The Three Wise Men (and one woman)

There are a ton of personalities in the fitness and sports universe who all purport to have the "best" advice for athletes of all shapes, sizes and pursuits. Some of them are full of nothing but hogwash, or simply trying to sell you something.

Buzzwords: the scourge of trying to find any real sense.

It can be difficult to determine among the cacophony of different voices whom you can trust, but looking for evidence-based writing is a great start. The following four individuals are people who are doing real research into the human body, its limits, and how to extend them.

1. Ross Tucker - Science of Sport

Tucker's writings on his website cover a vast range of topics with the endurance sport world, including everything from analysis of the dominance of African running, through doping and controversies over athlete gender, detailed reports on the Tour de France from 2009-2014 and even athlete management and sponsorship. You can follow him on twitter here.

2. Alex Hutchinson - Sweat Science

Whether it's from his articles in Runner's World, those written for Outside Online, or his new book entitled "Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance", this is probably not the first time you're hearing about this gentleman if you pay any attention to current theories on endurance sport. Nutrition, training methodology, doping, probiotics, world records or athletes' susceptibility to diabetes - no topic is beyond the scope of this former Canadian national team distance runner and physicist. You can follow him on twitter here.

3. Asker Jeukendrup - MySportScience

While some might question the impartiality of a man technically employed by Gatorade, it's difficult to cast aspersions on the quality of research published by this Dutch-born exercise physiologist who has published more than 200 peer-reviewed journal articles and currently holds two professorial positions with the Universities of Birmingham and Loughborough. His findings regarding sports nutrition, carbohydrate intake and metabolism during endurance exercise have had a significant impact on the fueling protocols for elite athletes in recent years, and he holds a special place in my heart at the moment for publishing a paper detailing best practices for healing tendon injuries. You can follow him on twitter here.

4. Stacy Sims - Osmo Nutrition

With multiple postgraduate degrees in exercise physiology and nutritional science, Sims has dedicated herself in recent years to a somewhat daunting pursuit: investigating the unique physiology and nutritional requirements of female endurance athletes. With the tagline "we are not small men", she has endeavored to shed some long-overdue light on the needs and responses of the ever-growing population of women who wish to perform at the highest levels. While she is less than impartial when it comes to the company she founded as a result of her research - Osmo Nutrition - her articles and book "ROAR: How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health and A Strong, Lean Body for Life" (co-authored by Selene Yeager) provide incredible insights into female exercise physiology that are invaluable for any woman trying to wring every last drop of performance out of their body and training. You can follow her on twitter here.

So there you have my shortlist of scientists to whom I will listen when they have something to say about endurance sport - people doing real research into how we can become better athletes, whether operating at an elite level or simply trying to live a long, healthy life in sport. I encourage you to read anything that they publish, whether or not it agrees with your current ideas about training, nutrition, or the human body; we can all stand to learn something new, and sport science is still an evolving field.

And in case that was all a little heavy for you, here's a picture of a kitty.

Please feel free to leave a comment if you have anyone I should add to this list - it's meant to be a place to start, not completely comprehensive, and I'm happy to add to my own reading!

Especially since I seem to have a lot of time on my hands these days..

Hubris and Cursed Boots

Everything was going great, until it wasn't anymore..

Winter wonderland once more!

I saw my osteopath on Friday evening for some TLC on my left ankle, and he tore my chronically tight calves apart  in an effort to settle them down. He wasn't terribly confident I'd be up to running the next day, but really...how bad could it be?

The 4" of fresh snow overnight didn't help, nor did the fact it was still falling when I arrived around half past noon for the Valentine's Fatazz fundraiser for the Mood Disorders Society of Canada. I'd hoped to get in 5 laps at Huron Natural Area from 1pm-5pm, but from my first few strides I knew that would be tough to manage.

Very pretty, but not conducive to fast running.

When all was said and done, I did get in 4 full laps for a total of 26km, finishing with seconds to spare before the 5am-5pm window designated for the event closed. I also helped to raise around $900 for mental health research and initiatives!

As well as getting myself thoroughly snowy.

