Author: ChristopherKelsall

I intended to get in 100 kilometres per week throughout the summer, for a summer base phase, ala the great and legendary Arthur Lydiard. But being slower than I was pre-hip, the time it takes to run the metric version of 100 is what it used to take me to run the imperial measure. So, time spent running is a better way to measure things than accumulated kms or miles.

So, in eight to eight-and-a-half hours run weekly, there was plenty of 80-85 kilometre weeks. For you Americans: 50-53 miles per week. It is pretty much all I have to give. I did run a 100K, or 62M or so once or twice.

In the context of “working with what you have,” I ran my base phase and did increase my volume a little and overall enough to get fatigued with some long runs, tempos and lots of easy running. Some strides, drills and gentle fartleks.

So, now to move into the quality phase. I am skipping the Lydiard hill phase, as all runs are hilly, and some are ridiculously hilly. Job done.

I do not have much in race plans until January, then I will race every other week for 16 weeks, so if I can move the fitness needle a little. I will, however, probably run a 5K on Oct. 8.… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Merry Christmas. There, I wrote it out loud.

We rarely get snow in Victoria, but we are getting it today, tonight, and tomorrow. Be gone by Christmas I think. I have a pair of Yukon Charlies’ snowshoes. Be out galavanting in those bad boys.

I did a hard Guerilla Fartlek sesh on Thursday…..hoping to race January to April (on dry pavement).

No designs on anything longer than 12K. But, I would like to get to 50 miles per week. Keep getting stuck at 30-40, damnit. Or as we say in Canada, 80K and stuck at 50-60K.

Prolly need to slow down the daily training to recover….

Whatever. Have a great holiday season and may the wind always blow up your kilt.… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Of course, I was adding a bit of knee lift and extra push-off to strengthen the foot, lower leg, and ankle area and for the lifting muscles…..ala Lydiard hill phase (day one)…..… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Five years in and I had my fifth-year X-Ray, to see …well you know….

So, the hips are perfect. The non-surgery side is perfect and the side that had the surgery is perfect.

That’s the news I got.

So, I would like everyone to put on Helter Skelter, turn the volume up real loud and listen to Paul scream, “YAAAAAAAA ha ha ha ha ha ha….”

That’s what I was doing in the car on the way to work this morning.

[scene].… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Hey,

So, I have tried some super shoes and if you check Athletics Illustrated, the On shoe is pretty amazing. Also, the Skechers are good, but fit small, so buy half a size up.

And when I mean good, seems to work well with having had a hip replacement.

I have asked this question before, but I will ask it again to make sure I remember correctly. Is downhill skiing safe for us with a hip replacement? I miss it dearly. I don’t need to do deep pow, jumps or moguls.

Hey, for the Women’s Transition House, I am putting on our fifth annual New Year’s Day Polar Bear Swim at Esquimalt Lagoon in Victoria, BC. As none of you are from Victoria, you likely wont be doing it. However, the suggested donation to participate is $5 CDN. So, if you donated and are from the UK or US that would be about $3.50 USD and maybe two pounds? Maybe three pounds? It is a great cause. They need money.

May put on a mile race at the same time…..woot.

Is there anyone here who has run sub-elite times post replacement? So, I am interested in sub-33 10K men, sub-36-10K women or add a minute for masters (40-plus) or equivelant performance times over other distances. I have some questions to ask about a potential article for www.athleticsillustrated.com.

THANKS.

Chris… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Inspired by shirtless Dave, I thought I ought to do one too. Maybe we can make a challenge, post your shirtless photos. I was not running here, of course, I was doing an Alfred Hitchcock-style shot, however, should I find a shirtless running photo of me, I will post it.

Seriously though, I am coming up on five years on Dec. 1. I have run up to 100kms per week, but mostly 50-60kms per week. Seventy this last week. 5K 22:32. Best before hip was 17:58 at age 42. I ain’t gettin’ near that again. Had a decade down of almost no running (plus two Haglund’s Deformity surgeries). I tried to get within 10 minutes of my master’s 10K best at age 41, which was 36:56, nope, 48:23 if I remember correctly. But I think I can knock a minute off that soon (see how below).

But here is a training thing. What used to be 100-miles in one week (162kms) or say 7.5-9 hours of running per week is still 7.5-9 hours of running, but now only 62 miles (1ookm). The great Arthur Lydiard changed from coaching in miles to coaching by time (because an elderly lady stood up at a seminar and said, “I am doing 100-miles per week, but it takes me 18 hours.”)

Doh!!

So, if you are living with a hip replacement, you are likely over 50 or over 60 etc, perhaps training by time is a good idea…..the cardiovascular system was stressed for “x” hours, not for “x” miles.

Anyway, I reviewed a pair of super shoes. I won’t post the link here so as to not to self-promote Athletics Illustrated every time that I post, but if you want to check it out…..you know….Google is a verb so search Ahoy, mate!

