10 kilometres, 59:54!

I finally ran 10 kilometres in less than 60 minutes! I have not been running much this summer, I have been spending almost every spare moment completing landscaping projects on my property, leaving little time and energy for running. Most weeks I might get out once or twice, at most.

The last ten minutes of the run were hard, almost every minute my mind was saying, "Just walk for a bit and rest," but I pushed through that nonsense and finished 10 kilometres in 59:54. I know it is only 6 seconds faster than 60 minutes, but it is still a personal victory. Now to get back into a regular running schedule and keep dropping the time, with the eventual goal of running another half-marathon!

Dartmouth Natal Day Race

I had originally planned to run the 2 mile race today, just to have fun and not be too serious with it. I thought the run was at 9:00 AM or so, but when my sister Michelle called me at 7:05 AM, asking if I was still going to run, she informed me that the race started at 8:15 AM!!!

I left the house in a rush and forgot my Garmin, so this was going to be an old-school run with no clock to go by. I decided to run with Michelle, again thinking I will just go for a fun run.

With a few hundred metres to go before the finish line, I told Michelle I was going to run the 10K. She gave me her Garmin and I ran with her to the finish line of the 2 mile race. After about another kilometre, my task ahead of me finally sank in. I will have to run three 2-mile loops around downtown Dartmouth, not just one! Did you know Ochterloney Street has a hill near the harbour? It does. Did you know Crichton Avenue has a hill before Hawthorne Street? It does.

Anyway, the run went well and I finished in 62 minutes, which is pretty good for me, after rolling about of bed an hour before the race with no intention of running 10K.

Thanks to everyone for all the cheers and shouts of encouragement along the way!

Rock The Hill

I had a good time at the Rock The Hill concert last Friday, July 14. Bands played from about 3PM until midnight. I got there at 6 PM to see and hear Seether, who have some really good songs, especially "Broken". After Seether was Coheed and Cambria, a band that I was not familiar with, but they were good nonetheless.



Of course, Metallica was the main draw for the 20-30 thousand people in the audience especially since they hadn't played in Halifax for 18 years, before many of the audience members were even born! They rocked the hill for 2 hours and played many of their classics as well as some songs from their latest album.



I was about 100 feet from the stage, close enough to see the band and get some good photos. The show itself was something to behold, with a huge screen, multi-level stage, flames, Metallica beachballs and even fireworks!



I was impressed to see how much fun the band members had (OK, maybe not Lars so much) and how they stayed on stage after the show to throw out literally handfuls of guitar picks and tell the crowd how much they enjoyed playing for us. My cynical side told me that they understand marketing and branding so well that they acted as if they were emotionally involved with the crowd and I'll bet they do the same thing after every concert. My optimistic side told my cynical side to shut up and enjoy the afterglow of a really fun show.

10 kilometres, 1:00:30!

Father's Day 2011 - I went out for a 10 K run this morning and did it in 60 minutes and 30 seconds! So close to my goal of 60 minutes!

I did the first 5 K in 29:05, then did 10 and 1's for the second 5 K. I ran the last ten minutes by mentally counting my paces, which really improved my pace over that period, I ran the last kilometre in 5:20! I am going to try doing that earlier in the run next time. I completed 9.88 kilometres in 60:00 and finished the last 120metres in 30 seconds.

I felt good afterwards and I feel even better knowing that my 60 minutes 10 K is within reach.

Lunenburg 5 K Muffin Run

I had fun on June 12 when I ran the Lunenburg 5 K "Muffin Run". The route encircled the downtown section of Lunenburg, which is such a historic place the UNESCO designated it a World Heritage Site.

This was on my mother's birthday, so for her present I decided to do the 5 K run with my sister. There were other Team Myles members there: Jacki Stevenson, Sheila Doyle and Susan Graham. It was good to see them, as well as the other Heart & Sole members: my brother-in-law Gordon Crooks, as well as Sarah Austin and Paul Wesson.

I really enjoyed running with Michelle, it gave us a chance to catch up and talk for a half-hour, which we haven't done for a while.

