Posts filed under ‘Fitness’
The risks of marathon running
Some interesting numbers in this article about the risks of marathon running:
- based on data from 300 marathons per year, the number of finishers increased dramatically between 2000 and 2009, from 299,018 to 473,354
- the risk of dying during or soon after running a marathon is low: .75 per 100,000
- yearly incidence of injury in people marathon training is as high as 90 percent
- average finishing time of those 300 marathons per year from 2000 to 2009 hasn’t changed too much: 4 hours and 35 minutes
(Average time is 4 hours and 35 minutes? That makes my finish time in my very first marathon two weeks ago waaaay above average — yep, totes tooting my own horn! Toot, toot!)
(And the Build-a-Head video above — should I get some glam shots of myself taken for oversize cutouts from Build-a-Head of my face for my cheer squad to have so I can be sure to find them along the route? …or maybe I should just get the Chace Crawford ones the dude in the video is holding — I know those signs would get my attention! :)
Go take a hike
No, really — can someone tell me how to take a hike?
Or rather where I can go take a hike.
I only seem to get the opportunity to hike when I’m traveling. I’ve done some great ones in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Scottsdale and Rwanda (OK, one of the hikes in Rwanda could be more accurately described as absolutely terrifying than “great”…more on that another time).
But I have no clue how to go about hiking in Toronto…or is Toronto not a hiking sorta city? Can someone tell me? (Note: I do not have a car)
Anyhow, yesterday I finally had the chance to check out Evergreen Brick Works with Wolverine (they’re the makers of rugged, outdoorsy footwear and apparel) where we did a “hike” (the quotation marks are because it was more of a very, very brief jaunt, followed by a super delicious lunch). It sure is purdy up at Brick Works (that’s where we hiked above).
We were trying out their new Wolverine Individual Comfort System. What is it? In their shoes outfitted with ICS, there’s an orange rubbery disc that you can turn and adjust based on the type of support your foot needs. You place the disc according to the stabilization that’s comfortable for you.
Yahn Lebo, product line manager with Wolverine, advises turning the disc gradually (rather than from one extreme to another) when testing out different settings so your foot can adjust more smoothly to the change. And if you use orthotics, he suggests putting the ICS on the cushioning setting. I asked if you can injure yourself by having it in the wrong setting, and Lebo said you’d notice symptoms (such as a blister) before you actually do any harm to yourself with the wrong setting of the ICS.
Now if only I knew where to hike….
Race report: Sporting Life 10k 2012
Yesterday morning I ran the Sporting Life 10k. 10k — not a big deal in the normal scheme of things as I usually run that at least once a week, but this is just one week after my first marathon (a marathon is 42.2 kilometres for the non-runners reading this).
The few marathoners I told I was planning on running the 10k race just one week after my first marathon usually reacted by first looking at me like I’d lost my mind, and then saying that I’d be tired and that I should run it easy. One person just plain told me I was crazy. (Non-marathoners usually replied by saying how short I’d find the race and how easy it would be for me.)
So I was a little anxious about the race, about possibly injuring myself. I’d hobbled about for the first two days after the marathon, but after that I felt that my body felt mostly recovered, but all I had on my mind were the microtears that I know are still in my muscles.
I should mention that it was Nike who offered me the chance to run in the race (I didn’t set out and go on my own accord to purposely run a 10k one week after my marathon) — with it being a sponsored spot, well, it was hard for me to turn down a chance to run a race… So I ignored everything I’ve read about race recovery (including this recent article in the New York Times about how long it takes to recocver from a marathon — as long as a month mentally!) and I stuck to running the race.
I basically ran it comfortably fast. I could tell almost immediately that my body still had some healing to do (my legs felt tight). I ran comfortably fast for the first 6k and then a bit uncomfortably so (got slightly side stitches) for the last 4k. And I finished with a PB for a 10k, 49:50 (much faster than I expected — I thought I’d finish around 52 minutes if I felt good and 56 minutes if I’d taken on too much post-marathon and was hurting). I essentially had an even split (ie. I ran the first half and second half in almost the same time, less than 30 seconds different), so that’s good (although a negative split at some point in my running endeavours would be sweet).
Post-10k, I kicked back at the Nike VIP lounge where there were virgin mimosas, waffles, cupcakes, bagels and lox and more. Best buffet spread I’ve enjoyed post-race.
Thanks Nike Canada and Apex PR for the chance to run this race!
Now, for a couple of weeks of R&R!
Sporting Life 10k. Let’s do this.
Another Sunday, another race. Tomorrow, I run the Sporting Life 10k. It’s only the second time I’ve run this race (something usually comes up the weekend it’s on) and it’s only the third 10k race I’ve ever done. I will try to run it slow and easy (rather than race it) since I really should recuperating from the marathon last weekend. Even slow and easy will likely be a personal best time, though, as I’m much faster than I used to be (oh yeah, I also don’t have a pesky overactive thyroid anymore tiring me out).
My message on the Nike “Never stop…” sticker ($1 will be donated to Camp Ooch for each one collected)? Never stop trying — I took it from Coach Taylor’s playbook. “But you gotta try. That’s what character is. It’s in the trying.” (sigh, miss that show)
Thanks for the opportunity to run this fun race, Nike Canada!
P.S. My nails for the Sl10k? I’ve still got my chevron-dot marathon mani.
