This week, I attended the Saucony FW16 preview, and the brand’s targeting more than just the hardcore runner; broadening their scope to weekend warriors and also those into the athleisure trend. I’ll post some of the gear over on the @irunnation Instagram account soon (I post and blog for iRun on a weekly basis, didja know?). I did receive my very first pair of Saucony runners, these Ride 9, and I’ll be trying them out pronto.
My fave part of the preview: they had the Runner’s Academy on hand and they assessed my gait. I’d heard of the Runner’s Academy before from when I was on the Pace & Mind team last year and some of the team members had gone to improve their running technique. From my past assessments of my gait with other running experts, I’ve only every really learned that I overpronate slightly. With the Runner’s Academy, with a video of my treadmill running in slow motion, they were able to show me how I tend to swing my leg far forward and that my foot lands on the ground more in front of my body, rather than beneath my core (so my legs are more in a pendulum motion). It’s more ideal (in that you can propel yourself forward faster) if your foot strikes the ground underneath you — I’m likely butchering this description, this is all from memory…She traced the trajectory of my foot landing and then swinging back and it creates a sideways teardrop shape, and the more ideal trajectory would have my foot moving in a flat oval shape.
(You can view part of my running assessment video by clicking on the image above btw; I’m in jeans as I was on my way to a Blue Jays game after the Saucony preview.)
To help achieve this gait, they had me run or more like march in the spot and then had me add forward motion to it, so that my body gets the feeling of my feet striking the ground below my core.
I also tend to swing my upper body and shoulders too much, so I’ll be more aware of that and work on strengthening my core. On the plus side, I don’t tend to collapse onto each leg when I land (although I’d say many of my race pics would tell a different story, but the Runner’s Academy expert said that’s likely because I’m exhausted during a race).
Will I be able to adjust my gait and improve my running? Let’s see!
June 23, 2016
“Oh, it was fine. I didn’t race it. I just ran it.”
People (OK, people who either don’t run, or run shorter distances than a half-marathon) seem really confused by this reply when they ask me how my Calgary Marathon half was. But I didn’t stress about this race or push myself. If you see me before a race I’m hoping for a PB in, I’m a mess. Stressed out to the max, and I will barely speak to you morning of the race. This half, I didn’t even check my official time until today so I could include it in this post.
I didn’t start training for this race thinking I wouldn’t race it all out, in fact, I had planned to race the marathon (as in the full marathon). But then life threw me a few twists and turns: I started traveling more than ever, but early in the year I was still on track to run the marathon. Then at the end of March, I was unexpectedly asked to cover a nearly two-week trip to China. I knew I would likely not run at all while there (and certainly not my long runs) due to the busy itinerary, but I figured once I got back at the end of March, that would still leave me with two months to train for the marathon.
Two months is not ideal but as I’ve run marathons before, I figured I could manage it, just that it wouldn’t be my fastest marathon.
Then I caught a horrible cold and cough while in China. If that’s what it was…it ended up lasting well over a month (and I got home one day and lost my lunch, so who knows…). I sounded like I was coughinh up a lung. Then, compounding this, less than a week after returning home from China, as I sat on my couch and reached forward to grab my glass from my coffee table, I coughed and threw my back out. Yes, I can train for what seems like race after race after race and not get injured, but a COUGH brought me down.
I have never thrown my back out before, and I didn’t realize what world of hurt I had in store for me. Movements I didn’t even realize called for me to use muscles in my lower back, such as pulling open a door, would make me freeze up thanks to my back seizing in spasms and I’d cry and wimper in pain. After two days of being an invalid, I booked my very first chiropractor appointment ever and gingerly walked over. Thankfully, it helped, and I continued to see her 2-3 times a week for the next few weeks.
She explained to me that it wasn’t something that happened overnight but a multitude of reasons: running compresses your spine, all that coughing compresses the spine, the long flight home from China with me sitting for hours and hours, my job sitting in front of a computer, my lack of stretching post-workout, all factors that contributed to this pain. She recommended I lay off the running for awhile (“But I have a race!!”) and to cross train in the meanwhile. The problem was that I couldn’t cross train because of the damn cold and cough that was taking me out. Add to that the horrendous sleep I was having; I had several nights of just lying in bed and seeing the sun come up because I simply couldn’t fall asleep. I suppose it was part jet lag, but I think worsened by my usual erratic sleep schedule.
