Another 5K Race Down

I completed the Laurier Loop 5K race yesterday as part of the Homecoming activities for Wilfrid Laurier University. It was to raise money for the MDRC, a research centre for movement disorders.

I completed the 5K (two 2.5 K loops) in a personal best time of 26min 20 seconds (chip time) and a pace of 5:20 min per km. I’m happy about the finish (beat my goal time by almost 2 minutes!) and I’m happy about the personal best and my pace and finishing without injury, but I was almost 30seconds away from a 3rd place medal in my age category! Still… plenty of time to improve and I’m not too far away from a 3rd place time. Perhaps I will find time to train while running after all, instead of just enjoying myself :)

100 Mile Challenge Local Wheat

I know its been a while since my last post. Things are busy, and one of my other blogs has more of a return on investment so to speak, but there are definitely thinking heating up in the fitness and wellness area.

For instance, I started as the instructor for a 5K running clinic last week through the Running Room! Today we are running 3K as part of Tim Horton's Camp Day... so the treats at the end should be great!

Also, my wife and I are going to take part in the 100 Mile Diet Challenge being put on by two local Naturopaths here in town. Really great intro meeting (they had to turn people back at the doors due to limited seating) and there will be a site put up soon where people can post questions.

[edit: the site is now up and you can reach Micheal and Rachel's 100 Mile Challenge blog here ]

For example, did you know it can be difficult to find locally grown and made pasta? Well, now here's an article from the Globe And Mail with the story of two farmers who filled a need: Noodles Fresh From The Farm.

To learn more about the 100 Mile Challenge, read the blog by visiting The Healing Path Center for Natural Medicine.

That's another 21K on my shoes

Greetings everyone! I made through another week of running. I have logged a total of 21 Km this week since Sunday. Today after work, but before dinner, my wife and I put in a good 3K to give ourselves a bit of a break.

Actually, some money came in yesterday from income tax returns and some health benefit reimbursement, so I decided to splurge and go out for all you can eat sushi. And we ate too much! We felt pretty rough afterward, but what we ate last night definitely had an impact on our performance today. Note to self... stay away from that much sushi for a long time.

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The good news is we seem to handling the running pretty well. I have a mild fear of over-training but I think we are taking everything in a good stride and not pushing too far. We're still doing 10 and 1's during our 6K runs but next Friday we may attempt to do a straight 3K of solid running.

Last week running Tuesday and Wednesday made for very sore quads on Thursday, but this week the muscle stiffness seemed to be negligible, but we definitely feel more tired. Going to sleep in tomorrow and get lots of rest this weekend.

And by rest, I mean sleeping in Saturday since Sunday at 8:30am we have to run 6Km again :)

Peace and good running to you,
Rick

PS: Just for interest, check out the runner blogs and the article on massage and running at iRun.ca. Ok not just for fun, but I'll explain in a later post ;)

I started a 10K clinic

I started a 10K clinic this week. I've decided I want to blog about it. Therefore I've decided to limit blog posts to once a week.

My wife and I planned to get into running again this spring so we went to the Running Room to sign up. There was a 5K clinic on Friday's but Friday's are pretty busy. The other option was Tuesday... a 10K clinic. We decided to sign for it with a bit of reservation, when were asked if we wanted to take part in a research study through Wilfrid Laurier University. We said sure. They said if you get accepted, they'll pay for your clinic fees and race fees! Woo hoo!

So last week we had our first fitness apprasial and there will be one 4 times over the 10 week training period. The study is to "assess the effectiveness of a regular individualized massage therapy program in diminishing indicies of muscle damage/soreness and training discomfort in novice runners progression toward completion of their first 10km road race". Its a mouthful, but those are the words or a real medical study.

Our first run night was Tuesday: 6km and supposed to be steady run...no 10 and 1's which is the typical Running Room program (in the 5K clinic you build gently up to running 10 minutes and walking for 1 minute as a rest). I gathered a group of people who wanted to run 10 and 1s. You can build to a steady 6k run if you are careful with it but for some people, this was their first clinic!

On Wednesday we ran 5K and we still maintained 10and1s. This was our first time ever running two days in a row. We were supposed to run today as well but due to scheduling we skipped it and run Saturday. Besides I have 1 hour of kung fu (wing chun) on Saturday anyway and my wife has belly-dance class practice Friday and Saturday for a recital on Sunday. Besides... I had a lot of blogging to get done!

Next we'll try running up to 4 times a week. According to the schedule by week 4 we'll actually be running 5 times a week. I'll try and keep you posted on my kilometers per week. During the last clinic I didn't miss any runs and I probably made between 12 - 15 km per week.

So far this week I have completed 11Km in just two days!

We're supposed to also keep track of any aches and pains we feel, and if we do any "therapy" to over come it. Usually I'm sore the second day after running, but even with running two days in a row, the pain was much lower then expected. I had sore quads the day of the second run and the run started being a bit difficult because of it, and the next day I did have trouble walking down stairs because of my quads, but now I am pretty much pain free!

