Training in Phoenix

Greetings from the San Tan Valley, just south of Phoenix!

I knew before coming down to Arizona that it was going to be hot and that I would have to adjust my training sessions accordingly. My approach was to treat the high heat with the same amount of respect that I treat extreme cold weather. Shorten your exposure and when training; slow down!

So prior to leaving I shifted the 4 hour Saturday, 5 hour Sunday sessions forward a week and tackled those challenges in Markham. That meant that this past Sunday the schedule called for a 5 hour walk in Pinal County Arizona. I tested things out on Friday with an hour long walk through the community at 6:30am. It was already 33 degrees Celsius and the sun was on fire! I was really glad that I had decided to pass on carrying my usual loaded backpack and that I carried a bottle of GU2O energy drink. So wearing my bright red Canadian running shirt,hiking boots and poles I trekked off down the road for 30 minutes and following several amused waves from a few dog walkers and a "hey, you forgot your skis", I made it back in an hour.

By noon the temperature had hit 42 degrees and there wasn't a cloud in sight! By 9pm that night it was 44 degrees. Stepping out the door felt like standing in front of on open oven that is set at 500 degrees F! The effect is incredible! Your skin feels like it is slowly roasting, your throat feels raw and you feel totally drained and exhausted.

The thought of trekking for 5 hours was ridiculous! So I started negotiating with my inner trainer. What if I got up at 2am and started my trek when it was cooler? Images of coyotes, rattlesnakes and scorpions lurking in the darkness cancelled that thought pretty quickly! What if I trekked for 2.5 hours on Saturday and then did the other 2.5 on Sunday? A quick check of the weather forecast put a damper on that idea as the weather was going to get progressively hotter through the weekend!

So I did what I usually do and I procrastinated on a decision and did my scheduled 1 hour trek on Saturday and hoped for divine intervention. It came in the form of my husband who calmy said; "train indoors at the gym". Brilliant, I responded, I'll do 5 hours on the cardio machines! No; he replied, split the difference. 2.5 hours should be enough. 2.5 was what I did! ..... 35 minutes on the elliptical, 35 minutes on the treadmill, 40 minutes on a stationary bike,and then another 40 minutes on the treadmill again. All of those machines had "hill" workouts and so I hit the mechanically simulated hills for 2.5 hours. I covered just over 24 kms in distance, drank 4 litres of water and probably dropped 3 pounds sweating!

What does the weather look like for this week? Well, they just announced an extreme weather alert for the county and they are forecasting a high of 50 degrees Celsius for tomorrow!!! Elliptical machine here I come!!!

Training Update

This post should probably be sub-titled: "Where have you been for the past two months,and why haven't you written any new posts?"

So, to recap, I ran the Ottawa Marathon on May 29th and set a new personal best by knocking a few minutes off my time. The race felt great and I enjoyed the new course. A light rain every now and then and an overcast sky really helped to keep the temperatures down. All of the races from the full Marathon to the Family Fun Run were completely sold out so Ottawa was full of runners and their supporters. It was a great weekend and a marathon that I highly recommend.

Returning home to Markham on the Monday began the switch to my walking/trekking training program. This was interesting for me because I had never really given walking much thought and the shift has taught me a lot.

We started out walking for half an hour 3 times a week and then the long walk on Sunday was 1 hour in length. This didn't seem to push me at all, so I changed it to 1 hour 5 days a week and the long walk on Sunday. The first thing I had to learn was what pace was sustainable, recognizing that the pace would probably be much slower in Nepal due to the altitude, but at home I felt that I needed to feel the effort. You know, break a sweat! After a few walks I settled in to a pace of a sub-10 minute kilometer so I could comfortably cover 6 km in an hour.

So when the Sunday long walk shifted to 2 hours, that meant I covered 12km. My running routes came in handy as I had a 12 km route, and when we shifted once again to a 3 hour walk, I had an 18km route. All good except that the change to walking made me remember what a total klutz I am as it became really clear, very quickly that unless I really focus on what I'm doing, I can't walk a straight line!! I weave all over the sidewalk like some crazed wacko! And now I know why the people that I meet when I am out walking have a mild look of concern on their faces as I approach!

