Snow before Thanksgiving

Well, if you live in Saskatchewan, then you are probably affected by the blizzard-like snowfall that recently occurred.  Not much turnout at last night's run club, but those of us who did brave the elements had the options of test-driving Salomon Spikecross 3 shoes. 

That centre pair was mine--post run. I found the shoes to grip the wintry mix of snow and slush very nicely, while keeping my feet dry. My only problem, and I think other runners may well agree, is that the arch support could be a little better.  I went into Brainsport today and picked up a fresh pair of the Spikecross 3's along with a pair of insoles.

A review of Brainsport's 100% Kenyan Roast Coffee

In the very recent past, Brainsport began offering coffee for sale at its store on 10th Street East. I make it a point of buying fair trade coffee from local businesses, so in buying coffee from Brainsport I am holding true to my beliefs.
I picked up a bag of their beans.  I should say at the outset because neither the weight nor volume are listed on the package, it's hard to make an educated guess as to whether the coffee is worth buying without your own scale.
Luckily I have a digital scale and was able to ascertain that the bag of whole beans (correcting for the tare weight) I purchased was 115 grams. Given a price of $8.80, this is incredibly expensive coffee.

But before we evaluate it, let's consider the claims made on the bag.  First, this is organic coffee. Second, it is from Kenya. Those are the relevant claims.  Searching the website listed on the bag, rockpapercoffee.ca, reveals that these coffee beans were roasted here in Saskatchewan.

Ordinarily I'll buy about 300 grams of Organic Fair Trade Ethiopian coffee beans from McQuarrie's Tea & Coffee Merchants for about $12.  For comparison's sake, you can buy about 454 grams of Tim Horton's coffee beans for about $7.50 at supermarkets.

For my review I prepared this coffee three times over two days in order to get a real sense of whether or not I might have an even more expensive coffee habit.

Cup #1. To be sure, after adding three tablespoons of coconut milk coffee cream (no sugar... ever), I was able to determine that, in fact, the coffee tastes like an organic fair trade coffee.  This is a very good sign.  Generally speaking I really dislike vegan coffee cream options, but with this blend of coffee it actually tasted okay.  Still, it's no better than the fair trade coffee I usually get.

Cup #2: Prepared "Bulletproof" style with 15ml of MCT Oil, 2 tablespoons of unsalted grass-fed butter, blended for 30 seconds in a blender.  This method produced one of the best cups of bulletproof coffee I have ever had.  I'm not sure exactly why this particular bean produces such a great cup of bulletproof coffee.  Could it be how it was roasted? Maybe it's the quality of nutrients in the soil where this coffee was grown?

Cup #3: Prepared with three tablespoons of 18% cream.  This was a good cup of coffee, but was it worth the cost?  Well, I'll defer that question.

At any rate, I think the cost of $8.80 (that's after GST is assessed) makes this a little too rich for my blood, though I'm sure I'll buy a few more of these from time to time.  The coffee isn't bad, and it's always a good thing to support local businesses.  I love the idea of offering Kenyan coffee!

Recap of the 2016 Brainsport Brainfreeze Half Marathon

Rule #1 of racing, always move furniture the night before, and then refuel with a Twix.

I don't have any other rules, so I'll stick to the recap.  As you might expect, if you live in Saskatoon, Brainsport events are generally well organized and fun.  So let's discuss.
First off, the half and 10k both got started on time and followed 10th Street East to Broadway, where it continued over the Broadway Bridge and onto 4th Avenue.  Then the course turned right onto 20th Street and winded onto the trail along the river (heading North) up to the turn-around point near the Waste Treatment Facility.  There was still a fair amount of ice along the course and at times you had to dodge and jump a bit just to avoid it.
I ran my first kilometre at a 4:38 pace, which (upon hearing Runtastic announce it) caused me to slow down to a cruising speed of about 5:35, which became my average pace.  The next kilometre was alongside the South Saskatchewan River (as all but the final kilometre would be) with views of the Bessborough Hotel as well as the river, of course.
Like everyone else whose run on the trail--which I should identify as the Meewasin Trail, for anyone from outside Saskatoon--I'm familiar with the dips and depressions and all the little things that a runner needs to know to pace him or herself properly.  I know, for example, that running the path under the University Bridge is a damned good time to bank a few seconds by speeding up a tad.  I also know that the ascending path from the late Mendal Art Gallery to Spadina can be, on occasion, kind of an annoying little jaunt.