Back home that evening and feeling pretty good (if rather tired), I spent some time getting ready for the next day's adventure: I waxed up our decks to head out to Chicopee to go snowboarding for the first time in 5 years!

I still love my 2004 Lamar Cruiser 149 and 2005 Burton Cartel bindings.

It took some time to get them sorted out, but I finished by about 9:30pm and was just packing everything up into our snowboard bags to get an early start the next day when suddenly my fingers were greasy. Where the heck was it coming from? It turns out my 13-year-old Burton Ruler snowboard boots had reached the end of their lifespan: some plastic plates on their exterior were breaking down to their petrochemical components, exuding greasy droplets over their whole surface and cracking in several places when even lightly flexed. Looks like I needed new boots, but everything was closed.

I did some online window shopping and found a pair of likely-seeming boots on sale at a shop that would open at 11am the next morning. Well, that would still give us a few hours of decent riding time (I was under the erroneous impression that Chicopee still closed at 4:30pm on Sundays) - we could go pick them up after we got dressed to ride.

Down to the mall the next day after some fortifying breakfast, and I pulled on the pair of boots I'd had the employee put aside for me when I called before we left. 

Little did I know they were cursed..

Cannot confirm or deny that all units are cursed, but the ones I ended up with?
Definitely.

I pulled them on, and they felt a bit snug, but my perusal of reviews said the liners would pack out pretty quickly and they'd gain almost a full show size. They didn't have any larger sizes, either, without being ridiculously huge. So, I figured I'd give them a go. They cut the hell out of my hands while lacing them: tearing huge flappers on the last 2 fingers of my right hand, and blistering my left pinkie as well.

But, we were on our way. Arrived at the hill and I headed in to get our lift tickets, just as it started absolutely POURING with freezing rain.

Woo hoo.

I was starting to wonder about the whole business, but I'd waxed for "moist" conditions and we'd already sunk $85 on non-refundable lift tickets. I checked the radar and it looked like the rain would pass within 30mins or so, so I bought Tanker a beer (and myself a coffee), and we headed to the upstairs patio to wait it out.

Cheers!

The rain thinned out, and so did the crowds - by the time it stopped completely, the lift lines were reduced to almost nothing! Off we went to the not-quite-bunny hill (Tenderfoot) to see if we remembered how to do this..

Tank looking confident

Three runs on Tenderfoot and it was all starting to come back, though I couldn't get my bindings reefed down as tightly as I'd have liked. The new boots really did feel too small; both on my feet and for the length of my binding straps. I had a tool to make adjustments, but it was in the car and I didn't really want to waste precious riding time. So, I made do, and then we decided we were ready to head to our traditional favourite run - a blue slope called North.

Which provides a pretty decent view toward Kitchener.

We got a decent run in, but I was feeling a little shakier on the steeper grade - the rain had iced things up a bit, and it was perhaps hubris on my part to think I could jump back into snowboarding on legs that had run 4hrs the day before in deep, shifting snow. Come to think of it, I'd actually run almost 78km in the prior 7 days, bracketed by long runs in fresh snow at Huron Natural Area and Dundas Valley the previous Sunday.

Fun times on the lift.

Still, we were having fun, and when Tank suggested we go try a little more aggressive slope right next to North - another blue called Easy Rider that starts out quite steep then flows - I had some misgivings, but didn't want to wuss out and hold him back. After all, I'd been snowboarding since I was 15 years old - I should be able to handle this.

Let's give'er.

So, I get into my bindings, and have a look. It's been scraped down pretty badly and there are drifts of snow around on the icy slope, so I'm not very happy that I can't get my bindings as solid as I'd like, and my feet are feeling really cramped in the too small boots.

I drop in anyway, trying to carve to shave off some speed and avoid an errant child. Hitting one of the drifts a little too fast, I went slightly airborne, then landed on my toes with my legs almost straight - kryptonite to proper balance.

