When I started running in June 2013 I used the gear I'd used for the gym or walking the dog, which wasn't much: wide-leg yoga pants and cotton t-shirts (insert giggles). When I realized this running thing was here to stay in my life, I started to acquire running specific items, many initially purchased on sale from discount clothing retailers because I realized I actually needed a lot. I didn't want to do laundry more than once a week and each time a season changed I needed new warm weather / cool weather pieces. Admittedly I didn't pay much attention to perfect fit or how the items would perform when running. 

Over my five years of running I've been able to try on many brands and products and I've discovered that not all run gear is created equal. I've discovered a few items that have truly become my favourites which I'm going to feature below. 

But before I do...You may be saying, okay, I know you're sponsored for the upcoming Ragnar Niagara by Reebok, so of course you are going to say you love everything Reebok. Anyone having read my blog for or who knows me knows that I rarely post about products and really, am I the sell-my-soul for a blog type? Nope. I think what I honestly like best about being sponsored by Reebok for this race is that I've had the opportunity to try items I wouldn't otherwise tried. And in the process, I've legitimately realized I really, really love Reebok's running line. Technically the pieces do what they say. The fit is always exactly perfect--no wondering if a medium is going to fit like an extra small or extra large. The colours and styles are on trend yet don't get in the way of my running comfort. They are priced well and I love the online shopping option. 

So yeah!I AM going to say I love these pieces! 

Reebok Activ-Chill Capris
When I received the first pair of these capris from Reebok last spring, I initially held them up thinking they were long shorts. Then I tried them on and found them to be the most perfectly fit pair of capris I have ever put on.

I am not just saying that.

Or that they are my absolute favourite capris or maybe running bottoms ever.

It’s as if they were made exactly for my shape (hey Reebok, did you sneak into my house and take measurements while I was sleeping? If so, that’s really okay because I love them!) They fall near my hips (I continue to have a hard time feeling the high waisted trend is all that flattering) and even with the tied drawstring provide a flat belly. They are tight enough to feel supportive and smoothing but not too tight to be like compression or revealing. The fabric has a slight texture making them slightly off-black and a couple swirling patterns in the stitching add visual interest. These factors make them unique from ‘every other pair of black running bottoms’ in your closet. They stay where I put them at the waist and knee. I love that they are a little shorter than most capris making them a truer in-between shorts and tights option than many other pairs of capris that are a couple inches above the ankle. Admittedly I keep them at the ready in my closet for those warmer runs or races where there there may be a camera. Who needs to feel self-conscious about wearing shorts when sprinting to the finish of a race or doing a jump shot with friends on a group run? My thighs are ‘that spot’ that I’m always conscious of in photos. Although those same legs power me through my runs and make me feel strong and graceful, I’ve seen enough not-so-flattering photos of them that make me uncomfortable. Who needs that? Last year’s capris have washed well and still look new each time I pull them from my closet. I am excited for this new pair to see a bunch of finish lines in 2018! Seriously, what else can I say about how much I love these? Click for details.

Reebok Activ-Chill tanks and shirts
The first thing you’lll notice about this fabric is how light and flowy it is. Rest assured it’s not ‘that’ kind of flowy that clings and enhances every single roll or bulge. I have a couple race shirts that are like that and I never wear them. Last year’s bright blue tank and short sleeve tee saw me through the very hot first and third Ragnar Niagara midday legs. I truly believe that special fabric kept me cooler than if I was wearing another fabric. This year I was happy to find a new tank and tee in my Reebok Ragnar kit. As a graphic designer who loves typography, I especially loved the repeated fun ‘run’ graphic on both. Admittedly, I was initially hesitant about the white. I’ve never bought white race gear. Alas when recently racing a spring 10K where everyone was wearing the charity race shirt, I chose this shirt and my friends were immediately able to spot me as I approached them cheering on the side lines. When I posted a photo of this race on social media I think more people were asked about the shirt than congratulated me on my race! I think the biggest plus for both of these will be the light colours in the heat. Not only do they have the 'Activ-chill', they have the perk of reflecting the sun away instead of soaking it up like darker colours would. Click for more details.