True to the name of the run, there were hundreds of homemade muffins available after the run. Heart & Sole's trophy for this run was given to the member who ate the most muffins. Through sheer determination, I won the muffin-eating competition and I have vowed to never again eat so many muffins at one time!

10 km, 1:03:25

Ran 10 kilometres on the Salt Marsh Trail after church today. I needed this run, I was missing it. Isn't that one of the first signs of addiction? Come on, I can quit anytime I want! :-)

I used my Garmin 305 today, and I kept track of my split times per kilometre. It is actually pretty easy to use and to check on stats afterwards.

My first kilometre took only 5:26 and at one point I was running at a 4:13/km pace. I did the first 5 kilometres in 29:21, which is not bad for me. I did the 5 km back to my starting point by doing 10 and 1's, with 3 walking segments. I figure this added about 90 seconds to my time, but it also gave me a bit of a rest to run at a fairly respectable pace for the second half.

My goal is still to break 60 minutes for 10 kilometres. I ran 9.45 kilometres in 60 minutes today, so my goal is definitely achievable.

6.7 Km Recovery Run Around Cole Harbour Heritage Trails

I felt really good today during and after my run around the trails off Bissett Road in Cole Harbour. The Heritage Park Trails consist of loops that connect so you can make your run as long or as short as you like. They are in green on the attached map. I actually ran all of the trails in green except for the one that extends northwest from the northern parking lot, my route included a few double-backs to the main trail.

I ran the Panorama Trail to re-acquaint myself with it before our hike with the Cubs tomorrow evening. Then I ran the Jersey Jack Trail, The Brook Trail, The Poor Farm Trail (a residence for the destitute of Halifax County in the 1800's and early 1900's), as well as the Costley Farm Trail (named after the family of settlers who lived there). Interesting juxtaposition of the "Poor Farm" and "Costley Farm" being located adjacent to one another. Finally I ran to my starting point via the Salt Marsh Trail, for a total of 6.7 kilometres.

The terrain and views of Cole Harbour made the run very interesting, especially the almost-two-kilometre Costley Farm Trail is a mountain bike trail, versus the rest which are maintained trails with crusher dust and no roots or rocks all over the place. Running on the Costly Farm Trail was kind of like running while playing hopscotch for 2 kilometres. This trail in particular was a really good workout but in retrospect, I am lucky I didn't twist an ankle or slip on a rock since it was raining during my run.

I remember feeling really energetic during the run, like I felt years younger, so maybe I am making progress after all!

2011 Bluenose 10k is done! Now what?

Yesterday was Team Myles's "final exam". I would say that we passed with flying sneakers! While I didn't see all of my teammates after the 5k and 10k runs, I met with most of them and everyone said they felt good and they all looked great!

Lately, we have been discussing how to keep 2011 Team Myles going, post-Bluenose. Some members want to keep running together and we have talked about a Team Myles alumni running group. I would like to participate in organized runs together, like the Lunenburg Muffin Run on Sunday, June 12.

Our 2011 Team Myles members are individuals with different schedules and needs, so I think we should be flexible in what methods we use to keep Team Myles going. Perhaps a couple or a few teammates will continue running together twice a week, maybe others can help with next year's team by running with the 2012 Team Myles during their training.

Participating in some organized runs in the future with Team Myles feels like the best fit for me. We can still get together and enjoy each other's company but it won't be such a strict time commitment. I know I had other responsibilities that kept me from some team runs, as did pretty much every other TM member. I plan to start running with Heart & Sole running club in Dartmouth, it is closer to home for me and I have family and friends in the club.

In my mind, getting together for "reunions" at organized runs -- including, of course, next year's Bluenose! -- will keep the bonds of our experience going while allowing us to grow as runners and make connections with others in the surprisingly large running community in HRM.

Thanks again to everyone involved with 2011 Team Myles: my teammates, our trainers and especially the ladies who organized us and who kept us motivated by training with us, by keeping TM events going, and most importantly by keeping us smiling and laughing with their great personalities!

Everyone worked so hard on 2011 Team Myles, you should all be so proud for your accomplishments. Congratulations and see you again soon!

