Running movies galore

I came across this running website a few weeks ago. It has catalogued almost every movie that somehow involves running (even if only briefly). Pretty good; it's got plenty of the obscure, including old documentaries dating back to 1920s and the amazing Atanarjuat (reminds me I should re-watch it sometime).

Of course there are also plenty of great travel movies and documentaries that are not necessarily running-related. This site is a comprehensive database, but I would hate to forget about all the other filmed endurance stories out there. Recently I watched The Long Way Round and The Long Way Down by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, about their motorcycle trips across Eurasia and Africa. I was surprised how good they were. Both documentaries felt very honest; they were not just a stunt or promo for some other movie (that would have been redundant). And while in Africa they met a man who was en route to touring the world via bicycle. That in turn reminded me of the recently completed trip by Montreal's Jean Béliveau, after 11 years of walking around the world. You find these amazing people everywhere you look.

Worldwide trends for various racing distances

I have compiled a list of the top running performances worldwide for distances of 100 meters up to the marathon separated by the date they were run. I have included top times for Canadian men at 5000 meters, 10,000 meters, and the marathon in order to compare how Canada has progressed as a whole. Data presented is thanks to the IAAF website, the Association of Road Racing Statisticians (ARRS) and a personal communication from Marathon Canada's founder, Alex Coffin. For this post I restricted myself to men's performances only, but I do also have times for women, which I can include next if there's interest.

UPDATE: In the first draft of this post I had erroneously speculated on why some data appeared to be missing. You will see what I mean when looking at the men's 100 meter plot. A new, more straightforward, explanation is given. Thanks to Dr. Alex Hutchinson from Runner's World for pointing this out, and reposting this blog entry on his Sweat Science column. I know he more typically reports peer-reviewed publications. Not many blogs get cited! End of update. 

I was wrong!

For weeks I was convinced that I had an Achilles tendonosis-type injury. That changed on Friday when I visited M.C. Dion, a supremely talented physiotherapist located at McGill's sport medicine clinic. Though I suspected there was something different about this injury compared to the time I (actually) had an Achilles problem, her visit put any doubt to rest. After a few minutes of prodding she confirmed it was the muscle/tendon behind the Achilles causing problems: the Tibialis posterior muscle, or tib-post for short. When M.C. added an electrical current to the muscle, the same tingling sensation was present as when it first started healing (slowly) on its own. A day after her visit it already felt better (though it still needs time to heal). Were these the middle ages, I imagine physiotherapists would be suspect of witchcraft sooner than doctors.

Running fears, real and imaginary

Warning: this topic degenerates into talk about zombies.

As frequently as I run, I have almost never run scared. Not that I want to run with the fear of god in me, but it occurred to me that most people, including pros, set out to run distance X with effort Y and pain level Z and usually follow through to a tee. Race winners work hard but look relaxed. My idle thought was to imagine how often runners use their skills -however unexpectedly- to save their very lives?

Dickens was a (competitive) walker

Never would I have imagined reading this article. For I have now learned that Charles Dickens had an obsession for walking incredible distances. Yes, in the 19th century walking has the same place in the public's heart as today's marathons. Though just like modern distance runners, the sedentary public looked at such activities with some suspicion. Dickens was relentless, apparently, routinely walking 17 miles a day and once 30 miles straight starting in the middle of the night. (Not so special now, are we Mr. Karnazes?) His strolls even took on a competitive edge:

As several of his walking companions described it, he had a distinctive "swinging" gait. And, like many a serious runner of today, he "made a practice of increasing his speed when ascending a hill

PhD defense completed

Well, the long road is at last near its end. Transitioning from one path to another, this time in Halifax. I'm feeling a mixture of joy, exhaustion, and I don't know what else. This has everything and nothing to do with running. I started my PhD with little more than casual running experience. It was used as my backup plan in case the snow wasn't good for skiing. Often I would even run with poles. Then I came to McGill. Nothing of that nature changed initially. I was busy with school, learning the city, and trying to understand what my research project was going to be.

Do weights have anything to do with sprinting?

I was doing some squats yesterday morning. Today I'm trying not to think about tomorrow's defense, so I wrote this post. Here goes.

I was thinking about my previous post which briefly mentioned good lifting technique. What I wrote was when lifting heavy, you must keep your heels firmly planted on the ground. You benefit from wearing shoes with as little cushioning as possible. You'll see people wearing Vibrams at the gym these days. Don't laugh, they have the right idea; laugh at the ones wearing thick-soled shoes believing this to be a good idea. Never mind, the whole idea of keeping on your heels was what as interesting to me: it got me thinking about its connection to running.