1/4 zip long sleeve
Confession time...

I think the only time I ran in my grey 1/4 zip long sleeve from last year's Ragnar was...during Ragnar. Why? Because I always wear it casually! It isn't even with my run gear in the closet. I love this shirt. It fits so nicely and goes with everything.

This year Reebok provided us with a peachy / orange colour 1/4 zip. Admittedly when I first saw it I thought, ugh, peach? I think my least favourite colour is peach...

Then I wore it to a recent trail race:
"Oh that looks great on you!"
"I love that shirt!"
"I love that colour!" 
​
All day I got comments about the shirt. Alas, I have a new shirt that is rarely going to get run in! Okay, I promise to run in it at least once, Reebok Canada! Click for details.

Socks!
Ask my husband what item of clothing I'm always buying and he will immediately say socks. I am extremely picky about socks. I literally have two drawers of socks (this is not counting the drawer in the basement dresser, shh!). 

Ask my friends and Ragnar team mates Maria and Kate one of the most important deciding factors in choosing which socks to wear, and they will say colour. I agree, I think I have a gene that makes me need to match what I am wearing. But what do you do when you have complex colours or your blue, purple, green or pink socks are in the laundry? White. These thin white socks quickly became a favourite last year. They are perfect on a hot day and are just high enough to not get eaten by my shoes. 

Reflective jacket
I'd seen others wearing versions of semi-transparent running jackets and always thought they looked so cool. I was so happy when I saw it this one in my Reebok gear! 

So much about this jacket I like for what it is NOT. Let me explain. So many jackets have TOO much going on. This jacket doesn't have a hood or a multitude of pockets to add bulk which would get weighed down in rain and wind. It is very lightweight and has a streamlined fit with simple hems. Someone actually really thought about this design and how a runner would use it. It's water resistant yet breathable with a vented panel on the back (don't ask me about the time I wore a jacket that wasn't breathable...let's just say it was raining inside my jacket). Even the tags were on an easy to remove string (having designed tags in a previous job, I am always aware of tags and labels!) The reflective stripes and bright colour make me feel good about wearing this jacket in darker conditions. I have a couple running jackets with hoods, but most of the time I don't use the hood as I find it restricts my view and hearing in weather conditions I need to be more aware. Pair this jacket with a hat and I would be good to go in a good downpour. I actually can't wait to try it out on a rainy day.  Click for more details. 

Over the past three years I've admittedly been a bit bitter because my favourite race / also my PB course, TYS10K had been axed while the Sporting Life 10K continued. Somewhere along the line I'd heard that the race was too crowded, not attended by elites and very focused on the charitable aspect. I'm not against charitable races, but I try to limit my participation so I am not constantly asking my friends and family for donations. Last fall I bit the bullet and decided to give the race a try.

With my injury, the last time I ran a 10K or more was January 14th, four months earlier. Last week I did the Mississauga 10K, but I'd run 3K straight and finished out the race with walk breaks. My hope of a PB was definitely long gone, so I went into the race hoping to at least be able to run pain free and to try to remind myself to be happy that I was running again. 

On race day I was repeatedly surprised.

I managed to run the entire race (with the exception of hug breaks) and had almost identical 5K splits. Every kilometer was a full minute faster than anything I’ve run since January. I was incredibly pleased about this. Even better, I was pain free for the race. 

The organization of the race was incredible. There were volunteers everywhere and despite the incredible numbers of runners and walkers (I've never looked back to see that many runners as in the photo below!) I always had a good buffer of space around me. I managed to see friends at the start, along the route and finish. 

So, yes, I really liked this race! Of course it felt a bit more like a comeback race than last week, and although I mentioned in a previous post that I doubted I would be focused on goals and PBs in the future, it would be neat to see how I could do on this course had I not have been just coming back from injury!

