Clifton & Lynn, wired to run with John Chipman.
Well here it is . . . the very short piece about running with one of my many friends at refugee shelter in central Toronto. CLICK HERE to hear the interview.
Heading south through Trinity-Bellwoods Park to see the lake.
In actuality the idea that the pace of my life has slowed is an illusion. I am now facing an extremely long list of things to do which I call the post-gala list and that does not include all the post-event follow-up, financials and on and on.
Mixed in with high season for gardening, I’m feeling swamped again. One item that needs to get moved to top three status for the spring and summer is house repair and painting. At the moment the top three for the month are training for the NYC marathon, garden work and home maintenance including cleaning.
Bleeding Hearts . . . exquisite!
I’m planning to run 3-5 miles but number one task is to plant the Mountain Bluets that were given to me by a neighbour. They are not that readily available in Toronto garden stores but are long-blooming and tolerate shade nicely. Our neighbour has the most lovely garden and I learned a lot about gardening from seeing it. He offered to pick up some dahlia bulbs for us at St. Lawrence Market.
A beautiful gift from a neighbour.
Better get planting . . . have a wonderful day.
Forget-me-not running rampant, but still loved.
Over $42,000 was raised in order to give Danny Kassap a proper burial in Mt. Pleasant cemetery, a place where he ran regularly. To find out more about Danny’s story CLICK HERE. How to measure the stress endured by those on the “refugee highway” running from, but leaving behind a life, for better or for worse. Danny’s seven year struggle came to fruition in 2008 when he was granted landed immigrant status. His story is the story of a refugee who found refuge and hope in running. The strength he showed through hardship won hearts and friends.
Forever young, at age 28
REFUGEE BLUES W. H. Auden
Say this city has ten million souls,
Some are living in mansions, some are living in holes:
Yet there’s no place for us, my dear, yet there’s no place for us.
Once we had a country and we thought it fair,
Look in the atlas and you’ll find it there:
We cannot go there now, my dear, we cannot go there now.
In the village churchyard there grows an old yew,
Every spring it blossoms anew;
Old passports can’t do that, my dear, old passports can’t do that.
The consul banged the table and said:
‘If you’ve got no passport, you’re officially dead’;
But we are still alive, my dear, but we are still alive.
Went to a committee; they offered me a chair;
Asked me politely to return next year:
But where shall we go today, my dear, but where shall we go today?
Came to a public meeting; the speaker got up and said:
‘If we let them in, they will steal our daily bread’;
He was talking of you and me, my dear, he was talking of you and me.
Thought I heard the thunder rumbling in the sky;
It was Hitler over Europe, saying: ‘They must die’;
We were in his mind, my dear, we were in his mind.
Saw a poodle in a jacket fastened with a pin,
Saw a door opened and a cat let in:
But they weren’t German Jews, my dear, but they weren’t German Jews.
Went down the harbour and stood upon the quay,
Saw the fish swimming as if they were free:
Only ten feet away, my dear, only ten feet away.
Walked through a wood, saw the birds in the trees;
They had no politicians and sang at their ease:
They weren’t the human race, my dear, they weren’t the human race.
Dreamed I saw a building with a thousand floors,
A thousand windows and a thousand doors;
Not one of them was ours, my dear, not one of them was ours.
Stood on a great plain in the falling snow;
Ten thousand soldiers marched to and fro:
Looking for you and me, my dear, looking for you and me.
Now that Danny’s funeral costs are covered it has been suggested that friends and supporters consider directing donations to Covenant House where Danny found shelter in his early days in Canada.
I’ve learned that you cannot blog daily while organizing a gala, running and working. Training for NYC starts Monday. For now, I’m taking it easy and focusing on Monday as the day to step into a six-month marathon training plan.
As for the Gala, we sold out, are already planning for next year and met our net revenue goals. We’ve got that loving feeling. And it’s growing, growing, growing . . .
The happy but exhausted co-chairs of People4Kids Gala.
Most people know about the lottery to get into the New York City marathon but few seem to know that there are qualifying standards that will give you a guaranteed spot if you submit a qualifying time and then register by April 30th.
I really cut things close, with being so busy and was trying to register last night at 11 p.m. and ended up utterly confused by the process and the instructions I had received earlier regarding my claim. I sent an email with a plea for help and received an auto-answer saying it might take up to a week to receive a reply. Thus, I was thrilled to check my email a few minutes ago and find a personal reply from a Janet, telling me that I am in!
Nice . .
So there is my quick bit of news and back I go to gala planning. Two days to go!