T minus 22 hours and counting...

I am off to volunteer with Team Myles, handing out race kits this afternoon. Afterwards, my teammates and I will be carb loading (I started early with pizza yesterday!). Tomorrow is the big day! I have not yet run the route, but I think the hill training and distance training will give me the strength to not only complete the 10 kilometres, but hopefully break the 60-minute mark.

Huge thanks to Team Myles: my teammates, the co-ordinators, and of course our trainers Kris and Devon. This has been a great experience and I look forward to continuing my running after tomorrow!

Benny Bullog 5 k Trail Run

Yesterday, I ran in the Benny Bulldog 5 k Trail Run in Dartmouth's Shubie Park. The event was in support of St. Leonard's Society to help homeless men and women in HRM. I saw a number of people I knew at this run, most of whom were there because they are part of Heart & Sole Running Club in Dartmouth, but also a former SMU rugby teammate of mine as well as a fellow Sigma Chi whose company Winmar Restoration was the event's main sponsor. These chance meetings represent the serendipitous side of the running community. If not for running, I would probably never seen the SMU rugby teammate again and it had been many months since I had talked with my fellow Sigma Chi brother.

There were 116 participants this year, about double the number of runners at last year's event. Almost all of this increase was due to the hard work of my sister Michelle Kempton (with me in the photo above), her husband (and also a Sigma Chi) Gordon Crooks and their friend Tori Greff, who organized 45 Heart & Sole members who ran in the Benny Bulldog 5 k Trail Run yesterday. Great job, you guys!

I must also thank the event organizers Stacy and Tim Chesnutt, who obviously worked very hard to co-ordinate the run, as well as the numerous prizes that were donated by local companies (I won a gift certificate to Sushi Nami!).

After the run, Heart & Sole had a potluck picnic at Shubie Park, which was a nice time to meet some other club members and for me to try quinoa for the first time!

This run was a good one, but my Friday night pre-event training of going to a buddy's house to play poker, eating junk food, and getting home at 1:00 AM didn't exactly help me. I was hoping to break 30 minutes for the 5 kilometres, but ended up finishing in 30:57. Granted, trail running, with hills et cetera, is different from street running, but I was a bit disappointed. To me, this result proves the importance of rest and proper fuel for one's body -- not just for races, but every day.

I am only going to run once more before Bluenose, so I am not running tired on race day. See you at the Bluenose!

10 kilometres, 1:01:08

Knocked off a whole 7 seconds from last Saturday's run, but I wasn't feeling the run today (versus last week when I was up for the run). I camped with my Cub pack last night -- yes, in the rain! -- so I was less-than-energetic today. I did the first 5 kilometres in slightly under 30:00 but the stretch from 6 km to 8 km was tough with a few uphills and I wasn't feeling the love. Still, I sprinted the last 300 metres and managed to have a 6:00 final kilometre.

This run shows that even though you don't always feel like running, you can still have a decent result. I am glad I went out today and it was a "big picture" run for me, meaning that this run was a small piece of the "big picture" of training for the Bluenose as well as getting back to better health, rather than a huge accomplishment in and of itself.

Keep putting one foot in front of the other!

10 kilometres with hill repeats, 58:20!!!!!

One way to stay hydrated when running is to drink water. Another way is to run in rain showers that drench you within minutes!

I did my hill repeat training again today and amazingly, I knocked off 4 minutes from my time last week!!! The wind was not as bad as last week, but it was still blowing down the hill and there were a few very heavy showers that left me completely drenched.

Unfortunately, I found out that my Running Room Fit-Wear jacket was not waterproof. It is listed on the website as "water resistant, wind proof, breathable". It kept out the wind and I did not get too warm, so it worked well other than the rain. One bonus feature of this jacket is that the arms zip off so I can wear it in warmer weather - which I look forward to doing this summer!

