Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Using Apple Watch to track treadmill runs is probably not a bad idea

I don't really like treadmills.  In fact, if running outside is a legitimate option, then I run outside. However, from time to time (like when one tosses one's spikes during a half marathon) it's best to just hop on the treadmill rather than risk an icy injury.

So this begs the question, how does one track a treadmill run?  Clearly you can just manually add the raw data from a run to apps like Runtastic, but did you know that the Apple Watch can track your treadmill run and somehow even provide a distance total for you at the end of the workout?  I didn't know this until I was on a treadmill a few days ago and noticed several distance alerts (1km, 2km etc.) which seemed a bit strange... for obvious reasons.  At any rate, the distance alerts and splits aligned with the data from the treadmill display.  Nice.


You can track a number of activities, from cycling to rowing and stair-stepping.


"No Goal" is probably a poor choice of words to use in describing a 7k workout, but since I'd prefer to retain the option of maybe going 7.25 or 7.5, I choose the "open" option.


Saturday, February 13, 2016

Adventures in cross-training: the bike commute


So the other day I was starting my car when a funny thing happened: the car died.  Me being me, I took the key off the ring and tossed it aside.  "Screw this," I bristled, "I'm going to bike to work from now on."  And today, I did just that.  Granted, I only went into the office for a few hours (it's Saturday, after all), but I did technically work.  My odyssey was a tad over 21 kilometres, took about 2 hours and resulted in about 1100 calories burned.
Ten kilometres per hour is not a particularly fast speed, but on ice and snow, it's not bad.  I learned that riding on the Saskatchewan Crescent side of the trail is much more difficult than riding on the Spadina Crescent side.  I also learned studded tires are a god-send.  I owe a special thanks to Bike Doctor at 623 Main Street in Saskatoon for doing such a terrific job providing and installing their house brand studded winter tires.
And by the way, studded bike tires have incredible grip and provide a piece of mind when biking on icy surfaces.  I may one day become a fat bike convert, but for today I'm happy with my BRC mountain bike from the '90's.



Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Recipe: Red Bull Smoothie



















Red Bull Smoothie

  • 1 cup Organic Strawberries
  • 1 Organic Banana
  • 1/4 cup Organic Blueberries
  • 1-2 cups of Red Bull (ideally sugar free)
  • 4 Ice Cubes

Blend until you get the desired consistency. For a fun twist add a cup of organic green or black kale, or a half cup of sorbet.  Top with 1/2 cup of Vector Granola (20 grams of protein).

Monday, February 8, 2016

Review and Recap of the Saskatoon Hypothermic Half Marathon

A photo posted by John (@misterspalding) on
When you hear the word "hypothermic" you think cold, right?  If you live in Canada the word probably doesn't startle you very much, but it still carries weight.  Today's Hypothermic Half Marathon kicked off at 9am with a temperature of -4 C.

So here's an entry I made on my iPhone before the race:
Seventeen minutes to the start and there's barely anybody here.  The trail along Spadina Crescent seems to have ice sheets on it--not surprising given that it got above freezing for a sizeable portion of yesterday before refreezing overnight.  As I sit in the car waiting for the start I little little evidence that a race is actually occurring today.  Yet, there in the distance is the familiar red arch from The Running Room.  

In terms of my post-race thoughts, I have a few criticisms... but they are gentle ones because I have a lot of respect for Running Room Saskatoon.  Would it have been nicer to have not had to run on ice for so much of the race?  Yes, but what can you do?  It's not Running Room's fault.  
I knocked off a bunch of 5:30-5:45/k splits before my total lack of proper hydration slowed me down to a 6-6:30/k pace, again not Running Room's fault.  It was a real struggle because we simply didn't have very good aid stations along the course--those that did exist had only paper shot glasses of water (one station had shots of Gatorade).  Needless-to-say, it's probably a good thing that I've considered this race a sort of tune-up and not as my one shot at getting under 2:00 again.  At the end of the day, I ran a 2:07, which was four minutes faster than my pre-race goal of 2:10 (I had no intention of trying to run a sub-2 on ice, although plenty of people did it today).

And the medal?  Nice/funny medal.
The atmosphere? Hard core runners only.  There were not more than 2 or 3 spectators along the course, which didn't bother me either way, but it definitely wasn't the sort of festive atmosphere you see at races like the Saskatchewan or Manitoba Marathons.  In Burlington, Ontario race day is a really big deal!

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Running in Banff



At nearly a metric mile above sea level, Banff, Alberta isn't known as a running city. In fact, as you navigate the thronged sidewalks in the quaint resort town, it becomes apparent rather quickly that this is a place for shopping, skiing and snowboarding. Yet, feeling a need to do some running at elevation, I chose this place to stage my final long run before the Hypothermic Half Marathon in Saskatoon (500 metres above sea level) on February 7th.

Sure enough, as Canadian Running points out, there are "a few gentle rolls, but nothing significant". It's pretty flat, and as you run along the path you'll notice the Vermillion Lakes and Mount Rundle.

In winter it's not a bad idea to wear spikes as you run the 4.5 kilometre span.  And watch out, although the speed limit is 30, I saw one minivan speed along at at least 60.

For the most part, though, I think I had a tougher time dealing with the added elevation of Banff than I did with the temperature or terrain.  (Truth be told, it took me a few weeks to adjust to running in Saskatoon, which is at 500 metres above sea level--at 1500 metres above sea level, Banff presents an entirely different challenge.)

The views along the way were quite beautiful, but the bear-proof waste receptacles were quite unnerving.  After all, why would you have bear-proof receptacles?  Do I risk running into such animals?

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of my run was how elevated my heart rate got.  At 160 bpm, my heart rate was clearly higher than my usual slow run--I spent 57% of the run in the Anaerobic zone! I didn't really get comfortable during my run, though I did find a rhythm at the turn-around point.
Along the way I encountered two other runners, and in the tradition of running in Canada, we exchanged greetings.
Of course, I'm back in Saskatchewan now, and ready for the Hypothermic Half Marathon.

Here are a few pics from the rest of the run!





And for the hell of it, a shot of Banff Avenue: