Inspiration up close

Have I mentioned that I'm going to walk the Victoria Half Marathon on Thanksgiving Sunday? This race will be a first for me because several members of my immediate family will be walking it as well.

This is beyond huge. The ease of coaching/inspiring a person is inversely and exponentially proportional to how closely related that person is by blood or marriage! According to this inverse exponential relationship, a husband/wife, sister/brother, father/mother is at least 1000 times more difficult to coach than someone ahead of you in the grocery line. A cousin who drops by for the holidays is probably 100 times more difficult than your neighbor two blocks over who you see every second week out walking the dog, but still 100 times easier than your daughter.

I'll report back in a week and a half how my adventure fares, but I can tell you that my personal time is irrelevant...the success of this race will be judged by seeing my husband, sister, sister-in-law, and father cross that finish line with smiles on their faces!

If you have any coaching tips, I'm all ears.

Week before the Toad

The Run for the Toad is happening this weekend and I love that race. Too bad I'm not entered. Or, possibly it's a good thing since this may be the last week of fresh-from-the-vine tomatoes and I'm gorging on bruschetta. There aren't many taste experiences I enjoy more than this fall feast. Bruschetta involves slicing and toasting my favorite bread, soaking the top in a layer of extra virgin olive oil laden with garlic, adding chopped fresh tomato and cheese.

Did you know that the phytochemical, lycopene, in tomatoes is better absorbed by the body after the tomatoes have been cooked? So, the good news about bruschetta is that it is high in absorbable lycopene - a proven antioxidant that hoovers up destructive free radicals in our body. Apparently lycopene is also fat soluble. Bonus! All that olive oil has a higher purpose! It actually improves the bioavailability of the lycopene. That oil covering the bread facilitates the absorption of the lycopene in the cooked tomato into our body.

In any case, what I really wanted to say to all you Toad walkers out there is this: this is one of the best races I have ever walked. The course is beautiful, the organizers are outstanding in their efforts to provide all participants with a superior race experience, and there is excellent food at the finish! Still, it's a tough race, so be sure to eat well and rest this week in anticipation of the difficult terrain, long distance, and steep hills.

6am starts and a good attitude

Last night I set three alarms on my personal communication device for three different times: 5:00am, 5:06am, and 5:15am. Somewhere, several years ago, I read that alarm clock snooze times are set by the manufacturers for 9 minutes because that is most "effective": whatever their definition of "effective" may be. Effective for getting you out of bed without leaving you with a migraine for an entire day? I notice my Blackberry Pearl has an automatic snooze of 5 minutes.

Despite my ramblings on setting morning alarms, I actually enjoy getting out of bed early for a walk. Once I'm outside, I'm happy. It's just getting from horizontal and under the duvet to vertical and outside the house. It's the transition that's tricky. Hence, the complex alarm system.

On Thursday mornings for the next 6 weeks, I am coaching a WoW Walking Strength and Balance class at 6am. That would explain the wake up call at 5am. You have to pity the person who shares my bed and does not have to attend this invigorating class. Fifteen to 20 minutes of wake-up cardio followed by 40 minutes of strength and balance exercises is fun, but it can still be a tough sell before the sun rises.

It certainly is dark at 6am. When we started an inky blue sky was dotted with stars. Within half an hour the sky turned from light blue to pale orange and finished with a brilliant sunrise. You probably know the rest. It was one of those perfect days that recall the glory of summer even though we're within a week of the autumnal equinox. Those of us out for that Walking Strength and Balance class did not miss one minute of it!

Here's a suggestion for those of you who hate to miss an important moment: this Sunday at 5:53am, it will be autumn, officially. If you set your alarm for 5 am (and may I recommend several other times shortly after 5am?), you could be out on the road to welcome fall. Perfection.

One final word. Many of you know that WoW Power Walkers believe there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes. Tonight my son suggested to me that there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad attitude. So have your clothes ready for whatever weather is going to happen on Sunday morning, set your alarms, and get outside to embrace fall with your best attitude.

Two walking tales

Some of us walk for cappuccino, others have a more noble purpose in mind.

