Become a real Smart-Artist!....Introducing the magic of Stravart!

The scene is a peculiar one; in a dark, baron and cold public park, a lone runner furtively looks at a scrap of paper before pacing to his left. 

   

He then pauses, before turning at a 45 degree angle and darting off for 150 meters, only to return again, like some demented orienteering vagrant, punching invisible checkpoints without rhyme or reason.

But there is a reason, for that runner was me, except this time, he wasn’t running either. He was walking, and making art.

The idea isn’t a new or absolutely ground breaking one, but it is incredibly addictive, and is a nice change of pace to running the same boring courses and roads that you’ve all run a million times before. 

Plus! It forces us runners to take advantage of the opportunity to actually slow things down, RECOVER, and walk the dogs and/or with our families. Sometimes, those people and animals (not in that order or course) are the neglected parties in the complicated ménage à trois that is training and simultaneously having ‘a life’ (It’s an interesting metaphor but I hope you get the picture).

Regardless, it’s nice to give something back, even if it’s with somewhat selfish motive.

For the uninitiated, the idea goes a lot like this…

Most professional and recreational runners carry and log their regular running/jogging sessions with GPS watches and Aps to measure accurate distance, paces, elevation charts, leg cadence, etc. This information is

generally uploaded with maps to show routes taken and courses, and when coupled with the associated software of Nike, Garmin, Tom-Tom, Apple, Android, Suunto, etc. as well as third party websites (like the super awesome strava.com) each of these runs is chronicled for life, or presumably until the apes take over and trade all our computers and peripherals for bananas plantations.

These sites generally also have the option of constantly reminding you of your personal bests, how this run ranks against others, as well as everything that everyone is doing better or worse than you. They’re great as a yard-stick to keep track of your own performance.

Unfortunately, they’re also addictive and a fairly constant reminder of how much better everyone else seems to be running, or how much you have sunk into the bitter depths of continual over-self-analysis. This can be a pretty vicious ‘cycle’; and not just if you’re a triathlete (*weak biking pun intended).

This is absolutely where a bit of what I’ve coined as ‘Strav-art’ can save your sanity! And it works like this…

You use a map (be it a Google Maps printout or humble pencil drawn) to sketch out a desired ‘image’. Pay particular attention to landmarks that you can use as guide markers, as well as rotating your image so it is facing a northern direction. Luckily Google Maps naturally orientates its maps the correct way, so that’s a handy win for an aspiring ‘Stravartist’. The image will have to be rather large also, simply because the satellite technology isn’t sophisticated enough, and anyway, it’s not as fun if it’s ‘small scale’.

Next you simply put on some shoes (who knows how all-terrain the unforseen may be?) and head out to your ‘starting point’. Probably best to tell someone where you are going….or (even better) invite a friend to come and join in (or simultaneously have a ‘Strav-art-off’ competition). To the best of my knowledge, such an event hasn’t been attempted, so it could very well be a world first (and much more comfortable way of getting into the Guinness Book of Records than wearing a beard of bees!).

You then hit ‘start’ on your GPS device and begin your journey, hopefully (although you will not find out until later how accurately) charting your movements in an artistically precise manner.

So this is a call to arms to give it a try, and for all of you to screen capture or email links of your strav-artistry to me at funky_clay@hotmail.com

In the coming weeks I’ll showcase some of the best works sent to me, with an in depth critique of your skills (just like a REAL art competition!).

Good Luck and happy Stravarting!

Till next time

Clay Dawson

Intraining Sponsored Athlete and occasional Stavartist! 

Being Rad and losing H8trs (at the sake of mere Grammar)

The advertising boffins at L'Oréal once touted: 

‘Because you’re worth it’…

 ...ironically to sell cosmetics designed to disguise imperfections, reclaim youth and cover up perceived flaws.
If you really were ‘worth it’ why would you need to increase your ‘currency’ in the first place? What kind of back-handed compliment were they dishing out to women (and other makeup wearers) of the time?

