Like Son, Like Father...Like Family (by Coach Kevin)

As a youngster, I always saw my father as someone who was (i.e. used to be) a great athlete. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like by the time I was 5, 10 or even 15, it was time to put him out to pasture… far from it. Even through my adolescence, as my father’s lifestyle grew more sedentary (he is an artist by trade ...insert shameless plug here—visit www.monomania.ca to see his work) I was always amazed at the "latent" physical strength and power he seemed to possess, but which was less and less evinced in any athletically demonstrative manner, as time marched on.

My sport consciousness was developed and nurtured through his past athletic exploits and prowess—he was a high school basketball player and sprinter, a near-scratch golfer, an all-star wrestler, a university football player, an avid skier, and a hockey player good enough to be invited to join the Voyageurs, the Montreal Canadiens farm team.

As I grew up, one of my most deep-seated motivations was to emulate my father's athleticism, and to make him proud of me in doing so I toiled for 10 years as a hockey player, and though I was always a great skater, and a strong offensive player, possessed of a true love of the game of hockey and its competitive dynamic, at some point it became clear that I wouldn't be up on the NHL draft auction block any time soon.

However, it was about that same time that I began concentrating on distance running, which I had been dabbling in for a couple of years prior. Though my dad had a wealth of experience and advice on just about every sport, here was one of the few in which he didn't have much background or interest. As he put it "anything more than a hundred meters, and I'm cooked!"

So I forged on, finding my way with the help of a few well-intentioned coaches and my own instincts, and after a tumultuous and stormy "love affair" with running, which stretched over 10 injury-plagued years, found my place and calling as a "running professional" — instead of a "professional runner" — in which capacity I am still gainfully employed to this day.

Another thing that inherited from my father, along with a proclivity for sport and athletics, was a gene for preternaturally high cholesterol production.

Since the mid 80's, my father has been on some form of anti-cholesterol medication, including every statin drug ever developed, at increasingly high dosages every 6-12 months, since no amount of dietary modification (which he did undertake) and/or exercise (which he didn't) could have made much of a dent in the arterial "sediment" that had built up for years before starting medication.

An episode in the early 90's (chest tightness, light-headedness, dizzy, sweating) led my father to the care of a cardiologist, and a series of stress tests revealed minor arterial damage.

Gradual increases in angina over the next ten years resulted in an angiogram in 2004, where arterial blockages serious enough to warrant further immediate attention were found. One week later, a magnetic imaging angiogram was performed — the results of which spurred an emergency "lema-rema" bypass operation (left and right main coronary arteries) the very next day.

Despite the long-term cholesterol issues, and the more recent warning signs of mild angina attacks, the rapid and severe change to my father's health was shocking, frightening, and incomprehensible to every member of our entire family. This man we had always regarded as a pillar of strength and athleticism was all of a sudden teetering on the brink of survival.

The operation was successful, and after a week in the hospital, my father returned home. He weighed 180 lbs (his "fightin' weight" 30-40 years before had been around 155), and had just survived the closest brush with death of his entire life.

As he tells the story now...it was the best thing that could have happened to him.

After 2 months of post-op recovery (restricted walking and movement), my father began his cardio rehab program under the expert supervision of the team at Toronto's Rumsey Centre. After a battery of intake physiological tests, he was prescribed a gentle but progressive aerobic fitness regime (fitness walking, 3 times per week, restricted intensity and time). He responded favourably to this initial exercise routine, and was allowed to up his aerobic workout frequency, duration and intensity, and add resistance and strength training, over the next few months.

In just over 1 year after his operation, in the fall of '05, my dad had lost 26 lbs (to tip the scales at a pound or two lighter than his "supposedly elite" distance runner son!), was up to walking and running about 20km per week, had a resting heart rate of close to 50 bpm, was single arm bicep curling 40lbs, and as he put it (at over 60 years old), had not felt this good in 35 years!

The doctors at the Rumsey Centre were dumbfounded: they normally look for 10% improvement in overall conditioning in retesting every 4 months, for a maximum goal of about 30% improvement within 1 year. My father demonstrated an 80% improvement...the star athlete once again!

