MW
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Running
    • Races & PBs
    • Affiliations
    • Playlist
      • Current Playlist
      • Previous Playlists
  • About
    • Professional Profile
  • Contact Me
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Running
    • Races & PBs
    • Affiliations
    • Playlist
      • Current Playlist
      • Previous Playlists
  • About
    • Professional Profile
  • Contact Me
Search

CHECKMARK ✓

Running Journey Unfiltered:
​Motivation・Facilitation ・Reflection

2018 Week 5+6: Getting Dark 'n Gloomy

2/11/2018

0 Comments

 

Roller Coaster Weather

Picture

​The weather has not been kind in the past two weeks in Greater Toronto Area. It has been a constant cycle of merciless snowfall, freezing temperatures, or a combination of both.

I barely hanged on with a whole lot more visits to the gym with the treadmills and upper body workout to complement the constant abuse on the lower body from the running mileage. I also managed to stay focused by having online motivations such as an online Strava badge ?.  In this case, it was the 5 x 5k challenge as reflected this past week with five consecutive days of running. 

Mike's Winter Essentials: Nathan Halo Fire - Review

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Disclosure: This headlight was bought out of my own pocket and did not alter my influence for this review

​The Halo Fire by Nathan outdoor products is their flagship headlamp especially with runners in mind. It comes with 3 LED lights for various lighting modes. Their product page also claims to have over 280 lumens on their brightest mode - it is bright for sure but at the expense of shorter usage time.

Key Features
- 5 lighting modes (from dim to max brightness, strobe mode)
- RunWave technology for convenience and less fidgeting during the run
- Reflective materials on the strap
- Product guarantee backed by Nathan --> excellent customer service

Real Life Application
I received my Nathan Halo Fire as a direct replacement from my personally bought Nathan Nebula Fire. The outgoing headlamp stopped charging through the USB charger and was effectively useless if it cannot charge.  I reached out to Nathan's Facebook page and they were quick to ship me the replacement (which became the very Halo Fire that I have been using even to this very day) upon proof of original purchase of my defective headlamp. I am pleasantly surprised by their willingness to stand behind the products that they sell and doing the right things to delight purchasers like me. However, I have since been quite wary of all electronic devices that require USB charging - including this replacement piece.

Picture
Halo Fire charging in progress
It's now one complete year and onwards since I have been using the Halo Fire. I am quite glad that the charging still works as do with the light emissions (with its various lighting modes). I put the headlamp right into the USB charger each time I complete my night runs - no exceptions. I bank on the fact that the lithium-ion battery will hold full charge each time I plugged it into the charger from one outdoor run to another. There are light indicators during the charging process to indicate whether it is charging or charge complete. If the light indicator is in red, then it is charging. If the indicator is green, then the charge is complete. Based on experience, if there is no light indicator or a brief red light then blank, there are reasons for concern.
Picture
Halo Fire charging complete
Picture
The Halo Fire shines brightly when it matters most - the outdoors. I appreciate the Auto-Strobe function when nights are dark and evening commute traffic are at high volumes. It comes in handy especially when running where one side of the street is strictly residential grounds whereas the other side of the streets are untampered (yet) farm lands and corn fields. In terms of durability, it has endured quite well on Canadian winters, from the frigid minus twenty somethings temperatures to those balmy evenings at the peak of summer. It can take on light moisture with its IPX4 water resistant rating. That being said, I do not recommend tackling those torrential downpour weather though.

In conclusion, the Nathan Halo Fire is well worth your return on investment if you do serious amounts of running in the nighttime or simply being a nocturnal adventure thrillseeker.
If you are interested in this item or similar, I am pleased to offer $5.00 OFF merchandise over $50.00 or more excluding taxes - at runningfree.com or at an in-store Running Free. Simply apply the CODE: 47794 to redeem this offer from me!
Picture

A post shared by Mike Wan (@mcywan) on Jan 8, 2017 at 3:29pm PST

Have a good week ahead! Cheers - M.W.
0 Comments

2018 Week #4

1/29/2018

0 Comments

 

Re-Naming Notice

Moving forward, I am revising the blog title to a much more appropriate "The Uptown Runner" moniker.

The more I observe my own runs within the suburban neighbourhoods, the more I realize of the differences compared to downtown running. More open running space, less traffic stops. More solo running journeys, less so of community-knitted runners out there. And ongoing changing landscapes with non-stop urban development and growth pushing northward in the City of Markham.

Adding Incremental Mileage to Weekly Totals

I have been adding extra mileage to top up my weekly mileage totals for the past four weeks. This is mainly to further build endurance and trying to achieve my goal to reach up to 3,000 km or more by year end. I pushed it even farther to 3,200 km so I have some buffer should I need to take any extended breaks from bodily fatigue or commitments along the way as the days pass by.

New Playlist & Song Sequencing

Here is the nearly complete playlist for next month, now that February is only a few days away!

I am also starting to farm in some relevant electronic dance music liveset from various favourite DJs so I can use them towards my race day playlist. For the past two years, I began to monitor the durations of the livesets more closely. This is so that I can stack them altogether to last through the timing of the race (e.g. half-marathon, full marathons) and see sequence certain segments of the liveset (i.e. when the beat drops!) to guesstimate the elapsed time / distance / pace of the race. This is important to me to roughly determine whether I am ahead of the pace, on track, or falling short of the expected time within the run.

I encourage everyone that cares about timing to do the very same. Sometimes it is easier to use music to track progress rather than picking your brain down to the wire.  Until next week!

