Olympic Gold Medal Celebration -- Canadian Style

This post is about hockey. I know that this blog is about running and the Go Girls, but the Canadian women won their third straight Olympic gold medal in hockey just the other day. We should take a moment to celebrate.

The Canadian women sure took a moment to celebrate. As the buzzer sounded at the end of the third period, the women mobbed goalie Shannon Szabados. Szabados deserved it. She played an amazing game, denying the Americans again and again.

But the immediate celebration isn't what people are talking about. No, what has people talking is the post-post game celebration. The one that took place after the crowds left, after most of the media had packed up, after the interviews were done...when the women were mostly alone with the arena staff and some volunteers. This is what the post-post game celebration looked like:

Yes, that is a big bottle of Molson Canadian that Caroline Ouellette (first line forward, no less) is drinking. Ah, the sweet taste of victory! Our Canadian women know how to win games and how to incorporate their victory celebrations into their post-game cool-down workout. Here are Haley Irwin (left) and tournament MVP Meghan Agosta sharing a stogie, having a few drinks, and doing bicycles to flush out that nasty lactic acid that builds up after a game:

Have you ever seen anything more Canadian? Two hockey players adorned with gold medals, diligently doing post-game exercises whilst sharing a victory cigar and drinking Molson Canadian. It makes me want to cry. This is truly an Olympic gold medal hockey celebration done in Canadian style. For crying out loud, they're on the ice, still wearing their uniforms, even their skates!


Here's Gillian Apps enjoying the moment. Better watch out, Gillian. Smoking stunts your growth! Wait...you're 6'0 and 177 lbs. I think that you can take the risk.

Here is Haley Irwin being typically Canadian: hospitable. Would you like a victory beer? Why, yes, I would. Thank you!


The story here should be that Canadians do know how to celebrate and we do it our way: on the ice, with gold medals, drinking beer and smoking stogies. These women earned the right to a celebration. They've committed a lot of time and effort to preparing for these Games. They've carried a lot of expectations on their shoulders. Having delivered a third straight Gold Medal Victory, surely they are entitled to celebrate in style.

But some AP reporter thought otherwise. This AP reporter called the IOC executive director, Gilbert Felli, and asked for a comment. What Felli should have said was, "So what's your point?" But instead Felli said, "It is not what we want to see. I don't think it's a good promotion of sports values. If they celebrate in the changing room, that's one thing, but not in public. We will investigate what happened."

Seriously? Seriously?! "It is not what we want to see...". Yes, athletes celebrating a hard-earned victory after months of intense preparation is definitely not what we want to see. Wait. If we don't want to see our athletes celebrating victory, what do we want to see?

"If they celebrate in the changing room, that's one thing, but not in public." Oh, now I understand. It's okay if they celebrate with beer and victory cigars behind closed doors, just not out in public. What kind of value system is this? One that promotes a double standard: one for what's done in private and one for what is done in public. That's not a great value system, as far as I am concerned.

The same AP reporter apparently called the Canadian Olympic Committee to ask for a comment. The COC spokesman, Steve Keogh, gave a fair and honest response: "In terms of actual celebration, it's not exactly something uncommon in Canada."

Truer words were never spoken. I've been inside my fair share of hockey locker rooms. There is beer and plenty of it. We don't need an excuse like winning an Olympic gold medal to have beer in the change room. We don't even need to win to crack open the beer. Simply being on the ice is reason enough to have a beer. But for the record, I have also seen a lot of runners quaff beers after those hard intensity workouts in the summer.

Now one additional dimension to this drama was the participation of Marie-Philip Poulin, the 18 year old phenom who scored both of Canada's goals in the gold medal game. Yes, she was drinking. Yes, the legal drinking age in BC is 19. One lame explanation was that she originates in Quebec and has been living for the past six months in Alberta; the drinking age in both Quebec and Alberta is 18. Maybe Poulin overlooked the fact that the drinking age is different in BC. I say, let's let the kid off the hook. She's 18 and just scored the goals that gave her country a gold medal in hockey. I say that she deserves a brewski. Besides, she will be 19 in a month. Plus, she was drinking beer in the company of her peers, not snorting cocaine.

Personally, I share Captain Wickenheiser's reaction: "Get real. Really get real. We were enjoying the moment."

I'll drink to that. In fact, I think I did.

The IOC has said that it will send a letter to the Canadians, seeking more information about the incident. However, it will not officially investigate the "incident". Team Canada has apologized.