I knew I was going down, but I had no idea how hard. WHACK - something feels like a sledgehammer hitting my right snowboard boot as I bail and flip from a hard hit on my back over to my front. I get to my knees wondering if I'm ok, then look downhill and see my water bottle sailing down the hill, having fallen out of my snowpants' pocket. Without thinking further I get up and go corral it with my board, dropping to my knees to pick it up then finishing off the run.

OOF - ARGH - awww crap..

My water bottle making its break for freedom and its retrieval are all that Tanker sees, as he was trying to get over the lip at the top to start his run. He has no idea anything has happened apart from me dropping my bottle.

He reaches me at the bottom and asks if I'm ok, and I have to respond that I'm not sure. He sounds confused until I explain that I biffed hard and I guess my board dug into the snow while my body was whipping around, so my foot stayed put while my leg twisted hard, ratching my ankle pretty badly. 23 years of riding and I've never had anything even remotely like this happen.

Ow.
Just effin' OW.

He makes me take my deck off and walk out to the car, which goes ok with my foot still laced into the cursed boot. I use my tool to adjust my binding, and decide to give it another go. I paid 85 bloody dollars for lift tickets - I'm getting in more than 5 runs. Back to the not-quite-bunny hill, and it feels ok when I'm actually carving; skating and having the board hang from my foot on the lift aren't comfortable, but I can deal. We go back to North, and I even managed a clean run on Easy Rider with my foot better locked into the binding now. 

Some redemption, at least.

Another run on North, though, and all the other stuff is getting more painful - we decide to call last run after just 2hrs, finishing off with Easy Rider. Tanker bails on that one but doesn't hurt himself; I offered him one more so he could finish on a clean run, but he said he was good to go.

We manage to return the cursed boots to the store, then head out to get groceries. By this time it's clear I'm NOT OK - hobbling around in horrible pain as my ankle - the one that was supposed to be the strong one as compared to the chronically sore left one - swells in multiple places. Get home and put it up, then make a comment in a facebook PM thread with some runner friends trying to get a bubble soccer game together that I don't even know when I'll be able to run again. Moments later my phone is exploding with text messages from my amazing RMT/ultrarunner friend asking me what she missed and if she has to use her #sternface on me. I explain what happened, and she tells me I need to get my foot in a bucket of cold water for NO MORE THAN 11mins and get in to see my osteopath ASAP. I do a 10min soak, keep it elevated for the rest of the evening, then go to bed early.

This has been my view for a lot of this week.

I can't sleep at all Sunday night. Can't get comfortable for more than 5mins at a time - the ankle is touch-sore all around it, and it hurts to flex, extend, and tilt my foot in any direction. I can feel the pulls in the muscles and tendons right up to my knee, and haven't felt pain like this since I broke my wrist.

It still looked this bad by Wednesday.

Call my osteopath's office after another cold water bucket soak Monday morning, and he can get me in at 6:30pm - hallelujah! I spent a miserable day at the office trying to put my foot up on my desk when I could, taking turmeric and ginger to fight inflammation, vitamin C, B12, B6 and gelatin to stimulate collagen synthesis, and laving my poor ankle in arnica. I was just barely able to drive and using a cane to limp awkwardly around as little as possible, especially since my left ankle was now getting really sore from having to take most of my weight. After some ultrasound, a bunch of manual therapy, then some electrostimulation with an acupuncture needle in the ankle drainage point up near my knee at my osteopath's office, I was a TON more comfortable. Still hobbling with a cane, but with a little bit of range of motion and almost no remaining touch soreness.

I've also been receiving a fair bit of tactile therapy of a different kind.

This week has been all about small victories. Tiny ankle circles and toe taps (flexion and extension) on Tuesday. Able to stand on one foot long enough to put on my underpants. Able to do some gentle, seated ankle rotations, tilts, flexion and extension with my wobble board, and balance for 1 minute. Wednesday I was finally able to walk normally as long as I went very slowly and took small steps, and can climb stairs without using the cane. As of Thursday I can even do tiny little calf raises again, and this afternoon I made it 3 full minutes on my wobble board.

