April 1, 2005
Don’t you love spring? Yesterday on my walk I reveled in the first scent of rich earth soaking up spring rains. Let’s hope we can safely say that winter is behind us. We know that those of you who trained through the winter were rewarded with some stunning snowy vistas and inspirational sunrises. Still, it’s probably safe to say we’re all looking forward to that feeling of lightness that comes with peeling off five layers of clothing! WoW power walkers have already put their winter training to the test at several events. In the last newsletter we reported on the success of the Chilly Half Marathon. Since that time we have been found at the Achilles St. Patrick’s Day 5k event on March 13, the Around the Bay Road Race (30km) in Hamilton on March 20, and the City of Rome Marathon in Rome, Italy on March 20. Yes, it’s getting hard to keep up with our amazing power walkers! Perhaps we should be attaching GPS units to everyone so we can have live updates. Until we get that set up, why not check out the results listings on our website  La Dolce Vita :: Congratulations to everyone from the Team Diabetes group who attended the City of Rome Marathon on March 13th. These happy walkers raised at least $5,500 each for the Canadian Diabetes Association and were rewarded for their efforts by being flown to Italy to walk 42km on cobblestones! Seriously, everyone put in an outstanding training effort for this event. Because of its date on March 13, very long training walks had to be accomplished in the depths of winter. Imagine walking 35 km when the thermometer reads below 15 degrees Celsius. These optimistic souls just pretended that the ice and snow were like cobblestones and soldiered forth. For more details on this excellent adventure, check out Lee’s journal on the website. If you are interested in walking a marathon (or half marathon) on behalf of the Canadian Diabetes Association click on this link to their website. They are presently recruiting for Honolulu in December – no cobblestones! |
||
| Short is Fast and Fun!! After the long events are over don’t forget to mark your calendar with some of the short races that are fun and sociable. In Oakville, we love to show our support for the Oakville Trafalgar Hospital by going out to the OTMH Classic (June 19, 2005). This year the organizers are relocating the start to a beautiful lakeside venue and offering a pancake breakfast afterwards. It was already a fantastic event and they are making it even better. We’ve also heard the Alfie Shrubb 8k race in Bowmanville is great for walkers. This year it is held on Sunday, June 5. There is a walking division with placement prizes for walkers, and all walkers wear different bibs and have an earlier start. There are also two clocks, one for the walkers and one for runners. Finally, details should be out soon on the 10k race around the Molson Indy track in July! Rev your engines! For more information about these events, please contact Lee. WoW Classes Expand :: If you live in the Unionville area or know someone there who might be interested in power walking, we will be starting 2 WoW Marathon Training programs there in mid-April. In Oakville this spring our Inside Personal Best – Complementary Training classes will move to the Quality Care Sports Injury and Rehab facility (formerly Oakville Athletic Therapy). They have undergone a renovation and the room is perfect for us! Why not sign up and see how this training is the perfect complement to your power walking. Our annual summer peripatetic classes will resume in Oakville a little early this year in May and June. In addition, we are introducing special, summer-only, early-morning outdoor stability and strength training classes starting in June and July. Check out the class listings under Outside Personal Best - Complementary Training. Remembering Wendy Joyce: For those of you who wish to contribute to either the Relay for Life in memory of Wendy or the Sheridan Scholarship Endowment fund in her name, please follow this link to Wendy’s story on our website. And stay tuned to our message board for fun and social fund-raising activities with our Relay for Life Teams.
|
||
|
WoW Tip :: Calf Stretch
If you are looking to stretch these muscles, consider this: when people hang their heels off curbs and other such places, they are loading the calf muscles while trying to stretch. Loading a muscle will result in muscle contraction with muscle shortening. Meanwhile to stretch a muscle requires lengthening it. It is difficult to contract and lengthen at the same time! For a good stretch without the loading, step back from a wall, place both hands on the wall and drop the hips and chest forward. |
||
Mississauga?
Ottawa? We know it is difficult to choose between
these two outstanding events. Of course, you could enter both! Mississauga
is great because it is close to home for many of us and offers early
starts and separate divisions for power walkers. National
Capital offers beautiful scenery, early start for the full marathon,
and tons of crowd support. Whatever you decide, we like to know
who is out walking what, so tell us if you are going to an event
so that we can cheer you on. This year WoW founder, Lee Scott (that’s
me), will be giving a talk about marathon walking at the Speaker’s
Series at the National Capital Marathon Expo. I’m going to
try and sell the walking idea to some of those run/walker types!
If you are there, come over and help me spread the word!
|
||
|
|
||
|
Long-distance number 1-877-WOW-WALK (1-877-969-9255)! |
||
