Good Will Running

Sporting Life 10K - Race Review

2009-05-03T20:00:00.001-04:00

I ran the Sporting Life 10K today...a great race.

Check my review here - http://willalexander.blogspot.com/2009/05/race-review-sporting-life-10k.html

I love running in Toronto...

2009-03-02T22:14:00.005-05:00

Man, I love running in the city of Toronto...my new home.

The funny thing about this post is that I was going to post about poodles, and how I'm not a fan despite the fact that I love dogs. Of course this was due to an almost altercation with a poodle today on my run...okay, so it just looked at me funny...but it definitely looked like it didn't want me running on the same sidewalk.

Okay, back to the point...I was on my run this evening doing speed work, heading south on Bayview Ave. towards Eglinton just at the bottom of the big hill by the CNIB office when a fellow runner gave me a smile and wave as he passed me...this was an awkward moment as he had just gone by and it was time for me to kick it into high gear for one of my speed burst pick-ups (running at 95% max heart rate for 1 minute). I didn't want to be a jerk runner blowing past this guy right after he passed me (going up hill no less), but what could I do, I was on a speed burst schedule!
Anyhow, after a couple of seconds I gunned it, and when I caught up to this guy, he turned, smiled again and said "Sorry. Did I slow down?" I said no, and told him I was doing speed work and being a runner he knew, so he challanged me to run full out to the overpass 3/4 of the way up the hill with him, and I accepted. We ran together full out to the overpass at which point we said our goodbyes, and I kept on going for another 6 or 7 km.

So the point of the story is that I love running in Toronto because I have yet to go out for a run and not pass another runner, and I've been running here for 6 months now. I've ran in rain, snow, heat, cold and always see at least one other runner. It's amazing! Of course I have other reasons why I love running in Toronto, but we'll save those for another day.

Now I think it's time for me to address my absence from the running blog. Yeah, I know...it's been 1 year, 2 months, and 19 days since my last post...and I don't have an excuse, so get off my case, and just embrace the fact that I'm back and my running adventures will continue in blog form. Don't worry, I have been running during the time off from the blog, in fact I completed my second marathon back in September in 4:08 (new PR), and I'm currently training for the Toronto Sporting Life 10K on May 3, 2009.

Today's run was a good one...mostly because it was outdoor...this winter has been way too long. Wednesday's are speed work days now that I'm training again, and today was 60 minutes at an easy pace with random speed burst pickups thrown in. Today I did the pickups around every 8 minutes. My total distance was 12km...I've got to say it again...great run!

Here's my cousin Raymond's favorite part of my blog posts...some selections from today's playlist...
U2 - Beautiful Day (Oakenfold rmx)
U.S.S. - Porno Star Trek
Cut Copy - Hearts on Fire
Eagles of Death Metal - Wanna be in LA
Jay-Z - Big Pimpin'
Jurrasic 5 - If You Only Knew
Matt and Kim - Cinders
Santogold f/Pharrell and Julian Casablanca - My Drive Thru

I've gotta tell you, I'm super pumped to be writing again. It's good to be back. Thanks for reading

If you're new to the blog...maybe you were directed here by one of my twitter tweets, then I have to say welcome to the fan club. ;-)

It's gotta be the shoes...

2007-12-15T14:47:00.000-05:00

DISCLAIMER: This post is all over the effing place, and is extremely long, so if you're going to read it, do me a favour and read the entire post. I may add more later, but for now, I'm spent.

Alright, so I've been back home for a couple of days now, and my luggage is finally home to (don't ask), so I've had time to reflect on what I've done, and am ready to share some of the details with you.

Honestly, this whole experience has been a hell of a lot harder than I thought it would ever be. I'm not just talking about the run, but I'm talking about the training, the fundraising, the putting my social life on hold at times, the leaving the woman I love behind while I went to Hawaii last week, the sharing a hotel room with what could have been a psycho serial killer, but actually turned out to be a really cool guy, and has become a new friend...thank goodness for that.

Anyhow, all that I've felt about this journey, and pretty much every emotion I've ever felt in my life came out on that race course last Sunday. I laughed, I cried, I swore (surprise!), I sang, I talked, I ran, and I even walked a little. It's amazing how much of a mental game running a marathon is...I would have never expected some of the things to come out that did. I thought a lot about many different things, but for the most part I thought about my father, and more specifically my relationship with my father. A lot of emotion came from my thoughts of my dad, however, I'm not going into any detail here as it's a conversation that's between us...when it happens. I don't have many regrets from my life thus far, but I definately wish that he was there to meet me at the finish line as we had originally planned, because he's been just as much a part of this as me and although he wasn't with me physically, it felt like he ran that entire race with me, because he did...in my head, and in my heart. He is the reason I took this task on, and he is the reason why I finished. Last night I finally went to see my parent and have dinner with them for the first time since I'd come home. When I got through the door I took my finishers medal from around my neck and put it around dad's. I told him that this was our medal, and I really hope I have the balls to explain that to him one day. Anyhow, seeing him wear that medal through dinner and while we were looking at pictures afterward felt almost as good as crossing the finish line.

Anyhow, I'm not too sure if that even comes close to explaining the mind fuck I went through on the course, but it's all you're going to get.

As far at the physical test that running this marathon was, well that I can explain a little better. I was feeling really really strong until mile marker 19, but by this point I had already ran over 20 miles (I'll explain). For some reason my body started to fight back...hard, and I had to change my game plan. I knew then, that I wasn't going to make 4 hours, even though I was on pace at the halfway (13 mile) mark. I ran to the next water station, then walked through it, then ran to the next one and walked through it. I continued this pattern until the last water station, which I skipped as I could see the finish line and got excited and all I wanted was to get there, but it was still about a 1/4 mile away. I was running towards the finish line, but it didn't seem to get any closer. I wanted to giver', but my body had had enough and simply wouldn't give me any more juice, although I did find the energy to wipe the snotsicles from my nose, raise my arms triumphantly and smile (I think)...after all you gotta look good for the camera right?!?!

Anyhow, my quads felt like they we're shredded, and I just couldn't stop moving my legs out of fear that once I stopped moving them, I wouldn't be able to start moving them again. We took a bus back to the hotel, and I couldn't even sit. Walking up and especially down stairs for 3 days after the marathon licked (fill in the blank...I choose hairy horse nuts), and I had to spend most of the day after the marathon stretching and trying to get my legs ready to surf (which went extremely well). It hurt a lot...that's the bottom line.

I've said it before, and I will say it again. Running that marathon was the single most difficult thing I've ever done in my entire life, but I might just give it another go, although the jury is still out.

If you're planning on running a marathon, don't make the same rookie mistakes I made. Don't weave in and out of the crowd at the beginning. I managed to log over an entire mile by doing this, but it was hard not to. There was 30000 people there, and it was almost impossible to run a straight line.
Don't drink too much the morning of the race...I had to stop to pee twice...that's never happened in training.
Don't line up in the womens porto-potty line by mistake. The guys line moves way faster, and there is better ways to spend your time before a race, rather than waiting to take a shit.

The final numbers...
Clock Time - 4:29:08
Unofficial Chip Time - 4:23:42 - This is unofficial as it came from my gps watch due to the fact that the chips didn't work because of the shite weather.
Placed 3241st of 20693 total finishers
247th of 1130 males aged 25-29
Approx. $7500 dollars raised for the Canadian Diabetes Association

Again, thanks for being a part of the journey. I couldn't have done it without you.

Will

A Quickie from Honolulu...

2007-12-10T17:22:00.000-05:00

Aloha!

Okay, so yesterday this trippy journey came to an end when I completed the Honlolulu Marathon in a time of 4:23 (unofficially) I know this was my time as I used my gps to track it when I crossed the finish line. Officialy my time was 4:29:08, but it took mea good 7 or 8 minutes to cross the start line. The weather conditions were horrible and it affected the chip times and they probably won't be able to fix it, but trust me on the 4:23.

This was probably the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life. I ended up running an extra mile because I was weaving in and out trying to get ahead at the beggining of the race. It was like a monsoon yesterday morning and I (along with 30000 other crazy nutters) ran the whole thing with soaking wet shoes. This has made my feet extremely hideous, and I'm going to lose a few toe nails, but it was all worth it.

Anyhow, I'm in an internet cafe, and I've got a surfing lesson soon, so I have to go, but I wanted to update you all and just say thanks for all your support. I went through a lot yesterday both physically and mentally...this truly was an impacting part of my life. I'll elaborate when I have more time.

Will

Tick, Tock, Boom!!!

2007-12-05T22:08:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I've named this post tick, tock, boom for two reasons...the first is obviously that I'm only 3 full days away from race day, and the second...well that's a little bit of a story.

Honestly, I haven't been able to get the catchy little ditty from the Hives latest album (Black & White), since I got back from Winnipeg on the weekend. They should make it the freakin' Winnipeg anthem as I must have heard it 1000 times while I was there and I was only there for 3 days. I know it's minus 30, and you need a rockin' tune to get you moving, but come on people, there are other songs that exist out there. Now don't get me wrong, I dig the tune, and I've been a fan of the Nordic rock quintet for years, but there may be too much of a good thing. That being said, there are a few good tracks to run to, and the album is decent, although I don't find it as aggressive as their previous work (This is me being a pompous music geek).

Okay, so I know what you're thinking...how did you run in minus 30 weather. Well, the truth is, I'm a big chicken shit and I went to the Y, where I assumed they'd have an indoor track like every other Y in the country, but they didn't, so I hit the treadmill for 14km instead. On Sunday I ran on my Aunt and Uncle's treadmill in their basement, which was an experience as it was like running and smoking all at the same time, as my uncle smokes in the basement. If he would have passed me a beer, it would have been perfect!!! (I'm kidding...relax)

Anyhow, we've done it. I fly out tomorrow from Toronto at 1:30PM and arrive in Honolulu at 11:00PM (Hawaiian Standard Time which is 5 hours behind us)...it's a really long flight...and I still have to finish packing.

I plan on updating my blog while I'm en route and while I'm down there so keep posted. In the meantime I really would like to thank everyone for their well wishes. All of you're support really means a lot to me, and I will be thinking of all of you over the next few days.

Much Love!

Will

Lesson No. 6.2

2007-11-24T10:15:00.000-05:00

So I learned a couple of things this morning...
1) If I'm going to run more than one hour in the morning, I either need to start running as soon as I get up, or if I'm going to sit around for an hour, I need to eat something small before I start. I tanked today!!!
2) It's too damn hot wearing the Team Diabetes singlet over top of one of my running shirts with sleeves. This means I'm going to have to suck it up and wear the singlet on it's own and just apply lots of Body glide to parts of my arms which haven't been previously exposed on long runs.

Oh, and just so you know, "singlet" is a fancy pants runners term for wife beater.

Okay, so here we are a mere 2 weeks + a day away from the marathon. I'm pumped, I'm nervous, I'm a little bit of everything right now. The one thing I'm sure of is that I'm ready to do this. I ran 37 km last weekend during my last really long training run, so what's another 5 km right???

Also, I had my final lactate test with Sandy on Wednesday, and it's looking like I might just be able to beat Oprah after all, but I'm not promising any finishing times here, but if you catch me in a vulnerable moment some day over the next two weeks I might just let you in on my goal time...but don't count on it. BTW...this is where the 6.2 comes into play...but it's an inside joke, and you really did have to be there, so trying to explain it here would just be silly, and the last thing I want is for this blog to appear to be silly!

Anyhow, just wanted to give you a quick update and introduce you to a new word...singlet. Don't you just love how it rolls of the tongue. Say it with me now...singlet...say it like you mean it!!!

Will

Extra, Extra...

2007-11-08T18:30:00.000-05:00

So it's been over a month since my last entry, I know, I'm sorry, I'm a busy guy.

First off let me tell you that I have indeed surpassed my goal of raising $6,200 for the Canadian Diabetes Association, and the donations keep comming in.

Not sure if you had a chance to check out the paper today, and by paper I mean, Belleville Intelligencer, but right there on the front page is an article about my campaign. Check it out online here - Intell Nov. 8

As far as my training goes, it's still going great. My last long run was last Friday and it was 22 miles (35.5 km). It took me 3.5 hours, and my legs burned like hell when I was done, but I did it, and now I only have one more long training run to go and of course the marathon on Dec. 9th. I've gotta tell you though, all of this training definately has me convinced that I will be able to run the entire 42.2km come the big day. I'm excited and nervous all at once, and I still have 5 weeks to go.

Anyhow, I'll try to be more frequent with my blog entries over the next 5 weeks. I promise!

Will

"Death or Glory..."

2007-10-05T11:33:00.000-04:00

I wonder if when Joe Strummer (1952-2002) penned the punk rock anthem, Glory referred to bleeding nipples?!?!?!?

For all ya'll mofo's that don't know Joe Strummer wasn't only the front man for the clash, he was also an accomplished marathon runner. Joe ran marathons in both London and New York, often comming in under the 2.5 hour finish time...not too bad for a punk rocka!!!

Will I beat Joe's time...not an effin' chance, but I'm pretty sure I'll smoke Oprah (4:29:20), and maybe even Diddy (4:14:54), although each of them ran flat courses (Chicago and New York respectively), and I've got hills...I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'!

Last week as far as running went was death...I totally sucked, but I think I needed a break due to a surprise 45km bike ride in the county a few weeks back, which normally wouldn't be a big deal, but in the middle of my peak training period it killed me...not the ride itself, but the aftermath on my legs. Anyhow, this past week, was nothing but Glory and I topped it all off today with a 20.5 mile (33 km) run in 3:15 including warmup and cooldown...not too shabby if I do say so my self. And not to brag, but on Wednesday I ran 8km in 37 minutes...I think I might be getting the hang of this.

Anyhow, here's some choice cuts from this morning...
Maximo Park - Girls Who Play Guitar
Wilco - Pot Kettle Black
R.E.M. - Pilgramage
Common - Misunderstood
Kanye West - Homecomming
Queens of the Stone Age - Make it Wit Chu
Leftfield - Inspection (Check One)

Oh crap...I almost forgot why I mentioned bleeding nipples in my opening. Around the end of my run today I looked down and was shocked to see blood all over my shirt where my right nipple is...I finally got a full blown case of runners nipple, and it hurts like a bitch...and now I have a band aid over it, and for those of you who know me, know it's gonna hurt like a mega bitch when I have to peel that thing off my hairy ass nipple...plus my nipple is bleeding...How effed up is that?!?!?!? I guess it happens...just try not to let it happen to you.

By the way, I'd like to send a big F-U out to humidity...I beat your bitch ass today didn't I...bitch!!!

Until next time Will fans.

Will

"Where's Summer B?"

2007-09-27T19:20:00.000-04:00

I know, summer is supposed to be done and over with last week, but after running Tuesday evening in 32 degree weather, if feels like it has never left. Of course that was Tuesday and it's now Thursday and feeling more and more like fall every second. This my friends is good for the running!!!

Tuesday was a little rough, as I hadn't ran in temps like that in a couple weeks, so I'm glad it's cooling off again.

It's been a while since my last post, so I'll let you know that the Putt for Diabetes event raised just under $1000, and the last time I checked my amounts I was short about $150 of my goal of $6200. This means I can concentrate on my running from now until Dec. 9. Thanks to everyone who came out to support the cause last Thursday.

Anyhow, I'll write more later...to be honest, I'm feeling a little uninspired right at this moment, and really don't want to be sitting in front of a computer.

Check back in a few days.

Will

The worlds 7,698,345th fastest man...

2007-09-14T08:22:00.000-04:00

...could possibly be me, but I highly doubt it considering I just picked that number out of the air. What I do know is that Sandy (trainer extrodinaire) had me running 14km/h Wednesday afternoon on the treadmill. Think about it next time you're in your car...it's pretty freakin' fast man!!!

I wanted to let you all know about a big fundraiser happening in just under a week. It's Putt for Diabetes, and you should totally come out. Click on the image of the poster to enlarge it, or check the deets here...
Putt for Diabetes
Thursday September 20th
Mini Golf Course @ the Quinte Mall, Belleville
Come Anytime Between 4-9PM
$5 per person
Tons of Great Prizes
All Proceeds to the Canadian Diabetes Association

It's going to be a great night of fun for a great cause...even if you've only got 20 minutes to putt a quick round stop by and you'll still be entered for some prizes. Hope to see you all out there next week.

Back to my training for a second...besides running 14km/h during my lactate test on Wednesday I also got some results and my training speeds have increased again, so in short, I'm faster, so we'll have to see what this means in a little less than 3 months when the big race day arrives...I've got to admit, it's getting a little scary now. L8r.

