seen on the run

One of the benefits of running that you don't often think about is that it is fantastic people watching. As the kilometres or miles tick by, I see people in all sorts of settings and situations. Here are some of my favourites from the last two long runs:

• A guy out for a run (and I know he was actually out for a run and not just running for the bus or running somewhere because he was late because he was carrying a running water bottle) in his jeans and metal band t-shirt. I was really disappointed that I didn't have a camera so that I could send it in to Jogging Jeans.
• A guy running in khaki pants, a t-shirt, and a half-zip stripy sweater.
• A group of people having a cookout (two portable grills were involved) in the park complete with wine, beer, and a dog in a sweater.
• A couple doing a wine tasting on a random picnic table (complete with stemware).
• Not exactly a favourite - but I ran through a cloud of pot smoke because a lady was smoking it during her walk along the path and decided to turn and blow out smoke just as I was running by.
• A lady sitting on an abandoned couch on the side of the road.

And although this has nothing to do with running - a picture of the best office mate I've had all year:

Just playing with her giraffe 

Again, nothing to do with running, but it does have something to do with why I've been a bad blogger. I had visitors last week and this weekend and wanted to spend time with them instead of my computer. I figured that means I have my priorities straight :)

Have you seen any interesting people on the run recently?

snowshoeing - vermont style

When I picture snowshoeing, I normally picture a nice, flat, walk in the snow. A workout if you keep yourself going at a reasonable pace, but nothing all that strenuous. This weekend, I got a lesson in how fun (and how much of a workout) snowshoeing can be when you hit the ski hill with snowshoes.

Mad River Glen. A ski co-op. No snowboarding allowed (for real).

We took the "easy" trail because we weren't sure that we had the 3 hours the advanced trail would take us. It was an absolutely beautiful day. The sun was out, it wasn't all that windy, and it had snowed several inches (I'm using inches since we were in the states ;-) the night before - so there was a beautiful covering of fresh snow. It started off fairly easy with the terrain looking a lot like this:

Flat and powdery.

Then we started climbing. For the most part, it wasn't too bad on the way up. We were glad we had poles and we were glad we were all in good shape so that we didn't struggle going up. It was a good to get our legs moving and our blood pumping out in the sunshine! Plus, we had scenery like this:

It started to get a little more "extreme" when it was time to go down hill. First off - it was kind of sad to have done all the work climbing up the hill without being able to glide down the hill. I think we all wished we were on skis at that point. Plus, some of the snow had been worn off and there were some definite icy patches - making the steep downhills a little intimidating. Something I learned while trying to go down a steep hill on snowshoes: if you've grown up skiing, your instinctive method of sidestepping down the hill is completely wrong. You just have to walk down the hill. There are metal spikes on the snowshoes for a reason...and even though every part of you thinks that pointing the things strapped to your feet will result in disaster, it is the right thing to do.

Going down

Another thing I learned - snowshoe trails shouldn't be marked with white diamonds attached to trees. They're really hard to see when you've made a wrong turn and you're trying to find your way back to the path. Shockingly, the white on the trees blends into the white snow when you're looking up the hill for them. But, we found our way back to the path (after going down a mighty steep slope and then hoofing it back up) and quite enjoyed our snowshoeing adventure.

Done! Now where's my apres-shoe beer?

Definitely something I would do again. Though if I'm going back to Mad River Glen, I think I'd rather go skiing. It looked like a really fun hill to ski - even if one of the chair lifts looked really lonely (what looked like the longest lift was a SINGLE chair. I had no idea those even existed).

And just in case you were wondering - as long as it is a warm day, trail shoes actually work pretty well with snow shoes!

Have you been snowshoeing? Thumbs up or thumbs down?

allergic to running?

I know many of us have made the joke that we must be allergic to exercise because our skin gets red and hot and we start to get short of breath and we sweat. I've definitely made the joke, but have never really been serious.

But this week, something strange has been happening after I run: I get small, itchy hives. I'm fine when I run - there's no itching. But when I get home, I get really itchy within about 15 minutes of coming back inside. And when I look at my skin where I'm itchy (mostly my thighs and my "trunk" but today it was also right behind my knees), there are little hives (and claw marks where I've been scratching) turning redder and redder.

I've had a couple of hives before after running, but they were always right where my sports bra hit my skin and figured it was a reaction to a new laundry soap (I tend to be sensitive to some soaps). But this week they've been more spread out than just my bra line and more than just one or two. I haven't changed my laundry soap and I'm not wearing anything new or weird...I'm just randomly getting hives after I run. Clearly, I'm allergic to running.

not itchy before, during, or after this picture.