Wednesday night I even got out for a little walk around the block; a Valentine's stroll with my sweetheart. I took my cane - especially since the ground was covered in lumpy snow and ice - but I managed not to hurt myself! When we got home I did another cold water soak before bed, then remembered I'd heard lavender oil was helpful for ankle sprains. As I rubbed some in I was sad to notice the bruising on the sides of my heel was worse in the harsh light of the bathroom than I'd thought, and I wondered if I'd made a mistake by going walking.

Thursday morning, though, I woke up to a small miracle: not only had the bruising subsided significantly, but the swelling was almost gone! I also had the least stiffness in the ankle I'd had yet when getting out of bed; basically no pain as long as I was careful about my hobble to the bathroom.

Holy crap I have two almost human-looking feet again!

So, I'm holding out hope that this won't mess with my season too badly. I'm sure the fatigue from Saturday's run is probably a factor in the damage done - the ankle probably could have stood up to that tumble better had it not been beaten up in the soft, shifting snow for hours on end. Still, I don't think my conceited belief that I could go snowboarding for the first time in half a decade on tired legs was truly my downfall - ain't nothing gonna help you if you end up with a pair of cursed boots.

I'm incredibly grateful that I've been able to make such strides (heh) in recovery this week, largely thanks to two caring professionals in my RMT (who has been requesting daily updates and celebrating my small successes with me) and my osteopath, whom I'll be seeing again in less than an hour. I'm also seeing the rewards of my consistent weight training over the past few years (to build bone density, preventing a fracture), and the last few months that I've dedicated to improving my balance and strengthening the supporting musculature around my ankles. This certainly isn't the way I'd hoped it would pay dividends, but I'm sure it's helping me as I work toward my return to pain-free movement once more.

So much for the 100 runs in 100 days challenge, though - today is day 64 and I had managed 64 runs as of Saturday, so now I just get to watch myself fall behind..

Social Climber

Back at the end of January I took a week of easy running after Frosty Trail, and got my two Saturday runs out of the way early in the day. I had heard a few months back that a new place had opened in Cambridge that I wanted to check out, and fortunately Tanker was right on board.

That board had holes in it, and chunks of plastic to pull on.

We trucked on over to Core Climbing Gym for about 7pm, knowing they were only open until 10pm and wanting to get our money's worth for our day pass (which is quite reasonably priced, considering their overhead). We went through the very simple orientation process, then set about trying to fight gravity.

Some of us had more success than others.

This particular gym offers bouldering only, which is deceptively simple. There are no ropes or harnesses: just a pair of climbing shoes (which they rent), some chalk (which is provided for free), and your own determination (bring LOTS) to stay on the wall. Thick crash mats line almost the entire floor, so you'll have a soft landing if the combination of those three proves less than effective.

Not having done any climbing since summer of 2016 and having all of the natural climbing talent of a chubby earthworm, I was delighted to discover that they had problems even I could manage, plus friendly staff who offer useful bits of advice and manage admirably to control their laughter at my ineptitude.

I did actually get off the ground, and even topped out a few routes.

Turns out we shouldn't have worried about the amount of time we'd have - within an hour and a half, both Tank and I were totally spent. Our forearms and hands were screaming, and what little grip strength I possess had left the building. I knew it was time to go when I couldn't even manage the little route they use to train you during your orientation anymore.

The next day, I was in AGONY. My hands didn't want to function properly, and it hurt like hell just to pull up my trousers. Fun fact: you use your shoulders WAY more when running than you think you do. It was Tuesday before doorknobs stopped being the bane of my existence. I had bruises on my right knee from bashing it off holds, and had scraped the skin off my right elbow somehow.

So, of course I leaped at the opportunity to go back with a few running friends a mere 9 days later.

Rachael, Catherine & Chris watching Debbie crush it.

Being a little more experienced and having done a bit of reading about tips and tricks for bouldering, I was emboldened to try some more challenging problems.

Like the ones that start on slabs - chunks of wall that lean back toward you so the fight against gravity starts early.

And also went back to some of the beginner-level problems to build my confidence.

