the park. Puppy is adamant that she wants to go into the park to play. But if we are training she just lets us past.
The third issue is potty breaks. We have trained Puppy not to bark. So when she wants to stop for a potty break she just stops. One second we are moving along at a good pace and the next she is at a dead stop. One day she did this three times in a row ripping my wrist back each time. When I got home my wrist was bruised because she had stopped so suddenly. I think this is an issue that is also contributing to my gait change. I find myself on edge a bit wondering whether she is going stop suddenly again.
 Half-Marathon Training Buddy Even with these three areas that we are working on we have managed to safely get to a 10K distance – the first big milestone in her training. Puppy did great on this first 10K! The only downside is what I call the Starbucks factor. We have a routine where three times a week we take a route to a Starbucks that is a bit over 5K away, depending on the streets we take. She knows that when we get to this Starbucks we stop and find Husband waiting for us – his coffee in hand, my tea on the trunk of the car. It is our routine…we get to this Starbucks and stop. But on our 10K route we must past this Starbucks and head to one another 5K further away.
Anticipating that Puppy would recognize the area and want to stop to find Husband, I decided to keep on the opposite side of the street. She had never been on this side of the road so I figured it would look new and she would just let us pass. Silly me! Exactly opposite the Starbucks, Puppy stopped dead and alternately looked at me and the Starbucks across the street. And she was adamant. Puppy wanted to go find Husband! It took a treat and some coaxing to get her to continue with me.
The rest of the journey was uneventful. All the territory was new to her so she was the model training buddy. This is one thing I have noticed. If the route is new, Puppy stays at my side unsure of where we are going so she is on her best behaviour.
So the plan is to repeat the 10K again this weekend. The big goal is 21K in June. I haven’t really put an officially training plan in place. I have been building up distances for so many years now that I just do it without thinking. I know when I want to be ready for an event and build to it without much thought. I know when I need to do speed work. I know when I should focus on hills. So my rough calculation is that by going more slowly with the long-distance build Puppy will be challenging a half marathon distance in June.
The interesting part of this process will be what happens when I enter an event without Puppy at my side. My speed is more slow these days because I am unsure of what she will do next. Will my speed increase during a race or will my body rebel and stay at this new pace? What I would really like to see is Puppy and I find our groove and pick up the pace by 15 or 30 seconds per kilometer. At some points in each walk we actually gain these 30 seconds, but then she does something to throw us off and we have to start all over again.
All said, I love having my training buddy out on the roads with me. She is great company and we both love the time this we get to spend together. It is our thing to do together. I put on my training clothes and Puppy races to the door to find my mitts and her Halti. 
February 16th, 2011
You know some days are good walking days. Some days are bad walking days. And then, some days have both good and bad points. Today is one of those days.
I had settled in my head this morning that I was going to head out to review a new training route. The weather is mild. The roads are generally ice-free. And my body needed an energy boost. There is nothing better than a walk with the promise of spring coming soon to give a boost to the winter blahs.
Bad Day. So when leaving the house I grabbed my iPod and turned it on to discover that the battery was dead. I had forgotten to check the level yesterday after my walk. I so dislike walking without my music. I use it to pace myself and am so conditioned to having it that training just doesn’t seem the same without it. Now there have been days when I have changed my plans and stayed home just because my iPod was not charged. However, I resolved that today I was going to do this route with or without music.
Good Day. I have been training Puppy to walk with me for several months now. We have a 5K route that we do along the Waterfront Trail that we both enjoy. Especially since we end at a Starbucks where I get a tea and Husband meets us for the drive home. Puppy is a powerhouse of muscle. So much so that I have had to resort to using a Halti to get her to learn to walk at my side and not drag me around as she pursues every smell that she comes upon. I had tried a body harness, but this nose-driven dog needed more control so the Halti it was. Today however I made another resolution; to see just how well this Halti training works. I was going to take Puppy out with just her collar to see how well she behaved. (I had the Halti in my pocket because truth be told I had my doubts.)
 This is a Halti in use - but not on Puppy Well low and behold Puppy stayed by my side throughout the walk. I was impressed! The few times she started to move ahead a “heel” command brought her back to me. Music aside it was a good walk.