My run was as follows:
1600 metres from home to bottom of hill, 5:50/km pace = 9:20
400 metres up hill (2:20 pace = 5:50/km), 400 m down hill (2:20 pace) x2, 1 minute rest = 10:20
400 metres up hill (2:20 pace), 400 metres down hill (2:20 pace) x2, 2 minutes rest = 11:20
400 metres up hill (2:20 pace), 400 metres down hill (2:20 pace) x2, 3 minutes rest = 12:20
400 metres up hill (2:20 pace), 400 metres down hill (2:20 pace) x2, 4 minutes rest = 13:20
400 metres up hill (2:20 pace), 1200 metres to my street, added another 400 metres to add up to 10,000 metres! 11:40 for final 2,000 metres (5:40/km pace for final 2 km!!!).

Total run time 58:20 for 10 kilometres!

I had lots of energy at the end and sprinted for the last 100 metres. I am really pumped for the Bluenose 10 kilometre run on May 22! I am definitely aiming for a sub-60 minute 10 km run now!

10 kilometres, 1:01:15!

New personal best this morning, and for me the best part was that I took no walking breaks! I really wanted to take a break as I approached the 30 minute mark but I decided to run through it. I actually found the second half of the run to be easier, probably because I was warmed up (and no hills). 10 km in under 60 minutes is in my sights!

10 km with hill repeats, 1:02:40!

I missed yesterday's Team Myles run because of my prior commitment with my Cub pack. The Team Myles run plan was to go 1 km to the MacDonald bridge and then cross the bridge 4 times, with increasing rest intervals after each crossing, finishing with a 1 km return run back to the start, for a total of 6 kilometres.

Well, now I know those distances because I measured them on RunKeeper.com, an exercise measurement tool that my brother-in-law uses to post his runs on facebook.

I didn't know the distances before my run this evening after work, so I decided to make up my own version of bridge training. We have a 400 metre hill near our home, so I ran to it (1.6 km from our place to the bottom of the hill), then I ran up and down the hill 8 times, in sets of 2 times each, with increasing rest intervals in between each pair of uphill/downhill runs: 1 min, 2 min, 3 min, 4 min, as per Kris's instructions for the bridge training for yesterday.

I figured it might be close to the bridge training but maybe a bit more, figuring at the time that the MacDonald bridge is maybe 1.6 km across (it is actually 1.0 km across). Well, partway through, I did the math for my route and realized all I had to do was add another 400 metres to the end of my run and I would have completed 10 kilometres!

My run was as follows:1600 metres from home to bottom of hill, 6:15/km pace+/- = 10 minutes
400 metres up hill (2:30 pace = 6:15/km), 400 m down hill (2:30 pace) x2, 1 minute rest = 11 min
400 metres up hill (2:30 pace), 400 metres down hill (2:30 pace) x2, 2 minutes rest = 12 min
400 metres up hill (2:30 pace), 400 metres down hill (2:30 pace) x2, 3 minutes rest = 13 min
400 metres up hill (2:30 pace), 400 metres down hill (2:30 pace) x2, 4 minutes rest = 14 min
400 metres up hill (2:30 pace), 1200 metres to my street, added another 400 metres to add up to 10,000 metres! 12:40 for final 2,000 metres (6:20/km pace for final 2 km).

Total run time 1:02:40 for 10 kilometres!

I managed to keep pretty close to my target pace of 6 minutes per kilometre, once I deducted the waiting time between pairs of hill intervals. The surprising part was how much energy I had after all the hills! I felt great and still kept pretty close my target 6 min/km pace even after running back up the hill a 9th time to return home! I know I had gas left in the tank and I wonder how much further I could have run tonight.

I ran up the hill using a midfoot/ball of foot strike and downhill and on the flats to and from the hill using a traditional heel strike. I find the midfoot/ball of foot strike forces me to shorten my stride up the hill and have quicker pace with less impact on my heels. It also forces my torso forward a bit, making the climb a bit easier.

Here is a link to a blog on Chi running for more info on foot strike methods.

Hill repeat training works! I look forward to Saturday's run to hopefully see the effects in a faster/easier run.

Sermon that I delivered at church on Monday

Good evening,

Tonight I would like to talk to you about "Internal Prisons", the power of a parent’s love, the power of God’s love for us, tonight's scripture reading from Acts 16:6-40, and what it means to us as Christians.

