This week has been a continuation of last's weeks ongoing, too-busy to do anything kind of week. I saw it coming and I saw it as excuses towards not managing my time wisely to make do with my typical running mileage per week.

As a result, I banked all my long runs and long distances at the beginning of the week in accordance to the week's weather patterns. I knew that I can shift my rest days towards the end of the week with multiple days of rain ahead. Glad I did that.

Speaking of weather and seasonal changes, I will gradually be shifting my running times either super early morning (before the temperature and humidity skyrockets) or during sunset periods (when it is not in sweltering heat and peak UV) I recall trying to tough it out last summer when trying to do 15+ km only to retreat in defeat by hiding out at a gas station.

WEEKLY FEATURE HIGHLIGHT

Last Sunday, I was fortunate enough the catch the opportunity of enrolling a running workshop by Lululemon Toronto in partnership with The Runner's Academy. Today, I went down to the Lululemon Toronto store at Queen St West and boy did I learn a lot. Now the second half of the equation is to apply the key takeaways from today's session:

- Run in a "marching"-like motion, similar to a piston with the foot landing pushing the ground away (as physically demonstrated by using a rubber resistance band)
- The march is essentially analogically parallel to the A-skip exercise
- Leg crossovers (which is left and right legs criss-crossing with each other from one step to the next) is actually bad for you, gap within the legs should be slightly spread out
- Think of your body and your legs as the hardware, and the mental and the brain functions as the software. Sometimes it is the hardware that requires tuning up or vice versa.

With these acquired knowledge in mind, I intend to hold myself accountable by adding them to my stretches when training at the gym - such as the march like motion as well as being more mindful of leg gaps and not crossing over.

This upcoming week is a taper week, leading up to the Barrie Half Marathon for this upcoming Sunday!

​Cheers, M.W.

It's been a relatively busy week alongside with drastic weather changes this past week leading up to the Victoria Day long weekend.  The weekday work followed by consecutive days of casual part-time work is starting to take its toll - I mentally much preferred crashing on the bed than to get a quick run-in.

Case and point: one of those rare mid-distance stoppage happened mid-week in the wickedly unpleasant thirty-something degrees weather before the thunderstorms rolled in.

All in all, I didn't rack up all too much mileage this week. But it is also a great reminder to take it easy and recharge for the weeks of running that actually matter: in this case, the upcoming half-marathon first weekend of June and the 50K in July.

My only highlight of the week is the complete full trail run back at the Seaton Trails without getting lost. The goal was simply to take my mind off work and solely enjoy the nature surroundings. Much needed indeed.

Onto the upcoming week in a good note! - M.W

I had the great pleasure once again to represent Team Running Free at this year's Sporting Life 10K along side with my avid weekend warrior group of friends. Aside from the Scotiabank Waterfront race in mid-October, this particular race down Yonge Street is my favourite perennial measuring stick of the progress that I have made from a year-to-year basis. I have become increasingly prepared and well equipped for each of these runs as each year passes and these kind of morning rituals are extremely helpful leading up to the even more important races. Case and point: the Barrie Half-Marathon that is coming up in two weeks time.

However, I was not completely prepared. I had finished a late night shift from my casual part-time work the day prior. I also left the house without my almighty important GPS watch in the morning. Systemically, I turn to plan B which is using my iPhone to track the running data for this race.

The first five kilometres was nothing but a straight downhill down on Yonge Street. Without thinking too much, I bolted out of the start line with speed and let the gravity take care of the rest. The flaw is that by manually engaging start on the Strava phone app, I lose concentration and placed my phone into my shorts pocket with the zipper 1/4 zipped up. Bad move. Just briefly after crossing Yonge and Eglinton, my Bluetooth wireless earbuds lose connection and my music was gone. "Oh it's just a bad connection" - so I thought. Kept pushing the power button and volume buttons; no reaction. Thats when unnecessary adrenaline rush kicked in with guilt. "Should I keep going? Or turn back?" That notion of uncertainty essentially carried on throughout the remainder of the race. I went to the conclusion that I may as well run faster to the finish line so that I can find out what to do next when finished. That's when I realized I was at the 7K mark, I think where the second water station is? The speed was constant with not as many obstruction while the elevation is now flat.

And soon enough, I managed to push my way into the finish line - of course not knowing my official race time and not so much of satisfaction had things gone the way they were supposed to be.

The next steps were asking strangers and my buddies with iPhones to borrow their phone and use "Find My Phone" app. At first, my heart sank as the first two locations tracked of my phone was gradually shifted southbound. "Fuck, somebody must've stolen it for sure" - so I thought. That's when I decided to remotely set it into Lost Mode and call my phone soon after to test my luck. To my delight, that person picked up the phone and responded. "We have your phone and meet us down at Princess Gate!" Major sigh of relief but still angsty. Let my main group momentarily to go to the specific area where the person said to meet. Alas, there was the person, a wife and husband with their kids, stroller and all. "My husband tried to get you but you were too fast to catch up!" she exclaimed. I guess that's where I might have gotten too carried away when I was running downhill.

My takeaway: always activate your iCloud / Google account so that you can remotely locate your phone. If you have a valid iCloud account, simply login to "Find my Phone" app whereas for Android users, login your Google credentials to the official "Android Device Manager" app.

After the scary episode, I looked up my results on sportstats.ca and looks like a new PB and slashing 2 minutes from last year. ​

My takeaway: always activate your iCloud / Google account so that you can remotely locate your phone. If you have a valid iCloud account, simply login to "Find my Phone" app whereas for Android users, login your Google credentials to the official "Android Device Manager" app.

After the scary episode, I looked up my results on sportstats.ca and looks like a new PB and slashing 2 minutes from last year. ​

First and foremost, I would like to congratulate everyone that participated in either the GoodLife Marathon or the Mississauga Marathon despite the chilly weather and the crappy soggy weather leading up to the event. You guys demonstrated that humbleness and respecting the tough nature of long distance grinds regardless of physicality or various personal day-to-day hardships. I still vividly recall completing my very first marathon last year at the GoodLife Marathon and I consider it as one of my proudest achievements to date.

This is simply what drives me to run. Your personal progress and feel-good achievements? Nobody can take it away from you especially since something like this requires long-term commitment and focus. Those looking for instant gratification, overnight success, or success by monetary trade-offs can look elsewhere.

Speaking of which, this week's bad weather really tested my ability to manage my time wisely for my weekly running distance quota. I swapped my long run to mid-week rather than my typical Saturday morning, as I also take on a casual part-time job for the City of Markham. I closely observed the radar maps on the Weather Network website to find that window of opportunity to steal a run in while it briefly stayed dry. By the end of Sunday, I am glad to still accumulated an overall mileage of 67.8 km.

This upcoming week, I will be easing the mileage a bit in anticipation of the signature Sporting Life 10K. I know, it is technically a 'fun run' but when you have all these downhills for you to sprint down, it be a waste to not properly prep for pacing. Next upcoming race: Barrie Half-Marathon

Cheers, M.W.