Apparently I am now officially a runner!
Over the last number of weeks I developed my first black toenail. When I mentioned it to my running coach, Jeff Nearing, you could see a twinkle in his eye - he was like a proud new Dad.
"Let me see it," he said. "That's a badge of honour for a runner."
It took me back for a second, but I could see his point. I have been a lifelong hockey player, with the exception of my 15-year break that ended two years ago next month. It's great to be back on the ice. Cuts, bruises, missing teeth and black eyes are commonplace in that sport, so why couldn't runners have their "badges" too.
A little research shows black toenails are a common thing for people training for longer distance runs. It will eventually fall off - something to look forward to I guess! Still a lot to learn in this new sport.
I was reviewing my running statistics from the new Garmin Connect dashboard just last night.
It's interesting to see the progression since starting running in January. There were a half dozen runs completed before I got my Garmin running watch, so I don't have the full totals, but here's a look at my stats since February 2014 up to and including tonight's 12K tempo run:
84 - total running activities
45 - number of hours running
152 - average heart rate (bpm) through all activities
6:02 - average pace (minutes per km) through all activities
172 - average cadence (steps per minute) through all activities
10.85 - average speed in km/h through all activities
22:58 - current fastest time to complete 5K
50:15 - current fastest time to complete 10K
2:10:23 - current fastest time to complete Half Marathon
21.11 - distance in km of longest run
448 - number of km travelled
36,028 - calories burnt through all activities
Since starting training for the half marathon in the Valley Harvest Marathon taking place on October 12, the frequency, pace and distance of runs has accelerated. August saw a total of 107.11 km in running. Paces have averaged in the 5:20 min/km range. Jeff has me on an aggressive training program and it's working well.
Last week during a Caribbean cruise vacation with my beautiful wife Charlene, I had full intentions of keeping the running alive. In the first three days I completed just under 21K in running, but that was the end of it. The temperatures in Florida prior to the cruise and during the visits to Haiti, Jamaica and Mexico were over 40 degrees Celsius with the humidity - far too hot to be running. The beer, however felt colder than ever! Everyone needs a vacation, right?!
It was a great rest, actually. Leading up to the cruise my Achilles was hurting a little on every run and my feet were badly blistered, mainly from that "wall hitting" half marathon run a few week's back. The down time, not to mention the awesome afternoon naps, and some fun play in the salt water through the vacation, helped let everything heal. It's been full throttle since returning on Monday.
With just 24 days to go before my first timed half marathon at Valley Harvest it's time to get serious to be ready for that big day.
I guess the injuries and battle scars can be tagged as badges of honour as well. A runner I have become!
