Category Archives: Running

Queen City Marathon: how to help a runner

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Queen City Marathon day is one week away – September 12! I have done all the training (including a couple of long runs when I was in Regina over the summer) and I’ve been tapering for two weeks already.

I’m excited to finally be running the full 42.2 km marathon in my *hometown. It will be great to see friends and family on the course to cheer me on – but I have a need for some extra race support. I’m hoping I gather a crew for that day:

1.     Gear/layer shedding.

  • It’s always chilly at the start of the race and I bundle up. At the start line and at the 3 – 4 km mark it would be great to have someone on hand to whom I can hand off my extra layers. Running gear gets expensive and I don’t want to lose it!
  • Likewise – if the weather turns bad – it would be nice to have someone at the 25k mark or so to hand me a dry, warm layer if needed.

2.    Water bottles/gels.

I carry my own water usually, that way I can carry my own electrolyte concoction, plus I can avoid the bottlenecks at the aid stations (I haven’t mastered the art of drinking enough liquid out of those paper cups.) I have four bottle holders on my fuel belt plus a spare set of four. If I can trade empties for full ones with someone at about the 20 km point, have them refilled, and then pick them up again at the 35 km point, that would be ever so wonderful. (Neil Balkwill Centre – 2420 Elphinstone Street is Kilometer 20 and 35 I believe.)

3. Finish Line!

  • Chocolate Milk 500 ml — I think my daughter Pocketbuddha has offered, but she will have Oliver with her, so perhaps some help for the mama of a 1-year old is in order? (PS I CANNOT EXPRESS HOW STOKED I AM THAT MY SON, MY DAUGHTER AND MY GRANDSON WILL BE AT THE FINISH LINE CHEERING ME ON!)
  • Red Breast 12-year old Irish Whisky in a flask. My son Aidan has this one taken care of I think – it has become somewhat of a tradition for me to swill some whisky after Halfs and Full Marathons, thanks to my Victoria drinking buddy Tim (@Howlabit on Twitter). By the way – if anyone has any 15-yo Red Breast – talk to me. I’m sure we can work something out :)
  • A warm blanket – those plastic ones they hand out to all racers are OK – but they just don’t do the trick.

4. Après-Finish

I’m getting a really big meal that day, thanks to Margaret Levett who is going to stuff me full of jug-jug, rice ‘n peas, and other Caribbean and British delicacies (including the sorrel. Mmmm the sorrel!).

Of course if people just want to come out and cheer, make me a sign that says “Go Tori” or just yell and scream when I run by, I’m up for that too. It will be a huge help. Did I mention running a marathon is freaking hard? Every little bit of encouragement helps — except don’t say “you’re almost there” until I’ve hit the 39 km mark.

The race web site (http://runqcm.com/marathon/course/maps_narratives_startfinish) has a handy “Spectator Zone” guide for spectators and includes information on the best spots from which to watch (that are easier to get to given the traffic restrictions that day).

—

*Swift Current, SK is technically my hometown, but I lived in Regina for most of my adult life: 18 years.

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Help for a lonely runner?

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My longest run before the marathon is coming up on Saturday. I have to admit I’m a little apprehensive about it, because it will be a 32k solo run — about 3 and a half hours for me; it really sucks to be slow!

A friend is driving me out to Sidney, and I will run the entire length of the Lochside Trail to downtown Victoria. By myself. On a trail I’m not entirely familiar with, since I’ve only run it from the Blue Bridge to Island View Road. I’m hoping that by starting in Sidney, I’ll get the unfamiliar half over with first, while I’m still fresh.

Let’s face it: running for 3+ hours gets boring and it hurts. That’s why I join the clinics at Frontrunners: for the camaraderie and companionship. Other people take the edge off. There’s strength in numbers. Shared pain is more bearable, and actually feels like an accomplishment when it’s finally over.

I’ll be all right, I can do this. After all, I will be running the race solo (however there will be other runners on the course). I ran 2:45 mostly solo while I was visiting Regina a couple of weeks ago; a friend did join me for 5k or so, which definitely helped.

Is there anyone in Greater Victoria who wants to join me for a portion of my run on Saturday – either on foot or on a bike? I would appreciate the companionship and support, even for a little while.

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Homestretch to my second marathon

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Only one more month until the Queen City marathon!

This race is so much different from my first marathon. I’m still deeply committed, training is going well this year (dare I say better than last year?) – but that added sense of excitement and pressure is gone. I already know I can run a marathon – I’ve already achieved 42.2 kms.

This race is about seeing how strong I can be and running 42.2 faster than last time. It’s about having fun on a course in my hometown. For me, marathon running is like golf: if you hit a sweet drive 20% of the time, that one sweet shot after four duds is enough to keep you going back for more.

