Chilly Half Marathon not so chilly!

I awoke yesterday to a clear sky and perfect half moon, filled with excitement and anticipation for my first half marathon of 2010. The weather was idyllic - unseasonably warm. I could leave my snowpants, balaclava, and merino wool gear at home. That made getting out of the house much easier, theoretically. You know when you have that niggling feeling something important has been forgotten?

I left the house on time - a sure sign that I should review my list once more.

Sport beans? Check. WoW signs? Check. Chalk for inspirational words on the race course? Check. Racing shoes? Check. Sunblock? Check. Gloves? Check. Clothes for after the race? Check. Sunglasses? Check. Peaked cap? Check. Watch? Check.

Check.Check.Check.

It wasn't until I was 25 minutes down the highway, fully committed to the morning, when I remembered I had left my race number bib and timing chip in the entrance hall to the house. I could race with just about anything else on my list left at home - but not those two items.

Forever grateful for my IBBH, who was leaving 45 minutes later than me to go to the WoW Power Walking water station, I phoned home and sheepishly ask if he could meet me near the start line wth enough time to pin my bib to my pants and attach the chip to my shoe.

Luckily, for this absent-minded walker, it all worked out and I was able to race legally! Even better, it was a stellar day for all WoW Power Walkers. We may have had the advantage of the BEST cheering section from WoW water station volunteers, but even with that we ROCKED the course and won lots of age category prizes to prove it. Results will be posted soon on the website.

Of long walks

Not long ago I measured the number of steps I took to complete a 26k training walk. The total? 31,191. I dare not clip that pedometer on my hip again now that my walks are over 30k.

Many of us are spending the better part of either Saturday or Sunday walking our endurance walks in preparation for upcoming half marathons and marathons. We face challenging distances in the most difficult season. And that's not the least of it. Often we have no idea where to find a bathroom!

A couple of weeks ago, after counting on the availability of a washroom that had been available on previous walks, I found myself reduced to squatting between bushes and building in a desperate move to stay dry. It was a warm and sunny spot that seemed far from curious eyes. It wasn't until after I had pulled up my Canada red underpants and my winter tights that I considered the possibility the building might have camera surveillance on all corners. While it's unlikely my winter white glutes will be making any viral apprearance on youtube, it has crossed my mind that outdoor urban squatting is not part of most ordinary workouts.

But then anyone willing to take on the training for a marathon or half marathon are not setting themselves up for ordinary.

No pics attached for obvious reasons!

Strength tip for February 2010

Here is a video of the whole body strength tip described in the WoW Power Walking February Newsletter. Enjoy!

Vancouver Olympics and WoW Power Walking connection

In December we touched the torch. Over the coming days of the Olympics we are privy to an insider's view of the Richmond Oval.

Last December we were so thrilled for WoW Power Walker Jeff Guthrie who carried the Olympic flame in Kingston, Ontario and who returned to Oakville bringing the unlit, but torched, torch for us all to see.

Now that the Olympics have begun we have a WoW Power Walking connection to what's going on in the stunning Richmond Oval, site of long track speed skating. One of our most committed walkers, Carleen Carroll, is acting as a public relations volunteer at the venue.

I recommend Carleen's blog which she is writing for the local paper, the Oakville Beaver. It's the next best thing to being there!

http://www.insidehalton.com/listing/blog

Toronto pedestrian deaths

The first three pedestrians killed were shocking enough. But 14? In three weeks? Toronto streets are getting mean.
While there is no easy answer to why these deaths have occurred in such quick succession, my feeling is that if we are being mindful at all these days, it's only in yoga class. Even there, we are being mindful only of ourselves.
Our mindfulness needs to extend beyond our own chakras. We are all drivers, we are all walkers - we are all traffic. Maybe, no matter what the signs say, we just simply need to watch out for each other.

Beside the Bow River

According to Google maps, it is a 3212 kilometre, 25 day, 23 hour walk from my house to that of my brother, a proud Mountie, who is now stationed in Calgary, Alberta.

Twenty-five days and 23 hours to walk from Toronto to Calgary is an astonishing recommendation.

I have used Google maps when I am visiting a city to determine how long it will take me to get from the hotel to, say, a coffee shop or an art gallery. It is usually accurate within 10 minutes. Of course, for this purpose, I need neither pee breaks nor fuelling and hydration stops.

When I plunk in my address and that of my brother's, I assume Google is just relaying how many hours it would take to walk that distance without any breaks. Still, I am left with untold questions. Will I be walking on highways? Will I be walking on gravel shoulders? Is there any way to determine where I can get food? Where I can sleep? Most importantly, is this an accurate time prediction? Can a Google program that accurately predicts a 10 minute city-walk really estimate a cross country trek?

I feel a project coming on!

In any case, on Saturday, Air Canada helped me avoid the high risk of blistering and frostbite that such a walk surely would entail in winter. I flew to Calgary where I walked a mere 22 kilometres of the Bow River Trail (and visited aforementioned brother) in just under 3 hours - including a pee break under a bridge, a short detour near the Calgary Zoo to avoid ice, and a walk up the stairs beside Prince's Island Park to catch a glimpse of distant Rocky Mountains on the horizon.

I liked my walk. You can understand from the photos above - the first taken at the beginning as I headed east along the south side of the Bow River toward downtown and the second taken at the end after I had walked along the south trail out past Inglewood and returned back via the north trail, crossing again to the south side over one of many pedestrian-friendly bridges.

I haven't ruled out the long, scenic route to Calgary but for now this taste of Canada's Stampede town was magical.

It's all in the group

Nine days into January and the walking is superb. Cold but superb. Today tested our Canadian character with temperatures at our 7am class starting at -25 Celsius (-13 Fahrenheit). Predictably, with these cold temperatures comes SUN. Sun is good.

Class was filled with dedicated walkers who never complain about such a small inconvenience as having to wear 10 layers topped by Vaseline! These are veteran walkers who know that to walk a good event in February, March, or April cold weather training must happen. And it is true that misery loves company - oops - or should I say everything is better with friends.

Equally enthusiastic this morning was the group of Level 1 participants which met for the first class this morning at 10am. Those who arrived ready to walk may not fully understand the meaning of layering yet, and someone did mention that they thought they had signed up for a power talking class, but we had an impressive turnout for the first of winter.

Yes, the talking does help the walking. While we coaches often have to be the talk cops by reinforcing the "no talking" rule during interval training, there is a camaraderie of the group walking class that simply can not compare to solo training walks.

For more interesting info on why group exercise works check out Alex Hutchinson's excellent posting on www.sweatscience.com where you can find his Globe and Mail column from January 7 on the benefits of group exercise.

Because we always think of group exercise being indoors, here's a good place to share your insights on walking outdoors with a group.