New York City Marathon Standards for Guaranteed Entry
Runners who meet the following qualifying time standards* in a half or full marathon whose results can be certified online:
| Open (Age 18-39)** | Masters (Age 40+)** | |||
| Marathon | Half-Marathon | Marathon | Half-Marathon | |
| Men | 2:55:00 | 1:23:00 | 3:10:00 | 1:30:00 |
| Women | 3:23:00 | 1:37:00 | 3:38:00 | 1:44:00 |
| Veterans (Age 50+)** | Veterans (Age 60+)** | |||
| Marathon | Half-Marathon | Marathon | Half-Marathon | |
| Men | 3:30:00 | 1:40:00 | 3:45:00 | 1:48:00 |
| Women | 3:52:00 | 1:50:00 | 4:13:00 | 2:00:30 |
| Veterans (Age 70+)** | ||||
| Marathon | Half-Marathon | |||
| Men | 4:00:00 | 1:55:00 | ||
| Women | 4:35:00 | 2:11:00 | ||
* All times must be run at, or faster than, the posted time. Times achieved outside of NYRR races must be verifiable online.
** Your age on the day of the qualifying race.
You must have met the appropriate qualifying time between January 1, 2010 and January 31, 2011 (2011 NYC Half-Marathon and Boston Marathon 2011 times will also be accepted, provided you applied by April 30, 2011). Include the race name and date with your application. Please contact us via e-mail at marathonmailer@nyrr.org if you qualify.
Today, I did not run because I am super-busy and fed up with this prolonged wintery spring weather. I don’t remember ever having come to this! But, heck . . . where is spring?
People4Kids gala, a “labour of love” for my husband and I has already been proclaimed a success. Joy Kogawa, renowned Canadian writer and friend, David Walsh , recipient of the Jane Jacobs award are two of our special guests. Joy will read a poem, chosen by me, about children. The gala will benefit an orphan sponsorship program in Ethiopia for children who lost their parents to AIDS.
Highlights of the past few days:
Tomorrow is another busy day. After work, I will go with a young man to outfit him with a pair of running shoes, courtesy of Mountain Equipment Coop. Then to meet my mom for dinner and to the Toronto to Japan fundraiser for the Japan Red Cross.
I’ve been sitting in front of a computer for far too long today. Life is very full and interesting and there is much to write about but no time. Bon soir!
The running of the Boston Marathon is fertile ground for stories to inspire, but most would be hard put to find one more compelling than that of Team Hoyt. Rick Hoyt has cerebral palsy and the medical advice given to his parents on his birth was that he should be institutionalized, as there was no hope that he would have a “normal” life. Nonetheless, his parents treated him like an ordinary child and with the help of a computer device Rick was eventually able to communicate to his family, his passion for sports.
Thus it was that Dick Hoyt began to enter charity runs and compete while pushing Rick in a wheelchair. A source of much enjoyment, the pair began entering marathons and from there, progressed to triathlons. For the swim, Dick would tow Rick in a tiny boat and for the cycling portion would carry him on the front of his bike. As of 2008, they had completed 229 triathlons and 66 marathons, often finishing in the top 10% of the field with a marathon personal best of 2 hours 40 minutes and 47 seconds. A time, which is 3o minutes under the qualifying time for Open Men in the Boston Marathon.
In 2009 the duo completed their 27th Boston Marathon, Rick was 47 and Dick was 68 – sending a message to the world to include rather than exclude those with disabilities from activities that most of us have the good fortune to easily be a part of.
Never, ever give up! What does that mean to you?
Here are 10 of 20 tips from the guru of the first-wave boomer, running boom. CLICK HERE to see all George Sheehan’s Tips
1) Keep a record of your morning pulse. Lie in bed for a few minutes after you awaken and then take your pulse. As your training progresses, it will gradually become slower and after three months or so plateau out. From then on, if you awaken and find a rate of 10 or more beats higher, you have not recovered from your previous day’s runs, races or stresses. Take the day or more off until the pulse returns to normal.
2) Do your exercises daily. The more you run, the more muscle imbalance occurs. The calf, hamstrings (back thigh) and low back muscles become short, tight and inflexible. They have to be stretched. On the other hand the shins, the quads (front thigh) and the belly muscles become relatively weak. They must be strengthened. Learn the Magic Six: Three strengthening exercises, three stretching exercises.
3) Eat to run. Eat a good high-protein breakfast, then have a light lunch. Run on an empty stomach at least two, preferably three hours after your last meal. Save the carbohydrates for the meal after the run to replenish the muscle sugar.
4) Drink plenty of fluids. Take sugar-free drinks up to 15 minutes before running. Then take 12 to 16 ounces of easily tolerated juices, tea with honey or sugar, defizzed Coke, etc. before setting out. In winter that should be all you need.
5) Find your shoes and stick to them. High-arch feet do better with narrow heels. Morton’s Foot (short big toe, long second toe) may need an arch support in the shoe. If a shoe works, train in it, and wear it to work
6) The fitness equation is 30 minutes at a comfortable pace four times a week. Your body should be able to tell you that “comfortable” pace. If in doubt use the “talk test”. Run at a speed at which you can carry on a conversation with a companion.