My Dad & I at the finish of the Mississauga Marathon, 1½ years after his surgery

And the changes didn't stop there...my father not only felt 35 years younger, but he looked and acted it as well...it was truly a total transformation — physical, mental and emotional (heck, maybe even spiritual).

And one of the best parts for me (other than seeing my father get a "new lease on life") was that for the first time ever, through his foray into aerobic fitness, my dad was now exp

eriencing "my" sport for the first time. Having him relate the feelings he gets during and/or after his workouts, and that he could now really appreciate what it is I do and how I feel as a distance runner, was such a great and unexpected treasure to unearth from the depths of such dire and desperate circumstances just a year earlier.

He and I now conversed in terms of minutes per km, of % of max HR, of recovery workouts — the vernacular of my profession. We now found ourselves buying holiday and birthday gifts for him like heart rate monitors, pedometers, water bottle torso packs, and microfibre workout wear...how joyously absurd it all seems now!

Furthermore, my dad's transformation and dedication to fitness did something that my 25 years of distance running never had — inspired the rest of my family to get involved in aerobic fitness and distance running! My mother began walking with my dad, at first in a "security/safety" role, out of solicitude for my father during his initial steps of recovery and rehab, and later to help with commitment and support to reinforce the positive changes that were happening in my father. Perhaps though, even if only to some small degree, because it kind of felt good to get out there and push herself that way, and feel that "buzz" the rest of the day.

Most surprising was that my siblings also took to distance running in the months after my father's surgery, during his rehab fitness odyssey. Though my sister had shown signs of athletic interest as a child and young adolescent, she'd not been actively involved in any aerobic fitness endeavor for about 20 years. For my younger brother (early twenties at the time of my father's surgery) sports and/or athletic endeavors had never really made it that far up his totem pole of life priorities and interests.

So to have them take up the challenge, and break through perhaps the toughest barrier of all, the inertia of long term inactivity, to where they were each able to run continuously for 4-5km, was so especially gratifying for me.

One of my most special moments in recent memory was last year, in the summer of 2006, where my sister, my brother and I all ran in a race together — the Docks 5K (their first running event ever, for both of them) — with my parents there at the finish to join in the celebration.

Our family, like I suppose so many out there, has had it's share of turmoil and upheaval in the past, and though we've managed quite well to draw everything back together and press on, I can't help but feel that our collectively-shared "fitness" experience following my dad's health crisis, has drawn us closer together and strengthened our relationships.

I'm sure each of their respective recent investments in running and fitness played a part in my mom, Dad and brother's decision to jump in the car and travel all the way to Boston this past spring, to be there to cheer me on up Heartbreak Hill and celebrate with me in my exhausted stupor shortly after finishing my first ever Boston Marathon. Thanks again guys!

And thanks to all my family for having the courage and strength and explore a part of yourselves that you never had before, and for venturing into such an unfamiliar realm as this. Whether you stay or whether it turns out you were "just visiting", I can't tell you how grateful I am, and how happy it made me, that you came!

Top Ten 2007 MDI Highlights

You know that "totally spent yet totally psyched" feeling you get as you stagger around in the finish corral after running a truly great race? Well, that's how we at Marathon Dynamics are feeling here after an exhausting but exhilarating summer and fall of coaching our runners.

What a ride it's been! And though we're more than happy to take a couple weeks break to catch our breath, we're also finding we're chomping at the bit to get started working toward our and your goals for 2008...after all, it is an Olympic year, right? (ha, ha!)

Those of you who regularly receive our end of season/year newsletters know that this is the time that we usually issue our list of "Top 100 Performances", after tirelessly researching and reviewing every race run by every runner we helped train and coach in the past season and/or year. Though we always receive lots of positive feedback from those on the list (and about them from others not on it), and despite our very best efforts to make it as complete and carefully-considered a list as possible, we invariably end up leaving some deserving candidates off the list.

