Well, it looks like I may be back underway with the whole running thing.
A few weeks ago I was asked to give the sermon on Father's Day, which also happens to be the date of the Manitoba Marathon. Since I wasn't running this year, I agreed. And since It was a sermon which originally sparked the idea of becoming a runner, I felt it would be appropriate to preach on a similar topic. So I talked about the "top ten things I learned from running and how they apply to living the Christian life."
Preparing for the sermon really got my blood flowing to run again. So the day after the sermon, I went out for a run.
Just like three years ago.
Long story short, I am still going on, three times a week. I decided to try the Couch-to-5k running plan this time. This well known program, affectionately called the C25K (visit C25K.com), also has several podcasts designed to match it's timing, which is another great story altogether.

I'll try to keep updated as I go along, but there's a lot of other stuff going on right now.

Grace a Peace,
Gord

The princess takes a tumble.
It was a busy Sunday morning - Tanya was serving as 1/3 of the worship team, I was delivering the sermon and Grandpa and Grandma were visiting. Then our daughter was found getting up from the bottom of the stairs with this on her eye.
We don't know how she fell or if it was one step or twenty. But she has a shiner that's getting shinier.
Thank the Lord that she wasn't hurt worse and that Dominique was close by to scoop her up and carry her, bawling and bruised, to Mom & Dad.
This caused a slight delay to the start of the worship service, as the worship team was 1/3 short while Tanya and I were in the foyer, tending to our wounded offspring.
She appears unhurt other than the eye. It's swelling a little more all the time, so It should be interesting tomorrow. Despite her look in this photo, she's not especially unhappy about it, although she is clearly taking advantage of the extra "hug factor" that comes with sporting visible damage.

Without having any running to record on the blog it seems appropriate enough to change the general topic to, well, anything. It's a blog without a topic. I'll just use it to share the occasional interesting thought. Perhaps it will develop a theme. Perhaps it will become a forgotten hobby.

Our three year old daughter Rebecca has a bath very night. She doesn't need it of course bu she enjoys it and it helps her get ready for bed. This evening as I'm toweling her off she catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror with the towel over her shoulders and says "I'm an angel." I can't argue theology with a three year old so I confirm that yes, she is an angel. She holds up the towel and aks me to make her wings. I wrap the towel over her back and show her that by hanging on to the corners the towel makes wings.
Note: I can't says "looks like" wings. She doesn't accept that. In her universe, thing either are or they are not, there is no "looks like".
"Flap!" I say and she waves her little hands in front of her. "Like this," I show her big arm movements which she mimics, watching herself in the mirror. "Flap!" she imitates. "Flap! flap! flap!flapflapflap!" She's having a blast. Then she leans back into me, looks up with those impossibly blue toddler eyes and says "Teach me to fly, Daddy."
Teach me to fly, Daddy.
She serious, of course. There is no reason in her limited life experience that says she can't fly. Superheroes and angels fly, so why shouldn't she?
Teach me to fly, Daddy. I'm not quite ready to break this fragile innocence yet. I'm in no hurry to explain the physics of flight to my daughter. I want her to enjoy the hope she has now.
Teach me to fly, Daddy. You taught me to walk, to talk, to pray, to dance, so why not to fly?
And of course I do want to teach her to fly, just not in the way she's thinking right now. I want to teach her and her brother Asher to be the best they can be. I want to teach them how freely and deeply they are loved by their family and by God and how to reflect that love in their own unique way. I want to teach them more than they will let me, in the end.
I just hugged her. I'm not going to tell her yet that a terrycloth towel does not have the aerodynamics to create lift, no matter how fast she runs or how light she may be. Save the reality for another day. Today is about the poetry of childhood. "I am an angel. Teach me to fly, Daddy."



P.S.
I discovered in a later conversation with my wife Tanya that last weekend when Tanya had taken the kids to her dad's place, Tan had pointed out to Rebecca the airfield where "Mommy learned to fly." Of course, Tanya was flying a glider, but to Rebecca flying is flying and if Mommy can do it, she wants to to.

