My resolutions include...

Another week has come and gone and finally winter will be upon us. Who is looking forward to the -22C high of next Tuesday? I guess we can't have a Florida winter all the time. Even there they face frozen oranges sometime through the winter.

Jodi and Jen sharing a phot op with me while Carroll snapped.

We had a fantastic morning up on Nose Hill last weekend. The sun was out, the sky was blue, and the wind kept color in our cheeks.

For those of you that have stayed on the blog train (down from 350 to now just over 50) I thank you for helping me transition from my work address to a more neutral blog. Those on the email sign-up will see things the same. Some pictures will need to be clicked now and then but the transfer just makes sense from a work-volunteer end. THANKS!

If you are heading out tomorrow, we will meet at West Mount Pleasant Arena 610-23 Avenue NW at 9 am. We will trot over to Confederation park for an 5-15 km trip around the park, cemetery, and golf course. There might be an undualtion or two within the route, so get your swears out today so the day tomorrow will be all rosy!

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Starting next week we will move our Tuesday and Thursday training to exclusively the Tech Shop on 4th Street SW. With the unbalanced hours of Tri-It we were unable to consistently make it work. Sorry for the northerners in the group. Training on the weekdays will continue at 630 pm. If you are looking to get some clinic info outside of our group training you can call Lauren at 403-228-3782 and she can give you the lowdown on some talks and other options outside of our normal meetings.

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So we chatted about resolutions last week. Joy and I have taken a big leap of change and resolved to not run a marathon with wine. This year we registered for http://www.fueledbyfinewine.com/. We fully expect to support the wine region by drinking their vino! It is the last weekend of Stampede, so we will pass over drinking of gassy Saddledome beer and try out some West Coast Oregon wine.

If you can't bear to miss the Stampede and its ten days of Daisy Dukes, you could always head to Oliver BC for the Half Corked Marathon (17 km-ish) at the end of May. No site yet for this year, but you can google a number of different spots that discuss this made in Canada event.

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As we are into a new year I do see the need to get our Hervis Half Marathon participants on course (literally) and have your training schedule formalized. Below is my suggested trotting schedule. My experience shows that our walkers travel around 10 min/km or about 6km/hour. Our runners tend to travel around 6-7 min/km or 9-10 km/hour. Not much of a difference but around an hour when we hit the finish line. The below schedule is designed to keep you active and build up for our finish line. You can see it...right there...the flags are flapping and the banner has that word 'DONE' spelled in a different way. It is there for us all to grasp and if you are lucky enough to be in Prague on March 31, you will raise arms high and yell "I did it!!!" Don't forget to practice your photo-taking, new friend making, and pub tasting training. These will be an important part of your race day experience.

WEEK	Monday*	Tuesday**	Wednesday	Thursday ***	Friday	Saturday ****	Sunday
9-Jan	44min	hill training	rest / xtrain	44min	rest	10km run	rest / xtrain
16-Jan	55min	55min	rest / xtrain	55min	rest	12km run	rest / xtrain
23-Jan	55min	55min	rest / xtrain	55min	rest	12km run	rest / xtrain
30-Jan	44min	hill training	rest / xtrain	44min	rest	14km run	rest / xtrain
6-Feb	55min	66min	rest / xtrain	55min	rest	14km run	rest / xtrain
13-Feb	55min	66min	rest / xtrain	55min	rest	16km run	rest / xtrain
20-Feb	44min	hill training	rest / xtrain	44min	rest	14km run	rest / xtrain
27-Feb	66min	66min	rest / xtrain	66min	rest	18km run	rest / xtrain
5-Mar	66min	66min	rest / xtrain	66min	rest	16km run	rest / xtrain
12-Mar	55min	hill training	rest / xtrain	55min	rest	20km run	rest / xtrain
19-Mar	77min	66min	rest / xtrain	77min	rest	16km run	rest / xtrain
26-Mar	55 min	44min	rest / xtrain	55 min	rest	3km run	Race Day
2-Apr	recover	44min	recover
	* - Monday - work your system so you 'feel' tired by the end of run
	** - Tuesday - Run will again be uptempo
	*** - Thursday - easy relaxed run. Don't forget the brown pop and fatty foods post trot!
	**** - Saturday - LONG & SLOW - endurance training…
	Other days should be rest or some other activity.  Please give your body two days weekly rest from vigorous activity
	All training is based on the theory of 10&1 run to walk ratio.  66 minutes would be 6 cycles.
	The days are scheduled by my schedule.  If the days need to move for you please move them!
	Remember we are in a race to experience, not to race to win.  A camera may be your best guide race day.