Tomorrow we'll try and get in a slow 3K if we can. Hopefully I can also get some stretching or yoga in as well as kung fu... but the weather should be nice enough to ... grrr! clean up the yard!

Another 3 KM down...

Another 3KM down and many more to go!

My wife and I just got back from our first run of the season. We thought we could continue running into the fall, but since our last running clinic ended in late summer we just didn't make it back out with the group. Running without a running group is just not possible for us it seems... although this summer we'll try a bit harder!

The challenge now is that we are going to sign up for an upcoming 10K clinic. I'm a little nervous about it, although my last 5K race ended in good condition with me hitting a time of under 32 minutes. I had intended to continue to build more of a base by doing another 5K clinic but we'll see how this goes. The 10K just fits into our schedule a bit better.

So tonight we did many laps around our local rec centre. We just learned two weeks ago (while attending a Yoga For Home yoga-thon) that the Rec Centre was open for public running. I never thought about it before, but a running track has its own specific rules, including running the other direction on alternate days (to avoid injury).

I found it was rough going almost immediately. I had a minor stitch pretty much the whole time, and my left knee started hurting so I slowed it down. All day my right knee had been acting up but its fine now! Luckily I'm off to the chiro tomorrow.

Today's tip: When running indoors, always make sure you have enough water. Many people bring water whenever they run and I'm sure there is nothing wrong with that, but in general if you are exercising for under 30 minutes having more water during the exertion would not normally be necessary.

It was hard at first, but now I feel good about ourselves that we pushed to make it out tonight. The wife has just come off her cold and we had put it off far too long already. Besides, the new clinic starts in one week!

CIBC Run For the Cure Results

Well the race is over... and now I'm taking a week off of running! I did however, make a personal best time for 5Km of 31minutes and 15 seconds!

The race on Sunday was actually quite exciting. There were what we expected to be hundreds of people, but later learned that more than 2600 people attended the race in Kitchener at Bingeman Park alone! We ran into some people we know from the RunningRoom, and also two friends of ours that were part of the Manulife Team. My wife and I did very good times on the full 5K circuit which included hills and trail running. 

It was a good setup for the race. There was a 1Km loop, and there were actually two 5Km loops: one was flat and paved, for those people with strollers or wheelchairs and the other 5Km loop was the hilly, trail run. And the hills were pretty challenging. In fact, the first hill was the worst and was part of all the loops. A friend who has a history of shin splints was already in pain after the first hill which affected the rest of his run. Hopefully I can convince him to take it slower and build up a solid base (like the Running Room program) before getting seriously injured.

I pushed myself pretty hard to make 5K in 31minutes. My goal had been to be under 33, so I met my goal and nicely surpassed it, but I paid for it later. I felt I had a quick recovery time thanks to a strong cardio system, but within an hour of the race I was moving like an old man :) However the next day I was virtually pain-free except for some quad muscles (which could be from extra, new martial arts training the day before) and today, which is when I typically show signs of muscle soreness I feel virtually none.

My wife is already excited for finding the next race. There is a Resolution Run that happens on New Year's Day here in KW, but also on New Year's Eve up in Sudbury where my parents live. So there is a possibility that we arrange our holiday travel in order to make it for a 5K run on New Year's Eve. The great thing about the Resolution Run is the free running jacket! (Well, there is an entry fee but hey, can't complain about the jacket. Except, I just bought a jacket, but this one is cooler.)

We were supposed to attend our goal race which is actually the Okoberfest Run, but that weekend we will be at a friend's wedding in Ingersoll, so we won't be going out for a run the next day :)

Olga Korbut at the 1972 Olympics

I just found this by accident today, but I wanted to share it with everyone. Its especially timely given the Beijing Summer Olympics are currently on, but Olga's performance is still stunning even after 38 years!

Just watch this video and see how hard work and training can pay off. How a young girl from Belarus can change people's opinions and almost single-handedly make gymnastics as popular as it is today. At the very least, she opened the doors for many others to follow.

You check out more on Olga Korbut by visiting her website at www.olgakorbut.com.

Biking Saves The Environment and Pocketbook

With the price of gas at an all time high and currently still rising, it has definitely begun to impact the way we think about using our car and how often we really could be walking or biking. Going out for groceries tonight proved that its actually possible to bike uphill both ways to get somewhere.

Even though we are a dual income family (for the moment anyway) we had decided that we really don't need a second car. We are in a very good routine right now where my wife (still getting used to saying that, I just got married in early June!) drives the car to work most days so she drops me off when possible. Somedays she needs the car but isn't going in to work or some days she leaves early, so in April and May I was taking the bus to work, walking 10 minutes to the bus stop. I would either take a bus home or on nice days I will simply walk. It is 45 minutes which would probably keep most non-walkers from even trying it, but really its not that bad when you get used to it.