I will admit I have jokingly referred to Oprah as the Antichrist for a few years now. As time goes by it becomes less of a joking matter.
As a follower of Christ, I disagree with almost everything Oprah says in the clips shown in this video. Humanism and self-defined spirituality do not "reconcile" with Christianity, they oppose it. I'm not going to try to get it all down in words tonight. If you want to hear me rant in person on this one, give me a call.
Please join me in praying for Oprah and others whose hearts and hardened to God's love for them.

Did it!
In 2006 my finish time was 2:37:08 and I placed 3115.
My target was to complete in under 2:30. 
My 2007 Manitoba Marathon official finish time is 2:22:38!  I placed 2585.  Here's my finisher's certificate.

I did all my training by myself this spring because having two young ones made it difficult to take a lot of time away from home.  I found it best to do all my runs first thing in the morning, sometimes getting up at 4 or 5 in the morning to run before work.  Since I wasn't surrounded by a training group this year, I realised a week before the race I had no ride.  My friend from work, Paul, had run the relays at the Marathon before but recently told me I had inspired him to try running the half.  Thankfully, this supplied me with a ride and him with someone who had a little experience navigating their way to the start line.
We used the Park & ride system for the first time this year, parking at the Safeway on Pembina and riding a bus to the stadium  Since the buses ran every 5 minutes this went very smooth and I would definitely do it again next year.
This race was dedicated to my grandfather, Stanley Forbes.
It started out as a fairly warm day, despite the clouds and the threat of rain.  Aside from a few drops about two hours in, the rain never materialized.  Thankfully, the course offered wet sponges and showers along the way and a few generous spectators had the hose out, creating a haze of spray water to run through.
Since I had experienced some trouble with my Garmin a few weeks ago, my strategy was not to rely on the machine too heavily.  At the starting line up, I located the 2:30 pace bunny and for the first ten kilometers stuck with him and his crew.  After keeping on pace for the first half of the race, I put the bunny behind me and let myself go to whatever pace I was comfortable with, relying a little more on my Garmin to prevent from slowing down too much.  The strategy worked, since I cut 15 minutes off last year's finish time.
The higher pace did not come without sacrifice.  I'm sporting 4 or 5 new blisters.  My quads are beginning to rebel at the idea of standing up.  My knee hasn't joined in yet (I think it's still in shock) but I'm not looking forward to what it's going to have to say tomorrow.
Since I trained by myself this spring, I also ran the race by myself.  I did run into a few people I knew, like Deb and Ronnie, but after a few minutes of conversation, I left them to keep up my pace.
I zig/zagged across the width of the course a couple of times, getting to a less-used water table or other resource.  I think this played a part in the development of all my new blisters.
The spectators were there, although there seemed to be less than last year.  And in many cases people were standing around watching without a lot of cheering going on.  For those who did cheer or bring noise makers or play music or spray hoses or supply beer (although I didn't take advantage of that one) thank you for your involvement.  It really helps.
Coming into the final (and hardest) 5k, I had to time to focus on the pain in my feet...I just kept running.  At about 15k into the event I put on my headphones and tapped into my music for energy and focus.  I checked my watch as the course pulled into the university and I was at 2:02.  Wow! I thought I was closer to the finish than I actually was, so I thought I might hit a sub 2:15.  When I saw the mile markers further up, I knew that wasn't to be.  But I clearly under 2:30, so the question now was how much could I pick up the pace and still have enough gas in the tank to get all the way too the finish?  Now I started passing people whose backs had been watching all morning.  I didn't have it in me to sprint, but I did manage to pick it up a few notches.
I pulled into the stadium with a lot of other people, made my round around the track and hit the finish line.  The clock said something around 2:24, but they show gun time and I was working with chip time.  (Clock time is the time it takes from when I cross the start line to when I reach the finish line.  Gun time is from the official start of the race  to when I reach the finish line.  Since I seed far back in the starting line up, it can take as long as two minutes for me to get to the official start line after the gun goes off.  Read More here.)
After finishing, I didn't take advantage of the usual hospitality stuff (water, oranges, bagels) it was simply too crowded.  I got out of the recovery area, picked up a couple of free samples of Vector to munch on as recovery food and found my wife, daughter and son who were waiting for me.  They bought my a Manitoba Marathon technical shirt for Father's Day and we went back to the van where I had sweats, sandals and 1.5 litres of Gatorade waiting.  It was a good day.
Now, as I hobble around the house planning my recovery and my future plans, I begin to think about the full marathon.  I've been pretty confident that I'm going to do the full in 2008.  However, after today's experience I wonder how I would feel if I went through all that...and was only halfway finished.
Well, that's what training plans are for.  I'll get there.  One step at a time.
I'll keep you posted when photos become available from TPS.