Looking at all my Halfs and Full marathons the past two years, I only felt really good during the Vancouver Half in 2009 – the Victoria Marathon hurt like hell from the 25km mark and the Oak Bay Half this year was a slog, despite my PB time.

Searching for that perfect race day just keeps me running.

Training is fun too – when I get a day (and it happens more frequently than a nice golf swing actually) where the weather, the company of my running buddies, my mood and my energy levels are optimum I think I’m the luckiest girl on earth. And I couldn’t get those days if I wasn’t training for another marathon.

So I’ll take them as they come!

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Training this week: recovery week, only 16k long run Saturday.

Next week: 32k long run (about 3.5 hours). After that, the taper starts!

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My second job

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Did I simply forget how tiring it is to train for a full marathon? Or could it be the extra weekly run and two extra boot camp sessions per week that have me begging for mercy?

Take a little from column A, a lot from column B and you have the reason I wake up in an exhausted fog some mornings. This training schedule is like a second job. For instance, here’s this week’s schedule:

  • Monday: morning tempo run 10-11k; evening “recovery” run with the Running for the Truly Terrified group I started.
  • Tuesday: morning spin class at the YMCA where I’m a volunteer; evening boot camp.
  • Wednesday: evening speed workout with Frontrunners marathon clinic.
  • Thursday: evening boot camp.
  • Friday: one-hour hot yoga at noon because lord knows I need to stretch!
  • Saturday: 19k run (long slow distance: pace 6:50/k, a little over 2 hours)
  • Sunday: hike Witty’s lagoon! (I’m really looking forward to that one!)

As luck would have it, my real job is busy but not crazy-busy, and during the summer I haven’t (yet) needed to put in any overtime hours or travel too much. If that were the case though I’d have to give up something – probably a boot camp session.

As a matter of fact, come August (when my mileage starts climbing again) I will drop one of the boot camps per week, and during taper I won’t weight train at all.

The perennial question for runners is: what are you running from?

Good question. The harder answer (given the fact that marathon training is actually hard on the body) is I have no idea. I can’t think of what I’m avoiding in life by working out so much, I can’t think of anything “chasing” me that would cause me to run away.

The easy answer is: I simply love this, I love running, working out, getting strong, staying youthful, staying healthy; and I love doing it with other people, helping them achieve their fitness goals at the same time I’m achieving mine.

What other possible answer could there be?

Photo: Tori running the Royal Victoria Marathon October 2009 by Bill Broughton

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RTT Week 3; plus – a new triathlete is formed!

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It’s going to be a beautiful week in Victoria, and I’ve had a lot of interest in Running for the Truly Terrified (RTT). For the past two weeks I’ve been joined by Scott and Derek. This week my hairdresser Marion says she wants to come with her friend, and a couple of other people on Twitter have expressed an interest as well.

I volunteered on the run course at the Victoria Youth Triathlon this morning where I ran with a little girl “K” to get her to the finish line. K had a good race, except when she came off the bike for lap 1 of the run her stomach started to hurt – bad. Through tears, she insisted she was DONE. I took her off the course to the finish area where she had a bit of juice and some bread. We waited for her mom who – I realized as soon as she arrived – was my friend Cathy from Twitter!

Soon after K saw her mom she started crying again – she wanted to get back on the course and finish her race. Not finishing is worse than finishing in pain – I know that feeling — that’s the spirit of a strong, determined young woman!

I took her back to my station where she had left off and said “When you make it back here to start lap 2 I’ll run the rest of the way with you — if you want.”

Sure enough (and sooner than I expected) K came roaring around the corner toward my station for lap 2. “Do you want me to come with you to the end?” I said as she whizzed by. She slowed a bit and said “Yes,” so I took off my jacket and brought her all the way around, cheering her the whole way, encouraging her to keep going. Cathy was in tears when she saw her little girl finish, and she was even more surprised to see me right there with her.

“I can’t believe you ran with her, thank you so much!” she said, over and over again, giving me a big hug. Or two or three.

For me it was no big deal, or so I thought. I had been a bit bored, standing around waiting for runners from 7 am until noon, even though my own daughter was with me and we always have a great time volunteering at races. I was happy to run a bit and get the blood going.

Except that, when I jogged back to my station where my daughter was still monitoring the run course, I found myself in tears as well. And here I am, again in tears as I write this. I was so proud and honoured to be able to help someone achieve her goal, even after all seemed lost. Everyone is an athlete who shows up, day after day, race after race, and does their best. Everyone is a hero who digs down real deep and finds the courage and the heart to cross that finish line, no matter whether they’re first or dead last.

