Punxercise

I believe in the power of movement.

[punxercise-blog]

AND WE'RE BAAAACK!!!!

Hey everyone, I've been super busy and haven't had time to post online at all. To be honest I haven't actually been keeping logs all of July and have just been running kind of aimlessly. I've been doing 1-2 speed works outs, a tempo and a long run each week but aside from that loose base there isn't really any structure to my plan right now.  The big news is that I am not going to college in the fall and thusly am not going to be running cross country this year. So I've shifted my plans to run a 1/2 marathon in October with my friend. We've been throwing around goal times but really I have no idea what I'm capable of at that distance. The last time I ran something that long was at Cabot back in May, where I was able to keep a 3:36 pace over 19km. I'm hoping to better that for sure and am feeling strong.

This will hopefully be my last structurless week as I am hopping on my friends training plan. Here's what I logged this week, plus a layout of the mini-workout I'm doing in the mornings. Monday: AM 7.3 @ 3:54 /w 2 400m hills, PM 8.7 @ 3:51 (16km total)

Tuesday: 8.7 easy

Wednesday: 5.5 wu, 2 x 2miles @ 3:32, 1 x 2k @ 3:25, (20km total)

Thursday: 1 x 5k @ 3:53 (no break) 1 x 5km @ 3:40, 6.8km @ 4:20 (16.8 total)

Friday: 7.3 easy

Saturday: AM 5.8 @ 6:20 (MEC meet-up run), PM 2.5km wu + drills,  4 x 200 (29.9, 31.0, 30.0, 33.3) , 4 x 800 (2:23, 2:24, 2:26, 2:21), 4 x 400 (1:04.7, 1:08.4, 1:03.9, 1:03.6) 1.5km cd + plyo, strength and stretching - 13km (19km total)

Sunday: LSD @ 4:04 /w 1m, 2m, 3m, 1:30, 1:30 pick ups @ 3:20-3:30. (16.8km total) Mini-workout:

60 x special sit-ups /w 4lb medicine ball

100 x crunch /w 4lb medicine ball

2 x ( 20 push ups & 20 incline push ups) 

Childs Pose -> Downward Dog (/w calf emphasis) -> Warrior & variations -> Pigeon + some hamstring stretch I don't know the name up haha.

104.5km total for the week plus 5 mini-workouts

[punxercise-blog]

[A QUICK RANT] Why does everyone have to constantly state their correctness in the world of sports? The "right" shoes, the "right" warm up, the "right" tempo run or marathon plan... it's all silly and relative. Okay, rant aside here is an article that mimics my current personal warm up quick closely. Although, I don't do backwards strides... but maybe I'll start!

I have trained with a handful of clubs and done a variety of different warm ups. At first a new warm up always seems scary because I am convinced I'm gassing my legs, but for me there is truth and success in putting more effort into the warm up. While everyone warms up a little differently the core elements are the same for most: Activate your cardiovascular system (light running or jogging) This is what most people do to warm up, and many people stop here. If you're just aiming to finish or racing a 1/2 of full marathon, this can work fine, but anyone looking to compete at shorter distances should look into adding some dynamic to their warm up. (For Track - 5km) I agree with the article about adding 2-5min at your tempo pace. About 2 years ago I was apart of a club that always did 5min of tempo before workouts and races. Just have faith in your body and know that 2-5min of moderate running is NOT going to gas you for 1500-5000m. Activate specific muscle groups (stretches and drills) The article sums this up pretty nicely. Before a race I like to keep moving and have adapted most of my leg swings and static stretches into skipping exercises. I use drills to emphasis elements of my stride I want to concentrate on during the race and remember the feeling of high knees, kicking my butt and landing under my center of balance etc.