STANLEY FORBES



STANLEY FORBES It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Stanley Forbes on April 25, 2007 at the age of 81. He leaves to mourn his partner Rose, his daughter Heather (Barry), son Grant (Carol), grandchildren, Gordon (Tanya) and Cheryl (Kevin), four great-grandchildren, Rose's sons Bobby and Bill, and her grandchildren, Carmine and Brook. Stanley was predeceased by his wife Ella in 1980. Stanley was born in Aberdeen, Scotland and brought his young family to Canada in 1957. He served in the Royal Marines and was active with the Masons and Shriners. He loved traveling, deejaying at socials, spending time at Grand Beach in the summer and wandering with his metal detector. He was an avid reader and doted on his great-grandchildren. There will be a private family service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Huntington Society of Canada, 151 Frederick St., Ste. 400, Kitchener, ON N2H 2M2.

I bought a LAWNMOWER last night.  I don't know what the heck that has to do with running, but if you click on the link you'll get to see a picture of my new lawnmower.  Pretty exciting, eh?

OK, I ran 10k on Sunday.  It was very liberating to run the distance without the pain I described in previous posts.  Over the last few weeks I have been shown great discipline in my training:  Increased quantity of runs x reduced mileage per run + reduced speed = reduced injuries.

After Sunday's 10k I was feeling so confident I generated a training schedule that looks like it will get me to the Manitoba Half-Marathon (or as I often shorthand it: MB.5) in June.

I am increasing my runs to 5 a week, with my weekday runs dropped down to 3k and my long run starting at 12k.  Every week I increase a little here and there.  Every run day is followed by an easy day or a day off.

My current pace plan is to finish in 2:15, but due to all my time off this winter, I might have to accept a 2:30.  It's not the last half-marathon of the summer, so I can always improve my time on a different course, like I did last year with the Ron Melnachuk 1/2 Marathon.

Well, I gotta run to work (well, drive to work...I hate to arrive sweaty).  I'll post again soon.

My last few times out I've been experiencing some uncomfortable pain in my right hip and knee.  Most likely I have been ramping up my mileage too high too fast and have injured my IT band or am about to injure it.  Either way, I've been a little nervous to run lately.

Also, I'm getting some discomfort from my shoes.  I don't think the last pair of shoes I bought was quite the right fit.  However, we are not in a position for me to go and buy new running shoes so I'll make due with what I have until I wear them out.

Today is Easter and I was determined to go out for a sunrise run.  luckily, my Runner's World magazine showed up in the mail to provide plenty of motivation and inspiration.  One of their suggestions was to run a 20 minute negative split.  This means running 20 minutes away from the house at a slow, measured pace.  Then turn around and run back at a faster pace.

THe forced slow start really helped me warm up properly for the run.  The run back was fun.  I experienced minimal discomfort in the back of my right knee and thigh - different from my previous pain.

I timed my run so I left the house a few minutes before the "official" sunrise time (6:51 AM).  So on my way back I was running into the sun as it was peeking over the houses and hills.  Then I did my stretches on my front steps, where there is always a big patch of sunlight on sunny mornings.  I love easter dawn, even if it is -18 today.

I think easter should be the start of the new year.  Why reset the calendar in January, which (for Canadians) is the middle of the flipping winter?  I say reset the calendar when it actually looks like a new year.  And the church calendar would make more sense too if easter was the start of the new year.