Too often we worry about what people think, what we can’t do, what we should do, how little time we have, and the inevitable fact that we’re getting slower, dumber, fatter, older, stupider, less cool, or a simultaneous combination of this all.

But before you throw out your makeup and retire to live out your days in a makeshift bomb shelter, with

some home-made clothes and self-penned manifesto, I’d like to propose an experiment…

My challenge for you today is this; be happy in this exact moment. It sounds ‘all very new-age’, but in a hyper-broadband speed world we rarely take the time to think about our own ‘moments of awesome’ and to truly appreciate those times when we hit the mark, or even exceeded our expectations.  It seems to me that we all have a predisposition to assume that if we already have achieved it, or are capable of it, it is;

a)      a mistake or fluke, or

b)      Something every single human could easily do with little practice and/or ability.

*The only exception to this that I can find seems to be famous rappers, heavy-weight boxers and Olympic sprinters; they seem to live every day in a luxurious doona of their own egos. Thankfully we are not all like this; we’re spared by virtue of empathy and first person narrative.

To you I say;

It’s ok for you to be awesome.

Whilst it is an altogether fantastic idea to constantly set difficult goals for ourselves and to constantly work on

bettering ourselves in any and every capacity in our lives, be it physically, socially, professionally, intellectually, grammatically, and every other suffix ending in ‘ally’. The sad reality is that, barring an accidental death the precise moment after you achieve a PB, at some point there has to be a ceiling to your improvement.

The problem becomes worse, when that ceiling inevitably becomes not only unachievable, but a gas station in the rear-view mirror getting further and further away with every moment. It’s all a bit dramatic, and it may have you asking the penultimate question (and shortest piece of poetry every penned) of “Why Try?” but I assure you, there is another perspective (and other Jerry-cans of petrol along this metaphorical road-trip).

And we see it all the time, particularly in athletes who reach their peak performance age, and suddenly are faced with the prospect of many, many more years of life in the sport they love, with no possible chance of bettering a personal best ever again! Suddenly you feel a magnifying glass move over you as you scrutinise past mistakes, events-that-could-have-been, and

your own physical shortcomings.

The thought that you will never break the winners tape, or hold aloft a trophy to rapturous applause, or even place in your age group, or finish without walking is an irreversible reality that can become quite daunting.

So this is where you take stock.

Whether you are only starting out in your sporting journey, or are already a ‘seasoned performer’ in the‘twilight’ of their careers, it is so important to look back on the victories, and achievements, the wins, the places, the goals, and camaraderie and allow yourself a smile. I could be talking about being a world champ, being an awesome parent, friend or sibling, or even that time you nailed the bin with the coke can from ALL the way across the room!

You rocked it. It’s totally ok to admit that. It happens all the time; it’s ok to admit that too.

And as for the future, you don’t have to keep doing incredible things to prove that you’ve been incredible.

Sure, winning 12 consecutive marathon Gold medals at the Olympics would look impressive on a resume, but each individual medal would stand for nothing if it is appreciated once, then forgotten forever. You will inspire by being in the right frame of mind in the first place, you may not even win one of those Gold Medals, but you might set a chain reaction in place that sees someone else inspired to try!

And while I’m on this soap-box;

Love your body.

For all the aches and pains it occasionally (or constantly) gives you, it has also been there for every success in your life. Like it or not, it will be there for the rest too. So take the time to smile and appreciate it, even for a moment. It may not be perfect, but no other body would fit you as well.

And if all of my preaching still isn’t sending alarm bells off in your head; I say, Look around you and find someone who is smiling and enjoying moments past and yet coming. You’ll find they’re much more enjoyable to be around than that person who develops an ulcer struggling to regain past glories by pushing toddlers over in fun-runs and complaining that wind

conditions prevented them from qualifying from representing at the World Darts competition in Alexandra Palace (London).

Lighten up, live longer, and you might find that you didn’t need that make-up, compression skins, or beetroot juice in the first place!

Or don’t…...

Either way,

Run strong and be proud of our community!

