Race day is always a little different than any other day, the adrenaline, the crowds, timers, support crew and volunteers, and last Sunday’s race was no exception, even the weather was different than what we’ve been training in this year…quite a bit different. It was a mild enough day, but for the first time in weeks, there was actually snow on the ground, wet, sloppy, slippery snow. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fair-weather runner, far from it, but this season that’s all we’ve had is fair weather, so the ol’ legs just weren’t accustomed to the lack of traction.
Finishing my first ½ marathon would have been a lot more difficult without all the rooting from my Virtual Team iN Training (VTNT) teammates (Janice, Jane, Jenn and Nicole) and fellow purple people you gals really kept me going when I was lagging behind and I truly appreciate your words of encouragement, cheers and smiles along the course. I was fortunate enough to have my incredibly supportive family (my wife, my daughter and my brother-in-law/coach) all there to root me on too, and I sure needed it those last couple of laps, oh yeah did I mention that the race course was 4 laps of an out and back loop and a 5th lap of 1.1 km to finish it off, somehow I kept track of the laps and didn't get too dizzy!
Right from the beginning of my very short (so far) running career, it was easy to understand the physical value of a recovery week after a race, and never was that so true as this past week, I’m not sure if it was the hilly terrain, or the lack of traction, but by the end of the race, my calves were bunched up in knots and my quads were tighter than guitar strings, good thing for me the training plan called for two recovery days before hitting the gym on Wednesday. I still sneaked in an evening of PLAYing volleyball, strangely, my legs felt better after the volleyball. What I did not realize about the importance of Recovery in a training plan was the psychological side, after the ½ I was really beginning to wonder what I had got myself into, I was just so mentally exhausted, I literally had nothing left in the think tank, as much as the race had taken out of me physically, it had taken a much greater toll mentally, I truly did not feel like running for the first time since I started this journey, something that was very unsettling for me and I began to wonder if I had it in me to do a full marathon. In the same way that volleyball had helped my legs to shake off some of the lactic acid and begin to feel better, the PLAY in playing volleyball helped me to shake the negative thinking and get my focus back and I am happy to report that by Thursday (my scheduled Brick workout) I was looking forward to running again and felt fantastic after completing the short run and bike workout..phew!!! By this weekend's long run (1.5 hrs), the end goal seemed once again attainable.
With last weekend’s race complete, I am ½ way to my distance goal, and with the generous support of family, friends and even some unknown contributors, I am happy to report that I am nearly ¾ of the way to my fundraising goal.
To help me reach the goal, I will be hosting “Comedy for a Cure" at Absolute Comedy club (412 Preston Street, Ottawa, ON) on April 14. Tickets to the event must be purchased in advance from me or one of my wonderful volunteers and are priced at $10, ticket price includes an entry into the door prize draw (I will post a list with some samples on this bold in the near future).
If you’re interested in attending, please send me an e-mail and we can make arrangements. I look forward to seeing as many of you as can make it and to sharing some great laughs and raising money to help find a cure.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Tapering...the side effects
It’s been a while since my last post, it wasn’t entirely on purpose, but I was hesitant to post too soon after my last entry…especially given the overwhelmingly supportive response…I just didn’t want to mess with inertia and the momentum gained towards meeting my fundraising goal, with your help we’ve already raised almost $3300.00 towards finding a cure.
This last week I’ve been tapering leading into the Winterman ½ marathon on February 21. Simply explained, tapering is a reduction in the length of your runs and workouts leading up to a race, the benefit…a chance to recover and store more fuel in the tank for race day, there are lots of articles out there on tapering and tapering is very specific to each athlete and their unique training plan, in my case, it leads to lots of extra energy and a brain that goes into overdrive, for me it is as challenging to deal with the psychological effects as the physiological ones.
This week has been a prime example, I’m not sure that the training plan itself has demanded anymore of me in the last little while than it has since I started this trek back in the late fall, but my brain certainly recognized the effects much more this week. For the first time I felt my body might not be up to the challenge, my hip flexors have been getting gradually tighter and more inflamed, and the discomfort has become a constant, my left knee has become inflamed on a regular basis and I can feel the effects of the runs right up until I start the next run, and that nagging ankle sprain recovery just isn’t making much progress.
To be honest, I haven’t been doing much about any of these, accepting that they were par for the course and that with enough mileage and positive thinking, they’d take care of themselves, towards the end of this week as a result of the tapering side effects, I started doing something about each of these, appointments are set, a more regimented rehab program for the ankle is in place and I am confident that I can overcome these challenges.
Two things helped me to tackle these challenges with renewed vigour and remain positive, first I thought back to how Derek must have been feeling as he went through his treatments, and how he remained positive and confident that he would beat this throughout and secondly the words of encouragement that I have received from so many of you. I couldn’t quite put my finger on how it was that I was getting my daily dose of support, until I read one of my VTNT team mates’ blog, she reminded me that each time someone sponsors me online and nudges me closer to my goal, I get and e-mail alert…that daily dose of positive encouragement is what has been helping me keep going.
To all of you who have been able to offer your support so far, a huge thanks to for your contributions and the words of encouragement and support that you have passed along!!
And for those of you who may be interested in offering your support, here’s the link to my fundraising page http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?SID=2430646
Stay tuned for more frequent blog updates and some fundraising event announcements too.