I love easter more than christmas, but it's hard to decorate for easter.  Especially since I'm not into the rabbits or the eggs (although I'm not against chocolate).  I love easter because it's the annual celebration of Christ who not only died for my sins but rose again to prove there is a new life in Him and through Him.  Yay!  I can't think of a greater reason to celebrate!  Praise God!

~Gord

On February 25 2007, the 5th annual Hypothermic Half-Marathon was held in Winnipeg.  Although I was a registered participant, I did not run the race.  Why?  Because sometimes my running calendar conflicts with the rest of my life and I have to choose my priorities.
In this case, my priority was my son, Asher Gordon Pratt, who was born on February 22nd.  He weighed 6 lbs 11 oz and was 19.75 inches long.  His birth was expected to come earlier than this, which is why I registered for the race.  But in the end he was delivered at the Women's Hospital on Thursday afternoon, less than three days before race day.
Since I am also caring for my daughter Rebecca and my wonderful wife, Tanya, it didn't leave a lot of time for race prep.  In fact, it doesn't leave me a lot of time for playing on the internet neither.

(On the left: Me with Asher.             On the right: Me with Rebecca)



I have checked my upcoming race plans and the Cops For Cancer 1/2 Marathon looks good.  My wife assures me it is highly improbably that we will have another child in April.

Here's a closeup of the newest member of our family.

I was originally intending to do this run on Saturday.  But things piled up and my running buddy and I couldn't make firm plans and in the end I decided I wasn't properly prepared and so I shoved it back to Sunday.
I have learned from previous training experiences to respect the distance.   There is something about 16k that really makes it feel like stepping up.
16K is 10 miles.  This is some serious distance.  I'm not suggesting it's unattainable or significantly difficult.  I am saying that at this distance, I need to be ready for it.  Am I hydrated?  What did I eat last night?  How much water will I carry?  I'm are going to be running for almost 2 hours...do I know where I'm going and what I'm going to wear?
By moving the run to Sunday I was able to take the time to answer these questions and more.  The result was a solid, satisfying run.
However, there were a few technical difficulties:
The batteries in my MP3 player died about 10 minutes into the run.  One more thing to add to the list of things to check before I head out on a long run.
I forgot to set my Garmin for 10/1s.  When I made the adjustment it forgot about the 2k I had already run.  This was easy enough to work around, but a little frustrating anyways.

Over all, good run, good distance.  Kept the pace low and tried to stay off the rough icy patches.  Less pain in my heel now, so I'm going to keep using the 10/1s for my long run.

See you on the road!

1k warmup, 5k tempo (6:36 target), 1k cooldown.
Touch, but not out of reach.

Experiencing some pain in left heel.  Gonna take it slow on my long run Saturday.  Probably re-incorporate the 10/1's.

Race Report


After receiving a huge snow dump yesterday, this event was in question.  Thankfully the snow plows had time to get through the area and the streets were clean.  However, they were also slippery.

I saw a lot of friends today that I haven't seen in a while.  Although I arrived at the event with a time goal in mind, I quickly abandoned that in favour of running with my friends.  After all, it wasn't a timed race.  There wasn't even an official start/finish line.  It's a very casual fun event.

When I ran this in 2006 I had done all my training on my own.  I hadn't started the 10k clinic at the Running Room.  It was still an achievement for me to run a whole 7k.  I also didn't know a single person at the event.  I focused just an running a solid run and finished in 43 minutes.

This year I finished in 54 minutes.  So I clocked a slower race, but I knew a lot more people and had a lot more fun.

Happy New Year!

14k.  I forgot to check my Garmin to see how long it took.  Around 2 hours, I think.
It was my long slow distance (LSD) run of the week.  An easy 14k.  The sidewalks are nice a clear.

On the way back I crossed paths with some of the Running Room group that is training for the Hypothermic Half Marathon.  One of the runners was in the 10k class I took and three others were in the 5k class I had instructed.  It's good to see them running advanced distances and focused on finishing their first half-marathon!

