Following my post about weight training, a reader asked for recommended reading. I was reminded of this groundbreaking book from the early 80’s by Gayle Olinekova which inspired me to begin my weight training routine. Gayle was ahead of her time in that she incorporated weight training into her marathon training schedule. This former Torontonian ran world-class marathon times and yet felt a little embarrassed about her very muscular legs, which did not fit the typical marathon runner mold or the prevailing feminine ideal. Eventually, she was discovered by Sports Illustrated and covered in an article called The Greatest Legs to Ever Stride the Earth.
Photo by Helmut Newton
Sadly, Gayle died in 2003 at the age of 50. Gayle’s book Go For It! was written at a time when books on athletics written by women were almost non-existent. It may be out-of-print but available used.
Go for it!
I can claim a shared experience, as she was at one time a member of the Toronto Olympic Club which I belonged to for a few years. From wanting to hide her legs to inclusion in Helmut Newton’s “Strong Women: A Portfolio of California’s Super Athletes” Gayle can be given credit for blazing a trail. Here is part of an obituary from the Los Angeles Times.
Gayle Olinekova, a marathon runner and fitness guru whose chiseled, muscular legs helped change cultural views about beauty in female athletes in the 1980s, has died. She was 50.
I’ve finally gotten round to writing an ABOUT tab for this blog. Here it is.
Detroit, Ford Field Finish
The choice to return to very active life I experienced while growing up, has brought many good things into my life. This journey began with a few runs, while still a smoker, fitness classes at the YMCA which led to quitting smoking, cold turkey. With all the excess energy of being more fit and tobacco-free I began to run regularly, first a mile and then a few months later, a marathon in 4 hours and 11 minutes. Recently, I celebrated 30 years of running for fitness, friendship with my 20th marathon, surpassing the Boston qualifying standard by 33 minutes. One of the good things was meeting my husband over 25 years ago when he introduced himself in a YMCA cafeteria after the 1985 Peterborough Half-Marathon. He remains, my favourite running partner. We have a 23 year old son, 17 nieces and nephews and 4 grandnephews and grandnieces.
Highlights of my racing career came later in life; 1st place finish in the 50-54 category at the Chicago Marathon, 3rd place (50-54) at the Boston marathon and a time of 3 hours & 10 minutes at the Detroit Marathon, run at age 50. I like to refer (or brag) of having qualified for the Boston Marathon in the Open Men’s category at age 50. This time also qualified as an Ontario 50-54 age group record for the marathon. The time I am most proud of from my younger days is having run my 4th half-marathon in 1 hour & 23 minute after less than 3 years of running and with low-mileage training due to chronic ankle injuries.
Over the years I have learned that advising people about how to train is tricky business AND that there is no formula. We are, as George Sheehan put it, “An experiment of one.” I’ve run while pregnant, run good times on low mileage, run great times on high mileage and run purely for fitness for the first 9 years of my son’s life, returning with a vengeance by logging more than 100 miles a week at times, with high-intensity workouts thrown into the mix.
Along the way, I’ve had to learn and abide by the “laws of the body”, George Sheehan again. I hope that providing some insight into how running fits into my daily routine might encourage you to commit to habits that will enhance your quality of life. I find the benefits to be as much (if not a little more) about mental well-being as physical.
There is an abundance of information available on fitness and training for the motivated and curious, and it is not my goal to spend a lot of time on the details of which others have expertly written. I would caution however that discernment is required as there are obvious paralells between “getting fit quick” and “getting rich quick”. I hope my observations about what has worked for me, while running close to 60,000 miles or more in my lifetime, might arouse your curiosity and point you in the direction of finding out what routines work for you, be it running or your heart thumpingactivity of choice.
As for all the non-running chit chat, I think of it as my side of a conversation, were we to share each others company while on a run — that being the most companionable of spaces. Consider this your invitation to comment and question.
One of the activities keeping me busy lately is my #1 Goal of 2011, which is to raise funds for a sponsorship program organized by People to People AID Organization (Canada) Inc. We have a personal connection to the dedicated individuals involved with this program and have done a lot of research to feel assured that funds are well used to benefit children who have been orphaned in Ethiopia because of HIV-AIDS.
C5 - Fabulous City Views on 3 Sides
I’m so very happy to announce that we have firmed up the venue and the date for the fundraising gala my husband and I are organizing. It will be held on Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at C5 Restaurant in the ROM. Check out C5 and the Winterliscious menu HERE
My morning run was a loop over to drop a birthday present off to a niece. I passed through Hillcrest Park with its fine view of the city. Although, my small camera does not at all do it justice.
View From Hillcrest Park, Toronto
On the way back I took a pit stop at the Athletic Centre at University of Toronto and spotted some advertisements for some interesting sport-related presentations, all open to the public.
What's up at U of T?
The one I was most interested in took place yesterday. Too bad. I’ll have to remember to drop in more regularly to see what is on offer.
Defending an Idea. Interesting.
Runs, overdue photography assignments, gala planning, blogging, weightlifting . . . makes for busy days. So much to do, so little time, gotta go . . . ciao!
p.s. Please leave a comment if you would like more information about the Gala. Thank you.
Since blogging about the start of my off-season weight training regime, I have indeed been working through the first phase of Anatomical Adaptation as defined by Joe Friel, in the Triathlete’s Training Bible. My friend uber-Ironman triathlete Bev Coburn introduced me to this method of periodization of weight training. I’ll never forget how she, in her low key way, said once you start this routine you’ll be doing this for the rest of your life. In fact, I been doing upper body weight training since my early twenties however I had never done lower body weights, as I felt that running was enough of a leg workout AND I had never systemized my weight training. You can find out more about Bev’s athletic accomplishments and work as a personal trainer and fitness consultant at Active Age Fitness.
Ed Whitlock, Beverly Coburn, Bob Moore
So she was very right, as nearly a decade later, I’m sticking with the program and see no end in sight. My favourite part is the Maximum Strength Phase as this is where you really see yourself bulk up a little. So why not time this phase to coincide with a reunion with your high school basketball team or a holiday when you will be mainly wearing a swimsuit. The reality of my training is that the maximum weight phase does not coincide with key races. Once the serious racing begins, weight training shifts into maintenance mode and my focus is on becoming very lean and wiry.
Anatomical Adaptation (AA) phase * (2 sets)
Total sessions/Phase
8-12
Sessions/Week
2-3
Load
Select loads that allow only 20-30 reps
Reps/Set
20-30
Speed of Lift
Slow to moderate, emphasizing form
Recovery (in minutes)
1-1.5
* Table from Triathlete’s Training Bible
Here is a list of the weight machines or free weights I use.
UPPER BODY
Lat pull-down machine
Chest press machine
Seated row machine
Free weights or machine for pectoral muscles
Bicep curls with free weights
Reverse wrist curl with free weights
LOWER BODY
Squats on Smith machine
Leg press machine
Calf raise on leg press machine
Knee extension machine (no periodization – 3 x 8-10 reps ongoing maintenance)
Hamstring curl machine (no periodization -3 x 8-10 reps ongoing maintenance)
Hip adductor machine (no periodization – 3 X 8-10 reps ongoing maintenance)
Hip abductor machine (no periodization – 3 x 8-10 reps ongoing maintenance)
For my next weight workout I will enter into the Maximum Transition (MT) phase and then into the Maximum Strength Phase, shortly after. For all the details click on Periodization of Weight Training
Maximum Transition (MT) phase * (3 sets)
Total sessions/Phase
3-5
Sessions/Week
2-3
Load
Select loads that allow only 10-15 reps
Reps/Set
10-15
Speed of Lift
Slow to moderate, emphasizing form
Recovery (in minutes)
1.5-3
* Table from Triathlete’s Training Bible
What happens if you find that you cannot learn to love weight training? If you are a middle-aged woman, you will experience fairly dramatic declines in strength which can result in poor posture and the hunched shoulder look. You might find opening heavy doors progressively more difficult as well as carrying bags of groceries for more than a short while. If you learn to LOVE the results of consistent weight training, you could be bounding up the double set of long stairs, at the York Mills Subway Station, arriving at the top first, while many of the morning commuters are standing or slowly walking up the escalator.
Subway Stations, A Good Place for Circuit Training
A funny thing happens to me while taking public transit. I often get offered a seat by kind, younger men and women, sometimes I happily accept this offer, secretly telling myself that yes, my legs could use a break from all the miles I’ve run.
According to some mental health experts, Monday, January 17thwas the most depressing day of the year. Mainly due to the arrival of bills in the mailbox and gloomy weather. In addition, by this time, many will have abandoned New Years resolutions, short of the 21 days that it supposedly takes for good habits to take hold.
I don’t usually make New Years resolutions as I find that September is the month when I feel most upbeat about tackling new projects. It must be all those years of mom-hood that have me stuck in the school-year cycle. Today however I feel the need to resolve to reduce my sugar intake for the rest of the year.
The reason for this belated resolution is that I have not quite recovered from the holiday season sugar overload and I’m hooked, with the energy lapses and subtle mood swings to show for it. Some have called refined sugar consumption, “Death by installments.” I read and was influenced by the book Sugar Bluesin the late-seventies and this coincided with my return to regular exercise after a five year lapse. The results of these two important lifestyle changes were that my energy level became very consistent and stable through the day. Mid-afternoon sleepiness and drowsiness after meals can be avoided by reducing the refined sugar in our diet, and foods ranking high on the glycemic index.
Here is an enthusiastic review of the Sugar Blues by a more recent reader:
A true health classic! February 3, 2000 Reviewer: A reader from New York City
I’m sugar-free ever since reading “Sugar Blues.” I was sluggish, moody, hungry, etc. I remembered that John Lennonmentioned Dufty’s book in an interview once. So I bought it at the local health food store. He starts off with his own sugar hell and redemption and then delves into the whole history of the cane. Very interesting, health-wise and also politically. . . When I tell people I’m sugar-free they usually scoff, saying sugar’s not that bad for you, why give it up completely. Well, now I wake up clear and I get through the afternoon w/o any flagging of energy. At various times of the day I’ll feel some energy racing through my body. (A great feeling; keeps me motivated.) Now I need less food on my plate, and my hypoglycemia has all but disappeared. (Think about THAT one, folks.) Never eat “refined sucrose” again! It can be done! Sky’s the limit! Thank you, William Dufty!
Sugar Blues by William Duffy
Apparently, John Lennon used to regularly give away copies of Sugar Blues. Well I’m a believer in “baby steps” so here is what I did today to lessen my sugar intake, I had a non-sweet latte, at LIT, foregoing the usual triple-venti-whole-milk-vanilla latte and I skipped a sweet treat. Once I’m back to minimal sugar consumption, a sweet treat can be enjoyed every now and then without ill effect and it will be truly a treat rather than the satisfaction of an unhealthy craving.
I won’t delve into the more serious issues related to blood sugar levels such as Diabetes for which my knowledge is limited to first-year Biology and Nutritional Food Science but one starting point might be this link to The Canadian Diabetes Association.
LIT Latte Art
Here is a great quote from Jack Lalanne, the Godfather of Fitness who passed away recently at the age of 96.
Exercise is King, nutrition is Queen put them together and you have a kingdom.
The wickedly cold Edmonton temperature during our visit last Sunday of -26C has been displaced by +5C. What is going on? And here in Toronto, the capital of not-so-cold-but-damp-cold it is -17C. Wrong place at the wrong time.
Total mileage this week was 50 miles, with four indoor and three outdoor runs. Five or six years ago during a particularly cold January, I ran 31 days with only three outdoor runs. So it could be worse. Thinking of worse I’m reminded of the power failure two winters ago. Funnily enough, our gas furnace was so old (since replaced) that it was able to continue to produce heat and with gas stove and oven, the hardship was not severe. I’m also remembering that a few years ago, I ran the Robbie Burns 8Kin Burlington in a time of 34:58 in -20C temperatures on packed ice and snow. Needless to say, I felt that were conditions better, I might have run faster.