Will

When it rains it pours...

2007-09-11T18:32:00.000-04:00

I just got back from the wettest run I've ever had in my entire life, and I've gotta tell you...I freakin' loved it!!! I don't think I could have ran another 3 hours in soaking we shoes, but 1 hour was okay. If you don't like getting wet and you think to yourself...I can beat the rain and get a good run in before it hits...don't listen...just wait until the storm passes. On the other hand if you're not sure if you hate running in the rain, then give it a shot...just don't blame me if it sucks!

So today was a good run - 7.5 miles in 60 minutes, but Saturday was even beter...18 miles (29 km) in 3 hours which included my warmup and cooldown. I ran from my house in Belleville up River Rd. through Corbyville into Foxboro on Harmony Rd. and back down Hwy 62 into Belleville, and still had an hour to go, so I just ran around Belleville some more. So far most people's response to this is that I'm insane...maybe I am! I've got to admit, I felt pretty shitty right after, but was fine by Saturday night. I don't think I was taking enough gels, so I'll have to adjust that next time.

It feels great to have had 3 out of 3 phenomenal runs in the past 4 days for a total of 29.5 miles (47.5 km).

Here's something I haven't done in a while...some choice cuts from the past few runs...
Lenny Kravitz - Stop Draggin Around
Beastie Boys - Off the Grid
Joel Plaskett Emergency - Drunk Teenagers
Queens of the Stone Age - 3's and 7's
LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends
Lupe Fiasco - I Gotcha
Theivery Corporation - Warning Shots

Also, I've got to mention something here although he knows it...Brock is the freakin' man!!! For those of you that don't know, Brock had to drop out of Team Diabetes, but he decided to transfer all of the funds he had raised to date to my campaign...unbelievable generosity. Thanks man, it definately won't be the same in Honolulu without you!!!

I've got another lactate test tomorrow...I'll share the results with you later in the week.

Will

The Simple Life...

2007-09-06T04:59:00.000-04:00

Good morning!

I say good morning, as right now it's 5AM where I'm sitting, but more about that later.

A couple of weeks ago I held a barbecue fundraiser at the Blessington Store for my Team Diabetes campaign. Just to be clear, no, it wasn't as lucrative as some people (including myself) thought it might be, but it's all good. We managed to raise over $400 on the weekend, which is $400 that I wouldn't have raised if I had just hung out playing Guitar Hero all weekend.
I made some good contacts, got some exposure, and spent some quality time with my dad. I've gotta tell you though, if you ever need to go somewhere to get away from everything, Blessington is the place to go...everyone there is super easy going, you'd almost guess they were all potheads they're so laid back, but they're just farmers, and nice people who don't let the little things get to them. If only we could all be so chilled all the time.

Anyhow, big thanks to the Sartoretto Family for your support that weekend, I really do appreciate it. Plus thanks to my dad who worked his ass off Friday and Saturday as everyone else was working, and to Brock for helping me out on Sunday. I also need to thank my bro in law Murray for lending me his canopy's, which mother nature decided to scoop up and demolish like little bitches...luckily for me, Murray is a very understanding guy. Oh crap, I almost forgot to thank everyone who donated raffle prizes - Quinte Broadcasting (thanks Lorne), The Blessington Store, Mom, and Aunt Chris who donated the big prize, the bistro set.

Okay, so now to the reason why it's been 3 weeks since my last post, and why I'm writing this one at 5AM. The short version...I'm a little stressed out my friends. Now, I don't really want to get into too many details as I don't want anyone thinking I'm crazy, but essentially that weekend in Blessington was an eye opener to the fact that the fundraising part of this is definitely harder then anyone gives it credit for. You would think that running 50 kilometres per week would be a little more difficult then raising money for a charitable organization, but it's really not!!! At this point I've got less then 2 months to reach my fundraising goal, which is really not a lot of time. Now, I have no doubt in my mind that I will achieve this, but it's not going to be easy.

Combine the above with the fact that I've got a crapload going on at work as my career seems to be taking off (which is a good thing, just bad timing), Amy just started back to school and is working as well so we can continue to eat, I have to find a new hair product as they've discontinued the one I've been using for the past 3 years (this could be harder then fundraising), and here's the thing I've been avoiding writing about...Brock is officially out. Put it all together and you've got a Will with a lot of effing shit on his mind...effing shit that wakes him from his sleep at 5AM. I don't want to go into detail as to why Brock is out, but to put it short, he's got more on his mind then I do, so it's the best decision for him. As for me...please do not be concerned (that's for my Nana), those who know me, know that I always seems to pull through the shit smelling like roses, and quite frankly I get off on it...not literally, that'd be a little perverted and pretty sick, but you know what I mean.

BTW...I ran over 200km last month, and am already over 30km for this month, so yes, I'm still running.

I promise I'll try not to get too heavy again...just needed to vent...thanks for reading!

Will

Hey! Did you hear they're going to rename the bay bridge???

2007-08-19T11:25:00.000-04:00

...To Will's Bitch!!!

Well, not really, but it sure does sound cool, doesn't it. And for those of you who are by the book, yes I know the bay bridge is actually called the Norris Whitney Bridge, but no one else seems to.

Okay, so last week I conquered the bay bridge, at mile 2 of my 16.6 mile (26.7 km) run last Saturday which took 2:38. Funny thing about that is Amy and I went to a wedding in Smiths Falls that day, and the drive to the wedding took less time than my run...insanity!!! It was actually a little rough, my calves were actually burning when I got back home from the run, but some stretching and a little soak in a warm bath allowed me to get my groove on the dance floor at the wedding that night.

This past week was good for training too. I switched my hour long run and speed work days around due to a dinner engagement, Friday was my cross training (20km on a bike) and weight training, and yesterday was my 90 minute run (18.5 km).

Some big news for next weekend...I will have a 2.5 hour long run ahead of me, which I may do on Friday as I will be holding a weekend long fundraiser out at the Blessington Store all weekend. It will be a BBQ with raffle prizes, meat, and fun. If you can please stop by and support the cause.
Friday 4 - 7PM
Saturday 11AM - 7PM
Sunday 11AM - 6PM
The Blessington store is at the corner of Shannonville and Blessington roads (just north of the 401). Check out their website here - www.blessington.ca

Aunt Chris just donated a brand new Bistro set (valued at $250) as a raffle prize, plus I know there will be other prizes too. Let me know if you need more details, or would like to donate any prizes, or your time to help out manning the grill for an hour or two. I would really appreciate any help you can offer.

Hope to see you next weekend.

Will

I made it to the top...

2007-08-08T23:56:00.000-04:00

...but I didn't get there in a Gondola. So it turns out that I'm still afraid of heights and I didn't ride in the gondola, but it was for good reason. It turns out that the gondola doesn't go all the way to the summit of Whiteface Mt. and myself, Brock, Em, and L-Rob wanted to make it to the top, which involved a drive and a hike, and thank goodness, no gondola. I must say the view was unbelievable....4867 ft above sea level!!!

So I was scheduled to do some speed training today, but that didn't work out as I ended up staying late at work and had dinner plans, and now I'm back at work and it's just after midnight, so my speed work will have to happen sometime on Thursday depending on how late I have to be here tonight.

Yesterday was interesting as I decided I simply couldn't bare to run inside...and it was raining, so I decided to put my iPod in a zip lock baggie and run in the rain. It was actually quite refreshing until the rain stopped, then it got super humid and a little uncomfortable, but I was almost done, so it worked out okay. It was an hour run, and with my warmup and cooldown I covered 7.5 miles.

This Saturday I'm scheduled for a 140 minute run. I'm planning on being out the door by 7AM as I also have a wedding to attend in Smiths Falls later that day, and it's supposed to be hot as balls, so the earlier the better. I'm thinking I might try to tackle the Bay bridge. Again, I'll keep you posted.

Will

Oh, I almost forgot...I started writing a music review article for my friends at Scout Design. If you enjoy my writing, then please check it out at http://www.scoutdesign.ca/. It has nothing to do with running or diabetes, but it's cool...like the Fonz!!!

Dont Make A Mountain Out Of A Mountain...

2007-08-05T08:22:00.000-04:00

Good morning friends!!!

I say good morning because as I write this it is seconds after 8AM and I am sitting at a picnic table at a KOA campground at Whiteface Mountain / Lake Placid. I'm typing this in to edit pad, as although the KOA advertises they have wifi access throughout the park, I'm not going to risk it, so this may be posted on time (August 5, 2007), or a little later.

I just had one of the most amazing runs I think I have ever had in the history of me running. Our campsite is a mile down the road from Whiteface Mountain, so I decided to check it out. I walked from the KOA to the main hwy (86 I think), then ran the mile down the hwy to Whiteface Mt. ski area...then ran up the road, as far as the road would take me, which I'm thinking is still not quite half way up, and when I got there I just had to stop and look around me at the absolute beauty that is this natural wonder...IT WAS FREAKIN' AMAZING!!! I going to be completely honest here with you...as I was taking my time walking around the ski trails, taking in the breathtaking site, I felt a single tear rolling down the side of my face...I know it sounds extremely cheddar, and I'm probably going to get teased a little by a few of you jerk faces, but it was incredible. Of course I experienced the entire thing solo, as my fellow campers were still sawing logs when I hit the road...even those who said "Kick my tent before you go...I wanna come to." What a bunch of BSers ;-) ... oh well, there loss.

Here's the deets for the run including warmup and cooldown...
53:00
5.25 miles
BeautifulWillmington NY / Whiteface Mt
Shed a tear like a little bitch

Oh, I almost forgot, I have decided that I will ride the Gondola up Whiteface with my friends...for those of you who don't know, I'm extremely petrified of heights...EXTREMELY!!! So this will definately be interesting, but I'm assuming after my experience today will be well worth the view from the top. I just wish Amy was here to hold my hand. I'll let you know if I shit my pants or not...actually I'll probably keep that one to myself.

Cheers!

Will

Post Run Recovery...

2007-07-28T14:30:00.000-04:00

It's hot, humid, and I keep underestimating the humidity out there!!! Again, my plan was to get up early and head out around 5AM for my 130 minute run today...but as per usual, I managed to sleep in. So instead, I drove Amy to work for 8:30 and headed for my run.

At first I thought I wasn't even wearing my shades as it was overcast, but that changed quickly. My route took me north on highway 37, out of Belleville through the town of Cannifton, west on Maitland drive to Sidney St. and Sidney st, back into Belleville. Now, I thought it would be okay with traffic, and if was until Sidney, where everyone drives like dink at 100 km/h...and there are no sidewalks...I thought it would be cool as it's only a 60 zone, but as I said, drivers are dinks!!!

So I managed to avoid getting smoked a couple times and kept the rest of my route within the city limits, on mostly side streets and trails. After I stopped to refill my water at my parents place around the 1 hour mark, it got super humid, but I made it through to the end, ending up at 15.5 miles (25km) when you add in my warmup and cooldown at an averge running pace of just under 9 min/mile.

After the run, there was a lot of stretching, quad rolling, and drinking. I drank a glass of chocolate soy milk as soon as I got back, then stretched and rolled, then made myself a smoothie. I was out of frozen fruit, so I used fresh and it worked well and was super tasty. Here's the recipe...try it next time you run 15 miles...or 2...
1 glass OJ
1 strawberry yogurt
1 raspberry yogurt
1/8th of a whole watermelon (no rind)
1 whole nectarine (remove the pit or you'll eff up your blender)
1/2 package protein powder (approx. 2 tbsp.)
Blend
MMMMMM...tasty

Some tunes from today...
Wilco - Imposible Germany
Arcade Fire - Keep the Car Running (this is a great running tune)
Sloan - She Says What She Means
k-os - Black Ice

I also learned that I do need a big good meal the night before a long run. The Harvey's I had last night just didn't cut it and I was really feeling not so good on my run today...back to pasta next time...with a side of Steak!

Will

My long runs have just gotten longer...

2007-07-22T08:30:00.000-04:00

The time has come in my training to "kick it up a notch", "up the ante", or "just giv'er" if you prefer. So far my long runs on Saturday have gone like this...week 1 = 60 minute, week 2 = 110 minute, week 3 = 60 minute, week 4 = 120 minute, and so on, and so on.

Now the time has come where the bi-weekly runs that were a mere 60 minutes, have increased to 90 minutes. It might not seem like 30 minutes is a lot, but let me tell you my friend, it makes a big difference. Anyhow, this is now how my training will continue through the end...my long runs will rotate...90 minutes one week, and an increasing amount by 10 minutes for the alternate weeks...130 minutes comming up this Saturday.

Yesterday was an okay day. I managed to get 11.25 miles (18.2 km) in, but I feel I underestimated the heat. There was no humidity, but there was also nothing but sun in the sky, and most of my run was done where there was not a lot of shade. I may have gone out too fast from the start, but I'm really starting to know my body better, so I was able to make a few adjustments and compensate. Also, this was the first run in 3 weeks where my IT band issue went almost completely unnoticed, which is a good thing.

I've gotta tell you about this band called Justice. Yesterday I listened to 2 albums on my run...the first was by this group Justice called Cross. Now when you think of a Band named Justice and an album named Cross you think one of two things...either a religious Christian rock band...or a hardcore death metal band, and I will tell you Justice is neither. Think Daft Punk meets MSTRKRFT...these are some sick synth beats that would have GOB considering to retire The Final Countdown (see pic), to replace it with a Justice track. Amazing new dance music, and great to run to...be sure to check it out!

I also had time to listen to Mark Ronson's Version, which is an album of cover tracks done by various UK rock and pop artists...covers of The Smiths, Kaiser Cheifs, and even Britney Spears, performed very differently by Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse, Phantom Planet, etc. It's very cool, and extremely universal...a definate crowd pleaser.

Anyhow, that's my update for now. In closing I would like to wish my little sister a very happy birthday...HAPPY BIRTHDAY B!!!

Will

"I find it easy catchin' diabetes from fly sweeties..."

2007-07-14T12:49:00.000-04:00

"...Sit back and wait to hear a slammin' track
Rockin' jams by popular demand, I'm back."

Lyrics immortalized by the legendary Rakim from his comeback album the 18th letter on the track Guess Who's Back. I've been finding it very interesting that rap and hip hop artists rhyme about diabetes more often then any other genre of music (of course this is based on my own opinion and is not in any way proven, as I have no idea what honky tonk country singers are singing about, so it could turn out that all they sing about is diabetes, but somehow, I feel it's mostly about trucks and beer).

Okay, on to some training news...
Today was my 120' run. I covered 14.6 miles (23.5 km) in just under 2:15. I would tell you what my average pace was, but my Garmin is in the other room, and I don't really feel like getting up to get it after running all that way (you try it, dick!) ;-)

Anyhow, that's pretty damn good if I do say so myself. I have to give props to the Vaquerano (sp?) for hooking me up with some papousas at the El Salvador tent at Belleville Waterfront last night...I'm pretty sure that's what got me through the last few miles this morning.

The lactate test went good on Thursday. The results came back and my lactate threshold went up by 2 points which means that I can run faster longer. It also means that all this training is paying off. Oh, and my max heart rate went up 4bpm to 201, which is good...I think Superman's is around 199, so I've got that guy beat, of course this is only true when he is Clark Kent (again, not proof for this either), so it's not as impressive as it sounds.

Some choice cuts from today...
The Bees - Listening Man
Modest Mouse - Florida
Ludacris - Comming 2 America
LCD Soundsystem - Daft Punk Is Playing At My House

On a closing note...I was at the waterfront festival last night, and the fireworks were kick ass, although it was really dead, and a little lame down there due to the lack of crowds (and perhaps the fact that I was sober). But seriously...go check it out tonight if you're in town, a lot of people put a lot of work into this thing (no I'm not on the committee), and it's free, so what have you got to lose! See you down there.

Will

Ice Ice Baby...

2007-07-10T08:40:00.000-04:00

Alrighty...so as I type my latest entry I am in fact on vacation...no where in particular, just not at work...all week long. So yesterday, I had my first therapeutic massage, as recommended by Sandy, and it was okay. I discovered that my legs are a lot more ticklish then I thought and burst out into laughter in the middle of the thing, but I'll get over it. Anyhow, looks like I'll be doing the massage thing monthly now until race day as it's a good way to work all the toxins out of your muscles that build up over time, plus it will help to prevent injury, plus it's covered under my health plan so what have I got to lose!!!

Anyhow, the RMT yesterday recommended that I ice my knee after my runs to help with the IT band issue. She also recommended bathing in epsom salts, which I haven't tried yet, and may not ever talk about in this blog if I ever do...no one needs to be picturing that. On to some training talk...

