#31: It Won't Be Long

In a few short days, on Sunday 16 October at approximately 9am, I will stand on the starting line on University Ave at Queen St with 42.195km stretched out ahead of me: The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. The ultimate running challenge. (My first attempt)


I will not be alone. The event is now sold out and there will be 5,000 others attempting the same distance with 10,000 more doing the Half (21.1k) and 6,500 doing a 5k. That’s over 20,000 runners, joggers and walkers taking to the streets of downtown Toronto, all with different goals in mind. Standing on that line will be mostly complete strangers, some familiar faces and thankfully, a small number of good friends and Longboat club members. To all of them who have trained so hard to get to this point as well as directly or indirectly helped me along the way in getting through the trials and tribulations of marathon training: I wish you all the best in your own races and cannot begin to express how grateful I am to you all! To Roger, Rob Campbell, Gerardo, Christian, Melinda, Anne Byrne, Kathleen, and so many more; thank you! A special shout-out to my training partners and close friends: Darren and especially Michael Doyle, to whom I am deeply indebted for the fine fitness and cool confidence I have going forward. No matter what happens on race day, the whole journey (the whole year really!) was a wonderful experience and I owe a great deal of that to the two of you.

It's been a long journey: 14+ weeks, 100+ days, 1600+ kilometers, 110+ hours... and it all comes down to one single, solitary day and 42.2 "short" kilometres. After so much training and preparation, both physical and psychological, I feel I am now ready. I am mostly confident, am certainly excited but am admittedly nervous as well. This is my first ever attempt at the marathon distance and so I am somewhat fortunate for the blissful ignorance I still possess which will protect me from the pain and anguish that I am most certain to experience late in the race.

And if I can push past those tough final km's and come within a minute or two of my goal time (an ambitious 2:48:48. 4:00/km pace), I am quite certain that running this marathon will amount to the greatest accomplishment in my life to this point. An accomplishment that was entirely self-selected, never forced, often enjoyable but occasionally awful. Something no one asked or expected me to do but rather something I envisioned and experienced for myself. All the time, training, energy, and effort was done absolutely autonomously and thus whatever comes as a result, good or bad, is entirely of my own doing (although I do acknowledge those who helped and supported along the way).


For now, I must endure these last few agonizing days of the taper where my body begins to feel fresh and restless (an almost unheard of experience in the past weeks and months) and yet I must hold back and rest as much as possible. I will run only three times this week and always very briefly. ~45k with another 45k to come on race day. Plenty of fluids will be taken and a slightly altered diet that focuses on increased carbohydrates (the infamous "carbo-loading") especially on the 3 days before.

While I can't stop myself from checking the weather forecast several times a day (currently predicting cloudy with showers (70% POP), a high of 16 degrees, and winds at 15km/h; not ideal but not terrible either), I do acknowledge that there is nothing to be done about it and thus must be accepted. There is plenty else (within my control) which can also go wrong (hydration, fuelling, apparel, pacing) and so it's far more important to focus on these things and have a fairly good idea of what should happen on race day (while remaining flexible with plans A, B and C). Sometimes I wonder if it's all worth it; we give so much in training and get so little in return on race day.

I recently read two absolutely amazing novels by one John L. Parker, Jr. 'Once and Runner' and its sequel 'Again to Carthage' follow the journey of a young, ambitious and highly talented young collegiate runner, Quenton Cassidy, as he endures the rigorous and regimented training required to succeed in the mile and then, years later, in the marathon. I won't elaborate because these novels are essential reading for all runners of any level, ability or experience and may help explain and invigorate your own preference and passion for running that we simply don't realize and take for granted.

I mention this because there is a single chapter in 'Again to Carthage,' which I think accurately and elegantly says more about how I am feeling right now, and how I imagine many others in a similar position also feel, than any other explanation I have ever heard, read, seen or imagined.

Chapter 36: 'Otter Springs'.

"What I mean is that someone sees a race, and they think that's what you do. They sort of know you had to train, but they weren't watching then, so they don't understand how incredibly much of it there is. But to us, it's almost the whole thing. Racing is just the little tiny ritual we go through after everything else has been done. It's a hood ornament."

Unless you’ve been there and gone through it, no one can truly understand how or why we push our bodies and our minds to such limits. Why we endure the pain and how we maintain the passion. I still don’t completely understand it and I realize it might not make much sense to others… but I do know that I love it and I know I’ll do it again and again. So regardless of what happens on Sunday, in my mind, I have already succeeded...



For those interested, CBC will be streaming live coverage of the event on it's website (www.cbcsports.ca) starting at 8:30am EST as well as having coverage on CBC BOLD. There will also be a highlights show at 3pm EST on all CBC networks. Good luck to the Canadian guys (Reid, Eric, Rob, Matt and Dylan) looking to qualify for the 2012 Olympics and perhaps even set the Men's Canadian marathon record.

#30: Revolution 9

Two in one day; I'm on a roll...

Kass Gibson is one of the smartest people I know. He's also among the funniest. Those traits together, intelligence and humour, create an effective and winning combination that is surely absent in far too many academic-types. Anyway, I am extremely fortunate to get to hang out with Kass quite often, and today during a regular graduate student-style coffee break (long and often) on a simply sensational Friday afternoon, I was once again humbled and inspired by his wisdom and thoughtful insight.

I was talking to him about my most recent blog post: About what types of interventions might be most successful for increasing physical activity (PA) levels and the importance of offering incentives to increase physical activity (since persuasion and regulation are unlikely to work). The first question he asked was:

"Why is it so important that people be physically active? Why should we tell them this is important in the first place?"

It might seem ignorant but it's an excellent point. “You live your life; I'll live mine!” I would normally agree, HOWEVER in Canada, we support a ("free") publicly funded health care system. This essentially means that when you or I get sick, everyone else pays for it (literally). In theory, it's a great idea: We all help each other out in their time of need. But what happens when certain types of people benefit more from the system than others? I'm talking of course about a population that is becoming increasingly (and overwhelmingly) unhealthy. Although you could debate it; heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, many cancers, mental illness, and dementia all affect a disproportionate amount of people: People who I would argue are less healthy and who are often personally responsible for their lack of health. To make my point: I don't feel I should be paying for the millions of Canadians now developing diabetes and heart disease because they choose to be sedentary.

Without much fuss, Kass eventually agreed that was a fair point. However, rather than offer the financial incentives and tax credits (that far too often benefit the already advantaged middle and upper classes); why not remove the barriers that undoubtedly prevent so many people from becoming active in the first place (adoption) or maintaining activity in the long term (adherence). At first I brushed the idea off as far too simple-minded. "If I can overcome these said 'barriers'; then why can't others?!" But the more I got to thinking, the more one must acknowledge that barriers do exist (or perhaps more importantly...are perceived to exist).

I then began coming up with a list of potential "barriers" to physical activity and as you will see, there are a lot of them! These barriers are not necessarily physical barriers (there isn't a giant wall blocking the entrance to the park), but can be anything that limits access or opportunity to be active.

Here are but a few (mostly adapted from Trost et al., 2002) organized into different types:

Demographic and biological factors: age, sex, gender, education, working class occupation, children, genetics, income/socioeconomic status (SES), injury/illness, disability, marital status, race/ethnicity, religious affiliation, being overweight or obese

Psychological, cognitive and emotional factors: attitudes, control, enjoyment, expectancy beliefs, intension, mood/affect, normative beliefs, knowledge/understanding of health, time, locus of control, perceived current health, personality, body image, psychological/mental health, self-efficacy, self-motivation, stress, susceptibility to illness

Behavioural attributes and skills: activity during childhood, youth and adolescence, activity during adulthood, alcohol, dietary habits, coping skills, processes of change, school sports, smoking, mental illness, sports media use, Type A behaviour pattern

Social and cultural factors: exercise group size, exercise/PA models, group cohesion, family influence, physician influence, social isolation, social support from family, spouse, friends, peers, staff, instructor

Physical/built environment factors: access to facilities (actual and perceived), lighting, climate/season, cost of programs, disruption of routine, scenery, traffic, home equipment, crime rates, hilly terrain, neighbourhood safety, sidewalks, dogs, urban vs rural locations, noise

Physical activity characteristics: mode, duration, frequency and intensity of activity, perceived effort.

WOW! That's quite a list. When reading it, many barriers (perhaps better called factors, variables, correlates or determinants), will NOT seem modifiable which is true. So it then must be determined which factors CAN be changed and what the overall effect of changing those factors will be (in order to increase PA levels). We must also consider things like the feasibility, timeline, cost, and many practical considerations. This can (and should) seem pretty overwhelming.