Finally, after about two week of chiro adjustments, I felt somewhat better to run and workout. I did a Crossfit workout and a Viking Method workout (both of which my chiro was not too pleased about, too intense, she said!). I went easy in both workouts, and the runs, I took slow and started with shorter distances. With each step running, I could feel the pressure on my lower back.
Over time, that twinge was less severe, but it’s still there. With about five or six weeks to the Calgary race, I opted to register for the half-marathon instead. I also made the focus of my training simply to complete the distance, so I did no hill training or speed work as I felt the intensity would be too much for my back. As a result, I’ve watched my pace slow considerably. Even for a short run, my pace is quite slow for me, which is disheartening but that’s how things go, alas.
And, so, this is why the Calgary Half-marathon was just a run for me. I didn’t stress about time. I just ran comfortably and took in the scenery around me for this, which was my 15th half; I snapchatted, checked my Instagram, took pictures. The weather was pretty much just about my ideal running weather (cool but sunny; warm enough for shorts and a tank, but not warm enough to sweat buckets and buckets). What I did stress about was potential stomach issues (I didn’t feel so great the day before and the morning of the race) but thankfully I never was forced to make a pitstop at a portapotty. At my very comfortable pace, I ran a 2:08:16, finishing 76/210 in my category, and 610th out of 1526 women in the Calgary Half-marathon.
Where this leaves me now with my race goals, I’m not sure. This will be the longest gap I’ve had for not running a 42.2k since racing my first marathon in 2012. I feel like the longer the gap, the less I’ll feel I’m able to complete that distance. I can’t tell you how positively gleeful I felt in Calgary that I was able to follow the signs for the half-marathon route rather than the marathon of (gasp) ultra route. I was so, so, so happy to not be slogging through 42.2k and only 21.1k.
Which is to say (gulp), I think this means I’ll plan to race a marathon this fall. Which also means training starts now. Travel has kept me busier than ever so far this year, so juggling it all is going to be rough.My back still isn’t fully recovered. Even sitting for short periods, it’s uncomfortable. And I can tell when I run that it’s not quite right. There is still that slightest of twinges. I suppose I should stretch it out more (I’ve been slacking).
In the meanwhile, the race in Calgary is a great one, and one I hope to run again. For more about the Calgary Half-marathon race itself, check my post over on the iRun blog.
June 9, 2016
I’m not always in shape for a race. The past two months I’ve had long gaps without training as I took a break after several races in a row in the fall, plus I’ve been away from home a lot for work. But with a last-minute invitation to run the Bahamas Marathon in January, I simply couldn’t refuse (hello, it’s the Bahamas!)…but I opted for the half-marathon. I figured I could run 21.1 easy as a training run, but the same doesn’t go for doing 42.2k.
The race started at 6 a.m., and it was rainy and then mostly overcast until I finished the race when the sun came out just in time. Half of the race route went through town and the latter half we ran along the beach so my thoughts focused on how nice it’d feel to be swimming in the water rather than thinking of how hot and sweaty (aka miserably hot and sweaty) I was actually feeling.
I was by the finish line when Sarah Dohan from the U.S. won the women’s marathon and I got a chance to speak to her. It was the 20-year-old’s first marathon race, and she seemed a little stunned; happy but stunned. She’s run several halfs and hadn’t expected to finish first.
As for myself, I finished 17th in my age group, out of 43 women, which I’m more than OK with as I walked whenever I felt like I wanted to have a sip of water, which was often. When I”m doing a training run in not ideal conditions, I usually find it helpful to have my watch for 10s and 1s but I’d forgotten to pack it, which means I usually will walk even more often than every 10 minutes. Given the heat and humidity that morning in the Bahamas, I’m actually surprised my time wasn’t slower than my 2:20 time!
After the race, I spent at least an hour on the beach soaking my feet in the water and drinking the Klik beer I picked up at the food tent (where they had plenty of food including peanut butter and crackers — so much better than a plain untoasted bagel!).
This here is just a super brief rundown on the race. For my full race report and all the juicy details you want to know (especially if you’re thinking of running this race!), you’ll have to go check out my post at iRun.ca! (And if you don’t follow @irunnation on Instagram, go ahead and do that, too! I post regularly on Fridays for #fashionfriday!)
February 1, 2016