Till next time,

Clay Dawson

Intraining Athlete & occasional preacher

To go to the greatest running/triathlon store on the planet click here!

P.S. if you click on the ads on display in this blog I get money. It’s a sweet deal. Please also like and share if you enjoy it. 

Cadbury Marathon 2014 – Trauma for Chocolate? Are you kidding?.....(ok, sign me up)

It’s a bold guy to say that a man can ever experience a pain equal to childbirth….

 

….and I am not that bold.

Still, the 2014 Cadbury Marathon was a tough one, a REALLY, REALLY tough one.

I write this in the normally comfortable abode of home, with my legs up on the couch having faced a complete inability to walk up and (definitely) down stairs. It is a warts and all report on the event and the lead-up, so beware…

.

“Isn’t it funny how they have 2km, 5km, 10km, 15km ‘fun runs’….but there’s no marathon distance ‘fun run’?” – Stephen O’Brien (2014)

The Lead Up – or the slow demise towards the eight layer of hell…!

The most unfortunate thing about this race is also the thing that attracted me to enter it so much! That is; its proximity to the beginning of the year, and you cannot find an IAAF certified marathon anywhere, earlier, in a better climate…I don’t think?

The plus side, with school holidays there are plenty of recovery days afterwards.

The downside, with Christmas just prior, training beforehand was going to be really hard….especially with the amount of ham and xmas leftovers constantly available.

Small Incidental Thing: My life and lead up to this race was made even more difficult with a tendon issue in my forefoot throughout the entire month of December. It was pretty worrying for the first few weeks, to the point that it was difficult to walk, let alone train in high volumes! Luckily with a course of treatment prescribed by Steve from InTraining I was able to begin training in small volumes.

The Clique, the posse, bros and crew!

The whole trip was the brain child of a good friend and mentor of mine Matthew Casos. He’s a very

accomplished runner and an awesome coach to me and a plethora of runners throughout the state. Matt pitched the idea to me in November along with other running ‘buddies’ John Stumer, Stephen O’Brien and Al Stevenson (running royalty in Australia). Like a floodgate of stupid we all signed our life away for a ‘boys weekend guaranteed to end in lower body paralysis’, as opposed to a more preferably weekend of eating gourmet meals and sampling boutique beers….

...like I said ‘floodgate of stupid’.

Regardless of the outcome, all of us agreed that this would be an awesome opportunity, and (even in hindsight) I couldn’t think of a better group of guys to go on tour with. Top lads!

The Race!

The race conditions in Hobart (Tasmania) were MAGIC….with the clear blue skies shining down favourably on 14degree ground below. Perfect!

With this in mind we warmed up and I mulled over my race plan in my mind. The day previous we’d driven the course and roughly worked out where the turn-a-rounds were, paying close attention to any undulation or where any deviation of direction was. The crew had all jokingly even mentioned that, with my trademark sprint start, I’d be an odds-on bet to be leading 2kilometers into the race down the hill running away from the Cadbury Chocolate factory.

Little did we know how true that would be!

As we milled around the start line there were murmurs amongst the crowd that last year’s winner Matty Fenech was back. I’d already said ‘Hi’ to him (he’s a nice guy, really polite and quite the gentleman).So there was a buzz for that fact alone.

For some reason the ABC camera man held his camera uncomfortably long on my face, this was quite

weird…. as I’m quite sure no-one in the whole state of Tasmania would know my face from a postage stamp….still I nervously nodded to break the tension.

When the gun finally did sound, true to form, I bounded out to the front. I could feel Matty F shadowing my heels, tempted to bury my optimism where it belonged, yet knowing full well that the first 300 meters of the race was not the time to do this. I surged forward…..I didn’t just feel great…..I felt AMAZING! Eat my dust world!!!!!!

Onward I pushed on, with two short laps around the streets of the factory before we all smashed down the hill and onwards in the direction of the turnaround (for an ‘out-and-back twice’ course). True to our joking prediction I not only had the lead at the bottom of the hill (and 3kms into the race), but onward  still I found myself with a good 200mt lead as we headed towards what we’d all decided was the turn-a-round yesterday.

