Dear Mother Nature

We need to talk. Now, I have long been a big fan of your work. The colours, the seasons, the different smells...you really have it down. Even in winter. Anyone could freeze water and call it snow, but you make each flake unique onto itself and gently toss them to the earth in a cascade of beauty...or at least you used to.

Now...well, I have to say I have issue with the force that you're hurtling said flakes in our direction lately. Sideways is not a good look for snow. And having them cleverly gather together to hide those pesky patches of ice like that?? Well, my ankle is not a fan of the very ungraceful duck dance I did (in public, I may add) just to stay on my feet...which I need to enjoy YOUR backyard, BTW. Just sayin'.

Enough already...yes, you've proven you can dump snow. You've proven you can blow wind. You've even taken us to temperatures we'd rather not think about. Kudo's to you and all your power. Now could you lay off for a day or twenty!? I did not enjoy the "needles in the face" sensation of the -36C windchill this morning, nor will I be ever so chipper about trying to remove said snow later from the walkways (so others don't fall, as I nearly did).

Now, don't get me wrong...I'm not mad. Let's just say that the entire city of Calgary would like a change. Please. We're all just a little tense!!! Has this got something to do with the whole oil thing?? We're trying, really we are. We recycle...we walk to work, we're harnessing wind power (yes, your wind). I did see people on bicycles today, and I wasn't walking alone. Seriously, we're trying. Maybe you could look deep into your heart and throw us a freaking bone.

Sincerely,
A "teetering on the edge" fan.

Sixteen

The big debate today was whether we were running 16 or 19km. Turns out to be 16, which is right on schedule for Calgary. Same run as last week, but the temps were a little kinder this week. In fact, I worried that I overdressed and was going to be too toasty. But I survived, and we have a great LSD run, averaging (with walk breaks) 8:04/km. The sun was shining, the paths were packed and the birds were singing. All in all, a perfect day for a run.

Stopped for coffee and an egg sandwich afterwards, and visited with everyone for about an hour or so...you'd think none of us had anything to do on a Sunday, or was it that we were all playing work avoidance?! I finally came home, changed and managed to throw my very stinky running gear in the wash. If I didn't do it, I think they would have walked themselves downstairs...getting a little rank, truth be told! I also had a wee dish-washing marathon, as I've sadly let things pile up of late. And then I wonder why I don't cook dinner...oh, yeah, that's right. Can't find the sink or the stove!! Problem solved. Dinner did turn into a bake, last minute, as I hadn't cleaned the pots I needed for pasta and sauce, so I did a one-pot dish of sauerkraut, sausage and whole wheat perogies. The pots are ready to be washed now, so it'll most definitely be pasta for supper tomorrow night.

Watching the Oscars...seriously, what is all the hype about James Franco?? Open your eyes, man!!! Maybe I'm just too old, but he's just...m-eh. Squinty and m-eh. In fact, other than Billy Crystal, who I love and who should host FOREVER, the whole show has been rather m-eh. Glad it's on earlier, so I don't lose any sleep going to be too late. Of course, they have 12 minutes to wrap this bad boy up, and what two awards left? Could actually be a record this year!

Well, that's it for me. Nothing too exciting today, or even this week, really. Same old, same old.

Later,

A good day

Slept in a bit (always a treat when the alarm goes off at 5:30) and then up, dressed, eat and out the door for Zumba. It's an odd day weather wise, as it's "warm" (-4C) but the wind still has a real bite to it, and it piled up drifts all night, as evidenced on the drive to Zumba. The Boss was there, but just to unlock the church, help the instructor set up and then to take the class, not run it. Good...she and I basically took opposite corners, and kept it that way. Wore the Vibrams today, which were still a little sticky on the floor, but not as bad as the runners were last week. And I could get up on my toes better and really shake these old hips. A lot of the moves are coming back to me after a few years of Latin Aerobics, but I am still Irish. I may be able to clog (okay, only when really, really, really drunk) but some hips actions were just not meant to be done by my people!

After class, I came home, showered and changed and went to get Wissaminated. That is what I call getting a cut & colour from my awesome stylist, Wissam. I am now even more gorgeous than I was before, and I can see because the blessed hair has been removed from my eyes! And grays begone (for another 5-6 weeks, at least). Home from that, after stopping in London Drugs to pick up a couple of things. I went in for Emergen-C, as I'm getting low and only have a flavour I'm not particularly fond of. I'll drink it, but I'll alternate with one I like. I add a teaspoon of L-Glutamine to it, to help build a strong immunity (wicked bad cold going around that tends to turn into bronchitis for most people I know) and because it's supposed to help with the energy for running. The nutritionist that spoke a few weeks back recommended it, and really, how bad can fizzy vitamin C be?! I walked out with a few treats though, and what was to be supper, cheese gnocchi and a mushroom tomato sauce. The treats were lime tortilla chips (for whatever reason I craving them) and TimTams, although I've already hidden them on myself! They will be a treat for a very special reason...one I still have to come up with!