"The members of Team Canada apologize if their on-ice celebrations, after fans had left the building, have offended anyone. In the excitement of the moment, the celebration left the confines of our dressing room and shouldn't have. The team regrets that its gold medal celebration may have caused the IOC or COC any embarrassment. Our players and team vow to uphold the values of the Olympics moving forward and view this situation as a learning experience."
Excerpt from Hockey Canada's apologetic statement on Ice-gate.

Now this whole situation has become truly Canadian. We win the hockey game. We celebrate. We drink beer. We apologise.

I feel the need to express my solidarity with our gold-medal winning Canadian Women's Hockey Team. Team Canada, you make me proud. You earned your victory celebration. I raise a glass to you:

And just for the record, I've known a few runners to celebrate their victories in public. Here's my parting shot: memories from the victory celebration that followed after I and several compatriots ran the 2005 Chicago marathon (all 26.2 miles of it):

P.S. That's not apple juice in those glasses...

Photo Paws of the Day

My cat, Wiley (may he rest in peace), shows his preference for New Balance shoes.

Are humans meant to run?

On early Saturday mornings, my answer is usually, "No! This can't be right! Humans were not meant to run!"

Alas, it seems that I am wrong. Our ancestors ran a lot, and not just from the law. (Of course, I am referring to my own ancestors, by all accounts a brutish lot of pirates some 500 years ago, but just on my Dad's side. On my Mom's side, we were all mild mannered businessmen and accountants. I cannot speak about the ancestors of the rest of the group members.) According to a New York Times article, there is evidence that our ancestors were runners and that our bodies are actually highly adapted for distance running.

The New York Times references a 2007 article by Daniel E. Lieberman, a Harvard evolutionary biologist, and Dennis M. Bramble, a University of Utah biologist, that suggests that humans evolved into exceptional long distance runners in response to the need to compete with other meat-eating creatures for food. Here is the abstract from the article:

Humans have exceptional capabilities to run long distances in hot, arid
conditions. These abilities, unique among primates and rare among mammals,
derive from a suite of specialised features that permit running humans to store and
release energy effectively in the lower limb, help keep the body’s center of mass
stable and overcome the thermoregulatory challenges of long distance running.
Human endurance running performance capabilities compare favourably with
those of other mammals and probably emerged sometime around 2 million years ago in order to help meat-eating hominids compete with other carnivores.
Source: Daniel E. Lieberman & Dennis M. Bramble, "The Evolution of Marathon Running Capabilities in Humans" (2007) 37 Sports Med. 288.

In other words, humans developed specialized features that help us to fuel our runs, not trip over our own feet, and keep cool (we learned how to sweat). Sure, the cheetah may outrun us in a sprint but over distance and time, we'll beat the cheetah, especially on a hot day.

Yes, it is hard to believe that a cheetah (see above) could be outrun by me (see below).


Wow. Seriously?








Absolutely. Of course, it does help to compare Chester the Cheetah to a photo of me running. See the second photo of me, on the right.

Hmmmm...I'm still having trouble believing it. But I digress.





Lieberman and Bramble argue that a human could outrun a horse (!) in a marathon (26.2 miles) on a hot day. Think about that! Me (see above, either photo) versus Seabiscuit (see below).

Well, if I wore a mask like Seabiscuit, I would look much faster.

It's all about sweating, I suppose. Seabiscuit can run fast, but over time, he would just become too hot. Humans have efficient heat regulation systems, even runners who do their training in -27C temperatures. Sweating isn't pretty, but it does give us an edge over four legged animals who can only pant.

A final thought -- and this may be a bit arrogant -- but I think that I could outrun Seabiscuit in a very cold weather marathon. After all, they don't make long underwear big enough for horses. And don't even get me started about mittens and toques...

How NOT to use a treadmill

With the weather so cold, many of us resort to using a treadmill at least some of the time. One of the common questions from runners is whether a workout on a treadmill is the same as a run on the road. I will leave the experts like Amby Burfoot to answer that question. What I can tell you -- or show you, as the case may be -- is how not to use a treadmill. Watch and learn, my friends.

Safe Running

January 2010 was a deadly month for pedestrians in Toronto. In the first three weeks of 2010, fourteen pedestrians were killed in the GTA.

People are looking for answers. How can we better control traffic here in the GTA? What should pedestrians be doing or not doing? How can we prevent such tragedies?