(Drill Build Ups) This is something I got from my boxing days. When I am preparing for a race I start my drills nice and easy but then build the intensity of the drill until I cant help but break into my stride. It's pretty easy to do with some drills like butt kicks and high knees but is more of a challenge for Bs for example. I find building helps me connect the muscle memory of doing the drill to my stride inside a race. Get race ready (mental exercises, pooping and strides) I have a thing with pooping as close to race time as possible, I weird. 3-5min before the race or workout I do 2-4 strides. I find 100m is enough for me but the article suggests 150-400m. The point of these is to introduce your system to race pace so that it's not shocked when the gun goes. I use strides both for mental and physical warm up. I visualize cruising through the last km with the same form and effort that I use in my strides. This usually leaves me with 1-3 minutes to hang out at the start. I do weird nervous things like slapping my legs and talking to strangers. The past 2 years I have said "Good-luck everybody!" in my annoying voice at the beginning of all my races and I enjoy the sense of comrade and the silly smiles I get from my competition. Here are some sample warm ups I've done with different clubs before workouts ------------ 30min easy . . . yes. . . thirty minutes 5min of whatever exercises you wanted ------------ 15min easy straight into 5min tempo 10min classic drills + 2-4 strides ------------ 20minutes of 30seconds easy / 30seconds build up slowly ramping up the build up speed. (this was mainly for treadmill workouts) Here is my current pre-race warm up for 1500m - 8km --------hydrate & caffeine-------------- 10-15min easy easy 2-5min at 10k pace ------ stop, hydrate, bathroom--------- 10min of dynamic stretching & drills, including core and arms ------hydrate, bathoom, race shoes on----------- 3-5min before the start: 2-4 strides @ goal pace. "Goodluck Everybody!"

[tayzzer-blog]

K so i wrote a bunch of shit out to post earlier and then i errased it all on accident, and then i was like.. fuck it i wrote it out, and feel a bit better now that i have sorted out my feelings, but now im like fuck that.

so im going to try to do my best to re-write a rant..

soo sometimes i...

[punxercise-blog]

White punks need to get their shit together and learn to handle hearing about the real feelings and experiences of punks of color in their own communities. Tay, I hear what you're saying. You should be and feel able to make such a valid point without needing to comfort white people as you say it. Even if you were mad at us because we were white that would be valid because we perform, perpetuate and profit from white supremacy even within radical punk cultures.

[punxercise-blog]

Tune Up to Tune Out

My next race, the Pride and Rememberance 5km, is in 36 hours and I just finished a tune up work out. Being my over-zealous self I had planned to run 12 x 400m @ my 5km race pace but was convinced to significantly shorten the workout by my coach. In the end it was probably for the best and gave me some space to comfortably do core, plyometric and strength exercises after my workout.

My coach at George Brown has to remind me "the horse is in the barn". The two or three days before races I always want to hit the track and pound a hard workout to boost my confidence but I am reminded "you can only make yourself slower at this point". Which I think is good advice that I also received in the days before my fights during my short lived boxing career. The whole week leading up to fights we would cut out leg work and cut workouts down to 40-60%. All of this even though amateur fights were only 3-5 x 2 or 3 min rounds, very similar to an intense 3000-5000m.

So, tonight I just went to feel my 5km pace, and after last nights hard work in the heat I'm sure my legs will thank me for it. I nailed 15:50 pace for the first 4 and cruised down to 15:30 pace for the end. I finished with 2 x 200m concentrating on good form and no strain in my legs. I feel ready. PR here I come! ---------------------------- 4km wu & drills 8 x 400m /w 200m recovery (76,77,76,76,75,75,75,74) 2 x 200m /w 200m recover (32,31) 4km cd & 20min of core, plyo and strength.

[punxercise-blog]

Totally interesting article on a recent study. Worth a read if you're considering buying a pair of shoes to start running with.

[perrywinxxx-blog-deactivated201]

“I just personally think that in an anarchist revolution context, glorifying something material , especially a substance that alters your body is kind of contradictory?”

—

this is a small example of one of the main things that bugs me about the discussion surrounding...

[punxercise-blog]

I'm totally twinkling my fingers to this shit!

