QUOTE OF THE DAY

"You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can't know what's coming." Frank Shorter

Back at it tonight with my clinic group - 9.5 km with 11 hills in there -- a good workout and with the new orthotics causing no problem in face alleviating some hip pressure -- they felt great -- great to be back at it with a couple of significant distance days coming this weekend.

Registered for the Mississauga Marathon tonight -- finally done -- now as Shorter says I have to forget Vegas -- I don't want my body to know what is coming when the race begins..... I know my toughest half was my second for that reason.............we do learn the hard way.

The bar has been raised, the goal has been written down and a commitment has been made...............Time to get it on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone. And, as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. "- Nelson Mandela

Thank you to a very special friend - Julie - for this quote. It is fantastic -- don't we all need to let our light shine -- it rubs off obviously -- Julie, your smile, your compassion and your positive energy are such positive forces and I am truly blessed to have you as a friend.

Sarah was truly correct as well -- it is not necessarily the training that gets you through the hard times but your training partners that help you through the emotionally trying times. I can attest to that the last week or so -- thanks to all of you.

I have taken the last three days off training totally although tonight I may go out for 5 or so km -- I think it was definitely helpful for my body to do so.. Also, picked up my two new pairs of Asics with new orthotics today -- they should help as well and I am looking forward to using them.

Time to climb back out of that dark hole and get back at 'er!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers and have a great day everyone

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor souls who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." --Theodore Roosevelt

Once again thank goodness for the clinic group and the ability to use this sport as a channel for negative emotions. I woke up Saturday morning to my dog having passed away in her sleep during the night - when I first started walking she dragged me along and made me speed up and put some effort into it. She will be sadly missed but remembered fondly and with passion.

Our clinic group did 30km yesterday and everyone was once again terrific -- incredible efforts by everyone. I was able to finish with 90.5k for the week -- then I realized that I had trained 20 days in a row as of yesterday - today then is a well earned rest day - so after the emotional roller coaster weekend I am hoping I can recover not only physically but psychologically as well.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live."
Greg Anderson
Beyond The Quote:Your own motivation in life is what keeps you going and excites you to live. Having a dream and a true passion to do what you love is what living is all about. Remember this, and forever be happy.

The end of a long week -- too much extraneous stuff interfering with the course of one's life -- too much to burden blog readers with but suffice to say, once again, good friends came to the rescue. Thanks Julie, you don't know how perfect your timing was last night.

It was however a great week for training -- by the time the weekend is over with it will be another week of 90+kms. It looks as if the month will end with my largest mileage total ever -- over 300km. I have made a promise to my closest friend Ian and now to Julie as well that I want to do a 500km individual endurance trek in Japan by 2010 - and try to do it in 12 days -- well everyone has to have a dream -- as I say all the time "Goals are bridges to our Dreams"

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Ralph Vaull Starr: "Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal. "

Man, it was cold this morning -- but still a great day for a morning training session -- a quick 11k and then off to work -- I once again planned to do a more or less recovery walk but ended up doing a tempo -- at marathon pace plus 10 and then did some core work when I got home -- really trying to work on hips, abductors and adductors.

Only about 7 weeks before Mississauga Marathon and two weeks from vacation and some training in the mountains of Japan - can't wait!!!!!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Some people say I have attitude - maybe I do...but I think you have to. You have to believe in yourself when no one else does - that makes you a winner right there." -- Venus Williams

There you go -- Pre yesterday and one of the greatest endurance athletes in history - Emile Zatopek --- runner, walker, triathlete -- doesn't matter who you are I am sure you are in awe, as I am, of Zatopek's accomplishments. Truely Amazing.

Today was an early day at work -- and I actually got out of there on time -- it was supposed to be an off day training but I ended up going out and doing 7.5k to stretch out the sore muscles from the 30k yesterday.

I want to take a moment to send some special thanks to some special people who are a constant source of daily encouragement and motivation to me -- my barometers and my support -- to all of you a very very special thank you.