​Maybe next year.

My big picture running goals have hovered at the back of my mind during my injury. Every once in awhile they will resurface and change slightly, brought on by something a friend will say or do that 'makes sense' in my mind. This time off has let all of those thoughts seep deep into my being where I don't think they'd have gone had I still be focused on training as I had been before hurting my foot.

I've said it before on my blog that so much of the focus in running revolves around runners setting goals. In most cases these goals are the exact same as the majority of other runners.

WHY do our running goals need to be the same?

WHY do our methods to reach them need to be the same?

Is a goal or method bad if it's unconventional?

Here's a link to an article about Yuki Kawauchi who amazed the world yesterday with his Boston Marathon win. He's good example of someone who did things his way (the article reveals how different his training is from other elite racers). Anyone watching him at the finish would have been able to see his pure joy of accomplishment.

A further example is the second place women's Boston finisher Sarah Sellers. The media was left scrambling to figure out who she was. Turns out her background is totally unconventional as well.

These two were a perfect reminder to me right when I needed it most. You don't need to have all the bells and whistles to be a runner and you don't have to want what everyone else wants to find joy in the run.

On  the morning of January 14th I did what would be my last long run for months. If only I knew, I would have tried to remember every moment, every kilometre.

The run was bit further than scheduled as I'd tacked on 5K that I'd missed the day before. It had been a bad winter, and the day was typical with some snow, ice and salt making for iffy footing. The last 5-8K was done at a speedy pace as it was to meet up with and then run with a group, but honestly, nothing that happened during that run that alerted me to what was to come. No pop. No slip. No crack. Nothing.

Like many Toronto runners, my feet had been in either clunky boots or salt-stained runners for weeks. My long distance, track and walking shoes were about 3/4 through their lifespans. The same with my insoles. 

The end of December and first part of January saw me spending more time at the track preparing for the upcoming Ontario Masters indoor season. In the middle of all of this I'd done a long run on the track on an extreme weather day. This track only allows runners to run in a counter-clockwise direction, something I'd shrugged my shoulders to in the past.

Looking back, I'd come to realize that all of these factors were like puzzle pieces coming together creating the perfect storm of my injury. I remember attending the Gary Robbins / Ginger Runner's Where Dreams Go to Die movie screening that same evening and shifting in my seat because my leg and foot were sore.  I just figured it was just one of those little things that would go away...Little did I know that I'd still be having issues for months to come.

Thinking the pain was delayed onset muscle soreness, I headed out for my walk commute the next morning assuming the movement would help eliminate the discomfort. My leg wound up feeling better, but my foot was still sore.

The pain was focused on the top of the foot basically between 4th / 5th metatarsals where they met the cuboid bone (see above). In addition, when I stood and rolled the outer toes against a hard surface, pain shot through my foot. There was no bruise or swelling that I could tell.

I didn't walk or run on day three, yet the pain remained.

I managed to see my family doctor on day four and she sent me for an xray which came back clear of any fractures. I learned that stress fractures often didn't show up until weeks later when they were healing so this didn't really bring me much comfort.

​By this point I was spending hours each evening Googling my symptoms. There didn't seem to be anything obvious when it came to symptoms from this area. Many different options. I started researching sports medicine doctors. The one I'd seen before and that my coach recommended was booking three weeks out. I couldn't fathom waiting that long... I couldn't fathom being injured that long! As I researched I realized it a shot in the dark and I might as well just book with the doctor I'd seen years ago and start counting down the days. 

I did no walking or running for days three to seven. In the second week out of frustration I decided to try walking again and did four 5K walks. The pain remained.

​While waiting for the sports medicine doctor appointment, I went to see an athletic therapist who did a full assessment and felt that it was a mechanical issue likely with a  tendon. He gave me a series of exercises to do and instructed me to do no planned activity if it hurt my foot.