So today is supposed to be another hot humid sticky nasty day, so I was out the door at 6:30 this morning for my run. it was 20C and the humidity was at 98%, it wasn't terrible, but the air was a little thick for my liking, but I toughed it out and made it through my 60 minute run, with warmup and cooldown for a total of 7.5 miles, which is pretty much on pace for what I've been doing lately which isn't bad. I did got through a butt load of water though, which is probably a good thing.

I'll skip listing tunes today, but I would like to mention the above pic of Vanilla Ice holding his not one, but two AMA's, which is all the proof anyone should ever need that the AMA's, much like the Grammy's, MMVA's, MTV awards, and my personal fav the Juno's are an absolute joke, and a slap in the face to music fans around the world. I won't go into this any further as those who know me have heard my rants before on this topic, so I'll spare you the repeat.

So it turns out that Blessington Store is almost sold out of their wristbands and need a re-stocking already. Good work Paul and Briget...you guys rock. Make sure the rest of you go buy their gas...it's great...it's unleaded!!!

Tomorrow I'm off to the Hockey Hall of Fame with Amy and cousin Raymond, and Thursday I've got another Lactate test...I'll keep you posted.

L8r.

Will

A lesson on the IT band...

2007-07-05T18:02:00.000-04:00

Okay, first let me clarify that I'm not a doctor, despite the dr's outfit I may have in my closet.

I was out for my run on Tuesday, when something terrible happened...I got a really bad pain, on the bottom outside of my right knee. This was around the 45 minute mark of a 60 minute run. I tried to run through the pain for a few minutes, but had to stop. I stretched, then tried to run again for a few minutes, but the pain got worse, so I decided to swallow my pride and walk the rest of the way home, but about 10 minutes from home, the pain got so bad that I couldn't even walk and was forced to call for ride (Thanks Hank). Anyhow, I iced it right away and continued to do so for the rest of the night. I sent Sandy an email explaining what had happened looking for some advice as I didn't really want to sit in emerg for 4 hours to find out there was nothing they could do. To make a not so long story shorter, it turns out that I have had my first experience with Illiotibial (IT) Band Syndrome, something that is common amongst runners when they get up to 35-40 miles of training per week, which around where I'm at.

The good news is that it's not debilitating, and after one days rest I was running again today. Now, that being said I do have to be careful and am stretching my IT band like crazy when I can, plus I've added some new hip stretches to the mix as I discovered my hip muscles are very tight on my right side for some reason. All this, plus I've booked myself in for a massage on Monday with and RMT that specializes in runners, recommended by Sandy. Apparently a massage is the best thing to work this out, so until then I'll be trying to stick to my regular routine, but it will proabably be all treadmill work for now, as if there's any pain I'll be calling it quits for the day.

Keep your fingers crossed for me. I'll keep you posted.

On the fundraising front...the super stylish diabetes.ca Get Serious bracelets are on sale now at the Blessington Store. So if you stop in for gas, pizza, or whatever, you can pick up a diabetes bracelet for a minimum donation of a mere $2, and all proceeds go directly to my campaign and to the Canadian Diabetes Association.

Cheers!

Will

Another Team Diabetes Fundraising Success!!!

2007-07-02T11:54:00.000-04:00

I hope you've all recovered from whatever Canada Day fun and festivities you partook in over the weekend.

As mentioned in my last post, I was MCing the 40th annual Wellington Canada Day festivites. It was a great time, and if I do say so myself, I did pretty damned good. It was a little odd mcing something for the first time as anything other than a member of the media, but it all worked out great.

Big thanks to Brock, Anne, Mom, Dad, Raymond, Murray, Ann, and of course Amy who all manned the Team Diabetes face painting tent and did some professional looking face painting for well over 100 kids yesterday. We managed to raise $280 on face painting and bracelet sales alone, which is exceptional considering we were only charging $2 per face.

I would also like to thank the Wellington Recreation Committee for their very generous $300 donation to my campaign as a compensation for my MC duties. It was unexpected, but greatly appreciated...of course they presented it to me right before I hit the stage, so I had to make sure my A game was in check...a smart move on their part. ;-)

On the training front, I was up early and went for a chilly 7:30AM run with Amy yesterday morning. We covered 3 miles, which is really good, considering a short few weeks ago, Amy was struggling to last more than 5 minutes on the road. I'm proud of you baby...keep it up!!!

And on a side note, I tallied my miles for the month of July, and they came out to 104.75 (168.54 km). This has put me at a total of 467.25 miles (751.8 km) since I started tracking my distance in a log, back in February.

More training notes to come later in the week.

Will

Guilty Pleasures...

2007-06-30T11:38:00.000-04:00

Everyone has their guilty pleasures, mine just happen to be in the form of music. So this is me comming clean to you about my new found enjoyment of the pop group Gym Class Heroes...they try to be hip hop, but let's face it, with their cheesy 80's samples, they are indeed nothing more than another pop band that will be forgotten by next year...but I just can't get enough of Clothes Off...it's so catchy...take a listen, you might just like it, or come to the conclusion that I have gone completely insane and can no longer be trusted as any kind of music authority (not that I ever was). I'm guessing you'll go with the latter.

Anyhow, today I had another long run and finally after months of training surpassed the half marathon mark (13.1 miles = 21.1 km) I passed it at around 2:05, now this was in the middle of my cooldown so it wasn't all running, but 1:50 of it was. I managed to clear 13.5 miles total today in 2:10, so I'm feeling pretty good. A funny thing happened though, at around 1:45 into my run I threw up in my mouth...it wasn't as gross as it sounds, it just kind of happend and tasted like a gel pack. I did email Sandy about it, so I'll let you know if it means anything bad. Also, Sandy asked me to weigh myself before and after my run today so I did...149.8 lbs before, and 146.8 lbs after...again, I'm not sure what this means either, but I'll let you know.

Speed training went well this week too...I felt fast!!!

Here's a few not so cheesy tunes from the week that was...
Interpol - The Heinrich Maneuver
Bloc Party - Hunting for Witches
Eric B and Rakim - Follow the Leader
Dawnbreakers Collective - Set It Off
Apples In Stereo - Can You Feel It
Gang Starr - Mass Appeal

So tomorrow is Canada Day, and Wednesday is Independance Day, so this weekend, between the burgers and beers take a moment to reflect on the great country in which you live, and what it means to you...you don't have to share it with anybody, and it's a shame to do it only once a year, but take advantage of the celebrations around you. As for me, I will be MCing the Wellington Canada Day festivities tomorrow at the park downtown, plus we will have a Team Diabetes booth set up where we will be doing face painting for the kids, and selling bracelets for donations, so we'll raise a few bucks and have fun doing it. If you're in the area stop by 11-4.

But what will I be thinking about Canada, you ask...well, simply the sheer diversity that this country has to offer and how although we are diversified, we can be unified, if only for one day. I'm going to step down off my soapbox now. Don't forget to party hard this weekend...we wouldn't want to disapoint the beer companies. Okay, I'm really stepping down this time.

Peace!

Will

"When's the last time you heard a funky diabetic?"

2007-06-24T11:58:00.000-04:00

Okay, first things first. The yard sale was yesterday and although it was a ton of work, and I don't ever want to host or have anything to do with another yard sale again in my entire life, it did raise over $600 for the Canadian Diabetes Association, and my Team Diabetes campaign.

This is amazing...to raise 10% of my goal in one morning is a good accomplishment. I have to thank Amy, Mom, Dad, B, Henry, and Raymond for helping out yesterday...it would have been even more chaotic without you. Also, I would like to thank Suzan, Shelly, and Jamie...and Amy, Dad, and Raymond again for your help on Friday getting all that stuff set up. And finally, I would like to thank everyone who donated merch for the cause...Tim, Ann and Dave, Gary, Rosalie, Ma and her everyone who was involved in her church yard sale for donating their leftovers, Suzan, Fish and Norma, Pat, Bethea and Hank, Aunt Chris, Mom and Dad...this would have never happened without your generosity...you guys made a difference!

In other news...I really neglected my training schedule this week, due to conflicts...I did 7 miles on Tuesday, Wednesday I missed due to a golf tourny, Friday I did 20km on the bike for my X-training, and yesterday I ended up missing due to the fact I was up at 5, and working my ass off all day for the yard sale and wasn't really feeling the run later in the day. So all that being said, I decided I can't miss a long run day, so I did it this morning, and sacrificed my recovery run...this comming week, I'll get back on track...I promise.

This morning was a 60 minute run, and before I left I created a new playlist for my ipod, and loaded it up, the when I started out, I turned on my ipod and Heart of Hearts by !!! was on...it's a wicked tune, so I decided to let it play, then it went into Award Tour by A Tribe Called Quest, then another Tribe tune came on, and another, and another, I realized it was playing the songs in order by artist, and on my ipod A Tribe Called Quest comes right after !!!. Anyhow, the Tribe kept me going the entire run and cooldown, Scenario was starting as I got back to my front porch, so this explains the title of this entry. And of course for those of you who aren't super mega music geeks like myself, then I'll explain..."When's the last time you heard a funky diabetic?" is a line rhymed by Phife Dog in the track Oh My God, from the Midnight Marauders album...feel free to spout that off the next time you find yourself at a pary surounded by old school hip hop junkies!

Anyhow, the tribe got me moving through 7.75 miles this AM, which is .75 more then usual, so I must have been flying.

L8r.

Will

One Man's Trash...

2007-06-21T18:29:00.001-04:00

...Is another man's treasure!!!

This Saturday, get ready to clear your schedule as you don't want to miss your chance to buy some fabulous previously enjoyed merchandise at a yard sale where every penny earned will be donated to the Canadian Diabetes Association.

Lot's of great items like a canoe, electronics, stereo equipment, furniture, dishes, and the list goes on and on.

Stop by the house (135 Chatham St.) anytime between 7AM - 1AM on Saturday June 23rd.

Hope to see you there!

Will

The World's Greatest Water Crew!!!

2007-06-17T09:44:00.000-04:00

Allow me to introduce you to the world's greatest water crew (aka Mom and Dad).

Last night I was on my long run (100 minutes), and despite the fact that I didn't leave my house until 7:45PM there was still some humidity in the air. Anyhow, my point is that my Fuel Belt only holds 6 water bottles, and according to Sandy I would have to refill due to the heat and the length of the run. Just over the 1 hour mark I was passing by Mom and Dad's place and I had to pee, so I stopped in. By this point I no longer needed my sunglasses, so I left them and my empty water bottles there until I would be passing back around about 30 minutes later. When I got back everything was waiting for me and the empty bottles had been re-filled...awesome!!! Thanks guys!

As far as the run went, it was all good. I tood a sodium tablet before leaving the house, downed a bottle and a half of water in the first 45 minutes, then took a gel pack at 45, a sodium tablet at 60, a gel pack at 75, a sodium tablet at 90, then a last gel pack during my cooldown to help my muscles recover from the trauma I had just put them through. That being said, the run felt great, although it was a little odd seeing the sun set as I was running, having to ditch my sunglasses, but it beats trying to compete with the heat and humidity we've been getting in the day lately around here. Which reminds me...Tuesday's 60 minute run sucked ass. I was an idiot and decided to go out at 4 in the afternoon. It was 32 celcius, but felt like 40 with the humidity...hot as balls!!! I don't think I've ever sweat so much in my entire life, and this is why I waited until almost 8 last night to head out.

Here's some stats from yesterday...
Running Time- 1:40:13 - 10.66 miles (17.2 km)
Total Time (including warmup and cooldown) - 1:59:01 - 11.88 miles (19.2 km)

When you think about it, last night I ran further than the distance between Belleville and Trenton...that's pretty freakin' far...and it's not even half way!!!

As far as tunes go, I listened to the new Queens of the Stone Age album Era Vulgaris, amongst other things...but if your a fan, definately check it out. If not, then download Sick Sick Sick or 3's and 7's...you won't be dissapointed...unless your really diggin' that new Enrique Iglasius tune, in which case you should skip downloading the Queens, and head straight to the disco and order yourself a nice fruity drink with an umbrella sticking out of it.

I want to give a shout out to my cousin Leslie in da 'Peg. She's running her first half marathon today. Good Luck Leslie...I'm sure you'll rock it!!!

Don't forget to arm wrestle your dad today (and let him win). Happy Fathers Day!!!

Will

"Drunk Teenagers...Let's start a fight..."

2007-06-08T10:32:00.000-04:00

Ahhh...the soothing lyrics of the Joel Plaskett Emergency!!!

Okay, so I realized today as I was out doing my cross training, a 20 km bike ride, that I haven't wrote about music in a while, which is just plain f'n crazy!!!

I've been meaning to mention here about the Joel Plaskett Emergency, the latest band I've really started to dig from good 'ol Halifax NS, which is also where Sloan is from, so JPE isn't the greatest band to come out of Halifax, but they're up there, but I digress.
A couple of months ago a friend of mine (Jacob) gave me a copy of Joel Plaskett Emergency's cd Ashtray Rock...I was like, "cool, thanks man" and threw it in my laptop bag only to forget about it, then I heard the song Drunk Teenagers on CBC radio 3 and was like hey, this is pretty cool, then remembered the forgotten cd in my laptop bag...it was kind of like winning the lottery, except I'm still broke...and it's really nothing like winning the lottery at all.

Anyhow, I loaded the album onto my iPod and songs have been popping up as I've been running, and it's a fantastic cd. Some choice cuts would be Drunk Teenagers, and Snowed In/Cruisin. Download them and check them out...if you don't like them, then keep your shitty comments to yourself. Also, while I'm on the topic, I've gotten into a band from Burlington lately called the Saint Alvia Cartel...they're kind of a ska/punk band...very cool...and if you're looking for a summer theme song grab they're song Don't Wanna Wait Forever...you won't be dissapointed.

As far as the running goes this week I logged 13 miles indoor on a treadmill Tuesday and Wednesday combined, and tomorrow is a 60 minute run outdoor...woo hoo!!!

Will

Last Night A U Haul Saved My Life...

2007-06-02T12:15:00.000-04:00

Actually, it was this morning, and my life wan't really in danger, I just felt a little defeated and wanted to puke all over the sidewalk.

Here's the story...
Today I ran the farthest and hardest I've ran so far. It was my long run of 90 minutes at my new training pace of 8:52 per mile. I started off with the usual 5 minute, then started running...I should add here that it was 22 degrees outside and hazy and humid, and this was at 9:00AM!!! Anyhow, the run was going okay, definately not my best run, but not terrible, then around the 83 minute mark I started losing it...perhaps I didn't take in enough liquids during my run on such a hot morning, I'm not too sure, but I really just felt like giving up and walking the rest of the way...with only 7 minutes to go!!! I must have looked like some kind of lunatic because I started yelling at myself to finish...saying things like "If you can't finish this, how can you expect to finish an entire marathon"...this was followed by a long string of expletives that I'm not going to list here...but I'm sure you get the picture. The bottom line is that I made it to the end of the 90 minutes, and was really glad that I did. Then I had to cooldown...I felt super shitty...like my legs were going to fall off, and like I was going to barf all over the place...not cool!!! Anyhow, I was concentrating on not barfing when I found some shade, and at that very moment a U-Haul truck drove by, but this wasn't just any U-Haul truck, this was a U-Haul truck with some cheesy looking fish and coral reef on the side and underneath the cheesy picture we're the words..."Hawaii - America's Marine Adventure".

I immediately took this as a sign from the running gods and it made me think about why I was doing this, and where I was going to end up. I thought about Dad, Nana, Aunt Chris, Emily, Jose, and all the people I could think of with diabetes (sorry if I didn't list your name), plus the people I don't know that have diabetes, and the people who haven't even been born yet that will be born with diabetes, or develop it later in life...and it was at that moment that everything was okay, and I was going to be able to do this and get through it, and it really is a very small price for me to pay to help those affected by diabetes everyday!

Of course, when I got home, I looked down at my Garmin to realize that I had just ran 10.5 miles, and that also made me feel proud.

Everyone has their bad days...today just happened to be mine...it's a good thing they don't happen very often...perhaps I should not go out drinking with the boys the night before a long run...probably a good idea...consider it a lesson learned.

Thanks for reading!

Will

Faster Than A Speeding Bullett...

2007-05-31T15:13:00.000-04:00

but not quite as powerful as a locomotive!!!

First off let me address all the naysayers out there and clarify...yes that is indeed my body...okay, now that we've got that out of the way let me tell you about my first Lactate Test experience...

