Fundamentally, I find running in the winter far more comfortable than through the very humid and hot days that we often get in July and August. The most challenging part of the winter is poor footing, particularly when attempting to run faster workouts. As far as cold temperatures, wind speed makes all the difference. When the temperatures drop below -5C with windchill, it makes good sense to figure out a route that minimizes exposure to strong headwinds. If you do have to run into strong winds wearing suitable accessories can make a big difference.
Here are the accessories I have to face temperatures up to minus 20C. In addition to the headgear shown, I would most likely don my thermal hoodie from MEC. The key design feature of this piece is the well-constructed hood which comfortably wraps around the face and forehead.
I find that wool with its natural wicking properties works best. I got my favourite wool hat free, at a swap meet in the Yukon more than 10 years ago.
Wool hat
I bought this fleece neck warmer at MEC for $4.99
Fleece neck warmer
This vented-bandana-style face protector made by Seiruswas bought at Dick’s in the U.S. you may find one of these at a store specializing in snowboarding gear.
I bought this Buff multi-functional headgear in the Yukon prior to taking part in the Klondike Road Relay in 2007. It can double as a head band, neck warmer or face protector.
These double-lined fleece mittens have been my favourite for years. They were bought for $7.99 at Chocky’s.
Again, wool seems to work best for warmth and wicking. I like these Wigwam hiking sockswith merino wool content, bought at MEC for $7.50
“I please myself with the graces of the winter scenery, and believe that we are as much touched by it as by the genial influences of summer.”
Perhaps thebiggest marathon newsof the year was the eight hours it took for registration for the 2011 Boston Marathon to close. In one of my first posts I stated that I wanted to run in the 2011 Boston Marathon and that to qualify I would run the Sacramento marathon. The historic Boston marathon sell-out took place on October 18th, 2010 about 6 weeks prior to the date of the California International marathon, where I had planned to qualify. So while I did run under the qualifying time for my age group by 33 minutes in Sacramento, I missed the boat a few times over in terms of registration.
In 2007 I placed 3rd in my age-group, 271 out of 8000 women and 3061 out of over 20,000 finishers. My goal had been to try and make it into the top five for my age group for 2011, a goal, which was probably not realistic for 2011 but with more time to prepare a possibility in 2012.
The most disappointing aspect of this development is that I had planned to use my Boston marathon goal as a way of raising funds for a sponsorship program for AIDS-HIV orphaned children in Ethiopia. Which brings me to MY BIGGEST GOAL FOR 2011 WHICH IS TO RAISE FUNDS FOR THE ORPHAN SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM run by P2P Aid Organization Canada. Our family sponsors an 8 year old girl named Tigist and my husband and I are organizing a gala event to raise funds for this program.
Tigist, 8 years old
In November we attended a dinner held by P2P Canada. A good friend, originally from Ethiopia is one of many highly committed volunteers and donors for the sponsorship program. And, no, he does not run. Hopefully, the challenges of the over 1,000,000 AIDS-HIV orphans in Ethiopia will be as well known as Haile Gebrselassie and the incredibly talented Ethiopian distance runners who have dominated the Boston marathon for years.
I am training for a spring marathon but have yet to decide which marathon. Entry to the London marathon in April is already closed so I will have to do some research and come up with a new goal race. Meanwhile, training continues to go well with 42.5 miles this week and a very comfortable 11 mile run with good company today. Remember that keeping fit should and can be FUN!
Heading out for the first run of 2011 in a drizzle
Happy New Year all! Here’s a repeat quote which was my very first blog post, along with my top ten list of running-related bests for 2010 in chronological order.
Take care of your body with steadfast fidelity. The soul must see through these eyes alone, and if they are dim, the whole world is clouded.Goethe
Hard packed sand at Cox Bay, Tofino, ideal for beach running
Running with my husband on January 1st, 2010 and whenever his knee allows
Saturday runs with the smart guys
Running up sand dunes in Death Valley, California
Racing 4 miles in Central Park, NYC
Eight days of beach runs in Tofino, B.C.
