2008 - My Year to Run

I realize that I haven’t been actively inputting to my website or blog in quite some time now and I’m happy to say that is changing. I love running and I want to write about it. I took on a temporary full-time position in a 9-5 job which seemed to be all I could concentrate on at the time. Well that’s over now.

Even though I never got to my website, I set some goals this year with my running and I’m happy to say that I’ve already surpassed them! I couldn’t believe when I looked back in my running logs and had’nt run a marathon since 2004. Could it have been that long?

Next step… my husband, Dave and I signed up for the Vancouver Marathon 2008 on Christmas Eve 2007. On Boxing Day, my husband was in an ambulance on his way to the hospital with (what we found out later) a bulging or herniated disk.

After 3 weeks off work, 5 doctors, CAT scan, MRI and then physio, he was back running. He didn’t do anything stupid and started out very slowly, but still had the Vancouver Marathon in site. As it turned out, and something that we actually knew, was that Dave is extremely unflexible. And as we age, we lose even more flexibility. That is, unless we work at it.

So, Dave started (and is still doing it) an extremely aggressive stretching program. In the beginning, it was at least 3 times a day of stretches that the Physiotherapist provided for him. Dave joined my marathon training program sometime in February for the May 4th marathon. On the longer runs, I would go for a pre-run and then loop back home and pick him up. My pre-runs got shorter and shorter and our last long run happened when we were in Orlando, Florida and Dave completed the entire run with me.

On May 4th, Dave completed the Vancouver International Marathon. Maybe not in record time, but he finished running (not walking) and feeling great and uninjured.

I started off this post by saying that I had surpassed my running goals for 2008. I’ve told you an inspirational story, but you may be asking what did that have to do with my goals? Well, Dave felt so good about his road back to health and completing the marathon that 2 weeks later, he signed us up for the Victoria Marathon on October 12, 2008. He was truly an inspiration to me, how could I say no?

The training never ends!!!

Running Surfaces and How They Affect your Body

The greatest thing about running is it’s ultimate flexibility.  That (and wanting to lose some weight) was the reason that I took up running.  I love the fact that you can practically run anywhere - on the road, in a park around a track, in a gym on the treadmill and wherever you may be at home or on vacation.  With all these choices, it’s really hard to think of an excuse not to run.

If you have a choice in the running surface you run on, opt for the softer surfaces. Softer surfaces will reduce the sress and strain on bone, ligaments, tendons and muscles and make your run more enjoyable all around.  Asphalt is preferable to concrete and dirt or bark mulch even better. With softer surfaces the impact is absorbed in the ground and not on your body. 

A word of warning though, with softer surfaces, there is usually a bit more uncertainty as to how level ground is.  Running on trails in the park can usually have some big tree roots sticking out or equally as dangerous would be a grass surface, which can mask holes in the ground.  Just be aware and don’t drag your heels.

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