I might be a bit of an idealist (picturing a perfect world where everyone is physically active and healthy) but I am also a realist. We can't change the world (I'm also a pessimist) all at once; rather we need to make small, gradual steps to affect meaningful change over time. Currently, I might argue that rather than change anything 'for the better'; we should simply attempt to 'stop the bleeding' and try and ensure that we don't change 'for the worse'. Either way, it's a tall order.
Okay, so I realize that I've been rambling on for quite a bit and I fear I haven't really made a point so should probably attempt to do so. Here's the take home message:

I think that 'asking' that people be physically active and healthy (as a direct result of this) is a necessary and important 'request.' The health care system is designed in such a way that we all end up paying for those who are inactive and unhealthy (here I assume that increased physical activity equates to better overall health, and am supported heavily by the literature). And rather than simply offer incentives for individuals to be active; we also need to consider removing or altering the 'barriers' that exist to prevent PA. Some of these barriers cannot be changed but many can. Demographic and biological factors cannot be changed per se, but they can be overcome. Psychological and behavioural barriers are those being addressed by myself and other exercise/PA psychologists and ultimately require "changing" the individual. Changing the build/physical environment will likely come from policy (government) and will take time. We can’t change the nature of PA: it’s physically (and mentally) tough to do and can be unpleasant; but we can change our attitudes toward it. We can embrace it.

What are your thoughts? What factors and barriers are most important and in most needing of change?! For now, I plan to stick with my monumental (and perhaps foolish) task of trying to change individuals (whether they know it or not)...

#29: Revolution 1

Many of you should be well aware that we are currently facing an “epidemic of inactivity.” Sedentary lifestyles have become the norm and less than 15% of Canadian adults meet (inter)national recommendations for daily and weekly physical activity (PA) known to improve and enhance health and well-being. This then often leads to many more complicated problems (lack of fitness -> overweight/obesity, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, poor mental health) that ultimately end up costing every one of us since we all contribute to our publicly funded health care system. Individual health is not only a personal responsibility, but a social one too!

Knowing that Canadians are inactive is all well and good but the real question then becomes: How do we convince, promote and motivate individuals to be more physically active?

Preaching (education, public messages, etc) about the value and importance of PA doesn't seem to be working. I think most people would agree that exercise and physical activity is good for us! The evidence for this is simply irrefutable. So what are the other options? Surely we can't force people to become physically active. There is no law that says you MUST be physically active and thus regulating PA also seems bleak for meaningful intervention. Another tool then is to perhaps offer incentives or rewards for those who choose to be physically active. Incentives are very often economic in nature (think tax credits like the Children Fitness Tax Credit) but could also be symbolic and personally-derived (think an increased sense of well-being, superior health and fitness, improved body image and self-esteem, etc). So far there are few, financial or otherwise, incentives offered to promote physical activity and I feel this is an area of much potential in the near future.

For now, I would like to share/propose an idea I had for a general "program" or "project" that I hope can convince and challenge more of us to be physically active. I just came up with it an hour ago so probably haven’t thought it through…
Nevertheless, I stems from my own personal passion for physical activity and from an activity that I truly believe any one can do: running!

"Bet you can't run just one: Meters to marathon."

Starting to run can be an intimidating and daunting task and will not be successful the first time out. It takes time, patience, practice and perseverance. The first time I ever ran was back in high school and I can remember planning to go around the block (about 5k) I made it only about 2k before I was on my hands and knees gasping for air. I proceeded to walk for several minutes before trying again and sure enough it was not long before I was walking slowly again, clutching my churning stomach and pounding lungs. That is a memory I will never forget. I can't remember the second or third time I ran, or even the tenth, but I do recall the slow, gradual process of getting better and being able to go further and further. This provided me with a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction; sensations which have only intensified and accumulated over time.

Running can no doubt provide a plethora of advantages and benefits over other activities: increased physical health and fitness: endurance, strength, flexibility, speed; improved body composition, image and satisfaction; enhanced self-efficacy,-confidence and -esteem; decreased stress, depression and anxiety; social interaction, friendships and membership; social support and recognition; it is fairly inexpensive and requires no special equipment, facilities or fees; it can be done alone or within a group; feelings of pride, accomplishment and success; and ultimately a sense of self-satisfaction. Running has it all! The proposed goal of 'Meters to Marathon (MTM)' is to encourage individuals of all ages to embrace recreational running as not only a mode of exercise or health behaviour but as a lifestyle.
Beginners, amateurs and pros alike can benefit tremendously from regular running and the subculture of running. The task is simple: Take it one day at a time and try to run a little more each day. Be sure to warm up briefly beforehand and cool down afterwards, and ensure you have a comfortable pair of shoes and apparel. Start with a brisk 10min walk then try and run/jog for a few minutes, maybe 5 at the most, then walk some more. Keep track of your progress (write it down) and set a realistic goal. Start by running three days a week and add a fourth day after a week or two. Listen to your body and know when to back off or take an extra rest day. Don’t allow yourself to overcompensate on food for the activity you’ve done. This isn’t a weight loss program and the goal here is increased fitness; not decreased “fatness’ (although they often compliment each other!). The process will be invigorating, reinforcing and intensely rewarding. Good luck.