Their long run was also 14k.  So My training schedule is about equivalent to the Running Room schedule.  Except that for this race I'm not doing the 10/1's, I'm just running everything.  We'll see how it goes.

Next weekend...16k.  In the meantime, the Resolution Run 7k is on Monday.

I love race kits!
On January 1st I'll welcome 2007 with the Resolution Run.  A 7k fun run at 11:am at the Waverly Height Community Centre.  Today I went down to the Running Room to pick up my race kit!
(When you join a race, you pick up your "race kit" usually a day or so before the actual event.  The kit contains your race number bib, race t-shirt (when applicable) and usually a few other goodies are included.)

I love the pre-race anticipations that starts with picking up the kit, which is the first tangible act of participating in the event.  I don't look at the kit until I get home.  Then I sit down and go through it.  I enjoy finding out what colour the bib is and what number I will be wearing.  Some race kits take more time to go through than others, depending on the quantity of goodies and advertising.

Some of the kitchiest things I've received in a race kit include a bobble head pen and a CN train keychain.
I've received a few edibles, like different samples of tea, as well as chocolate bars, gels, gum, restaurant coupons, and lollipops.
Almost every kit includes advertising for other upcoming races - always a good opportunity to plan ahead!
I enjoy kits with lots of small goodies - some of the best kits I've had were the 2005 CN Tracks of Glory and the 2006 HBC Run For Canada.
I've also had kits that traded quantity for quality, such as last year's Resolution Run which gave away running watches, and this year's RR which gave out technical vests and hats.
The worst race kit I've had was (surprisingly) the Manitoba Marathon.  All I received was a race number, chip and t-shirt.  There was a mini-expo where you could pick up stuff, but all I saw worth taking home was a sample box of Vector.

Regardless of what the kit contains, I always enjoy picking it up because it starts getting me ready for the run.  It's all about the anticipation.

Oh, I never wear my race-shirt until after the race.  Some thing superstitions I guess.  Or maybe I just don't feel I've earned the right to wear the gear until I've done the work.  Either way, I never wear race shirts (or hats, etc) until after the race.  My only exception has been the HBC Run For Canada, because my race number was printed on the race shirt, so I had to wear it to the race.

Weee!  See you at Resolution!

9 kilometers, eight times over the Nairn overpass.
One of the things I like best about hills is that no one in their right mind would want to do them on purpose.  I feel a little bit of twisted pride when people tell me I'm crazy to get up early on the weekend to run 14k.  I get the same reaction when I explain that running over the same hill eight times is good and (it it's own way) fun.

Here is my discovery for the day...hill training is a lot better with music.  While it may not have made a huge impact on my long run yet, it has revolutionized my hill training.  Blazing up the incline becomes a little easier when I'm doing it to songs like Eye of The Tiger, Godzilla, and Footloose.

P.S.
My thighs are sore.

Merry Christmas!
Among the many well-appreciated gifts I received this year was an MP3 player from my parents (Thanks, Mom & Dad!).
The last time I was using music in my running I was still working up to a 3k run and was using a walkman the size of a brick strapped to my back.  The RCA Lyra flash player is a significant improvement in size and practicality.
I'm still working out the finer details of playlists using WMP, but for the moment it is enough to say that I was able to load the little music box with 2 hours of tunes.
My run was supposed to be 12k...and it was supposed to be on the weekend.  But Christmas and an ill wife intervened and I had to reschedule to today.  I bumped the mileage up because I felt I could.
I actually ran 13k, then walked about a half k, did some shopping and ran home the final kilometer on rested legs.
Running with the music was a good experience.  For the most part, I enjoyed the distraction.  However, I enjoy running and don't usually need to be distracted while doing it.  I don't think I'll use it on every run and I don't think I'll use it for the entire run.  But it was nice to have especially in the last part of the run.  Pushing through those final K was made a lot easier when I started getting to tracks like the theme from Rocky, Ride of the Valkries, and Godzilla.
I guess I'm off to download more music.  Anyone know where I can find the Chariots of Fire soundtrack?