I reviewed the On, Cloudboom Echo. They have the carbon plate and super rubber and an interesting feel. I ran in them at this one paeticular effort I have that I KNOW for sure is 5:40 pace on the same route on my lunch….but not in these shoes, 5:20!……I had to stop … (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Read the below article about Run for Joya, after reading this Shoe Review……(trying not to bogart space….)

Shoe Review: On Cloudboom Echo

… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

….I’ll take it or “gangster of love”.

But I covered a bit of space in my first long run (in 12 years) — hence “space cowboy”.

Context: In the tongue-in-cheek lore and culture of distance running, 20 miles or 32K is a long run or longer of course. Anything shorter is not a long run.

I have run a few 30-34K runs, but they don’t count, as they were during a thing we call TNLW  and we have beer stops at each other’s house, where there is stretching, and maybe a bit of snackery and farts.

This one had 600m of elevation gain or 2000ft of elevation gain and just as much descent. And no beer stops, stretching, but there was farting.

So, here is my Strava entry from Saturday for 32.44K of running. My buddy who ran with me has a recording of 36K. He ran a km longer, as I walked a km home. But his device is lying to him…..so it was in that tongue-in-cheek way a certifiable 20-miler….for sure….

https://www.strava.com/activities/5420552989

Some people call me Maurice, cause I speak of the pompitous of ruuuuun.… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Summer is nigh upon us, apex predators.

Therefore, I will be doing the Summer of Lydiard, ala Summer of Malmo, if you have heard about it (Malmo’s Manifesto – guy George Malley who ran a 2:12 marathon before super shoes).

More volume, no racing, no heartwrenching quality, just easy, medium, steady, and strong volume. As much as we can fit in.

o paraphrase George Costanza: “It’s going to be the ‘Summer of malmo!’”

Q: What is this so-called “Summer of malmo”?

A: It’s a foolproof, no-nonsense, 100 percent guaranteed program that will help runners of all abilities to improve their fitness over the summer WITHOUT the attendant physical or mental fatigue. “Summer of malmo” revolves around a relaxed commitment from a group to meet just twice a week for an organized workout. One tempo run and one longer interval session. JUST TWICE A WEEK IS ALL I ASK. Emphasis on RELAXED and emphasis on COMMITMENT. Make this a social event.

Q: Who is it for?

A: Everyone (almost). Anyone that isn’t reaching their full potential, and you know who you are. It’s for runners that have been THINKING about doing doubles and haven’t yet started. It’s for you runners that have been THINKING of jacking up the mileage and haven’t yet started. It’s for college runners. High school runners. Boys, girls, men and women. Anyone that wants to make the leap for next year’s cross country season. Different skill levels? No problem. Fitness levels? Coming off an injury and are way behind? It’s OK, I’ve thought of it all. This foolproof SCHEDULE is all things to all runners!

Q: Who isn’t it for?

A: Any runner who has immediate racing goals. This “program” is a springboard for the cross country season. An easy way to prepare oneself for the real training to be done in the fall.

Q: I thought that you don’t believe in writing SCHEDULES?

A: I don’t, these workouts are only examples, you can customize it any way that you want – EXCEPT FOR THE INTENSITY LEVEL. That part … (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Registration is back up, apologies…..please sign up and if you don’t want to participate, you can buy a cool hat. $5 to race or $30 for hat and an entry. PROCEEDS to KidSport!

Hello, all you superhip peoples:

From a personal perspective, things are going well. As an Arthur Lydiard expert (flex) I am doing my first Lydiard cycle in about 14 years and am enjoying the heck out of it, sorta.

Didn’t build too much of a base (aerobic) because I kept getting calf pulls at 60-miles or 100K-ish-per-week, so down around 30-45-miles or 50-70K  now(tough speaking two languages, Imperial and Metric, but nevertheless). Went through the hill phase barely unscathed. And now nearly finished the anaerobic phase. One more workout, then onto time trials and racing. Let’s see how this goes. My goal is just to bang off some 5K races and see if I can get around 20:30-20:59.99999999 – ha-ha. My master’s best is 17:58 from age 42 and now at 55 (going on 2, I am an emotional toddler), I hope to get close to the age-grading equivalent performance level. That’s rich, though. Realistically I can run around 22-flat at this time and the racing will start in a month…..

All is good [touch wood, lucky rabbit’s foot etc — except I think the rabbit is unlucky isn’t it? Having lost a foot?].

___

So, the Global One-hour Virtual Race is on. Not as many people signed up as last year YET, however, there are some and we have extended the deadline to April 30 to get your time in.

Here is the little confirmation list below. Remember it is just $5 as a suggested donation. $30 if you want a commemorative hat. Proceeds to KidSport, so all kids can play.

How far can you go in an hour?

Confirmation list: 2021 Global One-hour Virtual Race

… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

In no way does the making of this video indicate an endorsement of any brand, damnit.