Now if the image of a middle-aged woman walking/weaving along the sidewalk isn't bad enough ... add the trekking gear to the image. Now I head out for my walks wearing my usual running gear topped off by a pair of Vasque hiking boots, a Deuter 22 liter day pack, and a set of Black Diamond trekking poles. So now not only do I walk crazy, I look crazy! But I have always held the life philosophy that if you're going to burn, burn in hell.

So keeping a good British stiff upper lip and trying to focus on the fact that I was doing this for a greater cause, I set off this morning on my first 4 hour walk. Except for a few blisters and a bit of a sun burn I managed to cover nearly 24km of suburban geography and I learned 2 things: it is much easier to walk a straight line using trekking poles; and if you smile broadly and call out a cheery "good morning", the look of mild concern fades to a look of mild amusement on most people's faces!

Trek on, my friends!!!

"The Wildest Dream" opens in theatres August 6th.

Following up on my earlier blog regarding the Mallory mystery on Everest, my daughter has sent me this link to a trailer for a movie that will hit theatres in a few weeks called "The Wildest Dream, Conquest of Everest". Narrated by Liam Neeson the movie, in the words of the promo; "tells the intersecting stories of George Mallory, the first man to attempt a summit of Mount Everest, and Conrad Anker, the mountaineer who finds Mallory's frozen remains 75 years later".

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/thewildestdream/

I think the breath taking images of Everest are enough reason to watch this movie!

Heading to Ottawa for the Marathon!

Well I'm packed and the bags are at the front door. All my vitamins, energy gel packets, electrolyte drink crystals, lucky socks and favourite running shirt have been counted, folded, placed in my bag, then pulled out and counted, folded and put back in the bag several times. The nerves are running a little higher than normal right now and so this is when I turn to my books.

I have always been comforted by reading and when I started training for my first marathon in 2005, I started reading everything I could find. I started with the books that my Dad had on his book shelves and then over the years have added a number of my own finds. My favourite and the one that I take with me to every marathon is the marathon bible, "Marathon You Can Do It!", written by Jeff Galloway in 2001. I have highlighted and sticky-noted 2 chapters that I reread before each marathon. Chapter 12 "Magic Marathon Words" and then chapter 14 "Countdown". Reading Jeff's words calm me right down and help me start the process of mentally focusing on the 42.2 km ahead.

The books that I have read have become very precious to me and have pulled me over many hurdles over the years. I am including a reading list for any of you starting out on the marathon trail. I hope that you find them to be as rich a source of inspiration, guidance and reassurance as I have.

"Galloway's Book on Running", Jeff Galloway., Shelter Publications Inc. 1984 - definitely the runner's bible written by the inventor of the 10:1 running method!

"Marathon You Can Do It!", Jeff Galloway., Shelter Publications Inc. 2001 - the marathon bible as far as I am concerned.

"The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer", David A Whitsett, Forrest A. Dolgener and Tanjala Mabon Kole., 1998. - a great book that follows a class of non-runners training for their first marathon. It was a great instructional and inspirational book to read as I followed my own training schedule which was week by week very close to their own experiences. An excellent book!

"Going the Distance, One Man's Journey to the End of His Life", George Sheehan, M.D., Villard Books, 1996. - an incredibly profound read.

"Canadian Marathon Stories, A Book of Extraordinary Inspirations", Linda Rainville Wagar, Editor., Linda Wagar, 2007 - proceeds from this book go to the CanFund.

"The Elements of Effort, Reflections on the Art and Science of Running"., John Jerome., Pocket Books, 1998.

"Running Start to Finish"., John Stanton., Lone Pine Publishing, 1999. - Another definite running bible written by the founder of The Running Room - full of training schedules, stretches, strengthening exercises, just about everything you need to know all in one package!

"Running A Year Round Plan"., Jeff Galloway., Meyer & Meyer Sport, 2006. - provides a clearly laid out system for creating a year round plan for running to meet your own specific goal, whether that be running consistently, to running your first 5k or your first marathon.

"Marathon, The Ultimate Training Guide, Advice, Plans and Programs for Your 1st Marathon or 50th"., Hal Higdon., Rodale Inc., 1993. - I think the title says it all!

"Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook, Third Edition"., Nancy Clark, MS, RD., Human Kinetics, 2003. - really great book!

