That Was a Good Idea!

In the Right Place at the Right Time.

Seven Miles Became Eight on this walk.

One of the benefits of heading out the door for a long walk - while miles are going by the human brain turns over items on a few forgotten shelves and gives them an airing. Walking time is thinking time.

On Thanksgiving Monday I headed north toward UWO and - while approaching the quiet campus - my brain recalled past research I began there a few winters ago (re my Dad's Navy memoirs) by reading 1943 issues of the Montreal Star newspaper, stored on microfiche at the university library.

I'm heading north toward University of Western Ontario

Brain: Gord, you should continue to dig into those newspapers.

Gord: Yes, it's an hours walk from my porch to Weldon Library. Two hours round trip. I like that.

Brain: Take a camera. Take digital photos of the news pages. Don't download files, they're corrupted w viruses.

Gord: Yes. Sounds like the way to go. If I find an article that confirms what Al Kirby (a Canadian Navy man, my Dad's mate from Woodstock) wrote in his memoirs I'd really have something.

Brain: Look for articles by Sholto Watts, a writer for the Montreal Star in '43.

Gord: I'll start next Sunday. Very good idea. And maybe Western News or The Gazette would like a weekly column. Faint Footsteps, WW2.

Brain: Start with the research, then pitch the idea!

Gord: Hey. I missed my normal turn-about marker.

Brain: Yes, we got distracted. Go another 5 minutes, then turn around. Count 8 miles when you get home.

Seven miles turned into eight miles and I came home with a golden idea. 

And if I find a particular news article - about Canadians like my father, in charge of landing crafts during Operation Baytown (in Italy) - you'll be the first to know.

Please link to Walking is Moving Forward While Thinking. Running and Setting Personal Records Works Too!

Photos GH

Walking is Moving Forward While Thinking.

Running and Setting Personal Records Works Too!

Heading north passed the rocky bits. UWO about 4 KM ahead

I called this blog The GREAT Canadian Comeback (about four years ago) because I felt a desire to create a consistent fun and fitness routine (initially focussed on walking here and there) - and I say now I am involved in a very healthy 'work in progress'.

For the first three years I did a lot of walking, covered a lot of miles on my feet and now think we were born to walk, to enjoy a positive forward motion with many benefits - physically, mentally, socially, and more. 

I walk/run/ride toward downtown London several days per week

In my fourth year of making a comeback (in part, from being a bit of a Canadian couch-spud to a more active human bean) I am usually walking 3 days per week (about 7 miles per trip out-the-door) and working out at the YMCA 3 alternate days per week. The workouts include biking or walking to the Downtown London Y and, when there, riding an exercise bike and/or running on a treadmill, and
lifting more than a few weights (about 13,000 pound's worth).

More and more I am feeling that I am making a pretty good comeback. I keep a lot of stats/records and the numbers do not lie. E.g., my weight is down, my running distance and speed are up.

I have come a long way. I hope to go a long way in the future as well,

within my limits, without injury, toward ultimate svelteness! : )

I am not planning to run any future marathons. Thirteen, including Boston, is plenty. But I am running 10 KMs on occasion and feel I can still do so in future years at a comfortable, enjoyable pace. "It's just good to be out there," I said to a fellow runner recently.

I am not planning to run 10 Ks as fast as I once did (44 - 48 minutes, from 1996 - 2006, in my 40s and 50s), but I will continue to keep track of my speed during this comeback and celebrate personal bests in my new, older age bracket (I turned 70 one month ago).

Truth be told, just the other day I ran 3.75 miles in 36:47 at the Y and discovered that result was faster than any other run at that distance in the last 13 years.

WTHeck! A PB at my age?! Crack open the Club Soda and don't skimp on the cranberry juice!!

While celebrating with my soda I came up with an idea re a new APP for seniors who finish a good workout, are exhausted, and want a quick refreshment at a local pub. It's called "Bring Me a Beer, I'm on Your Patio."

PHOTOS from along the way:

More walks, runs, and photos to follow.

Please link to World Records vs Personal Records. Even At 70 I Sure Like "Getting Better"

Photos GH

World Records vs Personal Records.

Even At 70 I Sure Like "Getting Better"

More miles, and faster, than when I started in 2015

Four years have past since I started making The GREAT Canadian Comeback. In October, 2015 (after a routine physical exam), I decided to get into better shape, lose some weight, become a dedicated walker/runner, cover some miles each week, and keep track of my progress.

Have I been setting world records for the 3.5-mile treadmill running race?