Ok so it's basically a ladder BUT I CAN CLIMB IT, DAMNIT

Predictably, Tanker tried tackling some even weirder routes - ones that don't offer anything on which my hands could get a grip.

Spider Tank, spider Tank..

In some cases, I failed spectacularly at what I was trying to achieve. I fell a lot more frequently the second time than the first.

"..down I go again.."

But, I had some success as well. I was starting to make some progress with my footwork, climbed a route that had only rounded chunks without ledges for fingers (which, given the shape of the holds, I dubbed the Boobs Route), and I was finally able to make it to the top of a problem that started on a slab.

"..be a spider monkey...be a spider monkey.."

..and got some deep satisfaction from the small amount of progress I'd made. 

WOOP WOOP

While my grip strength waned and my forearms tired almost as quickly as the first time, I wasn't anywhere near as sore in the days afterward. After only 2 sessions, I can feel myself getting stronger!

I know that the last thing Tanker and I really need is another hobby, considering we have so little time to pursue those that we already have...however, I've long despaired of my lack of upper body strength (I've only ever been able to do a pull-up once, and that was years ago when I was doing factory work), and this is certainly something that will help to develop that. I had been feeling a bit one-dimensional this winter, what with running almost to the exclusion of other activities. Swimming is a bit tough because it means sacrificing sleep (and therefore precious recovery during a big running block), and it's hard to get excited about getting on the trainer to cycle in my livingroom while the conditions outside are too hazardous for my limited bike handling skills. Indoor climbing is something we can do regardless of the weather, and the gyms in the area allow drop-in climbing at any time so we can make it fit our schedule.

It's also made me realize how much I've missed climbing in the past few years. I used to do some top roping in my youth, but it's been a very long time since I was on belay.

For perspective: this is my old climbing harness. Anyone remember when Black Diamond last used that logo?

We had gone Treetop Trekking at Horseshoe Resort a few years back and done some via ferrata in Quebec, but it had been quite awhile since I strapped into a harness and just tried to pull myself up a rock. Tanker used to free climb in the Rockies in his youth, but has never climbed with ropes at all.

So, of course I got us booked for an introduction to top rope course at Grand River Rocks for next week. What better way to spend Valentine's Day than harnessed up and pulling on plastic?

I do so love this man - always up for my stupid ideas!

I am under no illusions that climbing will help my running - as a matter of fact, I'm more likely to end up with a bit of "useless" muscle mass to cart around. However, I do expect it to improve my overall quality of life through addressing the imbalance between my weak upper body and strong(er) legs, while also helping to develop some more core strength and maybe even make me a little less clumsy overall.

Besides - while incredibly difficult, climbing is a boatload of fun and gives me another challenge I can pursue while spending time with my sweetheart. What other justification could I possibly need? 

If any of this sounds remotely interesting, I totally endorse giving Core Climbing Gym a try. Take your kids, take your spouse, take a bunch of friends, and just go have a ball! It's not too expensive to be a family day out, and the staff there will get you climbing in no time. We all know we should be doing some strength work, so why not have some laughs while you're at it?

Believe me - if I can do this, you can too!

I don't think I'll ever be good enough to do any traditional climbing (where you place your own hardware on the rock), and possibly may not even be able to manage sport climbing (where you clip into existing bolts on a wall), but that's not the point. I'm happy to just try my best and learn along the way, even if I never progress past a very basic level. I don't need to be good at something in order to enjoy it - something that should be evident from the fact I keep running!

Salad Days

The January thaw came and went, leaving us in a world of ice.

Which does have its pleasant aspects.

I succeeded (mostly) at taking an easier week, but still ran doubles on Monday and Saturday because the 100 runs in 100 days challenge is still a thing until late March. I'm actually hanging in decently well - at the halfway point (today), I'm technically 5 runs ahead of pace.

..and just barely in the top 10.

The ice has made it tough to get out on the trails safely, though. I ended up running down to the farmers' market through town on Saturday instead of via the trails, as Tanker and I did a small scouting mission on Friday evening and discovered they were nothing but icy death. It did give me an interesting view of some of the flooding in town, though.

