Vancouver Olympics and WoW Power Walking connection

In December we touched the torch. Over the coming days of the Olympics we are privy to an insider's view of the Richmond Oval.

Last December we were so thrilled for WoW Power Walker Jeff Guthrie who carried the Olympic flame in Kingston, Ontario and who returned to Oakville bringing the unlit, but torched, torch for us all to see.

Now that the Olympics have begun we have a WoW Power Walking connection to what's going on in the stunning Richmond Oval, site of long track speed skating. One of our most committed walkers, Carleen Carroll, is acting as a public relations volunteer at the venue.

I recommend Carleen's blog which she is writing for the local paper, the Oakville Beaver. It's the next best thing to being there!

http://www.insidehalton.com/listing/blog

What a week for WoW Power Walkers

The Olympic torch and the Boston Marathon had a way of making our hearts swell this past week.

WoW Power Walker Jeff Guthrie brought his Olympic torch to our annual Winter Solstice Coffee and Muffin walk. Here we are snuggling close to feel a little Olympic love.

Jeff ran (gasp!) 300m of the torch in Kingston last Tuesday even though we suspect he was chosen for this honour as word has spread of his great walking feats.

All torch bearers wear the official white workout suit you see above, including the white beanie and red mittens. Dropped off at his designated exchange location, he was told to stand with the torch in his right hand crossed over toward his left shoulder. A small Canadian flag on the torch would then be located over his heart. O Canada!

After completing his 300m portion of the route, the torch was immediately dismantled so that it can never be used again. He gets to keep it - just keep it flameless.

Jeff says he really has no words to describe the emotions of being part of the Olympic dream. I understand. Watching the torch being passed from Olympian Adam VanKoeverden to Olympian John Woods last Saturday, I found my heart growing large. No matter how cynical we get about drug doping, politics, and overspending in difficult times - there should always be a place and a time in our lives to aspire to excellence. At its core that is the essence of the Olympics.

Jeff is no stranger to working hard at his own athletic pursuits of personal excellence. Never considering himself an athlete prior to power walking, he has worked consistently every year since his first marathon in Niagara Falls in 2002 to improve his form and his speed. Last year he walked a 50k ultramarathon in Niagara - winning the walking division in the blink-of-an-eye-time of 5:51:49.

Speaking of excellence - what about Boston? Walking the Boston Marathon is usually thought to be impossible for walkers since the qualification times are virtually impossible to achieve when walking - even for the fastest walkers.

Defying all odds in their quest for marathon walking excellence, WoW coach Jill and her husband Jay - both of whom started their walking journey with us in 2005, training for the Honolulu Marthon - have been given two coveted walking spots in the 2010 Boston Marathon!! Jill, who won the walking division of the Ottawa Marathon last year and who has finished a couple of marathons under 5 hours and her husband Jay (who is closing the gap to five hours) will be heading down to the famed race in April. Just like Jeff with the Olympic torch, we're at a loss for words. You've done us all proud Jill and Jay!

Please post any words of excitement for all of this walking excellence!

Bad dressing (it's better than bad behaviour!)

Are your shorts on inside out? - gentle query from respectful husband.

Did you go walking like that??? - appalled comment from teenage son.

Apparently, yes, to both questions. What can I say?

In the words of Sara Jeannette Duncan - "One loses many laughs by not laughing at oneself."


Very true although I do admit to being grateful for two things.

1. That I was just on a training walk by myself and not coaching a class of 20!

2. That my shorts did not have contrasting colours of inner liner versus outer short!


If you feel like sharing any of your own inglorious moments. Post here! It's good to laugh!

Johnny Rowe Marathon Walker

Been walking much lately? How about 3,200 kilometres? Today's Globe and Mail obituary described the life of famed Canadian walker Johnny Rowe who averaged this distance every year for 27 years and who died on May 28. According to the Globe and Mail, Rowe described marathon walking as "a chance to accomplish something without mechnical aid". I suspect he would have scoffed at those of us chained to our GPS devices.

Also, according to the obituary, Rowe considered marathon walking "a time to do a lot of deep thinking." Now, I might not go so far as to describe my thought as deep, but I can say that on my personal walks, I frequently find myself enjoying a meditative state during which stream of consciousness ideas clarify issues that have been weighing on me or, better yet, I imagine ideas for fun things to do (side plank dips with band resistance anyone?). At the very least, there is a positive "filing and prioritizing" process that happens in my brain that makes me happier.

In any case, the description of Rowe is inspiring and many of you reading this will find common ground with a pioneer marathon walker.

Here is the link


http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090610.OBROWE10ART2111//TPStory/Obituaries


And many thanks to Darrell and Vera who forwarded me this information and who must have known I had no time to enjoy my morning paper!

Walking and body image

Over the years I have been so inpired by the many people who have joined our program and changed their lives in really profound ways beyond even improving their fitness levels. This is certainly true of our coaches - Helena, Karin Lynn, Krista, Vera and now Jill. A few short years ago, none of these amazing coaches imagined what walking could do for their fitness. Today, they are helping others transform their walking workouts and their lives. So, it's exciting to see their stories making it out to the broader world to inspire an even bigger audience and so that we can be reminded that they walk the talk. Check out this online story which recently came to my attention about WoW Power Walking coach Vera Guthrie.


http://www.redbookmag.com/health-wellness/advice/why-we-walk-1107

Myra's Marathon comes to its final glorious finish line

Hearty congratulations to Myra Rodrigues for completing the final 21.1 kilometres in her journey walking a half marathon in each Canadian province and territory to raise funds for the library at the Canadian Institute for the Blind (CNIB).

Myra began her trek a year ago. On Sunday she crossed the finish line of the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon with a gang of ardent supporters at her side and more cheerleaders shouting from the sidelines. Over 13 half marathons Myra has walked 274.3 kilometres – not including training walks! Myra’s commitment to seeing her goal of raising money for the CNIB Library – so that all may read – is inspirational.

Many of you may have read my posting on this blog about my trip last June with Myra to Mayo, Yukon where I was privileged to guide her on one of these 13 half marathons. The significance of Myra’s reason for walking really hit me that weekend. As her guide, I was prepared for all the challenges that face someone who can not see. The difficulties of navigating through airports, public washrooms, and along a race course were obvious. Well, sort of obvious, I learned a lot about how poorly public washrooms are designed for the visually challenged.

As we settled into our seats for our flight to Vancouver en route to Whitehorse, Myra pulled out a hefty “book” of white sheets. It was a copy of the Braille Courier – a compendium of news and magazine articles transcribed by the CNIB. Myra was reading an article that had been transcribed from the Walrus – coincidentally an article that I had read when it was published last March. It was an article about how Canadian universities won’t give failing grades to young people any more. It was controversial and it was thought-provoking. I passed it along to some power walkers whose university-age daughter I thought might find it interesting or possibly irritating!

The thing is I couldn’t just pass it along to Myra or anyone else who is severely visually impaired. I need the CNIB to be there.

As an avid reader, and some may say my reading habit has the qualities of an addict, discovering Myra reading an article that I had read three months earlier felt like a slap on the face that woke me to something that wasn’t as obvious as the travails of getting around as a blind person. Every day I read whatever is in front of me – the newspaper, magazines that come to the house, even cereal boxes. Every day reading adds to the richness of my life.

How does the CNIB find the resources to transcribe all the interesting material that is available to sighted readers into Braille and talking book? It’s a question that remains unanswered for me but I am grateful to Myra and her extraordinary commitment to walk these 13 half marathons over the past year. She has raised more than $60,000 to help them tackle this daunting task.

If you walk and you read, there’s still time to donate to Myra’s Marathon at www.cnib.ca/myrasmarathon .

Marathoning in Hawaii, and Pennsylvania, and Virginia, and Ohio, and...

Did you know that there is a special club for people who complete a marathon in each of the 50 U.S. States? Well, it's true and two of our intrepid walkers are on their way to becoming members of the club. Their strait jackets should arrive with their membership cards!

Jay and Jill are walking the Myrtle Beach Marathon in less than two weeks and it will be their 8th marathon since they crossed the finish line in Honolulu in December 2005. They are two more marathons away from being able to apply as a standard member in the 50 States Marathon Club. A standard member has to have completed at least 10. Full members have completed the full 50 in 50 different states.

The couple always have a few marathons on the horizon. It seems to help them avoid post marathon depression because they are always in training for the next one! Or, possibly the experience of the previous 7 marathons has left their brains slightly oxygen deprived. I think I even overhead Jill talking about a marathon on each continent!

Seriously, walking with the two of them should come with a warning that you might overdose on optimism. Their enthusiasm is infectious.

So, if you found that December hiatus from training just a bit too long and are wanting a lifelong walking project, check out the website.

www.50statesmarathonclub.com

Encouragement for Jay and Jill's Myrtle Beach event are welcome here!

Silly season

For two full weeks I have been delinquent in attending to my blogging responsibilities. Also, missing from my weekly routine are invigorating Sunday morning training walks.

Just today, after a weekend of indulgent revelry, I am prepared to state that I have satisfied my inner sloth and I am ready to return to serious walking and to writing about serious walking!

Well...not too serious. As I ease back into blogging and in the interests of entertaining any of you reading this, I've posted this pic of some very silly WoW Power Walkers sashaying along the chicest streets in Toronto in support of the Hospital for Sick Children.

Kudos to Darrell, Jeff, Lisa, Patti, and Stacey who donned RED HOT SPEEDOS and walked (well maybe jogged a bit too!) just under 3 kilometres from Hemingway's Pub in Yorkville and back again, to raise money for gifts for those children who must stay in the hospital over the holiday season. Together they raised over $5,000!

So you see, there's much more to this than just logging miles: there's camaraderie and cavorting, fun and fund-raising, and not to forget beer and buff bodies!

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.

Walking for a cause

The heat not only got the better of me yesterday, apparently it caused severe distress to my computer! I experienced a catastrophic malfunction of my computer screen. Hence, the delay in posting something until tonight.

Over lunch today I had fun with WoW Power Walker, Myra Rodrigues being interviewed and filmed by the The Weather Network. They are airing a promotional piece for Myra who is undertaking a fun and challenging project to raise money for the CNIB Braille library. To celebrate her 65th birthday Myra, who is legally blind, is completing a half marathon in every province and territory in Canada over the next year. She kicks off her power walking adventure with the half marathon in St. John's, Newfoundland on September 16th. The next weekend you'll find her walking the Marathon by the Sea in St. John, New Brunswick. Three weeks later she'll be strutting her stuff in Prince Edward Island. The rest of her half marathons will be completed in 2008 with her grand finale race back home at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon next September 2008.

Those of you who know Myra, know she never does anything in half measures. We look forward to seeing how Myra accomplishes this challenging goal. She will likely inspire lots of people along the way with her determination, her commitment to fitness, and her commitment to helping the CNIB.

I urge you to support Myra in any way possible: donate directly to her cause, spread the word about her campaign to friends, family and co-workers, help her find sponsors to pay for airfare or accommodation at her marathons, cheer her on at any of her races. You can find lots of details at her website. www.cnib.ca/myrasmarathon