So this season, we're going to do something different. Even though we helped our runners harvest another bumper crop of impressive times, awesome new PBs (personal bests) and debut performances at race distances ranging from 5K up to Marathon (and beyond!), we thought rather than another itemized listing of 100 of them, we would select from among our experiences with the 250 or so runners we were lucky enough to work/run with this past year, just the "Top 10 Marathon Dynamics Highlights" of 2007. These aren't necessarily the fastest performances, nor even the "best" age category ones, but simply those that left highly emotional footprints. This way, rather than just seeing a name, race and finishing time, we hope you'll get a sense of the "stories behind the numbers" and appreciate just a few of the very special experiences we've shared with runners this year.

1. Nathalie Auger — who ran yet another consecutive marathon PB of 3:34 at, of all races, the CHICAGO Marathon last month. Anyone who ran there (and most of us that didn't) know that a finishing time there could/should be adjusted by at least 4-5% to reflect the ugly, and ultimately race-halting, heat and humidity (which would be another 10 minutes faster in Nathalie's case!). This puts her "net" time in around the 3:25 range. Not bad for someone who came to us about 2 years ago as a 4hr plus marathoner, eh?

2. "Boston Armada" — the 111th running of the Boston Marathon this past spring will be memorable to us here at Marathon Dynamics for many years to come, for much more than the rough ‘n tough conditions created by the cold, rain and wind. To have a number of our coaches there (Michael Brennan's 13th, Sherab Melvin and Jackie Dupuis' 3rd, and coach Kev's 1st ever Boston!) and to run and share the experience with our largest single contingent of runners ever — over 60 — was truly incredible! Following up on that momentum, at last count, we have helped almost 100 runners to Boston Qualifier performances for next year's 2008 Boston Marathon. Based on last year's stats, that could mean over 5% of all Canadian runners at next year's race! Go Marathon Dynamics Nation Go!

3. Nick Friedman — "Boston...by a hair." After a great season of training with our York Coaching Group this spring, Nick Friedman commissioned me to coach/run with him over the final 11-12km of his Boston Qualifier attempt at the Mississauga Marathon. His training had gone well, he was looking fit and fast, and although I knew that he had a big marathon in him, he would still need a 10 minute PR to hit is 3:30 Boston Q. As anyone who has tried for Boston knows, it's those last 10 minutes that are often the hardest, so though I was fairly confident he could do it, there was always that worry. Fast forward to the 31km mark of the race where I merged with Nick. He was 30 seconds behind our original game plan with 10km to go — not bad, but given the hilliness of the last quarter of the race, and the running body language Nick was showing, let's just say that my brow was (hopefully privately!) furrowing with concern. For the next 5 km or so, Nick's pace was steady, as he basically held his target splits, losing only a few seconds here and there on hilly sections, such that as he approached the final 3km he was actually just over 3:30 flat pace. He was really tiring, but I was using every possible "sleight of mind" trick in the book to keep him focused and fighting, and with 1km to go he was on pace for about a 3:30:30 — just inside the 1 minute grace allowed to "on the cusp" Boston qualifiers. If he faltered here, disaster might still strike, so I fumbled around in the pocket of my torso pack and pulled out the "in case of emergency" secret weapon I'd brought with me. With 800m to go, I thrust the Boston Marathon Finishers medal from this year's race in front of him, and screamed "2 more minutes to Boston, 2 more minutes...go get it Nick!" and as I'd hoped, he switched gears and hammered home to finish in 3:30:10. Mission accomplished!

4. Rob Kent — "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again...15 times!" Always one to run to the beat of his own drummer, it took a lot of sacrifice for Rob to ultimately commit to shaping his training according to the training we prescribed for him this season. However, he REALLY wanted a Boston Qualifier this time, since he'd made many previous attempts on his own (14 in fact, but who's counting!), and though he'd come close (within 3 minutes) he had yet to pull it off. Long story short...at the St. George's marathon last month, with all his training (and then some!) in the bank, and his race day game plan firmly in hand (well, on wrist!) he went for it. When all was said and done, Rob was the proud owner of a new all time marathon PB — 3:20:10, and a ticket to Boston...Hooray Rob! What made his accomplishment even more incredible (and vexed me repeatedly as his coach & training planner) is that just 4 weeks before his marathon, he also did an IRONMAN Triathlon (Lake Placid)!  Talk about a guy who just has to do it all, eh?  Speaking of which, guess what crazy challenge he's already committed to next?    The Marathon des Sables! A 7-day, 230km race across the Sahara Desert next April, a week before Boston — which by the way, he's also doing. Oh my god!

