COACHING ADVICE

Featuring Lynn Kanuka, Sport Med BC’s RunWalk coach and resident Olympian

The birds are chirping in the morning and you’re now able to complete your training before the sun goes down. And you’ve made it to another important milestone in your journey to the Sun Run: You’ve completed your over- halfway 5K with gusto and you’ve earned a much needed restand-recovery week. The most important component of a good training program ( assuming you are completing the workouts) is rest. So every fourth week you have my permission to pull back the reins, kick back with lesser workloads, and even when you feel fantastic, you must resist the urge to do more than the program asks of you. The no pain, no gain mentality went out in the ’ 80s — and for good reason. Speaking of the ‘ 80s, in your ( hopefully) relaxing upcoming spring break, how about a motivating visit to a wonderful new exhibit at the BC Sports Hall of Fame called Sun Run Stories — 30 Years Running ? I was privileged to be there last week at the offi cial opening among many good friends, mentors, sponsors and supporters — all part of the Sun Run family who together have evolved this incredible event over these many years. The exhibit will be open for six months and happily showcases three decades of The Vancouver Sun Run, complete with all the wonderful logos, shirts, original artwork, trophies and even a creation of the nowfamous balloon archway you will look for when you cross the Cambie Street bridge in anticipation of the fi nish line on April 27. There is a feature wall, too, where Sun Runner’s can share their favourite memories, along with their name and the year of entry on a piece of paper and attach it with a magnet. You can share your thoughts on your experience preparing for Canada’s largest 10K RunWalk event, and maybe plan to have one of your nice easy runs or walks afterwards, either along the seawall or on the beautiful trails in Stanley Park. So give yourself the break you deserve this week. Replace a training session with lowimpact cross training if your legs need a rest .