Like this small conservation tract just blocks from our house.
There are trails under the floodwaters and ice.

Another road run on Saturday afternoon, then Sunday was brunch in Guelph with friends. I couldn't resist the opportunity to run on the Royal Recreation Trail along the Speed River, but I threw on my spikes just in case it was a bit icy.

"A bit" didn't begin to describe it.

Yowza.

There was a full sheet of 1"-2" thick ice that started at Victoria Road (where Tanker was sweet enough to drop me off so I could do a 6.5k run to our friends' house) and covered all but a couple of small patches of the trail for the full 2.25km down to Woodlawn Road.

With some sunshine and mild temperatures to melt the top layer, making it extra slippery.

It was lovely to run jacketless on the last weekend of January, though!

I've run on this stuff before without issue, as the carbide spikes in my traction devices have been able to bite in and give me decent grip. Not sure if it was due to wearing them with a different pair of shoes than usual or just the hardness of the ice itself, but even with my spikes I was getting some slippage.

NOT COOL

With some quick feet and a lot of butt clenching, I made it through ok. In some cases the side trails were actually the better option, but I tried not to be an idiot about taking anything too sketchy if I could avoid it.

The layer of snow on top of the ice actually gave some welcome traction.

The snow that came howling down this Monday buried all that ice under a thick layer of white. While I wasn't super keen on running through it (twice), it did allow me to finally get back down into the creek valley for the first time in a month on Wednesday evening's run. I'd been trying to spare my ankles while I went through the sizeable block of running from Stride Inside through Frosty Trail (and my "recovery" week thereafter), but for my last run of January I couldn't resist taking the chance.

I had missed this sorely.

That put the cap on 294.5km for the first month of the year, which is a pretty decent start. I've also been slowly chipping away at the extra insulation I put on through my "off season" in November and through the holidays, mostly thanks to paying some extra attention to my nutritional intake.

Proper nutrition not only leads to better body composition; it's also a path to decreased recovery time from taxing workouts, plus the best way to support your immune system for general health. So, I'm going to share with you one of my favourite recipes for a meal that you can almost feel revitalizing you after a long run. I hereby give you..

K's Big Effin' Salad of Awesome

That's one of those big 312g salad boxes, about half full.
Go big or go home!

This is something I make at least once per weekend, usually after my longest, hardest day of running. It's so wonderfully filling that I sometimes find myself not wanting dinner afterwards, and it has tons of nutrients to help me recover for the next day. I swear you can practically feel the vitality radiating through you.

The ingredients are all things that I generally keep on hand:

• couple of big handfuls of baby spinach and/or spring mix
• 2 large mushrooms (white or cremini, sliced)
• 3" piece of English cucumber, sliced
• 2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
• six big slices of pickled beets, chopped
• sprinkle of vegan mozzarella cheez shreds
• a tablespoonful (give or take) of raw pumpkin seeds, shelled
• your favourite dressing (I love Farm Boy's apple cider vinaigrette)

Toss it all into a giant bowl, mix it up and go to town. The best part is, you can tweak it based on your preferences or what you have on hand. Don't have any dairy issues? Use regular mozzarella. Don't have any hardboiled eggs, or have an aversion to them? Just leave them out, maybe substituting a different kind of protein (hemp hearts, tofu, chopped lunchmeat). Don't like beets? You could leave them out, but there's a fair bit of evidence they're really good for you both for general health and performance. I'd really suggest giving them a chance - you may find you don't mind them when they're all mixed in with everything else. You can add other things in if you want, too - I've enjoyed it with dried cranberries, cooked sweet potato, and even chopped raw broccoli in the past.

This can all be whipped up the day before (sans dressing - add it just a few minutes before eating, unless you want things to get a bit soggy and wilted), too, and stored in the fridge so it's ready to just grab and eat after a hard workout.

It might seem a bit odd to be eating salad when it's now about a million degrees below freezing, but from both a flavour and nutrition standpoint you just can't beat this for a meal. Add a hot bowl of your favourite soup and you'll be ready to take on anything!

Because even icy trails of death can take you beautiful places.