Belleville - Thou art forgiven...

So either people actually read this blog, or Bellevillians simply decided today would be a good day to get out and do some physical activity. My guess is the latter, but if you're reading this, then I suppose I'm wrong...right?!?!?!?!

So this afternoon I went for another great outdoor run (3.5miles + warmup and cooldown) along the new waterfront trail again. It was great, plus I had my brand new Garmin Forerunner 101 GPS training tool...it's awesome, because now I can see my work (pacing, distance, time, etc.) real time, plus if I get lost it will tell me how to get home...hmmmm perhaps I should wear it next time I go out drinking!!!

Anyhow, I do look a little like the bionic man when I go out running now (garmin, mp3 player, cell phone), but it's all worth it...except the cell phone...but I have to wear it for work. Anyhow, just incase you were worried...I'm still running! Cheers!

Where have all the runners gone...

As I sit here eating my burritto (don't worry, it's one of those Amy's Organic brand bean and rice vegetarian chock full o' protein and goodness burrittos), I can't help but wonder...Where have all the runners gone??? I have just returned from a run along the brand new extension to Belleville's waterfront trail through Zwicks park and I passed a total of 4 people (1 walker and 3 other runners), that's it!!! Now I do realize it's 8 degrees C (46F for you yanks and old peeps who haven't converted yet...this comming from the guy who reports his running distance in miles). Anyhow, it's a little brisk, but the sun is shinning, there's no wind, and compared to the weather we've had recently around here (tons o rain) it's a pretty freakin' awesome day, but no one is taking advantage of the trails we have at our disposal. Come on Belleville...get off your lazy asses and take a walk, run, bike ride...at least take the dog out for a piss...this weather isn't going to last long.

Okay...now that I've got that off my chest, here's the deets of today's beautiful outdoor workout...
Total = approx. 5 miles (8 km)
Warmup = .75 mile (1.2 km)
Run = 3.5 miles (5.6 km)
Cooldown = .75 mile (1.2 km)

It felt great!!! Here's some memorable tunes from my playlist for today...
Beck - Nausea
Billy Talent - Red Flag, This is How it Goes, Try Honesty
Ludicris - Roll Out
k-os - Sunday Morning, Born to Run, some other tracks from the new disc I can't remember the name of
Thom Yorke - Harrowdown Hill
Hard-Fi - Hard to Beat
Mobile - Out of my Head

Until next time...get outside!!!

Steal of a Deal...

Hey there. So I've been a little negligent with the blog the past couple of days...it's not that I haven't been working out though!!! I'm swamped at work, and between that and getting my workouts in it's been a busy few days. I've been making a few adjustments to my training workouts recently to try and get things going right...not that they've been going wrong, but I'm trying to maximize the results of my workouts. That being said, here's what yesterday's workout looked like...
5 mins brisk walking (approx. .4 miles)
6 mins running @ 7 mph (approx. .7 miles)
6-7 mins of stretching (very important)
32 mins of running @ 6mph (approx. 3.2 miles)
13 mins of brisk walking (approx. .8 miles)
Total = 5 miles (approx)

After that was done, I did a couple circuits of some ab excercises as I've recently read a book called the Abs Diet by the editor of Men's Health magazine which talks a lot about how your midsection is the core of your body and how if you've got strong abs, your whole body will be stronger...it really makes a lot of sense, but for a guy who's spent most of his life just hanging out drinking beer, I had to read it in a book to realize it. Anyhow, today, I'll be doing a little bit of cross training and strength training, giving my legs a little rest from the running.

Oh yeah...my steal of a deal...I managed to get a good deal on a Garmin 101 through www.runningroom.com - $79, so that should be arriving next week sometime...I'll let you know how it works.

I haven't worked up the nerve to try the gel supplement yet, but I probably will tomorrow or Friday on a longer run. Until then...

With Eyes Wide Open...

Well, I knew this was going to be a physical challenge, but I really didn't have a clue. Yesterday Brock and I made a trip to a place in Trenton called Tri and Run Sports http://triandrunsports.com/ and it's a good idea we did. My sister Bethea's fiance Henry recommended it to me as it is his aunt who owns and operates the store. Anyhow, I had the pleasure of meeting Aunt Sandy and her husband Jeff yesterday and they are amazing people. They are real deal runners (marathons every year type of deal). Sandy and Jeff filled us in on a lot that we really had no idea about including gel supplements (pictured) according to Sandy after you've been running for 90 minutes plus it's a whole other ball game, and I'll tell you folks I believe her. To complete this marathon we're looking at gel supplements, hydration belts, the whole 9. Sandy gave Brock and I each a gel packet to try as we're going to have to get used to them. I just ran 4.5 miles at the gym this morning, plus did my weight training, but chickened out on the gel pack. I will try it though, once I get into some longer runs and let you know how it goes. It looks like Sandy, Jeff, Brock and I will be getting to know each other over the next 14 months. Hey we might as well turn to the experts rather than going into this thing unprepared right?!?!?!?!?

