Juggling for cardio training

As I'm unable to run because of my shin injury, and have no working bicycle, my training plan has been reduced to strength training, walking and juggling.

I have found that if I spend a good hour juggling to music and doing tricks of various kinds, it can be quite a cardiovascular workout. Last night I was working on juggling three beanbags with one arm behind my back. After about 10 minutes of trying this on both side, I collapsed onto the couch, my heart racing like I had just run intervals at the track. Later on, working on 5-ball endurance and 5-ball half-showers, I found myself out of breath again.

So either I'm getting really out of shape, or juggling can be great cardio exercise.

My lucky break ... or should I say, no break?

After seven hours in a variety of waiting rooms at St. Michael's Hospital, it has been determined that my shin suffered "massive trauma" in my parkour mishap, but no fracture. So as soon as I can walk again without pain, I'll be ready to run.

I'd say the next world record attempt is a go.

When my name was called out by the triage nurse in the ER, I heard a voice behind me say: "That's the joggler! That guy runs marathons while juggling." I looked back to see a guy in the red shirt and glasses grinning away. Later on in the treatment area, we ran into each other again. It turns out that he was the editor who put together the CBC News: Sunday documentary. He had torn his Achilles tendon playing ball hockey. We had a good conversation about joggling, juggling, running, ball hockey, news editing and injuries.

Possible shin fracture, and a velomobile review

First, the bad news: I may be out 6-8 weeks with a fractured tibia (the shin bone) after my unfortunate run-in last week with a parking lot barricade. X-rays are pending. This will take me to the beginning of August before I can start training for the September 30 marathon. If my shin turns out just to be bruised, then I can start to run sooner. The record attempt in up in the air.

Now the good news: Dianne and I went out on our velomobile test drive yesterday morning with Ray from Bluevelo. I drove the Belgian-made WAW and Dianne pedalled the Versatile, produced in the Netherlands. I also had a chance to take the Versatile for a spin, but Dianne was too short to fit into the WAW.

The WAW has a very low profile. You're practically sitting on the ground. Its light weight allows for quick accelerations and the steering - levers at your side connected directly to the two wheels in the front - are extremely responsive. I got the WAW up to 50 km/h and even when I stopped pedalling it just kept cruising at 49 km/h until I put on the brakes. This machine is great for speed, but could be awkward for city commuting.

I tried out the Versatile along a very bumpy road and its double suspension performed admirably. It's quite a bit heavier than the WAW, but I still got it up to 47 km/h. It had fully enclosed chain, very easy handling, an internal hub that lets you shift gears even at a stop and fun things like turn signals and a horn.

Both of these machines rocked. It's hard to describe just how fun these things are to drive. And the sight of Dianne cruising along next to me in the Versatile had me grinning ear-to-ear.

Ray has a Mango (a lighter velo than the Versatile) coming in soon. It looks like this will be the vehicle of choice for us. It's too bad these "cars of the future" are in such limited production, because they have so many advantages, not the least of which being ... they're massively fun!

How not to start your marathon training plan

When you are about to start training to break a new Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon while juggling three objects, do not smash up you knee - as I did earlier this week - while trying to jump over a parking lot barricade.

This will result is a lot of pain, and many lost training miles (and even more lost training kilometres).

Once my knee heals, I'll be rearin' to go. I plan to do several weeks of pure running before I start on the full-time joggling. I want to make sure I'm in peak running shape this time around to give me that extra speed edge.

Here's some developing joggling news: I got an e-mail from my Jolly Juggler rival Zach Warren, who is currently doing some research in Dubai and Qatar. He is unable to run because of his schedule, but said he'd be up for another joggling re-match at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon this September if he's back in the U.S. We thought Salt Lake would be the end, but it's too hard to stop.

In another stunning joggling development, Barry Goldmeier pulled off yet another 5-ball joggling marathon in San Diego recently, finishing with a chip time of 5 hours and 40 minutes. If you think this is slow, try juggling five beanbags ... then imagine trying to run forward for 26.2 miles while you're maintaining that juggling pattern. Barry's been trying to convince me that joggling a 5-ball marathon may not be as difficult as I think. I'm not yet convinced.

This Sunday, my wife and I will be testing out two velomobiles with Ray from bluevelo: the WAW and the Versatile. I want to see if I can get the WAW up past 50 km/h. This will give us a feel for what these HPVs (human-powered vehicles) can do. If we decide to get one, it'll probably be the Mango, which is not available for testing right now, but is best suited for city driving and for shorter drivers (ie. Dianne, who is 5'1").

Weird knee injury

Here's the start of the Toronto Father's Day Run for prostate cancer research. Look at the dork juggling!

Three days after my humiliating parkour hurdling injury, my shin is still massively swollen from knee to ankle. I also have a very strange knee injury that allows me to run without pain (although I haven't ventured out on an actual run) but I can't walk up or down stairs properly, and it hurts when I stand up or sit down. As long as I can run, I'm happy. I don't need to sit down.

Joggler's parkour career over before it started

Back in March I wrote this post about being a klutz when I'm not joggling or juggling.

I further proved this point yesterday after work in a painfully unsuccessful jump over a parking lot barrier. The casual shoes I was wearing were too loose. As I jumped up to hurdle the metal barricade my shoe flopped around a messed up my take-off and the next thing I knew my foot caught the edge of the metal and I crashed ignominiously to the ground.

I would have been embarrassed were it not for the excruciating pain in my left shin, which took the brunt of the impact. After hobbling to the subway the trying not to whimper out loud on my trip home, I went to a walk-in clinic to get the damage assessed.

There was a big gash in the shin about 8 cm long, but it wasn't deep enough to warrant stitches. It feels like I might have torn something in my knee, but it's too hard to tell with all the swelling around the surface wound.

So for now, I rest, and contemplate my future now that parkour has been scratched off my Things To Do Before I Die list.

Joggling the Father's Day 5K

I snoozed the alarm in my sleep and almost missed the Father's Day 5K. The whole family slept in and I was the only one to make it out to Toronto's Distillery District for the prostate cancer charity run.

The distillery is a perfect venue for a run like this. There's a tonne of space both outdoors and in, and the roads in the area are flat and almost traffic-free.

I used my Sport Juggling Co. racing beanbags and started out in the lead. But a drop at 1K took me back into 2nd place, where I stayed until the end. I finished comfortably in 18 minutes, so I still think a world-record, sub-16:55 is doable on the track.

It's good to be joggling again.

Ray from Bluevelo e-mailed me today to let me know that I'm booked for a velomobile test drive next Sunday. I'll be trying out the WAW and the Versatile. Can't wait!