The Communal Mule
We have stayed close to home these past chilly days. Once again, we considered a movie outing and once again, we chose to hunker down on the homestead our only outing, to shop with a coffee break enroute. We tried a new coffee barThe Communal Muleon Dundas west and enjoyed as my husband calls it, “Being tourists in the land of youth.” as inevitably we seem to be the oldest people about in our travels to nouveau espresso bars. I had an excellent shortbread with white chocolate chip cookie and my husband enjoyed his latte.
As for me, I’ve become a bit stuck on Stumptown coffee. Give me Stumptown coffee, Stumptown I say! I’m a believer. There is only one place in Toronto (2 in Canada total) where Stumptown coffee is available, LIT Espresso Bar. We have only been to the College street locations.
Stumptown Coffee at LIT Espresso Bar
Quiet days mean more time to read and I finished The Sea Ladyby Margaret Drabble. The “elegiac” writing and pace of the first 250 pages led to a disappointing finale, complete with a surprise ending, where everything came together, not with elegance but more like a season-ending episode of Desperate Housewives. My very humble opinion for what it is worth, although still recommended as a pretty good read.
The final pages of The Sea Lady contain these words from Scotland’s favourite son, whose birthday is celebrated on January 25th. And — to my husband, I’ll dedicate these lines from Robbie Burns and repeat that NO, the final quote of yesterdays post was in no way related to your plan to watch six hours of football this weekend.
I’ve added a link to my blog to a website honouring the late George Sheehan, the voice of the first running boom that began in the late-seventies. He wrote regularly for Runner’s World and captured the imagination of the many, who took up running during this first wave of enthusiasm for long distance running. His writing was a blend of pithy running one-liners like, “Don’t be concerned if running or exercise will add years to your life, be concerned with adding life to your years.” woven with an unrelenting stream of philosophical quotes to illustrate the best of the running experience. A William James quote “The strenuous life tastes better.” was one of his favourites.
A favourite quote of mine came out of his constant reminder to listen to your body because, “We are an experiment of one.” Some have said that the first running boom was driven by type “A” overachievers, a mischaracterization, when one considers George Sheehan’s place as the most influential voice of that first boom. His premiere work, Running and Being was a New York Times bestseller.
Find out more about George Sheehan by visiting www.georgesheehan.com a website created by his children to preserve the legacy of his contribution to the sport.
From the moment you become a spectator, everything is downhill.
George Sheehan
Books by George Sheehan
* Dr. Sheehan on Running (1975)
* Dr. George Sheehan’s Medical Advice for Runners (1978)
* Running & Being: The Total Experience (1978)
*This Running Life (1980)
* How to Feel Great Twenty Four Hours a Day (1983)
* Dr. Sheehan on Fitness (1983)
* Personal Best: The Foremost Philosopher of Fitness Shares Techniques and Tactics for Success and Self-Liberation (1989)
* George Sheehan on Running to Win : How to Achieve the Physical, Mental & Spiritual Victories of Running (1992)
* Going the Distance: One Man’s Journey to the End of His Life (1996)
If you have been following my blog, you’ll know that most of the time, I don’t think about running, when I am running. I’ve forwarded the proposition that the more reasons you have to run, and the more that you have to think about while running, the easier it is to stick to running. Does it follow then that since I run A LOT, a lot of what I think about is not about running? Possibly.
Some of those thoughts and activities that occupy me or take place on the run include listening to music and audio books, watching television, list-making, photography, shopping, meal-planning and recently, I’ve become adept at checking my Blackberry while running on a treadmill.
The Pain Gain
However faster running, involving effort, discomfort and pain requires that thoughts be focused on running and it is helpful to develop positive mental strategies to deal with these more challenging physical sensations. At the moment, faster running is about 40 minutes out of the roughly 6-7 hours a week I run. A big part of what motivates me to push past the discomfort and pain is the knowledge of the health benefits of intense running. When you exercise at an intensity over the lactate threshold your body produces Exercise-Induced Growth Hormone Response (EIGR) the effect of which is double the benefit of aerobic exercise.