Like I said, had a great workout today, listening to the new k-os album, it's amazing, it's called Atlantis Hymns for the Disco and I highly recommend it. For those of you who have never heard of k-os, check him out...one of the most talented artists to ever come out of Canada.

Well, it's Sunday, and only 2 hours away from kickoff, the wife is at work, so it's time to hit the shower, pick up my cuz (Raymond) and spend the afternoon watching football.

With a little help from my friends...

'Sup my peeps! Yesterday was a landmark day for this whole journey...in fact I heard the craptacular Canadian government might even make it a holiday next year (of course this would be an unpaid holiday, but a holiday non the less). Anyhow, it was the first day of outdoor training for the Honolulu marathon for me. Now, don't misunderstand...it wasn't the first time I've ran outdoors, just the first time in a while.

I was on my way to the gym when I saw my teammate Brock walking home, so I wheeled around and met him infront of his apartment. Since I had my gear with me and it had stopped raining for the moment we decided to go for a run together. It was a little wet and cold, but we covered 4.5 miles (including warmup) along the waterfront trail. It felt good, but running outside in the cold really takes your breath away. I'm really not sure how accurate that 4.5 miles is as I used an online tool www.gmap-pedometer.com. If you don't have a fancy GPS training tool like me (yet), then it's a pretty good substitute.

Anyhow, after the run, it was home for a shower, then back to Brock and Emily's for dinner (spinach ravioli w/ butternut squash sauce)...it was awesome...in fact I'll see if Emily can hook me up with the recipe for it and I'll post it for you. It was way better then the time she made this Spinach Pie...not to be completely rude, but it was kind of sick...she definately redeemed herself last night.

Again, I digress...so after dinner we had our first fundraising meeting. Lots of great ideas came out of the meeting last night, now we just have to get the details down and put an implementation plan in place...2007 is going to be a busy year. We also decided not to really go full force on our fundraising until after the holiday season as businesses around our area are already committed to donating to other causes, and we would like a bigger piece of the pie then we would probably get now...we're so business savy!!! That being said, we're still going to spend the next few months soliciting our family and friends for donations. See if we hit them up now, maybe we can hit them up again in 6 months or so...brilliant!!!

In closing today, I'd like to say...It's friday...relax...have a pint or 2...then go to www.goodwillrunning.com and send us a donation...Please.

Cheers!

Will

Rain, rain, go away...

Running indoors kind of sucks!!! It's cool because your running, but not so cool because you're inside with nothing to look at except your own reflection in the mirror, which in my case isn't really all that bad :-) but you also don't get to go anywhere!!!

The city I live in - Belleville, Ontario, Canada has a really great trail system along the waterfront (cleverly named the "waterfront trail"), and it's great for joggers, roller bladers, walker, and of course runners. The trouble is that everytime I plan to run it rains. So yesterday I went to the gym...4.5 miles on the treadmill without the pain experienced on Saturday, plus some weight training due to the fact that I haven't lifted weights in a few months and my wife and I are moving into our new house in less than a month and I'm going to be expected to carry a crapload of boxes as well as furniture. Sorry...I digress...back to the running thing. So today the weather in Belleville is not to bad 15 degrees and partly sunny skies...great weather for running outside. Only problem is I'm planning on going to dinner with some old friends from high school tonight, so a run isn't really going to fit into the schedule...oh well at least I've got another 14 months to prepare for the marathon.

Tomorrow Environment Canada is calling for rain and 30km/h winds for Belleville so it looks like I'll be running indoors again...but Friday's looking good. I'll keep you posted.

Will

Back into training...

Okay, so after my little incident on Saturday I was felling a little overwhelmed, but I decided to get on the bike for 20km on Sunday just to get out. It probably wasn't a great idea, but it didn't feel too bad. Needless to say I took yesterday off from training and will be hitting the gym tonight to do a few miles on the treadmill and some weight training.

I've been looking for something to help me train outdoors, to track my speed, distance, pace, etc. I found a place in Calgary that will ship me a Garmin Forerunner 101 for $130 CAN that's including tax and shipping. From what I've seen it looks like the best deal, but I could be wrong. If anyone out there knows of something better for a good price, please let me know.

Brock and I are going to get together later in the week to put our fundraising master plan together...I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, please feel free to check out www.goodwillrunning.com - I've done a ton of updates to the site.

4 miles down...1196 miles to go!!!

WTF was I thinking!!! Okay, so I did log over 1500 km's on my bike this summer, but I haven't actually ran since my honeymoon back in May. BTW...for those of you who ever have the chance to run on an outdoor track in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean...do it...it's amazing!!!

