Walking in woods

This past weekend I had the most excellent fortune to be in one of the best walking cities in Canada - Victoria on Vancouver Island. As some of you may remember from a long ago blog, I am privileged to visit this idyllic corner of our country frequently because much of my family lives there.

In past years my Victoria walks have taken me along the paved paths beside the ocean. I never tire of walking by the ocean. The light lifts my spirits as much as the exercise. I savour both the pungent odours of the intertidal zone and the cool ocean breezes that can’t be experienced beside Lake Ontario.

By coincidence of where I was staying last weekend, it was more convenient for me to walk wooded trails in the early morning.

Walking in the woods on soft trails affords a calmer, more reflective experience. During one of these walks my father, who was my walking companion, suggested that our walk wasn’t like my normal walks. True enough. On these trails, roots and stones make it impossible to move at the speeds that I achieve on paved trails.

The workout is less cardiovascular and more proprioceptive. I can feel my brain working to process the challenges of balance necessary on trails. It’s a good change for a few days after the rigorous speed and endurance challenges of training for two full marathons in the past month.

I like the calm of the woods and I am struck by how walking in different environments can elicit a sense of well-being with such variation on mood.

Please post here if you have a favourite walking environment.

P.S. If you take a walk in an Ontario wood this weekend you might see the trillium in its final days.

Short and fast walking races of spring

Six years ago when I started WoW Power Walking I never thought that a Sunday would come in southern Ontario where we could choose between two races with walking divisions on the same day.

Well, on June 1 the 6th annual Alfie Shrubb Classic 8k race in Bowmanville is being held at the exact time that the Art Keay Memorial Racewalk 5k race is being held on Toronto Island.

Oh, the boundless walking riches!

Several years ago Al Storrie - he of legendary enthusiasm for legendary runner Alfie Shrubb, decided to welcome walkers to his memorial race with a walking division that included walker registration, walker start, walker results, and prizes for top three male and female finishers. Just this year the Art Keay Memorial Racewalk event has added a 5k power walk!

I have been struggling over which race to walk. It's like choosing between Dufflets' toasted almond torte and Dufflets' banana cake - it's a difficult choice because they are both so enticing! The good news is I can't lose by either choice.

For this year, I have decided to attend the Alfie Shrubb because Al is just so enthusiastic (did I mention that he is legendary for his enthusiasm?) and because I will be acting as a guide for Myra Rodrigues. Myra and I need to practice before our half marathon together at the Mayo Sun Run on June 21 in Mayo, Yukon. (More on that later!)

I hope that those of you who can't make it out as far as Bowmanville will take a trip over to Toronto Island. It's so exciting to have the race walking community recognize the efforts of power walkers. I think it will be exciting for the power walkers to see race walking in action.

Be sure to post here any thoughts on either race as well as your own plans for the upcoming short distance race season.

Cleveland Marathon

4:45 am. Heavy rain outside my hotel window. Heavy rain posted on the weather network website. My bed is enticing.

Ah well, I drove my car more than five and a half hours to get to this marathon, it would be silly to pack it all in for a cozy morning under the bed covers.

And, of course, I'm here on a research mission - to see how my body withstands two full marathons in one month. My usual coaching recommendation: set yourself up for success. This would preclude walking two marathons only three weeks apart. But I've coached enough people who have walked marathons with such minimal recovery time that I feel a personal responsibility to test the challenge.

Following the gruelling hills of the Big Sur course just three weeks ago, the best I hope for is that my body will take me from start to finish without suffering injury or insanity.

The sky is letting loose with water as I leave the hotel. Fortunately, it is a 5 minute walk to the start. The hotel staff are beyond helpful. I've been down to the front desk to borrow scissors to cut the top off my Sport Bean and Clif Blok Shot bags. Then, I am back down to ask someone to staple by disposable chip timing device to my shoelace because the adhesive is non-existent. Now, there is a hotel staff person handing out garbage bags as I leave for the race.

Thousands of us cram into the start chute with water attacking us from top to bottom. It's falling from the sky and dripping down the backs of our necks while our shoes wick it up from the puddles on the road.

The race gun goes and we are off into the sodden streets of Cleveland - a city which proves to be eminently walkable for a marathon. The course is beautiful despite the rain. By mile three, I am already thinking my legs are fatigued and I am wondering what I am doing out here when the Big Sur hills are still felt keenly by every muscle fibre in my calves.

There is so much to say about the race, but for now let me tell you that this race was walked all my head. My body was tired from the marathon I walked three weeks ago. I talked to myself, I cajoled myself and I entertained myself. At one point I inspired myself by deciding that the challenge of life is that it is often two steps forward and one step back, while the reward of marathon walking is that it is always one step forward!

All along the route I called upon different muscle groups to help push my feet forward. In the final two miles I was reduced to drawing upon my transverse abdominus!