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This was a year ago for Joy, her sister Donna, Lorianne, and me.

These are the things that make a PW a PB!

I think Donna grabbed Jack's behind!

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 Along with the race above we had the experience at mile 10 to see a man collapsed on the ground and receiving CPR from race support. It made me realize that there is risk in racing, but that there is also support in these events. Shy of runners not wanting to get out of the way of the ambulance and fire trucks (really? Is the PR so important???) it shows why the volunteers and the infrastructure of a race are so important. Now that you are concerned about the possibliity of being a statistic below, look at the numbers and realize that being struck by lightning is a higher probability. And no Joy, it doesn't mean you get to miss training on a rainy day...thanks Dan for passing on this story from Today Health
http://todayhealth.today.msnbc.msn.com/

Marathoners' cardiac arrest risk quite low, study finds

Carolyn Kaster / AP

Ruben Garcia-Gomez of Mexico City, Mexico, wears the number 1 bib as he and other runners lead the pack at the start of the Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, Va., on Sunday, Oct. 31, 2010.

By Melissa Dahl

 

It's a sad headline we've grown accustomed to seeing in the hours after many popular long-distance races: a runner collapses and dies of cardiac arrest, often heart-breakingly close to the finish line. Just this fall, a 35-year-old man died while running the Bank of America Chicago Marathon Oct. 9; a 37-year-old man died Oct. 30 at the Dodge Rock 'n' Roll Los Angeles half-marathon; and two men -- one 21, the other 40 -- died at the Philadelphia Marathon on Nov. 20. 

But according to a new study examining 10 years of marathon and half-marathon races in the U.S., the risk of cardiac arrest in long distance races is actually quite rare. (It's kind of like the plane crash effect: Both events, while undeniably tragic, are reported so widely precisely because they're so rare.)

The report, just published online in the New England Journal of Medicine, examined the number of cardiac arrest cases in runners participating in marathons and half marathons in the U.S. from Jan. 1, 2000, to May 31, 2010. Of the 10.9 million runners, 59 suffered cardiac arrest.

In other words, "marathons and half-marathons are associated with a low overall risk of cardiac arrest and sudden death," write the study authors, a team led by Dr. Aaron Baggish, a Massachusetts General Hospital cardiologist. Cardiac arrest, by the way, is different from a heart attack. It happens when an arrhythmia, or abnormal heartbeat, causes the heart to stop beating -- and it can cause death within minutes if the person doesn't receive medical attention.

"This is a pretty careful study, and it starts to give some more insight into who those people are," says Dr. Paul Thompson, a cardiologist at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Conn., who assisted Baggish with the report and has studied the link between running and heart problems. (He has, oh, just a smidge of experience with marathons himself: In 1972, he qualified for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Eugene, Ore., and four years later, he finished 16th in the Boston Marathon.)

Those who suffer cardiac arrest during a long-distance run are more likely to be men, particularly older men. In fact, 51 out of those 59 recorded cases were in men. (In the general population, cardiac arrest affects men about twice as often as women.) And most of them had some sort of underlying, perhaps undiagnosed, heart issue -- most  often, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition marked by a thickening of the heart muscle, which makes it harder for the heart to pump blood.