I am sure that some of you have heard of the TV show “Hoarders”. This show is about trying to help people who have turned their homes into prisons by cluttering their homes to the point of being unlivable and in some cases dangerous to be in. The houses are physical examples of the hoarders’ internal prisons that were created as defence mechanisms after suffering through major life catastrophes such as divorce or the death of a loved one.

The hoarders have accumulated so many possessions and they end up simply going through the motions of life because, in their efforts to shield themselves from against being hurt again, they build walls to shut other people out, but ultimately they only succeed in shutting themselves in.

Sadly, these people are so wrapped up in living in the past that they are no longer living in the future and they are affecting their future.

We all know someone who suffers from their internal prison. If we honestly look at ourselves, we can realize that each one of us has some form of defence mechanism that inhibits us and limits our happiness.

Addictions are a prime example of this. Not just addictions to alcohol or narcotics, but other things: food, negative thinking, harmful relationships with others, to name a few examples.

These addictions are behaviour patterns that we have fallen into that may have turned into something far greater than we could have imagined, but may be easily observed by others.

This is the tragedy of internal prisons: the person who is inside the prison cell was also their own prosecutor and judge, the architect and builder of the prison, as well as the jailer who ensures that we live out our sentence – a sentence much harsher than others would give us – the self-imposed sentence of unhappiness and isolation from others, including God.

Negative ways of thinking, holding onto past hurts, either real or imagined, self-defeating thoughts, low self-confidence; these are a few ways that we keep ourselves from being happy, from living the best and fullest life that we can live. These are all obstacles that keep us from living how God wants us to live.

God loves us much more than we love our own children, so much that we have trouble truly understanding God’s love for us, since our own love for our children is probably the strongest emotional bond that we know in our lives.

Let us appreciate God’s strength as our father, to still love us even though we may rebuke Him, turn away from Him for a time, ignore His advice, refuse or forget to talk with Him in prayer, and sometimes believe that we can successfully live our lives on our own without His help and guidance.

Anyone who is or was a parent of a teenager can relate to what I just said. Cheryl and I have 5 children: 3 older boys aged 17 to 20, and 2 younger children aged 4 and 5.

Our younger kids, with their spirit of youth and innocence, believe what Cheryl and I tell them because they have faith that what we say is the truth. They trust us completely to take care of them and they know that we love them and only want what is best for them.

Our older children have more “grown-up” attitudes and they tend to rely on themselves first; they may listen to our advice, if they ever ask for it, and quite often they ask for it after they have exhausted their own resources yet still face their dilemma. Does this sound familiar?

We have all been there, we have all made our own way, separated ourselves, at least for a time, from our parents – those who gave us life, raised us the best they could, and who only want us to have the best lives that we can. Just like God. I suggest that we should all be more like our younger children: trust in God with all your heart and all your soul.

Our weaknesses, doubts and insecurities cause us to build internal prisons. God's strength can break down our prison walls and guide us to do great things in His name.

An example of this is the case of Rick and Dick Hoyt. Rick (the son) was born in 1962. He has cerebral palsy. Dick and Judy (the parents) fought to have Rick integrated into the public school system rather than have him institutionalized, as they were advised after he was born.

In 1977, Rick told his Dad that he wanted to participate in an eight-kilometre benefit run for a lacrosse player who had been paralyzed in an accident. Dick agreed to push his son Rick in his wheelchair. They finished the eight-kilometre run, coming in next to last. Afterwards, Rick told his Dad, "When I'm running, I don't feel handicapped."

That started a lifetime of ahievement, including over 1,000 races, 68 marathons and 6 Ironman triathlons, which consists of a 4-kilometre swim, followed by a 180-kilometre bike ride, and then a full 42-kilometre marathon run. By the way, Dick Hoyt turned 70 years old last June and he and his son Rick just ran their 29th Boston Marathon today!

This is the power of a father's unconditional love for his child.

For his own part, Rick graduated with a degree from Boston College, despite having the challenge of cerebral palsy. Rick broke free from the physical prison of his body's limitations to achieve his own goals. Not bad for someone who was supposed to have been institutionalized at birth.