This was the start of what would be six weeks of zero activity with the exception of things like walking around the grocery store. I was icing my foot several times a day and diligently doing my exercises. The pain worsened. I stopped the exercises. This was a very tough period of time. My Googling continued as I struggled to know if I was following the correct route.

I just wanted answers. I just wanted a plan. I just wanted to know!

​Not knowing what was happening or where to go to get those answers was incredibly frustrating. My family and friends really helped me get through this period of time with their support. I continued going to races to cheer and kept in close contact with all of my running friends.

​Finally the day arrived for my appointment with the sports medicine doctor. At this point I pretty much put all my eggs in one basket hoping he would be able to help me. After an exam and questions, he felt that it was a stress fracture to my 4th metatarsal.

He gave me three options:
1. Re-xray to  hopefully confirm this,
2. Bone scan with better chance of confirming (but would take time to book and get results,
3. Just go ahead and treat as a stress fracture. 

I went for the repeat xray that day actually hoping something would show up to explain what was happening.  The doctor  was kind enough to allow me to wait for results.

​Again, nothing showed up.

After some hesitation about the toxicity side of things, I booked the bone scan. In the mean time I moved on to option 3 and  started treating it as a stress fracture. Given how I was feeling at that appointment, my doctor felt I would do okay without an air cast but I had to restrict exercise for six weeks.

I left feeling relieved that I had a diagnosis and plan. I also secretly hoped that since I was already almost a month in that it would mean less than six weeks more of time off.

Yup, insert hindsight here.

After about two weeks of being incredibly diligent with zero activity, I went for a short waterfront walk with my husband Erick. I got to the 2.5K turnaround when the pain hit my foot. I sadly agreed to sit and wait for Erick to go back to get the car. This was an incredibly frustrating turning point. I couldn't fathom the thought that I couldn't just simply walk back to the car. Seriously, I couldn't even walk 2500 meters?!

​I contacted the sports medicine doctor the next day and he agreed I should be fitted for an air cast. 

​The day I was to to get my air cast I went to Costco, maybe a few extra laps around the store than I should have. Nothing really. By the time I arrived at the appointment and removed my shoe and sock I was horrified to find my foot all bruised! The doctor looked at it in shock thinking perhaps I'd fully fractured it. After checking the foot he determined all was okay. With this new development he said he was starting to wonder if it wasn't a stress fracture, but regardless the air cast would help me. 

​Hindsight...blah, blah, blah.

​This became my boot phase.

The boot was a love hate thing. It felt so wonderful to secure my foot inside those inflatable boot sides knowing it would keep it immobile and give it an opportunity to heal. The hate part? I had to find a shoe to wear that would be high enough to match the thick-soled air cast. I wound up using three insoles in my stretchy Reebok Floatride with the laces kept fairly loose. (Although I didn't actually plan it, the shoe did match the boot fairly well!) Lying on the couch with a boot and shoe on made it really hard to get comfortable and just felt wrong. Doing stuff around the house was totally cumbersome. Stairs were impossible and had to be taken one by one until I figured out a side-ways boot position and started challenging friends to races (no one took me up on that). I developed new sore spots. My back and hip from walking differently. My other foot from the friction of the tighter shoe. The boot was very flat on the inside and my foot missed my Superfeet insole support. Walking outside was actually fairly easy and I got around with relative ease although I was still restricting my activity. Oh, and if you want the attention of runners just arrive at a running event with an air cast. Ha ha! The pain over the three weeks in the boot remained, but I crossed my fingers that things were healing. 

The bone scan was time consuming but also somewhat of a treat to hang around for 2.5 hours between scans in a coffee shop. Again all my eggs went into one basket as I waited on results of the scan. It took over a week for the results to arrive back at the doctor's office which was incredibly frustrating. 

Finally the day before I was to drive 10 hours to New York I had an appointment for bone scan results and a recheck. 

The bone scan revealed no stress fracture. Admittedly I felt like I was suddenly back at the start.
Do not pass Go, do not collect $200. 

The sports medicine doctor assured me that the rest period and last few weeks in the air cast had not been for naught.  He was now suspecting my cuboid or a tendon.  He said I could go with or without the boot, whatever felt better. I could start cross training. He gave me a prescription for a couple weeks of anti-inflammatory, recommended a new, more substantial shoe insert and gave me a prescription for physiotherapy.

I left feeling a bit more positive.

I ordered two pairs of the new inserts, retired three pairs of running shoes (walking, long run and speed work) replacing them with new ones and got the prescription for NSAIDS. Given my lack of benefits and that the injury had already been costly thus far,  I'd have to pass / wait on the physiotherapy part and try to get by with my own treatments. 

I headed off the New York the next morning, the boot packed in a plastic bag-check bag (oh, the irony!) in the hatch of my friend Maria's car. I drove many pain-free hours on the way there, wandered in and out of coffee shops and revelled in the feeling of free feet. 

Over the next four days I left the boot in it's bag and didn't hold back when it came to trekking around the city. My foot did hurt a bit at the end of each day, but considering I travelled 5K, 15K, 15K and 5K over those days, I was actually rather surprised it didn't hurt more. 

Once home I excitedly continued walking as well as cycling over the next week and a half. 

On the last day of my two week course of anti-inflammatory I decided it was time.

I'm currently at work and reading the news as I eat my lunch. A lunch which consists of a large bowl of kale, collard greens, cucumber, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, kidney beans and a tablespoon and a half of a homemade salad dressing. I actually have this same lunch every weekday and really enjoy it. As I'm eating, I come across the following article in the Toronto Star and find myself looking down into my bowl of salad with a, "Well, what the ?!" reaction.

The article describes a study whereby 600 participants "cut back on added sugar, refined grains and highly processed foods while concentrating on eating plenty of vegetables and whole foods," such as, "brown rice, barley, steel-cut oats, lentils, lean meats, low-fat dairy products, quinoa, fresh fruits, legumes...olive oil, salmon, avocados, hard cheeses, vegetables, nut butters, nuts and seeds, and grass-fed and pasture-raised animal foods." Participants were not told not to worry about counting calories,  limiting portions or increasing their exercise levels "beyond federal guidelines for physical activity."

And--wouldn't you know--over a year most participants lost weight and "saw improvements in other health markers, like reductions in their waist sizes, body fat, and blood sugar and blood pressure levels.​" 

"The research lends strong support to the notion that diet quality, not quantity, is what helps people lose and manage their weight most easily in the long run. It also suggests that health authorities should shift away from telling the public to obsess over calories and instead encourage (people) to avoid processed foods that are made with refined starches and added sugar."

Wait a minute--that's what I do...

If you follow me on social media or have been around me during meal times, you'll know that the majority of what I eat can be described as what is described above (with the recent exception of excluding animal products). I eat better now (and even more so in the past five years) than I have my entire life. Yet every single day I struggle with keeping my weight in check. I've spent countless amounts of time focusing on what I eat and  how it will affect my body. I count and track calories, points, nutrients, pounds, activities, steps. And please don't tell me to stop because I know if I don't, I gain. Do I eat things that would be discouraged in this article? Absolutely. Do I eat them often? No. Those items represent perhaps 5-10% of my overall diet. I often joke that my biggest food 'sin' is my definition of a tablespoon of unsweetened all natural peanut butter. 

I guess the reason for writing this my annoyance in hearing about the weight loss success of others making the same change to their lifestyle that I've followed for years. It makes me want to say, "Hey! That's not fair, that's what I do every day!" I know that overall I am very healthy--and for that I am incredibly thankful and proud. It is purely the weight maintenance struggle part of the equation that is incredibly frustrating. I guess I always think that it should be easier. 

Will I change what I eat after reading about this study? You'd probably expect me to say no, but in fact I probably will, as I am always trying to make improvements. Slight tweaks here and there. 

Back to my kale salad...