Let's get a little background...Lactate (acid) is a metabolic biproduct that is produced in various parts throughout the human body, mainly in the muscles during strenuous physical activity (like endurance running). Once lactate buildup becomes too much for your body to handle your muscles simply shut down...it's not permanent, but chances are you're going to end up falling flat on your face and not finish the race...plus you're gonna look like a Super Chump...kind of like me in that picture!!!

Anyhow, the purpose of the Lactate Test is to determine the maximum speed of running that your body can handle, before the lactate buildup becomes too much. The results are different for everybody, but can be extremely useful in tweaking something like a marathon training program.

Here's how it all went down...
I showed up at Tri and Run Sports in Trenton, got my gear on and hopped on the treadmill. Sandy (trainer extrordinaire) was kind enough to let me get a quick (10 minute) warmup in before attempting to kill me. After my warmup, I got to stretch, and grab a quick drink of water, then back on the treadmill...I'm not sure at what pace I started running, but it was pretty average (around 6 mph or a 10 minute mile). I should note I was hooked up to a wireless heart monitor. Okay, so I was running and Sandy was taking my heartrate, and every 3 minutes increasing my speed substantialy, she told me this was going to continue until I felt like I couln't take it anymore. It was a little crazy, and I made it to around 19 minutes and I was flying...sure, I was having a little trouble breathing, but the part that was concerning me was the fact that my legs were moving faster than they ever had before, and I really felt like I was going to lose control and smash my face of the front of the treadmill, so I cried mercy and that part of the test was over. Now what this told us was that my maximum heart rate is 197 bpm, which just happens to be 5 bpm higher than the average 28 year old male, so that's a good thing, despite the fact I was probably 30 seconds from my heart exploding!!!

So here I was thinking I was done when Sandy asks me if I was ready to start running again...I was like are you freakin' serious??? She was!
So I got to start running again, nice and slow to start, then she takes my finger and pricks it to take a blood sample on a strip, and puts it into a device similar to a blood/glucose monitor, except it was a blood/lactate monitor. She gradually increased my speed as she saw fit and took a new blood sample every 5 minutes. This went on for another 45 minutes...then I was finally done. The purpose of this part of the test was to see where my lactate levels would max out and at which point my heart rate would increase again, as it was still decreasing from the first part of the crazy test.

After all of this, the data was entered into a computer program and we reviewed the results...
essentially my new training pace (now called Zone 1 - Easy) is 8:52 per mile, which is considerably faster then my old 11:33 pace. And my speed training pace (now called Zone 3 - Speed) will now be 7:50 per mile, which means when I'm doing speed training I'm not supposed to run any slower then 7:50...that's pretty freakin' fast man!!! Also, it was determined that my body could theoretically run the marathon (42.2km) in under 4 hours, which is super duper insane considering when I set out on this adventure all I wanted to do was finish!!!

Anyhow, I've got 3 more of these run till you want to die, or maybe puke your guts out tests before the marathon...the next one in 8 weeks...can't wait!!!

Stay tuned for long run news on Saturday...this week we go for 90 minutes.

Will

Death by Peddle Boat...almost...

2007-05-28T18:24:00.000-04:00

Okay, so here's another story of a run on the road...this time it was over the weekend in Haliburton where I was enjoying a nice relaxing weekend at Emily's cottage with her, Brock, Amy and other friends to celebrate Emily's entry into adulthood (Happy Birthday Em).

Anyhow, the pic you see is of Brock and I enjoying what we thought would be a leisurely peddle boat ride, but quickly turned ugly, as we we're unaware we had sprung a leak until it was too late. Now, this isn't really that big of a deal except for the fact that it's still May and the lake really wasn't warm at all...no we probably wouldn't have died, but we weren't looking forward to our testes crawling back up into our bodies either! We were rescued by some boaters that just happened to be passing by and realized our imminent peril before we did...whew...that was close!

Okay, on to the run...Saturday was a 60 minute run and I managed to cover 7 miles which meant I ran through the town of Haliburton almost 3 times over...too be honest it was getting a little boring...not too much to see here! It was a solo run as nobody had the courage to come with...no worries as I got to break in my new iPod last week, which I'm loving by the way!

Wednesday I have my first of a series of lactate tests...no I'm not pregnant, it's a test that will test the lactate acid levels in my muscles as I run to determine if my training needs to be tweeked (aka step it up a notch). I'm not really too sure what the test entails, but I know it's done on a treadmill with some stuff hooked up to me and is an hour of running. I'll let you know as soon as I do.

Talk soon.

Will

Mmmmm...Ribs...

2007-05-20T12:37:00.001-04:00

So yesterday, something very interesting happened while I was stretching, and I saw something I haven't seen in probably 25 years...my ribs!!!

Now, don't misunderstand me here...this isn't because I have lost too much weight...there will not be a commercial on tv with me on there shirtless in a diaper and Donald freakin' Sutherland saying "For the price of a cup of coffee...."
It's not like that at all...I'm starting to look really healthy, and it's a little exciting as I really have been carrying around a little too much extra fat on my bones for way too long. Of course all this did was make me think about Tony Roma's ribs...the best ribs I've ever had...I'm thinking of booking a trip to Winnipeg for the sole purpose of eating ribs...just kidding Nana!!!

Okay, seeing as how it's been about 10 days since my last post (sorry Aunt C), let's get to some training news...
Yesterday I had my long run which this week was 80 minutes long...I managed to cover 8 miles, which was awesome! I felt great, besides a little bit of soreness in my muscles which is expected, but then I got thinking...holy crap...that's not even one third of the distance I have to cover during the marathon. This of course made me feel very nervous, and a little nauseous...then I started thinking about ribs and everything was okay!

I also have been doing some further experimentation with nutrition while I run, and the past couple of long runs I've been using water, energy gel's, and sodium tablets...yesterday I figured out the formula that works for me...after the first 30 minutes of a run I take a gel pack, then at 45 a sodium tablet, then at 60 another gel pack, and another sodium tablet at 75, and so on...of course I'm constantly drinking water through the entire run. This method worked amazing for me...I felt great. The only issue I have is dispossing of the gel packs when finished...I'm not about to chuck them on the ground, so if there's no garbage can around you just have to carry it until you find one. Right now if I had to chose between this method and the Infinit method, I think I'd have to go with Infinit, but I may switch to gels later.

Some tunes from yesterday...
Groove Armada - Madder
The Flaming Lips - Do You Realize?
Talib Kweli and Mos Def - Definition

Also, on Friday I met with fellow Team Diabetes member Katherine Taylor, who ran the Honolulu marathon a couple of years ago with Team D. We swaped some fundraising ideas, and brainstormed a bit, then she shared her Honolulu experience with me...her story was awesome and really got me pumped up and excited about everything even more than I already was. It really is inspiring to hear someone talk about the whole experience, and I can't wait to finish so I can share more of mine with you. Anyhow, you'll probably be hearing about Katherine more often as we're planning to team up for some fundraising efforts as she's doing the Disney marathon in January with Team D.

Hope you're enjoying your long weekend...unless your one of our non-Canadian friends, in which case...have fun at work tomorrow suckers! Talk soon!

Will

Let's Talk Nutrition...

2007-05-08T18:53:00.000-04:00

Hey there. So with all the Diabetes Spin for Fitness insanity I've been neglecting my running posts, so here we go.

As I mentioned in a previous post I went to see Sandy (my trainer) on Friday to talk nutrition. Now I assumed that meant diet, but I was wrong...for runners nutrition is replenishing what your body depletes when you run, as you're running. There are apparently many different ways to do this and I'm now in the phase of my training where I have to experiment with different things to see what works best for me. Hears the deal, when you run you burn approx. 700 calories per hour, up to 3 litres of water and some crazy amount of sodium that I can't remember right now and the bottom line is that you can't absorb what you lose after you run so you have to do it while you run.

The first experiment was with a product called Infinit. It's a powder that you add to water, that can be custom created to provide you with the right amount of sodium, proteins, carbs, etc. for your own body. I used in on Friday when I ran my 70 minute run, with which warm up and cooldown became a 1.5 hour outing and 7.75 miles. I found out that it makes me burp a lot uncontrollably as I run, which is apparently due to the protein and my body will adjust...still a little odd running down the street burping away. It tasted good and was easy to mix and digest, I'm just a little worried how I would mix it during a marathon...apparently theres a solution for that too. I also learned to open the little water bottles on my fuel belt with my mouth instead of my hand, or you end up with sticky infinit mix all over your hand and you have to just deal with it until the end of your run...not cool!!!

Anyhow, it seemed to work well, so we'll have to see how the next experiment works on Saturday...gel packs (the hammer gel) and sodium tablets. Today I did my 60 minute run (4.5 miles) and tomorrow is speed training (Yasso 800's). I'll keep you posted.

Will

Diabetes Spin for Fitness Recap...

2007-05-06T08:06:00.000-04:00

I just happen to know some of the best people in the world!!! I want to start this post by saying Thank You to everyone who participated yesterday in the Diabetes Spin for Fitness helping to raise awareness and funds for the Canadian Diabetes Association, and promote Fitness by doing a 6 hour spin class.

Team Will managed to raise $927.75...you guys rock...
Amy, Bethea, Raymond, Angie, Shelly, Adriana, Gaby, Adam, Jacob, Leslie, Ruben, and Henry. Thanks to each of you, I definately couldn't have done it without you!!!

Team Brock consisted of Brock, Emily, Rebecca, Rene, Rene's daughter, Anne, Grace, 2 people I think came off the street and joined at the last minute, and perhaps some other people that I may have forgotten. I have no idea how much money Team Brock raised, but I'm sure he'll post it when he gets up.

Also, big thanks to Dad, Grandma C, Luis, Joy, Claire, Eric, and Friend of Eric for comming out at various times throughout the day Just to cheer us on...and a special thanks to our honorary coach Ella (Jacob and Leslie's daughter) who kept us smiling all day!!!

It was a great day with lot of sore asses and muscles, but it was fun, and we raised some money and kicked some ass!!! Personally I spend about 3.5 hours total on a bike and I think that was pretty much the average for the team!

I'm back to running today, but wanted to let you know about the spin event yesterday...amazing!!!

Will

Note on picture: You get a little hungry after being on a bike for so long, so I decided to eat Brock's thumb....he got a really nice prostetic one to replace it.

Who wants to see me in bike shorts???

2007-05-02T17:31:00.000-04:00

Yeah, me neither, but if I ever come accross these KISS bike shorts, I'm definately going to have to pick up a pair to wear around downtown Belleville on a Saturday afternoon...they'd probably elect me as mayor!!!

Anyhow, all of this was simply a terrible seguay into the big event going down on Saturday at Goodlife in Belleville - Diabetes Spin for Fitness. My team is set and ready to rock, and I think Brock's team is ready to go to, but he's off enjoying his much deserved vacation, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

If you want to come out and cheer on the team, we'll be at goodlife at the Quinte Mall from 9-3 on Saturday, then back to the house for a bbq...it's definately going to be good times, and we're going to raise some cash for the diabetes association and promote fitness all in 6 hours! If you want to make a pledge, then get in touch before Saturday.

As far as the training is going, I hit a minor snag and contracted some kind of virus that feels like someone poured battery acid down my throat. I've only managed to miss one run so far, so that's good. Today it was speed training day and I logged 5 miles in 45 minutes, but I'm really thinking it's time to switch up the tunes on the playlist as it's definately starting to get stale.

Anyhow, I'm in a rush, so I've gotta cut this short, but on Friday I'm going to see Sandy (my trainer) as she wants to discuss nutrition now that my milage is getting up there, plus it's time for some new kicks as I've managed to log 280 miles (450km) on my latest pair of sneaks in only 3 months...not bad!!!

Gotta run (get it?).

Rock On!

Will

Bugs...It's whats for dinner!!!

2007-04-23T15:41:00.000-04:00

Again, I find myself appologizing for not updating this for an entire week...I'm sorry.

So let me fill you in, I've been training...Tuesday was hard as I think my legs were still recovering from the race, but I did manage to log about 23 miles (37 km) for the week of running. Plus a good X-training bike ride on Friday evening.

I've got to tell you though, if you can avoid it don't run or ride your bike along the water in the late afternoon/early evening, unless your hungry for bugs. I probably managed to swallow about 2000 assorted bugs over the weekend. They taste like shit, and they don't fill you up...it pretty much sucks...don't eat bugs.

Okay, big event comming up next Saturday May 5th at GoodLife fitness in Belleville. It's called the Diabetes Spin for Fitness and how it works is there's some teams, and each team has 4 spin bikes that they have to keep going for 6 hours (24 hours total spin time). Each team member gets sponsored and the proceeds go to the Canadian Diabetes Association. The great part is that for Team Diabetes members (that's me and Brock), the proceeds from your team go towards your individual Team D campaign. I've got about 12 people on my team and they're doing great. I'll release the final team roster as soon as I've finalized with a couple other people and let you know. Anyhow, if you'd like to join the team, or pledge a participant, then leave a comment and I'll get back to you. If you're interested in joining the team, I can promise you a fun day, surrounded by hot, fit people like myself, plus you get a t-shirt, plus a bbq at my place after the event, plus you get to feel good about yourself raising money for the Diabetes Association, and promoting fitness...you know you want to!!!

Anyhow, I've gotta get ready to ride my bike home from work...in the rain...crap!!!

Will

All I have to say is...

2007-04-15T13:22:00.000-04:00

Holy Crap!!! For the first time in my life, I won medal for an individual athletic acheivment. I'm still unsure of my final time, but I managed to pull off 3rd place in age 20-29 in today's Pitter Patter 10km race in Belleville.

Here's the deal with the time...somewhere around the 5km mark I lost my time thingy that was pinned to my shirt, so when I crossed the finish line they went to pull it and it wasn't there so I had to tell them my name...to say the least it was a little chaotic and all I wanted to do was keep moving, so I did...a few minutes later I ran into my trainer, Sandy, who asked me how I did and I was like...it was great, I felt great, etc...then she was like What was your time? and I had no clue!!! She went to check for me as I noticed today, she's a big shot in the local running community and came back to report my time at 53:06, then when they did the medal award thing they read my time at 56 minutes and change, so I really have no clue what my finishing time was, and it really doesn't matter...so I'll go with the 53:06. The overall winner came in just over 36 minutes...now that's fast!

It was a wicked experience (that's wicked good for you old folks)! I had a smile on my face the whole time, despite the fact it was a rain/snow combo, windy and around the 0 celcius mark...it didn't matter it felt great. I took it slow out of the gate, then around 6km I was like I can do more, then around 8km I felt I could do even more, then at 9km I was ready to giver...and I did. I probably could have gone faster earlier, but I have to keep the big picture in mind here...42.2km!!!

Comming across the finish line was amazing...Amy was there with the Camera, then mom, dad, Raymond, B, and Henry were all lined up along the side...so I ran over and fivered them all as I passed...Thanks guys...it really meant a lot that you were there.

I'll probably come back to this later to fill you in on more details, but for now I have a nice hot bath waiting for me. L8r.

Will

Chewbacca can grab Princess Leia in the boob...

2007-04-11T07:53:00.000-04:00

...and there's not a damn thing Han, Lando, Luke, C3PO, or even Yoda can do about it. That's right kids, not even a jedi master can stop a horny wookie!!! (If your lost, read my post from last week)

Okay, so due to my tangent last week, I thought I would actually follow up on the article in this month's Runners World magazine titled 101 Kicks in the Butt. Anyhow, it turns out the number one kick in the butt is to create a training blog. How's that for coincidence!?!?! It's true, if I'm feeling like not getting out for my run, I just think...what about my blog readers...how can I expect them to carry on with their daily lives without the enlightenment of my blog entries! Just kidding, but it did make me realize that this blog definately serves more than one purpose, and that I can deal with.

Okay, yesterday was a good run. My wife, Amy, gave it another go. I was scheduled for a 60 minute run, and Amy came for the first half...it was warm, she was happy, it was great! Here's the deets...
Outdoor - 4 degrees C - wind SW @ 15 km/h
Warmup - 5:05 - .3 miles
Run - 60:45 - 5.59 miles
Cooldown - 7:01 - .44 miles
Total of 6.33 miles (just over 10 km)

Since I skipped my weight training last Friday, I did it on Monday along with my core training.

Back with the tunes...
Queens of the Stone Age - First It Giveth
Death From Above 1979 - Blood On Our Hands
The Postal Service - The District Sleeps Tonight

Got some big news on one, perhaps even 2 major fundraising events comming up very soon. Stay tuned!

Will

Enjoy the Silence...

2007-04-07T10:19:00.000-04:00

So today was a typical Saturday morning, I got up, did some stuff around the house, then got my gear on to go for my long run. I kissed Amy goodbye, walked out my door and started my brisk walk to warmup, only this time there was something different.