I remembered what I told K after she finished: “This is yours, all yours. You finished this race, you are a triathlete and no one will ever be able to take it away from you, ever.”

I hope she’s as proud as I am of her.

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Running for the Truly Terrified

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Many of you tell me I inspire you and you want to run (for the first time, or to get started again), but you are Truly Terrified. You don’t think you can keep up with me. You think you’ll embarrass yourself if you take me up on my offer to get you started with running. You think you’ll get left behind gasping for air while I run ahead.

I am here to tell you that’s not the case. I am here to tell you I was once in your shoes. I’ve been there, I know how it is.

Compared to most other runners, I am slow as molasses. In all my races I don’t rank in the top 50 per cent of my age group, but I still do it, because I love it. If I can do this, anyone can. I want to help you get started running again.

I’ve convinced my friend Scott Garman to come out to Beacon Hill Park by the petting zoo, Monday night, May 31, 2010, 6:30 sharp, to start running. Slowly. Baby steps. Anyone is welcome to join in.

Here’s the deal: there’s an 800-metre loop that passes by the Children’s Farm petting zoo (map below). If I’m running fast it takes me about 4 minutes to get around it, but if I’m slow it can be 5 minutes or more – and believe me on Mondays I am slow – it’s a recovery run for me, and I will have just done a full-body weight workout. I don’t want to be running any longer than a total 20 minutes.

If you can do one lap, good for you! If you can do half a lap, good for you! If you can run 2 minutes, then walk 3 minutes, then walk 2 minutes — well good for you! I will be there to clap and cheer all along the way.

The point is – you just show up. Because half the battle for anything you do in life is just showing up.


View Run routes in a larger map

Couple of things though before you stop by:

  • Please don’t come if you have a health condition that prevents you from doing physical exercise safely. See your doc first and get the go-ahead.
  • I’m not a certified personal trainer, I’m not a health care professional, I’m just a passionate volunteer and I want to demystify this whole running thing.
  • I can’t tell you how to eat, run, lose weight, or find enlightenment. I just know what has worked for me, and that a thousand mile journey begins with a single step.
  • Therefore I command you to go at your own pace and don’t try and keep up if you’re not feeling it. Huffing and puffing is one thing, but wheezing and gasping are another. Take it slow, that’s the whole point of this exercise.
  • Likewise, muscle fatigue is one thing, but sudden acute pain in muscles or joints is another. We’re here to honour our bodies, not hurt them. If it hurts, stop.
  • I’ll be trying to do this every Monday night, and everyone is welcome, but it really helps to strengthen the muscles and support the joints before attempting any real running. If our little runs inspire you to keep it up and run longer, I recommend getting into a good personal trainer or boot camp to avoid injury.

So please comment below and let me know if you’re coming, or just – show up in your sturdy runners and some sweat pants.

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Race report: Oak Bay Half Marathon

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First, the quick recap:

  1. Official time: 2:08:04
  2. Personal best by 4:20 (previous PB 2:12:24)
  3. By any measure, that’s a huge jump in performance.

Why am I not really satisfied?  (Or more importantly – I’m feeling guilty about not being satisfied because in fact today was quite an accomplishment! At age 45, I have never run so fast for so long in my life, and I know I could run faster! Isn’t that amazing when you really think about it?)

Because I think I could have done better; because every other person I trained with (except one) finished faster (look at that handsome bunch of healthy people in the picture!), because I knew I wouldn’t hit my “A” goal just after the 5K mark, and I knew I wouldn’t hit my “B” goal before the 15K mark, even though my pace was stronger than ever before. It’s tough to recover from negative self-talk like that in the middle of an endurance race.

Let’s back up: here were my tiered goals for today:

  • “A” goal that I set in January: sub-2 hrs. Reward: that tattoo I’ve been wanting for 10 years.
  • “B” goal: sub-2:05. Reward: 2 summer dresses + necklace I picked out at Lark & Sparrow yesterday.
  • “C” goal: sub-2:10. Reward: 1 of the dresses. No necklace.
  • “Just finishing:” A spa day with a friend. Ok ok, I was going to do that anyway.

So – even though I realized that my stretch goal of sub-2 hrs was improbable, my goal of 2:05 was well within reach.

I felt crappy from the start. Even though I came to the first 5 K at about 29:00 I felt like I was pushing it too much, I was worried I wouldn’t have enough for those tough hills at the end of the course. I got a stitch in my side that took from the 7 until the 12 K mark to disappear. My legs felt heavy and tired. Many times, even before the first hill, I wanted to quit.

You are what you pay attention to: this was a self-fulfilling prophecy. I did the same workouts as my pace group friends who came in ahead of me; I was trained and ready. My own brain failed me: we now know that our brain tricks us into experiencing fatigue and pain when in fact our muscles are far from failure.