Good Day. The training route was great. It proved to be an interesting route with quiet streets. AND Puppy challenged her first 6.25K. Piece of cake for her. If she was aware that we had increased the distance there were no signs. 10K here we come!
Bay Day. Part of the route was through a part of town that sands the roads. While I dislike salt and am particularly careful of salt and Puppy’s feet, I had not anticipated the challenge of sand. Puppy’s gold fur turned black very quickly. Her paws are so dirty you’d think that she had grey fur boots on.
Good Day. Now when walking with Puppy I have not been able to go much under an 8 minute kilometer. Because of the Halti I had to be careful of swinging my arms and this action is key to gaining the momentum to bring my speed up. Today without the Halti I saw the promise of being able to train with Puppy at a higher speed. With her behaving so well without the Halti on, I can now consider fashioning a belt to tether her to so that I can fully engage my upper body and bring her up to my speed.
Bad Day. Husband opted to come with us to the start of the new training route. We started near a Starbucks, so he settled in with a coffee while he did work on his laptop. Anticipating our arrival back, Husband had packed up and headed out to the car almost a block further beyond the Starbucks. When Puppy and I hit the Starbucks, she picked up his scent and while she didn’t see him, I found myself being dragged along the sidewalk as she pursued his trail. “Heel” didn’t work. I had to stop her completely and make her sit until she forgot her pursuit. So while there is some success happening with the Halti training, obviously I still have some work to do.
Overall today had some good points and some bad points. Most important though are the good points. Puppy has made considerable improvements this past two months and I managed to enjoy this training day without having music playing.
February 14th, 2011
February is undoubtedly the hardest of the winter months to get through. We find ourselves battling cold arctic winds, snow and icy trails more during this month than any other. Our will to exit the front door starts to wane. Some have already succumbed to the winter blahs and opt to remain housebound, not walking at all or resorting to the use of a treadmill.
I have always found that February is the ideal month in which to plan for a challenge in the coming year. It is important to plan for a challenge as it will keep you focused and training. So I figure that if we’re not being totally active this month, we at least can plan our strategy for super charging the winter-free months ahead.
If you are a beginner to long-distance walking I recommend starting with a half-marathon. Give yourself at least 26 weeks in which to prepare for your first big event. Figuring that you will start getting house-bound fever around mid-March this is a good time to plan for your training to start. Count ahead 26 weeks and then search marathon event websites for an event that excites you. Perhaps it is a big event that draws 10′s of thousands of participants. Or perhaps it is the location that gets your feet wanting to  move.
For those of you who have already challenged a half-marathon, perhaps it is time to trade up to a marathon event. Again, give yourself at least 26 weeks to prepare. Yes there are 16, 18 and 20 week training programs out there, and some even say they are appropriate for beginners, but the reality is that injury-free training for a marathon event takes time. Unlike an exam, marathon training is not something you can just cram for; you need to follow a slow, steady build to create the muscular endurance that will get you to the finish line.
For those of you looking to add a twist to this year’s challenge why not try a series of races? A few years back I did three half-marathons in 4 weeks. The first was a race I wanted to do – Army Run. The second was three weeks later and was a course I needed to check out for some future team training – Goodlife Toronto Marathon. The last, just one week later, was a race some visiting friends wanted to do – Niagara Falls Marathon. Essentially this was a free race for me as their average finish times are over 25 minutes after mine and I opted to hang back with them and just goof around. All told, the three races collectively so close to each other gave me the opportunity to experience a slightly different challenge. It is definitely something I would do again!
Now in my planning for the upcoming year, I do want to introduce a new challenge. It has been a few years since I have done a full marathon, so my thoughts have been leaning toward challenging another one. But what one to choose? I enjoy a destination marathon; you get the added bonus of a mini vacation. I have contemplated and rejected some big US ra ces. All tossed aside for either the difficulty in registering for a spot or because the timing wasn’t right. Here in Canada, there was a race on the weekend of my birthday, but quite frankly the destination lacked a whole lot. I looked at some overseas events, but nothing really intrigued me. I thought about challenging the Goofy Race and a Half again, but you know I’ve been there, done that and I got the T-shirt (and medal).
