From the Desk of the GM - Apr. 6, 2009

“Half Marathon Training Update”

With less than a month to go until the WPS Half Marathon (sold out as of April 6 with only a few spots remaining in the two-person relay), training is going well although not under ideal conditions. For someone who is not a fan of running on a treadmill, training lately has been difficult. The weather has not been conducive to running outside, so I’ve had to venture to either the Pan Am’s complex or the Reh-Fit Centre to run on their indoor tracks. The Reh-Fit’s track is a fantastic cushioned track. It is about four laps for a kilometre, so to do a 10k run, that means running around in a circle for 40 laps. Better have some good tunes on your iPod to make the time go by! More on my tune selection later in the blog.

I much prefer running outside. As mentioned in an earlier blog, I am by no means an athlete and would never consider myself to be a “runner”. Getting motivated to run is a struggle. If I am going to run, I like running outside because it provides added incentives. The number one incentive being, if you run 5k away from your house, you have to run 5k to get back. If you run 8k away from the house, you have to run 8k to get back, you get the picture. There are no options, you have to get home somehow. When you are running on a treadmill or indoor track, you can quit at anytime. That option is taken away from unmotivated runners such as myself when running outside.

Since I started training seriously on February 16, I have been running three or four times a week and have totalled about 160k, most of which has been on indoor tracks. I can’t wait for the sidewalks to dry up so I can get some in some outdoor training. My plan is to run to work at least once per week and if I’m feeling very energetic, maybe twice a week.

I try and have a good mix of music to listen to and change up the run list every once in a while. For the most part, the songs have a fast beat to keep me going but some are on the list just because I like the song, even if it’s kind of slow. The best song for my running style I’ve found is “Cross My Heart” by Marianas Trench. It’s got a beat that keeps me on the pace that I want to be at. According to the most musically inclined person in our office, that would be former “Broadway Beat” star Dan Chase, it has a 2-4 beat. It keeps me going because every time there is a snare hit, that’s when my left or right foot (depending on which foot I started with) should be hitting the pavement.

Here is a list of what is on my current training playlist on my iPod:

“Run to the Hills” and “Number of the Beast” – Iron Maiden
“Cross My Heart” – Marianas Trench
“Pump It” – Black Eyed Peas
“Lucky” and “I’m Yours” – Jason Mraz
“I Will Survive” – Gloria Gaynor
“Lose Yourself” – Eminem
“Basket Case” and “Minority” – Green Day
“I’d Do Anything” – Simple Plan
“Get Up, Stand Up” – Bob Marley
“Mercy” – Duffy
“You Really Got Me” – The Kinks
“Welcome to the Black Parade” – My Chemical Romance
Among many others.

If you have some suggestions for good workout or running tunes, please feel free to leave a comment.

Donations update – as at Monday, April 6 at 8 a.m., pledges total $831.00, thanks again to all those who have pledged me and supported the Canadian Cancer Society in the process. Only $169 left to go to hit my goal of $1,000.

One final note… kudos to Rick Forney who ran a 5k race a couple weekends ago. I won’t say what time he ran it in, but it was a very respectable time for someone who likes to run about as much as I do!

Next blog – “15th Annual Field of Dreams Foundation Charity Golf Tournament Update”

Until next time…
-- Andrew