Seven days ago I walked 10 kilometres for a tiny, delectable morsel of hand-made dark Belgian chocolate and an Illy Cappuccino. Then I walked 10 kilometers home. I know this kind of training pit-stop isn't exactly race-specific but the good news is that I walked home and didn't call for special limo pick-up service.

That's my inspiring story. Here's another one.

Yesterday, Myra Rodrigues, a WoW Power Walker who is legally blind walked the a half marathon in St.John's Newfoundland with her guide, another WoW Power Walker, Jess Mills. Myra intends to walk a half marathon in each province and territory in Canada over the next year - the year of her 65th birthday. At the same time she is raising funds for the Braillle Library at the CNIB. Next weekend she is walking in Saint John, New Brunswick. You can find Myra's schedule of marathons and you can help her achieve her goal of helping the CNIB. Go to her website to get all the details:

http://www.cnib.ca/en/national/myras-marathon/Default.aspx

Myra has been an inspiration to many of us over the years so while it's no surprise that she is taking on this impressive challenge, we continue to be in awe of her initiative, her perserverance, and her complete obliviousness to cold! Stay tuned to the blog as we'll try to update you on her experiences.

One thing we learned from her report on yesterday's race: there aren't too many walkers out there on the rock! Myra received a warm welcome, an early start, and a special police escort through the race but she and Jess were the sole walkers on the course. Clearly, we need to spread the WoW walking word to the east coast.

WoW Walkers rise to the top

Have you seen the Wow results on our website? They'll blow your wick-away socks off! Not yet posted is Jill's stunning personal best of 5:30 for the full marathon in Erie Pennsylvania, with Jay pulling in behind her at an outstanding 5:50.

We have some dedicated walkers out there and the race results reflect that. Look for Toad results in a couple of weeks!

We're leaders in other ways too. Check out the first-ever walking pace bunnies above who graced the roads of the Oakville half Marathon. Kudos to Linda, Stuart, Lyne, and Hans.

In case anyone is wondering what to do next, it looks like we're gaining momentum to have a big group walk the Angus Glen Half Marathon north of Toronto on November 4. Could it be everyone has had enough of the ceaseless rain in Niagara Falls? Or could it be that the Angus Glen race organizers welcome walkers with such a big bear hug? Sign up soon because last year this event sold out early.

Be sure to post here if you've got some other fun race ideas in your future this fall.
And don't forget this weekend is the Terry Fox Run and Walk. It's not competitive but we love its spirit.

Water station fun at the Oakville Half Marathon

First, I do apologize for seemingly walking off the blog! End of summer enthusiasm dragged me away from the computer.

And, then there was the Oakville Half Marathon on Labour Day Monday that got many of us up, out of bed, and on our feet before the sun rose...but napping on the couch by 3pm!

Thank you, thank you, to the many people who came out to the water station. If you've been in a race, you know how it lifts spirits to get water and Gatorade from enthusiastic volunteers.

For all the races I've walked and finish line cheering I've done, this was the first time I helped at a water station. Not only was it fun, but it was a good learning experience.

Here is some of what I learned:

1. If the weather is bad on race day, it would be better to be a participant than a volunteer. On bad weather races, I will ALWAYS thank volunteers as I go by.

2. It is MUCH trickier than you think to keep the road beside the water station clean. I vow to try to put my used cups in waste containers when possible or, at the very least, throw them to the side of the road.

3. It is really helpful when a participant calls out a request. Something like "water!" or "Gatorade!” That way they can be directed to those volunteers offering the beverage of choice. Also, it makes for exceptional "flow-through", if participants point to the volunteer from whom they are planning on grabbing a cup. I vow to shout "water" or "Gatorade" and point to the happiest looking volunteer.

4. Never wear your favorite clothes to help at a water station. There appears to be a strange gravitational field between clothing and Gatorade. Corollary: if you don't like sticky clothes, hand out water.

5. Noisemakers are fun. Noisemakers that require only one hand to create the noise are the best: one hand for noisemaking, one hand for passing out cups. A megaphone would also be great! All the better to cheer you with my dear!

Looking forward to the fall race season!