Was sitting around when H-woman called and we ended up going for sushi (she had sushi, I had a bowl sashimi (just raw fish) and rice) and then to see The King's Speech. Brilliant...absolutely brilliant. Colin Firth should win, Geoffrey Rush should win, they should all win. Funny, real, poignant...brilliant.

Home again, where I am getting ready for bed and tomorrow's long run. Not sure if it'll be 16 or 19km...guess we'll find out when we get there.

Later,

Mixed boot camp

Got to boot camp at the church, where Trainer Josh was waiting...as was his "boss". I don't like his boss...she subbed for him once for a class and she was rather...rude is a little strong, but I didn't get the warm fuzzies from her. Oh, she knows what she's doing, but Josh makes it fun. She makes it work. I don't pay to work...I pay to have fun. Granted, some of you are probably thinking "you call running while weight training and pushing till you puke FUN?!?!" and I have to honestly answer yes. Not necessarily the work itself, but I do love to sweat, and I can say with Josh, you almost always have a smile on your face, as he counts down in silly voices, sings everything from the Lion King to Rush and generally motivates to do your very best. I think the biggest issue with his boss is that she reminds of every jock-girl I went to school with, who made me miserable for being too fat, too slow, too ugly (apparently that is a key factor in sports...who knew??), too wheezy (yes, the asthma was being faked...it's still being faked...my fake specialist gives me fake meds just so I can continue to fake it...deal with it!), too tall, too short...the list goes on.

Anyway, after getting over the shock that she was not leaving (gag) and that most of the class actually was her group (only 2 others from Josh's bothered to showed up) we started with step ups or skipping rope. Then we moved on to running the room, but not ordinary running (and no stairs...boo), we did side shuffle, high knees, twisty-turny things...she was running the group, by the way. Josh was very quiet...in fact, he's not himself in front of her. At least not that I noticed. Then, after the warm-up, we split up into two groups. One (mine) went up to the little gym in the church with Josh (who finally "showed" up) and the rest stayed down with her. With Josh, we did a lot of upper body, repeating a lot of what we did on Thursday. I'm lucky I can type today! After about 25 minutes, the groups switched and we were back down with her. Sigh... We did a lot of sprints, side shuffles, skiers (bounce backwards - because we all know that's the direction skiers go in when they go side to side like that!), skaters, jumping jacks (again backwards...not so easy!) before we started weights. She seemed disappointed that Josh had us doing push-ups upstairs, so we did burpees (FRICKIN' HATE THESE THINGS!), and walk-outs (squat, hands to floor, walk out till body straight, walk back in, stand up), alternating 10/9/8 etc of each - start with walk outs, sprint, burpees, sprint, etc. We then did several other moves, alternating each time, with the teacher's pet demonstrating each move (this girl appeared to be using 20 pound weights...she kind of scared me!!!) but the boss is preggers, so she's not doing a lot of demonstrating these days.

Ended the class late (that's after starting early) with some core work (supermans and swimmers) and then hobbled home. I will pray for good weather, so that our Friday class will be outside where it belongs...I just did not enjoy the boss section of the workout, and it was all purely emotional, not physical. Too many flashbacks! Once I got home, I ate supper of turkey meatloaf on chiabatta with cheese, carrots and tomatoes. Simple and fast.

Okay, must change and get ready for Zumba. Apparently the boss is supposed to be there again today, but it had only better be to take the class. If she starts to run it, I'm leaving.

Later,

Dirty Dozen

Remembered about the Footstock weekend in Cochrane in June, and booked race #12 today! That's a total of 2 10's, 8 Halfs and 2 Marathons, all scheduled between now (okay, 1 has been run) and the end of September, and on average one a month. There are a couple of months where I double up, but nothing too serious, like back to back weekends. Okay, so March is a little busy, but I start with the two 10 k's and finish it with the Half. Easy-peasy.

Hehe...

Why am I doing this? Is there a slight mental deficiency on my part? Perhaps, but then I read the quote from my clinic instructor this week (which he took from Runners World) and it says:

"Relax, it's just running. Of course it can be the most intoxicating, captivating, meaningful part of your life.
But it still is just running.
Nobody's making you do it, and you are not going to save the world doing it.
So find what you enjoy about running, and then follow your bliss."

Some of you may recall that I had listed qualifying for Boston as my BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) back after completing Calgary. At that time, to qualify before I turn 50, I had to run a 4 hour marathon. Now, thanks to the 7-hour sell out last year for April's run, the wise folks in Bean Town decided to tighten things up a tad.

"Boston Marathon organizers today announced adjustments to the qualifying times and registration policies for the 2012 and 2013 Boston Marathons. The marathon will institute a two-week, rolling registration process for 2012, and will lower standards by five minutes across all age and gender categories for 2013.
The rolling admission process will reward runners with faster qualifying times. The BAA plans to open registration for the 2012 race on September 12, when only runners who have met the standard by more than 20 minutes (for 28-year-old man, this would mean a time of 2:50 in 2012, and 2:45 in 2013), will be able to sign up. The BAA will gradually allow runners with slower times to enter the registration pool until the field size of around 25,000 is met. For example, runners who have met the standard by 10 minutes can register midway through week one.
After a week, if the field size is not met, any runner who has met the standard for their age and gender will be able to register, although priority will be still be granted to faster runners."