Anyhow, I ran for 3 miles today, then walked for 1 mile as my legs were obviously telling me to stop or they were going to fall off. This is crazy...I'm in reasonable shape, and I have run in the past, plus logging all those hours on my bike over the last 4 months you'd think this wouldn't be a problem, but the muscles I've neglected from biking are screaming at me right now. I've pulled out the good old a535 and hopping I'll be able to get back at it tomorrow. I think it's mostly my quads...the muscles at the front of my upper leg just above my knee. Anyhow I'm sure I'll be fine, just thought I should let you know. Cardiovasularily (not sure if this is an actual word, but I'm gong to use it) I felt like I could keep running all day...oh well...at least I've got 14 months to get my shit together.

Now for some fun...here's a few of the bands that came up on my mp3 player as I was running...good tunes for running...
Damian "Jr Gong" Marley
Death From Above 1979
Gorillaz
Nine Inch Nails
Arctic Monkeys
The Strokes

Anyhow, time to hit the shower. L8r.

Will

www.goodwillrunning.com

Hey everybody.
I'm going to make this a quick post as I'm not at home, but wanted to give a quick update for my new website - www.goodwillrunning.com Check it out!!!
I have to thank my friend Jacob for hosting the site for me for free...you da man cool guy.

Anyhow, I hope the really nice folks over at Miramax don't sue me...plus I'm pretty sure Matt Damon and Ben Affleck together could probably kick my ass, so I hope if they get pissy about the awesome movie poster Jacob made, then my only hope is if they let me have a round of paper rock scissors, rather than fight...I'm a freakin' genius when it comes to that game.

The weather here has been super crappy, so I'm hopping to get some actual running in tomorrow. Until then...

The road to Hawaii starts now...

It's now official...I have made a pledge and am now a member of Team Diabetes. Pictured right to left is Me, Catherine Reynolds from the Canadian Diabetes Association, and my friend Brock. Big props to my wife Amy for taking such a great picture...she really managed to get my good side.

Now some of you are probably asking yourself...Why the hell is Brock all up in your fab photo Will??? And the simple answer is that I needed someone to hold up the other half of that jersey. Just kidding.

On the weekend I asked Brock if he'd like to join Team D too and he said yes, but it wasn't a very convincing yes, so I assumed he needed time to think about it. So, not so long story short, last night he said he told me he was serious, so now we're both going to raise a ton of cash for the CDA and run the Honolulu '07 marathon. Brock of course has his own reasons for wanting to undertake this task...his girlfriend Emily is a diabetic and he'll be doing this for her...awwwww!!!

Funny, today in an email, I told my friend Russ that he should do it too, seeing as how he's an avid runner. He also reads this blog, so we'll see if he decides to join the team...no pressure though Russ!!!

I just got off the phone with Dad and they're letting him out of the hospital today. He'll be on a different insulin, and probably have to make a few changes to his regular routine, but he's gonna be alright. Yeah!!!!

Up next...the actual physical training begins...now it's gonna get interesting.

Oh yeah, I forgot to get the online donation info from Catherine, so I'll get that from her and post it so you can donate to the cause.

L8r.

Will

My first entry

Okay, this is my first entry in my first blog...so don't expect much!!! Just kidding. My name is Will and I have never ran a marathon before in my life, but I plan on running one next year.

Please, let me explain...
I live in Canada and there is a program here put together by the Canadian Diabetes Association www.diabetes.ca that is called Team Diabetes. Essentially, it's purpose is to raise funds to help research, and provide education and awareness of the dreaded disease known to man as Diabetes. The way the Team Diabetes program accomplishes it's goals is the cool part...they get people...everyday chumps just like you and me to enter into marathons in cities around the world while raising a ton of cash for diabetes, and creating a good buzz in your community at the same time.

I've decided to take on this insane task to honour my father (Rick), who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 25 years ago. For those of you who know someone with diabetes or suffer from it yourself, you know it's not easy and complications can and do occur. My dad has been doing pretty good so far (although some may say he's just lucky), until recently when complications hospitalized him. He's been in for a week now, and we're expecting he will be released in the next few days and be okay, but it's been a little scary, not only for me and the fam, but for him as well. Had it not been for the progress that diabetes researchers have made in the past 25 years, dad might not be comming home from the hospital and this my friends has been a major factor for me to make the decision to join Team Diabetes.

Okay, enough of the uber-serious stuff and let's get to laughing hysterically at pics of me trying to get into marathon shape...I'm warning you now, it's not going to be pretty!!! (pics comming soon)

I'm meeting with a representative from Team Diabetes tomorrow and will let you know how it goes. I'll keep you updated on Dad as well.