Glenn, Lin, Sarah, Jenna and Allison -- my second family

My Clinic members --- amazing people doing amazing things

Sarah(cdnracewalker) -- truly a source of motivation

Ian - my closest and dearest friend -- been at my side since high

school

Julie -- a new friend who is an amazing support and source of

Wisdom

Installment two of the Thank you list tomorrow

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I learned that the only way you are going to get anywhere in life is to work hard at it. Whether you're a musician, a writer, an athlete or a businessman, there is no getting around it. If you do, you'll win--if you don't, you won't." -- Bruce Jenner, Olympic Gold Medalist, Decathlon

Pre and Jenner -- two amazing and inspirational athletes ---- we all have different gifts and should not let them go to waste --- Don't waste your!!!!
A great training day -- 29.7k with the clinic and they all finished it with a measure of a smile left on their faces. Tomorrow, two of my members will begin to lead their own 5k clinic and I am so proud of the two of them -- they have come a long way in a short period of time. Great Job Karen and Joanne -- enjoy!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.”

Tomorrow we get started with the BIG mileage build up for the Mississauga Marathon -- 8 of us in the clinic will get together at 0800 and 29.88km later we will pull into the Oakville Starbucks with smiles on our faces and the knowledge that we were successful and are stronger, more confident and more skilled -- we didn't wait for the conditions to be right -- Don't You!!!!

Training for a Marathon - this is what you need to be - Walker or Runner

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Our attitudes control our lives. Attitudes are a secret power working 24 hours a day, for good or bad. It is of paramount importance that we know how to harness and control this great force."
Tom Blandi
Beyond The Quote:Your thoughts and desires are key assets upon facing imminent challenges. Having complete control over your own mind will allow you to manage any situation at hand. If you can manipulate your thoughts into a positive approach, you can achieve anything.

Isn't that a great poster --- the legendary Bill Rodgers --- runner or walker -- you have to be impressed and motivated by him. That picture is forever etched in my mind and helps my visualization when I am doing half and full marathons.

This has been an awesome week of training, --- by the time I finish a few km at High Park tomorrow and 29km with the clinic group on Sunday I will have about 95km in for the week.......Mentally and Physically I am feeling stronger and more determined --- I have my goal for the marathon in Mississauga and I am focused on making it.

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I know where I'm going and I know the truth, and I don't have to be what you want me to be. I'm free to be what I want."
Muhammad Ali

Beyond The Quote:It is not important how others perceive you or what expectations they may have of you. What's significant is how you view yourself and what your own personal visions and goals are. You have the ability to set out and accomplish what you desire, and achieve the highest success.

Once again -- I guess the quote and the poster speak for themselves ---- good news on the walking clinic at work --17 have signed up for it so far -- sort of overwhelming but I am thrilled and excited.

I have been remiss in not sending out my best wishes to my virtual friend Bryan K --- keep smiling my friend -- as you said today, this all may be a blessing in disguise..........See you in Ottawa...........We will be coming down on Saturday and maybe we can pasta load together............

Another good workout outside this morning -- 12.9 k at a good tempo -- I am finally getting back in to the grove -- nothing like spring to pump you up

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"You have to be able to center yourself, to let all of your emotions go... Don't ever forget that you play with your soul as well as your body."
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Beyond The Quote:It takes heart and strength of character to attain your goals. Your intensity and determination to succeed lies first within your mind where it converts to a more physical strength and outward mobility. Utilize both you mind and body to become triumphant.

There has been a lot of debate the last little while on the Running Room forum between runners and walkers and who should do what, when etc. All of it is very frustrating -- especially when when I see runners calling walkers a "nuisance" and always being in the way........I hear them saying that walkers should start after runners instead of an hour before as they get in the way and impede runners progress........I guess that does underscore the need for MUTUAL RESPECT -- and some race etiquette on both sides. As far as being in the way at the Chili Half --- the picture above is approximately 2k from the finish and I don't see a runner around that I am impeding and I was in the lead 4 walkers. I have been in several distance races where I have started with runners and have had to work my way around runners who were slower and running three or four abreast which we are often accused of...........This will be a never ending debate.