Then I uncovered what may be my destination of choice. The Bermuda Marathon January 2012. They have an event called the Bermuda Triangle in which you do a 1 miler on Friday, a 10K on Saturday and a half or full on Sunday to get the final and fourth medal – the Bermuda Triangle. Now that sounds like fun! A twist on the Goofy Race and a Half Challenge. Husband is on board and has his shorts packed! I am still undecided. But if I do take this option, since it is so far off, perhaps I will do a series of half-marathons throughout the coming months to add some interest to my training program and to keep me motivated.
So while you are avoiding the cold winds of winter, pull out your laptop and exercise your fingers while you search for a marathon event that will inspire you to get moving this year.
January 24th, 2011
As a coach it is always rewarding to see and hear the happiness of someone who has successfully challenged a goal . Eight weeks ago the December session of the WALK FIT Weight Loss Walking Program began and not only are participants reporting weight loss and describing how much better they feel, but two of our participants have reached their goals!
 Congratulations to Megan and Sam who both have struggled with an excess 15 pounds of baby weight that would just not disappear. Both have similar stories of having children and not being able to go back to their original pre-baby weights. And of course everyone around them was saying that they would just have to live with it – it is the cost of having children. Fortunately both knew better and sought out the WALK FIT program to gain control and create a healthy lifestyle for themselves. Sam and Megan are now living a new life and thrilled to feel in control.
I asked them both what their next goal was; Megan wants to challenge a half-marathon this spring and Sam is going all the way by completing a full marathon this fall. Interestingly they both also said making sure that they continue living the plan that they built to ensure that the weight doesn’t come back on again.
More energy, clear skin, good muscle tone, better sleep, happiness, self-esteem, MARATHONS! Every day you experience the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle. Megan and Sam love the way their new lifestyle is unfolding. While they have only just begun, they say they have a new found confidence in themselves.
Megan – “I wish I had known how much I was going to love walking. I would have been doing it a long time ago!”
Sam – “I get out there and work up a sweat! Who knew that you could get such a work-out without going to the gym!”
Kate – “When I saw how well Sam did I knew that I had to sign up. I can’t wait for February to come!”
This is the last week for registration for the February session of the WALK FIT Weight Loss Walking Program. Sign up by entering your contact information on the form at the left sidebar of The Walking Coach.
January 16th, 2011
I always chuckle to myself when someone expresses surprise at the fact that I continue training through the winter. I chuckle because I remember many years ago when the cold weather settled in and I in turn hunkered down for a long winter’s rest. Those days are long past for me and so in the cold and in the snow I head out for my training sessions although I will admit that it is not always easy to get sure-footed training time during the winter.
 Training in the winter brings its challenges in many forms with snow and ice probably being the biggest obstacles that we face. I really don’t like icy sidewalks and roads and let’s face it, once the snow starts it is pretty hard to head out and not face some icy patches. Some days it is is a real challenge just to stay upright.
For a walker or runner, there is nothing worse than the prospect of an icy fall injury. Typically it is accompanied with major muscle strains – generally in the back – with hips, wrists, and elbows tending to be the key injury areas. An icy fall means a loss of training time, which in turn means a loss of muscular strength and endurance.
This past week, we have received our first real accumulation of the winter snow so I am once again forced to be flexible in my strategies to ensure that I complete my necessary training time. I thought I would share some ideas in the hope that they will help to keep you out on the road during these winter months.
WALK LATER IN THE DAY. As the icy temperatures plummet even deeper each night we will find in the morning a light dusting of snow covering roads and sidewalks. This light dusting is a hazard as it is just enough to hide the icy patches and will actually make previously bare sidewalks unpredictably slippery. Rather than having to create a Plan B every morning, during the winter months I will frequently opt for a mid-day session. By noon the temperature has warmed up a bit and the sun and salt will have had time to melt that light dusting. Added bonus is that since the sun is already up, it is much easier to see any hazards ahead.