After a couple of minutes I had realized that I hadn't pressed play on my mp3 player, and at that moment decided I would conduct an experiment to see how long I could run without music. To my surprise I managed to complete my entire warmup, run, and cooldown without the sounds I've become accustomed to, and it was amazing! Now, this doesn't mean that I will no longer be listening to music when I run...that would just be insane, but I think I finally have an appreciation for what running "purists" are talking about when they say running with just yourself and your thoughts is the way to go. It's really soothing to be running early in the morning, with just the sound of nature and you...your breathing, your feet hitting the ground...it gives you time to just relax and enjoy the run. Like I said though, it was great, but not something I'm going to do all the time...I still need my tunes man!

Anyhow, here's the deets from today's run...
Outdoor - -7 degrees C - calm wind
Warmup - 5:01 - .31 miles (just under 1/2km)
Run - 60:11 - 5.48 miles (8.82 km)
Cooldown - 11:26 - .79 miles (1.3 km)

Yesterday I had my easy run, and I finally convinced Amy to come with me...the result wasn't as planned as it turned out to be windy and -13C, which wasn't very comfortable for her. We did manage to cover a few miles, but I don't think she'll be joining me again until the temp warms up a few degrees, like 20.

L8r.

Will

Blogs can kick you in the ass...

2007-04-04T16:05:00.000-04:00

'Sup peeps!

So I was looking for a picture of someone getting kicked in the ass when I came accross this gem of Chewbacca coping a feel off Princess Leia and found it so funny that it had to be the pic to use today...perhaps I should have called this entry Chewbacca can grab you in the boob!!!

Okay, so I was back at it yesterday a 60 minute run plus my core training. It ended up totaling to 6 miles (just under 10km). It was an indoor run due to the rain...boo to the rain. I'm about to hit the gym again in a few for my speed training day...today it's 4x600 @ 3:20. I'll provide some deets on my next entry.

Going back in time...Sunday as always was my recovery run, and it was awesome, I was really feeling it. It was a short run (4 miles), but it was fairly early for a Sunday (11AM) and there wasn't really alot of traffic about, so I took advantage and just ran around the streets in my new hood - Belleville's beautiful East End. Just thought I'd share that with you.

I'm getting a little excited as I will have my first official race in a couple of weeks. It's called the 10km Pitter Patter...it's in Belleville on April 15th, and it will be my first taste of competition. To be honest I'm a little nervous, but I've got to just keep in mind that it's not about comming in first, it's about getting race experience leading up to the real race in December.

Anyhow, that's it for now. Just remember, try not to wear any low cut shirts if you're going to be at a party where Chewbacca might stop by...all you'll be doing is tempting the poor wookie!

Will

Oh crap...I almost forgot why I titled this "blogs can kick you in the ass" it's because of an article in this months runners world, and I got completely off topic due to boobs...oh well, I'll follow up on the article next time.

Welcome to my new readers...

2007-03-31T11:44:00.000-04:00

Alright, before I get to my training details today, I'd like to welcome my new readers. Last week I joined the social networking cult phenomenon known as Facebook. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, sorry, but I'm not explaining it here, Google it!

Anyhow, Facebook allows you to feed your blog (I'm assuming through RSS, or something similar), to your profile for all to read. I figured this was a great way to continue to pimp my cause, so to those new readers Welcome! First off, go to my main blog site and start from the beginning. http://blogspot.goodwillrunning.com Here's a quick recap to catch you up for now...
I've pledged to raise a bunch of money for the Canadian Diabetes Association through a program called Team Diabetes to honour my dad who suffers from type 1 diabetes...but wait...there's more. I'm not only raising money, but I've also agreed to run the Honolulu marathon in December to promote healthy living, as a big contributor to diabetes is unhealthy living. This blog chronicles my training and fundraising journey. So far you've missed me repeatedly injuring myself until I got a trainer, now it's all good.
The blog entries tend to be informative, entertaining, and extremely humourous all at once...at least, that's what my mom tells me. For those of you who have heard this story before...it's okay, because I know you love hearing it over and over again!

Here's the deets for today's run...
Outdoor - 2 degrees - wind NEN @ 15 km/h
Warmup - 5:00 - .33 miles (1/2 km)
Run - 45:00 - 4.36 miles (7.1 km)
Cooldown - 14:00 - .82 miles (1.32 km)

Since my last entry, I did my cross training and weight training yesterday, Thursday was an off day (for real this week), and Wedneday was speed training (45' Steps for a total of 5.25 miles).

Some of the soundtrack...
Damian Marley - Confrontations
Ben Folds Five - Best Imitation of Myself
The Trews - Montebello Park

Until next time...

Will

A little taste of Summertime...

2007-03-28T08:01:00.000-04:00

Awwww Yeah!!!!!

Yesterday was amazing for weather...I've decided I'm really going to love running in warmer weather...there were a ton people out running, roller blading, walking...it really felt like July instead of March.

Anyhow, time to get down to business...I have been running despite what you might have thought due to the lack of updates on the good 'ol blog...you may not know this, but I'm currently on day 11 of a 13 day work stretch...which could turn into a 15 day stretch.

Okay, enough complaining...on to the good stuff. Yesterday's deets...
Outdoor - 16 degrees - sunny
Warmup - 5 mins - .35 miles (just over 1/2km)
Run - 55:07 - 5.45 miles (8.8km)
Cooldown - 12:52 - .84 miles (1.36 km)
When I got home, I did my core training.

This past weekend consisted of a long run on Saturday - 60 minutes at various speeds, plus a warm up and cooldown for a total of aroun 6.5 miles. Followed up on Sunday with my recovery run - 30:00 @ 11:33 to give me another 3.5 miles. Friday I cross trained with a 20 km bike ride which was great. I took my bike in for a tune up afterward and still don't have it back, but can't wait until I do and I can start riding to work again...speaking of work...I've got some to do.

L8r.

Will

3x600 @ 3:20...or as we like to say in English...

2007-03-21T18:33:00.000-04:00

Ludacris Speed!!!!

Today is Wednesday, which means another day of speed training. It was 3x600 @ 3:20 w/ 3' rec. Now, what this really means is I warmed up for about 10 mins, then ran 600 metres in 3:20, then back to my 11:33/mile training pace for 3 minutes, then repeated this two more times, then of course I did my cooldown. The total time amounted to 40 minutes on a treadmill and a total of 3.4 miles (5.5 km). I managed to skip my core training yesterday, so when I was done with the treadmill, I did my core training which consists of a buttload of crunches, and back extensions, plus some work on my obliques and lower abs (which still aren't visable underneath my gut...boo hoo) and a lot of work with the pilates ball.

Yesterday I did my 50' @ 11:33, here's the deets...
Outdoor - Belleville - not sure of the temp, but with the wind, it felt extremely cold!!!
Warmup - 4:59 - .35 miles (0.6 km)
Run - 50:01 - 4.75 miles (7.7 km) - average pace was 10:30, still having trouble slowing it down outside!!!
Cooldown - 11:32 - .72 miles (1.2 km)

Some tunes...
Queens of the Stone Age - You Got A Killer Scene There, Man!
Underworld - Born Slippy

That's all for now! L8r.

Will

Yasso 800's...Better late, then never...

2007-03-19T07:35:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I'm a little late on my Yasso 800's lesson, but I do have a life away from my computer, and sometimes I find it difficult to bring myself to logon when I'm not at work, or when it's not absolutely necessary. That being said, I did promise you a lesson in the Yasso 800's, so here we go...

Wednesday, I did my first set of Yasso's, which look like they are going to be a big part of my speed training days (Wednesdays). Here's how they work...
You get a good warmup going, then run 800 metres in 4:29, this is a 8:58/mile pace, then walk for 4:29, then repeat for the amount of intervals allotted. Last week I had to do 3 and I managed to get in just over 5km of ground while doing it.

I was invited for dinner at Brock's family farm on Friday, so I moved my X-train/weight day to Thursday, and did my weight circuit, and a very light run instead of a cross-train, and moved my off day to Friday. It's a good thing I ran on Friday, because I skipped Saturday, due to a crazy trip to Ottawa to celebrate St. Paddy's Day...GOOD TIMES!!!! I'm not at all upset I missed Saturday as it was scheduled to be a 30 minute easy run, and I did a lot of walking and standing and beer lifting.

I of course made up for this yesterday on a great run along the Rideau Canal with my friend Bryana...Brock was going to come, but had to work, so he stayed to work at Bryana's apartment...boo to work!!! Anyhow, Bry and I had a great run...it's always great to run in a new location...apparently Ottawa is home to over 300km of trails...lucky!

Here's the deets from yesterday...
Warmup - 4:00 - .21 miles (this was a little longer, cut it took while for my Garmin to sync to the satellites)
Run - 32:16 - 3.18 miles (just over 5km)
Cooldown - 13:09 - .83 miles (just under 1.5km)

I'll try to get some more frequent updates this week.

Will

Mmmmmmm...the sweet sweet smell...

2007-03-13T18:20:00.000-04:00

Bar-B-Que!!! Of course, this is not to be confused with Barbecue from the GI Joes.

So I was out for my run this afternoon and finally smelled a bbq grillin' up some good meats...ahhhh...the smells of the season are finally upon us.

Here's the deets from today's run...
Outdoor - 9 degrees - sunny - winds SSW @ 15km/h
Warmup - .34 miles (just over 1/2 km) - 5 mins
Run - 45 mins - 4.28 miles (just under 7km)
Cooldown - 10 mins - .63 miles (just over 1km)
I also did my core (abs) training when I got home.

Here's some tunes...
The Velvet Underground - Rock & Roll
Gorillaz - M1A1
The Clash - Death or Glory

Oh, btw...if you love violent (no gun) war movies be sure to check out 300...awesome...of course if you're not a fan of violence, don't ever watch that movie...ever!!!

Tomorrow we learn about Yasso 800's...see you then.

Will

It's fun to run at the YMCA...

2007-03-12T07:37:00.000-04:00

Hey...Hey...Hey Hey Hey!!!

So yesterday I was in Orillia and had to get a run in. Now, I did bring gear to run outside, but of course, being Orillia in winter, they got dumped on with the snow overnight on Saturday unexpectedly. But wait...the plot thikens...Amy and I were staying at a hotel that had a really nice pool, but no fitness centre (go figure), so as per the advice of my Aunt Chris I was off to the local YMCA where they had an indoor track. It's a very nice facility, and if you're ever in Orillia and in need of a good workout, head to the Y on Peter St.

Okay, since I was on an indoor track yesterday with no real way of telling distance without counting everytime I went around (which is just plain crazy!!!) we'll just say that I ran for 30 minutes with 5 minute warmup and cooldown on either side.

Saturday, however, I had my long run - 60' @ 11:33. Here's the deets...
Warmup - 5 mins - .33 miles
Run - 60 mins - 5.15 miles
Cooldown - 10 mins - .7 miles
This gave me a total of 6.3 miles or just over 10km, and I've got to tell you...It felt great...like I could have kept going...I wanted to...but I didn't.

A few tracks...
Talib Kweli and Mos Def - Definition
Lil Zane - Money Stretch
The Postal Service - Nothing Better

Oh, I almost forgot...big props to Brock for making his first post. I knew you had it in you buddy!!!

Time to get back to work. L8r.

Will

Hang 10 for Diabetes - Logo #3 of 3

2007-03-12T07:33:00.000-04:00

Here is logo #3 of 3.

Once again, please let us know what you think.

Let us know which one is your favourite...we've already decided which one we like, but we like you to think your opinion counts too!!!

Will and Brock

Shingles, Twisted Knees and a Gross Toe

2007-03-09T16:28:00.000-05:00

I've been a bit tardy.

I was suppose to be here a while ago, but I've been held up a bit. I can't remember, but I don't think Will has actually mentioned that I can't run the marathon as planned. He did mention that I got shingles back in November, and it sucks. Tough exercise, i.e. running, that is hard on your body is hard on my shoulders.

Shingles sucks. Look it up sometime if you want to read about something you don't want. At any rate, in about a month or 3 I should be feeling better and no longer be afflicted by this pain in my shoulder. BUT I won't have enough time to train for a whole marathon. So here's the new plan. Walk a marathon for diabetes with my Mum. Trying to turn a shitty situation into a positive. So Will and I are raising a ton of cash, he's shrinking and I'm getting better. There are always more marathons and the point isn't really to run the distance, but raise the money. So here's to Emily and Will's Dad, and I'll start posting about our fundraising and how the campaign is going.

Should be fun.

Hang 10 for Diabetes - Logo #2

2007-03-09T08:03:00.000-05:00

Here is the second of three logos!!! Again, please let us know what you think.

Nothing big on the training yesterday...just weight training...pretty boring!!!

Will

Hang 10 for Diabetes - Logo #1

2007-03-08T08:49:00.000-05:00

Here is the first of 3 logos.

Let us know what you think!

Hurry Up Spring!!!!

2007-03-08T08:02:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm really getting a little sick of this cold nasty weather. I've been forced to run inside all week...okay, so it' only been 2 days, but it still sucks, and now it's supposed to rain on Saturday which will mean indoor running again.

Anyhow, allow me to switch gears now and talk about something a little more positive...everyone who's ever ran always talks about the weight loss associated with it...now I'm not a big guy...there was a time when I weighed 197 lbs, but I carried it well...so I was told...I still looked like shit without a shirt on though...anyhow, today I weigh 153 lbs and it makes a huge difference. I really realized this difference the other day when I went to get my wedding band re-sized as it's now too big!!! I've been married just under a year and at the time of my wedding last April my ring size was an 8...now it's a 7 1/4...it's a good thing the jeweler offers free re-sizings within 3 years of purchase!!! I just wanted to share that little bit of inspiration with you.

As far as the running goes...I haven't updated the blog since Saturday and I've ran 3 times since. Yesterday was speed training day and the routine was 45' Steps to 60. If you don't know what Steps are, then shame on you for not keeping up to date on my blog...you can find out all about steps in last Wednesday's entry. Here's a brief summary of my last 3 runs...
Sunday - Outdoor - 30 min - 3 miles
Tuesday - Indoor - 40 min - 4 miles
Wednesday - Indoor - 45 min Steps - 4.5 miles

Some Tunes...
Outkast - So Fresh, So Clean (if you ever need an ego boost, throw this track in..."Ain't no one as dope as me I'm just so fresh so clean...")
Arctic Monkeys - When the Sun Goes Down
Earth Wind and Fire - Let's Groove (phats and small remix)

BTW...Brock did design some kick ass logos for Hang 10 for Diabetes. They look great, but unfortunately I can't share them with you until he emails me soft copies...when he does, I'll post them.

Talk soon!

Will

Surf Wax On...Surf Wax Off...

2007-03-03T14:29:00.000-05:00

Hello Friends!So this morning, after an intense night of unsuccessfully trying to land the Karate Kid Crane with Brock and Cousin Raymond, much to the ammusement of Amy and Emily; Brock, Emily and myself went for a nice greasy breakfast/brainstorming session.

It was very inspiring and it looks like the first Team Diabetes: Hang 10 for Diabetes fundraising event will be a martini and manicure night for the ladies. We've started to work out the details and we're hoping for mid April as a date, but as soon as we've worked out the details, I'll let you know. As a result of this inspiration, I had a great run today, and Brock has come up with a stroke of genius and finished the Hang 10 logo...he seems very excited, but is making me wait until tonight for the unveiling...I can't wait!!!

Anyhow, here's the deets of my run today...
Indoor (too cold outside) - Treadmill incline of 2
Warmup - 5 mins - .33 miles (1/2 km)
Run - 45' @ 11:33 - this translates to 45 minutes at a pace of 11:33 per mile for a total of 3.9 miles (6.3 km)
Cooldown - .65 miles (1 km)
Some tunes...
Pharcyde - Runnin'
Postal Service - Natural Anthem
k-os - Valhalla

FYI...yesterday like all Fridays was weight training and cross training day so I did my typical weight circuit (which I'll explain fully in a seperate entry), and the arc trainer for 25 mins. My cross training has to consist of a constant rate of 90rpm to get the heart pumping, but it can be pretty much anything...can't wait to break out my bike!!!

That's it for now. L8r.

Will

45' Steps...

2007-02-28T17:19:00.000-05:00

Over the next year, your going to read a lot of terms you've probably never heard before like 45' Steps, Yasso 800, 60' @ 10:18, etc. Don't feel bad, a month ago I didn't know what they meant either, but I'm learning and as I do something new, I'll explain it here for you.