On a more positive note --- it was a great morning to train -- now I am on the right track for the Mississauga Marathon --- I did 15k tempo at my goal pace +10seconds --- !:48:00 ---so I am very pleased with the performance and I was able to use Sarah's techniques a little longer -- what a difference --- can sure feel it in the shins like she warned me but better and better every day.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done."
Vince Lombardi

Beyond The Quote-Anything in this world is possible and you have the capacity to acquire all that you set your sights on. You alone possess the absolute inner drive to accomplish all of your desires. If you commit yourself entirely to what you aspire and have the strength to follow through, you will ultimately succeed in your goals.

Not much else to say once you read this quote and the beyond the quote. Had a training course this morning at work which made it impossible to do a workout this morning but I did 3.5k at lunch and will do another 3.5 tonight during the evening lull.

I have been given the go ahead from Senior Management to do a Walking Clinic at our Head Office on Bay Street. We posted Bulletins this morning and I send out invitations by email to our Head Office employees -- I was totally amazed --within 15 minutes of posting the email, I had 5 confirmed responses -- this may just be a great little clinic -- beginning April 24th

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"An inch of time is an inch of gold: TREASURE IT.

Appreciate its fleeting nature;

misplaced gold is not easily found,

mispent time is lost forever."

Loy ching-Yuen

Just a short post today --- it was a great morning for a outdoor workout this morning --- was only planning on doing 8k this morning as it usually is an off day --- got started and before I knew it, with AcDc playing, I had done 14k and loved it. Tried using Sarah's racewalking technique more today and was surprised that not only did I keep it up for most of the distance but my time - considering it was a training session, was significantly better than it has been. That is exciting -- cant wait to do more

Have a good evening everyone

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I was told over and over again that I would never be successful, that I was not going to be competitive and the technique was simply not going to work. All I could do was shrug and say 'We'll just have to see'. "
Dick Fosbury

"The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur."
Vince Lombardi

I mentioned in a previous post - Friday, I think, that when you are training keep in mind some motivational quotes -- they come in handy when you need them the most. I find the first one here particularly important for me in particular -- I think I know how Fosbury felt when they said the "flop" wouldn't work as a high-jumping technique. I was told less than a year ago that I had "a lot of heart, determination and endurance -- but no style --- I was the ugly duckling "style wise... Well, like Fosbury --- you can't argue success...... Now though, after Sarah's presentation and my new found muscles I am going to focus on a racewalking technique -- hopefully by the Mississauga Marathon I will be able to use it for at least half of the race......New endurance with new muscle groups to build in the meantime.......those muscles were still sore yesterday from out Thursday workout....Glenn and I were still hurting when we did our 15k yesterday and still were impacting me today when we did 19k with the clinic group in Oakville. An awesome day for walking today and this week looks promising weather wise as well.....now that I can get outside in comfort every day I plan to increase the mileage per week on a 10% per week schedule.
Next Saturday, I think Glenn, Lin and I will do a High Park workout -- speed work is great but I still believe strength and endurance are key --- have to be able to keep that speed up for long distances and that is our goal.
Have a great week everyone

RUNNING ROOM OAKVILLE ONTARIO

2007 - JANUARY-MAY MARATHON CLINIC

BURLINGTON CHILI HALF MARATHON

"THE 'A' TEAM"

MIND POWER

Christoper Bergland describes how to develop an "athletic mind-set" in The Athlete's Way:Sweat and the Biology of Bliss"(St. Martin's Press:June 2007)

SET GOALS; the sense of achievement that comes from accomplishing a goal comes from dopamine-(a neuro-chemical). To get regular hits, have manageable goals that'll give you more opportunities for success.