But the rate of cardiac arrest in marathons, while low, is increasing: The study found 0.71 cases per 100,000 runners from 2000 to 2004, compared to 2.03 per 100,000 from 2005 to 2010. Of course, that's likely because of the transformation the marathon has undergone in the last 10 years, from something only an elite athlete would ever attempt -- to an item that might even appear on the average American couch potato's bucket list.

For example, in 2010, approximately two million Americans ran in full or half-marathons -- compared to less than one million who raced those distances in 2000. And by looking at the average finish times in some of the country's most popular races -- like the Chicago Marathon, which had 45,000 participants in 2011 -- it becomes clear that more casual runners are now participating: At this fall's race, the average finish time was 4:40:34, which is almost 20 minutes more than 2000's average finish time of 4:21:46. 

"Unlike professional athletes that go through a very rigorous screening process -- you don't have that kind of screening before training for a marathon or half marathon. You can just start," says Dr. Kousik Krishnan, a cardiologist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago who specializes in cardiac electrophysiology and sudden death -- and has run 10 marathons since his first in 2003.

Thompson explains that one of the big debates among cardiologists is whether everyone who wants to run a marathon should be given an exercise stress test, to screen each person for underlying heart condition -- like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Often, the answer is "no," because such tests can come back with false positives. "But this study suggests that it may be useful in people who are going to run marathons," Thompson says. 

Have you run a full or half marathon -- or are you training for your first one now? What made you want to attempt it? Tell us what motivates you to keep running on our Facebook page. If your story inspires us, it might appear in an upcoming TODAY.com post!

Related:

• Why does running make my nose run?
• 5 weird things that happen to marathoners' bodies
• Running a marathon can break your butt

I have more but we will save until next week.

See you soon,

John

This year I resolve to...

Well hello. Long time no see? It seems like last year since we last talked. first quick notes are on our trot this weekend. Let's meet at Huntington Hills Arena (yep, a hockey arena) located at 78 Avenue and Centre Street north. There are washrooms and a warm lobby. All we need! We will either explore the Nose Hill pathway (up and then down) or the Nose Creek pathway (down and then up). Remember, they are only undulations! See you there at 9 am. in the lobby of the arena.

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A happy note was recieved from one of our long time trotters Carol Poland. I thought I would share with all of you...and I thought my 'snowshoeing' story with Joy was romantic...

From Duane: Started out of the parking lot up Red Earth Ck on Fri, Dec 30. As experienced by others, waxing was problematic. We started with 2 kicker coats of SkiGo HF (-1 to -20C) which usually works all winter everywhere. The air temp was -4C, but the kickers iced up allowing no slide. We scraped the wax right off, which worked reasonably well. At Shadow Lk turnoff, we were looking at 30-40 cm of fresh powder (one very faint track). Since I was on a mission, I put the “kicker skins” on our skis, and started up the steep trail. Very pretty, but tough going. About 0.5 km from the Shadow Lk cabins, we veered off piste a bit, but managed to home in on the cabins at 3:30 PM. Carol was wondering about me at that point (maybe a lot sooner!). I pulled out tea, and asked her to put her down coat on to stay warm.

From Carol: While sipping B&B fortified tea, Duane reached into his pack and pulled out a diamond ring! Talk about taking my breath away. With a resounding, breathless Wow, I slid the ring on. Return ski was a blurred alpine glow. The skis glided fairly easily now, and using a headlamp reached the car by 6:00pm . Wow. He broke trail to win my hand and heart. What a GREAT ski day!

Hope link to a couple of pics works below. Happy New Years! Duane& Carol
https://picasaweb.google.com/114460863389688957164/ShadowDec302011?authkey=Gv1sRgCIXRssq6oaT4twE

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Well, for those of you that have not converted to the blogosphere, this will be my last yada-yada. Yep, time to move to a new medium. Plus it allows me to move to a non-work medium after 12 years. I can type some ideas to you all at various times of the day or night and do not have to worry about timelines. So if you haven't added your email address or subscribed (Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)), this will be the last time we chat. http://trottingthetrails.blogspot.com/

That said, I look at the few hundred emails of friends I have made over my twenty five years of training groups starting as a student athlete at SAIT to our first marathon group at the Tech Shop in 1996. I still remember the thought that a marathon should be a piece of cake and quickly realizing that there is more to training than the word FAST. I know that after today I will have many friends that will wonder 'where the hell's John?', of course in honour of Angus, but hopefully will remember the weekly notes sent over the internet since this medium became my driver in 2000.

Hydration is Important!

If I look at our trotting group as a marathon, we have started out strong, all with great enthusiasm and hope for achieving a goal. We hydrated and ate (Wildwood, Blind Monk, and of course Original Joes), we ensured we had the right gear (I STILL have over 100 pair of RUNNING socks, never mind the other drawer), and of course we followed the good (and unique) advice of our fellow victim...err trainees.

We listened to guest speakers (Tara at Healthy2theCore, Ally from ChooseEnergy, Tagyn, Leslie, Juliana, Kim & Cathy from the Arthritis Society, Eugene, Dr's Dean & Breen, and who can forget Dr. Chad - I know the girls don't!) So many others that have helped us along this journey. Do you remember them?

Our trooper walkers and hearty volunteers

They are those people along the route that give you the thumbs up, the encouraging smile, the 'looking good', 'almost there', and any other positive affirmation. They were the volunteers at the water station that ensured you had water, electrolytes, food, and of course lubricant on a stick (chafing victims know this well!)

We high-fived each other and learned the value of the check-back. MOST of us learned the value. We got to know some really great people along the way. I want to say the first special moment I saw was the bond of Jim and Terry in the uncoachables. I think that was the first of many marriages from spending hours sweating, cursing, smelling, and generally knowing the entire beings of the people with whom we shared this wonderful journey.

We always found our Willy

We have been blessed with some lifers within our little community. Tony & Sylvia, Sharon, all the Uncoachables, Helen & Bruce, Keith & Joyce, the Emery's, Cathy, Cheryl, the Andrew's, all were there in the start and are still loosely part of our trotting family today. While not all have stayed on course, they have moved to the side and become the cheerleader, the water station, the lube on a stick friend that has helped the new generation of trotters learn from the very able veterans you all are.

The journey has been great from my perspective. I met many wonderful people from all over the world...and Saskatchewan. Okay, most people from Sask...just kidding. I still look back to the surprise that a number of you created back in ~2005 with a proudly frramed thank you card signed by all of those in attendance. And to think I thought it had something to do with Joy's work. We have all been blessed to create change in our fellow athletes as we crossed that finish line goal.

Is it the jeans or the small photo that best describes Joy?

I have been lucky to find a little bit of Joy all over the world, and Joy found me here at home. Life has adjusted considerably since my single life of entertaining the groups. Now the responsibility of marriage and supporting a small mutt take priority over the Hash House Harrier lifestyle of old. Yep, those were the days but the days are new and fantastic!

So I have yammered on only due to the fact this is the last email to many of you. If you haven't converted to the blogosphere by now we will just have to enjoy our visits as we wave and high five along our pathway which is our life's journey.

All the best my friends and remember that you will not be forgotten for your impact!

John

My Christmas wish list

Well howdy neighbours.Only two more weekends of training and another year is in the books. We went from overstuffed holiday eaters to restarting our training, then peaked with some events, followed by winding down and now back to overstuffed holiday eaters. I wouldn't have it any other way. I love this vicious cycle!

For the short term our troop will be trotting as normal tonight from the Tech Shop. We will be heading out to the Sandy Beach Christmas tree for one last loop in support of our friend Ally who lost her dog of 15 years, Sydney. Join us for a hug and a chance to hang a photo of her lifelong friend. Of course if you can't make the trot, we will gladly accept hugs at Original Joe's for our post debrief.

Saturday our friends will meet at the Eau Claire YMCA for a short trip around the downtown. Come check out the Peace Bridge (perhaps we will occupy it?) and share a loopy loop with loopy friends. You know you need to lower the load before you fill it back up on Sunday! See you at 9 am inside the Y. I am excited to see how Jen does following a few weeks of tanning and running in Hawaii!

As for next week. I will have relatives in from Ontario that may take me away from our group. Tri-It is closed for our usual Tuesday visit so I would suggest that the meeting place for Tuesday and Thursday will be the Tech Shop at 630 pm. I might be there but don't hold your breath! As for next Saturday the 31, What better way to prepare for a lively night of drinking and festive cheer than to dehydrate yourself with a Saturday run??? I might suggest it in Fish Creek from our house but I will chat with HRH Joy as to our plans for the last day with family.
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So I titled my little weekly yada-yada my Christmas wish list. So what am I wishing for myself, and more importantly for my trail buddies? I am pretty sure the first thing on all of our lists is to remain healthy throughout our training and especially on race day! My body is starting to catch up to my age, but thankfully my mind is still ten years (okay twenty-ish) younger than both. WEEE!

I also wish for lost friendships on the trails to be regained. I have been blessed to meet so many wonderful people in my thirty years of running and still run into familiar faces. Our troop has expanded to many areas of the world, Twyla in New Zealand, John and Marguerite in Australia, Ken and Dori in India, Jill and Alex in the UK, Quentin in Thailand, Pat in Japan, and all those that have moved across our continent. We have reduced, regenerated, and recovered our friendships fostered by that initial left-right repeat.

I wish for all of us to get the opportunity to do that dream goal in 2012. What is it for you? I would love to know and share with the rest of us. I keep thinking of my running must-do's and they always seem to return to the dirt. Must be my affinity for the 'undulations' that are constantly discussed by the group and often pointed out (by a certain middle finger) that the are number one in their training. Whether the "Dances with Dirt" race in Hell, Michigan, Zermatt marathon in Switzerland, or another of those crazy ultra's that I try to convince you all they are doable (patience wins!), the dirt is calling me in 2012 and you might just see some stinky socks in the laundry next year. Sorry Joy...

I think my last wish will be for the new people to the group. We have some youthful enthusiasm coming to us in 2012 that will carry the energy of the group forward hopefully in perpetuity. My wish is for the new victims, err trainees, to find the energy and excitement we veterans have discovered as we have crossed our own personal finish lines along our journey of self discovery.

Oh yes, and a Volkwagon Thing (~1971) for the third garage. That side of the garage is in need of an oil stain! Joooyyyy???
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I thought I would share an Indian Chrsitmas story for you. I mentioned above our friends Ken and Dori, well I guess living in a Hindu and Muslim his Christmas Day is not as much a holiday as ours...

"As for Christmas day I am driving up to Ahmedabad to meet a running buddy from Mumbai.   We are running the Ahmedabad Marathon starting at 6:00 AM on Christmas morning.   I figured I would never again get a chance to run a marathon on Christmas Day so what the heck – more memories.   The two of us will drive back to Baroda later that morning and head over to the Welcome Hotel in Baroda for a Christmas lunch.   My buddy from Mumbai flies back later that afternoon and then Dori and I will head over to my bosses place for Christmas dinner.   I should sleep well that night."

I guess Santa will have to wait for Ken as he will be too hard to catch! Ken, see you in September.
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Only one more reminder until I fully blog out... http://trottingthetrails.blogspot.com/ and register with the email address or at the bottom click on the "Subscribe to: Posts (Atom) ". Things will not change much, except I will be able to be more pertinent to the group's needs. Next week will be my last week of the norm.
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May your training always be 'Joy'able.

See you all soon,

John

Amble with Angus and April and Allyson and Alan

Hello everybody. Welcome to the middle of the month. Thanks to those that joined me for our two trots to the tree in Sandy Beach over the last week. I just realized that was the tenth annual trot...my time flies...