P.S. if you know a small business (or an individual/group) that would consider donating either items or services as a door prize for one of my future events, please get in touch.
This last week I’ve been tapering leading into the Winterman ½ marathon on February 21. Simply explained, tapering is a reduction in the length of your runs and workouts leading up to a race, the benefit…a chance to recover and store more fuel in the tank for race day, there are lots of articles out there on tapering and tapering is very specific to each athlete and their unique training plan, in my case, it leads to lots of extra energy and a brain that goes into overdrive, for me it is as challenging to deal with the psychological effects as the physiological ones.
This week has been a prime example, I’m not sure that the training plan itself has demanded anymore of me in the last little while than it has since I started this trek back in the late fall, but my brain certainly recognized the effects much more this week. For the first time I felt my body might not be up to the challenge, my hip flexors have been getting gradually tighter and more inflamed, and the discomfort has become a constant, my left knee has become inflamed on a regular basis and I can feel the effects of the runs right up until I start the next run, and that nagging ankle sprain recovery just isn’t making much progress.
To be honest, I haven’t been doing much about any of these, accepting that they were par for the course and that with enough mileage and positive thinking, they’d take care of themselves, towards the end of this week as a result of the tapering side effects, I started doing something about each of these, appointments are set, a more regimented rehab program for the ankle is in place and I am confident that I can overcome these challenges.
Two things helped me to tackle these challenges with renewed vigour and remain positive, first I thought back to how Derek must have been feeling as he went through his treatments, and how he remained positive and confident that he would beat this throughout and secondly the words of encouragement that I have received from so many of you. I couldn’t quite put my finger on how it was that I was getting my daily dose of support, until I read one of my VTNT team mates’ blog, she reminded me that each time someone sponsors me online and nudges me closer to my goal, I get and e-mail alert…that daily dose of positive encouragement is what has been helping me keep going.
To all of you who have been able to offer your support so far, a huge thanks to for your contributions and the words of encouragement and support that you have passed along!!
And for those of you who may be interested in offering your support, here’s the link to my fundraising page http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?SID=2430646
Stay tuned for more frequent blog updates and some fundraising event announcements too.
P.S. if you know a small business (or an individual/group) that would consider donating either items or services as a door prize for one of my future events, please get in touch.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Goals, Motivation and Inspiration…oh my!
Towards the end of the 2009 season, I started thinking about my next challenge, I wanted my training to contribute to something, I wanted more than a personal goal. Just about the same time, I read an article in a running magazine about Team in Training (TNT) and the light bulb went on, I decided I wanted to join TNT and raise $5000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC).
The next decision I had to make was what event to train for…from my training and competitions in 2009 I felt that a half-marathon was well within reach…I didn’t think I could stay motivated training for something that was “too achievable” so I raised the bar an chose the Marathon, as my training progresses I am left wondering where the line between fear and motivation blurs.
My inspiration for all of this and what helps me keep my focus and dig in when every bit of me wants to turn around and head back to a nice warm house (especially this last week with at -31 C with windchill) is my very good friend Derek Threinen.
On March 4, 2009 Derek was diagnosed with Stage IV Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
I felt helpless on the sidelines being able to offer nothing more than moral support through Derek’s battle.
Derek remained positive throughout the entire treatment. He may have lost his hair, but he never lost his sense of humour in spite of difficult procedures and side effects. Anytime I start feeling like I’m having a rough day, I think of Derek’s fight and it’s easy to push on through.
All that positive thinking paid off, Derek has officially been in remission since October 1, 2009. Congrats DT, we knew you could do it!!
I am currently training to run my first marathon (42.2 km) in Ottawa on May 30, 2010 and I need your help…no not to run (although that is a definite possibility), but to contribute to finding a cure for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. I aim to raise at least $5,000 in honour of Derek by the end of May.
So how can you help me reach (or beat) my goal?
1. Sponsor me (a.k.a. show me the money)
a) The easiest way is to make a secure online donation at http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?SID=2430646
b) You can also by donate by completing and mailing a donation form, touch base and I'll send you the form
2. Forward this message to everyone you know (or tag them on it in Facebook). Don’t assume that if we know the same person that I have their e-mail or have sent to them, I know you may get this in some format 12-20 times, but really it’s a small price to pay IMHO.
3. Help me find corporate sponsors; drop me an e-mail and I’ll let you know what’s involved.
4. Volunteer to help me with my fundraising activities and events, I need ideas and people to help with selling tickets etc…
5. Find out more at http://www.teamintraining.ca/ about how to take part as a fundraiser in your own event,
6. Show up and cheer me on along the Ottawa Marathon course on May 30, 2010, I’ll be the guy in the TNT purple shirt looking like he needs a shower and 2 days of sleep!
7. All of the above!!
If you’re interested in following my progress, I’ll be posting regular updates to my blog http://shmittysrunningblog.blogspot.com/ which has a direct RSS feed to my Facebook Notes, so if you’re a friend on FB you can just check there.
If you want to know more about my fundraising or if you want to help in someway I haven’t thought of, call me, follow me on Twitter, comment on my FB Wall, Notes, or status, write a comment on my fundraising page, or comment on my blog.
Together we can help find a cure!
Thank you all!!
Brent Smyth
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