So enjoy, and please send me your recommendations!

PS. Yes, I've packed my book!!

There is a debate that has been raging for decades about whether Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first to stand on the summit of the world, or if George Mallory and Andrew Irvine were the first in 1924, 29 years before? We seem to be coming closer to the truth with the discovery of Mallory's body on Everest in 1999 and subsequent discoveries of camp and equipment remnants over the past few years.

For an intriguing read on this great mystery spend a few minutes on Jake Norton's blog "The Mountain World" http://blog.mountainworldproductions.com/2010/05/what-really-happened-to-george-mallory-andrew-irvine.html

Change Your Thoughts.

My Daily Fitness Journal is peppered with thought provoking quotes and words of inspiration. This past week's quotation was from Norman Vincent Peale and is simply this: "Change your thoughts and you change your world".

This was truly relevant for me as I had just come off the toughest training week of my schedule where I logged a total of 64km by ending the week with a 32km long run on Sunday. I turned the page of my journal and read the quote and made the decision to change my thoughts. I made the shift from "man, am I tired and I really don't want to run anywhere this week", to "OK, that's done and I made it through. This week will be easy!"

You may think that I am crazy, (or you may already be convinced that I am!), but these mind shifts are all part of the arsenal of talents that we need to get through difficult times, or physical challenges, or athletic events. As parents in the wee hours of the morning when we have been rocking and cuddling a sick child for what seems like hours we have shifted from ... "won't this child ever go to sleep!" to "one day I'll look back on this and miss it". As grieving family members we have moved from "I don't know what I'll do without her" to "I can still feel her smile!" As endurance athletes we move from "this has got to be the dumbest thing I have ever done in my life!" to "I can soooo do this!"

On Sunday March 28th I ran the Around the Bay 30km road race in Hamilton, Ontario. This race starts off just outside of Copps Coliseum in downtown Hamilton and circles the Hamilton Harbour and the Burlington Bay and ends with the finish line inside the Coliseum. This race is the oldest road race in North America and has been run on the last weekend of March every year since 1894! The first half of the race is quite flat, but as the course rounds the eastern end of the harbour and swings into Burlington a series of rolling hills start to taunt your resolve and break down your well made plans. The final hill is the true heart breaker and sits at a spot on the course a mere 3.5 or so km from the finish. The hill is only 400m long but as it snakes up the steep wall of the ravine you can't see the top until you are within 20m of the end.

When I hit the bottom of this hill in 2009 I slowed my pace, shortened my stride and started to run up the hill. As I passed a man on my right he called out to me, "you don't have to run this one you know. This is The Hill!" My response was to reply, "hill, what hill?" I kept on running, rounded the last curve and crested the top, gasping and sputtering, but I had bagged The Hill, and I felt great!

Shifting to the 2010 version of the race and as I hit the bottom of that same hill one year later I glanced up and was immediately struck by the line of exhausted, beaten and oh so very silent runners who were all trudging up the hill in front of me. No one was running. No one was talking. All you could hear was the beleaguered breathing and the heavy footsteps. I felt like all the air was being sucked out of me and I stopped running and started to walk along with the others. I felt so tired and so demoralized that I couldn't run. I fought with myself as I walked up that hill. I raged at myself for not running; for giving up so easily.

As I neared the crest of the hill I looked up into the face of a spectator and her look of pity and concern for us all was enough to switch the gears again. I changed my thoughts, ran the last stretch of the hill, rounded the corner and started down the home stretch back into downtown Hamilton. I felt strong and confident again and I finished the run with a smile on my face.

So when you face a hurdle this week, give it a shot ... "Change your thoughts and you change your world", Norman Vincent Peale.

Please make a positive change in the lives of Canadians living with Arthritis by sponsoring me at http://arthritis.akaraisin.com/p/HilarySadler.aspx

More Amazing Everest Multi Media

Thanks to Twitter I have been following a really great web site at www.everestthetrek.com which is home base for the highest photography and videography workshop in the world. This group trekked the traditional Nepal route to base camp in 2009, (same route as I will be taking this October) and are currently trekking to Base camp via the Tibetan side and will be exploring both the east and north face of Everest.

Please have a look at the website as it is full of amazing videos and photographs, as well as great blogs and pod-casts.