According to the always reliable wikipedia, the cure for hives after exercise is "regular exercise, i.e. every day or two." Um...wiki? That's what I'm already doing. So is the cure to exercise multiple times a day? My course of action for now will be to shower as soon as I can after running, to put lotion on the itchy areas, and to take an antihistamine if needed. Hopefully this is just a fluke thing and it is just a weird thing that is happening right now and will go away soon.

Hopefully I'm not actually allergic to running. That would make me sad. (and uncomfortable because I don't see myself stopping just because of some itching)

when i talk about big sky country

When I talk about big sky country, this is what I'm talking about. Yes, I realize that the video is made by the tourism board to convince you to visit Alberta...but the skies really are that big (and blue), the views really are that good, and water really does get that green.

I like where I live, but wow that makes me miss "home."

monday morning smiles

Monday morning isn't my favourite...and I found myself putting together a post in my head for this morning that was all about things I wish I'd written. Something light (like how I wish I'd written this post because it would mean I could do my hair), but still something that in my head had the wrong attitude. So instead of "what I wish I'd written," I've got a "things that are great" for Monday morning. Not all are things I could have even written in the first place - but all are things that I think are fun, inspiring, or smile-worthy today.

First : The You Can Play Project. It is initiated by Patrick and Brian Burke of the NHL. Their mission statement:

You Can Play is dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation.

You Can Play works to guarantee that athletes are given a fair opportunity to compete, judged by other athletes and fans alike, only by what they contribute to the sport or their team’s success. 

You Can Play seeks to challenge the culture of locker rooms and spectator areas by focusing only on an athlete’s skills, work ethic and competitive spirit.

As someone who isn't gay and who isn't a competitive athlete, I don't know what locker rooms are like, but my assumption is that they aren't always all that gay-friendly (especially in the "tough and manly" sports). I hope this can be a good catalyst to help gay kids (and adult athletes) feel more comfortable being themselves while playing sports.

Second: Have you been following Aron's posts about training for her first ultra-marathon? If you've lost your running mojo or just like to read posts by someone who is loving running right now, read her blog. She's currently training for the American River 50 Mile Endurance Run and loving every second of it. Her enthusiasm is pretty contagious and her posts always make me smile.

Third: The sun! The days are getting longer and there is more daylight! The light is actually visible when I get up in the morning. The winter darkness is lifting and before I know it, waking up to a temperature of -16 will be in the past. (right now though? yeah, those cool temperatures are around for at least another few days)

Fourth: Did you know that there's a Platypus Day?! Apparently I missed wishing the platypus well on its day...but I guess I'll do that by directing you all to this random news story about it: Platypus Day. I forgot how funny looking an animal it is.

Fifth (and finally): Apparently, women don't like beards (on guys...jury is still out on bearded ladies). Looking at the news story, I'm hoping that the examples shown there aren't the best of the beard pictures that were used in the study. Sorry Keanu - your beard is a little weak, but Prince William? Not bad. The best news out of that study is for Jian Gomeshi - "light stubble" seemed to get the highest ratings of attractiveness from women. I guess we want a guy to be able to grow a beard, we just don't want him to actually grow it.

What is smile-worthy for you this Monday?

three things thursday - the "it's march" edition

Thing one: After not getting real winter weather almost all winter, two big snow storms in two weeks. Argh. Earlier in the winter it was rain (which meant icy sidewalks all the time) and now that I want spring to be here, the snow comes. Yeah- this item is just one big whine about the weather...what of it?

Thing two: I laughed out loud yesterday when I got the following notification in my email: 'Hal Johnson (@bodybreak) is now following you on Twitter.' Just in case you aren't Canadian, there was a series of public service type commercials on TV when I was growing up called "BodyBreak" starring Hal Johnson and Joanne MacLeod. They were sponsored by a group called ParticipACTION and would give various nutritional and physical fitness tips all while encouraging us to "keep fit and have fun." I kind of thought "well...if Hal Johnson is on twitter, maybe it is time to move on."

(from the Wikipedia page)

Strangely enough, when I clicked through to see his twitter page, it didn't appear that he was following me. So I decided to follow him to see what would happen and got one of those "Hey, thanks for the follow" direct messages as soon as I did. Is he a secret tweet bot? Does Hal Johnson employ the "follow then unfollow" technique to gain followers in order to spread his Body Break propaganda?!?! And most importantly - does Joanne approve of this?

Thing three: The Angelina's Right Leg stuff cracks me up a bit. When a guy accepting an Oscar references the leg before the night is even over? You know the internet will be abuzz... So the right leg has a Twitter account, apparently has a tumblr (which I can't find at the moment), and has spawned "leg bombing." I wonder how many places the leg will show up...

Have a great Thursday - maybe do something to keep fit and have fun!

What public service announcements do you remember from childhood? (maybe a robot telling to you to be careful?) 

leap day

Happy Leap Day everyone! It probably isn't much fun from ages 4 through to about 13, but after that, I've always thought it would be fun to have been born on February 29th. Sure, you don't get as many birthdays, but think of how big a party you can throw if you've got 4 years to plan it.