7) Wait for your second wind. It takes six to 10 minutes and one degree in body temperature to shunt the blood to the working muscles. When that happens you will experience a light warm sweat and know what the “second wind” means. You must run quite slowly until this occurs. Then you can dial yourself to “comfortable,” put yourself on automatic pilot, and enjoy.
8) Do not cheat on your sleep. Add an extra hour when in heavy training. Also arrange for at least one or two naps a week and take a long one after your weekend run.
9) Most injuries result from a change in your training. A change in shoes, an increase in mileage (25 miles per week is the dividing line; at 50 miles per week the injury rate is doubled), hill or speed work, or a change in surface. Almost always there is some associated weakness of the foot, muscle strength/flexibility imbalance, or one leg shorter than the other. Use of heel lifts, arch supports, modification of shoes and corrective exercises may be necessary before you are able to return to pain-free running.
10) Training is a practical application of Hans Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome. Stress is applied, the organism reacts, a suitable time is given to reestablish equilibrium. Then stress is applied again. Each of us can stand different loads and need different amounts of time to adapt. You are an experiment of one. Establish your own schedule, do not follow anyone else’s.
Kudos and congratulations to all those who took part in this historic road race today. It is the Ontario road runner’s equivalent of a season-opener.
While out on Friday we ran into an acquaintance who asked if I was running on Sunday. I drew a blank. It was only on Saturday morning that it struck me that this was the weekend of one of Canada’s foremost long-distance races, the Around the Bay 30K in Hamilton. How could I forget?! Many of those who have been training diligently through the winter have been driven by the goal of racing this 30K.
Last year a record I had established in 2006 was broken. A new course (and Canadian) record for 30K of 2:07 was set by Jennifer Ditchfield. My goal when I set the record was to run under 2 hours and 10 minutes. I was disappointed to run 2:12 and that did not feel easy.
Around the Bay on a warmer day.
My friend Michal Kapral, a.k.a. the joggler jumped in around 25K and ran with me for awhile. I told him that I was fading and wondered out loud whether any masters women were closing in on me. He immediately started running backwards and let me know that I was in danger of being picked off. That is when I learned that sometimes it is better not to know. Ignorance is more blissful than having a set of eyes in the back of one’s head. The rival masters runner did pass me and it felt worse knowing that this was a possibility so far in advance.
Michal at one time was considering trying to set a Guiness record for the backwards marathon. He holds or held, the record for a marathon pushing a baby jogger and for running an entire marathon while juggling three balls. He has also won the Toronto marathon in a time of 2:31.
With my plan to run Boston next year, it is doubtful that I can do the 30K as it is my view that many a runner has left their Boston best, down by the bay. It is a challenging 30K route that when raced to the full, is not far off the effort of running a marathon. With 3-4 weeks separating it from Boston, there is not much time to recover to put your best foot forward at Boston. This has been the subject of ongoing debate among long distance racers and their coaches over the past century.
Age-graded tables use a number of variables to compare performances at different ages in track and road running events. These age-graded tables quantify the typical decline in athletic performance as we age as well as the improvement that comes as a young athlete reaches their prime. The World Association of Veteran Athletes (WAVA), the world governing body for masters (veterans) track and long distance running athletes are responsible for the development of these tables as well as ongoing updates.
Check out the latest age-graded calculator HERE
Masters athletes thrive on the interesting comparisons to open-age athletes made possible by these tables. The tables were updated in 2006 and recently adopted, and to my delight I discovered that the 3:10:02 marathon I ran at age 50 to set an Ontario 50-54 record has been upgraded considerably. According to the 1994 tables my time was equivalent to a 2:50:05 marathon but in the past year I had a look and my time is now thought to be the equivalent to a 2:40:00 marathon. Gee, if I had run one second faster, I would have (virtually) broken the 2:40 barrier.
I’m not sure why they changed the tables but suffice to say that as a 2:50 equivalent I expected that it would not take long for this record to be broken. As far as I know, the record still stands so it seems the table-makers have grounds for their changes. I should mention that I have no aspirations to try and break the Ontario 55-59 record as that mark is an outstanding 3:11:56 run by Paula Hickman of Ottawa which is also the Canadian record. That time is equivalent to a 2:30 marathon and not far off Sylvia Ruegger’s 2:28:36 the Canadian open record that has stood for 36 years. CLICK HERE to read an article about speedster Paula Hickman who is planning to go for it when she turns 60.
Paul Hickman setting a stellar Canadian age-group marathon record. (Photo from Digital Journal)
Regarding the discovery of my lowered age-graded equivalent, who knew that you could improve your marathon time without taking a single step.
Mind, Motion & Matter 