So today I did my first official day of Speed Training. Speed training days will be Wednesday from now until marathon day (Dec. 9) and today I did something called 45' steps. Let me break it down for you...
Step training involves counting your steps, or in plain english, everytime one foot hits the ground you count one step. So, you get nice and warmed up, running at the normal 11:33 training pace, then you kick it into high gear and count another 20 steps, then you drop to a jog or walk and count 20 steps, then you kick it back into high gear for 30 steps, then drop back down for 30, then repeat for 40, and finally 50 before resuming your normal training pace. The entire speed part took under 5 minutes to complete, but definately winded me a little. Now, every time I do steps, I will increase until I reach 100...pretty cool eh!!!

Okay, so that being said here's the deets for today's run...
Outdoor - Temp -2 (-6 windchill) Wind SSW @ 11 km/h - Sunny
Warmup - 5:01 - .33 miles
Run - 45:06 - 4.37 miles (remember I did my steps in there)
Cooldown - 12 mins - .74 miles

And Yesterday...
Outdoor - Temp -1 (-10 windchill) Wind SSW @ 17km/h - Sunny
Warmup - 5 mins - .33 miles
Run - 38:39 - 3.92 miles (this was supposed to be 35' @ 11:33, but turned into 38 @ 9:52 - still need to slow down)
Cooldown - 14:20 - .96 miles (I ended up getting a little to into it and when I had to stop I was a little further from home then usual)

And some tunes...
Beck - Cellphone's Dead
Underworld - 2 months off
Paul Oakenfold - Heaven Sent

Well, that's it for now...goodbye February...Hello March!!!

Will

Time for a quickie...

2007-02-24T15:36:00.000-05:00

Okay, it's been a crazy week, and as a result I haven't been updating the blog, however, that doesn't mean I haven't been running.

This past week I started my official training, yes friends, every day from now until race day is planned. I work out / train 5 out of 7 days of the week, so if you want to make plans with me between now and 2008, try and book for a Monday or Thursday!!!

I was going to participate in Belleville's Freezin' 5km race today, but I decided it was a little too "freezin'" at 10AM, plus I wasn't too thrilled about parting with $10 to run and probably freeze my nuts off...so I paid myself $5 and ran this afternoon instead when it was a little warmer...but still not warm.

Here's the deets...
Outdoor - -4 celcius (-10 windchill) - Wind SSW 18km/h
Warmup - 5 mins - .33 miles (1/2 km)
Run - 30 mins - 3.25 miles (just over 5km)
Cooldown - 7:40 - .5 miles (just under 1km)

I was running a little faster than training speed today, but I have gotten a lot better at slowing myself down.

Here's a couple of cuts from today's soundtrack...
Crystal Method - Busy Child
EPMD - Crossover
Wildchild - Renegade Master (fatboy slim remix)

Anyhow, I've got another busy evening ahead of me, gotta fly! L8r.

Will

I never thought I'd hear myself say...

2007-02-17T12:29:00.000-05:00

..."I really need to slow down!!!"

So I got my training package from Sandy at Tri and Run yesterday and it will take me from now until race day training me to run this marathon in approximately 4.5 hours...not bad!!! Anyhow, a lot of it has to do with pacing and I have my new training pace is over 2 minutes longer per mile then my curren training pace. 11:38 sounds very slow, and let me tell you it is. I went for a run today and tried so hard to slow down, but couldn't quite get there. I think I'm going to have to make use of the treadmill to teach me to slow down...but it will all pay off in the end...both for me and for the Canadian Diabetes Association.

Okay, I ran outside today for the first time in weeks...it was awesome!!! Here's the deets...
Outdoor - -5 celcius (-11 w/ wind chill) wind - W 17km/h
Warmup - 6 mins - .4 miles
Run - 30 mins - 3.13 miles
Cooldown -8 mins - .54 miles
My pacing was still around 9:30 and it's supposed to be at 11:33...it's way harder to run slow than fast!!!

Some cuts from today's soundtrack...
Basement Jaxx - Where's Your Head At
k-os - Black Ice
Kasabian - Club Foot

Cheers!

Will

Hang 10 for Diabetes revisited...

2007-02-14T15:47:00.000-05:00

I appreciate all the comments from people either online or to my face...I get it...the x 4.2km part was neither funny, nor clever, just something that made the slogan too long and confusing. You see, I thought Hang 10x4.2km for Diabetes was very witty, in a super-nerdy, math loving kind of way...and I was wrong!!! Anyhow, Hang 10 for Diabetes is cool, and my really bad drawing of a surfboard logo thingy (pictured) is okay, but this is where Brock will come into play in a big way as he's the creative logo guy.
Although, I do like my surfboard design...perhaps I'll actually get a surfboard custom made for myself...yeah right!!!

Okay, on to some more serious business...I had my last physio visit yesterday and was informed that my bursitis if 90% healed...woo hoo!!!
This is great news as it means next week I'll be able to up my milage again and get back to some serious running business. I haven't run yet today, as I'm about to hit the gym in a few minutes, but it'll be the typical 5-6km run that I've been running while recovering...the last thing I want to do is have the bursitis flare up again...not cool!!!

I suppose I've said all there is to say...for now.

Happy Valentines Day!

Will

Hang 10 x 4.2km for Diabetes...

2007-02-12T18:14:00.000-05:00

Hey there,

So I had this crazy idea while I was running today. Actually first I better tell you how this all got started. Brock and I were brainstorming the other night and decided we needed a slogan, or something for people to associate with our campaign. Music alway comes to my mind before anything else, so I immediately thought "Rock Diabetes", which is pretty cool for concerts and such, and I suppose cool all around, but there was something missing. I've been thinking about this all weekend, then today while I was running it suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks...why the hell don't we play on the whole Hawaii surf thing...then I thought "Hang Ten for Diabetes"...then I thought "Kowabunga"...then I thought of my old pals Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello...then I thought "Hang 10 x 4.2km for Diabetes"!!! Get it...10x4.2 is 42, and a marathon is 42 km long...f'n genius!!!

Anyhow, I don't know what Brock thinks of it yet, but I love it. What do you think??? Think of it in terms of buttons, t-shirts, surf wax, bikinis...the list is endless!!!

Anyhow, here's some deets from today's run...
Indoor - treadmill incline of 2
Run - 35 mins - 5.75km
Cooldown - 10 mins - 1km

And of course some cuts from today's soundtrack...
Jamariquoi - Canned Heat (think Napolean Dynamite)
Underworld - Two Months Off
Nas - Hip Hop Is Dead

That's it for now. I have what is hopefully my last physio appointment tomorrow...yeah!!!

Later skater...or should I say surfer (super mega cheesy...I love it)!

Will

Aunt Chris: A Good Will Running Profile...

2007-02-10T11:36:00.000-05:00

I wanted to take the time to let you know a little bit about some of the people who are helping out with this campaign. So, I'll introduce you to my Aunt Chris (that's her on the right with my friend Jeff). Aunt Chris lives in Orillia Ontario with her son Guillie. I've known her my whole life, and she's always been a little "wacky"! That being said, she's also always seems to come through in a pinch. Aunt Chris works as a nurse at the Orillia Memorial Hospital, and she's been a nurse forever...I could tell you the story about growing up in Toronto, and during my grade 7 year, the sex-ed classes were done by public health nurses, and wouldn't you know it, when it was time for my class who should walk in the door to the classroom...none other than Aunt Chris!!! I was 12...it was a little embarrassing to say the least.

Now, not only is Aunt Chris a nurse, but she has been known to dress up as a clown for children's birthday parties. She's a very talented writer of short stories, an actress, plus she runs an online book store, which I'll get the link to and post later.
I believe Aunt C is also responsible for my love of jazz music as she used to take my sister and I out to jazz clubs when we were young...very cool!!! Another thing I wanted to mention is the fact that Aunt Chris is also a diabetic, making the cause that much more worthwhile.

Aunt Chris has been working hard to help out with my Team Diabetes campaign raising money in the Orillia area and I just wanted you all to know a little more about her.

Here's my training deets for today...
Indoor - treadmill - incline of 2
Run - 36 mins - 3.5 miles (5.6km) - this included a warmup
Cooldown - 9 mins - .62 miles (1km)

Tunes...
Underworld - Born Slippy
Outkast - Ghettomusick
Dream Warriors - Wash Your Face In My Sink

That's all for now. L8r.

Will

So, There's (more) good news...

2007-02-08T18:25:00.000-05:00

So I picked up my new shoes yeterday at Tri and Run Sports (click link to check them out), expecting to spend another $130 on shoes, and Sandy and Patti, being the sweethearts that they are allowed me to exchange them for the Saucony's I bought at the beginning of the year. Amazing!!! They really know how to provide excellent customer service. If you ever need any running or triathalon gear, be sure to check them out in Trenton, just head north on Glen Miller Rd from the 401 and you can't miss it.

But wait there's more...

So I tried my new shoes today (asics gel 1120) and I ran without discomfort...it was awesome. I only ran for 5k, but I wanted to do more. I stopped myself as I have to ease back into it every other day...but man it felt great!!! Here's the deets...
Run - 33 minutes - 5.3km - I incorporated my warmup into my run today, gradually increasing the speed
Cooldown - 8 mins - 0.9km

Some great tunes came up for play today too....
Eric B and Rakim - Don't Sweat the Technique (gotta kick it old school baby)
Kasabian - Reason Is Treason
Cassius - Feeling For You (a little house flavour)

Anyhow, I just wanted to share the good news. Yeah!!! Tomorrow is garbage day, so if you'll excuse me I have some recycling to sort. L8r.

Will

So, there's good news...

2007-02-07T15:53:00.000-05:00

...and there's good news!!!

What do you want to hear first?

I thought so, here's the good news...
I got the "all clear" from my physiotherapist today to get running again, as long as I don't do it in my current shoes. It's a good thing I went back to Try and Run sports on Friday and tried on about a dozen different pairs of shoes, and ordered a new pair that won't aggrivate the all powerful bursa. They are in and I will be heading to Trenton to pick them up in a few minutes!!! What does this all mean, my young, curious friend, well let me tell you...it means I'll be running again tomorrow. Yeah!!!!!

Okay, now for the good news...
So as we all know, Sunday was the Superbowl, and the Indianapolis Colts became champions for the first time in 35 years, which is good news all on it's own, however, during my Superbowl party I decided to do some impromptu fundraising and managed to convince people that half the pot from my props sheet winner takes all game should go to Team Diabetes. As it turns out I managed to raise $60. I know it's not a lot, but every little bit helps. Big thanks to Cousin Raymond, who despite winning, decided to donate the winnings back as well...What a great guy!!!

Anyhow, like I said I'll be running tomorrow, so I'll keep you posted. Until then, keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road!!!

Will

"Cast off the crutch that kills the pain..."

2007-02-02T09:35:00.000-05:00

"...The Red Flag waiving never meant the same!"

Hey there Will-fans, okay, so I've got an update for you...but it's not pretty...I'm not supposed to run until at least next Wednesday. I found this out this past Wednesday and it really had me bummed out, but I figured I'd have to come clean about it some time. I've gotta tell you, I'm extremely tempted to just run through the pain, but I know it would just make things worse, so for the greater good I will refrain.

That being said, it doesn't mean I have to sit around on my lazy (yet sexy) ass all day...oh no my friend...I just can't run, or wear my running shoes. So I pulled out the old Vans as they are the most comfortable shoes that don't aggrivate the bursa that I own and have been doing some cross training which includes...
Arc Trainer - it's kind of like an elipticle machine, but way more intense with a bigger range of motion
Rowing
Bicycling - I wish there wasn't so much snow and I could bike outside
and of course there's always Weight Training.

I did upload some new tunes to the old mp3 player. Here's a few highlights...
Souls of Mischief - '93 till
Outkast - B.O.B.
Basement Jaxx - Red Alert

Well, that's it for the update for now. I'm off the the Billy Talent show at the ACC tonight with Raymond...it should be a kick ass show if we can get there...the 401's been closed since yesterday afternoon and could be closed for a few days...it's a good thing I know my way through the back roads of every little shit town between Belleville and St. Catherines.

If I don't talk to you before the Superbowl on Sunday...enjoy it...and don't forget to cheer for the White and Blue of the Indianapolis Colts!!! L8r.

Will

What the heck is a bursa?!?!?!?

2007-01-29T18:51:00.000-05:00

Hi everybody! Okay, so I didn't run over the weekend, and for good reason. I was in try and run sports exchanging my fuel belt for a smaller size and talking about getting a proper training program setup when I tactfully brought up my foot pain thingy. Anyhow, I was informed that the pain was actually in the area of my achilles tendon and if something went wrong (like overworking it) it could rupture, and that would mean I would have to have surgery to reattach it and then spend 8 weeks in a cast, which of course is not an option...so I called my physiotherapist and made an appointment.

That appointment was this morning at 7AM, and I was informed that I in fact have an inflammed bursa on my achilles tendon, which is usually referred to as bursitis. Basically it's a sack of fluid between the achilles tendon and the heel bone and it's becommed inflammed due to friction...friction most likely caused by my new shoes. Anyhow, they're using ultrasound sessions to break it up, along with some new stretches, excercises and icing 5 times a day, which will be probably end up being a little awkward at work, but what are you gonna do right??? Good news is that I put together a makeshift padding for my shoe, made out of makeup sponges, which seems to take some of the pressure off and subside most of the pain while I'm running...which of course means I can continue to run. I have my next physio session on Wednesday, so I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, here's what I managed to accomplish today...
Indoor - treadmill - incline of 2
Warmup - 10 minutes - .8 miles
Run - 31 minutes - 3.25 miles
Cooldown - 9 minutes - .65 miles

Plus I did my ab strengthening excercises, which I've been not doing lately...so that's good!!! I'm a little pissed because I really want to get back into my long runs on the weekend, and shit keeps getting messed up...my knee, my cold, now a freakin' bursa!!!! Yeah, it's a little discouraging, but I know it's all just part of the journey and will make me stronger...it better...or else I'm screwed when it comes time to run the full 42km. Just kidding...I'll make it...my motivation will get me through...along with a few tunes. Which reminds me...I really need to change up the tunes on my mp3 player again...time for something new. There are a couple of highlights from today though...
Postal Service - Sleeping In
Hard Fi - Middle Eastern Holiday
Wilco - I'm The Man Who Loves You

I'm outty!

Will

If it's not Scottish...It's Crap!!!

2007-01-26T11:16:00.000-05:00

So yesterday was Robbie Burns Day around the world, and I did partake in a Robbie Burns dinner / scotch tasting event at the prestigious Belleville Club last night. It was my first Robbie Burns dinner, my first scotch tasting, and the first time I've ever eaten haggis. I've got to tell you, it's not bad at all...in fact it's really tasty...I'm still not sure what exactly is in it, but I don't want to know either.

Of course knowing I'd be killing my body with haggis and scotch I decided I better get a run in before heading out last night. Here's the deets...
Indoor - treadmill - incline of 2
Warmup - 10 mins
Run - 30 mins - 3.1 miles (5km)
Cooldown - 10 mins

I have to tell you something...I've been keeping a secret for a couple of weeks...I think that I may have some kind of bone spur on the back of my foot. It's usually uncomfortable, but from time to time it hurts like hell. Now, it's never hurt while running until yesterday...of course I decided that I should call my doctor, but he's off until Monday, so I'll have to wait until then. I'm still planning on getting my weekly long run in tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.

In closing, I'd just like to say that I love Scotch, Scotchy, Scotchy, Scotch!

Stay classy San Diego.

Will

Murder at the Juice Joint...

2007-01-23T08:34:00.000-05:00

Once again, I've been negligent to the blog, and for that I appologize. I do have to tell you though I have been running, and I've also been very busy. I'd like to tell you about my Friday night...it was really cool...I was at a birthday party for my friend Shelly and it just happened to be one of those murder mystery parties (it was called Murder at the Juice Joint). Anyhow, at first I was a little reluctant thinking it was going to be a little on the lame side, but I was wrong...good times indeed. My character was the private detective...I sucked and guessed the wrong person as the killer...but still had a great time!!!

Saturday was my long run day and I ran for only 8km (45 minutes) as it was my first long run since getting sick and I didn't want to push it anymore than that. Here's the deets...
Indoor - treadmill - inline of 2
Warmup - 10 mins .85 miles
Run - 45 mins - 4.8 miles (just under 8km)
Cooldown - 10 mins - .7 miles

Sunday was a rest day...actually I went for a really nice (but bitterly cold) walk with Amy. We didn't make it too far as it was somewhere around -17 celcius with the wind, but we did walk for a few kms. Amy has started running again, so when the weather gets nicer I think she'll be running with me a lot more than now...which is never...so that'll be awesome!!! Of course Sunday night my team (the Colts) beat the Pats in what was probably the best second half of a football game I've ever watched to make it to the superbowl next weekend...woo hoo!!!