Will I let this detour me? I hope not...I think that's why I'm being a crazy lady and registering for every race I can. I just want to continue to improve, step by step and kilometer by kilometer. I WILL qualify...I have just under 2 years to do so, and really, only (hehe, "only") have to run 5 minutes faster than before the big announcement. FIVE minutes...this can be done.

Waiting on the Coinamatic guy to come and see if he can fix the buildings only washing machine. Of course, when I have a pile of rather stinky running gear to clean, the machine goes on the fritz. And then boot camp at 6, indoors again at the church. Actually don't mind that site, as the stairs help mix things up a bit. Still haven't quite decided what to do for supper, since it's "warmed" up to a balmy -10C out there, so I'm not craving the comfort foods quite so much. Not craving salad either, so I'll have to make up my mind by the time I get home from BC.

Later,

Brrrrrr

I have to echo H-woman's title here. It is just gosh-darn COLD out there!! In fact it's colder in Calgary than it is in Inuvik...which is AT.THE.FREAKING.NORTH.POLE!!!!! But what do you do?? I live in Canada, where it snows and it gets cold. Life goes on. I will say that my face was a tad numb by the time I got to work this morning. It's the only exposed part (I can't tolerate things covering my mouth, so I rarely wear scarves) and it has full feeling now, and no tell-tale white bits, so survived another day.

Boot camp tonight was HARD...Josh was feeling extra specially tough tonight, so we did 25 minutes of legs, 20 minutes of arms and then abs to finish. This is after running laps to warm up. It was so hot though, I begged for one of the doors of the hall to be opened. I think that lasted about 10 minutes before someone else went over and closed it. Seriously, I looked like I had heat stroke! I was willing to trade spots to be closer to the blessed fresh air, but I was outvoted. Sad for me. Hot/cold...I know, make up my mind!

Since it was so cold, all I wanted for supper was tomato soup and grilled cheese (thanks Jaime...) so I swung into Safeway on the way home (also bought salad and more baby carrots, chiabatta bread and marble cheese for the sammich) and picked up the Safeway Organics Creamy Garden Tomato Soup. It was a little high in fat, and works out to 14pts for the container but it was warm and all I wanted. Besides, between walking, boot camp and shovelling the walks (just as my back was getting better, darn it!), I earned it!! Hit the spot, as did the grilled cheese and ham on chiabatta. Yum, yum, yum... Also had a side of green olives, which is a must with grilled cheese. Growing up, we always sliced the olives and cooked them right in the sandwiches, but tonight just on the side. My faves...

It's amazing, despite the cold, how many people are at Thursday's WW meeting. You can barely find a seat, and I was there a good 15 minutes early. Crazy... Anyway, lost what I found last week, but I'm just going to ride the momentum and keep it up into next week. I never did sit down and plan a menu, so that is a goal for this weekend, so I can be sure that I have everything on Sunday. Nothing major planned for the weekend, other than Zumba, hair cut/colour (must get hair out of eyes!) and either a 16 or 19km run on Sunday. We are at odds as to which distance we are actually scheduled for. Guess we'll find out on Sunday.

Later,

#11

Melissa's 22km is booked and added to the list of 2011 races for me. And the process went much easier this year. I got in, I registered, I booked my hotel, I got out, all in 15 minutes. The 22 sold out before 10:30 and the 10km was full by noon. This is an extremely popular race and I love doing it, despite the hills, wind, having to pass the finish line with 7-8km left, hills and wind! It's just so beautiful, I forget about all the rest.

I decided to run tonight, and after seeing no one from the 5-hr group (I think 6 of the 40 registered for clinic showed up tonight), prepared to head out alone. I ended up with company though, as a girl from the 5km clinic wanted to see "if she could run 10km" just because. Please bear in mind, she hasn't run anything further than 5km, it's -18C with a -29C windchill and the paths were icy and slick with fresh snow. And I really was trying to hit tempo pace...which I didn't do so bad. All in all, my overall average was 7:39 (fastest to date) and I did hit a good 7:07 pace for a couple of the klicks. I wasn't consistent though, which I need to work on, but dang it was COLD!!

Came back soaked to the skin, so changed into dry gear and headed for a pint. Just one tonight, and now I am home and so ready to crawl into bed. I am beat...hoping the beer and 10km hard run will do their magic and I'll drop off immediately after hitting the pillow.

Side note: after all the talk about heart rate, I decided to see what my resting rate really is, so I strapped on the monitor, started the Garmin (set it for a 6-hr "run") and went to sleep. Woke up with the average number at 61 (yay, but not quite at peak yet - should be closer to 50) but somehow managed to clock 2.25km in my sleep!!! Maybe I dream like a dog...I'm going to strap on again tonight, just to see if I go running in my sleep! Intriguing.

Later,