Discovering the joys of running with a camera
Killer, chest pounding 40 X 200 metre interval workout at Varsity Stadium
Discovering audio books as a pleasant alternative to music while on the run
8 mile tempo and interval runs home from work, with the fast sections run on the downhills
Finishing my 20th marathon, the California International Marathon in Sacramento
If you started your day with a chocolate, raise your hand please. And carrots?
Today is the day that I try and remember how bad it feels to overeat with the inevitable sluggishness, torpor and lethargy that follows. I did well in the early part of yesterday with a mandarin orange, banana, YOP yogurt drink, grapefruit juice but after my late-morning run I had a large turkey dinner and finished off with more than half of a fair sized chocolate bar. The fatigue of overeating ensued and I had to take a little nap. Bonking on a blood sugar high is not the way I really want to spend my time.
Heading out for a run in High Park
Busted!
For the third time in the past seven days I ran with my Saturday pals. This may be a record for us. I appreciated their availability as I find it far more difficult to get out the door when I have all day to run. Too much choice seems to lead to much procrastination. I resisted a momentary urge to have chocolate before my run and returned from my 7 miles with thoughts of a healthy breakfast.
Carrots for breakfast, yum!
Earlier this month I learned of a Carrot Cake Oatmeal recipe from a friend’s blog Frugal ‘n’ Fit, who learned of it from another food blog called Oh She Glows. I have always been an oatmeal lover and my early days of marathoning involved double bowls of oatmeal for breakfast. Here is my adapted version of the recipe with a holiday twist.
* 1 cup regular oats
* 2 cup almond milk (or any other type of milk)
* 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
* 2 large carrot, finely grated (1 heaping cup)
* 2 tbsp whipping cream or coffee cream
* 1/2-1 tsp ground cinnamon, to taste
* 1/4 tsp ground ginger
* 1/8th tsp ground nutmeg
* Pinch of kosher salt
* 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
* 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
* 2 tbsp crushed walnuts, divided
* 1/4 C. coffee cream or whipped cream + 2 tablespoons maple syrup (to drizzle on top)
* Shredded coconut, for garnish
* Cinnamon, for garnish
* Raisins and coarsely chopped pecans, for garnish
Lynn’s Cranberry Sauce Add one bag cranberries, zest of one orange and juice of two oranges to a microwavable dish. Microwave at high for 10 minutes and then at medium for 5 minutes. Add sugar to taste (1 cup or more).
Directions: Finely grate the large carrot to yield 1 heaping cup of grated carrots, using the fine grate, so carrot shreds are very small.
In a medium sized pot over medium heat, add almond milk, lemon juice, and cream. Stir well. Add spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger) and salt. Stir until mixed.
Stir in grated carrots and oats. Adjust heat if necessary or reduce heat to low if mixture boils. Cook about 8 minutes, stirring frequently. When mixture has thickened, stir in vanilla extract and 2 tbsp of maple syrup. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl.
Top with pecans, raisins, coconut and a dollop of cranberry sauce. Mix cream + maple syrup mixture and drizzle over top. If desired, sprinkle with cinnamon to garnish. 3 servings
Homemade cranberry sauce goes with everything
The original version of this recipe calls for coconut cream instead of cream but we only had coconut milk in the house. When my friend posted the recipe I commented that the original recipe is quite high in calories. A whopping 1200 calories for one large serving. I’ve doubled the recipe and consider it enough for 3 medium servings. I would estimate that each serving has 700-800 calories which is still quite high but at least you get your carrots and ingredients that will metabolize more slowly than chocolate.
It occurs to me that like doing “minutes” writing about a race experience is a lot easier when done right away.