TRADE IN SNEAKERS FOR BOOTS and DISTANCE FOR TIME. This is particularly relevant if you are training for an event and must ensure that you get very specific training in. The reality of jobs, family, and sleep sometimes force us to go out in the worst of weather. Training in bad weather though will slow you down and change your gait cycle – it is likely that you will not match your time and you may actually create a muscle injury. So the solution is to leave the sneakers at home and put on a pair of well-tread boots that will keep your feet dry and warm. Next, calculate the time it would normally take to do the required distance. Then, instead of doing the distance, do the time. For example if you are scheduled for a 10K and your normal training pace will have you finishing in 1 hour 20 minutes, then head out and walk in your boots for 1 hour, 20 minutes. Because you are in boots, don’t push your pace. Keep a good natural stride that works for the footwear.
The reason this is an effective alternative is that the snow and the boots will provided added resistance that roughly equates to the effort you would be using at your normal pace for this distance. You thus keep your endurance training intact. The downside is that you may have some muscle fatigue the next day because the boots will change your gait.
POWER UP YOUR SNEAKERS. Another alternative is to add some gripping power to your sneakers with one of the many products designed to help us grip icy sidewalks.  My personal favourite is the Yaktrak. This little gem is a rubber sole that you pull on to your sneaker much like a man would add rubbers to his dress shoes. The key difference is that the sole of the Yaktrak is a criss-cross of metal coils. These metal coils eat into snow and ice helping you to maintain a firm grip of the walking surface.
For short training days not a bad solution, but I would not recommend them for a really long training day as the coil really changes up the way your foot moves, which of course will translate into different leg muscle use. Not a bad thing in the short term, but definitely not a good idea for a 3 hour walk.
TRADE ROAD FOR TRACK. I have never been really keen on the indoor track, but in bad weather they can be a lifesaver! One training year I did 121 laps of an indoor track to get my long training day completed. It was boring! It took longer than outdoors would take! The repetitive curve of the track created muscle fatigue despite alternating directions every 20 laps. And I developed a blister. Such are the hazards of changing training surfaces! On the plus side though, I got my long training day in!
If you are going to use an indoor track there are two key things to look for: 1. Find a track that is at least 200m long. While more and more indoor tracks are popping up unfortunately they seem to be short – for example circling above a basketball court.  This short distance forces you to address 4 curves in a short distance which is hard on your joints. If you are going to subject your body to these repetitive curves, find one that is long. 2. Find a track that is at least three lanes wide allowing for walkers and runners to go in either direction at any given time. Generally, the inner track is for heading counterclockwise, the outer for clockwise and the inner for passing. Training on short tracks that only allow for one direction on a given day is not a viable solution.
AND don’t forget when training on a track to change direction on a regular basis. Opt for 10-20 laps in one direction and then reverse and repeat in the other direction.
TRADE ROAD FOR TREADMILL. I have left this option for last as it is definitely my least favourite option! I have long legs, which translates to a long stride, which translates to treadmills being an overall hazard for me. When running, your stride is shorter so a treadmill is not so bad for the average person. With the heel striking stride of a walk, the natural gait is longer and for some of us, the length of the treadmill is just not comfortably long enough. The result is that we unconsciously modify our stride. This will lead to muscle fatigue and frequently blisters, all due to the change in our gait. That said, if you need to get your training time in, pop a movie into the BlueRay player and settle in for a good long walk.
Don’t forget…when using a treadmill, set the incline to at least a 1 in order to better replicate the resistance that road training naturally provides. (Caution: An elliptical machine is not a substitute for a treadmill. It will not provide the resistance needed to maintain your muscular endurance.)
BE PREPARED. My final strategy is to have my alternates planned in advance. Know how you will tackle the snow and the ice so that your training does not get completely sidelined. Generally I will plan for an alternative and then if I find the conditions are right for regular training, I will head out the door in my sneakers- pre-dawn.
January 6th, 2011
 Gyms across North America are currently enjoying a surge in both membership registration and equipment use. It is their best time of year as men and women make New Year resolutions to lose weight. People come in droves, enthusiastically working out, talking the talk, walking the walk of the fitness enthusiast. Flatter abs, tighter butts, firm pecs, 10 lbs lighter, 50 lbs by March…Then about January 25th the numbers start to drop. Whatever the reason – the gym is too busy, equipment is never available, it’s too cold to go outside, “I’m tired”… - attendance drops, and quickly. By February 25th, the once busy equipment no longer has waiting patrons and only the true fitness die-hards remain.