[punxercise-blog]

its HAWT outside!

It's Wednesday (or at least it was 45min ago when I was thinking about writing this) which means today I headed out to the University Settlement center to meet up with Longboat for out weekly long rep/tempo work.  I didn't have any specific instructions from either of my coaches so I opted for a tried and true workout; 3 x 2 miles /w 4min rest. I've done this workout many times over the years and at varying levels of fitness so I have a decent idea of how it should feel. The theory is, which I've heard from Daniels & McMillan, that if you can run 3 x 2 miles at your desired 10k pace then you should be able to run that in a race. Its best to do this 7-10 days before your race for an accurate prediction. Last week I did a couple 10k tempos @ 3:32 pace so because of added recovery today I set my goal at running 3:25-3:30/km. Good news is I nailed it, even ran negative splits, but it was tough and I'm going to blame that on the humidity.

The heat today and over the past few days has been a point of interest for me and my running friends so I found a little write up on Another Blog with an accessible explanation for what happens to you internally to make running in heat and humidity hard work.

Heat

When you run strenuously in temperatures above 60°F, your core body temperature is raised.  Your body’s natural cooling system kicks in; some of the blood that would have been going to your running muscles gets diverted to the capillaries of your skin to cool it off.  That cooler blood then returns to your core and that brings your core temperature down.  What a great invention!  Unfortunately, that means less blood in your running muscles.  That means less oxygen.  It also means that your system of removing the waste byproducts from the muscles can get backed up as well.  Both of these result in a slower pace.

Temperature changes also alter the density of the air.  More dense, more oxygen with each intake of breath.  i.e. colder weather makes you faster.

Add it all up and you get:  cold weather facilitates a faster speed.  Heat slows you down.  This is one of the main reasons you see the majority of marathons in the Spring & Fall.

Humidity

Humidity also affects your core body temperature.  This is because sweating is one of the main functions of your body’s cooling system.  For sweat to do its job, it needs to evaporate and take some heat with it.  Unfortunately, high humidity means slower evaporation.  Slower evaporation of sweat means slower cooling.  That means that your body’s core temperature is not being lowered effectively.  Final result: high humidty leads to slower pace. Source The good news about it being so damn hot is that I can run without a shirt and do this at the water fountain and fewer people think I'm weird.

------------------------- 3 x 2 miles /w 4min rest (11:01, 10:57, 10:47) Plus 4km w/u & 7km c/d = 23km for the day

[punxercise-blog]

not sure if i need sex, sleep, or to punch someone in the face.

[valentineswmilford]

[punxercise-blog]

Dear Primer Magazine, Whose idea was this? Please relabel this. I want to punch whoever drew this illustration...

First of all, the arm swing and stride is backwards... seriously? No one runs like that! I challenge anyone to run with their arms in sync with the leg of the same side. Secondly, heel striking only happens because of shoes and poor instruction, like this illustration for example. And finally using your calves and activating your ankles isn't something that requires concentration. Encouraging new runners to do that is going to make them skip around like rabbits. Seriously temped to record a video of me running like this.

[punxercise-blog]

(Roger & I at Cabot earlier this year) A huge CONGRATS to my friend, teammate & honorary running mentor Roger Moss who, at 49, knocked 2 entire fucking minutes off his marathon PR last week! 2:43... WHAT?!?! What an amazing season he's having, so stoked for him.

[punxercise-blog]

A great shot of Michelle "mamma bear" Clark and our great city!

[punxercise-blog]

Weekly Log, June 17 - 23

Monday 58:01 @ 3:52 = 15km

Tuesday - OFF

Wednesday 10km Tempo - 35:25 (last 2km, 6:48) plus 4km w/u, 4km c/d = 18km Thursday 47min @ 3:55 = 12km Friday 10km Tempo - 35:28 plus 3km w/u & 2km c/d = 15km Saturday & Sunday = OFF

------------------------------------------- 60km for the week. Lots of rest, ready to hit the road hard this week!