While running hard, I visually imagine EIGR secretions flowing through my body and soothing my joints. I also think of my heart, pumping vigorously sending blood in strong gushes throughout my circulatory system, massaging and cleansing my arteries. While these images may not be sound biology, you get the picture, it is all about the importance of positive images.
Knee Joint Facsimile
My husband has been having knee trouble for nearly two years. As a joke, I gave him a key chain with a replica of a knee joint. As time passes, I’m thinking that this rattling, fragile looking knee joint may not inspire confidence in recovery and only lends fuel to the argument that the knee joint is poorly designed and engineered. Not the best mindset for visual images of healing and health.
The simple practice described in this quote by Jean Houston strikes me as wise, at the gut level.
“Try to spend a few moments each day holding a picture of your body and your mind in a state of splendid health.”
What happens when you drop into Starbuck’s and discover that you’ve forgotten the book you are dying to finish? Happily for me, you run into an old friend of over 25 years with whom you are long overdue to catch up with. With me, the catching up process usually involves a “Still running?” inquiry and in this instance more than two hours of chatting.
Part of my friend’s news was that recently a car drove into the front of her restaurant at 4:30 a.m. causing a fair bit of damage which included squashing her bike, left parked overnight for one of three times in 11 years. Monica is the owner of Saving Grace Cafe on Dundas West, as in this review of Toronto restaurant brunch offerings by NOW Magazine.
Saving Grace
907 Dundas W, at Bellwoods, 416-703-7368. Monica Miller’s intentionally anonymous café is always bedlam on weekends. Regulars know to disregard the printed menu and go for the chalkboard specials. Best: devilishly textured corn cakes accompanied by chili-fired mango chutney and greens dressed with sun-dried tomato vinaigrette; waffle du jour with real maple syrup, or very plain scrambled eggs with pumpernickel toast and oven-roasted home fries; French toast with caramelized bananas in maple syrup. Open Saturday and Sunday 10 am to 3 pm. Licensed. Access: one step at door, washrooms upstairs. Rating: NNNN$$
"Photos of what happened to the front of my restaurant!"
I told her about the Carrot Cake Oatmealrecipe I had blogged about recently and we had a lively discussion of the culinary possibilities of oatmeal. She may test this recipe on her staff as a step towards adding it to her famous brunch menu.
Committed commuter cyclist and chef with her new wheels.
Upon leaving Starbucks, she showed me her replacement bike. There was a time when I cycled everywhere, all but 6-8 weeks of the year, but Monica has outlasted me in this pursuit by nearly two decades.
On the topic of chance meetings and food; What happens when you forget your key and need a place to hang out, to await rescue? Across from Starbuck’s is a new restaurant Hadley’s, where I dined in this instance, waiting for my husband to get home from work to let me in. I sat at the counter and shortly after an old friend, the phys. ed. teacher from my son’s elementary school, sat down beside me.
Portrait of a Great Phys. Ed. Teacher
She told me that has seen me regularly, running in the neighbourhood. We got to know each other during the years when I coached the school cross-country running team and assisted with the track and field team. She had just come from a school basketball game and modeled the latest version of the school t-shirt. She was a star basketball player and assistant coach with the University of Toronto Blues and was once a member of the national basketball team. It was good to hear that she is doing some teaching at OISE as she is a wonderful teacher and fabulous role model.
She urged me to have a taste of her appetizer, whitefish on green pea pancakes, an improbable combination which I would never thought of ordering. They were sensational!
Hadley's Whitefish on Green Pea Pancakes
I mentioned the green pea pancakes to Monica and she has such a recipe, which I hope to try. In case you are thinking about checking out Saving Grace, I think they close annually, in February, so call first to confirm. Bon appetit!
Today I lunched with a friend who is helping my husband and I organize a gala for a sponsorship program for AIDS-HIV orphans in Ethiopia. The program is supported mainly by volunteers, here in Canada is run by People to People Aid Organization, Canada Inc. . Thus I thought it would be timely to profile one of Ethiopia’s finest runners, Fatuma Roba who was the mother of five children when she won the Olympic gold medal.
