Foxy Lady...

I just saw one of the coolest things I've ever seen while riding my bike. At the George St. pier in Belleville there was a red fox just chillin' out underneath a tree. It was huge. I didn't get too close as I didn't want to scare it, but I did get close enough to make sure it was indeed a fox and not some stray dog. Very cool, you can't get that kind of natural wildlife in a big city, just one of the many reasons I love living here.

Just wanted to share that very cool experience with you.

So today was Xtraining day, so I headed out on a 20km trek through Belleville. It was nice I went rode over to the Zwicks park trail which is pretty much complete now, the lights are up and people are using it. It will make my training a lot easier in the summer. Who would have guessed I'd be riding my bike on Dec. 17. It's supposed to get up to 10 degrees C today...very nice!

Yesterday I went out for what has been so far the coldest run of my life. It was 2 degrees when I headed out yesterday morning, but with the wind made it feel more like -1 degree. It was good, but shorter than I had planned. Here's the deets...
Run - 30 mins - 3.3 miles (Just under 5.5 km)
Cooldown - 12:44 - .84 miles (Around 1.25km)

I'm having trouble remembering the tunes from yesterday, but I remember it was a great mix. I didn't hit skip once. If I get super bored I'll check my mp3 player and post it, but football is on and I'm 2 for 2 in my pool so far this week, so I doubt it'll happen today. L8r.

Will

The Great Outdoors...

Oh, Roman and Chet, how you make me laugh!!!

You know what's really great for a guy like me that wants to run outside...this weather we're having in Southern Ontario. It must have been 10 degrees C today which is unheard of in the middle of December. The crappy part is that this great weather probably means really really bad things as far as the environment is concerned. Is it global warming??? Is the world about to explode? implode? Are we about to experience what the dinosaurs went through right before the ice age? Or could it be that we're just having some odd weather for the time of year. I really don't know, but I do know that I'm definately diggin' it!

So I'm still taking it pretty easy on the knee until the swelling has completely settled, so Wednesday I didn't run at all, although I was planning on it, but I had an appointment with the Oral Surgeon (aka the guy that wants $1100 to put me to sleep and rip out 4 of my teeth), what a freakin' scam! Thank goodness for dental insurance. Anyhow, Dr. Moneybags was running an hour behind schedule so it totally killed the time I had alloted to running that day. When your a busy guy you have to allot the time and if you miss the time, your screwed. It sucks, there's just sometimes you can't squeeze a run in. I did however feel better after the doc told me that I had exceptionally nice teeth. Man, exceptionally nice teeth and calves...my wife doesn't know how lucky she is.

Anyhow, I did get out for a run yesterday. It was tight as I had to drive Amy to her teaching gig, and had made dinner plans with my pops so I had roughly 1.5 hours to get a run in, get showered and pick up dad. It was a great dinner with Dad, we do it when we can which still isn't often enough, but it's always good times. It really gives me more motivational fuel to light the fire under my ass to achieve this goal of $6000 and 42km.

Alright, enough of the sappy feel good crap. Here's the deets on yesterday's run...
Outdoor - 7 degrees C
No Warmup - I know it's dangerous, but I just didn't have the time. I did take a few minutes to stretch though.
Run - 34 mins - 3.67 miles (just under 6km)
Cooldown - 10 mins - .62 miles (1km)

Today was my non run day so I hit the gym did 20 mins of strength training on the Arc Trainer at level 8 (f'n hard) then did some weight training.

Well, I told Amy I would clean the bathroom tonight before she got home from work and it seems bigger than the one at the old apartment which took only about 30 mins to clean. Lucky for me she's the one who's been cleaning it since we moved in, but now it's my turn. I can't honestly think of a better way to spend a Friday night. Oh well, at least there's another Holiday party to hit up tomorrow night...Woo Hoo!!!

Will

I might be a freak, but...

I do have exceptional calves!!!

So I've learned my lesson not to self diagnose yourself on the internet. I do not have Iliotibial Band Syndrome, but there is some swelling under my knee where my calf muscle meets the joint. This is what's causing my pain and it's due to the fact that my left leg is longer than my right leg (that's where the freak part comes in). This length difference causes my left leg to twist at the knee very slightly every time I take a step. Of course this is intensified when I'm running.

Apparantley the pain would have kicked in as it did eventually, but was brought on by my recent increase in mileage. This combined with the fact that I don't stretch my calf muscles properly caused the problem that caused the pain. So now, I have to do a series of stretches twice a day, everyday, and the doc also suggested it might be time for a new pair of sneaks and then I should be fine. I could have probably waited a couple more days before running to completely reduce the swelling, but I didn't so here's the deets for today...