The weather has thrown a bit of snow at our shoes and socks but has not prevented our eyes from seeing the yellow stripe on the pathway. Thankfully our snow removal budget in Calgary has allowed for some longer trails to be discovered from under a blanket of seasonal splendor. I do love the snow, love running in it, and love to run with others who love to run and run in snow. Make sense? Good luck to you on that. I do enjoy (and love) when I see a familiar face come out and join us on a Saturday morning or one of the weeknight trots. You all make me love to train with you on your journeys.

Speaking of 70’s rock bands, many of our friends finished a wonderful journey in Honolulu Hawaii last weekend. Congrats to our contingent of mini and full marathoners. I am really proud of you all for doing something that some of you never really imagined you would do...Don't stop believin'...

Congrats to Nicole for qualifying for her dream Boston Marathon by being a super quick chick at the Sacremento Marathon. And also a congrats to Carol for trying out the Las Vegas half with 44,000 other trotters, testing night running in Vegas. And I thought Vegas was crazy just on the sidewalks!

Let's get together this Saturday for probably the last trot in Fish Creek for 2011. the weather looks good to meet at Glennfield Meadows just off Bannister Road and Macleod Trail. See you there at 9 am? If you need directions my cell is below...

I do expect to trot on the 24th, but I don't believe I will be around for the 27 or 29th week night training. With relations in town it might be tough to come away for the couple of hours. Will any of you be out for these three days?

Starting in the new year I will move away from this email form of broadcast to a blog. Yep, it is time to change format. Fifteen years of weekly ya-da ya-da emails need a sprucing up. A blog will allow for potentially more pictures of your fellow runners and I hope a more lively comment section. I have been building content for a couple of months, but need to really get those that read here to read there. Starting in January I will just broadcast from the blog.

http://trottingthetrails.blogspot.com/

You can subscribe at the bottom (click on the Posts Atom) or via email on the right column. Easy peasy. This will save me having to break up the email to many distribution lists. Thanks for your understanding as I change things up a bit!

This morning was the tenth annual Amble with Angus in support of the food bank. I received a note from our friend Angus stating that he was in the neighbourhood of $40,000 raised for the cause. Congrats to Allyson and April and Alan for getting out there this AM and adding ample 'A's to the action. And a special shout specifically to April for (so far) raising $1825 for the cause today. If you want to get her past $2000 check out http://calgaryfoodbank.akaraisin.com/amblewithangus2011/rudolphsrunners

If you want to donate straight to the event say hello to my friend Angus at his site https://owa5.sait.ca/owa/redir.aspx?C=6253a3eaa7274c078460a2159f1cda3d&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.amblewithangus.com

Bravo!

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Just in case you were at a loss for baking ideas this Christmas... http://www.baconery.com/

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Our trail friends at Out There downtown have the following deal if you need some gear...

Last Minute Christmas Savings at Out There

• Purchase more than $300 at Out There and save 20% on all apparel, footwear, and equipment

This offer is valid until December 23rd, 2011 and this promotion cannot be combined with reward card discounts or any other store promotion.

Please present this email to get your savings. Ask our sales associates for details, as this is not an advertised event. Code: 34316

Holiday Hours: Monday - Friday 10-8, Saturday 10-6, Sunday 11-5
Out There Adventure Centre - 151 8 Ave. SW - 403-263-9651

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I thought I would close out this week by sharing how thankful I am for all the great people that have come through one of our learn to run, half, full, and muddy buddy clinics, through the Joints in Motion program, or just joined us through a friend of a friend of a friend. The friendships may have evolved and changed over the years, but I think I can count many of us that are in a better place because of our connections to our fellow 'athletes'. From the first formative days with the Uncoachables, to that crazy first Mother's Day clinic on February 14, 2000, and then hundreds of sweating hours up and down the paths with over a thousand fellow friends who all had just one wish - to cross their personal finish line happy, healthy, and with a smile on their face.

