A day off today. My leg is feeling almost 100% and so I decided to take a nice afternoon nap rather than add a few miles to my long distance game. I had my first anonymous comment today asking how fast I run on the treadmill. Amusing to me was the fact that I received the comment just after finishing two creepy chapters of Andrew Pyper's, The Killing Circle (which by the way is not just creepy but deliciously so!). Given the timing, I had this initial weird feeling that despite the numerous friends and family who know about my blog, could an anonymous 'Sandman" be following my running game....just like Patrick Rush, could a ghostly Sandman be watching through my "cyber" window (creepy!!!)...but hey, do I honestly think the Sandman would say "cuz?" :) But I do love a good story.
The answer to the question is that I am no speed demon. On a treadmill I run a 9.5-10 minute mile, which means I run about 6 miles in an hour. My speed generally ranges from 5.6-6.5 miles when I am trying to run a longer distance. For training purposes (meaning when I'm trying to look good in a bikini, which I currently am because of our upcoming cruise) I do sprint running which means that I run around 5.6-6 miles for five minutes and then sprint for three or more minutes at 7-8 miles per hour. For anyone who is trying to maximize the benefit of training regularly, sprint running is far more effective than running a slower speed for a longer period. At least that is my experience. I believe, but I don't know, that I run slower when running outside. This is because of the elements including hills and wind, and because sometimes running along the Saskatchewan River is just too beautiful to worry about speed. I am so blessed to have the river trails across the street whenever the inspiration for a river run hits me.
Had an interesting day today. Skender and I went to see Michael Ignatieff speak. I guess I have felt very disillusioned by recent government events and needed to see what the new guy on the block had to say. Ignatieff gave a very inspiring speech and we had a chance to meet him and his wife and Skender and his buddies had their picture taken with him. What inspired me most was the fact that he continually came back to the situation of Aboriginal Canadians and the need to recognize social and health disparities among Aboriginal peoples as a blemish on Canadian society that could no longer be allowed to persist. As we left the brunch Skender announced that he never wanted to be Prime Minister because he didn't want to work that hard and he also didn't want to give speeches all the time! Hmmm, so maybe only one of us was truly inspired :) The pictures above are of Michael Ignatieff with Skender (who is in the back row looking at me and not the camera) and his friends John, Elizabeth and Maria. The second picture is Skender with the new Liberal leader of Saskatchewan, Ryan Bater.
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