Of course, there was no turn-a-round there.

Figuring we’d made a minor miscalculation and with a television crew filming me excitedly, shouting “You’re going GREAT!” I fooled myself into thinking I was racing comfortably in my element and that this wasn’t a monumental oversight on our behalf.

Rational thinking SHOULD HAVE told me that 200meters behind me was a much more accomplished marathoner, as well as a former Australian Champion runner (good mate, and crew member Al).

Instead I rolled on and continued pushing the tempo…even as the course presented a rather uncomfortable hill….eventually I hit the turnaround.

It was on the first return leg (remember, we would all have to do this TWICE) I came back down the mystery hill towards the turn ‘home’….Things were already becoming ‘real’ although I was still comfortable enough in my own skin, and I had a gel should anything go ‘awry’…

….This is the point whereas the race suddenly became more ‘real’ and things most definitely went very

‘awry’!

I’d quite unexpectedly run into one of the strongest headwinds that I’ve ever faced! To make this worse, just a kilometre into this BOTH Al and Matty pushed on past me. I tried in vain to use their slip stream to get a little energy back, but before long they’d pushed on ahead.

At this juncture I’d led up until this point, but with 18km travelled, I had over 24km left to hold onto a podium spot….half of which would be battling that ‘special’ headwind.

Luckily I had the support of the crew in the form of a knowing glance from Al at each turn-a-round, as well as kind words from John, Steve and Mat Casos.

At about 38km (with only 4km left to travel) Mat Casos’ words burned in my ear “Take it easy…but hold

onto that Third place!”

Even though my legs burned and every muscle ached, I reserved myself to hold true to his words. ‘Imagine seeing him after the race and explaining that you lost..” I told myself, and while I couldn’t build on reducing the now quite large gap between the leaders and me, I HAD to keep pushing so anyone behind could not get any crazy ideas about trying to make a run for third place.

If pain really is a measure of ‘weakness leaving the body’, the weakness must have been running out of me like Victoria Falls!

On a side note…Did I mention the marathon finished on a 300meter, steep, sweeping hill? Whilst probably not too overwhelming in any other circumstance, at the end of the marathon this thing seemed like a sprint to base camp, whilst carrying a week’s worth of groceries…barefoot.

Luckily for me, I managed to hold my (now quite embarrassing) pace, and secure third place, a podium finish and a gift basket of Cadbury Chocolate.

As I lay, quite collapsed, in the recovery area, closer to death than I would care mention to loved ones,  I found out that Al had unfortunately surrendered 1^st place to Matty. Whilst I certainly don’t harbour any ill will towards Matty Fenech, Al has been somewhat of an idol in my running journey and the idea of being there when he ‘won on debut’ would have been pretty cool. Still, his second place after such an accomplished career over shorter distances on the track is pretty inspiring still. With a proper lead up to training I’m looking forward to seeing what he’s capable of this year!

Still I managed to ‘scam’ my way into the VIP area, and by ‘scam’ I mean, walk as confidently as tired legs

can manage into the fenced area without making eye contact with anyone of authority!

There I managed to say ‘hi’ to fellow runners Patrick Nispel (QLD’er and 3^rd in the Half Marathon), James Attard (Ballerat boy and 2^nd Place in the Half Marathon) as well as Clare Geraghty (1^st in the Half Marathon) and some fellow in a Freddo Frog costume.

The Recovery

Suffice to say, that although none of the crew were stunningly overjoyed with our races, we were all keen to

celebrate with a keen stroll around the Mona gallery and the occasional ‘sample’ of the local brewed and matured beverages. Needless to say, I know of at least 10 dehydrated legs on that flight out of Hobart the next morning.

In the 7 days since, my own recovery has been quite difficult. Beyond my legs being more fatigued than my first marathon (which they were), the dark-coffee coloured peeing, and my face exploding into a Cold-Sore outbreak unlike any I have experienced before, I also had a constant headache and lethargy for a number of days afterwards.  All of these symptoms culminated in my face literally blowing up and becoming swollen one afternoon.