Now, I would like to shift gears and talk about the Scripture reading from Acts.

Acts is an important book in the Bible because it is the link between the Gospels and the Epistles. It is the first history of the Christian church after Christ’s ascension into heaven and it focuses on the ACTS of the Apostles, how they responded to The Great Commission. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave his disciples what is now known as The Great Commission: Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The passage in Acts 16:6-40 describes one of the mission trips of Paul, Silas and Timothy and Luke. Luke, the author of Acts, changes his account from “he” in verse 10 to “we” in verse 11, so what we are reading here is a first-hand account! They tried to continue their travels in Asia Minor (what is now Turkey), but the Spirit wouldn’t let them. They were told by a vision to go to Philippi in Macedonia, in the northern part of Greece.

It was here that the first Christian church in Europe was founded. The church had such an impact that Paul wrote letter to the Philippians, when he was in prison awaiting his sentence. This letter shows the mutual love between Paul and the congregation at Philippi.

The jailer in Acts 16 was saved because of the testimony of Paul and Silas’s actions. Through their actions, the jailer stopped from killing himself and instead won eternal life in Christ. The jailer realized he was lost and needed saving, which is the necessary step for all sinners to be saved. The jailer’s actions and testimony were so compelling that everyone in his household also came to Christ. The new convert is often the best evangelizer!

As Christians, we have learned that the best testimony to Christ that we can give is by living as Christians, which we can only do with the help of the Holy Spirit.

As God loves us, so does He forgive us. Once we accept God’s forgiveness for our sins, we can forgive others and most importantly ourselves, and finally release ourselves from our internal prisons. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)

We can break free/be released from our internal prisons by simply opening the door to Jesus when he knocks. (Revelation 3:20)

From 1 Peter 5:7, "give God your burdens, don’t carry that weight all by yourself", and 1 Peter 5:10 "Hardship gives us the opportunity to grow spiritually and to get closer to God."

Great opportunities to evangelize to others can come from our hardships, like Paul and Silas bringing their jailer and Lydia to Christ in Philippi.

We are shown throughout the book of Acts the importance of the local church. This is shown in the example of the jailer’s salvation as well as how Lydia, a woman and the first Christian convert in Europe, started a spiritual revolution in the Western world. We must follow their example and live the Christian life, being as Christ to one another.

Whatever your burdens are, you do not have to face them alone. God's promise to us is that he will always be with us, we simply have to believe in Him. As believers, we are all representatives of Christ.

If something is troubling you today, take the time after the service to pray with Father John or any of us in the congregation, so that you too can know the healing power of God's forgiveness that will free you from your internal prison.

Beautiful day for a run, why not add some distance?

A gorgeous day, double digits and sunny! One of those spring mornings that lets you know that warmer weather is on the way.

Our route was 8.5 kilometres today, up from 7.5 kilometres last week. After the run, Kris informed us that it might have been closer to 9 kilometres. I did it in 59 minutes, so all I need to do is run the extra kilometre or so in 1 minute or less, and I will hit my target of 10 kilometres in 60 minutes.

Seriously though, I think I need to focus on my nutrition more (as opposed to now where I am generally eating whatever), to start making a difference in my weight and running pace. I figure if I put better fuel in, I will improve my performance plus I will have the added benefit of dragging less weight around.

Citadel Hill doesn't seem very steep...

Until you run up it 8 times! Follow that with 2 circuits around the outside of the fort and that is a workout!

I learned a lesson today about fueling up before a run - 1 hour in advance is not enough time to process the food but just the right amount of time for the food to feel like a lead weight in your stomach.

I found that running with a mid-foot strike rather than a heel strike was quite effective while running up the hill.

Thanks to Kris from Push Fitness for the tips and words of encouragement and thanks also to Peter Harrison for your company on the run around the fort! You are looking great, keep up the great work on your weight loss!

Adidas gear - looks good and works too!