Yesterday it was back to the gym as the city works department in Belleville really sucks at clearing the snow from the sidewalks. Actually I don't think I can blame them entirely...it's up to the home owners to clear the snow in front of their houses isn't it...I do it...perhaps I'm just a sucker. The bottom line is the sidewalks are too snowy and icey to run on and running on the road in Belleville is probably more dangerous than a lot of other really dangerous things that I can't think of right at this moment. Anyhow, here's the deets...
Warmup - 10 mins - .8 miles
Run - 35 mins - 3.75 miles (6km)
Cooldown - 10 mins - .7 miles

Here's some tunes from the past couple of runs...
Feist - Mushaboom (postal service remix)
Diddy f/ Xtina - Tell Me
Justin Timberlake - My Love (I know what you may be thinking, but I'm branching out with the training tunes...besides I'm married...I don't have to worry about being judged for listening to the "fruity ass" tunes)
Jurassic 5 - Concrete Schoolyard
The Postal Service - Such Great Heights

Oh, I almost forgot...that tortilla pie I made on Thursday turned out to be the most amazing thing I've ever cooked in my whole life...and that's not really saying much at all...but it was good.

This has gone on long enough. I'll holla back at ya later!

Will

Slow Motion...

2007-01-18T09:03:00.000-05:00

So I was thinking to myself...man, this week is going super slow. I mean, really, yesterday was Wednesday and for some reason it felt like Friday, but it wasn't really Friday, which made the whole experience really quite depressing. Then I realized that I haven't worked a full weeks work since before the Christamas holiday season and it all began to make sense.

Anyhow, the good news is that I did get another good run in yesterday, and after last week, that's very good news.

Here's the deets from yesterday...
Indoor - treadmill - incline of 2
Warmup - 10 minutes - .85 miles
Run - 35 minutes - 3.75 miles (just over 6km)
Cooldown - 10 minutes - .7 miles (just over 1km)

Yesterday I decided to load the entire Give Up album by the Postal Service onto my mp3 player, along with leaving a bunch of other songs on there. Anyhow, out of the whole album only one song came up...a little dissapointing as I was in the mood to hear more, but completely understandable as there is 90 songs on my player. Anyhow, if you've never heard the Postal Service then you should check 'em out...they're goood. I first heard them a few years ago when I was in Boston for work and just like us up here in Canada, there is a good following for indy rock in the US too. It's kind of funny, because as Canadians we sometimes think American music is nothing more than Elvis and American Idol, but there are some great indy bands down there too...
The Postal Service
Death Cab for Cutie
Yo La Tengo
Modest Mouse (not so indy anymore since they appeared on the OC a couple years back, but still one of my faves)
Built to Spill
They Might Be Giants
...and the list goes on.

Today is only Thursday...ARRRGHHHHH!!!! Today will be a training rest day for me, and you'll be happy to know that due to a new agreement in the Alexander household, I will be making dinner for Amy and I once a week...and I'm not talking like when I make dinner for myself (microwaveable burritos, peanut butter sandwiches, etc.)...I'm talking real deal dinner. Tonight I'm making Tortilla Pie, from a recipe I found in the January edition of Runners World magazine. We're also having my brother in law and his wife over for dinner so I hope it turns out okay...if not I've got a full jar of PB and loaf of bread ready to serve as backup. I'll keep you posted.

I'm out!

Will

I (finally) Feel Good...

2007-01-17T08:54:00.000-05:00

'Sup my peeps!!! Okay, I'm a little excited, because I'm back in the training game and feel freakin' amazing. I'm telling you, that cold seriously put me out of commission for a good week, but I've managed to kick it to the curb and never looked back.

Now I did run on the weekend, but it was really bad and I felt really discouraged by the whole thing. I thought I was feeling good enough, but after running for 2 miles on Saturday I was caughing up all kinds of crap and felt terrible...this resulted in me spending the rest of the day lying around wasting the day, but I just felt terrible. Sunday I thought I needed to do something, so I went for a nice long walk around Belleville, stopped by cousin Raymonds place, then we walked back to my place to watch a little football playoff action...which reminds me...how 'bout them Colts!!!

Anyhow, yesterday was my first good run since the cold beat me down. Here's the deets...
Indoor - treadmill - incline of 2
Warmup - 10 mins - .85 miles
Run - 30 mins - 3.2 miles (just over 5km)
Cooldown - 10 mins - .7 miles

Here's some tune selections from my last couple of runs...
2Pac - How Do You Want It
The Game - Let's Ride
Billy Talent - Devil In A Midnight Mass
k-os - Born to Run

Here's some more big news on the Blog front...Brock and I were discussing some fundraising plans last night and also decided that he will be adding his own 2 cents to this blog, so get ready for some training posts from him too. I've got to tell you though, he's not nearly as entertaining as me, but then again, who is besides the late great James Brown...and maybe Weird Al Yankovic!!! We're also are planning some video blogs via youtube, so keep your eyes open for those.

Peace to all those in your hood!

Will

I got my ass kicked bad...

2007-01-11T16:07:00.000-05:00

So I haven't had a cold in a very long time. It's been at least over a year, so when I contracted one this week, it wasn't fun at all. In fact, the cold kicked my ass like a little biatch!!! Needless to say I've been pretty much out of commission for the past 4 days so I haven't been training at all.

I do feel a lot better today though, thanks for asking, but I've decided that since my wife is off work today, I will go home and we will go for a walk this evening, rather than hitting the treadmill. As much as I love running, I love spending time with my wife more.

Speaking of family, tomorrow is cousin Raymond's 24th birthday and he's been going through some rough stuff the past couple of weeks, so if you see him around, make sure you wish him a happy birthday and give him a nice pat on the ass...he'll appreciate it!!!

Anyhow, just wanted to keep you in the loop. I'll be running again within the next couple of days so you can expect an update then. In the meantime, if you're bored and need a cheap high, might I suggest the killer combo of a shot of NyQuil followed by a Neo Citran chaser...good times!!!

L8r.

Will

Ahh, the joys of home ownership...

2007-01-07T12:40:00.000-05:00

So I missed my run yesterday for a couple of reasons, but mainly for one. Yesterday morning Amy and I were deciding what to have for breakfast and planning our day when Amy discovered a large puddle of water in our basement. She called me down to take a look and I discovered our hot water tank was leaking....not good!!! After calling a few people for guidance and a shop vac at 7AM on a Saturday (Thanks Dad, Jacob, Brock, and Henry), and Veridian (the rip off energy folk) I had to shut the water off and the power to the tank. Needless to say by the time Brock, Jacob, and I got the water all cleaned up, the contractor came and replaced the tank, and I cleaned up their mess I was in no mood for a run.

Now, I suppose I could have gone later in the day, but number one, I was spent, and number two the Colts were hosting the Chiefs in one of the weekends AFC wildcard playoff matchups. What kind of a fan would I be if I didn't watch the game...plus it was raining ;-).

Okay, enough excuses. Here's the deets for today's primo run...
Outdoor - 4 degrees, slight wind 6km/h
No warmup today, just stretching as I spent most of the morning warming up by doing work around the house.
Run - 50:11 - 5.25 miles (just under 8.5km) - avg speed = 9:34/mile
Cooldown - 15:25 - .83 miles (1.4 km)

My cooldown was great today as I was joined by my wife, Amy. Thanks baby!

I also just wanted to mention the phenomenon that I am going to call the runner open hand wave. It seems to be that when you pass another runner, it's customary to give them an open handed 5 finger spread of a wave...it seems crazy, but everybody seems to do it...must be some kind of secret runner code...I'm not sure, but I've jumped on the band wagon.

Next up...the Baltimore Ravens!

Will
(as Will is exiting the blog, he is flashing you the runner open hand wave...picture it)

Okay, so maybe I changed my mind...

2007-01-04T19:15:00.000-05:00

So I flip-floped on the whole not running in the wind thing...so what...it felt great. I just couldn't do it man, it was 10 degrees in January...there are very few things a married man can indulge in, and running in the wind just happens to be one of them.

According to good ol' environment Canada, the winds were SW at 25km/h, but it didn't really feel that bad, probably because it was 10 freakin' degrees!!! It's just too much, sure deep down inside I'm scared shitless about the environment and how bad this weather really is, but there's that part of me that's loving it. You know the part I'm talking about, unless of course you really are a tree hugging hippie...or your name is Russ!

Anyhow, the run today was great. Here's the deets...
Outdoor - 10 degrees celcius - wind SW 25km/h
Warmup - 7:00 - .62 miles (1km)
Run - 40:05 - 4.35 miles (7km) - avg speed=9:14/mile
Cooldown - 8:31 - .54 miles

I also spoke to Brock this evening and he was running on his treadmill tonight...that's good news!!! We discussed joining a running group with an actual trainer...not a bad idea. We also decided that we are going to have weekly meetings to discuss our training and plan our fundraising so I'll definately keep you posted on that front.

I'm having trouble remembering the tunes from today's run as it was almost 3 hours ago, so tonight you can imagine me running to any song you like...except Achy Breaky Hart, or Cotton Eyed Joe, or that dumb ass Chumbawumba song...those are 3 very bad songs.

Tomorrow is my rest day so no running until Saturday. Thanks for checking in.

Will

The Wind Blows...

2007-01-03T17:13:00.000-05:00

Pun Intended!!!

I realize that it was 6 degrees celcius and sunny this afternoon and it's freakin' January, but with wind gusts of 55 km/hr you can kiss my grits if you think I'm going to run outside.

So the moral of the story is that I ran inside, both yesterday and today and if we get the wind we're supposed to get tomorrow tomorrow, then you can bet your ass I'll be indoors again tomorrow too. Sorry for the negative tone, but I am a little bitter about it, I mean when's the last time we had 6 degree weather in January. I suppose I could take off the skirt, suck it up and run outside, but a rippin' wind like that really takes the fun out of it...and my goal...apart from raising a butt load of money...is to keep it fun!!!

So here's the deets of the training for yesterday and today...identical runs...
Indoor - Treadmill - incline +2
Warmup - .8 miles - 10 mins
Run - 3.75 miles (just over 6km) - 35 mins
Cooldown - .65 miles (just over 1km) - 10 mins

And the mp3 player was back in full effect. Here's some key tunes from the past 2 days...
Nas - Hip Hop Is Dead
Jay-Z - Show Me What You Got
Diddy - Everything I Love
NIN - Getting Smaller
Billy Talent - This Is How It Goes

I'll catch up with you again in a couple of days...that is if you can catch up with me...BooYaa!!!

Will

Welcome 2007...

2007-01-02T15:44:00.000-05:00

Hey Everybody. Happy New Year. I know it's been a while since my last post, and I'm sorry about that. I've actually been catching hell from a few of you faithfull readers about not keeping up to date. I had no idea people were actually reading this crap!!!

I need to start by saying that I have been running. Although it hasn't been as consistent or as hard as I would have liked, it has been happening. I got some new gear for Christmas which I've put to use - running gloves and a running touque. I know you might think that sounds like a gimick, but the technology used in the material to make this stuff actually heats up when you sweat...it's freakin' amazing!!! I also got some new shoes on the weekend that I'm going to break in in about 10 minutes. I did go out on Sunday but it was snowy and I didn't want to get them all mucked up their first time out. I stuck with Saucony's, but moved to the Omni 5 shoe...very nice!!! My runs have been varied over the past couple weeks - both indoor and outdoor. Here's my last run deets from Sunday...

Outdoor - -1 degree celcius - Belleville 11:30AM
Warmup - 6 mins - .62 miles (1km) - this isn't really accurate as it took a few minutes to get a clear signal on my garmin
Run- 33:25 - 3.11 miles (5km)
Cooldown - 20:15 - 1.24 miles (2km)

I was a little off pace I think due to the snow as it was my first time running in the snow. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. No tunes to report either as I was running with my friend Bryana as she was down for the New Years festivities at Brock and Emily's place. Brock was making food prepping for the kick ass party he threw to ring in the new year...you might think it's a lame excuse, but I'll accept it as I know it would have been bad new for him to leave Emily to deal with getting stuff ready...any of you dudes in a serious relationship, or married know what I'm talking about, and if you say it's any different than that, you're full of crap.

Anyhow, gotta run! (get it...hahahaha...I'm too funny)

Will

Foxy Lady...

2006-12-17T12:14:00.000-05:00

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...

2006-12-15T18:36:00.000-05:00

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...

2006-12-12T18:43:00.000-05:00

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...

2006-12-11T11:29:00.000-05:00

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!!!

2006-12-07T19:36:00.000-05:00

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...

2006-12-04T07:36:00.000-05:00

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???

2006-12-01T08:35:00.000-05:00

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

Mother Nature thinks I'm hot...

2006-11-29T18:50:00.000-05:00

There can't be any other explanation. It was a great day weather wise in Belleville, then right as I'm leaving work to drive Amy to the College for work it starts pouring rain, and I'm like "damn man, this sucks, now I have to hit the gym instead of running outside." Then just as I'm dropping Amy off, the rain stops and it's awesome again, just in time for my run. So I got to run outside in the dark of evening with 11 degree temperatures at the end of November...Bitchin!!!!

Here's the deets...
Outdoor - Belleville @ Night
Warmup - 6:30 - .61 miles (1km)
Run - 36:29 - 3.83 miles (6.18km)
Cooldown - 12:40 - .81 miles (1.3km)

I was back to running solo, so I brought along some tunes...
Nine Inch Nails - Head Like A Hole
Sean Paul - Temperature
Bedouin Soundclash - Rude Boy (dub mix)

Crap...that's all the tunes that are really sticking out right now...oh well. I smell really bad...time to shower. L8r dudes.

Will

With a little help from my friends (the remix)...

2006-11-27T12:14:00.000-05:00

So this should have been written on Saturday, but wasn't as I had a busy weekend with not a lot of bloging time available.

Pictured left to right are Brock, Bryana, and me. Bryana is friend of ours who was in town from Ottawa and also enjoys the running. She's really not too interested in running a marathon, although she does feel diabetes is a great cause to be running for...essentially she's just lazy!!! Just kidding...actually I'm only partly kidding, as she does work for the government, which means she's extremely lazy while at work making sure all of our hard earned tax dollars are put to good use.

Anyhow, Saturday afternoon the three of us went out for a run. Here's the deets...
Warmup - walk/run 6:37 - .59 miles (just under 1km)
Run - 30:03 - 3:55 miles (5.73 km)
Cooldown - 9:26 - .59 miles

No tunes as we just did some talking instead. Actually Brock is very concentrated when he runs and doesn't do a lot of talking while running, so it's a good thing I can talk his ear off. Bryana is also a talker...great conversation!!!

Listening to tunes is great when running solo, but there's something to be said for running with friends...it's great, and the time flies by...as long as you like each other and actually have something to talk about...otherwise, I'm sure you're screwed.

I'll be spending the next couple of days painting my kitchen with Amy and working a little OT, so we'll have to catch up again Wednesdayish.

The Day the Music Died...

2006-11-24T16:59:00.000-05:00

Since yesterday's entry was so freakin' long, I'll keep this one short and sweet...just like me!

So the battery in my mp3 player crapped out on me with about 7 minutes left in my run, and surprisingly it didn't kill me...it really wasn't all that bad at all. Now this doesn't mean I'm going to stop listening to music when I run, but I know I can do it for at least 7 minutes.

Here's the deets on today...
Outdoor - a wee bit chilly...I think I might have gotten what's referred to as runners nipple as my left nipple feels like someone gave me one hell of a twister.
Warmup - walk/run - 10:38 - .96 miles (1.55 km)
Run - 36:01 - 3.77 miles (6.08km)
Cooldown - walk - 7:03 - .41 miles (.66 km)

Tunes...
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Universally Speaking
Modest Mouse - Paper Thin Walls
The Trews - Confessions, Fire Up Ahead, Fleeting Trust
Sam Roberts - The Gate

That's it...now go do something it's Friday night!!!

Show me the money!!!

2006-11-23T17:13:00.000-05:00

Okay, let me start by wishing all you yanks out there (especially my mom) a Happy Thanksgiving!

A lot has happened in the last couple of days that didn't include any running at all which sucked, but it wasn't all bad, so let me tell you all about it.