My state of mind at the halfway point was very good. I tried to focus on each mile and I felt hopeful that I might be able to go under 3:40 which was my dream goal. I found myself looking forward to hitting the 20 mile point and proving to myself that I would NOT hit the proverbial wall. I wish I could give a blow by blow account of my splits but my inability to read the fine print on tattooed on my wrists created a bit of confusion. In spite of running well within my heart rate comfort zone for the first half of the race, my pace slowed through the race.
Before the 20 mile mark I realized that the race bib pinned to my shorts was a bit askew. I was worried that this might result in no race photos as they used the bib number as the identifier. So, for the second time I had to undo the four safety pins and attach the race bib to my sports bra.
My average pace for the first 5.9 miles was 8:08 and I slowed to 8:16 between 5.9 and 13.1 miles. From 13.1 to 20 miles my pace was 8:23 and then the most dramatic slowdown was between mile 20 to the finish where my pace averaged 8:55. It didn’t feel like I had slowed that much because I passed 277 runners and was only passed by two runners between mile 20 to the finish. One of the two runners that passed me was a guy who was pacing a young woman, the other runner that passed me.
So at some point after 20 miles I realized that I was not going to go under 3:40. I worried that I might not go under 3:45 but although I was getting slower, I pushed harder. My heartrate monitor had gone on the blink around mile 20.
Around mile 22 I passed a woman with grey hair who I thought might be in my category and indeed that was the case. She ended up finishing a couple of minutes behind me. I dye my hair so it might not be so easy for another 55-59er to spot me from the rear. The fact that unlike the open men or women, age-groupers can’t tell who their competition is fairly odd. In triathlons, age-groupers have their age-group written on their legs.
Around mile 24 I passed by a water station where every single marathoner was walking. It was in fact, a little hard to get through that section. I find it surprising that so many people, slowed more than I did. I guess I’m used to running with a faster, more experienced crowd and relative to my time, I have far more experience with the distance, than the 3:40+ marathoners I was running with.
I wish I could have something dramatic or funny to say about the race, like the author of What I Talk About When I Talk About Runningwho found himself counting the dead cats and dogs when he ran the original marathon route in Greece. I suppose the lack of drama in my account is partly to do with this being a “getting-back-in-the-game” effort rather than a full out race. Nonetheless the final mile is always something special but I’ll save that for the final installment.
And we are off – sort of. Although I was only 20 meters from the start line where the transponder chip attached to my running shoe registers my start time, it took me 37 seconds to get there, more than the 23 seconds it took me to cross the mats at the Chicago marathon. So there you have it, the distinction between “gun” time and “chip time”.
Transponder chip, tied to running shoe
Concerns going into the race; would my heart rate watch behave, would the hitherto unknown sports drink Ultima throw off my usual routine of marathon beverage consumption, would I be able to read my pace tattoos with my rapidly deteriorating middle-aged vision and would I experience foot cramps which I’ve had bouts of recently.
Pace tattoos in place
Following the advice of the three, 27 time-CIM-runners I took the significant downhill in the first mile very easy. I was relieved to see my heart rate register on my watch as the night before I realized that I had brought the more complicated watch of the two I own, the one that I don’t really know how to operate. I had frantically downloaded the manual and spent much time pressing this button and that, each press triggering a high-pitched beep, to my husband’s dismay as he quietly read. Together we were able to get the watch into a mode that would display both the heart rate and elapsed time.
I missed the one mile marker but was running around 8:25 pace at the two mile mark and it felt quite easy. I noticed some runners stop at porta potties and realized that I too, had to pee. Canadian masters legend Diane Palmason suggests that you should drink continually up until an hour before a marathon. And then, have another drink 10 minutes before the marathon. I had forgotten this and so I spent the next 8 miles in search of a porta potty with no line-up or a some sort of private spot a little forest or such. In spite of this slight discomfort the pace was very comfortable as I ran with my heart rate from 140-145. At this point I had no trouble keeping my heart rate under 145. What was interesting is that a few times my heart rate went down to 135 a lapse of concentration perhaps.