After subsequent Doctor’s visits and blood tests we were able to ascertain that the fatigue put into my legs from the marathon was (and I’m quoting the Doctor here) “Equivalent to someone suffering a heart attack”.

…At least he knew better than to suggest I quit running.

After all, I’m on the road to recovery, and with the Cadbury Marathon only being a 2hr37min effort (on a course we measured as being over 43kms), I’m now eyeing off my opportunity to break the fabled 2hr 30min mark.

Congratulations Matty Fenech, Al Stevenson, and everyone who finished the Cadbury Marathon (and all of the events on the day)!  Thanks to the organisers and volunteers, as well as to my family and friends for their support. Thanks to Intraining for their continued support and guidance, as well to Matt Casos and the crew for the good times!

My wife most of all, for never asking why I didn’t win a ‘bigger basket of chocolate’….she loves and understands me better than any.

Till Next time!

Clay Dawson

Intraining Athlete & Recovering Marathoner

Go to the Website!

A great running shoe? Or just a Number One or Two?

Yes, that’s right; I’ve used potty humour and we haven’t even launched into the review of the 0mm drop offering from the relatively new brand in minimal shoes, Altra’s ‘The One’. See what I did there?

“You're the one that I want, Oo-oo-oo, honey, The one that I want” (Olivia Newton-John)

Ever since Saucony stopped producing its ‘Hattori’ minimal shoes late last year I have ardently been on a quest to find a new ‘everyday trainer’ with a little more protection (honestly, it’s nice to have some cushioning sometimes). Months later, I finally settled on trying the relatively new offering from the relatively unknown brand; Altra.

The shoes had the promise of everything I was looking for; they’re light, they’ve a nice wide toe box (to prevent blistering when the wearers toes naturally splay outward on foot contact), slightly structured construction, without compromising its minimal nature, and they’re gawdy and brightly coloured that they practically scream “Look at these super rad shoes! Cowabunga!!!!*”

(*or something thereabouts).

I also figured, with the market flooded with already established companies, who in the last decade have chosen to push the boundaries of shoemaking in practically every direction, for a new shoe to be making such a presence on the market, they would need to be bringing an ‘A Game’!

“One step ahead of you, Stay in motion, keep an open mind, Love is a race won by two, Your emotion, my solitude…” Split Enz

I’ll be completely honest, my first experience test-wearing ‘The One’ was unusual. Not in the fact that I was
allowed to jog/run in them outside the store (a nice bonus from buying your shoes from a reputable dealer and not the ‘faceless Interwebs’) but moreso in the shoe performance themselves.

Firstly, I was expecting to notice the 100gms of extra weight in each shoe (from my previous Sauconys),

however they felt just as light. For most other runners or for a runner transitioning into minimal shoes these will likely feel like feathers (Kayano wearers will feel like they’ve been in a tree lopping accident and have lost the bottom ¼ of each leg).

Secondly, the extra room in the toe-box (of which I spoke) feels large enough to fit a Circ-De-Soilel performance! It would definitely take some getting used to, but overall the sensation was pleasant.

Finally without predetermined grooves into the soul of the shoe the foot was left to flex naturally. This is a feature in the design of Altra, which boasts of each model of shoe being biometrically engineered to suit males or females.  Even better, they had a ‘male’ pair in my size! Top work!

“So get out, get out, get out of my head, And fall into my arms instead. I don't, I don't, don't know what it is, But I need that one thing, And you've got that one thing” One Direction

So I walked out of the store with an arm full of Altra-box and a heart full of anticipation! I can’t remember for sure, but there may have been a twinkle in my eye and a heel click or two.

The first time I took the Altra’s out was on a 21km training run ‘baptism of fire’, from which they stepped up rather well. Whilst not pushing them through ridiculous hills, terrain or speed they worked as-per-the design and my praise of them was glowing.

A few co-runners even commented on the colour!