GET INSPIRED: review quotes from Muhammad Ali, Charles Lindbergh, and Nietzsche. "When I am exercising, one of these quotes will often pop into my mind-usually when I need it the most."

MONITOR YOUR MOOD: compare how you feel before and after a walk using a scale of -5(stressed/cranky) to +5(calm/elated) "If you're starting a workout feeling +1 you'll know that when you're done you will be a +4 or +5"

USE POSITIVE IMAGERY: Bergland's fridge features Lance Armstrong, the Hawaii Ironman, and superman -- things that motivate him. But his most visual clues are rubber bands. He puts one on each morning as a reminder of his commitment. At night, he adds it to a rubber-band ball, " a representation of my investment. I take those rubber-band balls with me to races to remind me that I've trained hard and am prepared."

http://www.runnersworld.com/bergland

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Willis Whitney: 'Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can. '

H. Ross Perot: 'Something in human nature causes us to start slacking off at our moment of greatest accomplishment. As you become successful, you will need a great deal of self-discipline not to lose your sense of balance, humility and commitment."

Good morning everyone -- I have had some problems with my blogger this week and today is the first time that I will be able to post. It has been a week of back to doing what works -- some hard gym workouts and the highlight of the week was our clinic last night when Sarah(http://cdnracewalker.blogspot.com) came and spoke to the group. The group was in awe of her expertise and speed -- even runners in the backgroun wanted more info.. Sarah did a great job -- Thanks Sarah -- much appreciated.
The Running Room has asked me to do another clinic (combination again of half and full marathon walk) begining in June with the target being the Toronto Marathon for the Marathoners and Niagara or toronto for the Half marathoners -- so I thought about it for about 15secs and committed to it.
Julie from our group and Paul the manager from the store are off to Rome for the Marathon ---Good Luck guys
A big weekend of training and intense at that planned so today is an off day
Have a great weekend all
Cheers!!!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"It is there, right where you are: If you seek it, obviously you do not see it"
Muso Kokushi

"With the right attitude --- life is very simple and very easy"
P. Yogananda

Well, the day after race day --- the Chili Half is over and done for another year -- once again Kelly and VRsports did a great job.
Speaking of an AWESOME job ---- my clinic members did one h__l of a job and I am SO PROUD of them as they should be of themselves......an Incredible display from an incredible group.
Here is a quick review of the results:
3 of the top 9 finishers
-one fifth overall and third place female open(great work Rita)
-one ninth overall and winner Masters category(way to go Glenn)
-1st place female 55-59(amazing Lin--who just happens to be Glenn's wife)
-Julie -- PB'd -- great job and good luck in Rome
-Karen --- 1st half --- under 3 hours ----TERRIFIC
- Joanne --- 10 days out of the hospital and finished her first half marathon in her first personal best --- the Biggest display of courage and determination I have seen -- brings tears to the eyes.
-- and me!!! I was fortunate to PB and be 2nd overall mens open division and 4th overall in the race.
SOME SERIOUS "BLING BLING" FOR THIS MARATHON CLINIC

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Winning is nice, but you savor that victory for an evening and it's gone. Competing well is just not to be equated with winning.
-Bill Bowerman, running coach

It is a universal maxim worthy of all acceptation that a man may have tht allowance which he takes. Take the place and attitude to which you see your unquestionable right, and all men acquiesce.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Well, it is finally the weekend ---- a God awful day yesterday --- 17hr work day and had to obviously cancel the clinic last night -- so we are 10k short for race week which may or may not work to our advantage -- due to the number of kms I have done lately I know it will probably work well for me. A quick 5k tomorrow with Glenn and Lin after picking up our race kits and then "The Race Is On"'
I am really excited about the race but I am not expecting great results -- here I am making excuses already -- sounding old now I guess - hopefully it is just the pre-race jitters.
Monthly summary for February -262.7kms
Year to date = 560.7kms