Brain training starts next week, find out how after the jump…

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Half Marathon playlist

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I don’t usually listen to music while running – I’m considering it today during the Oak Bay Half Marathon. I might need something extra to keep me running at 5:40 average pace per kilometre for two hours! If I do, here’s what I’ll be listening to:

  • Is There a Ghost – Band of Horses
  • After Party – Ozomatli
  • Persion Griot – Dharmakassa
  • Blitzkrieg Bop – Ramones
  • You Gotta Help Me Out – Killers
  • Motivation – Sum 41
  • Vertigo – U2
  • Shut the Club Down – Girl Talk
  • Priscilla Blues – Rusty Augers
  • Pump It Up – Elvis Costello
  • Gutless – Hole
  • Grounds for Divorce – Elbow
  • Celtic Raga – Dharmakassa
  • Switching to Clide – various
  • Kalasnjikov – Goran Bregovic
  • Here’s the Thing – Girl Talk
  • Saw Red – Sublime and Gwen Stefani
  • Arezou – Niyaz
  • Road – Refractory
  • Monster Hospital – Metric
  • Galaxy Bounce – Chemical Brothers
  • TKO – Le Tigre
  • Romantic Rights – Death from Above
  • High Fidelity – Elvis Costello
  • Help I’m Alive – Metric
  • Set it Off – Girl Talk
  • Alive – Daft Punk
  • Credit in the Straight World – (Hole)
  • Absurd – Fluke
  • Move Your Ass – Scooter
  • Salaam – Gipsyland (feat. Anoushka)
  • Love Like a Sunset Pts 1-2 – Phoenix
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Why I’m not running Vancouver this weekend

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Oak Bay Half, here I come!

I was excited about running the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon again as recently as Tuesday.

Tonight though (Friday), when it’s time to be packing and hydrating and fueling, I’m looking forward to spending a few days at home instead.

I love Vancouver, but I’ve been back and forth a lot lately and one more trip just looks like No. Fun. At. All.

I just got back from there yesterday. If I was to go to Vancouver tomorrow, I would return by ferry Sunday afternoon, then turn around and go back to Vancouver Tuesday through Saturday next week. I’m getting exhausted just writing all that, let alone running a 21.1 km race on Sunday to boot.

I don’t think M. feels all that great about my traveling either, and we discussed it tonight. If she were to come with me she would have to work around my race instead of having fun with Mom in the city.Training run

I’m not without choices though: most of my other running clinic buddies are signed up for the Oak Bay Half Marathon on May 16. I can sign up for that one, hop back on the final two weeks of their schedule by running 1:30 or 1:45 tomorrow and some hills on Wednesday, then taper (again) for another 10 days. Heck, it would even be cheaper than taking the ferry over and eating all our meals out, etc.

In the end it comes down to this: I run for fun. It’s not an imperative, it’s not a job. It’s a way to challenge myself and feel great afterward. It doesn’t matter if I run Vancouver or Victoria; it doesn’t matter if I run sub-2 hours or 2:15. What matters is I show up and feel good about my effort.

So, the plan has changed – I’m in training for another 2 weeks and I’ll run in my own town May 16, after sleeping in my own bed the night before.

Photo: me (front & centre) and my gang, about an hour into a long run, about a month ago.
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Seen on my run

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Suits, heels on downtown city streets, tired faces dodged. A former colleague from the Ministry. A smile hello.

Long steps down to the seawall from the new convention centre. Float planes and large yachts. Bejewelled harbour; I feel glittered in my running shoes. I’m only going for 45 minutes; the race is only a couple of weeks away.

Two men pass me: one wearing a toque and long sleeves and what appear to be skate shoes with only the most minimal sole, the other older. I keep pace just behind them and soak up their chatter as ambient camaraderie.

Bikes, rollerblades on the shady side. A strong pace. Bliss. Just ahead, the lookout point, my estimated 4 k turnaround. I brought water, should I just keep going?

Just one more kilometre.Seawall Run

Rounding a bend I can see the Lion’s Gate bridge. Beyond that I know is the open strait, brilliant sun, cliffs shiny with runoff, more water fountains, beaches. I stop at the 5 k point and take a picture.

Some military-type men run by – their dark blue shirts and muscled arms. They catch my glance, smile and say hi.

“I’m wondering whether I should keep going around,” I call out.

“Go for it, it’s not as long as it looks!”

I know how far it is. If I turn back now, it’s a 10K run. If I keep going, it’s 15k, an extra half hour onto what should really be a taper run.

I keep going, because runs like this are worth more than any Personal Record.

I keep going, because this is why I run.

Photo: Seawall Run, by Tori Klassen

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