So after a 45 minute walk home today and a quick rest in our basement to cool down, we decided we needed some groceries for dinner. Just green onions and wraps but for some reason we decided that it took two of us to bike down to the grocery store. One to carry the backpack and one to carry the money :)

Biking is a great way to get active, maintain wellness, and if you do it with a partner you can deepen your relationship!

Anyway, the trip worked out great. It was a bit of a work out, it only took about 5 minutes to get there, we saved the gas money and the environment, and we even saved one of our dinner gift certificates (wedding gifts) for a day when we can really celebrate! Plus, it was my first time on my bike this year, and we are planning to bike down to the local Farmers Market (the Kitchener Farmers Market) tomorrow to get fresh produce. It will be a longer ride but we are lucky to live close to pretty much everything.

Now if we can just my wife a job in KW that she can walk to... we almost wouldn't need a car at all!

Up to date, not up to snuff.

Well it has been a while since the last post. I might as well just give a brief overview of what went down. The Make The Cut program is over.

I had seen the physio last month for the pain that had developed in my back, which was aggravated by the running clinic I took in January. She had suggested some simple bending and stretching exercises. I had a few sessions with her which included one of those machines that send shocks through your muscles but the last time I was there I think it was on too high. My next appointment with her is next week, but honestly, the pain is getting worse, not better.

At first I had thought I was over-training. I started from one workout a week to 6 workouts a week, so maybe I just went too far! After taking one week off to recover (except for kungfu... I can't miss kungfu!) the stiffness just didn't go away. I'm learning that its just muscle stiffness but it seems to be a muscle that just won't release. I've seen my Chiropractor and my spine is moving good, but the left side is stiff due to the muscles. I've seen my family doctor and he took blood and urine samples as well as me having an ultrasound... apparently they're all negative because I haven't heard anything.

Another interesting quirk is that I've lost quite a bit of weight. Well, some people say its quite a bit but really, I had gained almost 10 pounds just before Christmas when I was taking a computer class and I've lost all that weight already. Apparently it isn't hard for me to lose weight, which doesn't make S any happier so close the wedding... she has reached her weight goals but she still isn't happy. So basically I stopped going to the gym regularly and I try to eat more because I'm not gaining any weight and we want to make sure I don't lose anymore. One of my co-workers I hadn't seen for 6 months or so recently ran into me and the first thing she said was "You have got to stop losing weight."... and that was before she even said hi!

So, now that the nice weather is here I walk home from work more now so about once or twice a week I'll walk 45 minutes home. Tried a Body Pump class at the gym and liked it... it was a good work out I just had to be careful of my back. I did start taking aspirin and Robaxacet when my back gets bad, and actually it does help me sleep a little better!

I think primarily though, I need to get another massage appointment and buy a new pair of shoes for the season. Old shoes can wreak havoc on your back! In the mornings I am now doing light stretches and I am trying to focus on core exercises (when I exercise) or at least do a few crunches or pushups so I can strengthen my back.

Make The Cut: Day 1

So here is how Day 1 of the program went!

Had a good breakfast with my fiancee which was part of the plan and included Kashi Go Lean cereal and two egs. Then had lunch with my friends Al & Megan at our favourite chinese food place which was definitely not on the plan. Later I made dinner of Moroccan chicken from a recipie in the book which was awesome.

Also got friends to sign passport applications for our upcoming honeymoon which we intend to take in Ireland.
My total calories for the day was 1400 kcal.

Make the Cut: First measurements

The first step in the Make the Cut program (and really, any other fitness program worth its salt) includes taking measurements and a short fitness test. Here are my results:

Weight: 155 lbs (was at 164 just after Christmas)

bust: 36 inches... mmm maybe not a necessary measurement for men
chest: 33.25"
waist: 32.5" (I used to have a 36 inch waist about 10 years ago)
hips: 36"
right thigh: 21.5"
left thigh: 22.5"
right arm: 10.25"
left arm: 11"

Fitness test:
After 3 minutes step: 88bpm (Good)
Pushups: 9 (Below average)
Situps: 26 (Poor)
Wall sit: 56 sec (almost good.. aka Below Average)
90 = Excellent (in May last year I had done 109 sec.. back when I had 2 kung fu classes a week)
60 = Good. Well at least something shoot for

So, clearly I need to be working out! Actually I had gone back to the gym last May to get another fitness test, but I didn't go to the gym as much as I should have so there was not much improvement. I definitely remember being in better shape when I had two kung fu classes a week, but the cost became prohibitive (as I'm taking semi-private lessons) so for now, its just once a week and I need to focus on getting to the gym to practice more on my own.

I'm getting in shape with Jillian Michaels from The Biggest Loser.

This month my fiancee and I just started the workout program in Jillian Michaels' book, Making The Cut. Its well thought out and contains great recipes. You can't lose with this one.

We first learned about Jillian Michaels from watching The Biggest Loser tv show. We loved her attitude and her approach to fitness, not to mention she is in great shape herself!

Over the next few weeks I'll be posting about my progress, and this blog will grow to include more topics related to health, fitness and wellness.

I've also written a review of her book which can be found here.

Let me know any of your comments!