The weather was turning out to be perfect. I had tossed my hat at the one mile point and knew that it would not be long until I would feel the need to take off my vest. That would be a complicated maneuver as my race number was pinned to the front. But, first I had to find a pit stop. Shortly after mile ten we went by an industrial park which had a freestanding brick wall as part of the landscaping. I had no choice but to quickly and discreetly duck behind this makeshift porta potty. Ahem, well on the subject of TMI my husband overheard the following conversation on marathon day. A woman was explaining to her male companion how she had made a pit stop but that her muscles were very tight and she could only pee very slowly. The lack of modesty shown by long distance runners in discussing these matters has something in common with the intense physical rigours of childbirth and the willingness of participants to discuss the details thereof.
Race bib
The logistics of removing my vest while running loomed. I relaxed into the race for a couple of miles and then tackled undoing the four safety pins holding the race bib in place and redoing these same pins to attach the race bib to my shorts. Then I removed the vest and tried unsuccessfully to tie it around my waist. There was not enough length to do this. So I put placed the vest around my waist and fastened the lower part of the zipper so it encircled me. Then I twisted and twirled the vest so that it fit snugly around my waist. You may ask would it not have been easier to just stop. Well, as I write this I wonder too.
I ran the rest of the race in my short,shorts and sports bra, a racing outfit that my son used to refer to as a bathing suit. Consider the embarrassment of teenager who has a mother who has raced down Yonge street in her bathing suit. Now that I’m closer to 60 than 50, I do not feel inclined to expose so much of my body and avoid this “bathing suit” look when at all possible. However, such were the weather conditions on this day and with all that training on the line, the seconds gained by cooler body temperature won out over vanity and dignity.
As for the race tattoos. I should have given more thought to their placement as they were virtually unreadable in spite of pulling my skin this way and that. Bottom line, print too small for middle-aged eyes. I should have stuck to my old method.
So the first half passed with much distraction. My time for those 13.1 miles / 21.1 km was 1:48:19. It felt great to be able to finally focus on the race. And as they say for the marathon, the race really begins at mile 20.
At best, the marathon expo is draining. At worst, it is a bit of a circus with sideshows of minimal interest to the long-time runner, catering as it may to the novice runner or the flavour-of-the-day in training methods. The CIM distinguished itself by having Jack Daniels, one of the most respected coaches in distance running, as its headliner.
We arrived in town a couple of hours before the expo opened and all seemed quiet in the vicinity of the expo, located a block from our hotel. It was a surprise to find the convention center packed a mere thirty minutes after opening time. And, I mean near-gridlock type of “packed”. I do not like crowds. A manifestation of this is that after a total 27 years as a Toronto resident I have never attended the Canadian National Exhibition, the CNE, the EX.
The days before a marathon are not the time to be fighting crowds, rifling through boxes of running gear in search of bargains or sampling new sports drinks, bars or supplements. As for shopping, as when on vacation, context is everything and souvenir doodads and apparel entice but may lose luster upon returning to the regular grind. For example I briefly considered buying this t-shirt.
Yours for $19.99 or two for $35.99
A nice aspect of blogging is that the act of posting a picture of something that catches your eye gives you a bit of the thrill of acquisition, and diminishes your desire to possess that object. It is unlikely that I would ever wear this t-shirt, had I purchased it.
The most tiring expos of all is the Boston Marathon expo. I’ve run Boston four times and the last three times have ducked into the long corridor where the race kits are given out and avoided the expo altogether. My alternative to the expo is a trip to the Harvard Bookstore, located a couple of blocks from the Harvard Square subway station and a block from an Italian restaurant with great lobster ravioli. You don’t want to start pumping adrenalin at the marathon expo, wait till race day, you want to reduce physical and running related-mental stimulation the day before the race.