I picked up my Adidas gear on Wednesday from PUSH Fitness. It is impressive: new Adidas Supernova Glide 3 running shoes, Adidas Adistar long-sleeve running shirt as well as Adidas Supernova jacket and pants to protect me from the elements.

The shirt, jacket and pants all have the Team Myles logo, so now we will really look like a team when we run, with the same uniform and everything!

I was looking forward to a team run this morning, unfortunately only two of us showed up at PUSH Fitness this morning! Caroline Taraso and I waited until 10 AM, then she went to market to wait for Lisa Olie, after which their plan was to go to 108 Yoga, one of our sponsors.

I decided to go for a run anyway, since I was psyched up for it. I knocked off 5 kilometres and surprisingly fast, too! I was just over a minute slower than my target pace for the Bluenose run despite the wind and rain, so that was a nice surprise. It just shows that I do have my work cut out for me, so I think some hills and interval speed training are needed. I think I also need to create a running playlist on my iPod, I have found that the right music can help me go faster. Any suggestions?

Sunny but colder than expected...

Confession time: because of other commitments, I haven't been to a Team Myles run for over a week. I really miss the experience of running with the team and I hope to be able to run with them more as we near the race date.

However, that hasn't stopped me from training! I went on my elliptical machine a couple times and this morning ran 6 kilometres on the Salt Marsh Trail.

The trail was a mix of ice, packed snow and frozen gravel, making it passable with caution. I had to be careful of my footing, which slowed me down a bit.

It was a beautiful morning today and although the high temperature was expected to reach 3 or 4 degrees Celsius, it was still below zero when I ran.

After my run, I joined my Cub pack for a 2 hour hike in Shubie Park in Dartmouth. As tricky as the Salt Marsh Trail was, the Shubie Park trails were much worse! We walked less than 2 kilometres, picking our way along the ice about 90% of the time. We had fun though, including the time when a few lucky Cubs had chickadees eating from their hands. To quote one of the kids, "I have done that before, but it's cool every time." It sure is!

Running In Florida

I know, tough stuff! I ran on both Saturdays that we were in Florida on vacation: once on the streets of Seminole and Largo (two communities in the Tampa Bay/Clearwater Beach area) and the second time I was barefoot on the sand at Clearwater Beach. I hadn't run on that beach since I had visited Florida when I was in high school. Only one minor cut on my foot from a shell fragment during the second run, which I see as a small price to re-live a memory from my younger days.

In between our times on the coast, my family and I went to Disney World. I am a logistics guy by nature and profession, so I took it upon myself to plan our days at Disney, including being the runner for Fastpasses. For those unfamiliar with Disney World, line-ups can be a real drag on your time, with wait times of over an hour for popular attractions. The Fastpass allows you to plan ahead and basically beat the line, provided you return to go on the ride at a later time that is appointed when you get the Fastpass.

Getting the Fastpasses meant that sometimes I had to go to a different part of the park to book a ride we wanted to go on, but that saved us from waiting in the heat for an hour or so per ride, which can seem like an eternity with two tired youngsters. This gave me the opportunity to sprint a few times a day while at Disney, on top of the hours of walking around that we did, too. I think there is value in some sprint training, to mix up the exercise for your body and maybe even speed up your longer runs!

Saturday Run Around Cow Bay

I wasn't able to go to this morning's Team Myles run because of family commitments, but I more than made up for it by running the loop around Cow Bay. It is about 7.5 kilometres. I have run it before but the first leg was all headwind today. For some reason, it didn't feel like the tailwind on the other side of the loop helped me as much as the headwind at the start made me work harder!

I used some of the warm-up moves and stretches that Devon from Push Fitness showed us before our Team Myles runs. I have found that it's good for me to do a bit of warm-up and stretching before a run. I have heard some other people say they don't stretch before, but I will err on the side of caution. The last thing I want is to be laid up with an injury that warming-up and stretching might have prevented.

Heart in Halifax

Really good concert tonight at the Metro Centre. Ann Wilson showed she still had her voice, albeit a few tones lower than 30+ years ago. She still belted out the memorable parts to Heart's classics and Nancy still rocked her guitar, mandolin, autoclave, and vocals.