As it turns out the Brainfreeze is not chip timed, nor is it a fun run either.  The race, which benefits the Huskies Cross Country Team, is something of a throwback--in some ways it reminds me of my military days when we'd run our allotted distance and then shouted our bib numbers out at one of the NCO's at the finish line. At the Brainfreeze, each runner's timing is recorded by hand.  The post race spread is not unimpressive, though I did have one complaint.  The spread consisted of water and coffee, pastries and bagels... but no protein recovery drinks.  Not a big deal as I was able to secure a small quantity of Muscle Milk from the local 7-11.

 For what it's worth, I ran in a pair of Hoka Bondi 4's.  I probably would have finished a few minutes earlier in lighter racing shoes, but as nearly all my training has been in Hokas, I didn't think it was a good idea to change anything major for race day.   I wore an Adidas cold weather sweater, with the Brainfreeze's technical shirt underneath, and a pair of New Balance running pants.  I was perhaps slightly overdressed for the event, but it's better to be overdressed than underdressed.

As for my own race and performance, right as I got to the 19k point I knew I had locked-up a sub-2 hour half marathon, barring either a bizarre injury or epic meltdown of some sort.  In fact, I had maybe 15-16 minutes to finish the remaining two kilometres.  Naturally, though, those final two thousand metres would be the toughest of the entire race as they would be almost entirely uphill--to the tune of over 60 metres of elevation over the 19k mark.  I struggled, of course, running uphill on the Broadway Bridge into Nutana and my heart rate climbed to more than 185 bpm.  But as I made the final turn, I realized that I had a PR locked-up.  It was a good race.

Brainsport's Run Club Review & Happy 25th Brainsport!

Quite a turnout at Brainsport!

A photo posted by John (@misterspalding) on Jan 20, 2016 at 4:06pm PST

Last night I ran with Brainsport's run club for the first time since 2014.  Since moving to Saskatoon I've bought nearly all my running shoes from Brainsport, including two pairs of Hokas recently, and I've purchased a fair amount of gear as well.  It's fairly evident to me that Brainsport really has not only become the premiere running store in Saskatoon (perhaps even Saskatchewan) but also the premiere run club as well, and here's why:
The first thing I noticed when I was parking my car on 10th Street was just how many people I saw in running gear on the sidewalks making their way to the store (most of them were actually running).  I felt like I was entering a church on Sunday morning.
Brainsport's owner and co-founder, Brian Michasiw, was on hand and made several announcements related to the store's 25th Anniversary, including a Las Vegas trip giveaway--note: I did not enter to win the trip.  Brian has won the Saskatchewan Marathon numerous times and is something of a running celebrity I think.
As it turned out Wednesday's run club meeting had nearly a dozen different pace groups, including run/walk, run and just walking groups.  I joined the C group, which ran a 6:00/k pace and was led by Brainsport Alumni Ian.  Sure enough we quickly knocked off nearly seven kilometres at that quick pace (I say quick because it was on snow, and many of us wore spikes).  Our fastest split was a 5:44.
It was a great deal of fun to be running with such enthusiastic and motivated people--so much so that our 42 minute run felt too short.

The Saskatchewan Marathon Expo

Today was packet pick-up day at Prairieland Park for tomorrow's big race. That's right, folks, the Saskatchewan Marathon is tomorrow.  I'm running the 5k event, which is probably a good thing as I'm still on the mend.  My next half marathon will be in June, with another to follow in July.  But for now I get to cut my teeth on another 5k.

The Team Diabetes folks even had fake tattoos (not pictured here), in addition to stickers. Brainsport was on hand... selling some interesting gear.  I got the marathon hat... 

Kind of interesting that they brought the start/finish line to the expo.  Does that normally happen?

This part was a little weird since no one seemed to care about the guest speaker.

Canadian humor.

Arresting Developments in Saskatoon (or, today's extended Half Marathon recap).