To be fair there are items at expos that are not readily available elsewhere. My purchases this day included; arm warmers, mid-weight gloves, fluorescent gloves, powder for Ultima, the official sports drink of the CIM and Mocha Clif Shotswith caffeine. As mentioned in another post, the Mocha Clif Shots are not available in Canada. Picking up my race number, t-shirt and timing chip took little time, however there was a bottleneck at the goody bag pick-up. My husband stood in the long line to get the goody bag while I made my purchases and looked around for sports watches as he needs a new one. Have you ever noticed how the life of a sports watch seems dependent on the life of the wristband?
Arm warmers, Utima powder, gloves, flourescent gloves and mocha Clif shots
No sports watch bargains were to be had so my husband returned to the hotel to do a work out at the fitness centre and I stayed for the presentation on how to run the CIM. This session was hosted by three runners, each having run the CIM all of it’s 27 years. The main takeaway points were; getting to the race start by bus is the ideal as the buses stay put once there and you can choose hang out in the bus for as long as you need, stay to the left at the relay exchange points as there is a lot of activity and confusion, the location of the major uphills on this net downhill course.
I returned to the expo recharged after the hour of sitting and bought a bus ticket. Then came upon the biggest bonus, pace tattoos. I normally create a waterproof pace chart that I pin to my jersey however no need this time round as I picked up, free-of-charge tattoos with splits for a 3:40 and a 3:45 marathon.
Pace tattoos, what will they think of next!?
Very cool. I returned to the hotel feeling that the net return on attending the expo was positive. I felt that I had for the most part done as Jack Daniels advised in his seminar the following day which was to concentrate on the task-at-hand.
False start, awake at 2 a.m. Head to the washroom in the dark to the sound of heavy rain and run into the end of the partially opened bathroom door, smack on the bridge of my nose. Why, why, did I ever decide to run this marathon, why!?
I was able to fall back to sleep for nearly two hours. Rising just before the planned 4 a.m. I go down to the lobby and step outside to a light drizzle and warmish temperature. I have never run a marathon in the rain. Will this marathon my 20th, be the first?
Folsom to Sacramento
The tedious but important decision of what to wear looms. I decide on the short shorts, lighter vest and tank top over sports bra and lightweight microfiber cap. Then I bundle up with tights, warm up pants and t-shirt, arm warmers and jacket. Since rising I have been constantly drinking Gatorade.
There is a bus to the start line that stops at the hotel. I head downstairs and am the last runner to trundle on. My seatmate is eager to converse. All very well, since I discover that she is a pacer and only running about half the course. She is assisting a blind female runner who is hoping to run 3 hours and 30 minutes. We chat briefly about the Achilles Track Club, which I correctly gathered was the source of her involvement. Any other time I would have liked to converse more fully but I am feeling quite apprehensive, especially when I find out that the race starts at 7:00 a.m. not 7:30 a.m. as I had thought. D’oh!
My friendly seatmate offers to lend me her cellphone to text my husband this news. I confess that I’m not really sure how to send a text message. I start to think about how disappointed he will feel if he misses the finish but force myself to FOCUS on the task at hand. The 26 mile drive takes nearly an hour so by the time we get to the start area, it is nearly 6:30 a.m. and I am feeling quite tense. There is a long, line-up at the porta potty so while waiting I strip down to race gear. The day is dawning with no rain and I decide to forgo the singlet, wear the vest, which can be worn around my waist should conditions warm up markedly.
Ya gotta go
Liberated from the need to pee, I dash to the baggage truck and toss my bag. Having read the runner comments about this race from marathonguide.com was helpful in giving me confidence in the bag check process. Generally, I never leave anything I would mind losing, with baggage check.
My competitive hope is to place in the top three so having noticed that age-groups prizes are awarded on gun time, not chip time, I make my way close to the front, near the 3:10 marathon aspirants, recalling the thrill of being the oldest woman in the 3:10 corral at the Chicago marathon in 2006.
Daylight is upon us with a mainly blue sky defying the predicted steady rain. I feel ready so let the party begin. Three, two, one and we are off . . . Hallelujah!
Listen to KD Lang sing Leonard Cohen’s HALLELUJAH at the opening ceremony for Olympics. Stunning!
Of all weeks, the two weeks prior to a marathon is when I most carefully watch what I eat. There’s no point in carrying extra baggage for the 26.2 miles. A staple for this period is my favourite healthy food, tabouli. I really love this dish but it is a lot of work to cook the grains and chop the greens so I only make it for special occasions like pre-marathon week or parties. Yesterday I made a double batch and will be taking this for lunch 3-4 days in a row. It keeps very well. I usually add the tomatoes day to day, as they are the one ingredient that does not keep well.
Tabouli with Wild Rice
Lynn’s Tabouli with Wild Rice
(a recipe with inspiration from Anne Lindsay’s Lighthearted Everyday Cooking and Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappé)
3/4 cup bulgur
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup wild rice, rinsed and drained
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1 can chick peas
1/3 cup finely chopped green onion
Dressing
1/3 cup lemon juice
3 cloves garlic
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup olive oil
black pepper, to taste
Soak bulgur in 6 cups hot water for an hour. Place cloth on the bottom of a colander and pour bulgur on the cloth. Let drain and then gather the cloth and squeeze as much water as possible from the bulgur. While bulgur is soaking, bring chicken stock and rice to a boil in a saucepan; cover and simmer fro 40-45 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Drain, if necessary; let cool.
In salad bowl, combine bulgur, rice, tomatoes, parsley, mint, green onion and chick peas. Stir ingredients for dressing, pour over salad: stir to mix. Cover and refrigerate until serving time or for up to 3 days.
That’s not to say that I won’t indulge in a bit of meat and potatoes. My body craves protein and a bit of fat and my husband cooked up one of his best breakfasts ever on Sunday morning. I was ravenous when he produced this winning breakfast spread.
Eggs, beef breakfast strips, bagel and home fries
Empire Sandy - Monday, November 29, 2010
As for the run today, well, I just love the freshness of these late fall mornings. The Music Garden was decked out for the holidays, an enjoyable festive sight and dawn on the lake was as beautiful as ever. I’ve said it once and I’ll say iit many times more, what better way to start the day. Sigh . . .
I took the appearance of snow on my 8 mile run this morning as confirmation from the weather gods that the time to back off from training, and rest for the marathon has arrived.
In spite of having run 75 miles this week, my legs were peppy and in the final stretch I knew that my 55 year old body, is still capable of a much heavier training load. But, as the end of phase 1 of my return to marathon racing after a more than 2 1/2 year sabbatical, this is a good place to be. Ready for more. The most I have run in one week is 104 miles. And, within that total, the intensity of the runs was far greater. but now is the time to err on the side of caution, i.e. rest rather than daydream about the next training cycle.
Friday, November 20, 2010 - 7:00 a.m. Marilyn Bell Park
What a lucky year it was to be training for an early December marathon. I did not have to suffer through any rain for any of my long runs or fast paced runs. The photo of my run on Friday morning was typical of my early morning runs. The turning point seems to have come today, just as my training load is reduced by almost half.
Wintry weather rolls in to the lake
I have to focus on thinking about the race itself and checking the weather forecast for Sacramento daily. My ideal temperature range for racing a marathon is 5-12C. There has been a lot of rain lately but sunny days are in sight.
Our hotel is about 4 blocks from the finish line. This is very useful as there is nothing more difficult than trying to meet someone after they have run a marathon. Behavior, while in that state is quite unpredictable. So if my husband and I don’t connect within 10 minutes, after I finish, I’ll head back to the hotel.
Many details of race day planning still to come but for now, I look forward to a quieter week. To end the day we make a toast to the Saskatchewan Roughriders who are enroute to the Grey Cup in Edmonton and the end of my training cycle. Go Green, Go Riders!
Mind, Motion & Matter 