Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Looking north to New Brunswick

Every time I think about what I want to do on my vacation, I look north and wonder what's going on there. But, I know that regardless of the weather at home I can always find an activity to do. Down here in the sunny south, I'm looking for some warm weather activities because my running's not going all that well. I was out the other day and I looked up and saw 4 vultures circling overhead, so I guess I need to find some other things to do.
Today I was down on the beach and there was quite a lot going on with surfing and some kayaking plus lots of scenery. So, I'm cutting my message short and making plans to venture onto the water tomorrow in some capacity or other if I can find an outfitter. I've checked out 2 on the web, but they're both out of business. I'll have to check further up the coast. I wish I had my kayak with me. The vacationers lament, eh?

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Running in warm weather

Here I am down south and enjoying some warm weather. I've been doing a fair bit of biking which is quite relaxing on the flat terrain of Florida. However, when it comes to my running, that's another story. I find that when I get into warm weather running, it quickly shows my level of conditioning. I'm probably carrying an extra 10 pounds at this time, so that's a factor. Coupled with that is the extra one eats during vacation.
So, my message today is a notation on the balance of diet in one's active life. Obviously I'm not dealing well with this on vacation, but now I know it's time to start and cut back and take off that 10 pounds for the upcoming running season. One of my problems is that I eat too many carbs, so step one is to go to the Canada Food guide and plan a balanced diet. Then the other part is to cut the portions.
Wish me luck and stay tuned for updates on my progress.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Time for vacation

Well here I am ready for a little vacation down south, but I feel a little sad leaving this great weather behind. To usher in spring a group of us kayakers did a loop around the Irving Nature Park on Friday and then another group crossed the Kennebecasis to Minister's Face for one of the earliest spring crossings ever on Saturday the 20th of March.
My running has taken a bit of a back seat to other activities, but I'm looking to gear up with some warm weather running in Florida. I still have a goal of the Fredericton half marathon in May and a yet undecided run at the Grand Bay Canada Day event.
To further motivate, I'm offering to lead a group of new runners in a beginners progam* that starts April 12th. Then on June 6th there's the Bikaru to kick off preparations for the KVC Marathon. Check out the Bikaru details at www.kvcmarathon.com

*As I did last year in the aftermath of the Core Program, I`m offering a beginning running program this spring. It begins April 12th and has as a goal to do the Grand Bay 5k on Canada Day.

The program has a pace that`s geared for anyone. We typically run it out of Longwood Park because its a central and a safe area to do a group activity.

Let me know if you want more detail or if you or anyone you know would be interested.
There`s no charge.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Knees, Knees, Who Knows Their Knees.

As I continue with thoughts about Stretching/Strengthening Routines, let’s move up the ladder to the knees. Knees can be a real challenge to runners because we think they’re taking the brunt of the impact from running. However, that’s not necessarily the case if we condition them properly.

First, we must realize the knee is a hinge of sorts and to protect it we must keep it aligned and lubed. So, let’s look at some of the muscles that keep it aligned. In the front of the leg we have the quad muscles. If we run only and don’t strengthen these muscles, typically we can develop a muscle imbalance between the inside and outside quad muscles. This imbalance can cause misalignment and friction in the knee joint. A conditioning routine for this is to sit in a chair with a 5-10 pound toe weight and do leg lifts. Another is to do squats out of a seated position, using the chair as a squat height guide for the repetitions. Also, one can do a quad stretch/strengthen by pulling the leg up and behind using the arm and then activate the quad muscle against the arm force. This is an example of muscle activation in the stretch mode, which improves range of motion and mobility. Similarly we can do the hamstring by putting our foot up on a chair, and then bending over for the stretch and in turn dig the heel in to activate the muscle. The groin muscles can be conditioned with a simple routine whereby we sit and hold the legs together with arm strength, then force them open against the arm strength. For the outside muscles, force the legs open using the elbows against the inside of the knees and then activate the muscles to go against the arm strength. Once you’ve done all this, then grab your knees and do some hoola circles both ways to help open the joint and get the synovial fluid into those key knee areas for good lubrication.

Now, when you’re out running with your strengthened leg muscles, concentrate on good running posture, landing on your mid-foot and thus transmitting the impact straight up through the legs and into the upper body

Monday, March 15, 2010

Balanced approach to fitness

Well here it is Monday again. I just got back from a weekend in Halifax for a family visit. Also, made a visit to Mountain Equipment Co-op and spoiled myself with some new kayaking gear. What a great store for the outdoor enthusiast!
Last week I started a discourse on conditioning around the theme of combo stretching/strengthening routines and began with the feet and lower leg. Before I continue I'm going to take a little diversion and comment on another theme I mentioned and that was balance. Not only should one have a balanced approach to conditioning but also a balance of activities. For a number of years, I put all my activity into the running game and it was good till I ran into an injury and then I was lost for a while. Since that awakening I have diversified and taken on a number of activities including a mix of running, biking and kayaking. This way, if my running is not going well, I can concentrate more on the others.
I put this theme into action in my KVC Marathon Founder role by creating a fun event to kick-off preparations for the Marathon. Its called a Bikaru and is a way to experience the Marathon Course with a 10k run from Bloomfield to Hampton, a 25k bike from Hampton to Rothesay and a 7k kayak along the Kennebecasis from Fairvale to Renforth. The event goes on June 6th this year with details on the marathon site. www.kvcmarathon.com
On the site you can also see some pictures from the previous year as captured and shared by Malcolm Brett. Mac has been a behind the scenes supporter of the marathon since day one, not only for pictures but technical support to the event as well. Mac has also agreed to help expound this blog with a picture gallery, so stay tuned.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Ways to minimize injuries