Saskatoon Police Half Marathon
Downtown Core, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Distance: 21K
Time: 2:19:18
Pace: 10:15
Best Split: 8:46
Rank: 42/57
AG: 43.38%
Post race meal: Chocolate Milk, Iced Coffee and Blueberry Muffin from Tim Hortons

Comments: Some days you have it, some days you don't.  Let's look at the positives: I finished... despite two injuries (IT Band and SI Joint Syndromes).

The highlight of the day was when my knee seemed to buckle from the IT band pain.  Of course, sans a foam roller, I had to get by using my phone to release the IT band.  That was not terribly pleasant, but it allowed me the ability to finish without destroying my knee.

The race started at 8am on a misty Sunday morning. Runners crossed the start line, which was between police cars with whirling police lights.  Notice the theme here?
(Luckily, as bad as my time was, it did not lead to my arrest.)  After a circuitous route through Downtown Core, we wound down to Victoria Park and along the river.  I ran a tad bit faster than I had planned to.  Right around 5k is when my knee started to hurt, and my quads and hamstrings started to argue with me.  The problem is basically this: because of the SI Joint point, I needed to have a hip adjustment (simple procedure... done several times). Because my hips adjusted and aligned properly, I'm now "burning different fibers of the same muscles."  In English, I'm rebuilding my leg endurance.  I'm not really able to do much about my muscles during a race, but my knee was another matter.  As I mentioned before, I used my android phone (in lieu of a foam roller) to massage my IT band. The result was that the horrific/sharp pain that accompanies IT band syndrome was minimized.  Alas, I would have to do this virtually every 1-3 kilometers, and that is what really killed my pace.

Saturday's Long Run Recap: Twelve Kilometers

I woke up at 7am and had some crystal light and a medium sized blueberry muffin.  Run time was 90 minutes away, so I needed to start thinking about what I was going to wear: which shoes, which technical shirt and so forth.
I've broken my habit of not stretching prior to running and stretched my hamstrings.  The SI joint pain I've been having, and the complementary problems have gradually made my runs more and more painful.
Today's long was was supposed to be a quick and painless 12k.  I even joked to my girlfriend (the night before) that it was basically a rest day.
As usual the meet-up place is Brainsport on Broadway Avenue.
The blueberry muffin was a big mistake. I learn this painful lesson (again) around the 4th kilometer. A moment later my left lateral ligament in my left knee is starting to feel like hell.  Hmmm, I wonder, how am I going to complete today's run?
Sure enough, it gets worse as we descend on the dirt trails off the river at a fairly fast pace. Despite a general lack of ice anywhere, I actually manage to stumble on a rock, but that was as close as I came to falling down.
We pass the Mendel Art Galley and I do a hit and run check in on Four Square and unlock the "Warhol Badge".
The wind is brisk (at 40kph in some places), and this fact is killing our pace.
After six kilometers we come to a stop and turn around, but not before some of us refuel. In an instant, cliff bars, gels and assorted consumables are in the hands of the other runners.  I generally don't refuel during runs under 16k, but if I were going to refuel, I'd eat a banana or have a GU (or other power gel).
Rather than heading to Saskatchewan Crescent, we stay on Spadina Crescent and complete out run "out and back" style.  My knee responded well to the Tylenol tablets I had taken on the run.  I'm certainly not pain free, but I'm not on the verge of dropping out of the run either (as I was two weeks prior).
After we reach Rotary Park (roughly 11k into our run), we do a hill.  To my own embarrassment, my breathing is becoming more and more labored.  Soon I'm wondering what the hell is happening to me that I'd be winded from a simple hill (and given how many times I aced the Williamsburg Bridge in New York, my concern is legit).
Then comes a gentle wave of stomach discomfort.  Could it be that swallowing Tylenol and gulping water on the run was a bad idea? I've never been sick on a run before, but I'm getting close.  My god, I thought when it was all happening, am I actually getting my ass kicked by a 12k run?!
I'm relieved when we finally arrive at Broadway Avenue.
When my girlfriend and I drove to a late breakfast later, we both noted the strong winds and swirling dust of snow, as well as the fact that it was a chilly -3C outside.  I asked myself: I actually ran in this?!

Sunday's race in Saskatoon (which I didn't register for) is a 5k fun run by the Saskatoon Zoo Society.  Although I love the idea of the race, I want my first race in Saskatoon to be a timed event.  That said, the Saskatoon Police Half Marathon on April 27th is coming very soon... and I am registered.