Meanwhile, some mathematicians have voiced their opinion (because everyone is always dying to know what the mathematicians think): this cluster of pedestrian deaths is a statistical anomaly. (Actually, the mathematicians used the word "hiccup" rather than "anomaly", presumably to make their math and statistics more accessible to us regular folk.)

Whether an anomaly or not, it is a good time to remind ourselves of some basic traffic safety protocols for runners. The first and most important thing to remember is that cars are bigger than runners. Runners will always come out on the losing end of any collision between them and a vehicle. If you are killed or maimed, it really does not matter that you had the right-of-way at the time of the accident. All of the safety principles flow from this reality.

Here are some basic safety tips to help keep runners safe.

• Be seen. Many of us run at night. Make sure that you wear reflective gear. Consider adding a light to your evening running ensemble. Lights used by cyclists are relatively inexpensive and can be clipped to your water belt, for example.
• Never assume that you have been seen. Don't assume that a driver sees you even if you are lit up like a Christmas tree. Drivers get distracted. Before you cross in front of a vehicle, make eye contact with the driver. If you can't make eye contact, don't risk stepping out in front of a vehicle.
• Better yet, run around behind the car waiting at a stop sign, intersection, etc. Rather than cross in front of a car that is waiting at a stop sign or at a stop light, take the trouble to run around behind the car. It's much harder to hit you if the driver has to put the car in reverse first.
• Check your blind spot. Before you step off the curb, look over your shoulder to make sure that no one is about to turn in front of you. Drivers turning right often miss pedestrians because they typically are looking in the opposite direction of the pedestrian's location to see if they can "safely" make the turn. It's easy to forget to check for a pedestrian coming from the other way.
• Watch for drivers turning left. Drivers turning left are often more concerned about finding that magic break in the traffic that will allow them to make their turn. Sometimes pedestrians are not immediately visible because of the passing traffic. In the hurry to cut across the intersection, these drivers can be surprised to find a runner in their path. Check your blind spot--uh, your other blind spot--to check for drivers turning left. And never assume that the drivers see you!
• Turn the music down. Most of us like to listen to music while we run. If you are going to wear your iPod/MP3 player whilst running, you have a responsibility to keep the volume low enough that you can still be aware of your surroundings. You should also be extra cautious since you are limiting the use of one of your key senses that would otherwise give you advance warning of approaching vehicles.
  
• Pay attention! Sometimes it is not music that blocks out other noise. Sometimes, it's the company we keep. Running in groups is wonderful. But don't let your engrossing conversations distract you from what is going on around you on the roads. Watch out for yourself and watch out for your buddies.
• Don't run on the street, but if you must run on the street, FACE traffic. I know, I know. Concrete sidewalks are hard on the knees and asphalt roads are a good alternative. (So are trails, by the way. But realistically, it is not possible to run on trails all year round here in Canada.) Admittedly, we all like to run on the roads. Just remember that when you run on the roads, you should run facing traffic. You want to be able to see what is coming at you. Unless you have eyes on the back of your head, you have to run against traffic to be able to see what is coming down the road. Don't rely on your sense of hearing alone to warn you of approaching vehicles...and don't assume that drivers will see you and avoid you. By the way, if you are on a bike, you should travel in the same direction as traffic, not against it as you would do as a runner. Obey the rules of the road because you are on a vehicle!
• Red means stop; green means go. Obey traffic signals and other rules of the road. (Admittedly, I take liberties with this principle, but I shouldn't.) It is easier to stay safe when you are following the rules.
• Leave room for cars to stop. A vehicle may see you and may try to stop, but don't assume that the vehicle can stop in time or come to a controlled stop, especially in wet (rain, snow, sleet, ice, and all the other goodies we get here in Canada) conditions.
  
• Moral victories can still leave you dead. Sure you have the right of way. But the right of way does you little good when it is you (lean runner) versus vehicle (several hundred pounds of metal in motion). As a runner, you want to avoid being dead right, at least while you are out on the roads.
  

Safety for runners is a partnership. Runners, we have to do our part to be safe. Drivers (including runners who are drivers), please consider the following tips when you are out on the road.