I don't think so.

Did I just walk and run more miles during a single month recently, compared to any other month during the last four years?

Yes, I did. And that personal best (PB) felt pretty darn good.

I now have four year's worth of records/journals and have placed a few details on a blog (here you are), and I can see I have been making pretty good progress... in my opinion.

Admittedly, it helps that I live close to a local YMCA and a variety of useful paved pathways (walking, running, cycling routes). Creating a habit re fun and fitness is made easier as a result, for certain.

Photos From Along the Way:

I cross this bridge regularly on my way to London's Downtown YMCA

Even on rainy days I make the 3.25 mile trek, to and from.

I have to say, walking about 7 miles every other day works for me!

Not everyone likes running on a treadmill I'm sure, but I don't seem to mind. I have gradually increased the speed and distance as months have gone by (and I adjust the machine's incline so I run slightly uphill), and when I run on London's paths I run faster than I did during a measured 5- and 10-kilometre race two years ago.

Why, just yesterday I ran 6.5 miles about 10 seconds per mile faster than I did two years ago at a 10 Km. race (at which I won my age group, 65-69 yr.). Hey, that's not a bad PB to claim.

Q: How many were in your age group 2 years ago?

A: One. Just me. : )

I now say, if you can't beat the competition, outlive them!!

Ready for a morning walk  and a cuppa coffee.

I have no chance to ever set a track and field world record unless I'm still able to run around a quarter-mile track at 105 years old. (Sure, I'd give it a try if the medal was real gold and there was free beer at the finish line).

That being said, more personal bests are within my grasp. During this past September, not only did I set a PB for total points (190.25, predominantly miles; walking, running, cycling, weights - using an equivalency formula) but I had a PB for points per day (7.61, predominantly miles). And that makes me pretty happy, as does a nice bowl of my own slow-cooker stew.

Maybe I'll see you at the YMCA or on local pathways.

Thumbs up!

Please link to Feeling Like a Marathoner Again. (It's Only a Pleasant Illusion)

Photos GH

Feeling Like a Marathoner Again.

It's Only a Pleasant Illusion.

'V' for Victory! I qualified to run in the Boston Marathon. 2004

Fifteen years ago I ran a significant marathon in my hometown (London ONT) as fast as my little legs would take me. I kept on my target pace - about 5 minutes per km - for 36 of the 42 kilometres and when I entered TD Stadium at the University of Western Ontario with less than 300 metres to go I was confident that I had qualified for Boston.

But it was drizzling a bit of rain, my glasses were foggy, and from a distance I thought the race clock read 3hr:36min (too slow to qualify) instead of something under 3:35. 

Slight panic attack!! MORE THAN A SLIGHT PANIC ATTACK!!

"I'm sure I still had a couple of minutes to spare!! What the heck!!"

And half a minute later, after desperately wiping my glasses while rounding the last bend in the quarter-mile track - now much closer to the finish line and timer's clock - I saw I indeed had more than two minutes to spare.

"Yeaaaaah! Way to go, Shortie! Nothing comes easy, eh."

I celebrated the London race and my fastest marathon by crushing the competition in Boston about a year later. In spite of terrible blisters - it was one hot and muggy day and several runners fell by the wayside - I persevered and crossed the finish line in style.

 The woman behind me gives the signal for "I want a large pizza tonight!" I ordered the extra large!

"Yeaaaaah!! 

The Boston Marathon in 2005 was my last 26.2 miler. And after running a couple of shorter races in the fall of that year, I didn't participate in another event until 12 years later, a slow 5 km romp around Springbank Park in London. 

 Details on the back of my race bib. 12 years later, I am a lot slower.

In July 2017 I ran in a week what I used to run during a long training run! 

Steady Eddie. Still determined to cross the line with a good pace.

Now I'm walking and running about 42 miles per week on average, with about the same speed as two years ago. While running 3- or 4-milers I think back to my marathoning days and wonder where all that energy and determination came from. But at the same time, I really like the distances I run and the steady pace that my short little legs can generate.

Maybe I'll enter a 10 km race in the fall to get an official time and see if there are any other old geezers out there still trying to cover miles with a positive sense of accomplishment and well-being. Maybe we'll get into a bit of a geezer vs geezer competition in the last kilometre and see what we've still got in the tank.

Oh, yeah. I'll be ready for that!

Photos from along the way in London:

London's pathways are a training ground for young and old. Maybe see you out there!  

Please link to Photos From Along the Way. Late Night and Black and White.

Photos GH