5. Marathon Dynamics Coaches — we shuffled around and added to our coaching roster more than ever before this season to accommodate new groups/times/locations, so we were understandably anxious to see how the changes would be received. Well, as the dust settles here at season's end, we are absolutely thrilled with the performance of our entire team — I've never gotten so much positive feedback (in person, by phone, by email) from our runners as I did this season! Head coach Robin McKechney and new head coach Jennifer Faraone received top marks from all their charges, while stalwart "regulars" Jackie Dupuis & Todd Milligan (and myself I guess!), as well as assistants Bennett Cohen, Steve McKinnon, Sherab Melvin, Patty Cranston did their usual bang up job, and newbie coaches Alicia Snell and Dera Nevin, though both saw limited duty, proved to be terrific additions to the team. Check our website to learn more about these fabulous people, and read on to find out how you can work with them directly in the coming season!

6. Susan McCallum — a.k.a. "Our Lady of Perpetual Improvement!" 4:07 Marathon and 1:56 Half Marathon — those were Susan's PBs when she arrived at the MDI doorstep to start training with us in January of 06. After more than 5 years of training and toiling to improve her distance running on her own and with other groups, she wondered if she could get better/faster, and if so, how much? Oh, and could she get to Boston too? Well, it's been a wild ride over the first 1½ years we've worked/run with Susan...but all in one direction — to the moon! Leading up to the NYC Marathon earlier this month which she ran to support a friend coming back to running after recent child birth (and still nipped in under 4hrs!), she's PB'ed at over 12 consecutive races, at distances from 10K to Marathon, including a 3:54 AT this years weather-beaten Boston Marathon, and most recently a 1:44 Half at Waterfront! If this keeps up, she'll be vying for a spot on the 2012 Olympic Team!

7. Chuck McCoy — "Age is just a number." When a guy over 60 meets you at a track one cold and blustery December morning, limps over to you wearing a leg brace that could double as a car jack, and says, basically "get me to Boston this spring" let's just say, I was...skeptical. As a coach with a lot of running experience, who prides himself on having "seen just about everything", this was a new one, that's for sure. As I got to know Chuck through our Gold level Coaching correspondence, and saw how dedicated to and serious about his training this guy was, it soon became apparent to me that he was, if you'll excuse the expression, "The Real McCoy" (groan). Turns out he had a torn meniscus the previous season the year after qualifying for Boston, and had undergone surgery after that (hence deferring his Boston registration), and was still on the rehab & recovery trail when he started with us last winter. He correctly surmised that he'd need a "VERY Customized" training plan. So that's just what we provided, knowingly breaking many of the tried and true tenets of training and coaching lore in order to "find a way" for him to a) make it to Boston b) make it through Boston. To make matters more interesting, midway through the season his knee flared up intensely, and required even more rest & further "tap dancing" on the training front. It really didn't look all that promising 6 weeks before Patriot's Day, but with some "game saver" giant catch-up run workouts he managed to eke out, and a lot of stubbornly executed aerobic cross training, we declared him "barely" Boston-ready. In the end, he did indeed make it triumphantly down Boylston to finish Boston (just over 5hrs, but the stopwatch was the furthest thing from our minds in this case). Though it wasn't the fastest performances we helped a runner to this past spring, it sure was one of the most memorable and satisfying for me. Well done, Chuck! (Postscript — he ran WF Half this fall in about 2hrs flat!)