Born in 1973 and raised in the village of Cokeji in Ethiopia’s mountainous southern region—also home to internationally known 10K champion Derartu Tulu—Roba was one of seven children born to a farming couple who raised and herded cattle. Like most children growing up in rural Africa, if she wanted to go somewhere, the quickest way to get there was to run. The daily run to and from her school—much of it going up and down hills—trained the young Roba in the art of sprinting. As a child her hero was 1960 and 1964 Olympic marathon champion Abebe Bikila, a fellow Ethiopian. After completing school, the five-foot-five-inch Roba decided to train to become a police officer after her performance at a national cross-country championship caught the attention of members of the Adis Ababa prison police athletic team.
Fatuma Roba, Fluid Grace
Roba first gained an international profile in 1990 when at age 18 she placed fourth in the 3,000 meter and 10K competition during the African Championships. Three years later she decided to attempt the 26.2-mile marathon distance in her home town of Addis Ababa, and had reached a personal best time of 2 hours 35 minutes 25 seconds by 1995. Roba continued to reduce her marathon time throughout the spring of 1996, helped along by the coaching of Yilma Berta. To train to excel at the 26.2-mile marathon distance, the 22-year-old Roba logged an average of 125 miles a week, most of it at high altitude, thereby forcing her body to use its resources of oxygen efficiently. She ran and won two marathons early in 1996, the first in January at Marakech and the second in Rome, Italy, two months later.
When Roba joined the field of the 1996 Olympic women’s marathon in Atlanta, Georgia, in July of 1996, she was ranked only 29th among the elite women athletes assembled there. Surprising almost all onlookers of that years’ Summer Games, she managed consistent five-minute miles, gained the lead by mile 13, and left behind Japanese runner Yuko Arimori, who had won the silver at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. At mile 19 timers clocked her race pace at 5:21; relaxed and alert, Roba waved as she passed, the crowds cheering on the first woman in the pack. She went on to cross the line in 2:26:05, her lead a remarkable two minutes. “This is not only a special thing for me but also for my country and all African women,” Roba was quoted as commenting by Amanda Mays in the Philadelphia Inquirer. “The Ethiopian women are coming up in the marathon. This was the breakthrough and now we are ready to challenge the others.”
Roba’s success in Atlanta was balanced by an equally notable performance in 1997 at the 101st Boston Marathon. She gained and held an easy lead by mile 20 to win in 2:26:23. The first African woman ever to win the historic Boston race, Roba bested an elite field that included defending champion Uta Pippig, Japan’s Junko Asari, and South African runners Colleen de Reuck and Elana Meyer. “She ran with the same smooth stride and placid, dispassionate look on her face that she carried through the Olympic race,” reported Runnersworld.com. “Race commentator (and fellow Olympic marathon champion) Frank Shorter called her ‘The most relaxed-looking runner I have ever seen.'” Roba’s performance at the World Championship Marathon held in Athens, Greece, the following fall was a disappointment when she was forced to leave the course after being injured.
One for Ethiopia!
In 1999 the 25-year-old Roba took her third straight win at Boston, her time a personal best of 2:23:25 that set a new women’s overall course record. She won the silver at the Tokyo Marathon with a time of 2:27:05, but at the World Championships in Seville, Spain she finished a disappointing fourth. Roba’s winning streak at Boston ended in 2000, when she fell to third, barely losing the Boston gold to Kenyan runner Catherine Ndereba in one of the closest finishes in Boston Marathon history. Like Seville, the summer heat in Sydney, Australia proved hot enough to stall Roba, who finished a disappointing ninth at September 2000’s Sydney Olympics with a time of 2:27:38.
Like her hero Abebe Bikila, Roba has become a role model for African runners, women runners in particular. Her own younger sister, Sennaito Tekru, has followed in her path, and has embarked on a course as a competitive marathon runner. With her grace and seemingly effortless performances, Roba has broken the barrier for African women with her triumphs at both the Olympic Games and the Boston Marathon. Despite her disappointment in Sydney, she has continued to rank among elite women marathoners, handily winning the San Diego Marathon in 2001 with a time of 2:27:22.
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Mind, Motion & Matter 