Tuesday I received my very first real donation for Team Diabetes. It was an online donation from my friend Jacob. Click his name to go to his website and hire him to do some work for you so he can donate more to Team Diabetes. Thanks Jacob...you rock buddy!!! Tuesday night I didn't get out for a run dispite the wicked (in a good way) weather because I had a meeting with the oil heating guy who proceded to bend me over my own kitchen table, and didn't even offer to buy me a coffee let alone dinner. All I have to say is Ouch!!!

This brings me to Wednesday...last night Brock and I took a little trip to Kingston after work to go to the Canadian Diabetes Kingston Office's Team Diabetes Night. It's something that I think happens once every couple of months and it's a way for members to meet each other and hear about everyones efforts, past marathons, etc. I was really glad we went as we got to meet some extremely lovely people who were all very passionate about our common cause, Diabetes for those of you who forgot ;-)

I was also informed by me CDA compadre Catharine that my blog was great, which I already knew, but she felt the need to point out the profanities that sometimes come out in the blog. At first I was a little shocked, but then responded with some BS like "It's conversational, and reflects how I talk." which probably made me appear to be some kind of foul mouthed jerk, so I'm going to put it to the public (that's you). If you feel the profanities in my blog entries are offensive and innapropriate, please let me know. It doesn't mean I'll stop writting them, but you may receive an appology from me, or I might just tell you to eat shit and die ;-) Seriously though, there's a lot worse on the net, and just for the record, Catherine does find my blog entertaining and is not offended by the profanities, but thought if any of the top dawgs at the CDA were to see this, they may be offended. Point noted!

Also, for the record I did walk home from work yesterday (3.3km).

Here's the deets for today's run...
Outdoor around my new hood via the riverfront and half the waterfront trail (to Foster Ave. S).
Warmup - walk/run - .63 miles (just over 1km) - 7:17
Run - 3.73 miles (just over 6km) - 35:05
Cooldown - walk - .69 miles (just over 1km) - 10:33

Here's some tunes from today...
Prodigy - Smack My Bitch Up, Voodoo People
Lily Allen - Mini Mix (includes LDN, and Smile) - If you've never heard Lily Allen before, download LDN right now...you'll love it (unless your name is Paul, then you should download some Hatebreed or Mushroomhead)
Billy Talent - Devil In A Midnight Mass
k-os - Papercutz

Okay, there's football on the telly, so I'm outta here. L8r.

Welcome Home...

2006-11-20T17:15:00.000-05:00

So this is it, this is our new home, and the reason why I haven't been running in a week. I thought today was going to be very hard, but it was all good.The move went smoothly thanks to all our friends who helped out...Thanks everybody!

Today was back to reality. It's -3 celcius here this eveining so I opted to run indoors. Here's the deets...
Indoor - treadmill - incline 2
Warmup - 10 mins - .8 miles - walk/run
Run - 31 mins - 3.2 miles
Cooldown - 9 mins - .68 miles

I also took a few minutes to retire a few tunes from the mp3 player and insert some new ones. Here's a few that came up today...
k-os f/ Sam Roberts - Valhalla
Sam Roberts - Bridge to Nowhere
De La Soul - Say No Go
Kanye West - Through the Wire
Ludicris - Area Codes

That's it for now...more updates to come this week...I promise.

I tried the Hammer Gel...

2006-11-14T17:26:00.000-05:00

Yes, this is a picture of Arsenio Hall!

So I forgot to mention on my last post that I tried the Hammer Gel after my last run. I can't really explain how it tasted, but it didn't taste like grapefruits that's for sure!!! It wasn't totally disgusting, but had the texture of what I imagine hair gel would have if you were to eat a tube of it. It actually made me feel very nauseous at first, but after I chased it with some water it was okay. It did however, give me a boost of energy as promised, and I wasn't hungry for lunch afterward so it seems to work as it's supposed to.

Anyhow, I did get out for a run this evening. It's a good thing as I'll probably be tied up with new house stuff the rest of the week. Here's the stats for today...
Outdoor
Warmup - .62 miles (1km) - run/walk
Run - 3.26 miles (just over 5km) - 30:50 - 9:28/mile
Cooldown - .56 miles (just under 1km) - 9:16

Here's some tunes for all my people in the dog pound (woo, woo, woo, woo)...
Foo Fighters - DOA
Nine Inch Nails - Terrible Lie
Kanye West - We Don't Care
Arctic Monkeys - Mardi Bum, When the Sun Goes Down
Death From Above 1979 - Romantic Rights

Hips don't lie...

2006-11-12T10:56:00.000-05:00

I just found out how to make running on a treadmill a lot easier. All you have to do is put your own tunes on your mp3 player then watch a Shakira video on the tv in the gym...man that girl can dance like nothing I've ever seen before. I usually don't watch music videos, but muchmusic was on in the gym and since I had my mp3 player, I just left in, and a Shakira video came on and it made that 5 minutes of my run fly by. Now if I can only convince Amy to dance like that for me everytime I'm running indoors I could get to 42km in no time.

Okay, I've just found out that I'm an uncle as of a couple of hours ago (congrats Murray and Ann), so I'm going to make this one quick.

Indoor - treadmill - incline = 2
Warmup - 10 mins - .8 miles (just over 1km)
Run - 37 mins - 3.7 miles (just over 6km)
Cooldown - 10 mins - .6 miles (just under 1km)

I was with my cousin (Raymond) yesterday and he told me he loves reading about the tunes I've been listening to, and I realized I forgot to list them last time, so here's some from today's run...
Prodigy - Voodoo People
Del the Funkee Homosapien f/ Hyroglyphics Crew - Burnt
Gorillaz - Rock the House
Mobile - Montreal Calling
Metric - Dead Disco
Jay-Z - Encore
Jr. Gong - Move

I'm not too sure what my training will be like over the next week as Amy and I get posession of our new house on Wednesday, but Brock is ready to run again so I'm going to definately try to get out with him a couple of times this week.

Don't make a mole hill out of an f'n volcano...

2006-11-10T21:08:00.000-05:00

So since I was late working today I decided to hit the gym for my workout / training session.
I was reading on www.runnersworld.com about a good treadmill hill training session, so I thought I'd give it a try seeing as how I felt I needed to switch it up a bit on the treadmill tonight, and seeing as how I'll have to run around a volcano in 13 months I thought it would be good practice.

Here's how it goes...
Warm up - walk/run - 10 mins
Run at marathon speed (since I have no idea what my marathon speed is, I decided on a 10min/mile). You run on a number 1 incline for 2 mins, then go to a 2 incline for 2 mins, then back to 1 for 2 mins, then to 3 for 2 mins, and continue until you've reached an incline of 7.
Example - 1,2,1,3,1,4,1,5,1,6,1,7 in 2 minute intervals.
Finish with a cooldown - 10 mins walk

I'm telling you, this was intense. If you've never tried running on a treadmill at a 7 incline, I suggest you don't ever do it unless you're training for a marathon that involves hills. I've ran hills outside, before and it was nothing like this, but I suppose, no pain, no gain. Right???

I spent then next 45 mins in the gym doing my strength training. There were a few beefcakes in the gym tonight though which made me feel kind of weird as they were lifting crazy amounts of weight and then there was me lifting not so crazy amounts of weight as I'm trying to simply tone, not bulk up.
Have you ever noticed how weird some of these beefcakes are...all these guys talked about was getting laid, but the funny thing is that they probably aren't getting any as they spent alot of time flexing in the mirror and planning a trip to the titty bar. Maybe someone should tell them that steroids cause your dick to shrink...anyhow, once again I digress, so I'll quit now.

Take some time tomorrow to remember those who fought for our freedom ...it's important that we never forget...ever!!!

I can finally be googled...

2006-11-09T17:43:00.000-05:00

Hello, and welcome once again to the always entertaining and witty blog of me...Will!!!

So here's some good news... www.goodwillrunning.com is finally googleable. As a computer geek by day, this is kind of a big deal. Anyhow, try it for yourself, simply type good will running into google and my site should show up first on the list...uber cool in a mega geek kind of way.

Yesterday I took the day off from running and did absolutely nothing, which made today's run even better. Here's the deets...
Outdoor - 11 degrees C
Warmup - 7:00 walk/run - 0.64 miles
Run - 36:48 - 3.88 miles - 9:29/mile
Cooldown - 9:40 walk - 0.64 miles

And here's everyones favourite segment of the show, some of today's musical selections... Broken Social Scene - Pacific Theme
Ben Folds Five - Jackson Cannery
Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley - Confrontations
Arctic Monkeys - Fake Tales of San Francisco
Gorillaz - Double Bass
k-os - Flypaper
Beck - E-pro

Alright stop...shower time!!!

"Blame it on the Rain..."

2006-11-07T16:51:00.000-05:00

Wow...2 blog posts in one day. I had to tell you that I had my very first rain run...that's right kiddies...I ran outside in the rain. It was great!!! I mean, honestly it was a little unnerving at first as I thought the potential was definately there for me to slip while running and kill myself, but after the first few minutes I realized that wasn't going to happen and it was really neat. Now, I'll be honest...it was a light rain shower. Had it been pissing down I probably would have been like...So I ran in the rain today and it sucked ass!!! But instead it didn't suck ass at all.

Here's the deets...
Warmup - .64 miles - run/walk - approx. 5 min
Run - 3.13 miles - 9:25/mile - 29:30
Cooldown - .64 miles - walk - 9 mins

Some of the tunes from today included...
Queens of the Stone Age - Song for the Dead (8 mins of great rock guitar and drums)
Beck - Earthquake Weather, Sexx Laws
Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley - Welcome to Jamrock
Chemical Bros. f/ Q-tip - Galvanize (actually this came up on the playlist the other day, but is worth mentioning)
k-os - B boy stance
Milli Vanilli - Girl You Know It's True (just kidding, but I wish it had played, I love that song)

It's funny where you get your motivation to run from sometimes. Today I was planning on hitting the gym due to the rain, but had to come home to close a window and thought it would kill my motivation and I would end up skipping my run today, but when I was on my way out of the office I yelled "smell ya later" to Jacob and he said "Enjoy the run". I said yeah right and left, but then thought about it on the drive home and decided I should run...I mean what happens if I get to Honolulu and it's raining and I have to run in the rain...I better be prepared. So anyway, normally I would thank Jacob for such motivation, but he's also the one who showed up to work today with a box of donuts, you know the mini kind covered in icing sugar...now there's motivation...so that cancels out the thanks...sorry buddy!

Smell ya later.

Will

www.goodwillrunning.com

2006-11-07T07:26:00.000-05:00

'Sup my peeps. Okay, so I've finally made some changes to my website http://www.goodwillrunning.com/. I've been a little neglectant of the site lately as I've been extremely busy at work, and for those of you who don't know, I sit in front of a computer all day and am getting ready to move in a week, so I really have no interest in working on my website at night. Anyhow, I've managed to free up a few minutes here or there and have made a few changes...well one change...but it's great.

All my online donation stuff for Team Diabetes has been set up through the Canadian Diabetes Association website, so I've made some changes to the donation page on my site to accommodate.
Click on the link to donate now!!!

Okay, here's some training news...
Sunday was junky weather so it was an indoor training day.
Indoor treadmill set to #2 incline
Warm up - walk/run - 10 mins - .8 miles
Run - varied speed - 35 mins - 3.6 miles
Cool down - walk 10 mins - .6 miles
Strength Training - approx. 45 mins (weights and ab excercises)

Yesterday was awesome, but by the time I got off work it was dark, so I decided to slap the light on my bicycle and do a little cross training.
45 mins - 20km

In other news - Brock proposed to his Emily last night and she accepted, so they're now engaged. Congrats!!! You can read all about Brock and Emily's relationship on the website. www.goodwillrunning.com.

That's all for now, tonight it looks like I'll be running indoors again as it's supposed to rain all day...I never thought I would get to the point where I thought running indoors was harder then running outside, but I'm there. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate running indoors, but it seems harder as there is nothing to look at besides yourself in the mirror...which is cool once in a while, but a little embarassing when someone walks in and sees you admiring yourself...anyhow, time to go.

BTW...have I mentioned the website www.goodwillrunning.com. It's amazing!!!

"If you go the speed limit, stay the F*&# outta my way..."

2006-11-04T11:44:00.000-05:00

Ahhh yes, the immortal words of Ludicris, from his smash hit Move Bitch...yet another great training tune.
Here's the stats for today's run...
Outdoor - Belleville Zwicks park waterfront trail
Distance - 3.42 miles
Time - 31:20
Avg. Speed - 9:10/mile
Warmup - 10 mins
Cooldown - 5 mins
Temperature - 4 degrees celcius (f'n cold)

So I tried a new stretching technique today. I found it in a back issue of runners world from Oct. '05 that a friend of mine gave me. It involves doing each stretch for only 2 seconds and do 10 reps per leg...it seemed to work well.

Anyhow, besides Move Bitch, here's some other memorable tunes from todays run...
Arctic Monkeys - Mardi Bum
DFA 1979 - Little Girl
Queens of the Stone Age - Broken Box
Chemical Bros f/ Richard Ashcroft - The Acid Test
Kanye West - The New Workout Plan
Ludicris - Money Maker - this one came on just as I was starting the cooldown.

On another note...sometimes life happens!!! When life does happen is sometimes gets in the way of your training, but I think I'm going to have to just learn to deal with it. My last run before today was Thursday night - it was neat because it was my first outdoor night run, but then yesterday I didn't run when I had planned to because I got stuck late at work, then I had to go back in this morning (on a freakin' Saturday), and I really wasn't diggin' the idea of a run today as I was so put off by not getting one in yesterday. Then I got out there and it was awesome, and the fact I missed yesterday didn't matter anymore. Anyhow, I don't know why I felt I had to share that with you, but I did, and now it's time for me to do my ab (aka flAB) excercises. L8r.

I've been D-Railed...

2006-11-02T08:57:00.000-05:00

Yo, I'm in slow-mo today as I had a pleasant surprise visit from my homeboy Darryl (aka D-Rail) last night. Actually, the circumstances sucked as he was in town for a funeral, but we managed to make the best of it...which wasn't hard. Anyhow, all this means is that I didn't do any training yesterday, but Tuesday I trained like a dog in the gym for 2 hours...running and doing strength training. I'll get back at it today, despite the fact I kind of feel like a zombie right now as we didn't get home until around 12:30, which is rough when you have to be at work at 8.

I've got some not so good news on the Brock front...he's got shingles!!! I had no idea what shingles were, but apparantly it's the same virus as chicken pox, that has laid dormant and becomes active causing an extremely uncomfortable rash. This isn't good for the training as he will be out of commission for a couple of weeks. I know he's a faithful reader of the blog, so I will wish him a rapid recovery...luckily I had chicken pox twice when I was a kid, which means I'll be able to still hang with Brock while he recovers, but if you've never had the pox, then stay away from Brock or anyone else with shingles as you can easliy catch chicken pox from them. Get well soon buddy!!!

On the training music front, I have to tell you a little story...actually 2...the first is a story of a generous man named Denis. He's a friend from work, who graciously has lent me a 512MB SD memory card so I can store 100 songs on my feeble 128MB mp3 player. I know what you're thinking, and yes it's super lame that a mega techno geek such as myself would use such an ipod inferior product to listen to my tunes, but it's all I've got, and it works really well. Anyhow, the point is that I just wanted to publicly thank Denis for the card. Thank you!

In other unrelated music news, I was running on Tuesday and the song Sexy Results by Death From Above 1979 came on the mp3 player. Anyhow, it's a great tune which just happens to be used in some cell phone commercial in the US that they play all the time during football. Anyhow, it's kind of hillarious because the commercial uses the lyric "Let me show you how I work, work, work, work...". What they don't play for you is the lyric that comes before that part of the song which is this - "Sexy woman take me to your bedroom. Let me show you how I work, work, work, work..." Hahahaahahahahaha. Anyhow, I thought it was pretty damn funny, and so did D-rail...but we're kind of music geeks so maybe it's not so funny to you because you're super cool like Arthur Fonzerelli. Wow...I should have stayed in bed. Time to get some work done. L8r.

Will

Belleville - Thou art forgiven...

2006-10-30T17:08:00.000-05:00

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...

2006-10-26T17:46:00.000-04:00

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...

2006-10-25T08:25:00.000-04:00

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...

2006-10-22T10:49:00.000-04:00

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...

2006-10-20T09:34:00.000-04:00

'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...

2006-10-18T08:40:00.000-04:00

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...

2006-10-17T11:15:00.000-04:00

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!!!

2006-10-14T11:29:00.000-04:00

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

2006-10-13T20:40:00.000-04:00

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...

2006-10-12T13:13:00.000-04:00

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

2006-10-11T13:30:00.000-04:00

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.