• Watch those right turns! It's easy to forget to take a good look in both directions when turning right. We look to the left because that is where the traffic comes from. It's easy to forget to check the right side and our blind spots before making that turn. Slow it down and do more than glance. Make sure no one is about to run or walk into your path!
• Watch those left turns! Pedestrians may not be immediately visible due to passing traffic. Don't just wait for a break in vehicular traffic. Observe pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk, too. It will help you anticipate whether someone might be crossing the road just as you are about to turn left.
• Anticipate. If you drive past a runner shortly before you have to slow down due to traffic or a red light, it is likely that that same runner will pass by you again. (In rush hour, it is often faster to run or to walk than to drive!) Take note of pedestrians you pass and watch out for them at near-by lights and when turning. They'll be there. Anticipate it. By the way, this is also very true of cyclists. If you pass a cyclist, chances are that the cyclist will pass you the next time you have to slow down for a light. Do the cyclist a big favour and do not hug the curb if you are in the right-hand lane. Create a clear path for the cyclist. The cyclist will love you for it.
• Green means go; red means stop. Seriously. I have noticed an increase in the number of cars I see going through red lights. It bugs me. Pay attention to the traffic signals. Red means stop, even for you. In fact, amber also means stop--even for you.
  
• Make eye contact with pedestrians. Don't assume that pedestrians will get out of your way. Don't assume that all pedestrians pay attention to what is happening around them. Before you pull out in front of someone, make eye contact. Do they know that you are assuming that they are stopping? Even if you have the right of way, you still may end up killing or maiming someone, and that is not something that you want to carry with you for the rest of your life.
• Pay attention! Life is busy. We all get that. But when you get behind the wheel of several hundred pounds of metal and put that beast on the public roadways, we all need you to pay attention. Look around you and be aware. That little flash you see up ahead? It's the reflective piping on a runner's jacket. Not just any runner. A runner who is a mom, a wife, a sister, and a daughter. See that ball that is lying in the middle of this quiet residential street? Well, there is a very good chance that there will be a kid coming after that ball in very short order. Look for that kid because he might not be looking for you. You know that guy you passed thirty seconds ago, just before you slowed down for that light up ahead? He is about to run by your car again. So before you turn right, make sure you check to see where he is. After all, he is training for his first marathon and he hopes to run it with his dad. I know that you may have had a rough day or maybe you are late for an important meeting. But please remember that first and most basic principle of road safety: cars are bigger than runners/pedestrians. If you are driving a car, you have a responsibility to take extra care to ensure everyone's safety. Let's face it: collisions between vehicles and pedestrians never end well for anyone.
  

The Power of the Group

We've said it before, but it bears repeating: running with a group makes a vital difference to your success as a runner.

To state the obvious, the Toronto Go Girls believe in the power of the group. (If we didn't believe in it, why would we run in a pack?) Running with a group makes running fun. Perhaps more importantly in the dead of winter, running with a group makes you get out of bed even when it is cold outside. You know that there are people waiting for you. You know that if you do not haul your sorry bum out of bed and get down to the run location, you will receive irate emails and maybe even a phone call or two.

I must say that 2010 has demonstrated to me the importance of the accountability factor in running with a group. Saturday's have been cold here in the Big Smoke. In the first six Saturdays of 2010, we have had four Saturdays in which the temperature (with the wind chill) dipped below -20C. On two occasions, the temperature was -27C (yes, with the wind chill)! The other two frigid Saturdays involved temperatures of -24C and -21C.

It's enough to make even a die-hard fan of winter start to resent winter. Especially because the weekdays leading up to the Saturday runs have frequently been quite nice, almost ideal for winter running. My hopes rise and I start to envision a lovely Saturday morning long run. But then late on Friday, a cold front inevitably moves in and on Saturday morning, we find ourselves in Arctic conditions.

A local polar bear shares his feelings about early morning runs.

There have been more than one morning when I would gladly have hit the snooze button rather than get up and venture outside. But one thing stopped me: my group. My fellow runners. My peeps.

Oh, they may be a motley crew, but they are my motley crew and these women have materially improved my life. They make me laugh. They teach me things. They give me good advice. They keep me accountable. They are good friends. They make it worthwhile to layer-up at 8am and to put Vaseline on my face just so that I can run outside with them in -27C temperatures.

Without the power of the group to motivate me, I know that I would not be running as well and as consistently as I do now. I know that I would certainly not be laughing as much.

So to all you "single," lone-wolf runners out there: get a group. You'll like it. Besides, when it's really cold, running in the midst of a pack helps to keep out the chill.