Happy New Year

No running today but tomorrow is the resolution run 5K. I picked up my race kit yesterday and as always with the resolution run the free bag is great.

If your New Year resolution is to get fitter, have some fun and meet great people, check out Hit The Road's running programs.

Good luck everyone and have a great new year.

Hills, hills and more hills.

Last night I went out to do 10 hill repeats. The temp was around freezing and the hill had some icy sections but I still managed to do all 10 repeats. The last one wasn't much fun but it's over for the next few weeks.

Last night I was laying in bed and I felt like I had actually done some work on my legs.

Today and Tomorrow are rest days then on Saturday I have the resolution 5K run to do. I'll have to go and get my race kit today. Sunday the plan is for 24K.

Challenge yourself and your co-workers.

Time to get back at it

Well Christmas is over but there's still food left. Boxing day I managed to get out and do 20K but I missed my usual Tuesday run, probably because I was busy eating. Now, after a couple of weeks of overindulgence, I feel terrible.

More reason to get back at it so tonight I'll be out on the hill doing 10 reps, probably all on my own.

Tomorrow I will need to go out and pick up my race kit for this years resolution run on January 1st and on Sunday I'll be out doing 24K.

It's time to start getting consistent again.

Start the new you with the new year. Training programs available.

Let it snow (x3)

Well last night it took me a long time to get home because of the road conditions and I mentioned I may have to skip my run because I didn't want to drive. My wife jumped at the chance and went shopping, so no hills last night.

By this morning we had a foot of snow and no-one has cleared the sidewalks so... no running today either.

I do plan to go out for a long run on boxing day.......

Have a good Christmas everyone.

New Year's resolution?

First run in my new Adidas

I went out today for a 6K lunchtime run. Today was about 20C warmer than the same time yesterday and there had been about 2cm of snow overnight so although the trails were covered, it wasn't a bad run.

My new Adidas Atlanta's were OK but not outstanding. They have a pretty high arch in them so they feel a little odd right now. We'll see how they do once I get used to them.

Tonight it's party night and tomorrow night I'll be out doing 9 hill repeats.

Build a running team to raise funds for your charity.

One extreme to the other (not quite)

On Friday I decided to go out and run 10K to make up for some of last weeks missed mileage. What a beautiful run. It was cold but not bad, no wind and sunny so I ran up to Sunnybrook Hospital. I kept the pace slow and really enjoyed the run.

Saturday was a rest day and when I got up on Sunday the wind was howling. The temp was around -10C so I dressed for that and set out to do 24K. I was starting to wonder if I should have worn tights under my wind pants and maybe a balaclava.

Well the answer was YES. The wind chill was -38C and funny things happen at that temperature. One of the first things was that my eye lashes froze together.

Usually by about 3K in any weather I'm warmed up but yesterday I was still chilly. I said, if at 5K I'm still not warm, I'm turning back. Well by 5K I was warm but we were heading for the top of the hill where there is no shelter from the wind.

An extra 2K in the gale and we decided it was a good idea to turn back. Our water was frozen and ice was forming on hair. My legs and cheeks were starting to freeze too.

The round trip came in at 14K and it took a while to warm up afterwards. My water eventually melted but I decided to try an experiment. I took it outside and threw it up into the air. By the time it hit the ground it was frozen into little ice pellets.

I went and bought new shoes after the run, Adidas Atlanta's. My Saucony's had done 657K and were worn through the inside of the heal. I'm not impressed with them. Let's see how Adidas does!

Extreme cold weather running.

Unwanted break

This week has been a comedy of errors. Tuesday I planned to go out at lunch time for my run but discovered I had forgotten my towel. There was no way I was going to go back to work without a shower so I decided to skip the run.

Wednesday I was planning on doing some hills in the evening but discovered my wife was doing a 12 hour shift so I had to stay home with the kids.

I did manage to get out on Thursday and added an extra K to my run but the wind was ferocious. It was actually above freezing but the windchill was not much fun.

Today it is about -5C and a little icy. I'm hoping the sun will fix the trails before I head out.

Corporate and Charity team programs available here.

Sunday's 20K skate

Sunday's long run was not a great one. I went out for 20K and for the first 10K my legs felt like lead. I seemed to get into a rhythm after that but the small layer of freezing rain that had come down overnight made it a tiring run.

Almost wiped out at Rotary park as I heard someone shout my name as I turned a corner while trying to avoid a salt tractor which was backing up the trail. It turned out to be Larry who was at the park for the snowflake run which was set to start at 10am. The trail they were going to run along was so bad I ran on the grass through that section because it gave me extra traction.

The Flying Pig looks more and more like it will happen, at least 4 others are very interested.

Hit The Road Web Site.

That wind again!

Today I went out for a quick 5K and for the first half I thought how nice it was out. The I turned around and realized there was a stiff wind. My time wasn't bad even though I was labouring towards the end.

The beavers are building a new dam on the Don, near the Leslie railway trellis. Lots of small trees down. I'll have to keep an eye on it.

Sunday I'm planning a shorter run, just 20K.

Hit The Road Web Site.

I guess I need to do more hills

Last night's hill training went very well. I did 6 repeats, the last one was the fastest and they were all within 4 seconds of each other. The hamstring problem I seemed to have after last weeks hills did not flare up again and seems to have gone away which is better than I could have expected.

The weather was great last night. 5C and clear, almost no wind. You have to take those days when you can.

Now I am seriously thinking of doing the Flying Pig in May and I read the course description which mentions tonnes of hills. If I am actually going to do the race, I'll be adding a few extra weeks of hill training into my program.

Hit The Road Web Site.

Slush run

Today I went out for a 5K run in the slush. Yesterday we had some snow and today it's turned to rain but it's only about 1 degree and a good brisk wind. The worst part was how wet my feet got in all the slush. The shower felt pretty good afterwards though.

I've already drawn up a plan to do the Flying Pig and Ottawa and it's basically the same at this point as my London plan was.

Tomorrow...hills, hills and more hills.

Hit The Road Web Site.

London's Burning

Well I finally found out that I didn't get a lottery spot for the London Marathon so now it's time to look for another goal. Right now I'm leaning towards doing the Around the Bay 30K in late march, then the Flying Pig Marathon in early May and then Racing the Ottawa Marathon at the end of May. If I do the pig slowly and enjoy it, it can be just another training run. Also, a bunch of people who went to Chicago are thinking about it.

Sunday was cold and clear and a good day for my 24K run. I took it nice and slow so I didn't aggravate the hamstring again and it feels good today so I'm hoping that's the end of it. I'll have to make sure I don't go too hard on the hills this week.

There is snow on the ground for the first time this year and traffic chaos. I'm hoping it will be melted by tomorrow's run.

Hit The Road Web Site.

Rest is good!

I took the day off yesterday and today the hamstring is quite a bit better. It no longer hurts when I prod it. Today and tomorrow are scheduled rest days and I will be running nice and slow on Sunday.

I'm glad I'm not running today as it is very very windy, over 60 Km/h and the temp is at freezing.

Hit The Road Web Site.

Hills and Hamstrings

Last night I went out to do 6 hill repeats and the weather was actually pretty good especially for December.

After the hills went and did some stretching and later I felt some hamstring discomfort.

Today it's still painful so I skipped my planned run in favour of some much needed rest. I'm just hoping it goes away with a couple of days off right now but it is concerning.

I'm not sure if it was the workout or the stretching that caused the problem.

Keep your fingers crossed!

Hit The Road Web Site.