[punxercise-blog]

Mid Summer's Crash

Hey all, I am really going to try and rededicate myself to this blog. There are a bunch of questions I have for the running community. There are others I have for activists and my foodie vegan friends. I want to explore where all of these things intersect and how they impact our lives, mine especially. I was recently in Halifax trying to write a zine and do some artsy stuff with my friend. I have had to call the trip short because of a mental health crash and the ensuing drama and have now returned home to Toronto. Last week I visited CAMh and Planned Parenthood about my mental health needs and am in the process of sorting out my summer counseling needs and what I can do long term to mitigate my crazy. I have had some traumatic stuff happen recently and am still sorting out my feelings with all of it, so I'm sorry I've been away from the blog. On a more positive note I have been reconnecting with my friends finally and have made some very positive steps towards being less isolated. Although I did have to bail on a friend last night, which I'm sorry for. Running is... well it's running. I can't tell if I am running well or not right now because of all the stress and drama in my life. I am still looking for a place to live, sorting out my love life and trying to get my diet and iron levels on track. I am going to continue to train with the assumption that the times will come and I should just keep working my heart, lungs & legs at a reasonable level. As Gab said 'twice a day everyday except for Christmas'. I would still totally run on xmas tho, maybe I'll take MayDay off. After 3 days off I woke up at 6am today and did an easy-medium 10km (19:45/19:12 = 39:12) and some core, strength and stretching in the park. Felt good to get out again. I may race a 3000m tonight just to get my legs going and get back in the a focused head space, that is pending it isn't thunder storming all evening and the meet is still happening. *fingers crossed* That is my update for now. Much love to you all.

[punxercise-blog]

Welcome back track

I had a bit of a strange week that included a mid-week emotional crash and little desire to run or leave the house for a few days. I'm feeling better now tho, especially after a decent workout tonight. 3:15/km pace is starting to feel super comfortable. Here's my week so far. Monday (no watch, feeling the pace)  15min wu, 10 min drills & strides 4 x 400m /w 200m rest  4 x 100m /w 300m rest 7min cd, 15min plyometrics, 10min stretch ------------------- Tuesday AM: 5km easy PM: 1500m race - 4:10.9. Felt comfy & chased down a dude in the final 200m ------------------- Friday 15min wu, 10 min drills & strides 3 x 1200m (3:54, 3:57, 3:56) /w 1 min rest.  2 x 400m (1:09, 1:08) /w 200m rest 4 x 200m (:30, :31, :31, :30) /w 200m rest 5min cd, 10 min plyometrics, 10 min stretch & core

[punxercise-blog]

My team, Cardio Arrest @ the finish of the Cabot Trail Relay

[punxercise-blog]

Summer here I come!

My weekend was spent running the Cabot Trail Relay which was awesome! My team, Cardio Arrest, was the 1st Mixed Team and 3rd Overall. I ran legs 2 and 14, placing 3rd and 5th respectively. Thanks to everyone for the great weekend! I have now officially started the strength portion of my spring/summer training. Last night the GBC XC team did 12min of box sprinting, 20 cross field sprints, 15 min of plyometrics and one time up the Riverdale East hill for good measure. This morning I strapped on my new MR00s and did: 4km w/u, drills & a couple strides 4 x 1mile (5:30, 5:31, 5:32, 5:26) /w 1min recovery 2 x 400m (1:07, 1:11) /w 90sec recovery 10min plyometrics & 10 min stretch/yoga 3km c/d for a total of about 10 miles I feel a little weak during the plyo drills and my sprinting form needs some polishing but a month of workouts like these and I'll be in good shape for that 4:20/smoking weedz mile I'm gunna run. ---------------------- Current form: 80-95km per week 1500m: 4:10, Mile: 4:27, 3000m: 9:14, 5000m: 16:07 Summer Goals: 90-110km per week 1500m: 4:05, Mile: 4:20, 3000m: 8:50, 5000m: 15:45

[tastysynapse]