8. Angelo Meffe — "Boston...by a mile." Angelo had been a Training Plan & E-Coaching client on and off for a couple years now, having used our system very effectively to achieve a 3:20 Boston Qualifier a couple seasons ago. This season, Angelo was in the hunt again for another sub 3:20 Boston Q. His training had gone quite well, but he wanted to make sure he did everything he could to ensure success, and he remembered seeing me at the previous spring's Mississauga Marathon alongside the aforementioned Nick Friedman, as I race day coached him, and thought that might be just the "insurance" he needed. So we arranged for me to meet him at out there at around 32km, and developed our game plan to bring him home. Well, I was more than a little surprised to see Angelo hit the 32km marker almost 3 minutes ahead of pace, to say the least...this was either going to be a very good day, or a very long and ugly one. Happily, it turned out to be the former...we started clipping off the kms in the middle 30s, and I realized he was still running those faster than target pace (i.e. still gaining time), so if he was going to crash in this race, it hadn't started yet...moreover, it sure didn't look like it would. He was running strong and smooth, and was lucid and able to communicate well, and though he complained once or twice about (stomach) cramps, all systems seemed to be GO as he entered the last 4-5km.

I have this "game within a race" that I like to play myself and recommend to others, where you set up a mental scoreboard late in the race, with "0 — 0" on it — "runners I pass" vs. "runners that pass me", and start the game. The idea is to get as high a differential, with as few in the "loss" column, as possible. If you've done a good job of assessing your race day goal time potential, and run a smart, well-paced run, I find this provides a motivating and constructive way to break the remainder of the race up into "micro challenges", that make the bigger goal seem more manageable. It also helps take our mind off everything else we're feeling at that point! We didn't actually hit the start button on Angelo's game until about 34km, but when he hit the finish line, guess what the score was? 50+ to 0! And a 3:12 brand new 7+ minute PB and Boston Qualifier to boot!

9. Bev Whelan — "Rookie of the Year" It's not often that we help a young, first time woman marathoner achieve a debut marathon performance of 3:07. Actually, make that any marathoner, man or woman, no matter what their age or running experience — but that's what happened here. From the moment she committed to attempting her first marathon early this summer, I knew she'd have a big one, if she could make it through the training. Oh, she could handle any workout we threw at her — I made sure of that by accompanying her for many of her intensity sessions myself — but she was coming at the marathon from the "short side". She was a track distance runner (1500m type) who had only once dabbled in the long stuff, a single "lark" half the previous year. So the big question would be how she would respond to the much longer runs and controlled pacing that we'd be asking of her. Well, "asked and answered", as the courtroom drama lawyers say. She managed to get 95+% of her training in, even after relocating back to school in the Boston area in September, we "E-Coach" corresponded regularly to help her stay on track through her "peak weeks", so that come race day, she was ready...really ready. If it weren't for a couple of totally understandable "rookie" decisions re: aggressive early pacing, she may well have nailed a 3hr flat marathon, or very close to it, and as it was still hung on gamely (or grimly?) for a tremendous debut marathon of 3:07 at the Bay State Marathon in Massachusetts. I was especially touched to receive what I'm calling "the mother of all testimonials" from Bev a couple weeks after her race. We often get very positive feedback in the hours/days/weeks following our runners' big events, but never before have we got such a veritable dissertation on how the Marathon Dynamics approach helped an already very talented and experienced runner prepare for and execute her first marathon attempt. Especially if you're one of those reading this e-newsletter who has been "curious but not committed yet" to actually trying the Marathon Dynamics approach please click here to read Bev's account (and see me blush)

10. Youth Movement — Speaking of young and promising runners, in addition to Bev, we were very pleased to work with a couple of "south side of age 20" runners this season, which doesn't happen that often. Tristan Sandhu, an 18yr old high school senior was trying to qualify for the OFSAA cross country championships for the first time ever (as an individual, much tougher than getting in with a team), and Kelty Cambell, another 18yr old, who had visions of running a half marathon only 7 weeks after she contacted us...even though she'd as yet not run further than 5K! The long stories made short? After a fall season of dedicated training, blending the workouts we prescribed (including a zinger of a tempo/race pace effort I did with him in High Park), with some track work done with the Mississauga Track Club, Tristan earned his OFSAA stripes, qualifying as one of the top 3 individual runners from his region, and went on to finish in the top 3rd of the field overall at OFSAA! Young Kelty also crammed a lot of training into a short time, and showed up on race day hoping to run her first half marathon in about 1hr50min. At the finish, it was close...she breezed through the finish in 1:51 (3rd in age group)