Just about to head out the door for a weekend in Halifax, so here's a quick start to my thoughts on injury prevention. As mentioned earlier, I'm a strong believer in mixing strengthening and stretching as part of a balanced approach to body conditioning. The concept of balance is multi-faceted, so you'll here it often from me. I'm also a strong believer in finding conditioning routines that can be built into everyday avtivities. So, in that vein, let's start with the lower leg. The foot and lower leg get quite a lot of abuse in the run of a day. The myriad of muscles in the foot get the total brunt of gravity, so why not give them a break. During the day, take some time to walk around on your toes and then your heels to flex those muscles along with the muscles in the front and back of the lower leg. Also, crunch up your toes as you walk or run along. Then at night, roll a ball under your foot, pick up marbles with your toes and rid yourself of calluses with a good vaseline massage of the feet.
This could be the start of warding of such ailments as plantar fascitis, achilles soreness, etc.
So,there's a start. Everyone can do these things and you're only limited by your imagination of other things to do to look after your feet. Guaranteed this will stand you well. Stay tuned.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Running injuries

I just thought I'd throw out a little 'food for thought' in regards to injuries, because one of the running buddies in our group is on the sideline with an injury. We all deal with this especially in the spring when we start to ramp things up. I've always felt that many injuries result because of the fact that we do so much of our running in a rote fashion. Over time muscles and ligaments become cast and shorter, eventually leading to a friction of sorts that gives pain and possibily an injury. Preventive medicine for these conditions is the best policy. One type of routine that I recommend is to incorporate a strengthening/stretching routine into the weekly schedule. There are many routines out there for the respective muscle groups, but one that I like best is a combo of sorts that stretches the muscle and then activates the muscle in the stretch mode. The idea is to not only increase strength but to increase range of motion which ultimatley helps to prevent injury. The first thing to do before beginning these routines is to check your present range of motion for the respective muscle groups. So, I'll let you do that and next time I'll get into specifics.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Coast Tire a 'Founding Father Sponsor'

In the establishment of the KVC Marathon over the first 6 years we were blessed with good sponsors especially Coast Tire and Auto Service. Ron Outerbridge, John Correia and Rebecca Parker from Coast Tire provided a backbone of support that gave many runners the incentive to set a marathon goal. I always thought it was pretty neat that Coast Tire, a service company to the motoring public, opened up their operation to support a sport that plies its recreation on the same streets and roads. Also, as a marathon supporter, they recognized the KVC in their 26 stores around the maritime provinces which certainly helped to establish it in running circles around the area.
On race day Ron always ensured there were vehicles and staff on the course to support the runners and volunteers. As well, he was usually present himself to cheer the runners. His suggestion of a marathon relay in 2007 helped to bolster numbers and give runners a taste of marathoning in the process.
So after 6 years, Coast Tire passes on this legacy to other sponsors and the only other thing the KVC Marathon could ask is for Ron to anchor a Coast Tire team in the 2010 Marathon Relay.

Friday, March 5, 2010

KVC Founding Fathers

Alex has gotten the new web page up, so the info for KVC 2010 will soon start flowing. I'm thinking this is a good time to mention the founding fathers and so provide a back drop for this transition time in the history of the event.
Bill McGuire was a co-chair of the event from 2005-2009. Bill is well known in the community and was able to bring numerous sponsors such as Coast Tire to the event. His determination and hard work was responsible for really making this arguably the 'best bang for your buck' marathon in the Atlantic Provinces. Bill and I worked well together and even when we didn't agree, we always found the middle ground that ensured all participants were well accomadated.
Bill ran the event a number of times and qualified for Boston at the 2004 KVC. He went on to run Boston twice. Bill and I had opportunity to run KVC together in 2006. I was trying to qualify for Boston myself and went out fast. I knew Bill would be close behind and sure enough he caught me on Rothesay Ave. As he went by me he paused in front of Crosbys seeing that I was slowing down and started to chat me up. No sooner had he done so and his legs spassed and froze. He was now walking along like 'Kramer in tight jeans'. I didn't know what to do, so I kept saying, "Walk it Off, Walk it Off", slapped him on the back, almost knocked him over and then I took off because my Boston time was slipping by. Bill re-grouped and finished shortly after, but he never let me forget how I left him stuck in front of Crosbys.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Cadence and Olympic Reflections

Well here I am, like most Canadians, dealing with the post Olympic syndrome. Now that we're over the hype, I think we'll all agree that these Olympics have left us with a renewed motivation to be more active, especially after seeing all that diversity of winter sport.
For me tonight is an 8k run and tomorrow is a kayak paddle down St. George way. Now that's diversity, eh?
Last time I described cadence and how important it is to running efficiency. As I mused on this in the aftermath, I thought of all the times it has been mentioned to me by others. Darrell Travis gave a talk on this many years ago and I never forgot. Darrell's definetly got cadence as shown by his marathon results and most recently in Florida with another 3:20 marathon. Another source for this was from a discipline I follow called Chi Running. Check it out if you like at www.chirunning.com
Another guy who's showing real cadence is Eric Gillis. Eric, from Ontario, spoke at last year's Saint John Half Marathon about his exploits as an elite 10k runner. This year he toke his exploits a notch higher by running the Houston Marathon in 2:13:50. Now that's an Olympic performance. Keep an eye on this guy in the future. I'm sure he's going to be another athlete to make Canadians proud.