All in all, in spite of some of the logo-print-stickering on the side of the shoes peeling (before a week was out) it was a fairly successful debut.

“Because you’re not the one but you’re the only one, Who can make me feel like this, You’re not the one but you’re the only one, Who can make me feel like sh*t” The Foo Fighters

Things continued in this manner and my relationship with the shoes blossomed…until another slow training run later something remarkable started to happen.

I will preface this by letting you know that I was most certainly the catalyst for this, by making the ‘rookie mistake’ of having socks that were too short, but I soon received a rather nasty rubbing blister along the back of the shoe.

“Now the World Is Gone I'm Just One, Oh God,help Me Hold My Breath as I Wish for Death, Oh Please God Help Me” Metallica

Things were so bad that pretty soon, the neat fluorescent green inner lining was stained blood red, and I was left hobbling sore and aimlessly like a pensioner after walking into a glass door.

Although it was entirely my undoing, but the shoes certainly were unforgiving in their merciless punishment (around the 16km mark).

Otherwise, the shoes tread remained as thick as new and the ride was still silky and unchanged (100km’s in).

“One night with you, Is what Im now praying for, The things that we two could plan, Would make my dreams come true” Elvis Presley

It was fast becoming apparent that a new partnership for the ages could’ve been forming! Whilst I wouldn’t consider racing over ANY distance in these shoes (I’m a racing-flats man and little would ever change that) I do concede that for many keen runners these may be the answer for most races and distances, even a consideration on forgiving trail runs!

I found the freedom of the open fitting liberating, and whilst the flex was limited in the shoes it made them perfect for runs where a slow and controlled stride was preferred.

In terms of analogy at this point (for me) they were my Combi van; PERFECT for weekend holidays to the beach, but I would never enter a Formula One race in them.

“You say; One love, One life, When it's one need, In the night. It's one love, We get to share it, It leaves you baby, If you don't care for it” U2

The only REAL problem with these shoes comes for me now.

Whilst coming off a marathon and running slowly, rarely and purely for the joy of socialising and floating these shoes filled a much needed hole amongst a wardrobe literally FULL of minimal, flexible and ‘barely there’ racing shoes.

They allowed me to run, recover from injury (when I had the good sense to wear decent socks) and kept me safe and smiling.

But then I started to become stronger, fitter and faster.

“One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do, Two can be as bad as one, It's the loneliest number since the number one.” Three Dog Night

Suddenly the Combi began to become dusty, in favour of the Ferraris I preferred to take out the garage, and the Altra’s began to feel more like gumboots.

“1, here comes the 2 to the 3 to the 4, Everybody drunk out on the dance floor, Babygirl ass jiggle like she want more,Like she a groupie and I aint even on tour.” J-Kwon

But that’s the nature of our sport right? There will always been a need for those shoes in our wardrobe that make us feel like ‘The Flash’.

But we can’t run every run like that. There has to be a time, and a shoe, for those runs that are slower…otherwise it’s probably best you update your health insurance.

So in short, the Altra’s have so many great features:

PROS:

- The Option of a Ninja Turtle Green colouring

- The freedom of an open Toe-box

- A smooth uninterrupted ride from heel to forefoot if required, whilst promoting mid foot striking

- Lightweight, yet still comforting and well structured.

CONS:

- Ridiculously long laces (are we expecting to break out of prison Altra?!)

- Can feel cumbersome at times (at the cost of structure is this really a con?)

Summation:

Say what you will about these shoes, but like a good remix or Ipod Playlist, the Altra ‘One’ takes elements

from the minimalist camp, as well as the traditional structured trainer to create a pleasantly happy medium.

Whilst they won’t collectively blow the mind of everyone in the community, they will garner a heap of praise, make some lifelong friends, turn some heads, strip some heels, and share some awesome running journeys.

My advice, give them a try – take them for a spin! They might complement your shoe collection well…

…Probably better than those acid-wash cutoffs in fact!

3 ½ / 5 Stars


Clay Dawson
InTraining Sponsored Athlete 2013