Statistics show that while 74% of women will make a New Years Resolution, only 14% will actually keep it. So chances are, it being January 6, that many resolutions have already been tossed aside. I guess this is why I don’t buy into the whole New Years resolution hoop-la and instead advocate for a “Live in the NOW” practice.
The “Live in the Now” protocol is based on two facts. The first being that we cannot change what happened in the past. The reality is that if you pigged out yesterday while lying on the couch watching TV, there is nothing you can do to change that. The second fact is that tomorrow never comes. Tomorrow is a virtual day so to speak. You can plan for tomorrow, but you cannot live tomorrow. It just doesn’t exist in real terms.
So that just leaves today. Today is here now. Today is the only day we have control over. We control what we do and what we don’t do. We can live our best day today or our worst; it is up to us. Since today is here with us now, today is the day to focus on. Live in the Now and live your best day - today. There is no point wailing about yesterday. There is no tomorrow to do what we should be doing today. This is why I advocate for living in the Now.
When you live in the Now, each day you get up and commit to living your best day today. Resolve that today you will have only one piece of chocolate. Commit that today you will walk for 45 minutes. Promise yourself that today you will go to a yoga class. Now while you may have a plan for the day and made commitments to yourself, life tends to throw us curve balls. To live your best day today, you may need to have a plan B waiting in the sidelines.
For me today has been a Plan B day. This morning I resolved that I would walk 5K. Last night however, I had a difficult time sleeping. I spent a night of tossing and turning that left me exhausted by 5:30am. I lay in bed saying I would walk 5K today and then instead of getting up I curled up again trying to get some more rest – until 7am. At breakfast I quickly realized that 5K was going to be a challenge, as was taking Puppy to the park for some play time. Plan B was going to have to come into play; I was just too tired. Instead of a 5K walk and a run to the park for Puppy, somehow I was going to have to find a compromise that would fill my commitment to myself.
 By lunchtime I was still dragging my butt around. Husband offered to take Puppy to the park, suggesting that I take a nap. OOH, that was so tempting. The soft pillow. The blankets all tucked around me…mmm. Despite it being very appealing, I firmly said, no I would take Puppy with me on a walk. The distance would be 5K. We wouldn’t be walking my usual training pace, but Puppy has learned to handle a good power walking pace so I would get some endurance benefit. Plan B: slow things down a bit, combine the two necessary tasks into one and persevere.
Now it wasn’t the easiest walk. The feet and generally the whole body were feeling like lead, but I am pleased to say that it got done. Now that I am at home, I am feeling less tired than I was before I left. The fresh air did wonders for waking me up. Completing the 5K has also lifted my spirits because I know that I have created my best day for today. That’s the beauty of living in the Now – each accomplishment brings an immediate reward. No waiting for some down the road results. I benefit now – today.
AND, I will benefit in the long-term from cumulative days of living in the now. The bonus of living in the Now is that my work of today and many other todays in the future will gradually build up so that one today in the future I can cross a finish line with ease and know that living in the Now gave me that today.
So toss aside your New Years Resolutions people and instead focus on what you can do today to live your best day! Wake up each morning and commit to do at least one thing to create a healthy life for yourself. and then DO IT! Live your best day today. Live in the NOW!
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Check out the April 2012 issue of Better Homes and Gardens for my coaching tips on starting a walking program.
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I was resigning myself to having to spend lots of money to get a new pair when I dropped into my local Running Room store to see what they had. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to check out some other brands before I committed to another pair of Nike glasses. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they carried a line called Ryder that had really affordable prices – $40. Gleefully I checked pair after pair and liked so many that I had to do a systematic comparison of each pair to finally settle on the winning pair. The winning pair had a ridged rubber nose piece and rubber grips on the arms at the ears. They wrapped nicely around the sides of my face and the arms didn’t pinch into my head. Bonus they are polarized. (There is another pair that has caught my eye, so there may be a trip back for my back-up pair.)