​Good training, - MW 
0 Comments

2018 Week 3: Maintaining The Weekly Groove

1/21/2018

0 Comments

 

Indoor Track Work

"Taking charge when the weather can’t make up its mind"

That was pretty much summed up last week and continuing on with this week. I switched to an indoor track for my workout. (A) to remind myself of how great it is to not run with some much layers (B) break in my new pair of shoes and (C) get a decent focused training session with minimal disruptions

I went down to the Monarch Park stadium at around Coxwell and Danforth area primarily for their 370.67 metre track (measured from the centre lane and red line around the corners). Other indoor tracks work too, such as York University's Toronto Track and Field Centre or the indoor running tracks within my local community centres in Markham. However, those track laps are significantly much shorter with approximately 240 and 150 metres respectively.
Picture

A post shared by Mike Wan (@mcywan) on Jan 13, 2018 at 11:10am PST

Gradual Mileage Increase

Picture
This year, I am also attempting to raise my weekly running mileage and ultimately pushing the annual goal boundary too. Last year, I set a modest mileage of 60 km / week. And by trying to stick with the program, I realized that I once again have to be even better at my time management skills - as if I haven't already done so. However, life happens and so do injuries along the way. So it goes along way to compromise my regular day-to-day priorities along with my running hobbies. At the end of it all, I managed to rack up approximately 2,800 km. Not bad but fell short of my personal goal of 3,000 km.

The realistic goal for this year would once again be 3,000 km. But I am raising the bar higher to 3,200 km. In other words, I am once again setting my weekly goal of 60 km plus an extra 5 for good measures if in the case of any minor setback.

I came across an interesting article from Runner's World, suggesting of the 6 training habits that lead to Boston qualifying times - according to Strava. I feel confident knowing that the tailoring for this year's training is mostly aligned to what the article states.

The Strava 40|80 Challenge hosted by Lululemon was also great motivation to kick start the frequent running habits to. By the end of the event, I managed to rack up roughly 82 km within 13 days. Hopefully my drive towards improvement continues on for the remainder of the year, and not limited to just being motivated by prizes and tangibles ??

- 
Have a great week everyone! - M.W.

0 Comments

2018 Week 2: Topsy-Turvy Weather

1/15/2018

0 Comments

 

Double Digit TEmperatures to Deep Freeze

The perfect analogy to sum up the weather this past week in the Southern Ontario region is one heck of a roller-coaster at its best. The short term warm temperatures lead to slushy, slippery conditions which actually makes it even more difficult to run than it is in those frigid cold temperatures. You are more likely to get all muddy and miserable than ever while also having added risks of injury while trying to dodge puddles or thawing ice chunks on the road. Speaking of which, the risks of getting sick is also at an all-time high - especially if you are not properly dressed for the weather outside.

Speaking of outside, here are my recommended suggestions of what to wear or to layer up for temperatures within the 0 to -15 degrees celsius or colder.

Layering Up: becomING a Suburban Uptown Winter (Runner) warrior

(1) Anti-chaffing Ointment
Applying a generous layer of anti-chaffing balm or ointment will be a significant difference maker between enjoying your run or being bitter. It does not matter whether it is Vaseline or in my case, Body Glide anti-blister or chafing balm. In this case, apply on to the skin in areas where rubbing or abrasion with your clothing becomes an issue. This literally means the bottom of the foot where blisters could pop out, the surrounding areas of the armpits, your groin area, and your tits area when it becomes too cold or too hot.
Picture
(2) Athletic Technical T-Shirt + Hoodie / Tights (aka Compression Pants)
If you have run multiple races or participated in various charity runs, I am sure that you have more than enough of those t-shirts (whether cotton or technical). I recommend choosing a moisture wicking kind of shirts so that sweat can be transported out easier, leaving you comfortable and conditioned amongst the warm layers of clothing. Long sleeves work too.

Bonus: Q:  Do you run with music from your smartphone? A: Based from experience, smartphones tend not to survive all too long in the Canadian cold. Battery life rapidly depletes quicker than usual when exposed and it is best to keep your phone warm during the run. Even if it involves minor inconvenience, wear your sports strap on first before wearing a second layer such as a hoodie.

The next layer would be best if it is either a hoodie or a thick fabric sweater that you intend to abuse, sweat profusely, and wash repeatedly. It is essentially your insulation and storing as much heat as you can from the running.

For the lower body, I suggest either a pair of performance tights or if last resort, joggers. As crazy as it sounds, tights will indeed make you more nimble and not feel like you're running in a sumo wrestler's suit. Most tights are also equipped with some sort of reflective strips to make sure you are visible at night (in addition to other apparels with other reflective imprints)
(3) Wind Resistant Jacket
Now that you have coated yourself with some lubrication for rigorous movement and sufficient clothing layering for insulation, getting a wind-resistant jacket top things off for your wintery run.
Happy running and stay safe out there! - M.W.
0 Comments

    Categories

    All
    Apps
    Around The Bay
    Asics
    Barrie Half Marathon
    B&O Yorkville Run
    Chicago Marathon
    Chilly Half Marathon
    Ciele
    GoodLife Marathon
    Hamilton Road2Hope
    Lululemon Toronto Waterfront 10K
    MEC Events
    Niagara Falls Marathon
    Playlist
    Race
    Race Report
    Race Roster Spring Run-Off
    Reviews
    Routes
    Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon
    Shakespeare Runs The Night
    Social Media
    Sporting Life 10K
    Team Running Free
    Trail Running
    Training
    Update
    Weekly Review
    Winter Running
    Workout
    Workshop

    Archives

    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017

    RSS Feed

Feature

CHECKMARK ✓ (Blog)
Partners
Playlist
Races & PBs

About

About Me
Contact Me
Picture
Health+Performance Member
Picture
Team Running Free Member
Follow me on Strava

MIKECYWAN © 2019.
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Running
    • Races & PBs
    • Affiliations
    • Playlist
      • Current Playlist
      • Previous Playlists
  • About
    • Professional Profile
  • Contact Me