Since I'm one of those fancy pants thinky types who likes science and numbers, here's a little something explaining exactly how and why the leap year works the way it does:

According to 30 Rock, today you should be wearing blue and yellow, watching a movie starring a creepy Jim Carey as "Leap Dave Williams," and making lots of extra money - Jack Donaghy style. Ladies - if you've been waiting for a proposal, apparently today's the day that St Patrick agreed that women could propose to men (because apparently it isn't allowed any other time).

And if you're a runner - why not participate in the One Day Run. One day to run around the world. Log your miles on their Facebook Page - and for each of the first 1,000 people who log their miles on their wall, they'll donate $1 to the Ronald MacDonald house. You get to run, they get to donate to charity. Everybody wins!

Enjoy your February 29th!

running in a winter wonderland

In the last few days, Montreal has gone from clear sidewalks, residual snow, and warm temperatures to snow everywhere, really icy sidewalks, and a bit of a biting wind. But the good news was that yesterday it was sunny. And on the beautiful sunny day, we ended up running in a winter wonderland.

(source)

When the sidewalks ended up being an icy and slippery mess, we ended up re-hashing our planned running route and headed up "the mountain." We figured the packed snow of the paths there would be a better alternative to the slick sidewalks. Sure, it meant a lot of uphill, but the scenery was so very worth it and I was disappointed that I hadn't brought my camera.

(source)

Sharing the paths with walkers, runners, dogs, kids, snowshoers, and cross country skiers (no bikers today, but I ran into some on the same paths last winter) was kind of cool. All sorts of people out enjoying the winter weather in their own ways. We also may have run into Canadian royalty of sorts. We're pretty sure we saw Justin Trudeau and his family enjoying a sunny Sunday in the park.

By the end of the 11 miles my legs were definitely feeling the hills and my stabilizing muscles are still feeling the effects of having to work extra hard with the slippery conditions (and my right ankle is a little sore from stepping on the wrong part of a crunchy piece of ice), but the fresh snow on the branches of the trees and the sun hitting the snow on Mount Royal definitely made it all worth it. No sleigh bells though...

Is there a part of your city that ends up being more beautiful when winter comes?

unbreakable - runners, not action stars

TV coverage shows us what the front of a marathon looks like. Graceful gazelle-like runners running their hardest for two and a half hours on the flat(ish) roads of a major city. Definitely impressive and fun to watch. Ever wondered what it looks like at the front of an ultra-marathon? Not nearly as graceful, wickedly gritty, and just amazing to watch. Especially when said ultra is one of the most famous and one that has 5,500 m of cumulative climbing.

(source)

Unbreakable: The Western States 100 (starring ultra runners who are tougher than both Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson combined) may not have quite as much of a twist as the M. Night Shyamalan version, but it has more excitement and many more beards. It follows 4 top ultra-runners who meet at the 2010 Western States 100, each of whom have a legitimate shot at winning the race and breaking the course record. Spoiler-alert - the winner SMASHES the course record (as does the second place finisher).

As someone who hasn't run for longer than about 2 and a half hours, watching the almost effortless strides of these guys running at the 9 hour mark is kind of incredible. Between the beautiful scenery, live race footage (which must have been crazy to film), and great back-stories on each of the runners, this is a really cool look at what it is like to be a top level ultra runner.

It kind of made me want to skip right over the marathon distance and head straight to ultras. Now while I know my body is not at all built for that (I'm a delicate flower who can't handle high mileage), I do hope to find a way run more trails once spring and summer come around. That kind of scenery just puts a smile on my face even with all those hills.

If you get the chance - check out Unbreakable. 

three things thursday - a return edition

It has been a while since I've done a three things Thursday post. Since I have half of another post written but feel like it isn't done and needs some editing, I figure why not bring back the three things Thursday this week?

Thing 1: At this time last year, I was preparing for and writing my first calculus test of the semester. I still can't believe I got 98% on that first test and 91% in the class. I didn't do even close to that well in my high school math classes and somehow I pulled that off. I guess not wanting to get my ass handed to me by a bunch of kids was great motivation.

Thing 2: More unseasonably warm temperatures again this week! I probably could have run in capri pants again today...but I stuck with long pants instead. Is this the global warming/climate change I've been warned about my entire life? I don't know. But for this winter I'm enjoying it.

Thing 3: I've had "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego" by Rockapella in my head for about a day and a half. How random is that? But it got me thinking about the show. I remember thinking how awesome it would be to be on the show and track the likes of "Double Trouble" and "Vic the Slick." I'm pretty sure that show had the best puns on television.

What was your favourite TV show when you were a kid?