So, 71-year-old Joseph Camilleri does a workout (actually a few) testing the Pegasus against the Next % and other models. We just briefly look at the one workout.

No, he hasn’t had a hip replacement. He doesn’t need one, but I hope to run him over with a John Deer tractor to make that happen. But, still, at 71, he is saaaa mooooooth.

Nike Next % Test Run: 71-year-old Joseph Camilleri compares Nike Pegasus to Nike Next % in track session

… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

I miss my downhill skiing on a bluebird day. My grown-up kids moved to Vancouver, where they are 20-minutes from three different mountains. I am jealous.

Does anyone know anyone who downhill skis with a hip replacement?

I swear I online-chatted with someone who does. A duathlete? Maybe? I cannot seem to find the convo anywhere, so might be my imagination.

On Vancouver Island, the snow is pretty heavy. Like skiing in butter, so I assume I will need groomed-only runs? Which I am okay with, I guess.

Time to take up nordic skiing I suppose.… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Merry Christmas all you apex predators. I am not going to bore you to tears with my year because I could write a 10,000-word treatise.

But quickly:

I organized the 2020 Pan Am Cross Country Championships or more accurately brought all the right people into the room to organize it. It was very successful. Some people were calling it potentially the greatest small international cross country champs all-time. Sadly USATF president Bill Roe died on the mountain with us. But it was otherwise a wonderful weekend. Of course, you can read all about it at Athletics Illustrated. And see all the post-race interviews that I did. It was the last international meet or any meeting before the pandemic hit. LUCK!

My running has gone okay. I did get a few 100K (62-mile) weeks in, but five times this year I have run into calf issues. So, now I am on a two-month stretch of no calf issues at about 40-miles per week 65K….not quite…..will grow that volume properly this time.

Merry Christmas to everyone (or whatever your respective seasonal affected celebration is labeled — enjoy).

Feel free to join the Athletics Illustrated Strava Club (and the Hip Runners one too of course).

See you at www.athleticsillustrated.com.

I have done extensive coverage of The Marathon Project that is happening in Chandler, AZ this weekend……;o)  — check it out!… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Okay, so personal update:

Have had multiple calf pulls, because I am too eager once I start sniffing a sense of fitness. I have had some stretches of eight or 10 weeks of 40-65-miles (60-100K), but then inevitably I get a pull — back at ‘er now.

Loving the 30-minute out and back on the same road, at max effort, but not quite max, great low lactate threshold, high anaerobic threshold workout. It’s a Lydiard things and for more context feel free to contact me.

Okay, so I just did this massive interview with a medical oncologist/athlete with unique perspectives, colourful language and frankness on the Violence of Sugar — yup!

Must read: https://athleticsillustrated.com/the-violence-of-sugar/

 … (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

First ElliptiGo Rider of the Month and now….drum roll please……

Person of the Week at Athletics Illustrated.

Boom.

https://athleticsillustrated.com/person-of-the-week-for-may-25-2020-dave-whiteside/… (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)

Oh wow – what fun.

Thank you to all of the Hip Runners who took in the Global One-hour Virtual Race – what a gas.

The Hip Runners led the team event for a week, which really motivated two Vancouver Island, long-running and tough clubs to get going. The point spread looks like a lot of you are not familiar with cross-country scoring, but they are not.

Carolyn Rosner won the women’s elevation gain category and put the scare into some of the Comox Valley Road Runners who live next to a mountain range. They love mountain running. Dave Whiteside and Tom Fuchs led the Hip Runners with strong performances. You can see all of the Hip Runners in the results. Thanks everyone.

By the way, I could have helped the Hip Runners a little bit. But I dropped the ball – hilarious.

So I registered with three teams: Hip Runners, TNLW and Prairie Inn Harriers. I made three attempts and bailed on the first two. The third one, I warmed-up for 10:30 slowly, as you do. I had it in my mind to remember to mentally add 10:30 to whatever elapsed time that the Garmin showed. Then I lost all the brain sugar from the effort and when I got to around 48-minutes I was thinking, “just 12 minutes remaining, I am going to finish with 12.3 to 12.4 kilometres run – enough to get some points for Hip Runners.

Of course that 10:30 warm-up at 6:30 pace was included. So I stopped at 60:00 and you can see that the first 1.8k is warm up on my Strava. DOH! Total Facepalm.

The silver lining is that the runs were a tremendous stimulus for the top of the aerobic range or mid-range lactate threshold or right at the Aerobic Threshold. Can’t get better stimulus than that.

Thanks, everyone for jumping in. Check out the next unique race thing coming up. It’s pretty cool:

https://athleticsillustrated.com/andrew-russell-and-natasha-wodak-win-the-global-one-hour-virtual-race-prairie-inn-harriers-eke-out-win-over-comox-valley-road-runners/

See results here>>

 … (Click Here to View Full Post and Comments)