So, the miracle is that I finished the race injury free, with my mind intact. The preposterous and unexpected result was a personal best and a first place finish!

Now what do I tell all of you out there asking for sage racing advice?

Mississauga Marathon 2008

I'm divided on whether I'd rather be walking a race or cheering participants in a race. It's all so much fun. Cheering can be a tad unruly what with all the recording devices one can carry these days but I hope you enjoy the result. The attached video gives you an idea of the amazing feats (feets?!) of competitive power walkers in yesterday's half marathon. And, you just have to love Mayor Hazel welcoming all the competitors!

The walking division in the Mississauga event could use some refining. Results for the walkers were posted with the runners initally. Today, the walking results have been posted separately although there appear to be several walkers still ranked with the runners.

And, of course, there is the big question as to whether everyone, especially the lead walkers ahead of Stacey Saunders, were walking. I was standing in the vicinity of 14k for quite some time before Stacey came through and I saw no walker ahead of her. Again, it could just be a matter of race organizers posting walking guidleines on the registration confirmations and the website.

Please post your thoughts, if you participated or cheered at any of the events associated with the Mississauga Marathon.

Pre race questions

The Mississauga Marathon is just a few days away and we have several people walking their first half marathon at this event. There are always excellent questions asked of me by virgin marathoners.


One question often repeated is "What can I do about sore shins at the beginning of a race?" Well, it's not exactly the shins that are sore - it's the muscle alongside the shin bone or tibia - the tibialis anterior. Many people, when they walk really fast, feel this muscle fatiguing.


It's a small muscle, and our brain sends lots of messages for it to work hard when we want to speed up or walk. Quite often I recommend that people use their brain to send a message to the glutes (much bigger muscles!) to take over from the tibialis anterior.


Sometimes, and often at the beginning of a race, this just isn't sufficient.


I know one of our coaches is going out for a 3k walk before the half marathon on Sunday to give the shins time to warm up before the start gun.

One of my tricks is to have a warm bath before I leave for the start. In the warm water I massage the muscles of the calves (gastroc and soleus) as well as the tibialiss anterior while moving the foot through a flexion and dorsiflexion movement (i.e. pointing and flexing). After that I try to keep the legs warm by layering extra pants. Once I get to the race, I find a clear place to pace up and down.

So, if you are walking the race this weekend, good luck! If you have any pre-race questions, ask them here. Or, if you have any pre-race suggestions make them here!

Sporting Life 10k

The view of 10,000 runners and walkers making their way down Yonge Street is worth the price of admission to the Sporting Life 10k. This was my second year participating in the race and for reasons I can't explain entirely, it swells my heart to see the swath of people, not cars, crowding the lanes of Yonge Street.

The race advertises a walking division and a walking start 10 minutes after the general start. Last year there was a sign indicating where walkers should gather, but no one gathered! This was disappointing. It meant that walkers started randomnly among the runners.

This year there was a volunteer standing in the vicinity of the "Walkers" sign. When approached, she indicated that she was there to direct us. Unfortunately, as close as three to four minutes before the run start at 8am, she seemed to have little sense of authority and even less idea of what we should be doing or where we should be going. Without a headset to the start officials, she had little direction to give us.

Within 5 minutes after the official start, a different volunteer with a headset did approach those of us who had gathered and we were led to the start line. And, as promised, there was an "official" countdown and start for walkers at 8:10. Incremental improvement since the previous year! And, lesson learned, look for the person with a headset.

Within a few minutes of starting I was passing people who were walking and wearing walking bibs indicating their registration as a walker. Over the course of the race, and even up until the last few hundred meters, I passed several more people wearing walking bibs.

For walking participants, the race would benefit from clearer instructions on the website and email updates as to the organization of the walking start. We may be small in number, but we are a growing division. Moreover, it shouldn't take too much time or money to clarify the logistics for the walking start and the guidelines for participation as a walker.

I look forward to the race next year and, hopefully, another leap forward in its organization for walkers!

More on Big Sur

It's very hard to leave the Big Sur coast.

The last thre days have been cool and windy but bright sunshine has illuminated the coast to perfection. I've spent these days driving south from Carmel to soak in the vistas one more time and to discover new hiking trails. Now, sadly, it's check out time and there won't be any more drives or walks until next year.

I am publishing a very rudimentary video of our fun. It is posted with the previous post to this one.

You may notice, there are no video shots of the race or the course! I left the videocam at home on race mornng...thinking I would be better to concentrate on not falling over the edge into the Pacific! Maybe a walk-cam could be a 2009 goal.

In any case, I hope this video gives you an idea of our activies for the weekend and the fun we had.

For those of you who have walked Big Sur with us in the past, be sure to post your favorite moments here.