You all mean alot to not just me, but your fellow trotters. When you have a bad training day, they are there to give you a high five and a smile of encouragement. You all reciprocate when the table is turned. You all have increased your personal challenge or goal, and of course allowed rest (and lethargy) to create opportunity to do it all over again. It is a wonderful sight to see a friend of our group finish what they set out to do. Can you see them in your mind? the smile, the arms raised in victory, the Woo Hoo in their step? I see it every time.

Give your old trotting friends a call, an email, or just an approving nod for what they have done both for and with you, in all your good times and bad, whether it was +/- 40 (pun intended), an undulation or distance-ish were involved, and perhaps you might of just been led astray...

We have definitely seen a shrinking of the active members of the clan. We have changed habits, joined other groups, lost enthusiasm for training, or just can't do it anymore. We have found other ways to drive our passion. I have been blessed to see theatre, knitting, nursing, Thai vacations, budding relationships, and a myriad of new joys that have created a wealth of new opporunity for us to find a new direction to aim our potato chip fingers toward. Our new path may not have a yellow line down the middle, but it will have a great opportunity for adventure, new friendships, and fabulous new finish line.

While I do understand things will never stay the same (thankfully my mullet is one that disappeared) I do hope that you all continue your passions through to 2012 and enjoy the opportunities that a fresh start of the New Year will allow. Follow those passions and allow them to flower.

Thank you,

John

This one is for the birds

Hello everyone. What a glorious day. I hope you all got outside for a ‘smoke’ break over lunch? The weather is fabulous. Speaking of fabulous, let’s enjoy some Christmas cheer tomorrow and have a day for the birds! We will meet at the Talisman Centre south entrance for a trot to Sandy Beach and decoration of the Sandy Beach dog memorial tree. We checked it out last week and there were a few memorials to dogs and of course some beautiful ornaments. Bring a bird treat for the surrounding area or if you like an ornament that will not cause an animal harm if it falls. And of course if you have a loved dog that needs a memory bring a photo for the tree and perhaps a story to share. See you at the Talisman Centre for 9 am!

Starting in the new year I will move away from this email form of broadcast to a blog. Yep, it is time to change format. Fifteen years of weekly ya-da ya-da emails need a sprucing up. A blog will allow for potentially more pictures of your fellow runners and I hope a more lively comment section. I have been building content for a couple of months, but need to really get those that read here to read there. Starting in January I will just broadcast from the blog.

http://trottingthetrails.blogspot.com/

You can subscribe at the bottom. This will save me having to break up the email to many distribution lists. Thanks for your understanding as I change things up a bit!

Hello running peeps!

Wondering if you would like to join me in forming a team to run in this year’s “Amble with Angus” 5k run and help raise some much needed funds for the food bank.  It takes place next Friday December 16^th at 7:30am.  It starts and ends at Eau Claire so many of you can easily get to work after (après a little clean-up of course J)

Let me know, I think it will be good fun for a great cause!

Cheers, April

http://www.amblewithangus.com/

I do think this applies to a number of us when we run with our electronics! Our friend Janelle seems to be a little to involved with her I-Phone…

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5421097/jogger-injured-after-using-twitter-as-he-ran.html

Do any of you remember Forrest Gump?  Did you like the episodes of Monty Python with the bearded guy that would always say 'its...'?  The story at the link below reminded me of both.  I used to love Monty Python...

This also reminds me of a couple of our fellow trotters, Ron (Good luck in Hawaii) and Bob (get well soon). Although I do see a resemblance to Charlton Heston from The Ten Commandments.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=streakrun

Have a great weekend.

John

Acts of Courage

Well hello everyone. I thoroughly enjoy days like this where the sun is shining and the snow is still fresh and white. The world is so pretty with a soft blanket covering our gift of spring to be released sometime next year. Okay, enough of that. Bring on the global warming and heat these toes back up!

Hard to believe that December is here to bring us the last month of our friends off to faraway destinations to enjoy their chosen race goals. Carol Poland is off to Vegas...Woo Hoo...Young-Mi is off to Sacremento...go zippy...and we have the big team off to Hawaii over the next week...sigh...yep, we will hold the fort here while you all enjoy these events. Best of luck to you all as you achieve your goals and make us all proud to know you. Hey Young-Mi, have you shaved off the moustache?

