I had a dream
that my house was on fire
people laughed while it burned
I tried to run but my legs were numb
I had to wait til the feeling returned

I don’t need a doctor to figure it out
I know what’s passing me by
when I look in the mirror
sometimes I see traces of some other guy

I wanna go
I know I can’t stay
but I don’t want to run feeling this way
til I am myself
til I am myself
til I am myself again

- Blue Rodeo

A little over two years ago, I was doing a 10K practice run to prepare for the same distance in Marathon by the Sea, when a guy suddenly ran up beside me. We talked for a bit and it turned out that he was down from Quebec to work on the refinery. He asked if there were any running events around, so I told him about Marathon by the Sea, and that I was doing the 10K.

He looked me up and down skeptically. “You can do 20,” he decided.

“Maybe,” I agreed, “but I never have before. 10 is my limit so far.”

He shook his head, certain of his assessment. “You can do 20.”

“Okay,” I shrugged, and we continued to chat until we parted ways on our different routes around the city. I don’t think I have ever seen him since, but I still remember the bemused confidence of that stranger in my abilities. And yes, I am well aware of the possibility that he was hitting on me.

Today I ran the 10K again in Marathon by the Sea, coming in at a respectable 51:44, and am training to run a full marathon by summer next year. On my current training pace, I should do my first 20K run in about a month from now. I enjoy running as exercise and I like the effect it has had on my body, but I also like the effect it has had on my mind. Running can be a meditative activity and it can be a way to sort through things.

I started running in earnest again recently because I knew I was going to be single, and I wanted to stay healthy and keep a positive state of mind. But beyond that, I wanted to work toward becoming the better man that I felt I could be this past summer; and I feel that every step I take when I run brings me closer to that goal.

I don’t know if I will ever run a marathon. I hope so. My body still needs strengthening and training before I can be sure. But I can do 20.

Tags: 42 by 42

So, it’s been a couple of weeks since my birthday and  I have managed to continue running every other day, and I have been eating well and generally feeling good. The running has been a good outlet for blowing off steam from personal matters as well.

If you search online for help on how to run a marathon, you will find many different training regimens and opinions. I am comfortable with creating my own regimen for now, at least until I run a half-marathon, which I hope to do by xmas or so.

My current regimen is to do three types of runs each week:

1. a “regular” run at a comfortable pace, with intervals (ie., breaks for walking) if need be, probably between 5 and 7K at this point.

2. speed training. A 10-minute jog followed by 4 intervals of running fast for 500 metres and then walking for two minutes. After the intervals, another jog to cool off.

3. distance training. I will typically do this on the weekend since it requires the most time. The idea is to gradually build the total distance one can run without pain. So far I am trying to do it without breaks either, which isn’t a problem if I run slow enough. I do bring water though. My last “long” run was about 8.75 K. As a rule one should do 10% more distance each week, so this weekend I will be shooting for a little under 9.5.

Mathematically speaking, if I just keep doing the 10% rule, I will be running a marathon in 18 weeks. I’m not in that much of a hurry; plus winter is coming, so I will probably take it easy as the temperature drops. I do like running outside in the winter though, and I don’t like treadmills, so hopefully it won’t make too much of a difference.

Some people also like to do hill training, where you basically charge up a hill as fast as you can and then walk back down. I have done this in the past and it is not much fun. Fortunately the places where I train have a good amount of hills anyway, but on days like today where the schedule works out to an extra training day in the week, perhaps I will use those for hill training every other week.

The next thing I need to do is figure out a cross-training regimen for my off days. Since I also want to do more surfing from now on, a logical option is swimming; but unfortunately I am not the strongest swimmer and Aquatic Centre memberships are expensive. Maybe I should just take lessons and be done with it. We’ll see. There is also the bike, of course, while the weather is warm enough.

Tags: 42 by 42

Today is my 41st birthday, and as I traditionally do, I took the day off work because I believe that people should be able to enjoy themselves on their birthdays.

Anyway, I decided to go for a run and did 7K in 41:30, which is not bad for me. I have been trying to get back to a regular running schedule and it occurred to me this morning that I could set myself a nice, new, symmetrical, quasi-mathematical goal between now and my 42nd birthday: to run a marathon, which is 42K.

So there is my new goal for the next year: 42 K by age 42. I’ll keep you posted. If anyone wants to train with me, let me know.

Tags: 42 by 42