Indoor - treadmill - incline of 2 (I stuck to the treadmill despite the fact it was a beautiful day outside - I just didn't want to be out running somewhere and get the pain back)
Warmup - walk/run - .85 miles - 10 mins
Run - 3.15 miles (just over 5km) - 30 mins
Cooldown - .7 miles - 10 mins

Today I listened to the latest album from Jurassic 5. It's called Feedback and it's awesome. It's amazing the J5 crew is still puttin' out their phat beats and chilled rhymes, just like back in da day dawg! Seriously, in a time where rap music seems to be defined by punks and chumps like 50 cent, it's nice to hear people rhymin' about something that means something. Go download it right now...you won't be dissapointed.

Oh, and by the way, I was dead serious when I said I had exceptional calves. You know it's true, I saw you checkin' them out the other day, wanting to caress them, you might have even wanted to lick them, and that's just kind of sick, but if you really want to I'll let you lick one calf for $10 and the money will go straight towards my Team Diabetes fundraising efforts. Just don't blame me if you get some leg hair stuck in your teeth...freak!

I'm back on track, baby...woo hoo!!!

Will

Mele Kalikimaka...

So here we are, just under one year from the 2007 Honolulu Marathon. The 34th annual Honolulu Marathon was held yesterday and the winner (from Etheopia) had a time of 2:13, with the top Canuck clocking in at 2:31...not too shabby!!! Just over 28,000 runners took part this year, and one dude died...but don't worry Mom, he wasn't a runner, he was a volunteer that died of a heart attack, so I should live through the race next year!!!

You've probably already figured out that a picture of Richard Simmons means bad news, after all you're not a moron, and you'd be correct. I'm having some issues with my left knee. I have mentioned my knee issues previously, but this weekend my knee really started to piss me off. I know it's not good to self-diagnose yourself from medical information obtained off the internet, but I'm pretty sure I have what is referred to as Iliotibial Band Syndrome which causes unbearable pain on the outside of the knee.

The good news is that it's treatable. The bad news is that it hurts like hell...and I'm not talking about the cool hell depicted in heavy metal videos, I'm talking about the kind of hell that is similar to watching Richard Simmons sweatin' to the oldies videos, or continuous back to back episodes of Oprah and Dr. Phil. Oh yeah, baby, convert that kind of hell to physical pain and you've got my left knee!!! So rather than keep f'n it up, I've made an appointment this afternoon at the Belleville Sports Injury Clinic, which I didn't even knew existed, and probably would have never know if it weren't for the fact that I work with a high school b-ball coach (Thanks Tim).

Anyhow, I'll keep you updated on the whole thing. I can tell you that Friday night the pain was so bad that it woke me up...I've never experienced something that actually woke me out of my sleep. Before this happened on Friday though, I did run just under 8 km in 45 mins which is pretty damn good for me. I could feel it a little during and after my run on Friday evening, but the real pain didn't kick in until the overnight hours. Saturday I felt okay and decided to run again, but after half a mile I couldn't take it anymore and switched to the Arc-Trainer (a cross between an eliptical and a treadmill), as it's low impact and didn't hurt. I took yesterday off and this aft I have the appointment with the sports therapy dude so we'll see what he has to say about the whole thing. Right now at this very second it seems fine, but the pain seems to come and go depending on what I'm doing, how I'm sitting, etc.

I'm really hoping it's nothing to serious and I'll be able to get back to training very soon, but for now, I figure it's best not to make the situation worse. I'll keep you posted.

Will

Aunt Deb...You Rock!!!

Hi everybody,

As I write this I sit on a bouncy train from Montreal to Belleville. I was planning on posting a picture of Aunt Deb on this entry, but due to the sub-par internet service on the train it's not going to happen. Actually, knowing Deb, she'll be thankful when she reads this and doesn't see a picture of herself online.

Why write about Aunt Deb you may ask...well she is the first person to make a big contribution to my Team Diabetes fundraising campaign. Thanks Aunt Deb...You Rock!!! Aunt Deb is actually my aunt by marriage (my wife's aunt for you slow folk). She is married to a man named Tom and is the mother to Matt, Phil, and Charles, and I am very lucky to be a part of their family...a lot of people may think I'm nuts, but I do love my in-laws!!!