Tonight's setlist (from memory and help from a setlist last summer in Nashville. There were a couple changes for Halifax, but this is basically the show):

1. Cook With Fire - off their latest album and my favourite of the 4 new songs they played. Good beat and rhythm, strong opener.
2. Heartless - classic, really fun to play on the drums.
3. What About Love - 80's fan favourite.
4. Straight On - another good song with a solid guitar hook.
5. Dog & Butterfly - slowed it down a little for this title track from the 70's.
6. Desire Walks On - title track of one of their albums that Ann admitted was not a commercial success. The chorus was very heavy and seemed like there was too much going on, especially for a Heart song where Ann and Wilson's talents should be at the forefront.
7. Hey You - new song. Ann played the autoclave. It was OK but the "na na na na" chorus seemed like they tried to write an intentional sing-along song.
8. Even It Up (with Rolling Stones Gimme Shelter intro/bridge) - great song and a clever mash-up with one of my favourite Stones songs.
9. Red Velvet Car - title track from the new album. It was just OK to me.
10. Alone - great torch song from 1987. Remember 1987? :-)
11. WTF - new song, heavy sound, second favourite of mine of the new songs they played.
12. Magic Man - great 70's song, the keyboard player did an especially good job with the sound at the end.
13. Crazy On You - one of my favourites to play on Guitar Hero.
14. Barracuda - my favourite Heart song. Here is video (sorry, only 3 minutes, to the end of the guitar solo, ran out of memory!):



First Encore
15. What Is and Should Never Be - Led Zeppelin cover that they nailed, especially Ann's vocals.
16. Love Reign On Me - The Who cover was well done, but would not have been my choice as a show closer.

Second Encore
17. Dreamboat Annie - for us Canucks since this album was first released in Canada. Nice tip of the hat to their band's Canadian roots to finish the show with this one.

It's official!

I received notification that I am registered in the Blue Nose 10K, part of the Scotiabank Blue Nose Marathon on May 22, 2011!

Our blogs should be online soon, but I will keep posting on here to keep a personal copy of my progress.

Good run last Saturday, same route as the week before but we ran more of it, almost all 5 kilometres. It wasn't nearly as cold as last week, so it wasn't a dealbreaker that I forgot my gloves.

Team Myles - Running Keeps You Warm!

This was my first Saturday run with Team Myles. We started at Push Fitness, walked as a group to the corner of Young and Inglis (1.6 km), then ran to the end of Young Avenue and returned to Push. The run was 3.4 km, for a total distance of 5 km.

It was sunny but very cold today, -16 with the wind chill, so I am glad I had fleece on under my outer layer. My calf injury did not flare up, so that is a good thing!

Unfortunately, I will be double-booked on Wednesday with my Cub pack, but I will do the 4.2 km run either Tuesday or Thursday.

Team Myles - First Run!

Well, it was my first run with Team Myles. The inaugural team run was actually on Saturday (January 15), but I was already committed to running a camp with my Cub pack when I found out the date of the first run.

Before tonight's run, we warmed up with Devon Norris of Push Fitness (he played for the Rainmen last year, this blog has numerous Rainmen entries). Devon got us ready to go and I enjoyed doing the stretches as a group, it reminded me of my rugby-playing days!

Tonight's run was 3 laps around the Commons, 1.4 kilometres each time around, for a total of 4.2 kilometres. We had to buddy up for the run, my run buddy was Peter Harrison. We ran at a good pace, did each loop in about 10 minutes. My calf muscle that I injured last year flared up again (I tweaked it last week, so this was not a surprise). Luckily for me, it did not disable me from running, although when I lengthened my stride to speed up a bit while passing some other Team Myles members, I felt it get close to tearing again. I am going to have to be careful with this thing, I don't want to miss out on training because of a preventable injury!

After the run, we visited Lifemark Physio to have our gait analyzed and to measure our feet for the Adidas running shoes we will get with Team Myles. Sara was very knowledgeable and I guess I have the biggest feet of all the Team Myles members, what an accomplishment!

I felt really good after the run, actually invigorated. I look forward to Saturday morning's run!