For those of us lucky enough to enjoy the great outdoors of Calgary, let's meet at Glenmore Landing for the usual reservior rumble. See you at McDonald's at 9 am for a view of the Saturday snow and sun. We will most likely take a different route than the reservoir as I think we might have to see how the Sandy Beach Christmas tree is growing. If you desire bring a bird treat, but we will do this route again before Christmas. See you all tomorrow!

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Attention you closet smokers! You know who you are. a story for you...

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-smoking4-2008aug04,0,6389304.story

   

and you thought I did not care!

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If you ever want to know how far it is to your destination check out www.runningmap.com What a cool way to know your distances. And you don't even need a fancy GPS watch.
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I want to talk a little on the acts of courage that we see each day we go out to train. We all show great courage to set out on the goals we have undertaken. Intimidating as they can be, we choose our adventures to give us a challenge. We are willing to step out of the comfort of the known into the craziness of the unknown. This is a huge step for many. What has given you the courage to do this?

When we start our run, walk, or hike, we will experience the excitement of a start, the adrenaline rush when we get moving, and the cheering chants from friends and fellow participants as we follow our path to success.Whatever we have chosen as a destination to our success there are always roadblocks along the way. They take strength and courage to overcome. Foot and knee pains, road rashes, family crisis, or just life can all be roadblocks on our path to the finish. It takes great courage to overcome these obstacles that block our path and not give up on the opportunity of success. The journey will take patience, understanding, and of course courage. But we will do it, right?

The start is always intimidating. We stand around these other fit individuals who have the same concerns and excitement. They are stretching and warming themselves up for the challenges that lay ahead. Are we ready for this test of our skills learned throughout our training? We will have people blow by us with vigour and some that will straggle behind. We are all in the same journey and will enjoy the fruits of our labour when we arrive safe and sound.

We will all face bouts of fatigue and discomfort when we get into the day. For me I find I notice my body more at about three hours in to a marathon. I notice the same feelings of discomfort at about 1.5 hours into a half marathon. They are the same even though the timing is different. Could the psychology of the event be working it's way into my thoughts? How do we fight through this discomfort and get to the finish? We embrace fatigue as a badge of courage that everyone is awarded when they finish! This fatigue just proves that you are still alive and accept the challenges of the day.

We get a similar feeling when we are at work. Lethargic at the keyboard as we hit 3pm, we find our computer screen and office chair are attached like barnacles to a boat. But we still get the energy to get away from the chair, get out and get the blood pumping after work. We break through tiring walls at work, we break through those same walls at play. Does this mean I should embrace work as I embrace play?

When the first person gets to the finish line to cheers and accolades, they have gone no further than the person who comes in after the finish line has been taken down. They cross the same kilometre markers, they use the same porta-potties, they drink the same water. It is not as pretty or graceful, but the courage that last person has to continue the fight is far more powerful than that front runner. There are far more drop-out's from the elite runners than those that cross last. Power to the penguins!!!

So many people in the world are unable to walk a block, let alone do some of the crazy distances and adventures that we all have tried. Taking all that we have learned we gather the courage to face the demons of our goal and break through to the finish. The journey is long, but the rewards are far reaching. Cross your personal finish lines with your arms held high in the air as victory is yours. Tomorrow you can go out and do it all again.

Remember one of my favourite quotes, "Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional"

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April passed on this deal. It is a great price. If you are not so enamoured with the internet purchase, check GPS central on Blackfoot for prices in the same ballpark.

Really good price today on the new Garmin…so I thought I would pass it along!

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0011UK35K/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?ie=UTF8&m=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB

April L Clay, R. Psych.

Bodymindmotion

Mental skills for sport and life

http://www.bodymindmotion.com/

http://www.ridingoutofyourmind.com/

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So good luck all and see you next week.