Anyhow, who knows when this craptacular internet service will crap out on me so here's the deets on my last run which was Tuesday...I know I need to get more in, it's just proving to be extremly difficult lately as the rest of my life is once again getting in the way...why do I have to be so damn popular. ;-)

Indoor - treadmill at 2 incline
Warmup - 10 mins - .85 miles
Run - 30 mins - 3.13 miles
Cooldown - 10 mins - .7 miles

Some tunes...
Ben Folds Five - One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces
Sloan - If It Feels Good Do It
Nine Inch Nails - Only

I promise, I'll have more to write over the weekend, and I'll try and get a picture of Aunt Deb up for the world to see. Cheers!

Will

High Five...

The next time you see me around, slap me a little skin (or give me a nice pat on the ass...I'll leave it up to you) as I have reached a milestone in my training over the weekend.

I'm very proud to say that on Saturday I had my longest run ever in both time and distance...a 45 minute run of 4.65 miles (7.5km). This might not sound like a lot to you (or maybe it does), and I still have 34.5 kilometres before I reach marathon length, but it feels pretty damn good to be me right now.

The problem is that I haven't ran since...which probably isn't really a problem as I should take the one day rest, which I did yesterday, but I'll be resting again today as I have my work Christmas party tonight...woo hoo!!! I do have to tell you how I spent yesterday though. My Aunt Marg flew in from Winnipeg for the weekend and yesterdat myself, Bethea (my sis), Hank (her man), Raymond (the cuz), and Aunt Marg (the aunt), spent the day at the movies we watched Borat, then stuck around and watched Casino Royale which I must say might just be the best Bond movie ever!!! Anyhow I feel pretty damn lazy for spending 6 hours in a movie theatre, but I'm sure I'll get over it soon.

Here's the deets for Saturday's run...
Indoor - treadmill - incline of 2
Warmup - walk/run - .85 miles (1.4km) - 10 mins
Run - 4.65 miles (7.5 km) - 45 mins
Cooldown - .7 miles (1.1km) - 10 mins

Some of the tunes from Saturday...
Queens of the Stone Age - Broken Box
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Readymade
De La Soul - Say No Go
Prodigy - Out of Space
Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley - Confrontations
Matthew Good Band - The Future Is X-Rated

Like I said up there, no scheduled run for today, but tomorrow is definately a run day. L8r!

Will

Who is Chris Bridges???

Luda!!! Yeah, baby, I'm talkin' bout Ludicris. He's got some of the best training jams around. I'm not sure why the title of yet another post is a reference to this one time hip hop genius (he's sold out a bit on his last record), but it's done, so here we go.

I was in the gym doing my run yesterday when Ludicris' Coming to America came on the good 'ol mp3 player, anyhow, I just happen to look up at the tv in the gym and who's on the tv, but Luda himself. Someone was watching BET and I never bothered to change it, after all rap, hip hop, and r n' b vids aren't to hard on the eyes when on the boring ass treadmill. Anyhow, I started thinking about that tune Comming to America and how it gets all crazy with the high hat, almost sounding dub like, reminiscent of Outkast's B.O.B. (Bombs Over Bagdhad)...I suppose it must be an A-T-L thing. Anyhow, then I was thinking I need to get some more of that sound on my mp3 player, which means ripping all my old Outkast cd's...no biggie...it's just finding the time.

I'm just glad I've had a few days to run lately. The painting in the kitchen is done, but now the Holiday parties are beginning, which not only mean missing some run time, but indulging in the sinful delights of the holiday season...Wow...I sounded like freakin' Martha Stewart just then...not cool!!!

We have a party to hit up tonight, then Monday is the work party for me, then the next two weekends are booked with other Parties, plus overtime, and present shopping, etc. I'll be glad when the new year hits and things can get back to normal...whatever that is.

Anyhow, it's Friday, and I'm sure you have better things to do with your time at work today, like visit YouTube, or www.homestarrunner.com, or whatever else you do to screw the pooch on a Friday at work, like reading this blog...so that being said, let's get down to business...

Indoor workout - Gym - Dreadmill set to 2 incline
Warmup - walk/run - .88 miles (1.4 km) - 10 mins
Run - 3.1 miles (5km) - 30 mins (my left knee was a little painful, so i decided not to go too hard today)
Cooldown - .75 miles - (1.2 km) - 10 mins

Tunes of the day...
Ludicris - Welcome to America, Money Maker
Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict A Riot
Foo Fighters - Monkeywrench
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Snow (Hey Oh)
De La Soul - Me, Myself, and I (because you gotta kick it old school from time to time)

And on the 6th day he said...let thy knee rest, attend ye old holiday party and have a couple brews.

Will